Lights and Shades

This website is extraordinary! An activity site from the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie in Paris where you can play different activities with light, shades and sound... and in English. It's worth a visit, believe me!

Taga

Edmund Hillary and friends.

Last Saturday we climbed up the Taga, a well-known mountain for low-profile mountaineers like me. We went together with the the Fontanals, the Llopart and the Navarro family from school. And the boys and the girls... wow! They really had a very good time! For me, satisfaction came from reaching the summit and as much as that, fom seeing my daughter and her friends laughing and playing all full of beans. That gives you strength to carry on, indeed (you see, I'm getting sentimental... time to go).
And a couple of extra pics from home... well, from Emma at home!

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Why so fast?

Back to work. It's been a wondeful time. Beach, hills and daughters!
After 10 days in Llançà, where our Clara and Mònica learnt to dance in front of an audience (and I learnt to hide away).



First days on the beach for Emma. No fear! sitting by the waterline and splashing on the rocking waves like a little mermaid.



After a few days at my in laws, we headed for Collsacabra, and we stayed for 9 days at the beautiful house of l'Avenc, run by Belinda and her husband Quim.



It's been an unforgettable experience. 9 quiet days surrounded by nature, good warm people and vultures above us... books and games, nothing else... and nothing else we needed indeed.

Visit l'Avenc if you have the chance. You won't regret it, and I would also recommend you to read Matthew (Belinda's brother) Parris' book "A Castle in Spain", telling the story of how l'Avenc originated and later it was purchased by this friendly and charming family. Belinda and her 81- year-old mother are both English teachers.



Here are some pics from these wonderful summer holidays:

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Summertime... chill out

No time for serious things... holidays!!!
I'll try to post some fresh things along these holidays... I hope the world won't make me talk about something sad!

Here's a fresh start:

Future or present?

This cartoon is just a way to see how we teachers have to change our scope on our job!

The Cost of Life

A very good game to play and learn. Students must make sure they understand how difficult life is in Haiti. Very flexible and at the same time demanding. It comes from the Unicef website. A good chance for students of secondary education to practise negotiation and English vocabulary. They become members of a caribbean family from Haiti. Life is hard, really hard!

Worthwhile

Have a look at this video. It will probably make you think that sometimes, thousands of signatures will make a difference.

New hopes... welcome aboard!

Today, Josep, Pepón and Ricard will start their own company... Triple Mortal. We hope to start a new scenario in our lives, something parallel to what we have been doing so far. Even though your life can be as sweet as a cake, sometimes you need some extra topping. This is the time!



Good journey, mates, and thanks!

Back and kicking

I'm back at work... and I don't know who my boss will be! I hope he can let me work the way I like. I've got so many projects!
Here are some pics from late spring. There's a slide show, but I have posted one on its own... you can see why:



And here's the show!

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And something else... I got this from YouTube: A cut from a fallen creature (they call it "fallen angel"), not 150 kms from home. These things tend to turn up fake stupid videos, but this one gives me the creeps, believe me!

Hard life.... joking!!!

I've been out of the blog for several days. I changed into New Blogger, and:

1. No time to get used to it.
2. I had to find my way through it once I could get rid of difficulty 1

Now, I'm at home, on a fatherhood leave until June the 21st... wow, it feels like heaven, if there's one!
Emma the Third is an easy sweetheart who only complains when she needs some sleep.

I'll try to post interesting things these days, I promise.

Cheers to all

Sometimes I see strange people!

I have always thought I could be taken as an honest, straight and formal person. And here come my friend Virginia with a picture she took of me when we were having a party with our children on a weekend outing in the mountains. The thing is ... I was sober!!

A glass of milk is good for a break!

Here's a very good website from the California Milk Processor Board

Interesting for intermediate/advanced secondary students once they've done their tasks. It contains some facts about milk, but it is basically a fun game. But it's worth a try! Interaction and animations are extremely good, and it is in English!

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New pics of the big-eyed girl!

Here she comes again!
3 months old, and already laughing and giggling!
Joy and bliss for all of us at home.

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Two in One

Short of time as I am, I'm posting two interesting sites for you in one single post.




The first one is held and kept by a New Zealand ELT teacher. Sarah Lilburn posts her videocasts on ELT in a website where students can watch her as she talks about Hamlet, explains the present perfect or teaches you how to greet the Queen!



I think it is a very original way to ensnare students! In just a few years' time we'll see this will not be so unusual. New ideas are welcome! and this one is solid! Congratulations, Sarah!

If what you need is an online dictionary, here's a website with hundreds!
YouDictionary.com offers definitions, thesaurus entries, spelling, pronunciation, and etymology... and many languages!



It's worth having a look. You can even have your name in Egyptian hieroglyphics!

L'Estartit

Rain, rain and rain... but also fun, boardgames, short walks along shopping street and lots of brunyols. Therapeutic stay at Pere and Tere's apartment at L'Estartit: Thanks a lot, my friends!

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What a disaster!

Interesting website from ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Reduction), a United Nations organisation caring about the natural disasters and its effects on the world's population.

It contains a link to a game about disaster control, where students can deal with different threats in different parts of the world: Tsunamis, fires, earthquakes...

The game gives a lot of information through documents, images and charts about different natural disasters. It is very easy to implement in the classroom, as all is presented in a very easy and clear way.
Once students start playing the game, they must control the risks of an eventual disaster, by means of building defences and developing structures to avoid future dangers. The interface is very catchy, and students have always the feeling of being in the middle of a very interesting computer game. It is very good for practising English, both vocabulary and oral production, as there's a constant need to negotiate about what decisions to take. So... a good cocktail: Fun, group work, projects, and English!

ICT and Videogames: Tim Rylands

For those interested in videogames in education, here's a very interesting site from Tim Rylands, a Primary teacher from the UK who is now using videogames at a cutting edge stage. The use of a game such as Myst in the classroom provides with a wide variety of exploitation possibilities. Don't miss the video about some of his techniques, and visit his site. It will be rewarding, believe me!

Thinkingworlds Training in Barcelona 15/16 march 2007

We made it!
The training's over, and the sensations are great!
Our colleagues saw the potential of the tool, and, even though some trimming or tuning might be needed, I'm sure will come out with a very successful project. We have been able to create simple and solid assets covering different areas. Our goal is to be able to create a set of materials suitable for our schools, and to be able to disseminate the potential of this application so that more teachers can feel engaged to this common project. I want to thank Duncan and Rob for their patience and kindness. Added value was their skill to show the potential of Thinkingworlds.

Here are some pictures for you!

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Guess Who?

It's a pity I can't put the Stevie Wonder song here, because she deserves it!

Whole bunch: First shot

Here's a first picture of the whole family: As you can see, the elder ones were not in the mood for interviews, so we leave it just like that!