#365grateful

I've always liked ideas which in a way connect us to what is really important in life.

In this world of snapshots and selfies, I find myself many times overlooking little things in life which brighten my day. While reading my Facebook feed, I noticed a link my friend, Daniela Pesconi-Arthur shared about the 365 GRATEFUL PROJECT. I just loved it!

The idea is pretty simple: you take a photo a day of something you're grateful for.

According to the 365grateful website,

 "The project was created by Hailey. In early 2008, in an effort to fight depression, Hailey started a year long photographic project which involved taking one Polaroid photo a day of something she felt grateful for. Initially this was a chore but eventually it became a delight."

Watch Hailey's inspiring video:



 My friend, Daniela, has started her #365grateful project here: http://365reasons-mywritingshed.blogspot.co.uk/

I'll be posting my photos and posts using instagram plus the hashtag #365grateful and will be collecting them all at my Tumblr http://anamariacult.tumblr.com/

This was my first photo

Wouldn't this be a great idea for a writing project with students?

Coincidentally, this same week, I read a post by Vicki Davis about writing a Joy Journal which kinds of reinforces this idea of being positive about life.
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com.br/2013/04/9-fine-reasons-to-keep-journal-and-how.html

19 BYOD language activities wrapped for Christmas

Sharing some activities I've collected for  android and IOS devices.

 

 Wishing everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

11 random facts at Christmas time

It's Christmas time, and it's time to celebrate life and friendships.

I was tagged by Cristina Monteiro Silva for the "11 Random facts" Blog post challenge.

Thanks, Cristina, for the tag and the opportunity for us to learn more about you in your blog post.

So, how does it work?

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger(s).

2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.

3. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.

4. List 11 bloggers.

5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer, and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. Don’t nominate a blogger who has nominated you.

#2 Sharing some random facts about me.

 

 #3 These are the questions Cristina has asked me to answer:

1. What was the best moment in your life?

I've had many good moments in life but the more I live the more I think the best moment in my life is NOW.

2. Do you expect much of people?

I've been told I'm quite naive when it comes to trusting people. I always expect the best of everyone.

3. How many true friends do you have?

I have very few true friends but many people I truly love.

4. What do you do when you need to have YOUR moment?

I choose a book to read and sit by myself.

5. What is the film of your life?

"The color of paradise" could be one of the films of my life.

6. When was the last time you slept 10h?

I don't usually sleep a lot but last week I woke up at 10 in the morning so I guess I ended up sleeping for more than 10 hours, kkkkkkk.

7. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

I drink a glass of water.

8. Which historical character would you like to meet if you had that chance?

I'd love to listen to the Dalai Lama.

9. An embarrassing moment in your life was…

When I greeted someone with a hug and then I noticed I had mistaken the person for someone else.

Awkward!

10. When did you last burst out laughing and couldn’t stop?

I can't remember but I laugh A LOT. 

11. City or countryside?

City. I love living in the city, the noise, the movement, the people.

#4 The list of eleven Bloggers I tag for the challenge:

1. Roseli Serra

2. Camila Sousa Sakai

3. Andressa Cardoso

4. Emma Heath

5. Vicky Saumell

6. Jennifer Verschoor

7. Sílvia Heshiki

8. Naiara Valente

9. Daniela Pesconi-Arthur

10. Susana Canelo

11. David Kapuler

#5 My questions for them:

1. Where did you live as a child?
2. What was your favorite toy?
3. As a child, what did you want to be in the future?
4. Tell us something you're afraid of.
5. Tell us something you're good at.
6. Tell us something you're bad at.
7. Tell us about a place you'd love to visit one day and who with.
8. What do you normally procrastinate?
9. If you could a place to live, where would it be?
10. What would you like to get for Christmas?
11. What would you like to learn in 2014?

MOVENOTE app: add more to your presentations

This afternoon, I learned about a website and app which allows us to upload a presentation either from our computer or from google drive and record our voice and image using our webcam. http://www.movenote.com/

My first trial was with my ipad. The ipad app is FREE, however, you can only use photos you have on your device or a photo you take with the ipad to include to your presentation. Other than that, the app is very simple to use and  the quality of the recording seems to be really good.
https://api.movenote.com/v/saNK4Xb_Jds

My second trial was with using the WEBSITE http://movenote.com
I uploaded a presentation I had  on my computer and recorded myself as a test.
The slides are inspired by the article
http://www.learningunlimitedllc.com/2013/03/6-steps-to-a-flipped-classroom/

How can we use the site and app with students?

- with the app, students can tell their own stories based on a picture.

- students can record a picture description.

- with the website, the teacher can record flipped videos by using slides or pdf files.

- students can record presentations of projects they develop.

The MOVENOTE app is available for FREE for both IOS devices and ANDROIDS.

One more app for the list BYOD apps for ELT

Interwrite Workspace TUTORIALS (em Português)

Some weeks ago I was invited to help some professors from UFU (Universidade Federal de Uberlândia) to start using the interactive whiteboards the department had bought.

The board they had purchased was DUALBOARD which works with the INTERWRITE WORKSPACE software.

Although I had never used this software, as I'm very well acquainted with the usage of another brand of interactive whiteboards (Promethean), I imagined after a few tutorials I would be able to learn how it worked.

I found a few tutorials in English online at http://www.einstruction.com/workspace-video-tutorials but none in Portuguese for the teachers to watch whenever they needed it.

So, here they are: a few video tutorials (in Portuguese) if you have Interwrite Workspace installed where you teach.

A Revising Circle: vocabulary activity

Looking for a simple idea to help your students revise VOCABULARY?

This week, we had to revise for the final tests.

I was trying to think about a simple activity for my Upper Intermediate students and I remembered something I'd tried with my Intermediate students in the past.

What would I need?

- For 8 students = 4 slips of paper (or as many slips of paper you feel are necessary).

- Five words students need to revise written down on each slip of paper.

In class, I organized the desks in a circle and had 4 pairs of students: 1a + 1b , 2a + 2b, 3a + 3b, 4a + 4b.

1. I gave a slip of paper to each STUDENT A who had to describe the words on the slip of paper for STUDENT B to guess the word. I kept monitoring in case students needed help remembering what words meant. (Ex: 1a describes for 1b to guess)

2. When I noticed most students had guessed the 5 words, I asked STUDENT A to pass the slip of paper to STUDENT B who now would have to describe the same words to the next student to their left. (Ex: 1b now describes for 2a to guess)

3. The slips of paper kept on passing to each student, the student with the slip describing and  the other student listening and trying to guess the words.

Why do I like this activity?

- it's incredibly easy to organize.

- you can revise any kind of vocabulary.

- students are involved all the time.

- students keep alternating partners as they talk to the people to their right and then to their left.