THE USE OF BLOGS IN CLASS
TO MY FOLLOWERS
TUTORIAL: USING ELENA’S BLOG.
BLOG IN PROGRESS…
by Elena Gómez Ortego ( EOI teacher)
WHAT’S A BLOG?
Watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjwUHXoi8lM
DEAR FOLLOWERS ( STUDENTS, CO-
WORKERS,ETC)
APOLOGY
First of all, I owe you an apology for leaving
my blog aside and not updating it in the past
months. Motherhood keeps you busy and
changes your life completely, as most of you
will know.
THANK YOU!
To my followers for supporting me all these
years.
Thanks to my students ( elementary B1 to
advanced B2) and visits I keep the blog
updated.
Thanks to my colleagues for their feedback on
my blog. It makes me realize that it’s worth the
effort.
I hope this blog has come in handy for your
daily learning goals.
REFLECTING ON BLOGGING FOR EDUCATIONAL
PURPOSES
Moving on to the blog part….after 7 years
keeping and updating this blog, as a teacher,
I can’t help but ask myself these questions
related to the use of blogs in the classroom.
ELENA’S QUESTIONS
What? What's the purpose of my blog?
Who? Who are my potential readers?
How? How am I going to use it in class?
When/ How often? When am I going to use it during the school year?
Where? Where will I work with it? In the classroom, at home?
What for? What's the aim of using it? What skill do I want my
students to practice, improve, master.
Which materials?
Why? Reasons for keeping, updating, changing the layout of the blog.
Is it worth it?
ANSWERS
What for?
For( learning / knowledge/improvement/
entertaining/ fun, and the last reason …for helping you
get prepared for your final exams.)
The last reason is not as important as the first.
FOR LEARNING
WHY?
Because… My blog is a part of me as a teacher and you need it for progress.
I can reach you everywhere and teach you anywhere/everywhere.
This blog is an extra students’ book, workbook but with more digital materials and content.
You can post your classroom written tasks on the blog.
It contains materials created by me for the lessons and it alsoincludes authentic and carefully chosen materials related to thelesson topic, grammar point, etc we are studying in class.
I can also post students’ materials on the blog.
Materials come from differerent sources: online media and booksources which do only exist online.
It saves us time in the classroom and dynamizes teaching and learning.
It represents the main points included in the Syllabus and andlesson plans.
The blog stays here for good and you can always access itscontents.
IS IT WORTH IT?
I bet some teachers are still asking the exact
same question.
You know…it’s time consuming and I’ve
spent a lot of hours in front of the computer
creating/updating this blog and its materials.
STUDENT’S QUESTIONS
What's a blog?
How often do we need to visit it?
FAQ:Where can we find the materials? There’s a lot of information, I get lost.
How do I use it?
What for? Purpose of using the goal, advantage of using it and results.
How useful is it for them? They exchange opinions in class.
Why do we have to use it?! (upset, desperate, worriedstudent,)
REASONS FOR UPDATING THE BLOG
Due to lack of time,
students often find
it hard to follow it
or look for specific
contents on the
blog.
ABOUT ENTRIES AND CONTENTS
SCHOOL YEAR 2015-2016
ENTRIES
Entries will not refer to a specific part of a coursebook, but they will beindependently posted as online materials or pieces of news.
HOW do I look for contents?
Remember: contents are already on the blog.
How can I find B2 contents?
1. Click on “advanced contents
index” ( it’s still unfinished and
provisional but it can help).
2. You can also visit B2 topics section.
ADVANCED B2.2 (2ND YEAR ADVANCED)
CONTENTS
I’m working on it now.
But you’ll see it under this name :
ADVANCED B2 CONTENTS INDEX
( visit the blog and scroll down)
MATERIALS YOU CAN FIND ON THE BLOG
Advanced contents
index
Grammarcontents
Cleft sentences, the passivevoice, defining/non-defining
relative clauses,
Functions
Giving opinion, comparing, expressingcontrast,
paraphrasing, being tactful,polite
interruptions
Vocabulary
Pronunciation/
Phonetics
skills
ListeningCOMOR
SpeakingEXINO
ReadingCOMLE
WritingEXINE
REMEMBER:
Each year I’ve been uploading and linking
tons of interesting materials and creating
new ones for you, so you won’t need to look
further.
TIP: Just follow the new posts to come and
visit the old labels on the left side bar.
CONCLUSION
Yes, it is worth having/keeping a blog and I’ll
keep on working on it and improving it.
I hope this tutorial helps.
BLOG ADDRESS AND CONTACT
Blog:click and learn (elementary toadvanced).
http://cursodeingles-elena.blogspot.com.es/
CONTACT ME AT:
I’ll keep you posted!!