Hints For Busy Teachers Emma Matreniuc

How to Maintain Your Blog Alive EFL Instructor

A Good Teacher’s Blog Recommendations and Descriptions:

Blogging (web log, a journal of events)as well – is a 21st century approach in teaching a foreign language.

A good blog – is a network , a journal or an evidence of events.

--It should look as a journal with notes;--These notes are permanently updated, information is added, images and multimedia are here as well;--You regularly add some new commentaries, pictures and opinions;--http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7qe80_what-is-a-blog_news --the simpliest explanation on what the Blog is

Blog’s general purposes:--Communicative (to share, to talk) ---For self-presentation (as a diary) ---Entertainment (mothers, housekeepers)--For getting together and keep social network (to support each other, to keep friendship, be better colleagues)--For memoirs (like paper diary/self-communication)--For self-development and reflection (one can create his/her own image and structure personal thoughts

Pedagogical Purposes of Teacher’s Blog are:--To make the process of acquiring the subject easier , more comprehensive for children/students--To get together Teachers and Students/ Teachers and Parents;--To share positive experiences of other teachers;--To easify the process of communication:--Getting new information;--Give additional materials to students;--Blog incorporates several subjects and makes English an interdisciplinarian lesson;

Blog’s benefits for students: -- they can read, write, watch, listen, post, reply and communicate with teachers and peers;-- get and prepare for the assignments/tasks; --get the results on-line from Teachers;--use dictionary on-line;-- to listen to native speakers;

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Teacher’s Blog should1. Be very clear from the very first sight when one accesses or opens it (be it your student, colleague or any

other visitor);2. The pages and rubrics you form should look comprehensively and structured;3. The words that you use to entitle one or another page should reflect exactly what it comprises;4. Each Blog should have a design that will be pleasant for the reader’s eye and correspond the teaching aims;5. The words, phrases and images you use should be eye-catchy and inspiring;

6. Blog Etiquette Tips:

Be polite and respectful always and with everybody; Remind participants several days to a week prior (people forget stuff); Have a back-up plan in case they forget or for some reason; React to the blog you visit, when you are in a role of a guest; Write something you would publish on your own blog; Help promote your guest post and respond to comments; Be respectful to those who disagree with you;

7. Your Teacher’s blog should have all the facilities for your students ( a dictionary on your page, a calendar, an additional tutorial if needed, data of the task, a simple and detailed explanation for students with special needs);

8. The Assignments that you create should be clearly structured so that your students could understand the Task, especially those who missed the class;

9. Each Instruction should be explained simply and consequently;10. Provide the examples and enough facility information for the topics you consider to be the most difficult ones;11. Use the information (audio, video, any on-line techniques) that is relevant for your students’ language level

and development;12. Mind the aims of the Teacher’s Blog when you create a Task or organize an activity: to develop certain skills

and abilities;13. Involve all the students from your classes through the tasks you create, so that they could share the

experience with each other and peer educate themselves;14. Be open to reflect and respond to all their questions;15. Be aware of the fear some students might have referring to using new on-line methods, show them you are

there to explain and assist, if necessary;16. Appreciate all the work that they do, each assignment, task and even a little try—that will inspire them for

further participation;17. Keep in mind that evaluation of students work should be present as well, as it reflects their involvement and

shows learning results (both short-time and long-time ones);18. Include into your Blog’s pages all the extra-curriculum activities you do with your students or at school and

some other things your students are interested in. That will encourage them to do both what they like and the assignments as well;

19. To show that your Teacher’s Blog is an active one, be sure to use most of the on-line techniques and tools you learned and acquired during the study course;

20. Each blog post or assignment should also provoke communication and a desire for knowledge from your students. Try to present fresh news, events, activities that will prove your connection between modern life, your students and you.

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There are the links to examples of good and living Teacher’s Blogs http://aculovrodica.wordpress.com/

http://gruscadumitru.weebly.com/

http://emmamatreniuc.weebly.com/

http://mariaionesi.weebly.com/the-10th-and-11th-forms

http://povestindmatematica.ro/

http://myblogclass.weebly.com/

http://themodernscholar.weebly.com/

http://classroomblogzabriceni.weebly.com/

Creating a Writing Course Utilizing Class and Student Blogs .Andrew Johnson Ritsumeikan University (Tokyo, Japan)

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Johnson-Blogs/

Weblogs, or blogs for short, were created as a tool for people to create online journals without the need of any programming experience or knowledge. Although not originally intended for use in EFL classes, blogs have immense potential as an extremely valuable tool for the teaching of second language writing. By utilizing free blogging services on the Internet, teachers are capable of creating and storing online supplemental materials for students, post class notes for student review, and give general feedback to the class as a whole and individually. Additionally, students are able to submit assignments online. Taught in a computer room with Internet access, a writing class utilizing blogs that allows students to actually write in class on a computer can be created.

Weblogs (or blogs) are electronic journals that allow the user to keep records of their writing on a website . In recent years, the use of these electronic journals in education is on the rise, especially in the United States. A good example is the Bay Area Writing Project which has organized the Educational Blogger Network (edBlogNet) with the purpose of helping kindergarten through university teachers “use weblog technology for the teaching of writing and reading across the disciplines” (eBn, 2003). Blogs have been successfully implemented into journalism, political science, and various junior high to university English writing courses for native English speakers. However, the use of blogs in teaching EFL appears to still be in its infancy but has much potential, especially in teaching written communication skills. Campbell (2003) goes into various ways blogs can be used by teachers and students to communicate in an EFL environment. He suggests using class blogs as a forum for students to express opinions, ideas, and interesting information. Additionally, the use of a ‘tutor blog' is a way for teachers to share with students and point them to other interesting links. Duber (2002) also discusses the background of blogs and gives links to several teachers' ‘tutor blogs.' Although the number of articles discussing blogs in an EFL teaching setting has increased recently, few of them discuss group or team blogs that keep student submissions private between the individual student and the teacher.

Differentiated instruction and assessment

(also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation) is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing different students with different avenues to learning (often in the same classroom) in terms of: acquiring content; processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in ability. Students vary in culture, socioeconomic status, language, gender, motivation, ability/disability, personal interests and more, and teachers must be aware of these varieties as they plan curriculum. By considering varied learning needs, teachers can develop personalized instruction so that all children in the classroom can learn effectively. Differentiated classrooms have also been described as ones that respond to student variety in readiness levels, interests and learning profiles. It is a classroom that includes all students and can be successful. To do this, a teacher sets different expectations for task completion for students based upon their individual needs.

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