Using technology in the classroom

Trying to figure out when and why it is important to use technology in the classroom, I discovered a web page that presents different articles that may help future teachers to know the value of this device.

I would like to highlight the three tips that are presented in one of the articles that you can find in the page which I am going to post at the end .

The article refers to "three tips on Integrating Technology", it claims that teaching with technology, it is not go to the classroom and turn on a computer, the teacher needs to have an intention and prepare the task beforehand. 

The first tips are:

 Plan ahead; the writer said: "the teacher has to be involved in planning, and takes into account the three T's; how teaching can be improved, what technology will be used, and how time will be used more efficiently."

Try something new: It is importat to use different devices and pages to engage students.

Become an educational designer: "teachers are more like designers, who get to choose and develop what kinds of content their students access and which technologies they use."


Here is the link where you can read about this topic and many more:

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/high-school-notes/2012/01/25/3-tips-on-integrating-technology-in-the-classroom

Learning Present continuous with The Simpsons!

Some months ago, we were asked to prepare a lesson plan including a presentation; we were free to create PowerPoint presentations, Prezi or another device. We also have to decide how, when and what we would like to use. 

My partner and I have to deal with Present Continuous and some vocabulary related to neighbours, so we prepared two PowerPoint presentations and a video.

In one of the PowerPoint we introduced the vocabulary; we made a survey in order to practice speaking. In the other one, we made an activity in which learners have to choose what the correct sentence was.

Finally, we made a video. It was really interesting to invent it. The process was like this; first, we downloaded some videos by The Simpsons, then we used Movie maker to paste them all together; and  finally, we wrote the headings and the credits. The aim of the activity was that students could watch the video and said what these characters were doing. They only had a minute to write down or memorize what they watched. 

 I showed the videos to my students in order to check whether it is engaging or not, and they really enjoy watching it! 

In conclusion, I think that using this kind of devices can help your students to learn English in an unusual way.

Here it is the video. Let's have fun!!

Learning through Presentations!

Nowadays as Future Teachers, we need to bear in mind how to engage our students in the classsroom. As we have been saying, our students belong to the category of "Digital Native"; that is why sometimes it comes difficult to prepare activities or games they would enjoy. For that reason, I would like to highlight why a presentation (Power Point Presentation, Prezi) could be a good method to help our learners get involved in the lesson.
When creating slides you can make colourful, attractive designs according to the age, level and topic that you are dealing with. Also by adding sounds and/or videos your presentations can become eyecatching and  really interesting! Moreover, you can use these devices to teach grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and even pronounciation; and you can use it at any time of the lesson.

  I would like to share this link, where I found Benefits, Drawbacks and some tips. Hope it would be useful!!