From CMS to LMS. E-Learning Management

Learning management system is a variation of content management system focused on e-learning. Moodle or Atutor are some examples of this software application. The layout is specially adapted for education courses or training programs and highly customisable with modules such as quizzes, deadlines, portfolios...

The best way to understand that is medium an example like Ready, Study, Go Ahead, LMS website based on e-learning packages for language and cultural preparation.

Review

Despite the main idea is right, there are some aspect they could improve. 

The first thing what we are missing is a personal profile. A place to record your progress and have a track of your exercises. 

Secondly, the layout is completely irregular and sometimes seems poorly adjusted: many different sizes for images and letters, photos's locations...

Besides, I would recommend to add some modules:

Calendar would be a good idea to organise course time and units. 

Social media will let people share and recommend it. 

Main menu on the left sidebar to allow direct access to the whole content.

In conclusion, with a little effort you can develop and improve your web site. Just let them tell you advantages and drawbacks of it. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

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Differences among CMS sites

There are many Content Management Systems available to create a webpage and most of them are appropriate for our purpose: education. That's why in this new technological era, almost every school/high school has one. Here you are some examples of sites created with different CMS.

Sites created with Drupal:
http://www.salesianos.edu/alicante/
http://www.iesenricsolerigodes.com/drupal/

Sites created with WordPress:
http://navarrosantafe.edu.gva.es/wordpress/
http://iesbenjaminjarnes.wordpress.com/

Sites created with Joomla:
http://www.iesdoctorbalmis.com/
http://iesleonardoalacant.edu.gva.es/web/
http://cavanilles.edu.gva.es/

Sites created with PHP-Nuke:
http://www.iesjaumeprimer.com/pphp/nuke/html/index.php

Sites created with SPIP:
http://nsd.hhdc.net/

Sites created with Zikula (mostly in Catalonia):
http://agora.xtec.cat/iessantjust/intranet/
http://agora.xtec.cat/iesnumancia/intranet/

Sites using Mestre a Casa (official web offered by Conselleria):
http://mestreacasa.gva.es/web/ieslacanyada
http://mestreacasa.gva.es/web/fpabeniassent/

Sites directly using Moodle as site and VLE:
http://fpaibi.edu.gva.es/aulavirtual/
http://www.iesalquibla.net/moodle/index.php

Wordpress is the CMS I like the most. It has a large number of developers and designers in charge of creating complements and templates for the community. Therefore, I like the layout of IES Benjamín Jarnés. 
On the other hand, IES Cavanillas is a good example about what you can do with JOOMLA. Very dynamic and intuitive with instant access to different sections through drop-down menus.
As you can see in the first group (Drupal), despite using the same CMS, webpages are totally different.
While Salesianos de Alicante with these three columns is well structured and looks really good, IES Enric Soler may seem a bit dull and less practical because you have to scroll down to much to get all the information.
All in all, isn't that important the manager you use but the way you use it. What's the point about having a Ferrari if you still drive it as if you were ridding a bicycle.

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Useful Tools: JOOMLA & Extensions

We already have a lot of of tools to use. However, there is still something we are forgetting: what about creating our own webpage? As you see, a blog can be easily created and managed. While using CMS for webpages, that happens too. 

My suggestion is JOOMLA, a open source content management system. It doesn't require any technical skill or knowledge about web codes to manage it. You can focus on creating and adding materials since the CMS manages all your content.

In addition, you have managers for every single basic feature that will guide you throughout processes such as adding web links or changing templates.

On the other hand, the strength of JOOMLA lies in its "extension directory". Unlimited opportunities to customise your site with thousands of applications. Just look for the ones that suit your needs.

Advanced Module Manager

In my opinion, this is a must-have extension for JOOMLA sites. The native module manager has a lot of weak points. In contrast, AMM gives you full control of modules adding many possibilities. This add-on also fix the problem with control publishing modules by homepage, date range, languages, URLs...

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Edudemic and Newsletter

Looking for new educational websites, I have found out one that really impressed me: Edudemic.

This awesome Blog is completely dedicated to education. There isn't only a webmaster, which means daily new information provided by many people with different points of view.

The layout is very fresh and dynamic. In the homepage we can find the latest entries and four drop-down menus as well. "The teacher's guide" section that offers teachers some of the most interesting resources and tools available today. If you have time, have a look at this selection I made: The Teacher's Guide to Badges in Education and The Teacher's Guide to Flipped Classrooms.

"The best EdTech" where they give some advice about best laptops for teachers or best tablets for education. Moreover, exclusive reviews about IOS and Android apps. Finally,"For students" and "For teachers"both share some sections such as online learning, tools, social media or startups. These are focused on methodology strategies, tips and ways of teaching. I will strongly recommend "How to" subsection.

If you want to keep updated about any new without having to use your browser, just sign up for the newsletter as I did. Every new post is sent by e-mail to your mailbox and has the same information that you would find in the webpage.

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Useful Tools: Lino and some additional resources

For new teachers, sometimes is difficult to create new materials. It may be caused by our inexperience or just because of the lack of time. For these special occasions, we can complement our material with lessons or activities already created by the teaching community. Moreover, we may have not realised that there are tons of apps that can make our life as teachers easier.

Here you have a variety of resources that I would probably use in my subject:

TeacherKit (app)

Is a classroom organiser. This app allows you to manage as many groups as you need. Creating personal profiles of your students, you can take some behaviour notes, control their attendance and the most important part, log their grades. 

Such important data can't be lost, that's why automatic backups are done periodically using dropbox.

Internet Literacy (eBook)

An Awarded eBook that through a very simple and sometimes humorous way, shows students the basic skills they need nowadays. 

In addition, contains some units related to another important aspects of the web they should know such as Netiquette, safety, privacy, ethics and online law.

This book is recommended for E.S.O students.

Workshop Hand Tools (lesson)

Ir order to create projects inside the workshop, students must know what and how many different tools they are going to find. It is also necessary to teach how to use them properly because nobody wants to get hurt. 

This lesson is ready to print and prepared to be given as a hand out.

Types of Energy (whiteboard lesson)

Very dynamic and intuitive powerpoint created for the Energy unit.

By using a lot of pictures and concise information this lesson can be taught easily by any technology teacher. It is as simple as it is effective.

Bonus Tool

Lately I've been working with a very useful tool. Lino is an app created to share a lot of information with others. You can post notes and organise your stickies all over the canvas. It is also possible to upload files (photos and movies). Moreover, Deadlines can be established in the calendar. 

All in all, a superb tool to share information and files among colleagues and students.

This is a Lino canvas created by myself as an example of what you can do.

ICT Resources

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Useful Tools: Pictochart

Infographics has become one of the best ways to share and promote content. It can be used by teachers and students to present a huge amount of information in concise chunks and giving numbers/data a visual appeal. One point about Infographics is that you need to make sure your project is designed in the right way in order for it to work correctly. It has to be visually interesting, but not overwhelming because even if they are highly informative, your student will probably get lost.

I've tested it myself by creating four guided activities for a unit and this is the result:

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Useful Tools: The Cloud

Introduction

The cloud or cloud computing is a buzzword term used to encompass network-based services. That means, software, platforms or infrastructure that can be used online.

Installation is not required, the services are hosted in a remote location and you only need to log in.

Nowadays, this tool is mostly used for running online versions of almost every program and as online storage.

Nevertheless, all that glitters isn't gold. Although it represents an improvement, that's obvious, we should think about a couple of things before leaving our private files to someone else's hands.

After this short introduction, I would like to point the advantages and disadvantages of the cloud regarding the educational environment.

Advantages

Backup: Files in the cloud are stored on multiple machines at once. Constant backup is done automatically. Lose data it's almost impossible unlike in our hard drive. Now students have no excuses to hand in their homework.

Updates: The company provider handles with those annoying updates instead of users. Students don't have to worry about nothing because they will always have the latest version and full compatibility.

Cost: Schools can eliminate the servers or at least reduce the associated tech support costs. Moreover, cloud software is way cheaper or even free. Purchasing serials will be no longer necessary.

Flexibility: Student can access their applications wherever, whenever, on any synchronized device.

Storage: Free storage space provided should be enough for our educational purposes. In any case, they will never run out of space because there is always the possibility to add more GB.
Simplicity and Time: Students save a lot of time not having to install or configure anything.

Disadvantages

Security: Despite the security measures, nobody can guarantee 100% that the files won't be opened by any intruder or an employee of the company.
Data Transfer: In comparison to the transfers in our hard drive, uploading a 50MB file may take a long while, depending on our internet connection.
Features: Some applications are optimized for the cloud use. They are like cutted versions of the program. This may represent a problem because of the lack of features.
Support: It takes too long to solve a problem because of their customer service. It's very common in web apps.


Based on my personal experience, I would recommend three cloud services.
If you are an Apple user, iCloud is the best way to connect your devices and share information.
If you want to share with others a lot of files or large size data, Dropbox is the fastest tool to upload/download.
GoogleDrive is the future of ICT education. Not only allows students to create groups, but also to write and edit files at the same time!! Very intuitive, fast and easy to master. It also has a huge amount of widgets to add new possibilities.

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Interaction in class

In my opinion, Technology Teachers have more advantages to create an interactive environment than others. According to the syllabus of the subject we have to spend a lot of hours in the workshop in order to develop a project. So, why don't we make the most of it?
Encouraging students is not an easy task, interaction could be the key for it.
Let's list some learning and teaching strategies that can promote the interaction in the workshop:

• Work in pairs or small groups to foster Peer education and teamwork skills.
• Give them freedom to experiment but ensuring the security measures.
• Continuous feedback in order to make easier to follow the instructions.
• Explain as much as possible by demonstrating the process and make them to repeat it.
• Promote cooperation between groups.
• Share responsibilities: tool managing, leadership, cleanliness...
• Help them to elaborate their own material.

Communicative activities are designed to be interactive and fun. 

Make students feel confortable and they will be likely to learn more!!

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Useful Tools: Wordle

Wordle

Very Visual tool to create glossaries of words presented in a word map or cloud.

An example:

Fuel: Material (such as coal, oil, or gas) that is burned to produce heat or power.

Organic: Grown or made without the use of artificial chemicals.

Source: Someone or something that provides what is wanted or needed.

Coal: Black hard substance within the earth that is used as a fuel.

Wind: Natural movement of air outside.

Water: The clear liquid that has no color, taste, or smell.

Food: The things that people and animals eat.

Plant: Living thing that grows in the ground, has leaves or flowers and needs sun and water to survive.

Animal: Living thing that is not a human being or plant.
Oil: Thick, black liquid that comes from the ground and that is used in making various products.

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Useful Tools: Thesaurus and Corpora

Today we have found out two interesting educational tools!

Thesaurus

Thesaurus could be defined as a reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning. In other words, a dictionary of synonyms and antonyms.

As you can see in the picture, Thesaurus gives you a long list of synonyms and antonyms. However, its usefulness is based on how the advanced searching tools allow you to organize the list.

By:

• Relevance (A-Z/Z-A)
• Complexity (+ or -)
• Length (+ or -)
• Common words
• Informal words
• Type of word (through the pull-down menu)

If we don't have enough vocabulary or we are trying to find the proper word, we can always ask Thesaurus for some help.

Corpora

Corpora are compilations of oral and written texts that try to offer an accurate spectrum of the use of a language in a diversity of situations. 

As the picture shows, enables the study of wider patterns and collocation of words and allows analysis of multiple parameters at the same time. Therefore, is very useful in the case of expressions, prepositions, idioms and cultural references. 

Results obtained for "to be focused X":

Links:
Thesaurus
British National Corpus
Linguee

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Useful Tools: Dictionaries

My adventure searching new ICT material continues!

Today I'm going to speak about the best tool a CLIL teacher can have: The Dictionary.

I've tested some of the most important online dictionaries emphasizing their good and bad points.
The main purpose of that review is helping you to choose one, among all of them, depending on which features fit better with your objectives.

I've looked up the word "source" and these are my results:

Oxford Dictionary

Definition in English: Yes

Translation: No

Example Sentences: Yes

Synonyms: Yes

Related Words: No

Compound Forms: No

On-line Pronunciation: Yes

Origin: Yes

Rhymes: No

Forum Discussion: No

It works in the same way as an old-fashioned dictionary but on-line. Nowadays, we have better choices if we are looking for additional features. 

★★★ (of 5).

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Definition in English: Yes

Translation: Yes
Example Sentences: Yes
Synonyms: Yes
Related Words: Yes
Compound Forms: No
On-line Pronunciation: Yes
Origin: Yes
Rhymes: Yes
Forum Discussion: No

It is a perfect example of what we ask for an on-line dictionary. Well structured, a lot of information included and a lot of more surfing through the links.

★★★★★ (of 5).

WordReference Dictionary

Definition in English: No
Translation: Yes
Example Sentences: Yes
Synonyms: No
Related Words: Yes
Compound Forms: No
On-line Pronunciation: Yes
Origin: No
Rhymes: No
Forum Discussion: Yes

The absence of definitions make us think about it as a translator instead of a dictionary. Easy, direct and complete translator, probably the best you can find. In addition, you have a particular section called "forum Discussion" where almost everything is asked and answered by the community.

★★★★ (of 5).

And the bonus review is for:

M-W Learner's Dictionary

To add the word push plus button

Definition in English: Yes
Translation: No
Example Sentences: Yes
Synonyms: No
Related Words: No
Compound Forms: No
On-line Pronunciation: Yes
Origin: No
Rhymes: No
Forum Discussion: No

This dictionary is specially created for students. Clear definitions and examples. A very good learning tool due to its additional sections. We can add the words we have looked up in order to create our own dictionary. Having fun while learning some words in the "Vocabulary Quiz". Daily interesting words to complete our personal dictionary in "word of the day". And Finally, "Ask the Editor", some feedback with our english doubts.

★★★★★ (of 5).

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Students' Needs

In order to become a good technology teacher I've to study and identify in advance some of the problems that I'll probably encounter in my future job.

The first problem I found is how to adapt the syllabus of the Technology subject. 

The ECI/2220/2007 establishes the goals and the contents that are required for a student in order to pass. Due to the fact that we have to teach the subject trough a non mother tongue language but reaching the same minimums, we have to rebuilt completely the way we were teaching.

These are some of the goals for an E.S.O. student:

• Autonomy, creativity and capacity to both work individually or in group.
• Technic skills and enough knowledge for the analysis, design and manipulation of objects and tools.
• Analyze objects in order to understand how do they work, knowing their parts and functions.
• Express and communicate ideas and technic answers.
• Fluently use of applications and database software.
• Get used to new technologies including them in his/her daily life.
• Behave with respect, tolerance, cooperativism and solidarity.

Therefore, not only we have to lower the difficulty of the contents but we have to use a proper language registre. In this case two: 

• Academic English: specific lexis, syntax and genre conventions (oral and written) that teachers and students use in the context of learning.

• English for Specific Purposes: language used in a specific field.

To solve this first language barrier, my suggestion is to elaborate a "language notebook". 

Throughout the course pupils will be filling it with vocabulary, grammatical structures and useful phrases in general. 

In addition, to ensure the understanding in our linguistic exchanges we could start with:

• Asking for clarification
• What does X mean?
• Sorry, What did you say?
• How can I say X in Spanish?

• Non comprehension
• I'm sorry, I didn't understand.
• Could you repeat it, please?
• Excuse me, I didn't get that.

Depending on the unit, we should include specific vocabulary. For example, If we are going to star a new project in the workshop, the explanation of the process will be easier if everyone can identify every tool in advance. Trough some activities we will include "Workshop tools vocabulary".

And that's all for today, see you all in my next entry and I encourage everybody to comment and discuss anything you want.

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ICT Special Videos

I have found some useful videos that can help us to improve the level of our Art sessions.

I recommend the first one to those who are trying to inspire pupils with something more than conventional painting methods. They give us some resources as webpages, software and even reviews of the latest Art devices.

This second video shows the evaluation of three ICT resources that you may consider:

• Image manipulation software.
• Online picture community.
• Video editing software.

The last but not least, some useful resources focused on Design and Technology as:

• Interactive Encyclopedia activities.
• A digital Library with education clips.
• Webpage supporting Design and Technology teaching.

I hope you have enjoyed them!!

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What's a Blog?

In global terms a blog is considered a public webpage filled with entries, also called posts, organized in reverse chronological order. Normally managed by a single author.
However, its popularity is based on the way people uses that tool.
On internet there are over 100 million blogs. Among them, you can find several purposes: to express your thoughts and opinion, to promote something, to help people, to establish yourself as an expert, to connect with people like you, to make a difference or to stay connected with friends and family.
Furthermore, from my point of view one of the keys of its success is the interaction. They let people express and contrast opinions, ask questions or just congratulate and give support faster and easily.
During this exercise I have found out that a blog can be a powerful educative tool, so if the opportunity is given in a future I'll try to create and introduce it into my classroom materials.

Some of the sources:
What is a Blog
What are blogs?
what is a blog - Problogger

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Introducing Myself

Hi everybody,

I'm Pedro, a 30 years old Technical Architect.
I've been working on building site for several years but due to the current situation I'm heading towards to Education. That's why I opened this Blog for the ICT subject in the "Qualification in English Teaching Course".
My level of English is officially B2+ (FCE) but I'm working hard to improve it and maybe someday I'll try to pass the C1 (ACE). Anyway, It's supposed that my english level is good enough to gave birth to this Blog.
This is my first online course, however, I'm very used to new technologies and computers so I don't expect to have any problems during this process.
I'm about to finish my first entry and I hope you didn't get bored yet.
Step by step I'll be improving the content of my entries.
Thanks

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