Week Ten

As the semester starts to wind down, I find myself wondering just how I will best integrate technology into my future classroom. Thinking back on some of the classes I've taught in the past, I'd say self-grading on-line quizzes to prepare for vocabulary tests would probably be well received. As would many of the great and creative tools we've covered so far.

Of course anything that gets the kids listening to English, reading in English, and writing in English would be great for fluency. Perhaps an English TV series with subtitles (like how they showed us "Srugim" with Hebrew subtitles in my Ulpan)... I'm thinking Brady Bunch with follow up questions about the moral dilemmas faced by kids in the 1970s.

Speaking of the previous century...

I searched my name on Google Scholar to make myself feel good - more than 30 citations of some riveting economic research I was privileged to be part of!

Back to the current day and age, inspired by the United Nations lack of understanding about the Middle East, and Israel in particular, I used the "Simple English Wikipedia" tool to see if maybe a search about Israel could help them. In fact, I think it could help them. A lot.

Until next time....

(Go on, click on it)

But wait... there's more. Raised in Israel, on Brady Bunch episodes and lots of Google Searches, my very own English speaking daughter has helped me with one more fun tech tool.... Prezi.

Week 9 - A Top Ten List

Top Ten Things I Love About Learning English In An Israeli Teaching College for Women

10. Is anyone old enough to remember that thing about getting 200 points just for bubbling in your name correctly on the SATs? I am a native speaker of English in a program filled with non-native speakers. 200 feeling smart points every day, baby. Every single day.

9. Lot's of young newly married classmates means sometimes during attendance this happens:
"Yael?"
"Yael's not here - she gave birth over the weekend"

Even better is that during break, in the atrium, in any direction, I get to see babies. Babies! All around me! If you know me, you know that my Achilles Heel is babies.

8. My awesome teachers teach English using Supertramp and Rod Stewart Songs, Land of the Lost Pakuni linguistics, and classic I Love Lucy clips.

7. Being that Israel officially teaches British English, I often feel like I am learning (British) English as a Second Language. I am storing up expressions like "dead lucky" and "I could do for some more tea" alongside my cache of unused present perfect sentences (I've just seen the Queen!) for that inevitable moment when I am tested in "British". Also, I now feel the pain of anyone learning any kind of English as a Second Language. Ouch!

6. I get to send great YouTube clips like this one to my Phonetics teacher. Class participation was never so fun!

5. Special family time (check out my little story builder exercise starring some of my crazy kids)

4. Doing my part for the neglected step-child of Israeli English with my "Make American English Great Again" grammar quiz

3. gurgling baby noises in class. this comforts me when when my classmates make fun of the way I say "IMPORTANT". For the record, I do NOT speak like this!!!

2. fun homework like writing this blog

1.  did i mention babies?

week 8. because i promised. literary agents, feel free to reach out in the comments section.

Week Seven!

Enjoy this exciting clip and equally riveting quiz from one of my favorite movies!

Why isn't anyone Google-searching WEEK SIX OF MY AWESOME ON-LINE CLASS?

Football and babies - I guess we know what's on everyone's mind!

So this week we've had some great fun interacting on a VOICE THREAD. Who knew? Someone just throws out a topic and then everyone can discuss - either by text (my preference, of course) or voice message (I actually also prefer when the other participants use voice - go figure), video (this totally creeps me out - nobody ever gets the lighting right) and maybe possibly there is an option to create a painting in response to the topic - interpretive art?  I admit, I didn't get this far. For entertainment purposes, it's not an improvement on SNL's perfection:

But for an off-site classroom discussion, I'd say it's downright genius.

The next stop on our On-Line Train of Fun Tools for Teaching was this great interactive spelling match with a Sponge Bob Square Pants kind of feel to it. I played for a while and considered waking up my kids so they could remind me of the Sponge Bob lyrics since the tune is now STUCK IN MY HEAD.

This FunBrain.com spell check game was also great.

The format actually reminded me of a great app called Kahoot! where the whole class can play a quiz game interactively. (hat tip to the English Dep't)

Even though I ranted about kids having cell phones in the classroom on the Voice Thread - my rant was not conclusively for nor against, but it was, indeed, a rant - IF kids had smart phones in the class, they could play a version of this spelling quiz interactively using Kahoot! Something to ponder.

Okay it's late. I got a little sidetracked making comics. This would be fun to have students do.
Here's mine:

And just when I thought I had not an ounce of creative energy left, I went and wrote this bestselling award winning original horror story (with the help of a story-maker)............

Imagine Said Story Inserted *HERE*

Alas, technology has failed me. My blogger page seems to have a picture limit. Stay tuned for my next post to read my latest thriller.

Week Five  - Coming at You Live

Learning all kinds of new tricks this week.

Turns out you can listen to real conversations on the Internet. I found one between this guy, who I'm pretty sure is the voice of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, and a very patient sounding girl (jump to the "listening exercise"). If you ask me, he's only PRETENDING to be interested in her studies....

I also learned that I can speak to my computer and there's a microphone somewhere in there that will record my voice! This finding begged a trial but I was at a loss for words. Luckily there were some Disney lyrics nearby....
Some found poetry

I had to close the door while recording because my brother was busy telling my mom about some recording of a British guy he listens to at night that lulls him to sleep. And then I found THIS recording of a paragraph about visiting the zoo. The pronunciation is perfect, the articulation, flawless, and the voice is so soothing....... I am definitely going to recommend it to my brother!

Finally, I checked out some great resources for using songs to teach English. I tried this once before, when actually teaching 7th graders, and until I found a song with G-rated lyrics, I nearly gave up! So I am thrilled to have sites with songs already selected to choose from. Imagine my joy at finding a grammar lesson based on Foreigner's 1981 classic I've Been Waiting For A Girl Like You!

Present Perfect Continuous Rocks!
(post script: on a more careful reading of the lyrics I had to censor them)

So long, I've been looking too hard, I've been waiting too long
Sometimes I don't know what I will find, I only know it's a matter of time

When you love someone, when you love someone
It feels so right, so warm and true, I need to know if you feel it too
Maybe I'm wrong, won't you tell me if I'm coming on too strong?
This heart of mine has been hurt before, this time I want to be sure

I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life
I've been waiting for a girl like you, your loving will survive
I've been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive
Yeah, waiting for a girl like you to come into my life

It's more than a touch or a word can say
Only in dreams could it be this way

When you love someone, yeah, really love someone
Now, I know it's right, from the moment I wake up till deep in the night
There's nowhere on earth that I'd rather be than holding you tenderly

I've been waiting for a girl like you to come into my life
I've been waiting for a girl like you, your loving will survive
I've been waiting for someone new to make me feel alive
Yeah, waiting for a girl like you to come into my life

I've been waiting, waiting for you, ooh
Ooh, I've been waiting
(Waiting) I've been waiting
(I've been waiting for a girl like you, I've been waiting) won't you come into my life?
Aah-aah-aah

Read more: Foreigner - Waiting For A Girl Like You Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Week 4 - While Future English Teachers have been distracted by addictive internet fun (seizure warning), something way more sinister has been percolating....

I've just spent half an hour making graffiti art of me and my husband

followed by a scary animation of said husband where I learned (the scary way) that you must undo an effect before you overlay more effects lest you end you end up with something like this:

(you were warned).
[Effects used, in case you want to replicate this: hearts, zoom, horror]

And all this in the name of higher education! Whooop! Except that I left myself a little short on blogging time.

I love the links provided this week - it will be great to sprinkle my classes with comics, graphics and other visual learning tools. In my Advanced Proficiency class I picked up some (less seizure-inducing) highly useful resources as well - namely the "Essential Lexical Tools" referenced in this blog: http://leoxicon.blogspot.co.il/. He linked to some sites that help you find common expressions if you give some of the core words of the expression - although I didn't have much luck plugging in "You can lead a horse to water..." Hmmm.  I did have some fun seeing if any of the sites could answer that question burning in everyone's subconscious......

Wait for it........