English Virtual Community

Though the technology has been around for more than two decades (IWB  was released in 1991), its use has only grown exponentially over the past few years. Fundamentally, an IWB combines a dry erase whiteboard with an LCD projector and is usually mounted on a wall or floor stand. Powered by easy-to-use software, the whiteboard becomes a computer screen viewable by an entire classroom.   The projector projects the content from a onto the surface of the board while the teacher controls the content either with a pointer or a touch of the hand instead of a keyboard and mouse. The combination of software with the projector results in much more than simply a projected image. An interactive whiteboard can be a cost saver as this technology demonstrates how one computer can provide learning stimuli for a whole classroom. This is more cost effective than equipping an entire IT room, or every student with a laptop. Examples of the features available when using an inte...

Definition by W ikipedia: Glogster is an online tool that allows users to create free interactive posters, or Glogs. A "Glog", short for "graphics blog", is an interactive multimedia image. It looks like a poster, but readers can interact with the content. Advantages: It is free It is visually appealing and offers users lots of options for designing their glogs. Stimulates, imagination and creativity : users may inserts text, images, photos, audio , videos, special effects and other elements into their glogs to generate a multimedia online creation. Fosters teamwork and collaboration with classmates Sharing: Posters can be shared with other users on the site, embedded in external wikis or blogs, and shared via many social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Private, secure, safe virtual working. Unlimited shelf life Disadvantages:   Registration is not optional IMPORTANT: to avoid young learners' registration, teachers can op...

Popplet is an application for the web and iPad, where you can collect, curate and share your ideas, inspirations, and projects.  It is a combination of wallwisher, glogster and field for webspiration which offers a lot of  possibilities: users can type, draw, upload images , embed videos or draw in the virtual “post-its” called “popplets" .  Advantages: Teachers can use it for collaborative work  Popplets can be connected It doesn’t have an limit on the number of characters you can use. . At the moment   is in beta and you need to request an invite.  Here is a video explaining how it can be used.  http://popplet.com/ Related posts: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/01/03/popplet-looks-like-a-winner-its-wallwisher-on-steroids/ http://2sparkley.edublogs.org/2011/01/05/popplet/

 I am very proud to upload selected material provided by the British Council  for this blog. I hope you find it useful :-) Methodology articles http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/portfolios-elt Related content: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/methodology http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/public-speaking-skills Related content: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/methodology http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/music-visualisation Related content: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/methodology Teaching activities http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities/working-biographies Related content: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities/it%E2%80%99s-1200-oclock Related content: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/activities/who-it Related content: http://www.teachingenglish.o...

It is not easy to find the right time for training teachers in technology . Teachers are usually very busy teaching, marking tests, filling reports, correcting homework or preparing classes. So, Saturday mornings or some evenings are the only possible meeting time, but these are not the most popular times. Teachers – usually women – also have a family, dinners to prepare or children to look after, so virtual meetings may be an interesting possibility to solve this problem. WIZIQ is a web based education platform powered by teachers who continually improve it in response to its users’ feedback. This collaborative web conferencing environment is amongst the best online teaching solutions in the world, and it integrates the following set of online tools : synchronous (happening at the same time) and asynchronous teaching through virtual classrooms, online tests and a content sharing and messaging system. Pros : Wiziq is absolutely free of cost for teachers and students; it enables ...

In the story " Circus Escape " an elephant escapes from the circus and runs off into town. The elephant meets Billy and saves him from a fire. The story is aimed at learners who already have a basic knowledge of English, and practises narrative tenses in a story context. Circus Escape is an online flash-animated story for young learners on the British Council's site for young learners LearnEnglish Kids. In the classroom there are many ways of exploiting activities to   help children practise their English whilst developing their creativity and imagination by writing poems, stories, reviews, etc. You can find them HERE

Learning a new language can be a fun and exciting experience, especially for younger children. The key is to keep them interested in what they are learning. Fortunately, the Internet provides many free games, flashcards, songs, books, and other resources that can entertain, engage, and educate young English language learners. Here are 15 resources worth exploring: ESL-Kids.com provides worksheets, flashcards, games, and songs that children can use to learn English. The site also features an In Class section that demonstrates how to use these resources.  Starfall  With this fun interactive English game site, beginning students can practice their ABCs and reading. Starfall is primarily for first grade children but works well for pre-K to second graders.  BarryFunEnglish is an elementary student English learning site. Through this site, you will find worksheets, games, vocabulary builders, flashcards, listening and PowerPoint presentations. The PowerPoint presentations...

The III National Conference for Teachers of English was held in Concepción del Uruguay from April 22nd to 25th. Teachers from different provinces (Tucumán, Corrientes, Formosa, among others) attended to different presentations at the new local auditorium. The event was fantastically organized by Ma. Laura Perrotta and Roxana Embon. I met Gustavo Gonzalez - vice president of APIBA (Asociación de Profesores de Inglés de Buenos Aires) and vice president of FAAPI (Federación Argentina de Asociaciones de Profesores de Inglés) - who delighted the audience with his energy, videos, music and magic - yes, he performed some magic tricks. I also met Fabiana Parano (photo) who spoke about how to tell a story in L2 and performed "The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe. I also spoke with Mady Casco about her material concerned with the first episode of the TV, her series "LOST" and her experience as teacher trainer. I spoke about Worldcall 2008 , presented ARCALL and spoke about mobi...