"Over the past few years, technology has gradually become a valuable part of my teaching armoury. My essential teaching tool kit used to be a good course book, a ball, some pictures and coloured pens but now it includes a computer and a Wi-Fi connection as well. Using digital tools in the classroom was a logical progression for me. I had used cassette players and then CD players, video and then DVD so, as soon as I got a laptop computer I started to think how it could work for me in the classroom..."
This is the way Gareth Davies starts his article It's a Digital World about the advantages of using new technologies in the classroom, published on English Language Teaching Global Blog (Oxford University Press) last November. He looks at three ways to make the digital world work for us in our upper primary classroom:
- Digital Presentations Tools
- Getting students using technology
- Professional Development
We're sure you'll find it interesting and perhaps you can see your own experience reflected on it somehow.
There is another pair of articles we'd like to share because we have no doubt they can be useful in order to make a decision about how to integrate technology into our classes and what for:
- The 1-minute guide to integrating technology into teaching by Nicky Hockly
- Better 'the Five Ws' than 'Because it's there' by Graham Stanley
Finally, we'd like to make reference to the last session of our seminar HMH - Arloak Ingelesez, which took place in Lasarte two weeks ago, Techy Tools for Primary Teachers was the topic. On this occasion, we had the opportunity to listen to Margie Marc (Macmillan), who shared with us a range of cloud computing tools which are relevant for the Primary classroom and gave us some ideas about how to exploit them in a way that complements our everyday practice. These are some of those tools:
- www.animoto.com - A presentation tool for turning photos and short video clips into great videos.
- www.triptico.co.uk - This tool can be downloaded to create language activities and games for any subject or level.
- www.chartgo.com - This one can be used to create a chart for presenting data to make information visual and easy to understand.
- www.tagxedo.com - This is a word cloud tool (a mixture of words presented as an image).
- www.voki.com - This tool allows you to create avatars.
Have a look at them, we hope you'll find them helpful.
Have a nice day!
Interestingly, among other things, the opportunity to reach Hockly Nicky's post in which he explains through a guide than a minute, how to integrate technology in the classroom
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