viernes, 25 de noviembre de 2011

THANKSGIVING TRADITIONS

     
      Each year, Americans celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. Most families follow traditions begun on the first Thanksgiving, but many have their own traditions that they follow each year. Here are some of the common traditions associated with "Turkey Day."     

      One of the best things about Thanksgiving is spending time with family. Many people live far from family members and travel long distances by car, train, or plane to be with their loved ones. Thanksgiving is the busiest travel day of the year!

      More information, here

jueves, 17 de noviembre de 2011

ROUTINES EXIST IN ALL CLASSROOM

Thinking Routines   
 
      Routines exist in all classrooms; they are the patterns by which we operate and go about the job of learning and working together in a classroom environment. A routine can be thought of as any procedure, process, or pattern of action that is used repeatedly to manage and facilitate the accomplishment of specific goals or tasks. 

      Classrooms have routines that serve to manage student behavior and interactions, to organizing the work of learning, and to establish rules for communication and discourse. Classrooms also have routines that structure the way students go about the process of learning. These learning routines can be simple structures, such as reading from a text and answering the questions at the end of the chapter, or they may be designed to promote students' thinking, such as asking students what they know, what they want to know, and what they have learned as part of a unit of study.

      Much more here

martes, 15 de noviembre de 2011

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS

Somalia: MSF treats tens of thousands affected by crisis


© Yann Libessart / MSF - Rajo camp in Mogadishu

      Even for the long-suffering Somali population, the events of the past year have been challenging. The conflict that began two decades ago continues, and its consequences are exacerbated by drought, one of the worst on record in the country.

      Thousands of people have been forced to flee Somalia and are seeking humanitarian aid in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. A measles epidemic is spreading. The lack of infrastructure and services is worsening the population’s vulnerability.

      In recent weeks, civilians have endured new military offensives launched in southern Somalia and the capital Mogadishu.

      To read more

lunes, 14 de noviembre de 2011

EDUCATION FOR CHANGE

Study of the Impact of eTwinning


      EfC has been has beTwinning logoeen commissioned for a 21 month study of the impact of eTwinning on pupils, teachers and schools.  The study will also be an analysis of the factors which contribute to, or hinder, successful participation in eTwinning.

      eTwinning Partnerships is an activity under the Comenius sub-programme of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme. It was launched in 2005 with the objective of enabling school twinning as an opportunity for all young people to learn and practice information and communication technology (ICT) skills, as well as promoting awareness of the multicultural European model of society. The European Commission foresaw that eTwinning could be a major catalyst in intensifying the sorts of cooperation already underway among schools. Since the launch of the new platform in 2008-09 visits to the eTwinning portal have increased by over 300%, indicating a steep rise in interest among teachers. Registration continues to rise, and there are currently almost 100,000 registered eTwinners in 73500 schools.

      The impact study will look at participation in eTwinning and what hinders or helps it success, specifically:

•    the networking of schools and teachers across Europe and their capacity to build social capital, and the way in which eTwinning is managed and promoted
•    the perspective of participating teachers
•    the impact of eTwinning on pupils, teachers and others at school level
•   the overall impact of eTwinning within the context of the Comenius Programme

                                                                                                   To read more

domingo, 13 de noviembre de 2011

IMAGINE

Peace by Peace....  It's possible!!!!                 

Structures of Peace, here

viernes, 11 de noviembre de 2011

THE EUROPEAN CHARLEMAGNE YOUTH PRIZE



       ´The European Charlemagne Youth Prize´ aims to encourage the development of European consciousness among young people, as well as their participation in European integration projects.


      The Prize is awarded to projects undertaken by young people that foster understanding, promote the development of a shared sense of European identity, and offer practical examples of Europeans living together as one community.

      ´The European Charlemagne Youth Prize´ is awarded jointly and annually by the European Parliament and the Foundation of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen.

     Apply here

MULTILINGUAL eTWINNING


What languages are you learning in eTwinning?
picture

What languages are you using in eTwinning? How do your pupils learn languages on the platform? Learn about how teachers see their relationship with languages in eTwinning.

      eTwinning is very much a multinational and multilingual initiative: having the portal in 24 languages is already a good indication of the importance we give to multilingualism. However, some might say that the lingua franca of eTwinning is nevertheless English, and unless you master this language you may not be able to contribute actively to the variety of opportunities offered by eTwinning.

      In order to check the truth of these assumptions, we recently asked eTwinners some questions about the languages they use and learn. The poll ran on the eTwinning Desktop for a couple of weeks, and we received more than 1,600 answers from teachers involved in projects.


      To read

miércoles, 9 de noviembre de 2011

LOOP LABS

      Loop Labs is a free service from Club Create for creating your own music mixes using existing music loops and your own recordings. 

      To get started using Loop Labs select from one of nine sound loop libraries. Within each library is a selection of base instrumental sounds. Browse through your chosen library until you find a sound you like. When you've found a sound you like click the "+" icon to add it to your mix. You can continue to add sounds until you have enough for your project.

      To have a sound played in your track just click on its timeline to hear it. Wherever you click on its timeline that sound will be played. You can also add a voice recording to your track or import sounds from your computer by clicking on the "record" button. 

      Your finished project can be saved to your online Loop Labs account or downloaded as an MP3 file.

martes, 8 de noviembre de 2011

eTWINNING PRIZES 2012





ELIGIBILITY

      To join the competition, projects must have been awarded the European Quality Label in any year of the project’s lifespan. Only the partners of a project who have received the European Quality Label can apply and win a European Prize. All projects must demonstrate that they have been active in the 2010-2011 school year.

      Projects can only apply once for the eTwinning Prizes; however, projects that have demonstrated a significant improvement over time can apply a second time under the National Support Services’ discretion.

      The deadline for submissions is 30 November 2011.

      More information, here



viernes, 4 de noviembre de 2011

PARENTS, WE ARE ALWAYS EDUCATING


Be careful!!!

Dad, Mum, someone is watching you...

                                                   Click here

miércoles, 2 de noviembre de 2011

FOUR TYPES OF TESTS

      As teachers, we probably have to set and mark tests within our school as well as prepare candidates for external exams. There are many ways of evaluating learner performance and level, but here we’ll look at four types we may be involved in with our classes.




Here you are: 
 
                           1.- Placement
                           2.- Diagnostic
                           3.- Achievement
                           4.- Proficiency
                                                                          
                                                       To read more