Webtools: Nik Peachey

If you want to learn lots of things about webtools and listen to a real expert on them, watch Nik Peachey's talk.

After watching it, I chose one webtool called "blipfoto" You may not know what "blipfoto" is about. If that's the case, just think about "Instagram." 

I like "blipfoto" very much because I love taking photos and sharing them. Besides, you can browse other people's accounts and I enjoy that very much!
It occurs to me that this webtool can be used instead of the questions we teachers ask every class. Such as, "What did you do at the weekend?", "Did you do something interesting today/yesterday, etc.?" Students can take photos, upload them and comment on different things such as "why was the photo taken?" "when?" "where?" "who with?" This way, we're also making our students practise a bit of grammar and  written expression.
If you look at the right top of my blog, you'll find a "blipfoto" widget that shows my username and the photos I've uploaded so far. I think it's great, isn't it? 

Anyways, I leave the link to my "blipfoto" account: http://www.blipfoto.com/martuas

Create an account and start enjoying!

Twister messages!

Have a look at this very fun and creative tool:

http://www.classtools.net/twister/index.php

It allows you to create fake tweets and you can also choose to be any person you want! (including very famous people!)

Below, I attach two images exemplifying this great tool!

The SAMR model

In the late 80's, Rubén Puentedura created a model called "The SAMR model" in order to talk about four levels of technology use: 

Substitution - Augmentation - Modification - Redefinition

Puentedura describes the first level as "the lowest level of technology used." He says that, in this level, "we are looking at using technology as a direct substitute for an earlier technological form, without changing tanything about it whatsoever."

The second level is about finding "that technology acts as a direct substitute for a tool but then you star adding some improvements, some functionality that wasn't present in the earlier tool."

At the third level, "the task that you're looking at is going to be significantly redesigned by the introduction of a new technology."

Finally, Puentedura says that the final level "you're looking at new tasks (...) that have been previously inconceivable without the technology."

Taking these four levels into account, I can tell you that I'm certainly standing in the "substitution" level because I don't really make use of tech in my classes. However, through this "Técnicas Informáticas" workshop, I'm finding out that it is really useful and that, contrary to my expectations, it is not that complicated.

In which level are you standing?

In my case, I'm looking forward to moving into the next level as soon as it's possible!

Below, I show you an image summarizing Puentedura's theory on the four levels of the SAMR model.

Diigo

Hello! I always want to save different websites and I never know where to save them. Does this happen to you as well? I think I have a solution! I now have an account on Diigo and I love it already.
I find it really useful!
Diigolet is great. It's a kind of toolbar that allows you to bookmark any website you want, add floating sticky notes. There's another option called "read later" that allows you to enter Diigo whenever you can and find the site you wanted to read there. Diigolet presents even more useful things you can adopt! 
Try it! You won't regret it!

I leave the link to my Diigo library:
https://www.diigo.com/user/martuabacastamm

My Avatar

This is my first time creating an avatar. I had a lot of fun! 
As it says "I don't think the avatar and I really look alike, but I did my best to make it look like me!"

By creating an avatar we're projecting the way in which we see ourselves.

I think that creating avatars could be very useful when it comes to story telling. This is, students can create avatars in order to write a story or write/read a story and create avatars afterwards.

Apart from that, avatar creation makes me think about shy students. It occurs to me that we can make students create an avatar at the beginning of the year as a kind of "self-presentation." In this way, we're applying technology in our classes and we are also letting shy students express themselves freely through their own online version.

Create you own avatar, have lots of fun and start including tech in your classes!

A little bit about me

My name is Martina Abaca Stamm. I'm 20. I live in Palermo with my parents, Mary and Marcelo, my younger brother, Enzo, and my dog, Eva.

I have a boyfriend. His name is Lucas. We've been together for four years and a half, by now.

I'm currently studying at JVG Teacher Training College. I am attending 2nd year subjects but not all of them. Certainly, I won't finish the TTC in four years as supposed to. 

In 2010, I graduated from Francesco Faá di Bruno school, where I'm now working :) I teach English to pre-school children and to kids from 1st to 4th form (primary school.) 

I also work in a school of English called "English Teaching Center." I studied and graduated from there, too. In this case, I teach 11-year-old and 7-year-old children, and pre-school children, as well. 
I don't really use technology in my classes but CD players or devices that allow me to connect my pen-drive with music or different kinds of archives (netbooks or speakers, for instance.) 
Through this workshop, I look forward to changing this habit because I'd love to introduce tech in my way of teaching and enhance children with it. 

I love my job. Actually, I don't feel it as a real job because I enjoy it very much and I do it with pleasure, because I want to, not because I'm obliged to. 

I'll tell you all some things I like to do in my daily life.

I love drinking mate. (I'm drinking mate in this vey moment as I write!)

I love reading. (Nowadays, I'm reading Inferno by Dan Brown. Soooo good!!)

I love listening to music. 

I love playing or taking my dog for long walks to the park.

I love spending time with my friends and boyfriend.

And, last but not least, I love sleeping although I can't sleep very much at this time of the year, as you may know, ha!

Hope you like my blog! :)

P.S.: I'm including a picture of me and my family, and one of my dog who I love so much!