Online activities and opportunities: Work in progress

The short (16 slide) presentation embedded in this blog post represents on-going endeavours mainly to recover from a massive setback in online resource curation. In a nutshell:

This presentation provides snapshots of an individual teacher's recent and ongoing professional development endeavours. It reflects problems of ICT use, mainly discontinuation of a free service for educators, and outlines strategies for addressing them with collaborative partners, tools, and venues of choice. It supplements a working paper submitted to PIGATE.

(Abstract, slide 2)

If you have comments or questions with regard either to the content of slides in that short presentation or the gist of the working paper (Beaufait, 2019) submitted to PIGATE prior to its Annual General Meeting last month (2019.09.14), please feel free to spell them out in threadable comments on this post.

Reference

Beaufait, P. (2019a). Reflection in action: An unavoidable IT transition. PIGATE eigo jugyou gaku kenkyuu-kai kiyou, 26 [English language teaching action research group working papers, issue 26], 32-42.

[164 words]

Differentiating instruction? Let's learn the ropes!

Ever wonder how to handle individual differences within a single class?

In the first of these EdWeek videos, "[v]eteran teachers Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Synieski offer [a few] quick tips...."

Differentiating Instruction: A Guide for Teaching English-Language Learners

Education Week, 2019.02.06, 2:48

In the second, Larry offers more ideas for differentiating instruction by adjusting content, processes, and products to suit learners' abilities, interests, and needs.

Differentiating Instruction: It’s Not as Hard as You Think

Education Week, 2018.09.11, 4:27

If there are other simple strategies that you enjoy using, please feel free to explain them in brief comments on this post.

[224 words]

The Common Sense Media website: Goodies for parents and educators

Last Saturday, at a monthly gathering (2019.01.12), I mentioned a blog post I'd read recently:

• 5 Ways to Block Porn on Your Kid's Devices
• Topics: Cellphone Parenting, Healthy Media Habits, Internet Basics, Screen Time, Sex in the Media

In that post, one of the main points that Caroline Knorr (2019), Common Sense Media's parenting editor, made was that technological interventions work best in conjunction with ongoing conversations with young learners.

That post is just one of the Must Read items displayed in the For Parents section of the Common Sense Media website, which you can personalize to suit your family or the ages of students you teach.

There also is a For Educators section of the website that is worth exploring for additional age-appropriate recommendations and resources as well.

References

• Common Sense Media. (2019, January 14). Common Sense MediaⓇ. Retrieved from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
• Knorr, Caroline. (2019, January 7). 5 Ways to Block Porn on Your Kid's Devices [weblog post]. Retrieved from: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/5-ways-to-block-porn-on-your-kids-devices

[176 words]

A brilliant talk about TED talks

In this eight-minute talk, Anderson ... clearly [and concisely] spilled the beans about public speaking.

Reference

• Anderson, Chris. (2016, March). TED's secret to great public speaking [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_anderson_teds_secret_to_great_public_speaking 

[52 words]

David Ockert's slides on Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Many thanks to David Ockert for visiting Kumamoto in September and leading a workshop on SDT for PIGATE! He granted permission to publish his slides not long after the PIGATE newsletter went to print. There are 16 plain vanilla slides (line by line builds) in the Google slideshow below.

If you have comments or questions about any of the topics in his slides, or reflections on any of the tasks that David presented last month, please feel free either to spell them out in comments on this post, or to voice them at the next monthly PIGATE gathering–this coming Saturday, 13 October, 2018.

[105 words]

Vimeo video about what a blog is (Kelly, 2018)

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? START YOUR BLOG! 

from Berwick Lodge Primary School on Vimeo.

A short kinetic typography video that explains what a blog is. 

Please use. Full Creative Commons License. 

Written and Produced by Rob Kelly, 2018

Reference

Kelly,  Rob. (2018). What are you waiting for? Start your blog! Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/258904090

Clicky Wishes You a Happy Safer Internet Day 2018

A couple days late, but still worth sharing!

Source: https://youtu.be/4hTapDlrP5g (ConnectSafely.org, 2018.02.02)

6 Tips for Going Gradeless (Sackstein, 2018)

Can we do some or all of this?

Sackstein, Starr. (2018.01.30). Six tips for going gradeless. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/F56hTKUk8j4

Webinar recordings and related resources

Here's a window into a Google spreadsheet in which there's an in-progress list of teacher development websites with webinar recordings and related resources:

If you have recommendations for additions, please mention them the next time we meet, or point them out in comments on this post.

[48 words]

ICT to-dos: Map and plans

The mind map in this post points out locations of online endeavours by and for members of a grassroots language teacher development group, for various language and professional development purposes. 

Though the map itself is far from comprehensive at present, it does include both links to venues and [plenty of] to-dos (tasks with or without checkboxes) planned or envisioned in order to consolidate, extend, and facilitate ICT use by group members. 

One such purpose involves collaborative creation and publication of information to promote face-to-face group events. Others reflect collective documentation of activities, maintenance of archives, and sharing and showcasing of professional development resources. 

Tasks may be one-off, on-going, or periodic (recurring monthly or annually). Green arrows indicate connections between various tasks and other tasks or venues.

PIGATE ICT to-dos ...

Source: Mindmeister.com

[143 {+ 2 (- 3 )} words]

Three helpful Google Docs features for new users (Byrne, 2017.08.28)

In the following demonstration video, Richard Byrne pointed out Google Doc interfaces for:

1. Adjusting document layouts,
2. Counting words and characters, &
3. Sharing documents selectively online.

His blog is loaded with other resources and tips for educators:

• Free Technology for Teachers: About the Author [Richard Byrne].

[103 {+2} words]

PIGATE's Special Summer Session (2017.08.12)

This post provides a preview of slides in the works for Saturday's big event. It also includes a Tweet feed display for the Twitter hashtag #higopigateSSS.

Tweet about it: #higopigateSSS

Relevant comments and questions are more than welcome!

[88 words]

International teacher survey: OECD country comparison ...

There ... [was to be] a graphic display below (hopefully;-) of results from the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2013). It appeared in a 2014 news article entitled:

Teachers love their job but feel undervalued, unsupported and unrecognised ...

[However, the embedding code hasn't worked, so I've removed it.]

There's a four-page summary of findings from Japan here:

• http://www.oecd.org/japan/TALIS-2013-country-note-Japan.pdf

Complete results are available here:

• http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/talis-2013-results.htm

[85 words]

2-Minute Tips: Smart Passwords (ConnectSafely.org)

ConnectSafely.org. (2016, October 25). 2-minute tips: Smart passwords [YouTube video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/e0ENHKyqRNY

Classroom practice: Using instruction checking questions (ICQs)

This post showcases a presentation that Taishi Kaneko (KU, Fac. of Educ., M2) used for a demonstration and discussion of instruction checking questions (ICQs) at the PIGATE gathering earlier this month (2017.05.13). Taishi began to develop his interest in ICQs while studying overseas last year.

If you have comments or questions regarding ICQs and their use or potential, please feel free to spell them out in comments on this post. Suggestions of and pointers to related resources also are welcome.

[80 words]

My Club Activity by Ms. M. Kamioka (KGU, Engl., 4th yr.)

This post showcases a presentation that Misaki Kamioka, a 4th-year student in the English department at KGU, delivered to the PIGATE gathering in the KGU Learning Commons earlier this month (2017.05.13).

It is a pleasure to be able to share Misaki's slides for viewing by PIGATE members who were unable to attend her presentation in person. It also will be a pleasure to have her, her classmates, and her peers take part in future PIGATE gatherings.

[76 words]

Skidamarink: Super Simple Songs & Wee Sing YouTube videos

Skidamarink is one of the songs for young learners that Mr. Takaki introduced during the PIGATE gathering on ... [May] 13. Here are a couple videos of the song from the Super Simple Songs and Wee Sing YouTube channels.

Source: https://youtu.be/ug1pI-Ephns

Source: https://youtu.be/vG9HM-1R7sk

If you use songs and gestures like that with young children or older learners, please shout out in comments on this post to let us know what your favorites are and how you use them.

[77 words]

Gems from Jemma's presentation, 2017.03.11

This post showcases a couple of videos that Jemma Gallagher played or mentioned in her presentation on mindfulness in education to the PIGATE gathering on March 11, 2017. Afterwards, she also shared links to a couple of related resources.

Mindfulness Story (English vers.) 

Source: Jonathan Haggard (YouTube, 2015) 

https://youtu.be/T2D1SsIZDx0

Mindfulness Story (Japanese vers.)

Source: Jonathan Haggard (YouTube, 2015) 

https://youtu.be/KQlLSPzfCFc

Shunkoin's website

• Shunkoin Temple, Kyoto, JP
• http://shunkoin.com/ 

Experimental Buddhism (Nelson, 2013)

Jemma also pointed out John Nelson's book Experimental Buddhism (2013), in which he wrote about that temple and its head priest (http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9072-9780824838980.aspx). Perhaps once she settles into her new job and postgraduate studies, she will agree to write a brief review of his book for a PIGATE newsletter.

PIGATE's Special Summer Session: August 13, 2016

This post ... includes ... a slideshow introducing PIGATE's Special Summer Session [SSS] at the Prefectural University of Kumamoto, August 13, 2016. [It also may display recent earmarked Tweets about or related to the SSS.]

You can find the working agenda for this year's SSS in the PIGATE calendar on the Calendar of Events page of The PIGATE Blog. Directions to the SSS venue are on the Meeting Location page.

Tweet about it: #higopigateSSS

[74 words]

PS: Here are a few snapshots from the SSSession.

Thanks to Misato for rounding up delicious boxed lunches from RanTen in Mashiki-machi!

[+ 23 words]

Social media for you and me? (Beaufait & Terada, 2016.06.11)

Here is the slideshow from our presentation about social media at the PIGATE gathering on June 11, 2016:

We'd love to read [and respond to] concerns, questions, and suggestions regarding social media for learning, teaching, and professional development, both from attendees and from people who were unable to attend the session at KGU. Please feel free to spell them out either in comments on this post or in tweets to #higopigate20160611.

[45 words {+3}]