Blogging in the classroom - after two years I weigh the pros and cons of my "teacher blog" (...and create a "students blog")

I have been a blogger for nearly two years. 
I use my educational blog The Travelling Teachers  almost every day in my classes and my students are asked to use it at home.

I have already written on this blog about the advantages of blogging in the classrom and  I propose again my Popplet mind-map about it below.

Click on the image to open it

After two years I can say that my students are more engaged than before, they are enthusiastic about using my blog both at home and in the classroom. 

Blogs support writing, reading, listening and even speaking skills. 

In the classroom (blended learning) we read some posts, translate them and comment on them. We watch some videos, listen to some songs or surf the Net through the suggested links. 
At home students can enter their reflections on posted questions, publish their own questions and share opinions. They are sometimes asked to study a particular topic on the blog at home and relate to the classmates and to the teacher about it in the classroom. (flipped learning).

By blogging, we also reach some important goals concerning technology. Students exercise their digital citizenship and understand some ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology; they also learn to use some technology tools to increase their productivity and creativity; they improve their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language (CLIL); they use the English language both within and beyond the school and, in the end, they start becoming life-long learners by using the foreign language for personal enjoyment and enrichment. 

But I realised that something was missing... 
Students did not willingly leave their comments on the posts. 

An educational blog should improve the students' way of expressing themselves.  In fact being published, by leaving their comments, should be an incentive for many students. Even the most shy students should feel empowered and motivated by expressing themselves better in a written discussion than in front of a class.

But, when asked to leave their comments on the posts or to answer some questions in a written form, my students felt intimidated. Absurdly, they preferred writing them on their exercise-book because they were afraid of my blog visibility (my students are young learners, unaccostumed to social networks and impractical in using social forums).

How to solve this problem? I really wanted my students to write more. I decided to create a students blog to make the learners more active, more self-confident and more and centered on their own learning process.

I created this image with Cacoo.

The Michelangelo English Club was born, on an experimental basis, a month ago.
It is meant to be a blog for the students of my classes, it will contain all their projects, works, reports and researches. The posts will entirely be written by the students. Learners will gradually feel more confident in writing posts and leaving comments because this blog will be their own, they will feel "at home".
Of course we will continue to use my blog, as well. The "teacher blog" and the "students blog" will be closely related and... we will see what happens!

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Newspaper articles: some new (and old) ways of reading and writing

Nowadays more and more people read the news on the Net, so the way we read and even write a newspaper article is definitely changing.

Have a look at these American surveys on how the Internet is affecting traditional journalism and how it'schanging the way viewers and readers get news.

There are plenty of digital tools you can use to read or even write newspaper articles. I am going to show you just some of them.

READING

Here you can read the breaking news from the world:
http://www.breakingnews.com/

Here you can filter the news by language, country or newspapers:
http://newspapermap.com/

WRITING

A simple way for journalists, designers and creators to weave interactive stories:

http://cartodb.github.io/odyssey.js/

You may also try Storymap. It is a free tool to help you tell stories on the web that highlight the locations of a series of events. You can use it to tell a story with photographs, historic maps, or other image files. 

http://storymap.knightlab.com/

Ok, we have just seen some digital tools we could use to read or to write newspapers articles. But now let's see something more general.
Do you really know how to read a newspaper? 
Could you really write a good news article?

HOW TO READ A NEWSPAPER

Some tips for you in this mindmap of mine:

How to read the News On-line vs in Print

HOW TO WRITE  NEWS ARTICLES

How to write articles the quick and easy way

How to write the perfect newspaper article

Now have a look at the following mindmaps I made for you:

Some links from my blog you can find useful

More information about creating digital magazines:

http://thetravellingteachers.blogspot.it/2014/06/its-time-to-travel-lets-consult-some.html

http://thetravellingteachers.blogspot.it/2014/06/football-world-cup.html

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Poetry in EFL classes

Today I would like to talk about poetry. Could it be useful in an EFL class?  As usual, I try to imagine some activities that involve the use of different digital tools.

What's poetry? 
At the following link you can find some great definitions (I made the above word cloud from some of these definitions using Tagul):
http://poetinthecity.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/what-is-poetry-50-definitions-and-counting/



Why study poetry in an ESL classroom? 
Poetry can help you reach many goals. Take a look at the following map I created with Cacoo:

Click to enlarge my diagram

Some links about the different kinds of poetry

Different types of poetry:
https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/glossary-poetry-types
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-terms?category=forms-and-types

Examples of different types of poetry:
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/types-of-poetry-examples.html

Forms of poetry:
http://www.poeticterminology.net/index.htm

What about writing a poem?

Watch the video

Where to begin? Have a look at this diagram I made with Cacoo.

Click to enlarge my map

Some more tips

Some useful figures of speech:
http://esl.about.com/cs/reading/a/blpoetry.htm

To find rhymes:
http://www.rhymezone.com/

Let's practise!

Magnetic Poetry is a funny tool to write poems. You have to choose some words to create your masterpiece! Try it! Watch my example at the following link:
http://play.magneticpoetry.com/poem/Original/kit/15415/?h=8444d213e9cd688d306fa98d2aa7ca79

You could also make a poetry magazine where you could collect all your poems! Joomag is a great web tool.

Have a look at my example by clicking on the picture below:

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words."

Robert Frost

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Food and recipes - some activities to improve English using digital tools

Talking about food and recipes can help ESL learners improve their: 

• food related vocabulary
• oral skills (brainstorming, discussion, giving instructions)
• written skills (describing and giving instructions)
• knowledge of different cultures (learning foreign recipes, food and traditions)
• healthy habits

RECIPES VOCABULARY AND ACTIVITIES

Here's a great site with exercises and activities about cooking and kitchens:

http://www2.issbc.org/janis-esl/subtopicrecipes.html

Some printables:

http://www.eslprintables.com/vocabulary_worksheets/food/recipes/

Cooking worksheets:

http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-vocabulary/food_and_drinks/cooking-worksheets/

Vocabulary about cooking:

http://englishwilleasy.com/english-through-pictures/food/food-preparation-recipes/

http://www.vocabulary.cl/Lists/Cooking-Instructions.htm

Students' task

Prepare a mindmap about cooking vocabulary using a mindmapping tool.

BRITISH RECIPES

Some British recipes:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/british

http://www.britainexpress.com/articles/Food/index.htm

Recipes and meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/cuisines/british

British and Irish festive cooking:
http://britishfood.about.com/od/festivecooking/

Cuisines by country:

http://www.foodbycountry.com/

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/80dishes

Students' task

Choose one recipe and prepare it at home. The next day show your classmates how you prepared it (or make a video!).

HEALTHY RECIPES

Recipe calculator to calculate the nutritional information of a recipe:

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

Healthy recipes:

http://uktv.co.uk/food/homepage/sid/6037

Healthy food to prevent heart disease (British Heart Foundation):

http://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/prevention/healthy-eating.aspx

Students' task

What do you do to keep yourself fit? Describe your diet and your habits using a presentation tool.

You have a lot of information about food and cooking, now. You are ready to create...your digital magazine! With Glossi you can publish your own magazine with text, images, links or videos. It's very simple, have a look at my short example:

Click on the image to open

Students' task

Create your own web magazine with Glossi! Write your articles, add images and videos and have fun!

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For teachers - The power of images in EFL classes

How to become more creative using 

new technology

IMAGES

In EFL classes it is always useful associating words, ideas and concepts with images.
Through their visual memory students can better understand and remember information. Thanks to images you can explain complex information in a simple way. Images help learners manage their ideas and make connections between pieces of information. Moreover, images enhance students' creativity as well as their language skills.
In some previous posts I have already talked about the importance of images in EFL classes and I have tried some digital tools that can be very useful to create graphics or mindmaps.
Now I'd like to take stock of the situation and suggest again some interesting tools.

I tried some free tools and I prepared some short and simple examples. This way it's possible to see directly the final result and it's easier for you to see what is possible to do with each tool.

GRAPHICS,  INFOGRAPHICS AND POSTERS

are visual representations of  concepts, thoughts and ideas. They help students better remember information, improve their reading comprehension, enhance their learning skills and critical thinking.
The following tools allow to cretae interactive infographics.

1)Piktochart 

My example:
https://magic.piktochart.com/output/1198513-journey-of-love

2) Thinglink 

My example:

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/484085101685112833


MINDMAPPING
helps students focusing their attention, enables teachers to organize ideas and concepts, allows to present information in visually attracting and comprehensive way, promotes inquiry and problem solving, enhance learners' note taking. Moreover its organizational structure help students understand effectively. Also the following tools allow to make your maps interactive!

1) Popplet 

My example:
http://popplet.com/app/#/1559358

2) Spiderscribe 

My example:
http://www.spiderscribe.net/app/?ac420a5aeab2f33f7cb411eeebec5938

3) Text2mindmap 

My example:
https://www.text2mindmap.com/k7XZDE?controller=frontpage&method=index&map=k7XZDE

4) Mindomo 

My example:
http://www.mindomo.com/mindmap/0c71d1cf14034f07aaff536e11b2d5ab


COMICS
Comics can really motivate students. With the links below you can create your own comics!

1) Storyboardthat 

My example:
http://sbt.blob.core.windows.net/storyboards/robertamartino/school-rules.png

2) Make Beliefs Comics

My example:
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/?comix_id=49325928C1233233

VIDEOS
Audiovisual material can be very helpful for both teaching and learning. Also videos, as images, can effectively communicate complex information to the learners. You can use videos with your students in three fases (pre-viewing, viewing and post-viewing) or you can also create your own videos with your students. It can be a really rewarding experience and can enhance students' creativity.
The following tool allows you to choose a video from the web (or use your own) and embed anything you like in it (questions, lesson information, links to websites). 

Educanon 

My example:
http://www.educanon.com/public/10011/23475


CARTOONS
You can make your own animated cartoon with:

Goanimate 

My example:
http://goanimate.com/videos/0rcV1JZ_xBL8?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=linkshare&utm_campaign=usercontent


PRESENTATIONS
Presentations can make the students better understand a topic through its essential points. Besides using PowerPoint, you can create more fun and engaging presentations.

1) Powtoon 

My example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMOHzvLk3rY&rel=0


2) Haiku Dech 

My example:
http://www.haikudeck.com/p/PJjQjXTrL1/haiku-deck#

I hope I have been of any help. Enjoy being creative!

P.S.: This post has been shortlisted for the British Council Teaching English blog award! Thank you!

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For teachers - free tools for mindmapping

This time I tried some free tools for  

schemes and mindmapping  

(sometimes you can use just a given number of free maps, then you are asked to upgrade).

As usual I've created some simple examples for you, just to give you the idea and make your choice easier.

Why should a teacher use mindmapping?

• A visual map gets students attention and focus
• Mind mapping enables teachers to organize, summarize and  manipulate ideas and concepts very easily
• It allows to present information in a visually attracting and comprehensive way
• Its organizational structure helps students understand effectively
• It promotes inquiry and problem solving
• It promotes active note taking

The first tool I tried is Popplet.

It combines presentations , mindmapping and online bulletins. You can  integrate text, images, video, and Google maps.

http://popplet.com/
My example: http://popplet.com/app/#/1559358

Then I tried Spiderscribe. 

It allows you to  easily visualize your ideas by connecting various pieces of information together. It also combines elements like text, images, files, calendar events and geographic locations.

http://www.spiderscribe.net/
My example: http://www.spiderscribe.net/app/?ac420a5aeab2f33f7cb411eeebec5938

This is Spicynodes.

It allows you to create visually attractive nodes for your blog or websites. Nodes are visually displayed pieces of information that helps visitors easily navigate the content of your site so that they find what they are looking for.You have to click on the nodes to open them.

http://www.spicynodes.org/
My example: http://www.spicynodes.org/a/199c482ed6e8fe4de02ad4db20039e4c

I also tried Text2mindmap.
It converts texts into mind maps.

https://www.text2mindmap.com/ 
My example:
https://www.text2mindmap.com/k7XZDE?controller=frontpage&method=index&map=k7XZDE


This is Slatebox.

It allows you the freedom to create as many nodes and maps as possible. You can upload  images from the app itself. 

Slatebox:
http://slatebox.com/
Actually I didn't manage to save a link so I uploaded the .png file of my example for you.

The last tool I tried for you is Mindomo.

It has several features such as including a clipart library, importing images from Google images or Flickr , and using video straight from YouTube. If you want to use the free version you can just import images from the library.

http://www.mindomo.com/
My example: http://www.mindomo.com/mindmap/0c71d1cf14034f07aaff536e11b2d5ab

I hope to be helpful! BFN and have fun with your mindmaps!

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