#blogging 28 Teaching the Holocaust - reading the Diary by Anne Frank

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AnneFrank1940_crop.jpg

 Since I started using Twitter I have come across many resources for educators.

They have been  sharing many documents and materials online :now  I have many accounts online where I can find  lessons and tips. I have  collected many links and pdfs for my  lessons as I feel that teaching implies learning by using authentic materials and also  documents related to the past.
Usually students are more engaged and like to learn about events that are challenging and they love discussing about them.

In one of my posts of this year  I wrote about  a book which I had read and which  had been written by a holocaust survivor.
I have read many books about the life of people who were killed in the  dark age of  Nazism.
Like  Deborah Batiste  I have loved reading  Anne Frank's Diary. In an interesting post she shared why some people had an impact on her life :
https://sharemylesson.com/blog/choices-we-make-what-i-learned-anne-frank-and-my-english-teacher

I have met  Anne  Frank by reading her  pages and also my teacher  taught me about her.
I have never visited her house in Amsterdam but today many young students go to Amsterdam and visit the Museum -  https://www.annefrank.org/en/


Any time I teach the Holocaust I cannot but photocopy some pages taken from the Diary and comment in class about what is being  read: the book can be read online
thanks to   the Internet Archive:






For learners with a pre-intermediate level of English I choose some adapted texts with text and audio:

https://english-e-reader.net/book/the-diary-of-a-young-girl-anne-frank

I also ask my students to see films in Italian and in English to learn more about the teenager who wrote about her wish to live in a better world and dreamed of a better world.

Sometimes books we have read can change our life but I also feel it is up to educators to teach about the Holocaust and  help the  young to reflect.  Anne Frank is still living among us and she is  helping us teach about the value of  respect. Something we do need to focus on in a society which seems to have forgotten what happened to many people who died in the concentration camps.


Films
Anne Frank ( the whole story)

#blogging 28 Teaching in difficult situations

Tonight I was online and doing a webinar run by National Geographic. It was about the use of videos in teaching languages.

The presenter, John  Hughes, made us think about how using images and videos in ELT can enhance the students' critical thinking skills.
He presented this video about a  teacher  working with  250 students in Africa

It was surprising how  the teacher coped with so many students and how they were working with her: poor children who were learning together.

I am going to share the document with other educators and  ask my students to work on the video by using English.

I really feel that some  educators are  modern heroes as they are struggling as teachers but they are also winners.

#blogging 28 Why it is important to collaborate and teach about blogging

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

This week I am going to work longer hours at school so I won't be able to follow most of the blogs I like.
I would like to add  that I need to work to prepare a presentation which I am going to share in April with other eduacators and the topic is blogging and  e-portfolios. I am therefore bookmarking some  useful blogs and websites that can help me.  I am also working on this  challange as I would like to help some teachers in my school who need to start writing about their earning  experiences next summer and also this spring.
I will continue my  search online and I hope that  I will be able to find more tips online to share with my friends and  the other teachers I am meeting in two months.

First of all, you need to know that  if you do not  like technology it takes a lot of time to work on a blog:

https://www.theblogstarter.com/

https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-choose-the-best-blogging-platform/

I will try to focus on the main features of a good blog and I will prepare some slides online to add content. It will not be easy but I do hope they will learn and start blogging.

#blogging 28 Reflecting on setting Analytics

I did try to get access to  Google Analytics but I have found some difficulties: first of all I am not  an  expert in programming and I need to learn more. Just need to check more how it works… which seems to be hard now.

Google Analytics is useful for websites of businesses, you know who is searching you online and what they have been monitoring , which pages, but for me it is not so important as  I use blogs for my professional development. I must say that I am not as famous as Shelly Terrrell and other  great  bloggers I am following online.

My account with Blogger  enables me know who is visiting my blogs and what they are using, it is enough for me as I usually share my blog links when I am working online.

I will continue my work online to check some blogs which might interest me. I would like to know from the Others how they managed with  Google Analytics.  Maybe I have it in my account and this is just what I am showing you.

Opportunities for Professional Development

If you are a teacher of  English or  a teacher who loves learning online you will like   EVO 2019.

EVO means  Electronic  Village Online  and  it is  an opportunity  for learning online for free.

It starts in  January and it lasts  5 weeks. If interested you should enrol on a course.

Here is the wiki where you can learn  more about the sessions

 http://evosessions.pbworks.com/w/page/10708567/2019_CfP_Info

It is my fourth year with EVO and I am going to be  among  the  learners who will work together online.



I will also choose to offer some  support in   ICT4ELT Session: I hope you will join me in the Googleclassroom where educators will share their ideas about the use of  web tools and teaching English  online.


Ready to start?