Can you afford a couple of minutes online? Please answer this survey on how English teachers view literacy today and how they contribute to digital literacy development through their work. It should only take 5 minutes, and you'll be helping a teacher collect data for their research project.
Thanks in advance!
Gladys
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
Did you know?
17 May marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union. That's why it's been chosen as the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD). Its purpose is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. More about WTISD...
Something to be celebrated, for sure, especially among us, who are learning to take advantage of new technologies to keep developing even when we're not at school!
Happy WTISD!
Gladys
Saturday, April 10, 2010
And the winner is...
Great news!
Bere has just been the first one to email me with a message on what Rompecadenas aims at, and how it can help us all. In addition, she's respected all rules of Netiquette in her message, so here's the prize she so clearly deserves:
To everyone else: don't despair! There'll soon be new chances to win new prizes, promise!
Love,
Gladys
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Writing with word processors
And so our third meeting has taken place... This time we looked into how word processors (in particular, Microsoft Word) can help us enhance our writing.
There were two home assignments:
Explore Google docs and think of possible answers to the first question in TASK 4 of the handout. (If you missed the lesson, you can get your handout by clicking here). Post about any of the features as a comment to this entry and get a prize at our next meeting!
Just before leaving, we introduced the concept of RSS, and I asked you to subscribe to some blog or site of your interest (could be this very own blog!) using the method of your choice, and tell us next time how things went on. In the meantime, here's a video you may enjoy watching to get a better understanding of what RSS is and how it can help you in your learning:
KEEP LEARNING:
- To learn more about alternatives to Microsoft Word: 3 Excellent Alternatives...
- To learn more about RSS readers: choose one of the following: Feedblitz (e-mail based); Bloglines (web based); Google Reader; infoRSS (for those using Mozilla Firefox)
A final note:
As you could have imagined, your problems when trying to get access to our collection of documents at Scribd were (as we might have guessed!) due to a mistake I'd made. Here's the right link:
Hope you can now comment on your partners' productions without any further difficulties!
Gladys
Monday, April 5, 2010
After our second meeting...
Hi class!
I'd promised to post this by April 30th, but you didn't hear from me, I know...
The message below (plus the tip that there was no connectivity for me either onthe road or in Uruguay) will tell you the rest of the story:
The message below (plus the tip that there was no connectivity for me either onthe road or in Uruguay) will tell you the rest of the story:
---------------------------
April 30th
Dear Everyone,
Sorry about the rushy style of this message, but I was unable to post this before setting off for Uruguay, and now am writing this on the road, and will only be able to post it as we come across some connection (perhaps at a petrol station while we get across Entre Rios?)...
Anyway, here's the reminder of what you need you to do for April 6th:
1) I've posted your assignments at a Scribd collection: http://www.scribd.com/document_collections/2408173
Now you need to read and comment (or "Add a Scribble") on the work submitted by at least two partners... Yes, I'm afraid you'll need to create an account at Scribd (i.e. "sign up")!
Some rules for comments:
* Your mission is to help writers "see their work through other eyes", not find flaws in their pieces!
* Good comments clearly show you've read the piece, and care about its content.
* Better comments add a new perspective, exemplify points made or ask further questions of the writer.
Here're some example of comments we shouldn't be seeing in this assignment:
EXAMPLE 1: "Nice post! Read mine and tell me what you think"
EXAMPLE 2: "Very poor use of tenses. Check spelling"
EXAMPLE 3: "i love u, friend! happy easter!!!! :-)!!!!"
BTW, if you have ideas to enhance the text, why not email the author (pls cc me if you do!)
2) Here you can read more about Netiquette:
Browse as much as you like / can afford to, and take notes about things you'd like to share with the class next Tuesday!
3) Visit www.rompecadenas.com.ar. What's the purpose of the site? A special prize to the first person who emails me the answer without breaking any of the rules of netiquette discussed in class!
And that's enough for a very atypical week, isn't it?
Please do email me if you have doubts, I'll be back to BA on Mon 5th, and will be able to help you then.
Happy Easter to those who celebrate it, and a nice relaxing weekend to those who don't!
Love,
Gladys
-------------------------
VERY IMPORTANT: all deadlines extended for one week (to April 13th) due to delay in posting this.
Thanks for understanding, just do your best, and get ready to enjoy our next meeting!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Getting Started
Hi Everyone!
We might soon have our own virtual classroom, but in the meantime, this blog seems the best way to keep in touch and help you keep track of our workshop tasks...
So here's a summary of what went on during our first meeting (March 23rd):
- I introduced myself and told you a bit about my relationship with new technologies.
- You interviewed a partner and answered an introductory survey.
- We guessed what ICT stands for, and brainstormed why they could help us enhance learning (if you like, you can read a bit about it here). We also introduced the concepts of Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 (we'll go back to these concepts later, but if you're interested in learning about this right now, try this short video!).
- And we watched (or tried to watch!) this video clip:
and briefly debated about what all this could mean to us!
- Finally, I took photos of each of you, and uploaded them to a private folder. I now invite you to have a look at them and decide if you agree to use those as your avatars for our course, or would rather email me an alternative image (deadline: March 26th). You may also want to play a bit with it, for instance, using Picnik to crop it or BeFunky (click here to see some possibilities).
HOMEWORK: How do new technologies influence your daily life? Answer this question by submitting a text, audio or video file via email to me (deadline: March 29th - 12 PM).
That's all for now. Remember you can share your thoughts and questions by posting comments to this blog entry!
And don't forget this:
"A dumb question is one you don't ask when you should".
POST YOUR DOUBTS TODAY!
Peace,
Gladys
NOTE: for the time being, access to this blog is restricted to class members and our college head. We may soon invite other college members, but your privacy is well protected!
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