Are educational websites always useful?

Finding educational websties can be a real challenge! We must consider and apply certain criteria when choosing a webpage as a tool for teaching as many of them offer the same activities or exercises  we can find anywhere, are not so appropriate for students or just are not so neat and clear and instead of helping teaching they may complicate the lesson. Everytime we are in front of an educational website, we must pay attention to the following criteria:

• Purpose- What is the purpose of the webpage?
• Authority- Who is the author/s? Does the author have enough authority so as to speak about the subject?
• Objectivity- Does the content or the author reflect any bias?
• Appropriateness & Relevance- Is the content and the level appropriate and accurate?
• Currency- Is the information on the website up-to-date?
• Responsibility- Are the authors up-front about their purposes and contents?
• Clarity- Is the information, texts and graphics clearly presented and legible?
• Accessibility- Can you get in? Does the website load quickly? 

So...next time...

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/eiawebsite/Home/evaluating-websites-lesley-univ

Shall we become digital native teachers?

Although most of us are Digital Immigrants as we were educated without laptops, smart phones and internet, current students are Digital Natives that employ these kinds of devices in their everyday lives. And, despite the fact it could be really hard to incorporate technology and new methodologies into classrooms because we are not used to that, we must try and put a lot of effort so as to do it. Children nowadays have radically changed from those of the past, so we must empower and accompany them in this new technological era; many times we keep on using the so well-known course book because we feel safe and we think it contains everything we need, but at the same time we appreciate students'  boredom and unmotivation. So, what shall we do? Shall we keep on being digital immigrant teachers or shall we become digital native teachers? Shall we try to teach with digital native technologies? All these questions are asked by teachers when reflecting and thinking about the use of technology in classrooms. As I said before, it is not easy and it becomes a great challenge for teacher as we need to design and put into practice new digital methodologies and ask our students for guidance. It can be hard, but if we can appreciate its benfits, we will embrace this new way of learning & teaching. According to Prensky (2001) Smart adult immigrants accept that don't know abut their new world and take advantage of their kids to help them learn and integrate...; so, as I previously mentioned, it can be hard but we can learn how to be digital native teachers, but we must reconsider not only our lesson plans but also our methodologies and contents. 

Source: Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

Why should we keep a reflective learning journal?

To begin with, I would like to explain  you about what a reflective learning journal is. When we refer to this type of writing, we are talking about a piece of writing in which we reveal and record our thoughts, insights and feelings regarding our  own experiences in our learning process. It helps us to review, consolidate and evaluate such occurrences. Reflective learning journals are similar to diaries and that is why they reflect our personality, preferences and experiences. As many times these writings are only read by those who write them, we may say that they are a bit anonymous and I think this is the reason why we feel free when writing them, because we know that they are not going to be published.

We can appreciate many positive aspects as regards reflective learning journals, for example, among others, this type of writing can provide a real image of our growth on our learning process, it helps us express our feelings, thoughts throughout our experiences, and the most relevant attribute, it encourages us to identify and accept our strength, weaknesses, improvements and drawbacks in our everyday life as learners.

As future teachers, we must take into consideration this kind of journal when teaching and try to introduce it in our classrooms as we may help our coming learners to express themselves and learn from their personal experiences. 

Source: http://ar.cetl.hku.hk/am_rj.htm