On-line Games

These were very funny classes. We saw many websites with a lot of games that we can use to teach different grammar and vocabulary topics. The good thing about games is that they are appealing to any age.

Those websites have a lot of variety; there are different games about different topics. Some games have a defined target population, but others can be used by anyone.  We can use them both inside and outside the classroom. 

I actually remember I learned a lot of vocabulary by playing video games at home... and they were never part of my assignments! Yet, I learned many things within interesting and meaningful contexts. I think they are excellent tools and I always recommend them to my students and I try to use them as much as I can in class.

Games always add a nice twist to any topic. Let students have fun at home or compete in teams against each other in class!

Below I included a video about the importance of using video games (or on-line games) in the class with 21st century learners. It also includes real life examples of things we can use in our lessons. Please take your time to watch it. It's really interesting and it's really short...

                  

Prezi

Prezi has been labeled as “the new Power Point” and despite they are very similar, I don’t think it is entirely true. Prezi will never replace Power Point. I actually think Power Point is better than Prezi.

I used Prezi for our lesson plan and I found it so complicated to use. Nevertheless, I think I just need more practice. On the other hand, Prezi is really visually attractive. They have a lot of nice backgrounds (with more added everyday) and its animations are really nice as well. In that sense I think it does beat Power Point.

Prezi can be used by students or teachers to elaborate their presentations. 

You have to make sure to have a good internet connection because otherwise, Prezi won’t work. Sadly that is a major disadvantage. 

I hope they add more features to Prezi in the future. This is the Prezi I did, it’s about how to save money.

http://prezi.com/av7mhpgpcowa/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Below I am including a 2013 Prezi tutorial that can helps us to understand better how to use this beautiful tool...

WebQuests

Virtual classes are something more common every day. A lot of people now actually prefer to have virtual classes instead of attending a regular university. This also happens due to people’s crazy schedules or other occupations. Costa Rica is still on its way to that, but this is already a reality in other countries.

I think Webquests are a great tool because you can actually plan whole lesson for any topic with any group of any age. I like the fact that you can upload all kinds of documents, pictures and videos. Sometimes you have great tools like blogger that miss that important feature and you are like: Man! That's not right!

This tool is really organized and easy to follow. The teacher just has to make sure to leave equally clear instructions for the students to be able to complete it without any questions.

This is the WebQuest I did. It’s about comparative and superlative adjectives.

http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=219711 

I included a small video below about what a WebQuest is with some examples as well...

 

 

Jeopardy Time!

That day at class we had a lot of fun. There is just something about competitions that just enlights people´s spirit... and in our group we are definetely VERY competitive!

I actually had done jeopardies before. They are a great way to give another use to Power Point. Students usually like competitions, so you can practice specific grammar topics with them... and pretty much anything you want!

In the last class before the final evaluations you can prepare a Jeopardy and review all the topics seen in that term and even divide it in categories such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, speaking or listening. You can also divide it according to the units that were seen in the course.

I sent to your e-mail a couple of jeopardies I have done at work. I added a couple of variations to the game to make students loose or win extra points to make the game even more interesting. That way you never know who is going to be the winner (like in the traditional Jeopardy) because the game can turn around in a second! My students have liked them a lot! I hope you do too!

Lyrics Training

 Lyrics training is a great tool because it makes use of something that is universal: music. It has a huge database, so you can find pretty much any song you like. Different songs are useful to practice different grammar topics. This is a tool students can use at home as well to enhance their listening skills.

 In class you can divide the group into teams, so they can compete against each other. I like the fact that it offers different levels of difficulty because songs can be difficult to understand even for advanced students.

 I am including a small video here with the basis on how to use this program...