Voices from the iTDi Community 2 – Victor Hugo Victor Hugo Rojas B. is a teacher trainer and educator with more than 26 years of experience. He is associate professor of the Didactics of TEFL at U.N.E. He currently lives and works in Lima, Peru. He is passionate about language teacher training and development, and learning technologies. He believes, fervently so, that teachers must be trained through teaching practice, facing challenges, and creating new methodologies. What are you passionate about, Victor Hugo? I am really an ambitious and critical educator who tries to be outstanding. I am also passionate about integrating technologies in teacher training and teacher development courses. How and why did you become a teacher? I think that I am a born teacher. When I was a child and teenager, I used to play teacher with my brother, sister and cousins. What are you most interested in right now, Victor Hugo? Actually, I am most interested in becoming an online mentor of novice and experienced English teachers worldwide.
Mexican Place Mats Thanks to Darren for sharing this craft idea with us! This craft offers children an opportunity to learn the basic of weaving -- it's a great project for themes other than Mexico as well (just use the colours that go with the season or theme you are doing). You can make a larger version to use as a Mexican blanket or Poncho. Materials: scissors, glue, ruler pencil, one 18" x 12" piece of construction paper. - this larger piece will become the background color for the placemat 16 strips of construction paper in a single color or multiple colors - these strips should be 1 inch wide by 12 inches long Optional: clear contact paper. Instructions: Take the large piece of construction paper and fold it in half across the width. Weave the one inch strips through the loom. Print friendly version of these instructions
RSCON 2014 We hope you were inspired by the Reform Symposium Free Online Conference (RSCON) events that took place July 10-13th. The online global event featured 50+ presentations, 11 keynote speakers, 3 panel discussions, and a tech/app swapalooza. Our plenary, Dean Shareski, began the conference by challenging us to spread joy in our practice. Our keynotes came from 9 countries and our presenters from over 15 countries. Topics included mobile learning, gamification, differentiation, writing web tools, passion based learning, maker education, teaching english language learners, demand high teaching, Chess, puppets, Minecraft, digital portfolios, and much more! If you missed any of the sessions, find all the recordings here, On July 10th, we hosted our first pre-conference Author Spotlight. Here is important information: Thank you for supporting our presenters, keynotes, and plenary who dedicate time to inspiring you! Thank you for attending!
Not All Bad Ideas Are Created Equal Some say ideas are everything. Others say ideas are cheap. David Lynch says ideas are fish. The upper right zone is the promised land, the intersection of "functional" and "well-structured" ideas where everything from "genius" to "interesting" lies. What the chart doesn’t capture, of course, is that ideas are motile, evolving creatures. McCandless’s chart is a work in progress, an idea itself. [via Information Is Beautiful; top image: Margo Harrison/Shutterstock]
Education World: The Reading Room EducationWorld wants to help you turn your students into the best readers possible. To do that, we have compiled the "Reading Room" a huge list of articles and activities designed to help you teach reading. We start with research-based concepts, ready-to-use tools, and extensions for learning provided by our own "Reading Coach." After that, we have all sorts of useful tools including scripts for reading aloud in the classroom along with other resources. Tying Read Alouds to Standards This list of suggested activities and strategies will help you make every read aloud count, and assure your principal that you are focused on meeting standards. Glimpses Into Read-Aloud Classrooms Merely inviting students to contribute verbally when you read aloud to them isnt enough. Using Micro-Text to Teach Writing In education, micro-texts refer to small, targeted bits of a book, essay, poem, newspaper, online publication, or other text. Making the Most of Guided Reading: Researchers Irene C. Nutrition
Recordings Session and Keynote Recordings As conference sessions conclude, the links below will begin to take you to the recordings. No results for a link could indicate the session has not been held yet, the recording has not processed yet, or the session was cancelled. The first recordings to appear will be the full Blackboard Collaborate recordings -- in a few days the .mp3 and .mp4 recordings will then appear. Listings are alphabetical by the last name of the primary presenter. MiniCon May Recordings Click on the hyperlink to view the recordings 9:30am EDT - Opening Ceremony + Chaouki M'kaddem During our opening ceremony, we will enjoy the poetry of Tunisian poet and educator, Chaouki M'kaddem. 10am EDT - Keynote Steve Wheeler Steve Wheeler is Associate Professor of Learning Technologies at Plymouth University. 11am EDT - 7 Inspire Presentations 12pm EDT - Technology Smackdown MiniCon April Recordings 9:30am EDT - Opening Ceremony + Musical Guest Jason Levine Teacher-Trainer-Knowledge Entertainer.
Free Visual English Dictionary and Thesaurus | Discover meaning Kids Love English: Parts of the House Just yesterday, February 23rd, I started a new online course - "Becoming a Blended Learning Designer" on Canvas Network. I'm really excited about it, for it is a challenge I need to face as an EFL and a Teacher Development Course teacher working with this model. Let the challenge begin.The main aspect of this week 1 reading “Understanding Blended Learning” is, for me, the idea of connectivism, which gives special emphasis on the importance of sharing information, ideas, resources, and networks. In my EFL teaching context, with a Teacher Development Course group, enforcing this concept among my students seems to be fundamental.
Learn To Teach Google Image Slideshow - Online Slideshows from Search Results Toddler Art with Items found in Nature - happy hooligans Nature faces: Creating toddler art with items found in nature. Set out, with your kids, on a nature hunt in your yard or neighbourhood, and make art with the garden treasures that you collect along the way! Leaves, flowers, seed pods and twigs can all be used to create these adorably goofy nature faces. There’s something about looking for treasures that turns an ordinary walk around the neighbourhood into something exciting and magical. This morning, we set off with buckets-in-hand to collect an assortment of grasses, flowers, leaves, buds, and maple keys. Back home, I cut some ovals out of cardboard, spread our goodies out on the mat, and the Hooligans got down to work. The older Hooligans had a great grasp on where to glue their eyes, noses and mouths to make their faces, but to make sure the little ones ended up with something that looked like a face, I helped them lightly mark 2 eyes, a nose and a mouth on their cardboard. Aren’t these sweet? [jetpack_subscription_form]
About iTDi iTDi is a global online teacher development institute that is owned and staffed by dedicated teachers. Our mission is to provide quality professional development that is meaningful, accessible and affordable for all teachers. We share a vision of a vibrant global community of educators, helping one another to become better teachers. The iTDi community brings together teaching professionals working at every level -- newcomers and veterans, native and non-native teachers from a wide range of contexts, all sharing a common belief that being a teacher means a never-ending commitment to growing and learning. Online courses to improve your classroom teaching or English language skills, written by some of the most respected authors in English language teaching. A safe, private, supportive, international community of teachers and teacher-mentors, working and learning together online Live online workshops and chats with educators from around the world Live online advanced teaching skill courses