Week 4

Hi again!

It's been a long week.. I hope everyone is safe after all the fires and the mess this weekend.

I am praying for rain to take away this horrible horrible weather.

And on a more positive note, I would like to refer to the "Linguistics Landscape" term.

according to this term, we are surrounded by visual language in our sight all the time (like in commercials, signs etc.).

When I first decided to be an English teacher I was searching for some sort of agenda: what should I say to my students to encourage them? what made English studying so easy for me?

And than I realized - the reason English was so easy for me was because I was surrounded by it. English is all around us. If it's the TV, the computer (Internet, computer games, chatting with people from abroad) even some of our terminology is affected by English (every child knows that a director shouts "CUT!!" and what it means) and so on.

Therefore, one thing I would like to stress to my students is that "English is all around us", and all you have to do is open your eyes and pay attention.

See you next week!

Danielle, who is Dancing for rain.

week 3

I just found out that all my Google+ friends get notify about my blog posts. AWKWARD.

that's the trouble with today's modern technology.. everything is connected.

so yesterday I went to a "field trip" to gifted children (as in Mechunanim) and I was really impressed by their creative way of teaching.

This, combined with all the cool tools presented to us in the week 3 section, has made me think that I want to be a fun creative teacher.

(3 years from now I can see myself standing in front of a class of 40 and losing my mind - good luck with that!)

In 2 weeks I'm supposed to present my first lesson ever and i'm terrified. perhaps I should use one of this fun tools and the kids will like my lesson? :) 

(and hopefully the pedagogical instructor as well!)

Wish me luck..

Danielle

P.s: this is my dog Ginger, he is my lucky charm.. 

Week 2

Well, It's actually week 3 already, I am really trying to keep up and not to drown in the homework load :)

Iv'e been reading several Blogs and have encountered an important article regarding a controversial issue - using of laptops in classrooms. (you can find this article in Edudemic's blog.)

recently I have started my "Itnasut" in Rotberg High-school and encountered several kids using laptops during class. I thought it was odd, how can the teacher know whether they are participating in the class or, in fact, using facebook and chatting?

this Blog is trying to discuss the Pros and Cons of this method.

Pros - empowerment of students, a more personalized education that will allow students to learn at their own pace.

Cons - Limitation in the technology the school has\can afford. some say that technology is in fact a distraction.

I personally think that computer might be an effective tool, it can also provide cheap textbook and access to information. BUT some contents (like facebook, Instagram etc) must be banned. 

perhaps the students can be given restricted laptops.

What do you think?

Danielle  

First post ever

Hello!

My name is Danielle Sid, I am studying to be an English teacher in Levinsky college for education.

This is my second year in the college and my third year in the academia (after my first year in the University I have realized I don't have a future as a psychologist..).

I really like to read and I've been working in "Tzomet Sfarim" for 3 years.

I hope this course will help me understand how to use technology better during class, and give me ideas in order to make my future lessons more interesting and dynamic.