jueves, 31 de enero de 2013

Some Q&A about my last webinar

Núria Donato- Do the students have to sign use these tools?
ABEL: Yes, they do. They have their own account for Glogster and Prezi. I haven't asked them to have one for FOTOBABBLE, because I manage the account, but they could have one.
Itziar Erice-is it for free? Tubedubber
ABEL: Yes, it is. I don't like students to pay extra for using a digital tool. There are a lot of excellent free resources online. So, if they're charging you, find another tool.
Elisabet Frago-sorry, Abel, what's a glog exactly?
ABEL: A glog is a classical poster, with the benefits of the digital word, I mean, you can make it with pictures and text, but you can add VIDEOS, AUDIO AND HYPERLINKS. A glog is a 21 century poster that doesn't get yellow on the school wall.
Olivia Reguera- but how can we do the voice recording?
ABEL: Adding audio to a glog is a bit tricky. See this video for help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqH0liJ37Lg
Elena Nogués-Also use a textbook, or do you base your teaching on these activities?
ABEL- Yes,we do. We follow a Digital Textbook in ESO from www.digital-text.com and in Bachillerato we are currently using OXFORD DISTINCTION 1 & 2. But, as one wonderful college teacher I had said: DON'T LET THE TEXTBOOK DICTATE YOUR SYLLABUS (NORMAN COE), so we choose to have digital projects alongside the textbook syllabus, for example, cinema in original version, school trips, readers and oral production and videos.
Miren Villa-What's a youtube channel?
ABEL: Youtube is the greatest collection of online videos, some are educational, some are fun, some are good and some are rubbish. A Youtube channel is a channel that a person or a school/institution can manage, filming and uploading their own videos. Have a look at some examples: http://www.youtube.com/user/abg3galvez http://www.youtube.com/user/OUPSpain http://www.youtube.com/user/iestorredelpalau2
Natalia Izard-Is assessing so important?
ABEL:Yes, it is. I don't know about your students, but mine want a mark for their work. Assessment is important and they are motivated by getting a good mark. But assessment, as I mentioned, is a hot potato, a more complex item than we think.
Elisabet Frago-do you have problems finishing your syllabus?
ABEL: All teachers struggle finishing their syllabus, and so do I. But when we're planning the course with my colleagues, we include these projects that are motivating and educational. If we have to drop a text, or a grammar point, or a whole unit, we drop it. Perhaps we don't finish our books, but we'll end up with a great collection of recording and videos that can make excellent listening material for younger students.
Nieves De La Flor-how often do you do speaking activities or projects?
ABEL: In general, one or two oral products per term. We ask for less written compositions, but ask students to create oral material. In case of the Airport Project, we do a large-scale project per course.
Natalia Izard -Where do you have time to do all this ???????
ABEL: We've been working with digital tools for 10 years, so what you saw in the webinar is a collection of activities that we have put into practice in the last courses, not only one. As I said in the previous question, we do one or two oral products per term, and we try not to get crazy in the process. The truth is the teachers in my department have created a good team and we help and encourage each other. That's a great part of the story. The rest is the students' motivation and involvement. Don't try to cover too many things in the same course. Go step by step, trying thins and rejecting what was useless or too complicated. Good luck!

THE MAKING OF THE AIRPORT PROJECT 2013