Badge

Now the point is to find partners from other countries. The interesting fact is that I have seen projects that are quite good , too. This means that there are possibilities for collaboration next school year. I will also have to sort things out at school. Time will tell!

My Project evaluated by colleagues

My project has been evaluated by colleagues. I can only thanks them  here and this way, as I do not know who these colleagues are.

Link to their evaluations

ETwinning Project: Final Project Plan

The following iss the final draft:

Link to the Draft - Google Slides Presentation

It has been well received so far (see image below)

Unit 5 Weekly Challenge part 1 - e Tweening Platform

Link to my work

Google Tour Builder and Google Spaces on Listly

Collaborative ICT actvity involving Google Tour Builder and Google Spaces

The following is “an ICT activity which is part of the collaborative project [I] expect to launch in the future and that involves real collaboration, thereby obtaining a tangible and measurable end result that is directly related to the project [I am] planning and developing”.

ICT Tools to be used:

1. Google Tour Builder
2. Google Spaces
3. Google Translator (so as to use “text-to-Voice” when creating a clip). There is a possibility of using Voki instead)
4. D. Screencast O'Matic (so as to create a clip)
5. Youtube ( where the clip can be hosted)

Pupils in each school that participates in the project will create the beginning of a Virtual Tour Using Google tour Builder. They will also open a Space on Google Spaces where mixed groups of students from all schools involved will collaborate to create the Tour.

When the Virtual Tour is ready, each “host” school will upload a video of the Tour created with Screencast O'Matic and uploaded on Youtube. The Clip will then be shared on the ETwinning Platform of the project.

Example of activity.
Name of the activity:”Let’s visit Israel”

Link to the tour on Google Virtual Tour

The following video serves to illustrate the beginning of a Virtual Tour of Israel.

This activity aims at both improving pupils' English (all skills) and their use of ITC to collaborate and create a final product. Since the idea is to invo;ve pupils in the creation and evaluation process, a Rubric to evaluate the final product (s) will be negotiated among pupils and teachers.

Unit 3 - Developing the project

My idea is to implement a project that is in some ways similar to the one I shared with teachers and pupils form a Madrid school a few years ago. This is, once again, the link to the project.

This post will address the challenges of this unit: I will introduce

a. my assessment of the most common strengths and weaknesses I have seen in the project, and

b.the extent to which I  think that all this activity will be useful to prepare the final version of the project.

a. Strenghths

1. As I see it, the project objectives are clear:

The idea is to foster communication IN ENGLISH among teachers and pupils from Spain (schools from other countries might want to join, too) and Israel. This collaboration will surely help pupils improve their command of English and, no less important, use ITC.

The following images, which have been captured from the original project, may further  illustrate my points:

The following are motivating topics that engage those who participate in the project: 

Teachers involved in developing and bringing the new project about may decide to add new possibilities. 

The possible outcome is quite positive:

As teachers of English as \foreign language, those of us involved may agrre on ways to help our pupils both communicate and improve their English. We can work along the pattern followed in the original project so as to keep communication fluid:

Eloisa herrero has revied the original project and come out with rather positive conclusions - Link

2. I find using (and teaching) ITC easy, and that is a strenghth.

Weaknesses

1. The choice of a platform

We need  a platform that is more suitable than Facebook. While Edmodo might do, I would rather use a platform provided by E-Tweening because it offers more possibilities.

2. The choice of pupils from my school

This is a problem I have but can solve: During next school year, I will not be teaching those pupils from my school who might join the project. In other words, I will not be their English teacher. This means that I will involve at least one ore teacher from my school, and pupils who will be studying with different English teachers. This problem, however, can be turned into an opportunity: pupils participating in this project will have it as an "extra" activity. I have received approval from the school to try to turn this project into a reality. 

When i know there are partners, things will be clearer and i will be able to act at school accordingly. At Kugel High School, we are open to this new experience.

b. I think this activit, namely assessing strenghths and weaknesses,  will be useful to prepare the final version of the project.

Unit 2 - Teachers' brainstorming

What can I improve? What would I like to try? What am I not happy with? Is there anything which is not working? Contributions of participants in the MOOC "Open eTwinning", May 2016
Link to 

Teachers' brainstorming

Unit 2 Weekly Challenges - Post 3

This post is the third related to Unit 2's Weekly challenges. I will adress the two questions posed on the site:

1. What needs or areas of improvement and learning have I detected in my teaching? 
2. What projects have I found that might help me?

As I have stated (and elaborated on) on Weekly Challenges post 1, Project Management is an area I should, rather than "would like", to improve, indeed. 

Two projects might help me improve because I have gained more insights (and some experience) over the last few years". 

a. I would like to do something like I did along with teachers and pupils from Maria Auxiliadora in Madrid - Link 

b. I would like to try to carry out a project alon the lines of Interesteen: An on-line MAGAZINE for cultural exchanges  - Link  

See what I wrote on this post to learn how I might turn this idea into a reality

Unit 2 Weekly challenge Post 2

Part of the weekly challenge for unit 2 was relating to the following question / request:

Do you have a link you can provide?

I decided to contribute this link on Twitter

Unit 2 - Weekly Challenges - Post 1

As I have written, even though I have long been interested ( and tried) to have projects involving pupils from my school and those from other countries (Spain being a favorite of mine), I have not attempted to do something in the framework of E-Twinning. THis may change.

I am considering the possibility of giving this a try, even when the subject o fwhat courses I will have vailable at school for such a  venture remains unclear. If I try to carry out an e-Twinning  project, I believe it will involve 15 year old pupils whose command of English is good enough to engage in conversation with pupils from other countries. These pupils will be offered the possibility of joining the project.


I will not be their school English teacher, though. They will be pupils studying with other teachers of English (colleagues of mine at school). However, I will get the school's support to take up this challenge. 

I would like a project by means of which Israeli pupils get to know what it is to be a teenager in other countries / cities. I would like the project to involve more than one school in other countries. Schools in different Spanish cities are the ones that appeal the most to me.

I have found two projects that seem interesting

Link to the poject

I like the  Project overview:

Teachers of European schools and their students work together and create an e-magazine to show cultural differences and similarities.

I believe this is something I could help pupils at Kuge do together with counterparts from abroad.

The second project appeals to me because of ots topic. Since I do not understand French, I cannot relate to the contents of the video, yet  I like the Project Overview of 

Being a teenager today is the main idea of our project. Our pupils will share, exchange, discover ideas, improve their English in a different way with their European counterparts and reinforce their skills in ICT to present their results

I would have to find out more about the contents, but it doesn't seem to be different from what I did a few years go (Auxiliadora -Kugel)

Análisis de un proyecto from Eloisa Herrero

Before starting a project: some more key points

THis video makes it clear what I have to consider efore engaging in a project. None of this points is new to me, yet I like to have them stated clearly.

I have collaborated with teachers of English from Spain on a project, yet we never got to discuss the stages this way before setting off. The experience, however, was good.

Interesting questions introduced on Unit 2

These questions have been introduced as being key points I should consider before engaging in a Project such as E-Twinning. They have been asked in the framework of Project Management. Incidentally, if there i something I should improve is the way I manage project, and I can name using ICT as one. 

Project Management is something I should, rather than "would like" to improve, indeed.

I believe I know my students' interests. Most (if not all) want to use the Foreign Languages they study with me (English and Spanish) to communicate with people. If they could engage in  meaningful interaction with teens from other countries, most would probably feel the value of mastering a Foreign Language. I believe Israeli teens are interested in what teens elsewhere do, how they live, what they like and dislike, etc. 

I use ICT all the time. I have been doing it since the year 2000, first using certain sites; Next I also  created Webquests (I wonder if anybody remembers "Geocities" these days); andthen I used Blogs, and Edmodo as well as some tools. A major change happened some four years ago when I started using Moodle for Blended Learning. There is no going back to working without technology (and Moodle and so many tools).

I like to motivate my students making the Foreign languge I teach a school subject to be enjoyed. When teaching Spanish, i use Spanish Speaking Soap Operas and songs, as they have an incredible appeal on teen girls. The same happens with football for boys. Accordingly, i use videos and audio to engage my pupils. As for English, I drop the Soap Operas brining in other items instead. The result is the same if what I use caters to both pupils' needs and likes. 

ICT helps me turn learning a language into an engaging acivity. I may not scceed withall, and not succeed all the time, but I know I do things differently, and that motivates pupils.

Beginning Unit 2: 25.05.2016

Eduardo, Israel

Key to my teaching two Foreign languages in israel is the fact that I have long been integrating ICT in my work with pupils (and fellow  teachers). I have tried to innovate, refusing to be "a blackboard, chalk and book teacher"  (if that can be considered a somewhat description of a traditional teacher). I have made (sometimes by mere encouragement, and others by refusing to have "NO" for an answer) pupils use ICT both during lessons and also at home either as task sfter class, or to be ready for class. I have also made it a point to try to collaborate with teachers from abroad so as to engage my pupils in communication and collaboration with teens from other parts of the world. And yet, there is no doubt in my mind that I have to be more organized in all these activities. This eTwinning course (and ETwinning itself) may prove the key to help me be more efficient and systematic, as well as  a suitable venue to collaborate with teachers abroad. I hopeboth me and pupils in my school benefit from my participation.

Using and sharing a Voki - 23.05.2016

Etwinning participants

A Glog to introduce myself on this e Twinning MOOC

Link to the Glog