Welcome to Edtech News!
This is the first edition of Edtech News, a free monthly newsletter bringing you the latest in new technology for teaching English. Each month we will look at the latest online resources for teachers and students, and introduce you to useful ICT tips and tricks. We will also feature a multi-level interactive whiteboard activity in each issue. We hope you enjoy reading and if you have any comments please get in touch at tecnologica@britanico.cl.
In this issue:
- Online word-reference resource for students and teachers -
- Teacher development resource -
- TKT glossary online - Top tech tips - using
as a calculator - The IWB activity series: Nº 1 - The Magic Hat
- a new online word-reference resource
There's a great new online resource which at first resembles an online dictionary, but on closer inspection offers a vast wealth of resources for the English language learner and teacher. at www.wordnik.com invites you to enter any English word and instantly provides you with a range of different dictionary definitions, synonyms, example usage, real-time examples from Twitter, pronunciation with audio playback, and frequency statistics from the last 200 years.
There are also images related to the word, related words which lead you
off on new searches, a pie chart representing which of the word’s forms are
most commonly used, and even the word’s score in Scrabble! An amazing
resource which will give you and your students an unparalleled breadth of word
knowledge!
- TKT Glossary online
More and more English teachers are adding the TKT certificate to their
credentials and it is fast becoming an internationally-recognised accreditation.
Knowledge of the terminology used in the TKT course and exam – and
throughout the English-teaching world – is a key to a successful score on the
test, and enables a teacher to relate to the concepts and theories of ELT
effectively and efficiently. The glossary of over 400 of these terms has always
been available to download in PDF format at
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/teach/tkt/index.htm but there’s really useful
searchable online glossary from the British Council which you can find at http://courses.britishcouncil.org/pub/tkt/mod/glossary/view.php?id=368.
Hosted through a Moodle glossary platform, you can search by keyword, or look
at the resource alphabetically and see instant definitions of important TKT lexis.
Check it out and consolidate your English Language teaching terminology!
- used as a calculator on your desktop
Do you click on the pop-up calculator application when you’re working on your computer and need to do a quick calculation? It’s handy, but the Excel spreadsheet can be just as useful, and opens up many more options for calculating on-the-fly or doing more advanced sums.
Click on the image to watch a short video on how Excel can help you in your daily calculations.
- The Magic Hat (IWB activity series Nº 1)
Do you use an interactive whiteboard or have access to one in your school or institution? If so, there’s a good chance you’re constantly on the lookout for new activities to use the whiteboard effectively and dynamically with your classes. In the first of a regular series, we introduce you to The Magic Hat – a fun interactive way to introduce new target language or topics to your students.
Click on the image to watch the video guide to creating and using this interactive activity.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the first issue of EdTech News. Watch this space for
the next issue, coming in December.