ICT in the classroom

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
Henry Brooks Adams

Today after reading Isil´s blog post I got inspired to write about an online course I have just finished moderating at Essarp.

This is not the first time that I give an online courses at Essarp. Two years ago together with ETAS English Teachers Association in Switzerland we offered a joint online course with Illya Arnet Clark for teachers in Argentina and Switzerland. It was such an enriching experience to unite teachers from different cultures.

These last two weeks several teachers attended an online course called ICT in the classroom to learn how to integrate and create different web 2.0 tools. Some teachers had already taken other courses with me and knew how to manage our online space. For those teachers who enrolled for the first time it was quite overwhelming at the beginning.

When teachers are motivated to become better teachers and are willing to innovate it is just amazing to see their creativity and talent in full swing. These teachers were able to create really inspiring e-portfolios. Some participants immediately tried the new tools with their learners and others shared these tools with the rest of their colleagues.

I would like to share some reflections made by the participants:

- Society is changing fast and it seems to me that education is following far behind!

- Parents believe that computing equals playing.

- Life is online, the school can`t stay offline.

- The whole education system is trying to change and it is not easy. I think we are in a transition era as educators. Little by little things are changing.

- It´s a great challenge of becoming digital teachers although we were not digital students ourselves !

- Technology not only can engage them but also let them be so creative!

- As teachers, that our most daring challenge is to turn the 19th century classroom into a 21st century one!

- The challenge  is for us to become digital teachers when we are part of this transition.

- If students don´t take action in their learning process they will never develop different abilities.

- Students want teachs to teach the how to think.

- Let´s create a blended environment.

I would like to thank this amazing group of teachers for their active participation and enriching collaboration.

Please check this PhotoPeach to take a look at some of their creations.

In June we are going to offer another online course together with Japan and Switzerland

The uniqueness of the IATEFL experience

Sharing a short article I wrote for Voices after attending IATEFL for the first time.

As a teacher trainer from Buenos Aires, I devote a lot of time to ongoing personal and professional development. In the new era of collaboration and sharing, I have joined several social networks to enhance my learning opportunities. As a result, I was able to fulfill my purpose of connecting with like-minded teachers in a culturally sensitive way. Beyond getting great ideas for teaching and staying excited about my profession, I find that I am not alone in wanting to innovate, learn and grow. This required me to leave my comfort zone and become a life-long learner exploring ways to integrate digital tools to enhance teaching and learning.

Knowing that the future of education is not teaching but learning, teacher development is essential for our students’ success in order to keep up-to-date on the lastest trends in ELT. It is necessary to learn new methods, techniques and strategies so we can be better equipped to face 21st century challenges.

This year I was awarded the IATEFL BESIG facilitator scholarship to attend IATEFL in Glasgow. To be part of such a prestigious team as BESIG is truly a privilege. As a scholarship winner, there were several moments to celebrate this award. IATEFL invited all the scholarship winners to attend a tea party and there was a scholarship stand in the exhibition hall showing posters of all the scholarship winners.

Being a member of several social networks such as Twitter and Facebook has allowed me to understand that learning is a social process and it requires people to collaborate, share ideas, seek answers and build new insights throughout the process. Social media has become a valuable and free educational tool for my professional development. In recent years, I have been learning and sharing on-line experiences integrating technology with several teachers worldwide. This has been a key ingredient for me to constantly meet like-minded teachers.

My first day at IATEFL was at the BESIG PCE. Attending so many interesting sessions was really inspiring and overwhelming at the same time. At IATEFL I kept bumping into teachers I´ve been networking with for the last 2 or 3 years and from the beginning I felt instantly comfortable and at ease. There were no kilometers separating us. We all mingled immediately as a group to build relationships and connections worldwide.

How could a teacher that lived so many kilometers away from Glasgow feel at home in such an enormous conference? Bonds had already been established with many amazing people. There were more than 800 teachers attending this conference and I immediately felt I had known many of them for several years. The effect of social networking has been the most rewarding experience I´ve ever had as a teacher.

If I had to define my whole experience attending IATEFL, I would say that it has helped me reinforce my world-wide connections and has shown me how alike we all really are.

Virtual Round Table

The 5th Virtual Round Table is a 3-day free conference offered to teachers who would like to start integrating language learning technologies. Several teachers worldwide attend this amazing conference organised by Heike Philp, Shelly Terrell, Steven Herder and Berni Wall.

My “Jazz up your Language classes with Technology” proposal has been accepted. I shared several ideas on how I am integrating technology with my students in Buenos Aires. Feel free to explore the slides and check the links.

I would like to thank all the wonderful participants who attended my presentation.

Please check this link to view the links shared during the presentation.