ICT in TESOL Katie Webb

What is it? Socrative is a FREE online tool that enables teachers to build formative and summative quizzes AND share and import them from other colleagues.   I hear ya -  "but you spoke about Quizlet  a couple of posts ago - why are you showing us another quizzing tool?"  I really believe that these two tools offer different things - I won't go into details here about what makes quizlet great you can read that post but I will tell you all about socrative and I think the easiest way to do that is to show you how it works.  Go on then... After signing up for a free socrative account , the first thing teachers see is the homepage ↓ At the top of the page is your unique room ID. This is the code you'll need to give students to access any material you make - one of the great things about Socrative is that students don't have to sign up for an account or put in their email address.  They just have to open up the student home p...

Padlet No more stickies. Instead, use a living breathing  bulletin board to gather and share your ideas.  Tell me more... Padlet is an online application that can be used on mobile devices, PDAs and Laptops. Typically, users create a Padlet (which is very similar to a bulletin board) to collect ideas and brainstorm. Users can upload links, images, videos, and much more meaning that there is a real creative element to using it aaaaaand you can add to the board whenever you want or remove and edit boards if/when needed 😼 By now I figure you have realised that I am a BIG fan of Padlet. If not, here it is spelled out: I 💗 PADLET Instead of making and embedding a Padlet for this blog, I am (with full permission) embedding one I am actually using for group work at the moment.  As part of one of my core modules for my MA in research, we have to do a group poster on rigor in qualitative research. I heart Padlet so much that I recommended to our gro...

This week's tool is AnswerGarden.  Well, what is it? In a metaphorical sense, the title of the tool hints at it being a garden full of answers. More literally, it is an audience participation tool that can be used in real-time for  online brainstorming and classroom feedback.  Creating an AnswerGarden is really simple and intuitive (I didn't need the instructions but they can be found here  and there is also a demo here ).   Who can use it? Well you have probably worked it out already but Answergarden can be used by anyone wanting to get brief (I'll get to that point later) feedback from a group - so teachers can use it with students, trainers with trainees, students for group work, workshop leaders with course attendees, etc.  How can it be used? I think the tool works really well to review class material or find out what your students/ trainees already know. In the one I have set up below ↓ the idea is to have teacher ...

Flipgrid is a web-based platform, which allows teachers/educators to create 'grids' (topics) for video-based discussion. The idea is to get your class - whoever they may be - to 'reflect upon, discuss and showcase what they have been learning when they leave the classroom 💫 - neat right?  Ok, so how does it work? After signing up through your Gmail account, the first thing you see on Flipgrid is a nifty 'how to get started'... It basically involves three steps ↓ Once you have done this you will have your own classroom and can make your own post, which should look something like this  ↓  - just enter the password  ICTTESOL1 (If the embedded link above doesn't work just click-me) As you can see from my Flipgrid, you can post your topic instructions via text or you can do it in a video. I like that they offer two choices here but I would highly recommend uploading your own video - if you’re asking your students to do it ...

Before I start blogging on about Quizlet, I wanted to say a little bit about what will be coming up over the next few months.  From the title of the blog, you will probably have figured out that this is aimed at those in TESOL interested in ICT - so that's English language teachers, trainers, mentors or educators and pretty much ANYONE interested in using digital tools for learning purposes. Once a week, I'll post a blog about a tool, build some example materials using it and then embed it in the post. I will be designing the materials I make for teacher trainees - as I am particularly interested in teacher education but I'll also offer some suggestions about how the tools can be used in other disciplines or with other learners ✌ Oh and at the end of each post, I will comment on the best / worst thing about the tool I've been discussing.  So, Quizlet For those that have never come across it - Quizlet in its own words aims to help   " students an...

Blog it!  I really have been meaning to start a blog for around two years now, so the ICT module I am talking this year has finally kicked me into gear :)  For my first ever blog, as mentioned in the title, I will be blogging about someone else's blog -   Larry Ferlazzo's Website of the day blog to be specific   (Click his name for a link to his blog or visit my link list in the sidebar on the left - this also has some links to a few other ELT based blogs I read). I came across this blog in my search for some blog inspiration and it really didn't disappoint. I particularly liked the links to specific content and his favorite post s / best of series.    Since he has been running the blog since 2007, and still posts regularly, to say there is A LOT of content is an understatement - having the links at the top of the homepage really does help with navigation and this has given me some ideas about my own blog (now I just need the content 😉 ). I also l...