Effective ways to optimize teaching.

Teaching through technology in the classroom will just not be the guidance that students require in today’s world, it’ll infuse in them, the required technological skills that will be their success key in the future. And teachers, being at the forefront of a student’s learning experience, plays an important and much responsible role of giving out the best learning experience to the students. With the help of various ways of teaching through technology, teachers can inspire students to learn more effectively. So below i will share with you, some effective ways that i found that will help to optimize teaching through technology in classroom.

Blended learning: Technology for teaching and learning has a new face- blended learning. It is a kind of learning opportunity that bring in together the traditional face-to-face and online learning. The main objective of blended learning is to prepare students with diverse learning styles, integrated in the day-today classroom learning activities. Teaching through technology like blended learning, allows students to learn better, at a faster rate and at their own convenience, at reduced cost of study materials- definitely, a smarter option for optimized learning.

Digital resources: With teaching through technology, have come the increased usage of digital resources in educational institutions that have given the right boost to learning and teaching in classroom. Digital portfolios, electronic grade books, learning games and real-time feedbacks on students and teachers are some of the smart technologies to power learning in the classroom.

A podcast for learning: Encouraging students and getting them into a podcast for the class, like reading out class lessons or discussions on particular topics can boost learning. Because, these podcasts are very good study references for the students in future.

Use social media platforms like Twitter and Pinterest: Pinterest is a great medium for teaching through technology, specifically because its a great visual medium that can encourage students to share their projects, classroom activities, photos, etc. Technology for teaching and learning can also include Twitter as a good learning platform. Students who are above 13 years can create important hashtags for classroom lessons and promote participation from experts in Twitter.

Technology if used in the right direction, can create wonders for teaching and learning. Teaching through technology at the right time, can inspire students to embrace technology without much hesitation, to optimize their learning. Teachers, on their part, can promote a healthy learning environment in the classroom with technology for teaching and learning.

Thank you for reading .

Stimulating Creativity

Time never stops it's flow and as it goes is bound to bring changes for everything. One of those things that sure will undergo some changes is education itself.
Our traditional educational system happens to lack one of the important elements that will be part  of the future teaching and that is non other than Creativity .
So, we as future teacher should have some knowledge as about to how to stimulate the aspect of creativity in our students and that is what we are going to talk about below.

 Here are some ways that we as educators can promote creativity in our classrooms.

1-Embrace creativity as part of learning. Create a classroom that recognizes creativity. You may want to design awards or bulletin boards to showcase different ways of solving a problem, or creative solutions to a real world scenario.

2-Use the most effective strategies. Torrance performed an extensive meta-analysis that considered the most effective ways to teach creativity. He found that the most successful approaches used creative arts, media-oriented programs, or relied on the Osborn-Parnes training program. Programs that incorporated cognitive and emotional functioning were the most successful.

3-Think of creativity as a skill. Much like resourcefulness and inventiveness it is less a trait and more a proficiency that can be taught. If we see it this way, our job as educators becomes to find ways to encourage its use and break it down into smaller skill sets. Psychologists tend to think of creativity as Big-C and Little C. Big C drives big societal ideas, like the Civil Rights movement or a new literary style. Little C is more of a working model of creativity that solves everyday problems. Both concepts can be included in our classrooms to promote creativity in general.

4-Participate in or create a program to develop creative skills. Programs like Odyssey of the Mind and Thinkquest bring together students from around the world to promote creativity, design creative solutions, and bring them to competition.

5-Use emotional connections. Research suggests that the best creativity instruction ties in the emotions of the learner. In the “Odyssey angels” program students can devise a solution to help their local community, such as helping homeless youth. This topic is worthy of more discussion by itself.
Research suggests that the best creativity instruction ties in the emotions of the learner.

6-Be aware during discussions. You know that student who often asks the question that goes a bit outside the lecture? Well, engage him. Once a week, intentionally address those questions. Write them down on an assigned space in the board to go back to later. Promote creativity by validating students’ creative thinking.

7-See creativity in a positive light. If we are going to promote creativity, we need to embrace it too. Reward students for thinking of problems in varied ways by recognizing their efforts.

8-Use a cultural artifact. Research from experimental social psychology finds that artifacts can enhance insight problem solving. Consider using an ordinary object, such as a light bulb used in the study or a historical artifact to have students think about living in a particular time period.

9-Establish expressive freedom. The classroom environment must be a place where students feel safe to share novel ideas. Allow for flexibility and create norms that promote creativity.

10-Be familiar with standards. Knowing the standards inside and out helps find creative solutions in approaching a lesson. Teachers can adapt them and work within the current framework. Some topics allow for flexibility and use of creative approaches.

11-Allow space for creativity. Design some classroom space for exploration, such as a thinking table, a drama stage, a drawing table, or a space for groups to discuss ideas.

12-Creativity builds confidence. Students take ownership of their own learning. Think of ways where students might design a project. For instance, for the history requirement, I suggested students of both fifth grade classes create an exhibition of their final projects. The students were so proud of their final work and learned from others presentations. Parents and community members were happy to see students take ownership of their learning.

13-Encourage curiosity.Consider what is important to students. Student interest is a great place to start on what drives their own thinking tank. Find inspiration from their world. Creativity is intrinsic in nature. Try to promote creativity by stepping into their viewpoint to find what motivates them.
Student interest are a great place to start on what drives their own thinking tank. Find inspiration from their world.



This are some of the ways i found of how to stimulate creativity. I hope they were helpful as i myself found them quiet interesting .

Till the next time, Have a nice day/night ^^

Setting Boundaries In A Classroom.

A classroom without rules is equivalent to a chaotic environment someone might say. However a rule is not the same as a boundary. Rules certainly are familiar in a classroom setting but they create additional conflicts , resorting to traditional authoritarian power dynamics or somehow compromising the emotional climate of the classroom.

In many classrooms, the rules are invariably negative and often start negatively. (Don't call out." "Don't eat in class") However even if they have a positive start the result of an infraction is typically negative. Rules are penalties depend on the students fear of the negative consequences that usually follow after the rule is broken.

In contrast , boundaries do not depend on fear or power .This positivity represents an important characteristic of a boundary as well as a significant difference with the rules. Boundaries are stated positively as promises rather than threats and instead of punishments , oriented strategies to a reward oriented approach to behavior management is used.

Now that we know the difference between those two i am sure you would want to know how someone can set effectively boundaries so here are some things you should remember when setting a boundary in our classrooms.

1-  Use boundaries to let your students know your limits and tolerances, your availability, the
conditions under which you will participate in some activity, which privileges are available or
the conditions under which a privilege is available to your students. Use boundaries to give
your students information they can use in making decisions.

2- Using past experience (and common sense), anticipate what you will want and what your
students will probably want as well. Consider both your needs and the students’ needs when
formulating your boundary.

3-  Be clear and specific about what you’re asking for, what you would like, which options are
available, the times or conditions under which a positive outcome is available, or any other
factors that your students will need to know in making their choices or anticipating a particular
event.

4- Communicate your boundary before there is a conflict, or before the conflict continues or reoccurs:
“You can get credit for your homework as long as it’s on my desk before the bell rings
tomorrow.” “I will read as long as it is completely quiet.” etc.

5- State boundaries positively, as promises rather than threats: “You can watch the movie if your
seatwork is done by 2:00,” rather than, “You’re not watching the movie if your seatwork isn’t done by 2:00.”

6- Be prepared to follow through. If you’re not willing to withhold positive outcomes until your
students do their part–whether it’s finish their seatwork, complete a chore, put their plan in
writing or tone down their voices–don’t bother setting the boundary in the first place.

7- Examine your attachment to particular outcomes. For example, if you are heavily invested in
your students’ performing at a certain level in order for you to feel okay about your teaching
ability, you may find yourself asking for excuses or making excuses in order to avoid following
through. Either refrain from setting this boundary (and don’t complain when your students act
irresponsibly) or use your resistance to following through as a chance to look at your need to
protect your students (or yourself) from the negative outcomes of their behavior choices.

8- Watch the tendency to make excuses, give warnings or let things slide “just this once.” This is a
great way to teach kids that you don’t really mean what you say and that it’s okay to disrespect
your boundaries. If you want to build in some flexibility, do so before your students blow it.

9- If the student is unable to perform or complete his or her end of the bargain because the
request or time limit was truly unreasonable, because the instructions were not clear or
understood, or because the child was developmentally incapable or lacked the necessary skill
or experience to do what you want, it’s a bad boundary. This is not the same as making
excuses for a developmentally capable kid who simply doesn’t come through. In this instance,
back up and try again (delaying the request until the child is more capable, setting a different
boundary or offering more clarity, instruction or a more reasonable time limits, for example).
Do not withhold positive outcomes at this time.



That was some of the ways that i found interesting and decided  to share them with you .I hope they will turn out helpful in the future.

Till next time.
Have a nice day/Night ^^

Learning ESL in an easier way with the help of technology.

We all know how boring can get learning something in the traditional way, sitting in a room you and your books or having a teacher that forces you to learn by heart new vocabulary that is need ,however the method does not encourage some to learn that language but does the exact opposite sometimes.

We have all been there and we can all relate and that is why we as teachers need to find more fun activities to engage our students and this is were technology comes to offer as it's helping hand .

Knowing that technology is part of everyone's lives now days we can take advantage of that fact through some technological tools that i found and that i will mention bellow.

1- Online Games

Online Games is a trend that children follow devotedly ,passing most of their time playing virtual games in front of their computer or phone. Though that can be considered as distraction from studying all we have to do is introduce them to the right games that benefit us ,games that are educational and make them obtain knowledge while playing them. Funbrain is one place where you can find such educational games and books .StarFall  has multiple games for younger students to increase English literacy skills .Also there are digital games of traditional games that can be played in the classroom on the white board such as Hangman, Scramble or Boggle.

2- Pen Pals

Sending letters with post mail it seems that is something left to the past as now you can exchange messages via social apps or emails. Students this days use this kind of communication very frequently and because of the amount of time that takes of their lives we should make good use and benefit of such preference of communication. Pen Pal will enable them to communicate  and interact with new people without making them feel like they are taking an extra mile to learn or do their homework. The only thing you need to do is to make an arrangement with an English speaking class in another country and have students write to their pen pals regularly .This is a great way for them to practice their English writing and reading comprehension skills  while making new friendships .

3- Apps

What is more easy and accessible than an app that you can have on your phone , iPads or Tablets .Apps that will not frustrate you but will make you feel relaxed ,receiving enjoyment from the activity .For practicing grammar rules apps like Grammar Up allow students to test their knowledge in specific  topics such as verbs, prepositions etc. One good app for helping with the pronunciation of the words is Sounds Right by British Council which is a simple chart with great big resonance, when learning British English refer to Sounds Right for proper pronunciation of vowels and diphthongs ,with the former listed by mouth shape .

As you can see making use of technology that is used in our students every day lives can bring many benefits as well as simplify our work and make more enjoyable their learning process .

I hope this blog helped you in terms of finding some apps or tools to use in the future.

Till next time, have a good day everyone.