Reflection on my learning

Hello everyone!  How are you?

Today I am going to tell you about everything  I have learned in the ICTs subject in the bilingual  master's degree.

The first thing we did was to create a learning diary, a blog to write on it everything we were going to learn, reflect there our thoughts about the resources we had use, and tell what we like  and what do not  like about them , and also decide  if we would use it in our classes.

Moreover, we created an avatar with bitmoji to represent us but protecting our identity.

After that, we learned about creative commons. We have  learned what is a creative common , how to license our work and how to use other authors’  work appropiately . In my opinion,  this is one of the most important things that  I have learned in this subject , because you can be doing something illegal without even knowing it  and there are a lot of people that still doing it.

Furthermore we learned how to do effective search in google and we learned how  to curate content with pinterest. I already knew this tool because I have been using it since a long time. In my opinion it is very useful to organise your ideas and now I am using Pinterest for educational purposes.

In addition, we opened a  twitter account to  tweet and interact with other peers.

Some time ago I had an account, so I already knew how to use twitter . What I like most about twitter is that you are immediately informed of the latest news and you can also follow educational and official accounts that informs you about courses and other important data.

After that, we learn how to create attractive support lesson sideshows.  We learn how to use genially and without doubt this is one of my favourite tools. The possibility to integrate a great variety of resources such as images, videos, icons, links, sounds and so on, makes this tool a very useful and  motivating resource for our lessons.

Later , we learned how to create comics, mind maps and infographics. I used pixton to create a comic and I really enjoy  the results. This is also one of my favourite tools and  I am 100 per cent sure that I am going to use this with my students.

I also created a mindmap with mindmeister. What I found interesting about this app is that it is collaborative , therefore everyone can contribute with  their own ideas.

I had never created an infographic before but with the Esel.ly I found it very easy and entertaining.

Moreover , I created a podcast channel and my fist podcast with ivoox . For me this was the most difficult and time consuming task, because it was not easy learning to use audacity to add the background music, however I really  like the final result.

Then , Irene and I planned a video step by step  and then we  recorded it. The app stop motion studio made this process easy and in my opinion it is very motivating for our students.

Regarding the app flipgrid,  it is honestly the one that  I liked the least, but it can be interesting now  for distance education.

I have really enjoy discovering new tools,in just a few months we have learned to handle many tools.

FlipGrid

Hello teachers ! I am glad to be here again!

Today I am going to talk about Flipgrid. Flipgrid is a  free online app for social learning where you can propose activities in which for the answers you can create and share short videos.

To use this app you have to sign in, and then you can join to a group through a code. This app is easy to use for both the teacher and the students. You can add icons, drawings or images to your video. In less than 7 minutes you can have your video finished . 

Flipgrid can be a very interesting tool for teachers now due to the coronavirus.

The basic idea of Flipgrid is to hold video discussions on a proposed topic. However,  some students may feel embarrassed and prefer not to participate in the activity.

I would use this application with students in grades four to six. 

Here you can see my video.

Stop motion

Hello Teachers! How are you? Today we will learn how to create a special video: a stop motion video.

Do you know what stop motion is? It is an animation technique that consists of simulating the movement of static objects by using a series of consecutive still images.

In my opinion this could be very interesting and motivating for our students.

Let’s find out how to create this kind of video:

We have already made the storyboard that will help us with the organization to create the video. You can see the storyboard in the previous blog post.

The first thing you need to do to create the video is a technological device, for example a mobile phone  or a tablet and then you have to download the app Stop Motion Studio.

Stop Motion Studio is a free app that allows you to create movies frame by frame with Timeline .It is easy to use; you can add text, filters, effects and sounds among other things. 
One thing that I would improve in this app is that to use some of these options you have to pay, but the price is affordable.

We as teachers can create this kind of video to explain some topic, but in my opinion is better if we teach to our students how they can create it.

I would do stop motion videos with fourth, fifth  and sixth courses of primary education, because I consider that for the lower courses it can be difficult.

In this case, we have created an example of a stop motion video in which you can see how a pulley works. It is made for fourth grade because they are studying the simple machines ( the lever, the pulley and the inclined plane). In groups students can choose a machine and create a video in stop motion and explain to their classmates how it works for the Natural Science subject

The video is called The ants and the pulley and is made by Irene  and me.

We have never made a stop motion video before, therefore to create this video we had to practice several times and move the pieces little by little to get the best possible result. The app Stop Motion Studio makes it easy to assemble the photos, the music and the visual effects.

With this activity we can achieve two objectives that the students learn to create videos in stop motion and that they understand how the lever, the pulley and the inclined plane work.

Nowadays we believe that it is essential that students learn to handle new technologies from an early age.

Storyboard

Hello teachers ! How are you ?

Today I am going to talk about storyboard. 

A storyboard is a graphic representation of how our video will be, shot by shot. It’s made up of frames with drawings or pictures representing each shot, and notes about what is happening in the scene. Some storyboards are simple and others  include more details such us  the music, characters, dialogue, script and so on .

You can create storyboards in different ways for example you can use Storyboardthat and make it as sort of a comic book version of your script. You can also do it with a template; you can use some templates already done or create your own template. In this case I am going to use a template that has been adapted from ShellyTerrell.com, Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0., who originally had adapted it from Lukas Henne’s template

Teacher Irene and I decided to create a storyboard using the template  because you do not need internet connexion.

In this template we have included the title, the authors, the genre and a description, then in each frame we added a description about what is happening in each shot, the audio and the effects. We did not add dialogue because it is a silent movie. With this video and some activities, students will learn how a pulley works.

Creating a storyboard helps us to visualize the final result of our work.

Podcast are what we need.

Hello again teachers !!  How are you?  I've heard a lot about podcasts lately,  but especially now that all of us give or recive classes virtually. We are not used to recording ourselves on video, so podcasts are a good alternative.

I didn't know much about podcast before, so I decided to do some research to find out more about it and  basically a podcast is a digital audio recoding about any topic that you can imagine. You can find podcast online or download it, and most of them are available for free. Some people use it for entretaining themselves, others for example to learn English or other subjects.

The good thing about podcasts is that you can find them about many topics therefore you  listen to audios that you are really interested in . Another good thing about podcasts is that you can download them and you only need a technological device to be able to listen to it,  without the need of internet connection.

We can use podcast as teachers for many different things. However , not only is it a great tool for teachers, also for students.

Setting up a radio at school can be a fun and enriching activity for our students due to the fact that they can develop all the skills: listening , speaking, reading and wiriting as well as  many competences, especially linguistic communicative competence and digital competence.

HOW TO CREATE A PODCAST

It's the first time I'm going to do it,  and I'm going to tell you my experience.

The first thing I did was a document in google docs, then I did the draft about the things I wanted to talk about and after that the final  script. I decided to  record myself with the phone because  it is easy to use it and I can save it in my dropbox, but you can do it with other apps if you want.

Afterwards, I downloaded free music archive to find a backgroud music to add  it to my recording and this way make my work look more professional.  Later, I downloaded Audacity  and watched a couple of tutorials to learn how to use it.

It was not easy to match my recording with the background music because I chose a short song and had to add several tracks and make them match, although it took me a while to get it ,  I like the final result.

After this I signed up in Ivoox to crate my channel and upload my podcast. This platform was very intuitive and easy to use. Now you have a channel a podcast an you can share it with everyone!.

To carry out this activity I have chosen the tools that seemed simple and practical , and  recommended by some colleagues who knew more about this topic.

In my opinion, creating podcasts with the students is a very interesting activity, the only thing that  could be more complicated for them to handle is Audacity

This is de document.

Here you have the podcast and the fifth grade channel.

If you liked my podcast you can subscribe by clicking this button. Thank you very much! . 
Este obra está bajo una licencia de Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional.

Infographic

Hello teachers! How are you? I hope everything is fine . 

Today I want to talk to you about something I have seen many times but I  had no idea how they could be done. Do you know what is an infographic? Let's find out.

An infographic is a graphic representation that simplifies the information we want to transmit. It is visual and attractive , therefore helps us to communicate something and promotes content retention.

This sounds good but, how can we create an infographic? For instance with  Easel.ly. 

Easel.ly is a web tool that allows you to create infographics for free. In order to use it, the first thing you have to do is sign up , and after that I recommend you to explore and have fun.

You have a toolbar with different options such as templates, objects, media, draws, shapes , text, graphics or files among others.

What I like most about this tool is that you can add many options (images, icons, videos) and  the result is very nice. Moreover I find the templates very useful to help us start our work and  save time. You can also see other infographics already done to inspire you.

Something that I would improve is to put a video or a guide to be able to take better advantage of all the possibilities that the tool offers because when you start working it's a little chaotic. 

As far as I'm concerned, I've discovered a great web tool that I'm sure I'll use in my classes because the results are awesome !

Here you can see my Infographic about prehistory. I hope you like it . Click in the carrot if you want to see an interesting web page about prehistory, and dont forget to watch the video ! 😊😊😊 Thank you!

Create a mind map with Mindmeister

Hello teachers!  I'm glad to write a new entry on my blog ! Today I have a question for you, Do you use mind maps?

Mind maps help us to organize our ideas and understand information better. Moreover you can develop your creativity and improve your memory. At a glance you have all the important information about one topic.

I have a very visual memory, so when study I use a lot of schemes and mind maps. I used to make them by hand and I only included words and some drawings. Now  I've learned to create mindmaps through  Mindmeister .

Mindmeister is an online app where you can create mind maps. You can save your work, share and pulish it. To access this app you have to sign up, then a tab opens explaining in a simple way the steps to create the mind map. You can choose the kind of letter the forms, change the colors and so on.

The advantage of this app is that you can add , icons, videos, comments and  links . Another good point is that is collaborative, therefore  several peple can work together if you want.

What I like most about this app is that you can create mind maps very fast, which is a great help for all teachers.

One thing to improve is that you can't upload  draws, web images or even your own photos in the free version.  

I would definitely use Mindmaster as a teacher , to help my students to understand a topic. However,  I would only use this app with the students in  higher courses.

This is the mind map that I have created for the fifth course of Primary Education about the cells in Natural Science. In this case I added videos, comments, icons and  links.

Visually the mind map is simple for students to better understand the topic and I have also added several activities such as a video, a science lab experiment and a website game.

CELLS por Mirian Mdm

Create a comic with PIXTON

Hello teachers I sincerely hope all of you are well. I am heatlhy and very busy because, this week I've been learning how to create a comic using ICTs . Do you want to know how to make a comic book too? I'll tell you right now.

After exploring different tools to create comics I decided to use Pixton.

Pixton is a web tool used to create comics. The first thing you have to do is to choose between Pixton for educators, for students, for parents or for business. In this case, I've chosen Pixton edu for students, because I wanted to see if this tool is adecuate and easy to use for my students.

After signing up, it's easy to start creating a comic, you can choose different backgrounds, characters and customize the clothes, hair, change their position and expression. Moreover you can choose what the characters say, think,or whisper choosing between different speech bubbles.

What caught my attention about this tool is that you can put the characters in many positions, you can also put different focuses and change the expressions of the face, the latter is what I like most and other tools to create comics do not have it.I wanted to create a comic related to emotions so I needed a tool where I could change the expressions on the characters' faces.

In summary this web is easy to use, safe, and simple, besides the result is very good. However, from my point of view this tool could be improved if we could introduce objects into the scene. One thing I don't like is that the free version doesn't let you download, print or share the comic you created, so I had to take a screenshot.

I would use this tool with my students only if we can save and share the work we have done.

Remember that making our students create comics is a great opportunity to develop creativity, language skills and express feelings  . When pupils read comics they develop reading comprehension skills. The most important thing is that they learn by having fun.

This is the comic about emotions that I have created , it is for the third course of Primary Education. Here you can see a real example:

Genial.ly

Hello teachers ! How are you? To be honest,  these days have been tough at home due to the coronavirus pandemic ,so  I decided to spend this period of time doing videocalls with friends and family, reading, playing games , working out, watching netflix ,  and of course, learning!

It is a good opportunity to keep learning especially about  ICTs. Many teachers are adapting to this situation and use technological tools to keep their student learning. One of these tools is genial.ly

This week I have been learning and working with Genial.ly. It is a tool to create original  presentations, interactive images, dossiers, infographics...

I had always used Power Point or Prezi to create presentations, however Genial.ly has a lot of free options and it is really easy to use due to the fact that it has templates, images, icons...
but you can also insert your own or external photos, videos and audios. Moreover, Genial.ly  is more attractive for students since it has many interactive elements. They will love it.

I have created this interactive presentation about vertebrates animals for the 4º course of Primary Education, so  here  you can see many of their option.  I hope you enjoy it .

Gamification on Pinterest

Hello teachers!!  Today I am going to talk about a very useful tool that I have discovered some years ago , and I have been using since then for educational and personal purposes. This tool is called Pinterest. It  allows users to save , share and discover new images, web pages  and videos.  

When you see an idea that you want to use in class you can create boards and save the pins that you like the most so you do not forget or lose it.

In this case I save some interesting pins about gamification which is an active methodology that  briefly explained it consist on using game elements in the learning context to motivate students. Here you have some pins that explain evething about this methodology and how to implement it in your classrooms

Historical tour in Madrid

Image by Jean-Claude Decuyper from Pixabay 

Hello everyone,  it is the perfect time to know a little bit more about our city.

Today we are going to do a fantastic guided tour around the most important buildings and monuments in Madrid.

We will start in The Royal Palace, then we will visit La Almudena Cathedral , after that we will see La Puerta del Sol, and we will finish our tour admiring La Plaza Mayor.

We hope you to have fun and learn  new interesting  and curious things about the history of our city.

Welcome

Hi everyone , my name is Mirian and I am 24 years old , I am a Primary school teacher and currently I am studing a Master  degree in Bilingual Education in Madrid. I am a little bit shy but very friendly and I love spending time with my family and friends. Another thing that I love is travelling. I love to know new places , people, cultures, languages, food.... 

For this blog I wanted to create my own avatar. In this case I use the app Bitmoji. If you do not know this app i recommend you to have a look at it. It is free, easy to use and quick. You only need a technological device and download the app. Then you  can choose different physical features , clothes...  and in less than two minute you can have your avatar. From my point of view this app could be very useful and motivating in education.

I am going to upload  and share in this blog everything that I am learnig  about ICTs related to education and I hope you  learn and share your ideas with me. 

See you soon.