Welcome to Issue 3!
Welcome to the third issue of Edtech News, a free monthly newsletter bringing you the latest in new technology for teaching English. Each month we look at the latest online resources for teachers and students, and introduce you to useful ICT tips and tricks. We 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. To read past issues, visit our archives.
In this issue:
- Words in the News at
- Teacher development resource:
IATEFL 2009 Conference website
- Top tech tips:
for 
Microsoft Word - The IWB activity series: Nº 3 - The Magic Mirror
Say hello to Techno Defoe!
Amid the huge variety of English language learning resources available on the BBC Learning English website, there is a great section called Words in the News. You will find the latest reports and news stories from around the world in written and audio form, all adapted for improving vocabulary. Words and idiomatic phrases from the report are highlighted and explained at the bottom of the article, and the whole news item is available to listen to alongside a spoken list of the highlighted vocabulary. The whole thing is free to download and save for future reference.
Lessons could be planned around the reading and lexis, or it could be set as homework, or you might just like to pass on the tip to your students and let them explore the site in their own time and choose which articles interest them. Either way, it's a really engaging way to learn new vocab in a real context. Have a look at the site and see how you could use it.
Conferences are a great way to learn and share information, but often time or financial constraints prevent us from being able to attend. Luckily, conference organisers recognise this fact, and much of the content is often available online, as is the case with the 43rd Annual International IATEFL Conference. The website contains content from the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language's 2009 conference in Cardiff. You can search for presentations by topic, browse the video content that is available, and comment and participate in discussions about the themes with both attendees and non-attendees of the conference.
Material is still being uploaded, so keep checking for updates. Also look out for the 2010 conference which will be in Harrogate in April, as well as the IATEFL - TESOL Chile International Conference: "Communication, Culture and Community" which will take place in Santiago on 23rd and 24th July.
Want to make your own materials for your learners but just can't find the time? Look no further than Teacher's Pet, a super little download for Microsoft Word available at teachers-pet.org.
Teacher's Pet uses macros to transform text into stimulating classroom resources, allowing you to create materials like crosswords, wordsearch puzzles, bingo cards, jumbles, flashcards and pair-matching puzzles at the click of a mouse button. Here are some examples:
Jumbling sentences:
Matching pairs:
Making a wordsearch:
To get started, just download the add-on from the Teacher's Pet website and click "habilitar macros" when asked to do so. When you open Microsoft Word you will see the Teacher's Pet button in the top right of your screen, and you're ready to go.
- The Magic Window (IWB activity series Nº3)
The latest in our series of interactive whiteboard activities shows you how to create a "Magic Window" which can be used to reveal hidden objects on the page, and help to bring to life a variety of lesson stages such as content prediction or "rub and reveal" activities.
Click on the image to watch the video guide on creating and using this interactive activity.
And finally, introducing Techno Defoe!
Hi! I'm Techno Defoe, EdTech News' resident tech expert, and I'm here to answer your questions. Whatever you need - website suggestions, help with computer software, advice on using technology in the classroom - I am here to help. Drop me a line at tecnologica@britanico.cl and I'll answer in the next newsletter.
This month, Stuart Wharton from Ñuñoa writes:
Dear Techno Defoe,
I keep hearing about teachers using twitter in EFL, but I don't really know how it works... can twitter be an effective resource for language teachers and learners?
TD says:
Great question Stuart. Twitter is an online service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages of 140 characters or fewer. These updates are called "tweets" and can be about anything you like. You can then begin to "follow" other people and see what they're saying. There are a number of ways twitter can be used in language teaching:
- get your students to set up accounts and encourage them to interact or work together outside of class. This engenders learner independence and communication.
- do an exercise on reducing or simplifying writing: can they reduce these two paragraphs to one 140-character tweet?
- start following some of the celebrities who use twitter (there are thousands!) and use their tweets as the basis for language work. This could be particularly motivating for teens and young learners.
- investigations - compose some comprehension questions about existing tweets and ask your learners to find the answers using the search facility
- you could set up a class account and use it as a progress log or online diary throughout the course
- as well as using it in class, twitter offers a vast bounty of theory, comment, discussion, news, resources and materials connected with EFL. Here are a few pages to start you off:
http://twitter.com/kalinagoenglish
http://twitter.com/shellterrell
http://twitter.com/esolcourses
Alternatively, just type #EFL into the search box, and see what you get. Good luck with your tweeting Stuart.
See you next time everybody, and remember: technology is not the enemy!
We hope you’ve enjoyed the third issue of EdTech News. Watch this space for
the next issue, coming in March.
Notice: The Instituto Chileno Británico de Cultura is not responsible for the content of any external websites displayed as links in this newsletter.