The Future of ELT

  Hello everyone!  If you remember, I introduced you to a video-making tool in one of my previous blog posts which was "Powtoon"  and I used that tool for preparing my first vodcast. After that, I wanted to search for different animation tools and I found the "Animaker". I tried it and now want to share my experience with you! Animaker  is  a DIY animation software that can be used for marketing, education, business, or personal videos in a variety of styles. It is a web-based tool for creating animated videos in a variety of styles, such as infographics, whiteboards, or cartoons. It is very easy to get started with because it uses a simple drag and drop interface to allow you to add/edit elements, as well as plenty of templates to get you started if you aren’t sure what you want your video to look like. There’s also an included library of images, characters, audio, and more that you can use in your video. I really enjoyed using Animaker and decided to prepare a sho

Hi everyone! Today I am going to introduce you to a very fun tool that is Voki !  Voki is a great tool for everyone who wants to create his/her own speaking avatar. It is a very easy-to-use tool and it allows you to deliver your message in an interesting and fun way. There are lots of different options to create your avatar and you can choose from them. Then put your text or your own voice to make your avatar speak and deliver your message. You can also use Voki in your classroom by letting your students create their own interactive avatars. Encouraging students to create their unique speaking avatars can help them to participate more, both by offering them a fun outlet for it, and by offering shy students a way to participate. You can try to use the avatars in online discussions through a classroom blog or website. I found out there is a specific section for teachers who want to use Voki in their classrooms wh

Hey there! I hope you are feeling great! Today, I want to talk about a very nice online tool which is Flipgird . Fipgrid is essentially a social learning platform that allows you to interact with your peers or your students through videos. It allows the students to create videos in response to your questions. Flipgrid is free for educators it's a great way for us to get our students engaged in class discussion by sending short videos. I think it can get boring for teachers who work online to reading all these writings from their students over and over again. So, this is just a different and fun way to get the students to respond, they're also going to be learning some of the rules of social discussion which is really important as well. You can get started with Flipgrid by creating an educator account, after you've done that you can log in and begin by creating a topic. Topic is a place where your students are going to answer some questions for you, they're going to answ

Hi everyone!  The topic that I want to talk about today is very exciting because it will be about Virtual Reality (VR)! First, let's try to get some idea about VR, and then I will try to introduce a VR app that can be used in education as a helpful tool. So basically, Virtual reality is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world. Virtual Reality (VR) uses computer-based technology to create a simulated environment. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed and able to interact with 3D worlds. VR uses a headset with a built-in screen that displays a virtual environment for you to explore. These headsets use a technology called head tracking which allows you to look around the environment by simply moving your head. Virtual Reality widely used in video games, engineering, entertainment, education, design, films, media, medicine, and more. Now I want to talk about some apps! So,   there are different  language learn

Hello there! Today, I would like to talk about Augmented Reality! Let's try to understand what AR really is and then I will introduce some AR apps that we can use in our classrooms. Augmented Reality (AR) is a digital medium that allows you to overlay virtual content into the physical world in a way that makes it seem like the content is physically there. AR basically allows us to merge the digital and physical worlds. Your camera detects a target image and can figure out how close or far, and at what angle the target image is from the camera using sensors, then projects digital information onto that target image, finally, AR happens! I think we are actually familiar with the usage of AR through some social media apps like Snapchat or Instagram. So, these apps started adding augmented reality to their features with lenses and filters a few years ago.        AR has been used in different areas for years like business, design, medical training, tourism, and more! I think all of them

Hello there! In today's blog post, I would like to talk about LMS (Learning Management System) and go through some example tools that will help you have more idea about this concept. There are four types of e-learning systems: the Learning Management System (LMS), Learning Content Management System (LCMS), Learning Design System (LDS), and Learning Support System (LSS).  A learning management system, (LMS) can be explained as a software application that is designed specifically to create, distribute, and manage the delivery of educational content. Learning: A single repository for all your learning material, which learners can access 24×7. Management: An organized system of managing training processes for eLearning, virtual, and in-person sessions. System: To automate tasks such as tracking and reporting learner activities, processing stats, generating reports, grading assessments, creating and awarding certificates, and more. "The evaluation of Learning Management Systems

Second Life is a 3D virtual world that allows users to create different kinds of animated avatars, places, communities, etc. The avatars that are created on Second Life can travel to worlds and lands. participate in role-playing games, create and sell products, and socialize with other Second Life residents. So, I started by visiting the Second Life website , created an account, and downloaded a program to my computer to launch the Second Life application. Then, I created my first avatar!  Exploring A virtual world through Second Life was a different and fun experience for me but I was also very interested to explore and learn more about the educational side of that virtual platform. So, I tried to do some research about that topic to find out the possibilities.  So, when I'm searching for the education side of Second Life, I found out that many universities around the world have built an online version of their campus within Second Life (not all of them public) and use this to giv

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to announce that I published my first podcast episode! If you've never had a chance to listen to a podcast before or you are not sure what does it mean, I can explain! A podcast is a recording of audio discussion on a specific topic, it can be about any topic. The process of preparing and recording my first podcast was a really fun experience for me. So, I would like to prepare more episodes about different educational topics in the future. The first episode's topic is "Differentiating Instruction", I tried to give some tips for the teachers who want to apply some differentiated approach in their classrooms. I hope it would be helpful and enjoyable! Don't forget to share your opinions with me after finish listening. Here is the link to check out my podcast on SoundCloud. The Future of ELT · Differentiating Instruction

Edmodo is a free online classroom website that provides a platform for student-teacher communication. Edmodo was created as a social networking website for learning. Its aim is to be a platform where teachers, students, and parents can share content like videos and texts submit assignments, and interact when they are not in the classroom. Teachers need to sign up and create an account to set up different classrooms for their students and they can use their email addresses, Google or office365 to create an account, students can choose not to share any personal data they only need to have the code provided by the teacher to join a group. Parents can also join the platform to oversee their children's work but their participation needs to be approved by the group's teacher. When the group is ready, you can start sharing content with your students. After you clicked on the "create" button in your class, you can assign homework, create quizzes, agenda, or gamified activiti

Hello everyone! Today, I feel so excited to share my very first "Vodcast" with all of you! If you've never heard of the term vodcast, I can explain it to you very quick! The term vodcast comes from the combination of the words "video" and "podcast" (It's also known as "vidcast" or "vcast"). So, we can say that vodcast is a podcast consisting of video recordings, instead of solely audio. When I decided to prepare a vodcast for my blog, I came across this site called " Powtoon ". So, Powtoon is a video creation tool that allows you to create different kinds of videos and presentations. You can choose animated characters, images, sounds, or record a voice-over. Then you can start editing your video on the Powtoon studio. I think this video tool is very easy and fun to use! And, you can use your creativity as a teacher while preparing educational videos or presentations for your students. So, finally I am sharing my first

Storybird is an art-inspired creative online writing platform that lets anybody make visual stories in seconds. the tool carries its artwork from illustrators all around the world. Storybird authors are then able to turn this artwork into original stories. I can say that there is a large range of artwork from illustrators and animators around the world on Storybird, you can use these images to inspire writers of any age. Through Storybird, students and teachers can read different stories or create their own one by using some animations. You can start reading stories by going up to the top bar and click "read" you can choose a wide range of stories that were written by others you can search by age, format, categories or you can just explore what was popular or new. If you want to create your own writings, you can go up to the top and click "write". Storybird provides its users with five different story options to create: picture books, long-form stories, comics, flas

Hello everyone! I would like to talk about a very useful online platform that is called Pinterest. Pinterest is an online pinboard that allows people to pin useful websites or all the other interesting visuals. On Pinterest, you can build boards (pages) and pin websites, pictures, texts, and graphics onto your boards. You can also view boards created by other pinners and put their pins on your boards. I think Pinterest is a brilliant resource for education and it is not only for teachers but also for learners. If you're a teacher you could use it to gather resources from across the web and keep them on your boards to use whenever you need them. It works like a perfect resource bank to store your resources, ideas, and everything! It can also be really useful for creating a group board for a class, (you can even make this private if you want to) where students can share their own creations and collect their own resources so it could create a sense of community and engagement within a