Autonomous ‘Personal Learning Networks’ for Language Teachers (APLaNet)

For Language Educators and Users of Internet Language Resources.

The APLaNet project will be showing and helping language educators how to join existing and create their own Personal Learning Networks (PLN) on existing social networks. The project will show you how to join and use the resources that are daily being created, shared, tested and talked about.

Using a PLN language educators will be able to find their way through the jungle of ICT resources on the net and find language teachers, just like themselves, that will help them use the resources.

We are looking for two types of Associate Partners (in the downloadable document we describe the associate partner roles in depth):

1. Teachers of languages – interested in piloting the project

2. Existing users of Social Networks in their language teaching

Please download the document to understand more about the project and how you can be involved:

Click here for more information and the sign up form.

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The web is an excellent place for educators to find free teaching tools for the EFL classroom. There are sites that provide interactive exercises, online communities, virtual robots, podcasts, and other materials designed to enhance classroom instruction. Here are ten fee sites for teachers and students to explore throughout the school year.

ESL Fast – This site provides a virtual robot that is ready to practice more than 2,000 conversations with EFL students. Conversations are designed for beginners and cover a wide range of topics.

Radio Lingua Network – The Radio Lingua Network offers several useful tools for English language learners, including this free EFL course. The course provides practice with phrasal verbs and includes free audio materials.

FreeRice – FreeRice is an excellent tool for teaching English vocabulary and social responsibility. The non-profit site is operated by the United Nations World Food Program. The program donates rice to hungry people for every English vocabulary question that visitors answer correctly.

Lang-8 – Lang-8 is an online language exchange community with members from more than 180 different countries. Students who visit the site can write in English (or another language they are learning) and have their work critiqued and corrected by native speakers.

VerbaLearn – This online teaching tool makes it easy for anyone to create and study vocabulary lists. Students can also complete example sentences online to learn new words in context.

Grammar Girl – Grammar Girl provides easily digestible snippets of English grammar instruction online and through short podcasts. Grammar Girl also provides a daily tip that can be viewed online or delivered via email.

Shmoop – Shmoop is a great place to find free comprehensive literature study guides and other teaching resources for the classroom. The site’s content was created by teachers, Ph.D.s, and Ph.D. candidates from top universities.

Internet TESL Journal – Created specifically for EFL and ESL teachers, this site provides articles and information on teaching and teaching techniques as well as worksheets and activities for the classroom.

Nonstop English – Nonstop English is an online tool for EFL teaching and learning. Students can use the site to practice English grammar, vocabulary, and more through interactive tests, quizzes, and exercises.

Parapal Online – Parapal Online provides a range of interactive exercises for English students who want to improve their vocabulary, grammar, listening, and writing skills. Site visitors can also practice their English with other students in Parapal’s forums and chat rooms.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online degree programs for OnlineDegreePrograms.org.

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“Schools and classrooms, both real and virtual, must have teachers who are equipped with technology resources and skills, and who can effectively teach the necessary subject matter content while incorporating technology concepts and skills.

Although it is recognized that our global environment has radically changed, many schools remain largely unchanged from those of the 20th century. Moving our schools into the 21st century will require a new vision of the skills and knowledge needed by students and teachers, a new view of the teaching-learning process, and a new model for the preparation of teachers.”….

Digitally Literate Teachers Needed
by Paul E.Resta and Jill C. Miels

The good news is that it is very easy to develop a new view of the teaching process with the free opportunities that the Internet is offering to us. As well as some great blogs that share Web 2.0 resources and ideas, there are free online courses and webinars that help teachers become digitally literate or improve their skills.

Electronic Village Online (EVO) Sessions

Electronic Village Online is a professional development project and virtual extension of the TESOL Convention. EVO offers six-week sessions where participants can engage with ESOL experts in online discussios or virtual workshops.

Some titles from this year’s sessions are Digital Materials Preparation Techniques, Internet4YoungLearners and Online Games for ESL/EFL.

The sessions are free and you do not need to be a TESOL member to participate. Go to the Electronic Village Online Wiki for registration. (Registration: January 4-10; Sessions start on January 11)

SEETA (South Eastern Europe Teachers Associations) Courses

SEETA Community is a collaborative online community of eleven Teachers’ Associations in South Eastern Europe run by volunteers.

Free online courses on different topics are offered on this online platform. The current course, Easy Web 2.0 Tools that you can use in your classroom is given by Nik Peachey. (December 7- January 15)

Classroom 2.0 Live Events

Classroom 2.0 LIVE is an opportunity to meet other members of the community in real-time events. They hold weekly shows and also occasional special events. If you miss a session, you can find the links to the recorded session on their web site.

A show lasts an hour, and the sessions are held in Elluminate which is e Web conferencing software.

You can find tutorials about how to join the sessions and how to use Elluminate on Classroom 2.0 Live web site. Click here to see their events calendar.

Edublogs Free Live Events

Edublogs offers free live web events to support the educators. Session topics range from different aspects of blogging to using different web tools. You can find links to the recordings and chat logs for each archived Edublogs Live Web Event on this blog.

Virtual Round Table Conference

The Virtual Round Table Conference is the first virtual conference on language learning with technology. The first one was organized on November 12-13, 2009 by LANCELOT School. It was a great event and a really useful experience for the speakers and participants. The second conference is on  April 22-23, 2010. You can sign up the Virtual Round Table Conference Ning to see the recordings of the past sessions and follow the upcoming events.

Macmillan Webinars

Macmillan Webinars do not specifically focus on using web technologies but even attending online seminars given by some of the leading people in ELT is a useful experience in order to become a digitally literate teacher. Their 2010 event calendar is not online yet but you can see the recordings of the previous webinars on the Macmillan web site.

I would be happy to hear from you if you know any other free online professional development opportunities for the new year.

***

The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live. ~Mortimer Adler

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New Year’s Eve is a perfect time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year.

2009 was a great year for me. I have started my teacher blog, joined Twitter and met a lot of amazing people and had the chance to meet some of these people in real life. The only problem has been keeping the balance right between the virtual life and real life from time to time but I think I am learning it.

2010 is another new beginning and I made a few resolutions to make my new year a more productive one.

Learn Spanish.

I want to experience learning a new language. I’m thinking of learning Spanish in Second Life. I hope to speak some Spanish during my next visit to Spain:-)

Start Wikiing.

I’ll start Wikiing with my students. I’m convinced that Wikis are great tools for collaboration. I have already created a Wiki on PBworks and will start international projects on it very soon. I’m looking forward to this experience.

Check out this great article by Vicki A. Davis about how to use Wikis in your classes.

Learn to use different Web 2.0 tools.

There are some web tools that I have heard but haven’t tried yet. Here are three of them:

Audacity: It is a free audio editing software which can be used for podcasting and editing audio files.

Animoto: Animoto produces music videos using your photos and video clips.

YackPack: YackPack provides a simple audio platform for groups to communicate in a private space on the Internet. You can leave asynchronous voice messages and talk in real time with your group.

Use your Flip.

Thanks to Lindsay Clandfield, I learned that I don’t have to suffer with converting videos anymore if I have a Flip. Check out his blog post called “Six activities with camcorders“. I’m very happy that I’ll have one before the new year starts. (Thanks to Ken Wilson ) Filming the nice moments and sharing the videos on the Internet will be very easy and fun with it. (lol! It sounds like I’m getting paid by Flip.)

Start another “Spread Your Knowledge” series.

I’m proud to have this great series on my blog. I’m sure that all the articles in this series inspired many teachers. Check out the great blog posts by some of the leading people in ELT and please contact me if you want to write a guest piece for the second “Spread Your Knowledge” series.

Leave comments to the fellow bloggers’ blogs more.

Join #Edchat conversations on Twitter.

Participate in forums.

I marked these three resolutions with red because I need more time for making these happen. I will do my best to realize these resolutions:-)

Convince more teachers to use Twitter and integrate technology into their lessons.

I’m glad to see that more and more teachers start using Web 2.0 tools in their classes and for professional development. I’ll do my best to convince more teachers to explore this great world of opportunities.

Well…That’s all from me. Why don’t you sit down with a cup of coffee, a paper and a pen and write down your New Year’s Resolutions for 2010?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Kyle B. Pace (USA): Kyle is one of the people in my list who is not an English teacher. He is a must-to-follow in my opinion. I don’t need to write about him in detail. Start following him and then you will realize what I mean. Here is his brief bio (taken from his Twitter page): Instructional/Consumer Technology Specialist, always online, author, amatuer blogger, teaching K-12 teachers about technology infusion. He blogs at http://kylepace.com/

Larry Ferlazzo (USA): Whatever I say would not be enough to tell you how important Larry is for us. I don’t know how he can find the time to find out and share so many great links. Larry blogs at http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/ .

Lindsay Clandfield (Spain): Lindsay is one of the most creative people I’ve ever met and his blog has the most unique style in the blogosphere. He blogs at http://sixthings.net/ . His idea of doing Pecha Kucha evenings at ELT conferences is amazing and I’m looking forward to the one he will host at ISTEK conference where he will be doing a plenary as well.

Marisa Constantinides (Greece): Marisa is a very valuable member of my PLN.  I really like to follow her blog and tweets because she reflects her positive attitude and valuable experiences to her tweets and blog posts . Marisa blogs at http://marisaconstantinides.edublogs.org/

Neal Chambers (Japan): Neal is a very positive and helpful person. He shares great stuff on Twitter and his blog. He writes a blog series on Englishspark.com and also blogs at http://nealchambers.wordpress.com/ .

Nik Peachey (Morocco): If there is a Web 2.0 history book in the future, there will definitely be a long chapter about Nik Peachey in that book. His Learning Technology blog is a GREAT place for educators. He also blogs at http://quickshout.blogspot.com/ .

Ozge Karaoglu (Turkey): Ozge is the most passionate and dedicated kindergarten teacher I’ve ever met. She is a lovely person with an endless energy and enthusiasm into her job. She blogs at http://ozgekaraoglu.edublogs.org/ .

Patrick Jackson (Ireland): Patrick is the author of Potato Pals which is a very popular book in Turkey. He blogs at http://potatopals.blogspot.com/ .

Russell Stannard (UK): Russell is the creator of the award winning  TTV (Teacher Training Videos) where you can find online videos about technology and ICT in education.

Sara Hannam (Greece): I think Sara is the best blog commentor in the ELT blogosphere and I’m very happy that she started her own blog a few months ago. She blogs at http://sjhannam.edublogs.org/

Sean Banville (UAE): I need another blog post to list Sean Banville’s websites. If you haven’t already, you should bookmark them. They are all full of great resources. Here is the list: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ , http://www.esldiscussions.com/ , http://www.famouspeoplelessons.com/, http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/ and I am very happy to welcome him to the blogosphere. He has started a new blog at http://seanbanville.com/ . I’m looking forward to reading a blog post by him about the inventions he’s working on. (I’m waiting for that pill Sean, the one that keeps you awake 24 hrs

Seth Dickens (Italy): Seth is a  consultant on ICT in language teaching. He blogs at http://www.digitalang.com/blog/. Although we haven’t met  in real life, his tweets make me feel as though I’ve known him for a long time.

Shelly Terrell (Germany): Shelly is one of the most hardworking and dedicated teachers I’ve ever met. Because I recently met her in real life, I can say that she brightens your life with the sweetest laughter you can imagine.  Looking forward to meeting her again! She blogs at http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/

Stephen W. Anderson (USA): Stephen is the second educator in the list who is not involved in ELT. He is a technology educator. He blogs at http://web20classroom.blogspot.com/. He shares great stuff both on Twitter and his blog. I can say that I bookmark almost all the links he shares on Twitter. I also like his motivational tweets. Here is one of them:

Sue Lyon-Jones (UK): Sue is a great friend who I want to meet in real life one day. She runs an English language website at http://www.esolcourses.com/ where she offers free lessons and teaching resources.

Sue Waters (Australia): Sue is the third person in this list who is not involved in ELT. She is the editor of Edublogger.  I think I can call her the blogging guru I sometimes send e-mails to her asking for support (my school is an Edublogs Campus member and from time to time I need technical support), I don’t  have a clue how she can always reply to me in less than fifteen minutes! She blogs at http://suewaters.com/. Also check out her great wiki at http://suewaters.wikispaces.com/

Tamas Lorincz (UAE): Tamas is a wholehearted and responsive member of my PLN. I am thankful to him for encouraging me a lot with his great comments since I started my teacher blog.  Tamas blogs at http://tamaslorincz.edublogs.org/.

Thomas Whitby (USA): Thomas is definitely the coolest person on Twitter. He is the PLN guru He is the creator of the Educator’s PLN- The personal learning network for educators. Read his PLN Blueprint Series at The Educators’ Royal Treatment to learn how to develop an effective PLN.

Tony Watt (UK): Tony is a very warm-hearted and supportive member of my PLN. He tweets great stuff all the time.  Tony blogs at http://micronarratives.blogspot.com/.

Valentina Dodge (Italy): I met Valentina at the last IATEFL conference in Cardiff. She is a great person. I’m very lucky that she’s my tutor in the online CertICT course that I’m taking at the moment. Valentina blogs at http://lifelonglearning.edublogs.org/ .

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I know what it feels like to be new to online social networking and the world of Web 2.0. You decide that it would be good to meet English teachers from other countries, learn about Web 2.0 and may even be thinking of starting your own blog. However you don’t know how and where to start. You are lucky because there are great people whose online presence will help you start building your PLN (Personal Learning Network).

These people have some common points:

All of them are on Twitter (except one:-).
All of them are blogging, wikiing or running a web site.
All of them are very FRIENDLY, HELPFUL and SUPPORTIVE people.

Three of them are not involved in ELT but they are must-to-follow people for English teachers.

One little thing before I start…These people do not need to be introduced or promoted on my blog. I am receiving e-mails from teachers asking how they are going to find people to build their PLN. This post is intended to be a guide for them.

Here you go…

(The list is in alphabetical order. When you click on their names, you’ll go to their Twitter pages. I’m not going to give detailed information about them. Instead I’ll give links to their blogs, wikis or web sites.)

Alex Case (Korea): Alex is the only person on this list who is not on Twitter. However @TEFL also tweets about Alex’s blog posts and we feel his presence on Twitter as well:-) If you click on his name, you’ll read what he thinks about Twitter:-) He blogs at http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/ .

Andy Hockley (Romania): Andy blogs about leadership and management in language teaching organisations at http://adhockley.wordpress.com/ .

Aniya Adly (Italy): She is ‘TheEngTeacher’ on Twitter. She supports bloggers daily by tweeting about their blog posts. She blogs at  http://theenglishteacheronline.com/ .

Anne Hodgson (Germany): Although we teach English in different areas (Anne teaches English for business and academic purposes), I like following her tweets and blog. She has a great blog called The Island Weekly.

Arjana Blazic (Croatia): Arjana blogs at http://traveloteacher.blogspot.com/ . You should check out her wonderful Wiki where she uses Glogster very creatively.

Barbara Sakamato (Japan): Barbara blogs at http://www.teachingvillage.org/ . I suggest you to read “What I’ve Learned from My PLN” in which you will find links to great guest pieces by teachers from different countries. I hope to meet this lovely lady sometime in the future.

Brooke Shanley-Hurtado (USA): Brooke is another lovely person in my PLN who I really want to meet f2f.  She is “SpeakSpanglish” on Twitter. She has a degree in teaching Spanish and she is also experienced in bilingual classes .She blogs at http://spkspanglish.edublogs.org/.

Chris Cotter (Japan): Chris has a web site called Heads Up English where you can find great resources. He has also written a new book called “Better Language Teaching“.

Christina Cattaneo (Italy): Christina shares very good links daily and interacts with the people in her PLN in a friendly and humorous way. She blogs at http://teachinglife.edublogs.org/ .

Dan Roberts (UK): He is “@chickensaltash” on Twitter. He is a very creative teacher and a humorous member of my PLN. I think his students are very lucky to have him. He blogs at http://chickensaltash.edublogs.org/ .

Gavin Dudeney (Spain): I feel very lucky to have met him f2f. He is one of the most supportive people in my PLN.  I’m also very lucky that he still replies to my endless mails asking for advice about presentations, etc.   I’m very happy that he will be in Istanbul at the time of my school’s ELT conference and will do a workshop here. Gavin blogs at http://slife.dudeney.com/ .

Graham Stanley (Spain): I met Graham in Cardiff. He was in my presentation and I guess he was tweeting there Back then, I was one of those teachers who is skeptical about Twitter. It is that cool black screen Graham and Gavin were using during the IATEFL conference (it was Tweetdeck) that made me give Twitter a try Graham and his friend Kyle Mawer have recently started Digital Play- a new blog of activities and ideas for EFL/ESL Teachers interested in using computer games and digital toys with their learners.

Heike Philp (Germany): Heike is the organizer of the Virtual Round Table Conference and the person who made me and Shelly do a PRESTO:-) I think she has made history by organizing this great conference. Heike blogs at http://www.philp.de/blog/ .

Isabella Jones (UK): Isabella blogs at http://isabellejones.blogspot.com/ . Check out her article called “Online videos in the Classroom: Bringing Languages to Life”.  She has also a Diigo group called Resources for Languages with 349 members.

Jamie Keddie (Spain): Jamie is one of the most creative teachers I’ve ever met. I enjoy listening to his great ideas about using images and video clips in the classroom. He blogs at http://jamiekeddie.com/ and shares great lesson plans on http://www.teflclips.com/ .

Jason Renshaw (Australia): Jason is “@englishraven” on Twitter. He is a very important member of my PLN. I am very happy that he is coming to Turkey to do workshops in my school’s ELT conference in March. He blogs at http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/ .

Jeremy Harmer (UK): I am very lucky to have met Jeremy in Cardiff and even luckier because he is coming to  my school’s ELT conference to give a plenary. Jeremy has recently started a blog at http://jeremyharmer.wordpress.com/

Johanna Stirling (UK): Johanna has a web site called English Language Garden and she blogs at http://thespellingblog.blogspot.com/ where she blogs about English spelling. How it works, how to learn it, how to teach it, and how to love it! A unique idea for a blog.

Ken Wilson (UK): It was six years ago when I first saw Ken Wilson at a conference in Turkey. Since then I’ve always admired his presentation skills and the way he communicates with teachers. He did a great plenary at my school’s in-service conference in September and I am very happy that he is coming again in March. Ken started blogging at http://kenwilsonelt.wordpress.com/ a few months ago and already became one of the most popular bloggers in ELT with his unique style of writing.

Kenny Christian (Germany): I’ve had the chance to meet this gentleman at TESOL, France. He is a great friend and a perfect listener. Looking forward to meeting him again! He owns a virtual meeting place where employers find and hire quality English service providers at http://englishprofi.com/ .

That’s all for now.

What I’ve Learned from My PLN

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