Scavenger Hunt, but make it fun.

Salam everyone, 

                                                                        (Salam: Peace in Arabic, used for greetings)

This week I have a more simple blog, for the days when you feel like lecturing would send your students to misery, try Internet Scavenger Hunt. 😹💗

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What is the internet Scavenger Hunt?

It is an activity that teachers can use to practice students' internet searching skills for the information they would need.

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      For anything in the world, you can adjust things to make them more suitable for your class.

Research Internet Scavenger Hunt

            How to do it?

1. Decide the focus you want your students to work on.

2. Find websites relevant to your intended topic (choose at least 5 topics and you can increase the more advanced your students are)

3. Create a set of questions relevant to your topic, which students can find answers for on the websites you provided.

4. You can choose to do this in groups or with each student on their own.

    * I think in groups wouldn't help students learn the skill of searching the internet because at the end one student will be controlling the computer.

Example of the activity: 

link to photo

We are learning about robin birds, and here are some websites to start your search

List of websites to search for information 

1. https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/birds/facts-about-robins/

2. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/overview

Questions

1. Do robins migrate?

2. What is the age of the oldest  American Robin?

3. What type of food do robins usually eat?

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Relevance to learning and teaching English

- This activity is part of the discovery and active learning, students will learn how to become more independent when searching for information they need, and they will also learn to be more critical of what they see on the internet.

- Teachers can apply this in classes teaching writing research essays, to teach how to look for credible sources.

limitations

- Might be dangerous to let students go unsupervised when looking for online information.

- Teachers can't monitor all students all the time.

                                        Would you use it in your class? let me know :)

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ChatGPT - a curse or a blessing ?

Salam everyone, 

                                                                        (Salam: Peace in Arabic, used for greetings)

This week I will talk about the one and only ChatGPT 

Source: https://seeklogo.com/vector-logo/465219/chatgpt

Is ChatGPT a curse or a blessing that entered our educational world? let's see :)

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What is ChatGPT?

 An artificial intelligence chatbot that has a powerful ability to analyze and generate information.

 

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How to use it 

              because it is relatively new, it is really simple.

1. To create an account, creating an account would be easier if you have a google account, just press "try ChatGPT" and create an account from there 

2. Type anything you want to ask it and get fascinated by how detailed it can be.

                                        

3. A tip I would give is to be clear about your request because it can "lag" or give you an error message if it doesn't understand your request.

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Relevance to teaching and learning English 

I think this tool would help with the skill of writing, and reading whereas for speaking and listening the help is there but much less and I'll explain why.

    1. Students can use it to brainstorm ideas about a topic they are writing about in detail.

    2. Students can use it to get tips on how to plan their writing/speaking/listening/reading.

For speaking and listening, we know that for this students need to practice either by speaking themselves or by listening to someone speaking which is not something that ChatGPT provides, instead, teachers can use it to ask for tips and methods on how to approach listening and speaking tasks.

                    

           

 3.  Teachers can use it for guidance on creating exercises/activities/tasks.

                                            Advice: always double-check anything you find on ChatGPT

                    

 4. Students can use it for further explanation on any topic they want to learn about.

 5. I really liked this blog about how we can use ChatGPT in education, please check it out :)

blog about ChatGPT and education

 6. Many principles of learning and teaching can be applied with ChatGPT, it depends on the teacher, for instance, for teachers that believe that learning happens best when students themselves do the research (active learning), then ChatGPT will be their best friend.

            - ChatGPT is also suitable for those that believe learning happens when exploring happens because it's all about what the student writes in the chat box. 

7. It's quite fast, so this will help you when you are in need of some information and you don't have a lot of time. 

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Answering the question 

To answer my first question, I believe that like any new technology, it's a double-edged sword that we get to decide what we get out of it. I believe that with careful use, we can benefit a lot from ChatGPT. 

Limitations 

1. you don't know the source of information given to you by it.

2. using it without awareness can make you dependent on it.

3. it makes mistakes, which can give you false information. 

4. it will create exercises that are generative and not based on your students' needs.

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So, do you think ChatGPT is a curse or a blessing? let me know in the comments :)

A colorful classroom

Salam everyone, 

                                                          (Salam: Peace in arabic, used for greetings)

This week I am back but this time not only with a tool that can help not only educators, but also every person that often has to discuss topics, plan or even showcase something. 

                        I got what can make every point of these much easier and faster. 

Want to find out what it is ? continue reading :) 

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What is Padlet ?

                            

Padlet is a website that offers you a digital "wall" to post your information on as notes. 

                                       Here's a link to the website: padlet 

Why Padlet ?

1. You can create different teams, for instance a team for each class you teach where everything post on it is related only to that team.

                                        

 

                                                                    My teams on Padlet

- You can control what is posted on the padlet which can also be a limitation.

2. There is different templates you can use 

                                            

Tip: use timeline for projects, or wall for student feedback

3. There is gallery of already made padlets that you can use and edit if you want.

                                        

                                    To copy you'll press on the right side the button below

and you'll see these options to choose from 

4. You can create a slideshow of your padlet 

Photo from: Padlet Gallery 

5. it creates a sense of community because of the teams.

Relevance to teaching and learning English 

1. I think this app can be part of the socioconstructivism theory of learning, where learning is a collaborative process.

                                *Students can post and take feedback from others about their post.

                                *Teachers can use this feature as an assessment tool ( I would ).

                                

2. Teachers can use the tool for planning work and teach students to use it as a planning tool.

3. Teachers can you use it to create a discussions using any template they want.

4. Teachers can use it for an exit ticket.

5. Teachers can use to ask students to post a new word they learn every week 

6. Teachers can use it as an icebreaker on the first day where people post something about themselves.

7. Teachers use the slide show the show students comments or feedback about a topic.

8. Students can use it for group projects. 

Using Padlet 

      Share with me your favorite cuisine/ dish on This padlet 🍲

 1. Create a Padlet using this button 

                                                

2. Then choose your template from these options, I choose "wall".

                                                

3. Then on the right side modify your Padlet the way you want

                                               

These are my modifications 

you can even create your own icon 

                                                                or modify the wallpaper 

4. Add reaction option on posts if you want.

Limitations

 1. Students can have the option of checking for teacher's approval before posting which can take time if teachers don't check their padlet that often,

2. If you use it as an assessment for after class, there's no way to check if the students themselves wrote the answers.

3. If you use it in class, you need to have access to computers or phones.

 Will you be using Padelt in your next class to make it much more fun ?, let me know in the comments 💕