Els amics de L'Avenc han publicat un Diari de Natura!. Un diari maquíssim i sense any fixe. El podem usar l'any que vulguem. Conté textes, fotografies i dibuixos sobre la relació entre l'home i la natura, mostrant que pot haver una relació propera i més directa. És un llibre ple de sensibilitat i bon gust. Us l'aconsello!

Filles virtuals

Hola, us presento la Mònica...



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...i la Clara


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Quines filles més virtuoses, oi? O virtuals?

Real?

Here's a movie trailer from Robert Zemeckis' new film, Beowulf. Those who had to go through the story in English Literature at the University or at school will soon realize how the darkness that stands from the story is so well depicted.
It stars famous actors and actresses like Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, John Malkovich or Angelina Jolie, or their avatars?
Have a look and see how virtual reality has mingled with real life to create perfect replicas of out favorite film stars. What will be next? Awesome!

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!

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!

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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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!

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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Games in education

As you probably know, I'm deeply involved in digging into the possibilities of 3D virtual games (Caspian Learning)...

...and virtual worlds (Second Life) in education.

We are going to hold a training session with catalan teachers and people from Caspian Learning in Barcelona in march. I'm sure we will end up with a highly successful outcome, and that will lead the way to a great number of 3D activities created by our teachers for our schools.

I also find amazing the massive amount of possibilities for education that Second Life contains, although it gives a different approach from Thinkingworlds: Secondlife is an open field of possibilities and variations. Too open I would say if there is not enough control or training for/from the teachers. Caspian Learning's Thinkingworlds is an environment that provides teachers with the possibility to create closed assets with no interference from the www.

Two lawns with different grass to tread... and believe me, both tempt you to walk barefoot!

Here's a video clip about games in education by the Orange County Department of Education's Educational Technology Group. They have given permission to post.

One of the interesting things commented in the video is the fact that educational institutions don't usually have cutting edge technology that allows end users (schools and students) to use cutting edge software. That would imply a drawback from the game designers' point of view, who are not very keen on stepping back in order to create software with a less sophisticated technology than the one used in commercial products. But the actual truth should make them consider the possibility of stepping back a little in order to create these products. Probably the great leap forward would come in no time, once they found out there's a market for that kind of materials.

Up here with some Geordie lads

I'm here in Newcastle upon Tyne at Caspian Learning in a two-day training session. we are setting up a project together. They have produced some fantastic stuff for education: 3D educational assets which can be used in different subjects. They are very motivating and catchy. I'm here to learn how to deal with some of the assets, how to deal with the authoring tool, and also to to talk about the joint project. I'm leaving tomorrow, but I've got the feeling that I could have stayed for some more days: there is so much to learn... and I feel like getting into it straight away. We are going to have some training sessions in Barcelona with people from Caspian together with a group of teachers who are eager to learn how to exploit the possibilities of thinkingworlds.

Thanks to you, Chris, Duncan, David, Rob, and to all of you up here at Caspian, mates. I hope we can come up with a rewarding and long-lasting experience.

Engaging tools

Here's a group of interesting tools for you:

Heromachine. Draw your own hero: http://www.ugo.com/channels/comics/heroMachine/classic.asp



Decorate your Room. Practise vocabulary and have fun: http://www.studio2b.org/lounge/games/decorate_room/default_popup.html



Create films in a very catchy interface at DFilm Moviemaker: http://www.dfilm.com/index_movie_start.html

Collaborative environments

I've come across a couple of very interesting online tools: They offer a free and common space where people can communicate in real time. In the first one, THINKATURE, we can draw, insert links and images as our colleagues are watching our performance in another computer. They can also add their observations, pictures and texts. It's like a digital board shared by a group.


The second website offers a more graphic interface. It is called IMAGINATION CUBED, and it is a sponsored website by General Electric. You can add a background, stamp drawings and write down with a pen. It does not support links or image uploading. It is much more suitable for primary schools.


Two very good ways to get in touch with colleagues and share our ideas. They are worth a try, believe me.

Free Mindmaps

A nice website providing an on-line mindmapping tool.

http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=127&title=

A Link to BBC

This link takes you to a game called "State of Debate". It is an interactive game where students have to act in a made-up world of the future. It fosters communicative expression. And it is very catchy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/games/

For those who teach!

Don't miss this. It's good to have a laugh when it comes to ELT!



The sad thing is that some peole still think that teaching English is not so far from these methods!

Interesting Slang

This is a good website for those who want to keep up to date with English and learn about slang. It can be syndicated and the number of words is massive!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Good links

Here are two good links for my colleagues: The BBC site for education offers us a couple of extremely interesting interactive activities on the web: one related to Shakespeare and a mysterious story and another related to the world of detectives. Fun and learning in ELT together, believe me. Be sure to check up these two sites!