RSS in a bit more than100 words.

It was a funny thing, really, when we were presented to RSS and Google reader. For a long time I had thought, "Now, wouldn't it be interesting to have a tool that allowed us to get updates from whatever it is we like without having to browse the web every time?" And there it is! When i watched the frist video, with the nice gentleman moving the sheets of paper so efficiently, I was thrilled, and went, "wow, this is it!!!"
So now I have the tool, and I am learning how to use it. The next step is to think how I can apply this in class. I am still not sure, but I believe at least using this kind of bookmarking will provide me with loads of interesting current topics that I may take to class and discuss with students or offer them links that they may check for themselves. Maybe I could find websites that match the topics of our texts and get feeds from those. I don't know how I am going to use it yet, but I am glad I learned about it!!!
Peace, Ana

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I click to give: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

 

TDC blog

We have said that using blog in the classroom is a process, and it is so true.
I started 'demanding' more interactions from my TDC students and it has been much better.
One thing though that most of them mentioned was the fact that some of the Web Tools people passed by to say 'hello'. This made them really excited, I mean to see that different people visitors could be interested in their views.
I know it's a very specific kind of blog, and they'll be commenting on their readings, but if you can, plz go visit them! And if you have interesting links about grammar or academic writing, your suggestions would be more than welcome. I'm sure they'll love it, and since these are future teachers, it will help them get started with the online learning process that gets so hard for us sometimes!
Luffs, and Keep Rockin'

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I click to give: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

 

Blogging - how cool is that?

I personally don't like blogging. I bores me, as simple as that. Plus, people sometimes are so wordy that it's a bit of a pain to be reading all that. Also, although I find it interesting to read some people's views on something, I seldom feel like responding to them. It's a non-of-my-bizz kind of thing. Weird, huh? I know it is, and I admit it, and this brings me to the question: Am I really that cyber resistant? Well, the answer is No, I'm so not! I love other cyber stuff, like relationship sites, for instance, like Facebook. I log on Facebook practically everyday. I like emailing and chatting. I like instant messengers. I even like texting my friends on the phone. I just don;t like blogs. Just blogs. That means that you probably will never find me creating a 'let's get personal and share my traveling experiences or the development of my children'kind of thing. Nope - won't happen, really.

Nevertheless, I understand how useful a tool they can be. And I believe in that so much that I am currently on my fourth class blog.
My first experience was as a visitor. A professor of mine created a blog and we were supposed to post comments about the texts we were reading in class. We, the students, didnt feek it was very productive at the time, and later, even the professor admitted that. So much so that he changed the format of the interaction a bit for the following term. The good thing about the experience was that I started seeing blogs as and effective tool, and thinking about using it somehow. The fact that the experinece wasn't great only helped, because my colleagues and I spent more time trying to figure out how to make the blog interaction work, than actually criticizing it. We kearned a lot - you bet!

The second experience was also kind of lame, but I gues i was to blame. I created this blog for my TOEFL class. It was a very large group and there was no way I could possibly individualize the attention in class. My intial ambition was that hey'd use the blog to ask the questions they could not ask in class, so all of us would have the chance to discuss the problems and difficulties. Never worked. I mean it: NEVER. There was only one post - and it was mine.

Then another proefssor decided to use blogs as a tool for us to communicate our extra-class projects. Each student had to create a blog, post their experiences and comment on each other's blogs. This experience was better. Not great, but better, and I think the lack of the mother blog was probably the reason.

After these three cyber flaws, some may wonder how come I haven't quit yet. And this is exactly what the picture represents. That's how I feel: I believe in the power of blogs, and I am determined to make it work, even if it takes me a long time. Right now, as I teach the first level of the Casa's Teacher's Development Course, I am using a blog (bookmarked on Diigo, if you want to check it out and give me suggestions) that I am almost happy with. I created it, but sent out invitations to all the students who are now authors and administrators. One of them even changed the background color :). Not all of them are using it yet, but I haven't had time to post some more intriguing questions for them. Anyway, I am more pleased with the fact that am still willing to try, and my big dream is to have a multi-level blog, so that learners indeed learn from each other. Do think I will ever make it?

Rock on!

PS: Sorry for being wordy - by least favorite blog trait!


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I click to give: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

Funny-pictures-kitten-has-dete

 

Bookmarking

Ever since I started browsing I started bookmarking.

at first I would copy the address and paste it onto a word doc, which was saved on my desktop. This is the big advantage of computers. You don't need to have a memory anymore. If you're organized enough, save your stuff, and the machine will remember everything for you. This may sound a bit bleak, apocalyptic, temple of doom sort of thing, but oh, well, it's the sign of times. Anyway, this is beside the point, and this is about Technology, not Philosophy.

The point is bookmarking.

I was saying I've always done this, first on paper, then using the browser tools and finally IGOOGLE! I love iGoogle. It is my initial page, and there I have everything I need: Gmail, Orkut, Facebook, CNN, Weather, a clock, cat pictures, NatGeo, and - guess what - my bookmarks!!! Tagged!!! Right there in front of my eyes, easy access, super quick.

And along comes DIIGO! My first thought was: why on this fair planet Earth for??? Remember: I have iGoogle - and I use it! Why do I need another tool? The answer, or rather, the keyword? SOCIAL! That's what was missing. I did have my bookmarks, but I didn't have yours, or you, mine! That makes a difference, now doesn't it? Sharing! And I am big on sharing. Always have been. Check the topic of my previous posting - sharing!

The fun stuff about using Diigo is that we become a community. My 'treasures' as someone pointed out in the chat, are yours. Use them, benefit from them, be better because of them. I'll be doing the same with yours, don't worry about it. I signed up for it a few days ago, and I am almost done migrating my bookmarks. I enjoyed trying to find out how to work the features. I still haven't thought of a way to use it with my students, but I have already sent out and received friend requests from other teachers - cool, huh? See, COMMUNITY, people! I did like Diigo. Seriously.

Now, how about iGoogle? Well, it's still there, doing great, thank you very much. It is still my good, good friend. I am not one to trade my love affairs that easily, you know? The difference is that now it only shows one bookmark! Everything else I can find on my sweet diigo toolbar, right above the google toolbar on my Firefox!

Love to you all, and Rock On!
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I click to give: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

 

I want to try this out.

So far, I've been posting directly, but I decided to give this a try.
Let's see...

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I click to give: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

 

We are what we share

This is a quote form the 'We Think' animation video, in the Web 2.0 safari page.

All the information I saw there got me thinking very hard, and honestly, despite all the info I had on CALL, CMC, etc, and all I heard from people who already use these tools for teaching, and all I  read about Web 2.0, it was this short animation video that made me agree that we can't do much without online interaction.

Somewhere in one of the several places of interaction we are using in this course, I mentioned that I was skeptical about these tools. My questioning had nothing to do with whether I think online line interaction is a valid, pertinent or useful tool. Carol Chapelle, among others, wrote entire books prasing the virtues of the web. No, no, the web is great, blogs are great, AIM and MSN are great. My problem relates more with using these tools and making them actual class materials.

While in the US the last couple of years, I had the chance to participate in an online colallaborative task-based project involving learners in 5 different countries. They interacted through a discussion forum just like the ones we have. At first, the students were tremendously excited, even slightly maniacal, posting insanely info about themselves, their homes, their culture. Then the task started. What a difference: posting rates slowly atrated to go down, down, and at the end I was surprised to see that a few tasks were in fact accomplished and final prodicts were presented.

Now how did they do that? My hypotheses - they exchaged emails or MSM contacts, and performed the tasks via other more friendly virtual environments.Either that or the task ended up being performed by one poor soul whose teacher was pushier than the others', or whose grades depended on it. We in the research group did not find evidence to suggest which hypothesis was correct, we just hoped for the for the first one.

The point of this story is to explain why I got disappointed with the whole CALL thing.

However, yesterday I watched the video, and my perspective started to change. Web communication is a generous thing. We give, we don't sell; we get, we don't by. It is also democratic. We post and pray that someone will read and respond. We can't force it, push it, grade it. At least not yet.

For now, here's how I want his to work for me: we create the means; the learners try it. If they like it, they'll come back for more. No great expectations, just the will to become a better, more resourceful teacher.

 

 

About

Hi, I'm Ana.

I really like this name. It's short, snappy and can be read in whichever direction you choose.

There are other things I like, and very few I dislike.

Animals are my favorite things on Earth, especially cats. People who know me have long realized that the best gift for me is anything to do with cats. Some say I'm weird.I say I'm easy to please like that!

I also love books, films and music. Some say I am a bit particular about these three. I say they are particular.

I have been teaching for as long as I can remember. I love doing it. I just came back from Ohio where I got my master's in TESL. Some say now I'm an expert. I say I just got started.

I learned so much from my professors there, but I learned way more from my students from all over the world. I was so tremendously fabulous to interact with so many different cultures at the same time. It was a challenge as well, since all the strategies I had learned to deal with my Brazilian students meant nothing there. Never had I thought I'd be able to come up with new strategies so fast!

Now, what I dislike: spending a long time in front of a computer - ironic, isn't it? But it's true. I am not digital, multimedia, virtual or anything like that. I email. I skype. I google. That's it.

And that's why I'm here! I don't want to become addicted or anything. I just want to make my classes better and my students happier.

Thanks for reading!
Ana