Category Archives: Writing skill

Wanna someone to read your slides?

Audio, Create your own stuff, Reading, Slides, Writing skill

welcome Helloslide.com.

So often , especially when giving a long presentation with slides where I need to  first type and then read and explain what I have written I have wished for someone to read and/or explain  it for me( call me lazy but my voice demands a rest after maybe four hours speaking maybe non-stop.

HelloSlide transforms your slides into a rich audiovisual format, recreating the experience of a live lecture. Simply upload your presentation, type the speech for each slide, and HelloSlide automagically generates the audio.

HelloSlide gives more exposure to your presentations, making them searchable, editable, and available in 20 different languages.

It’s simple to get started:

  1. Upload a PDF of your presentation to our website.
  2. Type the speech for each slide using our editor.
  3. Press play to hear your presentation.

My first experience with HelloSlide has been this PowerPoint Presentation on A For and Against Essay though first I had to convert the ppt file into pdf. I did it using this wonderful online converter http://es.pdf24.org/onlineConverter.html

Have a look now at my HelloSlide and tell me what you think. I like it when the robot says my name at the end (ha, ha) .

Two Timesavers: BusyTeachers.org and ISL Collective.com

Audio, Grammar, Speaking, Vocabulary, Writing skill

Being a full time teacher doesn’t mean that I’m not also a full time mum. I am! Trust me! When I get home from a school packed with teenagers I go home to more teenagers, my own children. They take up most of my free time. I help them with their homework, cheer them up when they have had a problem at school, cool them down when necessary, take them to their different after school activities – none of them in the same place where I live… and a long etc. Have I ever mentioned that I also try to teach them some English?
This means that I don’t enjoy as much free time as I did when I worked in the afternoons/evenings in the EOI, so I ‘ve had to look for timesavers and these are, in my opinion, the best online.

BusyTeachers.org is an amazing site offering about 6,300 worksheets divided into skills: grammar, pronunciation, listening, writing, reading, vocabulary. ..etc. . You can also find ppt presentations to illustrate what you are teaching. It’s free and you only need to register to download the files.

ISL Collective is probably my favourite because of the quality of the worksheets. Teachers from all around the globe contribute by uploading their own home-made materials. It is 100% free and you only need to register. Teachers and students of German, French , Portuguese , Russian and Spanish will also find lots of worksheets.

Give them a go and let me know if you know any other great timesavers!

Saying my goodbyes or see you laters

Create your own stuff, In the Computer Room, Resources, Writing skill, , , ,

And there we are again! The school year has finished and we are again saying our goodbyes . This year has been very special for me , professionally speaking. I don’t know whether I’ll be given the chance to ever work here again but it’ been really nice and this is my big thank you to everybody who’s made this year a really pleasant experience. I’ll be leaving for Malta  in a week’s time to do a course to Spice Up my Teaching so this blog is going on holidays until September. Hope to virtually see you then.

GoAnimate.com: Saying my goodbyes by cristina.cabal

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It’s free and fun!

Swayable: a picture survey

Create your own stuff, Writing skill, , ,

In my neverending quest to integrate technology in my classes I have stumbled upon this little tool , Swayable, which is mainly intended to create surveys with the added feature of allowing you to upload an image from your computer or use one from the web  which is, in my humble opinion, its best feature as it heightens its potential in the classroom.

I have been thinking it could be very useful when explaining comparatives or when asking students to write about the advantages or disadvantages of a certain issue.

Once published you can embed it in your blog and  the students can write in the form of comments (you have to click just below the picture where it says “Click to Sway) to your Swayable.

The first example is for students to practise the comparative and the second for them to practise writing about the advantages and disadvantages of, in this case, working and studying.
And then it follows a little tutorial to help you ceate your own Swayable






 

Illustrating your stories: Storybird

Create your own stuff, Resources, Writing skill, , , ,

Has your teacher asked you to write a story ? or Have you asked your students to tell you a story? No matter whether you are a student or a teacher reading this, storybird is a very creative innovative tool which will turn writing tasks into a funny game.

How does it work?

♥Click on “Sign up” in the top right corner to register for an account and  you’ll be sent an email to confirm your registration.

♥Pick up artwork  and start writing your story.

♥The story can be printed out, shared  or read directly from the computer. It can of course be projected on a screen, which is  a  very nice to share what you’ve done.

And this is my storybird! I’m afraid I didn’t have much time to do it either  better or longer !