e-LearningCTJ

RSS Podcast

carlaarena — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:22:46 +0000

Here’s the podcast for our get-together on Oct. 13th,2008.
Great RSS talk!
You can see the slides we talked about in the WiziQ session. You can listen to the podcast here, or just go back to our WiziQ room to see the recording (start on slide 8 at WiziQ).

Rss – Connecting Loose Pieces Together

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: rss webtools4educators)

http://www.slideshare.net/carlaarena/rss-connecting-loose-pieces-together-presentation

WebTools4Educators Podcast

carlaarena — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:36:48 +0000

A very pleasant evening with an attentive and enthusiastic crowd of educators in the room. That was our first get-together at WiziQ (you can see the recording here starting on slide 10), a free webconferencing platform, in which participants can audio chat, text chat, see slideshows, upload photos, interact, connect, explore.
The topic of night? the big picture of EduBlogging.
Here’s the slideshow:

And if you want to listen to it again, or just enjoy the conversation you missed, just click on the player below. Enjoy! If there is still something you want to comment, ask, feel free to leave a message.
A very special thanks to our guests of the week who are true inspiration, Cris Costa, Mary Hillis and Dennis Oliver.
The blog post that inspired the title of this session and much of our talk is from Jen Wagner, at Tech Thoughts.

Week 2 – Which place inspired you?

elearningctj — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:18:21 +0000

Listening to something is not enough to enhance our abilities in the target language. You need to check what you understood from that listening and go beyond. There needs to be practice, interaction with others, use of the vocabulary and structure you’ve been exposed to in order to make sense out of the bits of information you received.
So, after accessing our online bookmarks at http://del.icio.us/listeningplus/places and performing the listening task, share as much information as you think it would be interesting for your classmates and instructor to know about.
• Make sure you mention the following aspects of the listening task as you write your blog comment: – What was the listening about? – What was the link for it? – Which listening strategy did you use to get the most out of it? – Was it interesting? What did you learn that you didn’t know before? – Is there anything you still want to investigate about this place?
• Finish your post with a question for the others to reply to you. This is a great strategy to keep the dialog flowing!

Isabel Allende’s Listening Activity – 2nd2008

elearningctj — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:46:29 +0000

Isabel Allende’s story is about gains and losses. It’s about suffering, learning and recovering.
It’s time to reflect upon her story and relate it to the principles that guide you.
In the “Comment Box”, first, write about the listening strategies you used to understand this amazing Latin novelist’s anecdote. Then, tell us more about your own beliefs in your daily life.

What are your beliefs?
Why are they important?
Where do those principles come from? Family history? A lesson you learned?

Week 4 – How We Met Each Other

carlaarena — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:59:47 +0000

We watched Isabela’s love story:
Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s your instructor’s story: How We Met Each Other
We were from different tribes. Rodrigo was the good boy, wearing fashionable clothes from well-known Brazilian brands. I was kind of hippie, not the one from the 70’s at all, but I wore “alternative” colorful clothes and I had long curly hair. Rodrigo was into Economics while I was a fan of the Anthropology and Sociology Department at UNB. He dated a Middle School colleague of mine whom I have to admit was not my closest friend. At that time, our lives couldn’t be so apart.

Time went by. Both of us passed a public entrance exam and started taking a four-month course, eight hours a day, with tests every single week. In order to pass, we had to start helping each other and a study group emerged from our need to go through those tough times. The group of students became close friends. We studied hard. However, as any young people, we had also much fun together after long hours of discussions and readings. We played tennis, ran, had parties, sang together. The boys played the guitar and I fell in love with Rodrigo. I couldn’t help myself. He was dedicated, intelligent, witty, talented…Everything I would expect from a man. He played the guitar and my heart pounded at 1,ooo miles/hour!
One day I promised it would be the decisive day! We went out together, just the two of us. It was a famous bar in Brasilia, Libanus. We talked about all the frivolities one could ever imagine, including the Aquarius Era! I drank two huge glasses of powerful “caipirinhas”. I was walking on air having Rodrigo by my side. I was embarrassed, but that was my only chance. Well, the night was perfect. Our first kiss was magic. I wanted the moment to last forever.
However, Rodrigo started acting strangely. When I talked to him about our situation, his reply was that he wanted to have fun in life and he didn’t want any serious relationship. My heart sank and I decided not to bother with someone who didn’t care about us. We kept hanging out with our friends, but I ignored Rodrigo. I wanted him to be part of the past. He started calling me to check how I was. Once I told him on the phone that he was a chicken, he didn’t have the courage to be happy, etc… We went to a party, Rodrigo told me he had a song to show me, he played the guitar and sang the most romantic song ever and we started dating. We’ve been together for 10 years, we got married two times – the civil ceremony was in 1997 and the religious one was in 2002 together with our youngest son’s baptism.
I feel the luckiest woman in the world to have met such a wonderful husband and father for my two kids! Life couldn’t be better. Carla
Your Turn!

How about you?

Tell us about how you met a special person in your life or You can share a love story of your parents, relatives, close friends…

When was it? Where were you (or the couple you’re talking about)? How did you feel (how did the couple feel about each other)? What happened? Are you still with this person (Is the couple still together)? How do you feel now about this person (What are your impressions about the couple’s life together)?

I’m anxiously waiting for your romantic stories!
Read about some love stories at Casa Thomas Jefferson to get inspired

Week 3 – Abu Dhabi

carlaarena — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:23:03 +0000

Listen to Vance Stevens talking about Abu Dhabi.
Here’s the Voicethread we used to leave comments and questions to Vance.

In the comment area, you’ll see the group’s replies and Vances’ comments to us.

Earth Day 2008

carlaarena — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:45:08 +0000

I’ve been listening to students, educators, people like us in edtechtalk. They had the wonderful idea to celebrate Earth Day with a 24 webcastathon, an amazing opportunity to share ideas, raise awareness on the importance of little measures that can impact the health of our Earth. Here’s a sample of what has been going on.
You’ll listen to Ms. Adams’ students saying what they do to help our planet.

Which Place Inspired? 1o2008

carlaarena — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:22:19 +0000

Listening to something is not enough to enhance our abilities in the target language. You need to check what you understood from that listening and go beyond. There needs to be practice, interaction with others, use of the vocabulary and structure you’ve been exposed to in order to make sense out of the bits of information you received.

So, after accessing our online bookmarks at http://del.icio.us/listeningplus/Week2 and performing the listening task, share as much information as you think it would be interesting for your classmates and instructor to know about.

• Make sure you mention the following aspects of the listening task as you write your blog comment:
- What was the listening about?

- What was the link for it?

- Which listening strategy did you use to get the most out of it?

- Was it interesting? What did you learn that you didn`t know before?

- Is there anything you still want to investigate about this place?

Remember to share with the group in our class glossary (in our e-learning platform) the new words you learned.

What is a Blog? How do I Comment?

elearningctj — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:04:40 +0000

A blog is like an online journal where we can keep records for our thoughts, beliefs, ideas. At the same time, with the comment area available on blogs, we can establish a dialog with friends, classmates, family members, co-workers, among others. It is a great tool to practice English because it is a moment for free writing and self-expression.

This e-LearningCTJ Blog is where we’ll keep the discussion, establish a conversation among classmates, reflect and share.

How to add a Comment

Go to the post you want to comment on (for example, Isabel Allende’s Listening Activity - the link is on the right of your screen under “latest posts”)

Scroll down the page.

Add your information below “Reply”.

Add your comment, ideas, reflections in the comment area box.

Click on “Submit”.

You’ll see your comment there, below the major post.
Are you ready to get started?

Blogging: In their Own Words

Besides practicing your listening skills (for Advanced Level students), this video with students tells us all about the reasons for blogging and why we’re using it in our Listening Plus course! Enjoy!
How do you like our class blogging experience?

Isabel Allende’s Listening Activity – 1st2008

carlaarena — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 16:36:08 +0000

What are your beliefs?
Why are they important?
Where do those principles come from? Family history? A lesson you learned?