Tag Archives: community

There is no longer any “normal” – disrupting ELT

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I’m all about ‘disruption” (to borrow Clayton Christensen’s term) and think this is the most potent role that technology plays in our society.

A disrupter thinks small and keeps moving.   Large companies/groups are about sustaining and normalcy – the small can dress up in innovation and act quickly – revel in change.  Technology in the hands of one man can upset the apple card and enable a fresh wind to blow and bring greater efficiencies, better learning and more freedoms.  That’s the revoluton.

There are two parts to disruption that I play. One  part is making things real, trying things and putting things out there – see my previous post about my successes and failures online – Muckin’ About.  That’s only a partial list, I could add many more.

But another vital part of disruption is promoting the creation of products by the lowly individual AND the access to those products by the many.  It is about open resources that allow  us to put money into classrooms and learning and not the coffers of larger profit barons (and we know who they are).  It is disruption through creating connections and access where before none exists.

But it takes time to change mind sets. Teachers will not even blink asking their students to pay large publishers $20, $30, $100.  The pact with the devil is that by using the kings of publishing we are buying authority.  Like Pascal’s quip that “a judge would not have his authority without his wig”, so too many teachers without a Pearson,  Cambridge or Oxford textbook.  But it is an illusion and will one day soon fall. In the meantime, I’m going to keep playing my part and getting others to see the emperor’s wear no clothes (and especially in language teaching where the real world is IT and not a text, where with video we now can bring the real world to our classes and can throw out the textbook).

The last few years I’ve produced many free materials for teachers. Ebooks or “tech”books.   I’m often asked where a teacher might get them all.  I’ve made partial lists but until now, had no definitive collection.  So here it is, a definitive collection, each with a brief description. Enjoy. Download to your hearts content Support my work if you can by becoming an EFL Classroom 2.0 supporter for a one time, lifetime payment of $19.95.  It all gets plowed back into my efforts to give power to the many and keep tipping over apple carts.

I’ll also mention here, though not a book, still pretty damn disruptive – The Free Basic TESOL Certificate course I created. You’ll even get a certificate after you complete it!

GET THE FULL PAGE OF FREE EBOOKS

 

Finding Stuff

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It’s not easy on the web these days. There is so much and seemingly so little time. The more search engines are perfected, the more social media evolves, the more notifications improve, we still seem way behind and fail at keeping up with “the new”. Noise abounds too….

I guess like that marvelous Beckett (Godot) quote, “I can’t go on, I’ll go on.” So for my own community EFL Classroom 2.0, I keep fighting the good fight and helping teachers find what’s there in our vast library.

Two recent things might help.

1. Page Highlights. We have hundreds of pages with great content to help teachers. But not easy to find them, especially the “gems”. So here is a presentation giving you what I feel are the best that are there. Go HERE to browse and search them all at your leisure.

Pages On EFL Classroom 2.0

 

2. Lessons In A Can. These 131 lessons are for Supporters of EFL Classroom 2.0. Supporters pay a one time, life time lasting $19.95. It gives them great resources including access to these Lessons. The money raised helps cover our costs. Lately, not a lot of supporter donations and I feel mostly because many don’t know the value of these lessons. Nothing out there like this – each fully described, with amazing downloads/printables/media/ppts included. So this presentation gives a peek at these lessons (links for the materials not working). Lots of recipes to last a lifetime.

Lessons in a can 1 to 30

 

Gus the Bus (Driver)

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GUS the BUS (Driver) full screen
I want to thank those readers who’ve written asking me about when I’ll be blogging again. Honored.

I haven’t been blogging for several reasons; marking students’  work (Philosophies of Education), my work with EnglishCentral (stay tuned for major developments) and  just needing a break. But mostly haven’t been writing because of the loss of the greatest teacher I’ve ever known – bar none. Doug “Gus The Bus” Worth.

It’s been a tough year – lost my coach/teacher/mentor Mr. Z. and that threw me a curve ball. Very unexpected. But the loss of Mr. Worth was more than just a personal loss or a loss for my family (who were close to him), it was a hole blown into our whole community. At his funeral, you could feel that emptiness.

Doug’s greatness as a teacher was of many parts. Let me list them, they are a model all us teachers should follow:

1. Praise.  He knew how to praise well. Always made you feel special.I wrote about him several years ago in this regard.

2. The Art of the Personal. He listened to you. You knew he cared. He’d send notes, stop you on the street, give you photos and clippings of your achievements.

3. Memory.He knew everyone, called all students by name and never forgot a thing. He’d pull up details about you that even you had forgotten.

4. Success. Doug taught all students but made sure the lowest of us mastered the basics. His legendary “hints” about tests got us all prepared and learning. He fostered success, never tried to put up barriers to achievement or use tests as a “trick”.

5. Being Human. Doug was never afraid to be himself or not be himself, whatever it took to get the students motivated. His jokes and stories beginning lessons are legendary. So too his funny walk, his chalk antics, his now iconic expressions. The video above shows Doug at his finest – a 1983 assembly at our high school, New Liskeard Secondary School. He plays the role of “Gus the Bus (Driver)” . If you watch, you’ll get to know why he touched the lives of so many.

6. Community and Service. This is the most important and what I want to highlight for all teachers. We are part of a wider community, it is here where what we do in the classroom begins to grow. Doug was so active in the community, a light, a beacon. He leaves us with a calling, a calling to create community through our day to day acts. To not be a 9-5 teacher but a teacher in heart, wherever, whenever.  That our small town is left with such a big hole now, speaks volumes of how Doug made “education” something beyond the 4 walls of school.

I’m glad I got to visit Doug just before his passing. He still had that twinkle in his eye, a saintliness. I’ll remember it always and pay homage to him by doing more to foster community and take my own teaching out of the confines of the institution and into life.

I haven’t been on skis for years. I’m heading out for a little ski in memory of Doug – he loved “the boards” and being out there in the wild.

Gems of EFL 2.0: Our Classrooms

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On EFL Classroom 2.0, we call our groups – “Classrooms“. We have over 100 of them and recently, they’ve gained unbelievable functionality and really are almost full social networks in their own right.

All members can start a group. Make unlimited webpages for your group members. Make the group private (a school/teacher/class might want to do this) or public. You can email all group members with one click of a button (perfect for teachers!). Further, you get discussion forums, commenting area, unlimited file uploads (photos/videos), rss feeds and even more! Personalize the group too.

What’s even better is that you can make one generic id/pw for all your students. After setting up a group, they can visit with the same id/pw (we support multiple logins with the same id). So ontop of your group, students get access to all the amazing content on EnglishCentral.

Here are a few of my fav. groups.

1. Young Learners – so many helpful resources!
2. Karaoke in the Classroom. Many files not on the regular site.
3. Project Peace. Learn how to make a Project Peace video using the Peace Packs.
4. World Groups – join a group for your country in the world. If there isn’t already one, make one! We need members to help make these groups grow!
5. EnglishCentral Star Educators. – learn / share about using this powerful video learning platform.
6. Lessons in a Can. Hundreds of complete lessons with downloads, media, printables. Available to EFL Classroom 2.0 supporters.
7. Teacher Trainers. Lots of helpful advice/resources.
8. Global Issues. Ideas for teaching your students to think about their place in the world.
9. English For Fun and Friendship. This group has it all. A place of immense TLC.

Make your own group, it’s easy!
More in the EFL Classroom 2.0 gems series HERE.

Let’s give the gift of a click

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As many of you might know, I returned “home” to Canada, the north of Canada this year. After years spent wandering the globe teaching, decided to be in one place, with family and friends.

The transition has gone better than I expected. Love spending time with my lovely parents on the farm. Love my sisters and kids. Love just exploring my old town and trails. Got a great job at the local university. I have lots to be happy about. However, life can kick you in the chops and it has this year.

I wrote previously about losing my dear coach, Mr. Z this year. A tragic ATV (all terrain vehicle) accident. Weeks later, a young student, Carter (pictured), avid skateboarder was also killed on an ATV. Tragic and makes you doubt your time and place. Made me do so…..

However, I’m a positive man. I want to do something about it rather than stand still and let it kill me.

But I need your help. 

Carter was an incredible kid, a skateboarder. We are trying to get a skateboard park in the community, under his name. The most votes will get the money.  Read about it.

What I am asking is for each and every person who reads this, who is part of this community, to give. Give a vote.  It just takes a click a day.

You have to register but you can just use your Facebook page. Vote daily and lets do something for Carter. I’d like you to help me make a difference. 

Thanks to all for participating, now let’s do it!

Why the “gatekeeping”?

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Copyright and education – the necessity, the vital import of the free, unrestricted flow of information through the realm of education, has been a big concern and obsession of mine. See this post for some views, see my copyright tags, see my own “Captive Mind” series.

It is so important to not “possess” or appropriate ideas. However, our whole system is founded on the principle that some know and “own” this knowledge. The “neck up” types who’ve got to the sacred realm of the university towers.  They alone have ideas and all the rest of us just borrow them from these esteemed gentlemen.

Poppycock! It’s all about power. All a dice game. Read many of my posts, I won’t get into it here. What I do want to mention is a big peeve of my own.  I really get upset by how so many blogs, networks, communities ban/delete/prohibit/(choose your word) anyone who posts links.

You know that scene. You read a nice blog post. You want to post something you wrote or a link to something you are involved in. However, you hesitate, you know you’ll be blocked, banned or brushed up.   How  dare you try to help others by leaving a link!

This is the culture on so many sites/blogs. So proprietary. I’ve been deleted often, on many blogs in ELT that preport to be “open”.  All in the name of “keeping things on their own blog” and in essence, restricting the flow of information.  It stinks, I’m calling all this out.  It is as if they don’t think we are adults and can judge where information comes from and assess information in and of our own right. I say, “we don’t need any gatekeepers”.

On my own site, EFL Classroom, I’m always astounded by the emails I get from people asking to post a link, some information. I’m always flabberghasted – they are actually asking permission to post something informative on a social networking site? Go figure – that’s how much of a “walking on glass” mentality we’ve created with so much coveting and possessiveness in the realm.

I was recently interviewed by a student doing her Master’s. She was researching ELT blogs. She was so surprised when I mentioned that many ELT blogs were not open and were insular and all about their name and protecting their own – not really about open discourse and sharing – they don’t pass the litmus test of allowing members to post links in their comments.  She laughed when I related some stories about some ELT blogs – she said everyone else had told her we were one big happy family! I’m sorry but I got to call it as it is – there are too many protecting their own and not about information and sharing worthy things but all about building their name and presence. I say they have it backwards.

So to end this diatribe — please, please, please, post a link to your own blog, a link to any other information on the web – when you comment. As long as you aren’t spamming and copy/pasting on many blogs. It’s okay. We’ll all live. The world won’t stop……

 

 

Project Peace finally is “HOME”

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Project Peace

Project Peace

I started Project Peace 2 years ago. I’ve been amazed by the response and how other teachers have motivated their students and brought “peace” into their curriculum through song (and taught a lot of English!).

I will be doing more with the project this year and especially so now that we finally have “a home”. We’ve moved from our original Ning page to Grou.ps but now reside on EFL Classroom 2.0. I’ve made the change because now EFL Classroom 2.0 is fully public and also has new page making capability – so I can add the Peace Pack materials there. (and consider making your own classroom, school group etc… Groups now have great functionality + you get the content and security of EFL Classroom 2.0).

I hope many will grab a peace pack and make / share their own Project Peace video!

Here’s one of my favs, one of the first. Not using our cards – they went way out there!

Staying Alive

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supporter I’ve recently made some changes on EFL Classroom 2.0 and just want to post here on the public blog, those changes and more importantly, the thinking behind them.

EFL Classroom 2.0 is now a “Supporter” based site.

This means that some content is only available to supporters. See complete details on the EFL Classroom 2.0 Supporter page. I’ll be listing there the number of total supporters. If we don’t get a good response, one that will potentially cover our costs (not even mentioning labor) – more content will be set as “Supporter” only.

It’s a one time, yearly $15 fee. You get ebooks worth over $100 free + access to some great content.

The other consequence of this change will be that our community will go “public” June 1st. No registration required other than to download or post items. This will significantly help others find us and help us raise funds through supporters since there will be significantly more traffic and sharing of previously walled stuff.

Why, you may ask?

Well, the costs are really going up and up. Plus, I feel that it is time to “create value”. For some reason (and as an idealist – I’m clueless as to why, but it is a fact) people value what they pay for. If not paid, they don’t. End of story. It has taken me a long time to come around to this fact of life. No matter how wonderful the community, the resources etc…. there is little value because it is “free”.

So I hope others will “join us” and become a supporter. I think creative, purposeful, teacher on the ground driven communities should be nurtured and supported. Let’s have teachers supporting teachers directly.

Let’s see how it works out……

David
supporter2

The 10 Commandments of bearing and being a Social Network (part 3)

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ten_commandments_chaney_lgI’ve spent A LOT of time on social networks. Probably much more time on forums (which I also consider SNs) than with blogs and the normal SN communities. It isn’t easy to create a successful community that is free and without pretense. And, with doing the time, comes some insider knowledge – some wisdom that everybody that’s done time garners.

Here, I will share in 5 posts, the notes of my mind, the crumbs and scratchings and conclusions I’ve arrived at through “doing time”. See numbers 1 and 2. and numbers 3,4,5. Let’s go!

What exists at registration – stays ad infinitum

The terms of membership upon registration can’t be changed without the consent of BOTH parties.

We see this all the time – promise the world, say everything is “free and open with possibility” to get them in and then, BAAM! – the knife goes to the members’ throats and it is “pay or else”. Now I’m dramatizing but in essence this is what many websites and SNs do. They lure members in with free promises. Look, you have all this that is free! Sign up your students! Start a cooking group! And then one day, they decide that you have to pay for what was once free, “the audacity!” Let’s not call it that – let’s say, “the criminality”! It truely is a crime, this new trend from free to premium in one fell swoop, without continuing existing member’s initial agreement. Ning did it and it happens all the time. Where once you had no ads, all of a sudden there are ads – you ask, that wasn’t the agreement? and they huff and haw but in the end say – “my way or the highway”. There should be a better business bureau for online businesses and a SN shouldn’t be allowed to change the TOS (terms of service ) that existed upon registration (nor have in the TOS – “we can change them without warning whenever we want” – what an asinine concept but many have this written in).


No Social Network is an Island

Just like there are so many blogs that get started and then are dropped – so too, many SNs that with much fanfair start and then just fade away. The graveyard of social networks is vast. What it means is that no matter how attractive, how many features, how hard you try and “be there” and get conversation going – it is going to take more. A SN can’t exist alone – it must make connections with the wider world and bring in “food” to sustain it. This means outside content (vis RSS, Widgets), this means outside people (guest bloggers, invitations), this means presence elsewhere (like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc). This means that members and especially the creator, need to foster strong relationships with other SNs and other online entities – or starve.

The 10 Commandments of bearing and being a Social Network

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ten_commandments_chaney_lgI’ve spent A LOT of time on social networks. Probably much more time on forums (which I also consider SNs) than with blogs and the normal SN communities. It isn’t easy to create a successful community that is free and without pretense. And, with doing the time, comes some insider knowledge – some wisdom that everybody that’s done time garners.

Here, I will share in 5 posts, the notes of my mind, the crumbs and scratchings and conclusions I’ve arrived at through “doing time”. See numbers 1 and 2. Let’s go!

3

All Content follows the member who created/added it.

Social Networks are built of the work, thoughts, ideas, additions, videos, musings, mumblings, blogs, tweets and blatherings of EACH MEMBER. They are communal and if a member packs up house or gets a “go to jail card” – their contributions should go with them. It is not owned by the site. I don’t know how often I’ve seen SN creators get in a dispute with a member and then ban them, yet keep their contribution! This is theft, it truly is. I remember one network even ask me to buy their network (I’d put up about 60% of the content) or else he’d send all my work to hell by deleting the network! There is one large social network, Dave’s ESL Cafe which I loath for the fact they ban members who’ve helped by posting thousands of times – never for a moment recognizing their hard work. I seldom post there anymore (and for other reasons, I’ll post in commandment 9).

I’ve set up our community so that if a member so chooses to leave or if there is some kind of disagreement, their content is deleted across the community. This is fair, this is the law.

4

Privacy is paramount and must be actively protected AND  transparent.

Facebook learned this the hard way. But it is paramount that all social networks have strong and user friendly privacy settings. IMHO, Facebook still fails and breaks this commandment. Their privacy settings are not simple and you’ll need a special diploma to manage them.

But more than just having strong privacy settings, a network should ACTIVELY promote them and make members aware of them. It isn’t always easy but I try to do this. Making members aware that my newsletter has an unsubscribe link at the bottom is my next one. A network should include mention of tutorials on how to use settings and turn off/delete. This is important. We have them, why doesn’t FB?

5

It’s about the people, stupid!

Never participate in a SN which does not have people with a face, people who care, people who contact you behind the electronic curtain. You put a lot of trust in things when you post and share and form relationships online. You need to know there is a “real” person behind the scenes who is involved and responsible.(not like Dave’s cafe – he hasn’t been there for years). I try to be on EFL Classroom and greet as many people as I can. Mostly, so they know it isn’t a business or con or will be deleted – no, they know it is personal, lasting and with soul.

I’ve seen too many networks that don’t have this. Too many that are soulless, just thousands of people (like FB) but without a person there, looking after things. My advice, keep people in the fore and keep it personal! Show who you are.

Stay tuned for the last 5 SN commandments! (ps. note this was cross blog posted using ?Livewriter? ? I?ll be sharing about that soon).

18th Blog Carnival – a real “Carnival”!

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ferris_wheel

This blog carnival is REALLY a carnival! Click on the photo above and enter the carnival. You’ll “spin the wheel” and get a random blog carnival entry. Download the ppt if you have any problems, it might work better!  If you get lucky – one blog item is a download of this random selector ppt I made – great for use in class (just control with the “s” key on your keyboard).

If you like this, please visit the Random ELT Blog generator for more “surprise”.

The next blog carnival will be hosted by Ms. Flecha’s My Life Untranslated: Adventures of a New ESL Teacher in New York City. Please participate and use the same blog submission form.

Lots of fine entries, see them all described below.  Enjoy – the ticket is free!

*  Katie at Trip Base tells us about the Top 10 places to teach English

* Dani at Trying Out Web 2.0 describes some vocabulary strategies for adv. students

* Eva at  A Journey in TEFL let’s us in on how to improvise to create a quick game

* Larry at Websites of the Day shares one of his “Best” lists – The Best “When I Say Jump” online sites and also let’s us know about “Common Core” Standards in the US

* Shelly at Teacher Reboot Camp tells us more about building characters and talking avatars using Voki

* Maria on her Student’s Page outlines how to use nouns and adjectives to describe places and also urges teachers to participate in the “Flat Stanley” project

* Mau at Niftiness describes how he uses video games to “Funnify” education

* David at EFL Classroom 2.0 offers some thoughts and resources for using drawing in our lessons and also asks readers about their own educational blogging

* Phil at Classroom 201x fully describes a lesson for interviews and using the Busbi/Flip camera

* Vicky at Educational Technology in ELT speaks eloquently about her transformation from a part time to full time teacher

* Karenne at Kalinago English offers up a challenge - plan a lesson around a poem to get students critically thinking

* Johanna at the Spelling Blog offers up some tips and warning about lessons with homophones

* Vicki at Learning to Speak ‘Merican shows Bobby McFerrin teaching music and asks us if we could do the same in our English language classes

* Jennifer at My Integrating Technology Journey offers many links and suggestions for using Flickr in our teaching

* Brent at O Say Can You See Blog asks us to think more about our museums and using history in our teaching

* Andrew at Lingo Match Blog offers some tips on learning or teaching British English

* Mary Ann at Learning the Language asks readers to offer some wisdom to the new director of the U.S. Dept. of Education

* Technology in Class Blog directs us to a vocabulary site - Learning Chocolate

* Michael at Mr. Stout’s Blog urges teachers and students to follow the advice of the Dalai Lama and speak “broken English”

ELT only “social” Search Engine

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We have a new “Swicki”

- a custom made search engine.

Now, you can search and get really specific English Language Teaching results!  PLEASE spread the news and support this “new” and powerful idea.

WHY is the needed?

Technology is allowing us to harness the power of “many”. I’ve been waiting patiently for the day when we could use our English Language teaching community to powerfully share what is “best”.  That day is breaking.

The internet is now very “deep”. It is hard to find what is good for your specific teaching practice/class. Not only do old results come up first on google/yahoo – you get all sorts of spammed / tagged results from “tricksters” who know the SEO dos and don’ts across the web. Simply put – there is so much out there that is GREAT that you’ll never find or use to benefit your students.

Twitter is good, your PLN is good, bookmarking is good but they have their limitations.  The vast majority of teachers DON”T use twitter or blog etc… Teachers are used to this type of search and will use it.  With a shared search engine, we can create something so that the user will ALWAYS get what great teachers recommend. It is as simple as that. Further, if you have a great site/blog – this will drive teachers there and benefit your hard work! It is a win-win.

Please read the FAQs for some real specific info. as to why this is a “fast train coming around the bend”.

HOW does it work?

It is simple and that’s why I like it!

I’ve prioritized many of the most popular / best ELT specific sites. Items from these sites will appear high in the search. I’ve also filtered it for many other sites that won’t give great results (like wikipedia). Compare the results of our “Swicki” with other search engines, why don’t you? No comparison and it will get better.

1. You search. The most popular terms will go into the “Hot List”.Your search is given priority and remembered. The Swicki is learning.

2. You vote. See a site you like and recommend. Vote and it will be pushed up the search rankings for not just your search terms but anything related. Further, see a site you don’t recommend? Vote! Push it down.  Also, “comment” and this too will prioritize the site (but I will be able to edit this part and keep guard).

swicki

3.  Share! You can easily get the code for the search and use on your own webpage / blog.  See my embed on the right of this page. This is what it is all about……

swicki2

4.  Wait while our “Swicki” grows in intelligence. Yes, it will learn and I’ve also talked to the developers and learned that soon we will have shared settings. Meaning, even more people than myself will be able to add filtered sites, comment, manage.

I really think this “works” and it is very functional. A “smart” choice and a way to help thousands of teachers out there… I hope you will support this as I work to get it humming and purring.  Remember – there is power is many!

Your comments / suggestions much appreciated. Thanks,

David