Course
location: Tbilisi Public School 133
Date: 2017
January 27,28,29
Trainer: Natia Kvaratskhelia
Participant
name: Marine Shanshiashvili
I attended the
course of Learning Technologies for the Classroom. I would like to admit that
the teacher training programme completely met my expectations. I have acquired
new knowledge and skills about how to integrate Office software and digital
resources into teaching-learning process efficiently and in more creative way.
We, participants
were provided with all the necessary materials for the course by our
professional and skillful trainer who was really motivated and keen to help us
to gain good professional knowledge and a beneficial experience during the
course. The training was conducted in a
warm, friendly atmosphere which contributed to establishing collaborative
environment.
DAY 1
We started the
first session with introducing each other in a very creative way which helped
us get to know the participants better.
During the
course we discussed the following topics:
·
What risks there are when using
technologies: cyberbullying, identity security, impersonation,
inappropriate content, marketing/advertising/spam, viruses/hacker attacks.
·
How technology is used to bully:
We talked about positive and negative uses of technology.
·
Using Word and PPoint for pair and group work:
We worked on some very interesting tasks: First to Third, How People Live, A descriptive story, Olive oil,
Photos for captions and Creating stories. We did each task according to the
instructions given and after that we analyzed language focuses and computer
functions of the tasks.
·
Using Word and PPoint for the whole
class: We worked on the following activities: Where have all the verbs gone?( ‘The canary
and the cigarettes’), Weed Read (‘The
cold planet’) and analyzed the lesson plans provided for these activities.
DAY 2
We started the
session with the review of the previous session.
During the second
session we covered
the following topics:
·
Using videos for practicing listening and
speaking skills: We did the activity ‘What’s going to
happen?’- to practice speaking about future predictions using Future Forms and useful phrases like I think she’s going to…’ , ‘They might…’, etc.
·
Visiting websites where we can register
and find videos: Lyrics Training, DotSub,
EnglishCentral, Voscreen. We
visited each websites in particular groups and discussed which one could be
more suitable for us: Is it free? Do we
need register? Is it designed for language learners? Does it have levels and
skills?
·
Analyzing how to use and adapt videos
during the lessons discussing tasks given in DAY2 files: ‘Watch the process’
, ‘The witness’ and etc.
·
Blogging with students for developing
writing skills: First we shared our experience about using
blogs, then we were introduced types of blogs used in ELT: The Tutor Blog, The Class Blog, The Learner Blog. We
discussed the reasons why we should blog with our students.
·
Developing Digital Reading skills:
We were introduced to the interesting sites for online reading
activities: www.iseek.com, www.topmarks.com, www. sweetsearch.com, www.textivate.com, www.learnclick.com
DAY
3
We
started the third session with the review of the previous one.
We
worked on the following topics:
·
Teaching vocabulary through online
resources: We discussed what it means to ‘KNOW’ a
word and what online games can be used to encourage students during the
teaching-learning process. www.gamestolearnenglish.com,
www.dictionary.com, google ‘define+word’ are the websites I found preferable and enjoyed
mostly.
·
Analyzing teaching examples: 1.
Collocations with ‘make’ 2.Make or
Do? 3. Sport collocations. 4. ‘Found’
collocations 5. Collocation
research 6. Parts of speech 7. Multiple meaning.
·
Analyzing pros and cons of online
dictionary: www.macmillandictionary.com, www.collinsdictionary.com, www.dict.com
and etc.
·
Being introduced to online translation
tools: www.googletranslate.com, www.babelfish.com, www.reverso.com; online pronunciation tools, mobile devices
and more vocabulary learning websites: www.idiomsite.com, www.synonym-finder.com, www.learningchocolate.com, www.vidtionary.com.
·
Using podcasts with students: We
discussed evaluation criteria that we can use to assess the quality of podcast
materials.
At the end of each session we
were given worksheets with some problematic situations and decisions related to
each topic and materials to be discussed and found more appropriate outcomes to
the issues.
Finally, I would like to say that the
programme we have covered and the materials and handouts we have been provided
are really beneficial and helpful for me. I strongly believe to use and
implement this professional experience in my teaching practice as well as to
share it with my colleagues at school.
