ELT and Tech is a wiki I use to detail all the tutorials I’ve created + references for using technology to teach language.
I’m continually adding tutorials and updating the existing ones. Use the page links on the right, to navigate through the site. There are dozens of tutorials on things like how to embed videos to using specific websites/tools. Also, a some handy bookmarks of the best reference sites for using technology in the classroom.
I’ll be offering a nice 10 module, technology materials creation course in the new year on The School Of TEFL. Stay tuned. Teachers will be challenged to create 10 materials using existing technology, share their products and along the way, realize the power of these fantastic tools.
The Teacher Toolbox is something I’m proud of. I’m a curator and enjoy finding “the best”, especially the best things to help teachers. On this page are certainly the “top” of the top – things every teacher can use and put to use in their class right away.
There are clocks for timing students. I love the Super Timer!
There are generators galore – I love the student name generator!
There are sensational selectors of all sorts. I love the dice, great for playing games.
There is so much. Forms, organizers, vocabulary tools, IWB tools, the list goes on ….. A real gem of a page.
Thanks to Aaron and all the hard working Kotesol organizers for really pushing the envelope by skyping me in and starting to use this type of professional development!
There has been A LOT of consolidation online, over the last 7-8 years. Sites, tools have come and gone. The web can be a cruel marketplace and particularly so when it comes to tools that help teachers and get students learning/creating.
There is so much out there! So, in order to help new teachers especially, I’m going to list those that are “Simply the Best” and have stood the test of time. Simply the best sites for students to create, share, produce and work with language. They won’t vanish and they won’t fail you….. Educators all over the world are using them to help their students learn.
Here they are with a link to my hundreds of website reviews on EFL Classroom 2.0 or ELT and Tech. There you will find examples, ideas and more thoughts….. Further – see my larger presentation about great web “places” – Teach / Learn (below). I also welcome any “debate”. Let me know what is on your Top 10 and not included/mentioned.
Today, two quick tips of two very innovative and adaptable tools. The Cue Prompter and Transl8it.com. Listen/Watch as I show you them and suggest some uses. Get the dialogues mentioned HERE.
Hat tip to @russeltarr for the tip about the prompter!
I made this awhile ago and forgot to put up on my blog! Click on any picture to go to that tool. Only the best garnered from my actual experience using all these. It is a follow up to my Teach/Learn Prezi presentation.
Get the powerpoint of this HERE. Also, see this voicethread discussion by teachers for lots of great thoughts on the use of technology in education!
If you look at one constant in education (over 100s of years), we see one very clear trend — the blurring of the lines between teacher / student. Technology is only speeding up this process and it is especially true for English Language Teaching. We are no longer custodians of knowledge but seeds of knowledge. Self – service has come to our profession.
Power corrupts, so I’m all for this new “paradigm” and teachers will have to change their role into that of a “one who councils” and a motivator. I await the day when we chuck the term teacher for that of “language councillor” . I think the moment of truth will come when we finally shrug the ‘testing monkey” off our back. When we throw away the false and quacked up yardsticks by which we ill compare each other – we’ll be free to focus more on self improvement. The question is always – “Am I improving?” (education) not “Am I better/worse than my peers?” (schooling).
So in that vein, here is my technological council – for both teachers and students. In particular, see the links below for more reading / resources for teachers and students.
Click on any picture for examples / the site
STUDENTS: (if you don’t want to register for EFL Classroom – just use ID/PW – eflclassroom@mail.com / eflclassroom)
I don’t say much about my own professional (or personal ) life. However, I really believe and always encourage teachers to do so with their students. For many reasons, primarily to model and encourage students to speak about their own lives and beliefs – to create community within the classroom.
So in this vein, here’s a nice Picasa slideshow with subtitles showing a bit of my “world”. Picasa is an easy way to “show off”. Simply upload your photos to a folder, edit/caption, click “link to this slideshow” on the right and then “embed slideshow” to get the code to embed on your class/school/teacher’s page!
ELT and Tech is a wiki I use to detail all the tutorials I’ve created + references for using technology to teach language. 
