Social Networking

EFL Classroom 2.0 is a social networking group that I thought could be very useful to me because many teachers share their thoughts and concerns about their own teaching experiences. This connection to other teachers could motivate me to continue working toward becoming a better teacher myself. This social networking group can also be helpful with getting new ideas on how to incorporate new strategies in my classroom. I think this networking group is going to be a great help and a great way to motivate myself when I feel that I am running out of ideas or techniques.

Analogy to illustrate the learner of today.

A learner is like a sponge that absorbs knowledge when it is exposed to it. A sponge will absorb water as long as the water keeps dripping on it and when there is no water dripping on the sponge; it cannot absorb any of it. The learner’s brain works the same way as long as new knowledge is introduced; the brain will absorb it but only at a slow rate. However, once the learning stops, the brain will stop absorbing new knowledge. George Siemen explains that “all of these learning theories hold the notion that knowledge is an objective (or a state) that is attainable (if already innate) through either reasoning or experiences” (pg. 2). A learner learns more when he/she is connected to the world around them and when there is more skills introduced and processed. As educators we need to think about all the possible theories and strategies that we can introduce to our students so that they have a wider connection with the world around them. In the video Conflict of Learning Theories with Human Nature, Siemen explains that “we have to be expressed about our ideas and to focus less into bringing knowledge into the mind of a person and more in developing skills for our learners so that they are able to go out in fairly complex knowledge environment today and function in a distributive manner.” Moreover, learning usually comes from what is outside of us, what we experience out in our own environment.

My reaction to the video "A Vision of (college) Students Today"

This video made me realize that we do waste so much time in a boring lecture room, listening to someone going on and on about things we can probably learn easier and faster on the internet. We don't have to sit in a lecture room for hours to learn something we would probably forget as soon as we leave the classroom. This video shows us that we can do things faster using the internet than sitting in a classroom for hours and still not get much out of the course at all. College students should be using technology for all their courses and even lecture classes so that they no longer fall to sleep and keep them engaged in the course. College students need to learn with more effective tools and technology.

Safe blogging for our students

Ways to have safe blogging by Yo.
1. Don't aloud students to use full name.
2. Make sure that students, parents and principal of your school know very well the expectations and the reasoning behind blogging.
3. Every student should have the proper permission from parents and administrators.
4. For security purposes have parents sign a blogger use policy.
5. Best to use nick names.
6. Students should know not to publish personal identifiers about themselves.

3 ways to use blog in a foreign language classroom

The following are three ways I can use blog in my classroom:


There are so many different ways that blog can be used. I will share 3 ways that can be used more often in class.  First, I will post assighnments and activities (like vocabulary word search, cross word puzzle, vocabulary games etc.) for students and parents to check and due at home. This way, there is no excuses "my dog ate my homework". Students will be able to work at home even if they were absent the day of the assignment. Students will have the responsibility and are expected to get their work done with very little excuses.
Secondly, I could use blog to show students other cultural customs through music, movies, and celebrations that are very different from their own. Students will be able to experience the culture of other countries without going there. This will emerse students in the language and they will become more excited about learning. 
And third, blog can be use in my class by doing group work, students will  have to search for recipes. Put up pictures of their favorite foods and create a recipe book in blog. Students will use blog to create activities for projects and other purposes. draft 12:08:00 PM by Yomaira Prusak Delete



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