TOP NOTCH FOR ADULTS

Just a few words to remind you that there is an excellent resource for teachers TOP NOTCH TEACHER RESOURCE CD, which contains all sort of extra activities and also vocabulary card games.

If you wish to use the picture cards or some other material in the cd, please let us know in advance and we will be preparing the cards for you.

Also, there is a students cd rom, which is great stuff to be used in the Interactive Whiteboard. We will also be copying it to you

IWBs FAQ

FAQs and more

1. The IWB is difficult to use.

   Not if you have a basic understanding of using computers. An IWB is just a big computer screen, which reacts to your touch as if it was a computer mouse. It's THAT easy!

2. It takes a lot of time to prepare the materials.

   It may take some time at the beginning when you're still getting used to the IWB, but then you can save and reuse the same materials in other classes. And don't forget you can also use the Internet resources, ready-made materials, and even the CD-ROMs that come with the Student's Books or Workbooks.

3. When you have IWB materials, you cannot customize them to the needs of individual classes.

   The IWB software lets you change and modify the materials a lot, so you can be sure all materials can be somehow utilized in different classes, even at different levels – it's just a question of choosing the right type of activity.

4. I'm afraid of using the IWB in front of my students. They all know so much about computers and what if something goes wrong? / Students will laugh at the teacher when they don't know how to operate the IWB.

   On the contrary! Students will be quietly proud of themselves for being able to do something in front of the class. It will also build their confidence and make them feel more responsible for what is going on in class.

5. The IWB is good for teaching young learners, but doesn't seem to work with adults.

   The IWB is intuitively appropriate to use with younger learners, because they readily get involved in games and quizzes. With adults you will just have to go for different types of activities and interaction, e.g. using the board for presentations, graphs, maps, etc.

6. You have to use the IWB all the time.

   Not at all! Experts say you can use the IWB in every class, but the attention of the teacher and the students should not be focused on it for more than 20 minutes in a lesson. The IWB is definitely one of the most powerful elements of the teaching mix, but it should not become dominant.

7. It'll be impossible to manage the class - students will just start shouting out the answers.

   It is possible that students, particularly the younger ones, can get excited about the new "gadget" in class. You could try to use this initial interest to your advantage: show them different functions of the IWB, play games, get them to interact with the IWB. Class management will also seem easier when you have read our Top Tips.

8. Won't the focus on whole-class, heads-up activities mean that quieter students get left out?

   The IWB can be used in different types of class interaction and there should be a good mix of these within any one lesson. Whole class activities are good for feedback and checking or grammar presentations. But if you want to make sure that all students are involved, get them to work in groups, or invite everybody to play a team game. With a little bit of careful planning, and using the possibilities of IWBs, you should be able to get your students involved. Finally - don't forget the IWB, although powerful, is just another tool in your hands, and you still have a wealth of other elements of the course to choose from!

BENEFITS OF IWBs

Benefits of using Interactive Whiteboards

So why is it good to use IWBs? Here are some benefits of using the new technology in the classroom.

Benefits for the students:

1. Get students communicating and interacting
2. Suit a variety of learning styles
3. Motivate and engage students
4. Increase attention span and improve focus
5. Facilitate knowledge retention

Benefits for the teachers:

1. Reduce preparation time
2. Give freedom and flexibility in preparing the materials
3. Reinvigorate teachers who see how their students are enthusiastic and motivated
4. The possibilities given by the new technology motivate teachers to try out new approaches and inspire them to innovate their teaching

Benefits for classroom interaction:

1. Help change classroom dynamics
2. Introduce the fun and games element
3. Move the classes towards a student-centred approach

DIFFERENT WAYS OF USING AN IWB

http://www.oupeltpromo.com/interactive/iwbs_step_by_step.php

IWB TIPS

1. Practice makes perfect. Find time to get to know what you can do with the IWB and what it can do for you.
2. Avoid using white backgrounds. These can produce more glare and reduce students' concentration span.
3. Think about your classroom position. You don't want to be throwing a shadow on the board or getting the beam in your eyes. Advise your students of this too.
4. Remember the activities need to be interactive. The English classroom is not a lecture theatre so it shouldn't just be you at the board. Make sure it is interactive for everyone.
5. Make sure your classroom set-up allows access to the board. If possible move desks so the students are in a horseshoe formation near the board. Try not to have a barrier between the students and the board.
6. Don't allow the IWB to dominate lessons. Like anything in the classroom you can have too much of a good thing. The focus in a class should change, so try to use it when it will help you and benefit the class.
7. Don't make IWB material too complicated. If there is too much on the screen, or too many things that can move around, it will be more difficult to maintain the interest of the class.
8. Think about different learning styles when designing material. IWBs can benefit a variety of different learning styles so make sure there is something for everyone.
9. Don't make materials too complete. The teacher shouldn't just be a clicker of the mouse; there needs to be room for the teacher to add things, and for the material to be flexible.
10. Don't let the IWB do all the work. Students need to be able to follow their own thought processes, make additions and mistakes. This will encourage discussion and help the cognitive process.

MORE TIPS:
http://www.teachers.tv/ict/whiteboardtips

CONVERGENCE

TEACHING VOCABULARY

GOOD IDEA FOR UPPER INTERMEDIATE CLASSES

new vocabulary
Submitted on 21 August, 2009 - 11:36
Hi Paul,
I have noticed in my classes that using this technique as a way of learning (or even better 'strengthening') the vocabulary for a certain unit makes students wonder what kind of sentences they should make (affirmative, negative or interrogative), should they be short or long, etc. In other words, when telling them to put a word in a specific sentence they lose focus and start asking unimportant questions not connected to the word itself! This led me to search for better ways of learning new vocabulary, and I came up with the idea of writing four words on the board (words that are new to them and have all been mentioned in the one specific lesson), which they should not yet write down in their notebooks (concentrating on the visual aspect of the word at this point). I then read a fill-in-the-gap sentence which contains a blank that they must fill in with one of the words on the board. But try not to forget to make the four words on the board similar in meaning, otherwise the activity would be too easy for them! In most cases in my experience they do make the right choice of word, but they think about it for a moment! Afterwards I dictate the sentence out to them, they write it down with the correct word, and after that they should write three other sentences (for the remaining three unused words in separate sentences). It is at this point that the hard part of the activity is to create 3 totally different sentences using the three words that are left, but to follow the first example and to make the meaning of the new word clear in each sentence.
Now this will get them thinking!
Best, Aneta Naumoska