Learning Technologies

I enjoyed this week's activities. Using Office Software For Whole-Class teaching and Using Office Software In A Computer Room.
I always use powerpoint when presenting a new topic or for giving background information about a story but I haven't thought of making my students a part of it, up close and personal.I appreciate the fruitful ideas and will make sure I incorporate them in the curriculum. I'm sure students will have great fun as they learn!!! Thanx for the brilliant ideas!

CONGRATULATIONS CONS!

Our " Flowers For Algernon " debate took place on Friday and our con team won. With their argument "It was a mistake for Charlie to have the operation." the con team surpassed the opponent team which did its best yet apparently wasn't as convincing as the winner.

My 8th grade students read the short story " Flowers For Algernon." The protagonist was a mentally-retarded janitor named Charlie Gordon who was used in a scientific experiment by two doctors. Dr Nemur and Dr Strauss wanted to increase his intelligence by making him three times smarter than he actually was. Charlie ended up being a genius, however the effects of the operation were temporary. Eventually Charlie regressed back to what he was before.

We chose 8 students and made up two teams. Pros / Cons. The debate topic is:

It was a mistake for Charlie to have the operation

Pros are to agree with the topic and cons will disagree with it. There will be an opening statement ( 3 mnts), work period ( 2 mnts), rebuttal time ( 3 mnts), work period (2 mnts), response time ( 3 mnts) , work period (2 mnts) and finally closing statmement ( 3 pts)

Yesterday we had our rehearsal, as usual and students came up with interesting proofs. They brought some pictures of Marie Curie and shared some interesting facts about her life. They also shared what they had on human guinea pigs. The debate will take place on May 15,2009 and I will upload the video. The jury has a tough decision to make:)

This is a great speaking activity that I used with my adult learners back when I used to work in a language school... ( but I had 12 students in the class then:)

I found it useful to pre-teach some of the vocabulary they might need to complete this task and they were : exclusive, affair, to sue, solid(proof) , to withdraw, to turn down.

Put students into groups of 4 and give each student a role-card. Set the task and monitor the groups during the activity. Students have 15 minutes to talk to each other and make a decision. The groups then tell their classmates about their decision by supporting their answers.

TASK : You are part of the editorial team for " GOSSIP" magazine which features celebrity gossip, fashion, music and film news. As a team you are meeting to decide what stories will be published and what order they will appear in the next edition of the magazine.You will all be given a card which describes the role you must take.

AIM: You should make sure you show good listening skills while trying to ensure that you get your own views across.

IN THE END , you must agree on:

the lead story for the magazine-this will be used in TV and billboard advertising-
the second and third lead stories in this month's magazine
the cover image

HERE ARE THE ROLE CARDS FOR THE STUDENTS:

1) THE EDITOR: ( You must consider all stories and get your colleagues to agree on the best order to create the biggest sales)

You are new to the post and since you arrived the magazine hasn't been as successful as it was before. You need a top selling magazine next issue!

2) THE FILM EDITOR : ( You think this is the story that the magazine should lead)

A new film is out. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are starring in it. This is their first film together since they got married. Your magazine has pictures from the premiere and a promise of a joint interview- which would be exclusive!

The couple want a high profile spot in the magazine and without this they will offer the interview to your rival magazine and you still ave the premiere photos.

3) THE GOSSIP COLUMNIST :( YOU THINK THIS STORY IS TOO GOOD NOT TO USE:)

A famous footballer ( how about Beckham??) has been caught on film leaving the " Dreamhill1 Hotel at 7am. he is married and he has had affairs before. He has three children.( and a skinny, trendy wife called Victoria maybe :) You have photos of him leaving and it's clear that he stayed overnight. You have no solid proof that he is having an affair apart from these six photos. the " Dreamhill" hotel is where a famous celebrity is staying at the moment. Could she be the mysterious lady? The footballer will sue you if you print the pics and he has won damages of 3 million dollars from magazines and papers that print stories about him!

4) THE MUSIC EDITOR ( YOU ARE VERY EXCITED BY THE OFFER FROM MADONNA'S PUBLICITY TEAM)

Madonna is offering a full access interview and exclusive photos from her tour -something she rarely does... But there's a catch..She will only do the interview if she is guaranteed her story will be the main cover story and the main interview in the magazine. If you don't agree to her terms, she will withdraw her offer. ıt will be unlikely that you'll get another offer like this from her if you turn her down.

Chain stories

A free writing activity which practises the past tense and narrative linking words

Divide the class into groups of six
_ Write the following on the board :
One night
When
Suddenly
Meanwhile
Then
In the end
_ Each student in a group writes the first sentence of the story. They must begin this first sentence with " One night"
( see above) and the story must be written in the past tense
_ Each student then passes the paper to the next student in the group.
_ All the students now have the first sentence of a story. They must then add a second sentence to it, this time using the word "When "
_ They pass on the paper and the process continues, each time adding another sentence using the prompts from the board until the story is finished with a sentence containing
" In the end "
_ Students can read out a selection of the best stories. They'll probably be very bizarre, though:)

NOTE : I even did a speaking lesson by putting 7 country names on the board with their most famous tourist attractions and told the groups to pick one. Then they had to make a mindmap on what problems they faced while they were travelling "there" ( maybe their plane was hijacked, the ship was attacked by the pirates etc...) The thing was one student from the group started talking about the problems, he talked for about a minute or two then I stopped him and it was the other student's turn in the same group to continue where he stopped. They all added an interesting element to the story of their own and they loved this activity!

CISV InternationaL.. Germany / Lüneburg July 2008

The countries' problems from the perspective of 11 year olds...