Cool Stuff for EFL/ESL teachers

'Hacking Digital Learning Strategies: 10 Ways to Launch EdTech Missions in Your Classroom' by Shelly Sanchez Terrell

24/9/2017

'Hacking Digital Learning Strategies: 10 Ways to Launch EdTech Missions in Your Classroom', written by an amazing ed tech guru, Shelly Sanchez Terrell, has recently been published.

Hacking Digital Learning Strategies is an awesome book full of innovative ideas for classroom use and beyond. The purpose of the book is to equip teachers with 'the right language, motivation and resources' they can use to empower their students to use technology in creative and meaningful ways. Learners, like astronauts, superheroes or agents are sent to different missions. Through these missions they get inspired to use social media and web tools to research, collaborate, debate, solve problems, create, and many more. A summary of the missions is provided through the contents page of the book. Here's a graphic I have created for the ten missions the book contains:

Each mission is divided into six sections full of detailed instructions, enlightening information and practical tips:

The Problem
The Mission
Mission Prep
Mission Launch
Overcoming Mission Obstacles
The Mission in Action

At the end of the book there is a powerful mission toolkit providing printable templates, in the form of mission cards, a teacher can use in their classroom.

I strongly recommend Hacking Digital Learning Strategies to any educator who wishes to empower their learners to thrive in our digital age and to urge them to succeed as future citizens!

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Classroom Community Builders: Activities for the First Day & Beyond

11/9/2017

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Classroom Community Builders by Walton Burns is an outstanding book for teachers who wish to enhance their instruction by establishing good relationships with and among their students. It can be used from the very first day back to school throughout the year. Building a favourable classroom community undoubtedly creates the right conditions for effective learning to take place. What this book actually aims to achieve, through its great variety of classroom activities, is to provide teachers with engaging ways they can use to facilitate team building in their classes. As well as developing teamwork skills through its icebreaker-like activities, the book does not require the teacher to neglect teaching their subject. This successful harmony between subject teaching and community building makes the book more appealing for classroom use.

The book consists of four sections of activities: ‘Set your Expectations’, ‘Working Together’, ‘Getting–to-know-you Activities’ and ‘Getting-to-know- your Teacher Activities’. Each activity is provided with a full description including time, materials, target language and a detailed step-by-step procedure. Some of the activities are followed by an extension section, and/or a variations section, which offers valuable tips and ideas on ways the activities can be better implemented or adapted. Many of the activities are accompanied by photocopiable material, a full version of which can be downloaded and printed out at the Resources and Downloads section of Alphabet Publishing website.

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An infographic for Classy Graphics- T. Vincent's google classroom.

7/5/2017

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During my participation in Tony Vincent's #ClassyGraphics, spring-google classroom, I designed the following infographic as one of the assignments.

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Lesson Starters by S. Terrell

16/3/2017

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Some quotes from 'The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers - Small Steps to Transform your Teaching' by Shelly Sanchez Terrell

4/12/2016

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You can find the book here: The 3o Goals Challenge for Teachers: Small Steps to Transform your Teaching

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Transforming teaching with technology

19/10/2016

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Shelly Terrell, one of my top quality ed technology integration proponents, has created this awesome interactive poster using thinglink. The poster, which serves as an infographic for both teachers and students, displays engaging ways learners can effectively use technology to develop a wide range of skills! For further ideas on how to incorporate technology in your classes to promote 21st century skills visit Shelly Terrell's blog: teacherrebootcamp.com/. Shelly Terrell also hosts the famous TESOL webinars on really challenging topics. Any educator can attend them for free every Friday at 4pmET HERE.

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BOOK REVIEW: 50 Activities for the First Day of School by Walton Burns

13/9/2016

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Who doubts the significance of the very first day at school?
The importance of creating a positive atmosphere on this special day is really great.
In his book ‘50 Activities for the First Day of School’, Walton Burns empowers teachers with a great number of motivating activities which will definitely engage their students and create the warm atmosphere needed for a creative and successful new year.

Building rapport with their students on the very first day, teachers will benefit in numerous ways. So, what is a better way to smoothly kick off a new year than that of developing relationships with your students through a bunch of fun activities you can easily draw on in this terrific book?

Building strong relationships
It is true that some students feel overwhelmed on the first day of school. This might be due to the fact they do not know their classmates or/and their teacher, people who will interact with throughout a whole year and possibly much longer. The enjoyable activities this book contains break the ice of this tough first day; they build teacher-students rapport and develop students’ relationships among themselves.

Structure
The great number and the variety of the hands-on activities actually save a teacher’s precious time s/he would need to plan an engaging first lesson for the first day of school!
The book is well-structured with easy-to-follow steps for each activity. The instructions are presented in a clear and straightforward manner even for newbie teachers.

Contextualization of language
Engaging in this great book’s activities, students have the opportunity to learn and/or review the language in a contextualized way which will in turn facilitate consolidation and/or retention of knowledge.

Informal learning
While engaging in the activities lots of informal learning occurs without any stress. Informal learning is undoubtedly considered ideal for language learners as it prepares them for real-life situations.

The fun Element
The activities are enjoyable and motivate students to participate with great enthusiasm. Many of them are game-like such as the one in which the students are asked to toss a ball, learn each other’s name, move around to find a partner to share self information with and then report back to the class. Such activities definitely challenge every type of learner!

Communicative Element
There is so much authentic communication generated through students’ participation in the activities! The students interact with each other in whole-class activities, pair or group work. They always have a goal to achieve. For instance, in one of the activities students are asked to work in pairs, exchange information about two differences and two similarities they have in common. Then, as a further step, they are invited to effectively communicate the message they have received to the rest of the class.

Useful Tips
Walton Burns provides variations to the original activities he describes. Those will literally support a teacher who may address students who are more advanced than the level s/he may have had in mind before entering the class. Besides, the more complex variations of some activities will hinder the boredom factor learners, particularly of young ages, are usually faced with.
Walton also provides student feedback tips. For example, in the ‘ask the Teacher’ activity, he proposes effective ways a teacher can use to correct students’ language errors or to approach culture-sensitive issues.

Flexibility
Although the activities are designed with beginners in the author’s mind, he clearly indicates how they could equally effectively be used with more advanced English learners. Therefore, the activities can easily be adapted to any level of students.

I strongly recommend this book to any educator interested in starting off a smooth new school year and in maintaining a positive atmosphere throughout all school terms. The book can also provide an inspiring source of excellent activities and icebreakers throughout the whole year.
I honestly believe utilizing this resource will make a remarkably positive impact on any educator’s teaching practices.

P.S. You can find information on how to get the book at http://www.alphabetpublishing.xyz/book/first-day-of-school.

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'Hacking Digital Learning Strategies: 10 Ways to Launch EdTech Missions in Your Classroom' by Shelly Sanchez Terrell

Classroom Community Builders: Activities for the First Day & Beyond

An infographic for Classy Graphics- T. Vincent's google classroom.

Lesson Starters by S. Terrell

Some quotes from 'The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers - Small Steps to Transform your Teaching' by Shelly Sanchez Terrell

Transforming teaching with technology

BOOK REVIEW: 50 Activities for the First Day of School by Walton Burns

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