Bazaar Type of Learning - A Directory to Get Started

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We're always in the search for effectiveness matched to an increase of learners' motivation. Without losing the pedagogical purpose perspective, we can find wonderful online tools that will make our classes more enticing to learning, fun, and highly motivational. These tools can be adapted to fit our educational settings and our students' interests and needs. They give to learners the chance to be manipulators, players within their learning process. They give choice and voice. If you try at least one of those giving, for example, one topic, but letting the students free to decide how they will go about it to present their final product, chances are you might be truly surprised by  their creativity, engagement, and learning outcomes.

One of the teachers I work with is working on a Glogster project with her students. She was simply shocked by how much language students produced by just changing the means to deliver the topic. So, why not giving choice and creativity a try in favor of a much more powerful classroom learning environment?

Here are some places you might want to get started:

http://apslibrary.edublogs.org/web-2-0/ (great tools to get started)
http://bit.ly/webtoolspourri  (Ning is now paid and Flowgram is out of the market, but the other tools are just fantastic ones)
http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/2010/04/04/my-favourite-sites-for-teaching-phrasal-verbs-by-janet-bianchini/  (focus on teaching phrasal verbs with wonderful digital tools)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19576895/Web-20-Tools-for-Teachers (I highly recommend Nik Peachey's Web2.0 free e-book)
http://www.diigo.com/user/carlaarena/cooltoolsforschools / http://www.diigo.com/user/carlaarena/cooltoolforschools (My cool tools Diigo Bookmarks. Tons of fantastic resources that would take us a lifetime to explore)

I could go on and share a thousand different resources, but just by accessing these links, you'll have at the tip of your fingers many ideas for engaging your students and making a difference in a more bazaar type of learning (just love this borrowed concept!).

e-Learning - Don't do This to your Online Students

More and more I find myself looking for ways, activities, resources that will help me connect with my online students in meaningful ways. It's always a challenge, but when you hit it, the results are extremely rewarding. When you get your students to respond to a challenging, extra activity, heaven. Just like in any classroom, part of the job of learning is on the learner. However, there is that percentage which is teacher-driven. In any setting, students must feel they belong, imagine online!

This video which I learned about via http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/ , a blog where you certainly will spend, but not waste time, shows exactly what is disconnection, lack of a motivating environment, feeling of isolation, not a teacher presence to guide, facilitate the learning process.Don't Do This to your Students!

Web 2.0 Cool Tools Presentation

On June 5th, I was gladly to surprise to see a nice little crowd in the Auditorium of the Binational Center I work for. I presented a Potpourri of cool tools for the classroom for the Braz-TESOL regional chapter. A very motivated audience of friends and new faces who are willing to take that step further, get started. My advice was just set one single small tech goal for next semester. Chances are that if they succeed in their microstrategy, they will succeed in bigger, more daring endeavors. That's exactly what I still do every semester, setting a tech goal. For this semester I decided to take a different blogging approach, making the bridge between parents and my juvenile class with a blog called Crescer Digital. I must say that I'm very pleased with the feedback of parents, their engagement in their kids' learning and the sense of accomplishment we are all feeling!

Small steps take us far...

How about choosing one tool to explore next semester with your students?

A Potpourri Of Web Tools

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