Heaven. Google Heaven.

I had the pleasure today of attending Google Argentina's first educational event. Together with Fundación La Nación, they organized a full day event at their headquarters in Puerto Madero: "El rol de la Tecnología en la Educación de la Era Digital" (The role of technology in education in the digital age)

I was invited, thanks to my fairy godmother Gladys, to present a project I had done with my students using Google Apps. A day of Googling, attending interesting presentations and showing off my work? I'm in!

Powtoon - Our School Project

I love, love, love Powtoon! It has a cool motto ("Bring awesomeness to your presentations"), it's super user-friendly and it's free! I'm sold!

I gave it a go to wrap up a project I had been working on with my 4th graders. I noticed none of them knew how to refer to the different areas in our school, so we created a draft of a blueprint of the whole school and each group was assigned a different area. They went round the school taking pictures, measurements and small interviews to the people working there (eg, the librarian, the school secretary, etc) Once they had all the information they needed, they sat down and became architects. They created big posters with the four levels of our school and thus created a huge blueprint of the school, with pictures, signs and small descriptions. This was also a great opportunity to revise/present prepositions of place.

When I saw the enthusiasm they showed on what I thought was going to be a boring activity, I decided to document it with as many pictures as I could and then resorted to good ol' Powtoon for an awesome presentation.

Et voilà!

Taking the leap

Sharing your thoughts with others can be daunting at times. Starting this blog was not an easy task for me. I love writing, always have. And I have this great need to share what I learn, discover, find. But the idea of putting myself out there was a deterrent at times. What if people don't like what I write about? What if I make a mistake? What if the things I write about are considered too simple, worthless?

But good ol' Pinterest came to the rescue with one of Sir Ken Robinson's ground-shaking phrases: "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original" It is a statement he made in his famous TED talk "Do schools kill creativity?" (a MUST-see video, if you ask me)

  

There will always be someone who knows far more than you. And there will also be someone who does not. Isn't that why I chose teaching at the end of the day? To help others discover things they would not be able to on their own? To inspire them, to lighten a spark, to make a difference. And no differences can be made if you don't put yourself out there, if you don't become vulnerable.

And so all these what ifs started invading my head. What if what I thought had some truth to it? What if the lessons I had prepared were inspiring? What if my ideas were not as simple as I thought? And so I applied for a scholarship for a British Council Summer School. A few weeks later, I am staring at the screen, open-mouthed, having a hard time believing what I was looking at. I had been chosen, along with other 15 EFL teachers, to represent my city at their 2012 Summer School. Gobsmacked. I ended up meeting a committed group of professionals, who innovate, create, inspire in very adverse contexts sometimes. And I also learnt about myself. I discovered that I did have something to offer, I could help colleagues learn new things. Just as I had learnt from other teachers, other teachers could learn from me as well. And they did. 

Opening up, taking the leap paid off. I was asked by the BC to deliver a workshop for fellow EFL teachers in Buenos Aires. One, two, three workshops later I was on cloud nine. This was it. This is what I wanted to do. I must confess speaking in front of XX colleagues and teaching them how to incorporate technology in their classes is not easy. Some people have a knack for public speaking. I have a knack for public panicking.

But all's well that ends well. And it did. And what's best is that it has a kind of domino effect. The workshops led to two others of my own and tons of ideas for many more. Fear is an anchor that will not let you set sail and discover a whole new set of possibilities. So what are you waiting for? Take the leap, get connected, start your PLN, share whatever it is you know and learn, learn, learn.

Google App your Classes! Workshop number 2

Couldn't be more proud of my second workshop! I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Shorteners

I am always looking for new sites for my students with games, activities, videos or stories for them to use in class. I teach very young students (8 and 9-year-olds) with a wide range of IT skills. I usually post whatever we are doing on the blog of our school's English Department. I have already taught them how to access the blog and all they need to do is find the post. But I have also found URL shorteners really useful when sharing a site, especially when the URL goes on for miles. 

The first shortener I ever used was Cor.to. I liked it because it has a clean image, it's very user friendly and you can even personalise your new link. Above all, I love the Hitchcock-esque image you get when you shorten the URL. 

Cor.to was quite useful for some time, until that is, I discovered the Google URL Shortener. Sold! True, you cannot choose the way your link will come out, there's no bloody cut after the shortening, but it does store all your URLs for later use. So does Cor.to, but you can access Google's from any computer as long as you are logged in. 

There are many other sites that also offer these kinds of services, like bit.ly or tinyURL, but having all my tools in one place has proven very helpful. 

Take your pick and shorten away!

Google App your Classes Workshop

I feel like a proud mom today! My first workshop was a total success! No words, just happiness.

21st Century Skills

"Simply adding technology to K-12 classrooms doesn't necessarily improve learning. What matters most is how teachers and students develop knowledge and skills." (Zucker and Light, 2009)

When I came across this quote in Pinterest, I couldn't help but nod frantically at the screen. I keep reading and listening to people talking about incorporating technology at schools. Granted, it is a valid goal. After all, kids will live (and are living) in a world permeated by technology and they need to learn how to use it wisely and effectively. But I keep thinking that the focus is not put where it should be: on the skills they will need, rather that on the elements they will use. Since I am kind of in the "quote" mood, I'll resort to another one that I think truly expresses what I am trying to say. Perry Marshall very wisely stated"No one who ever bought a drill wanted a drill. They wanted a hole" We should not be teaching our students to use a computer for the mere sake of using it, but rather teach them to use technology to suit their needs and purposes.

I have posted about collaboration before, one of the skills many authors have come to call the "21st century skills". These are the necessary competences students need to develop in order to successfully interact in this world. These skills include the "Four ‘C' Skills:" critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation.

Technology provides us with numerous ways to foster the development of these skills. But what we need to keep in mind (and what I need to keep in mind, too) is that technology is just a means to an end.

Picture from @Edtechmorah's Twitter