Podcast on the challenges of teaching IELTS

This is a podcast in which my colleague Michael explains the challenges of teaching IELTS.


Podcasting and vodcasting are interesting tools in which a teacher can record various audio or video clips related to the lesson. Seeing or hearing their teacher outside of the class might give students an impression that they're continuing their learning outside of the class.

There are obvious benefits of both pod- and vodcasting in assisting learning:

1. A teacher might produce a podcast or vodcast to sum up the key points from the lesson.
2. A teacher might send them before a lesson and check comprehension in class to flip learning.
3. Personalised learning resources.
4. Students may study extra in their free time.
5. Flexible learning time for students.
6. An interesting alternative to the tratitional learning in class.

The obvious negative for me as a teacher would be that I don't like listening to my own voice - it  really sounds strange, But I guess I might get used to that. Doing them might also be time consuming and sometimes difficult to organise in terms of the available hardware.

All in all, an interesting self-made resource.

How does technology enhance or inhibit learning?

Technology can enhance learning in a variety of ways:

• introduces an element of variety in a classroom
• it is motivating and stimulating, e.g. visual presentations
• can save a lot of time
• it's easier to keep records of daily work
• enhances learners' autonomy - the students can continue learning outside of the classroom

There are also some negative effects of technology which can inhibit learning:

• older students can feel out of their depth when dealing with issues they don't understand
• older students can have a slower pace of doing tasks
• there are dangers of spam and viruses which can seriously damage one's pc and make it impossible to work
• potential bullying on social networking sites can have harmful effects on individuals

Images uploaded from my phone

Images

Pinterest

Pinterest

Inclusivity in ESOl classrooms

Technology is transforming the way we teach and it's important to incorporate it in our lessons with all the levels and types of students. It is working particularly well with the young students I have as their interest in technology is second to none. What works particularly well is showing them new tools which they can use outside of the classroom like Box.com or cartoon makers. They also have keen interest in social networking sites so i'm trying to incorporate this in my lessons (even though I'm not a fan of them myself). It's worth remembering that not all students are very good at using multi media and they can definitely benefit from the exposure to it in the classroom. Teachers also have to remember that not every student has the latest smartphone and free internet access or free text messages and plan using mobile devices accordingly. The important thing is, however, that students should be given links to useful websites to continue working at home and to promote autonomous studying. They should be given confidence in using them independently and frequent lessons in an IT room would definitely be advisable.

Resources - assessment criteria 3.1

Box - a perfect storage website for my folders and documents

I've become a fan of Box.com and use it every day now. I have a habit of storing everything on my Desktop but that means duplicating documents on every PC I happen to use... Not to mention the Z drive which is full now! So Box.com is fast becoming my favourite website... :)

Have a look at some screen shots: