Tools and free materials for educators

The web is now presenting us   plenty of  tools and resources which we can use for free. While working on line I came across these useful web links  which I am sharing with you.

I have also discovered a new tool which helps me be connected online in video conferencing with a maximum number of people and I don't need to be registered.
Here is the list I have prepared for this post: you will find information, guides and a lot of free materials which you can use in your lessons and with your students.    

Free books, courses and materials online:

http://www.openculture.com/free_k-12_educational_resources

Unesco Free Resources

http://www.unescobkk.org/education/ict/resources/publications/elibrary-themes/teaching-and-learning/directory-of-free-educational-resources-for-teachers/

Free digital story-telling tools

https://elearningindustry.com/5-ways-boost-your-workforce-performance

Free tools

http://www.edutechchick.com/teachers-tech-tool-kit-top-picks-for-2015/

Web tools for  Teachers

http://www.edudemic.com/best-web-tools/

Free guides to be downloaded

http://www.edudemic.com/guides/


https://convertio.co/it/                A free tool to convert documents 

Top Ten Learning  Tools for  2016   : source   http://c4lpt.co.uk/top100tools/

Top 200 Tools for Learning 2016 from Jane Hart



A free  Video  Chat  &  Conference  Tool : Appear.in
In order to be able to connect with the other people in the room you need to have  Chrome or Mozilla  browsers. It is very easy to use. Just see the tutorial:

Elt and Technology : useful tips and ideas shared by Nik  Peachey  thanks to  Slideshare:

Online Tools and Resources for Teaching Young Learners from Nik Peachey

Empowering Teachers Through Self Publishing from Nik Peachey



Free Professional Development online : webinars

https://www.youtube.com/user/atesol


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQ58amRJh3anfDtob6sBSQ    ( American English) 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu378IVA2__mBS_AO5197FQ    ( Common Sense Education)

Raising Awareness about the Situation of Newly Arrived Migrants Reflections Week 2

The journey has continued, we have learnt from other teachers and  we have created a lesson and learnt about the best ways to approach the theme in our  classes.


It must be difficult but  it is  a " must do " lesson.

Also in my  region and the area where I live we have a lot of  immigrants and some refugees have arrived. They also arrived in the past.  We do need to know about them and their stories.


A more detailed overview is in my  website:  https://sites.google.com/site/thenewworldoflearning/learning-english/teaching-english



This is my learning  diary where I have shared some materials and more details about the topic: we have been informed and given some tips about the best ways to teache how to present and discuss the issue.  Learning can happen in different ways, by bringing the real world into our  classes and by helping learners to learn about  what is happening around us.

Raising Awareness about the Situation of Newly Arrived Migrants Reflections Week 1

I have already started a journey into diversity: this was two months ago and now  I am continuing it thanks to the MOOC which is run by the European platform  Teacher  Academy - check it on line:  http://www.schooleducationgateway.eu/en/pub/teacher_academy.htm

This month we are going to discuss an interesting topic "  Raising Awareness about the situation of Newly arrived Immigrants", by the end of the month I will have finished it and I will have started the third MOOC -  Integrating Newly Arrived Migrant Students in Schools

This is the presentation for the third MOOC which I am going to do next:

                                The Hashtag  :  #diversitymoocs                                                                 
Tweet riguardo #diversitymoocs

The week has started with lots of information about the present situation and in particular we have read and learnt about the problems of refugees in the Mediterranean area. As I live in Italy, I am aware of the great problem of thousands of immigrants who are trying to escape from wars and conditions of poverty in their lands. This is due to the fact that Italy is one of the nearest places where they are arriving or where they are forced to remain as some countries are not  ready to accept them. 

Teaching and Learning: what  other teachers and educators have  shared about  the issue .
DIGITAL STORYTELLING can be an interesting way for introducing the  topic in our  lessons.

Sway used in education

"Sway is a digital storytelling app for work, school and home that makes it quick and easy to create and share interactive reports, presentations, personal stories, and more. " This is the presentation which can be found online if you check the website .

I was a bit curious about it and so  after seeing a nice presentation created by a teacher who was working in a Mooc I decided to find more information about it.

Here is what I have learnt: it is easy to use and you can  make presentations in just a few minutes and what you have done can be shared and also embedded in websites and blogs.




References online to learn more about it:

https://sway.uservoice.com/knowledgebase

https://office-watch.com/2015/sway-privacy-and-offline-concerns/

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/microsoft-office-sway-online-tutorial

What some educators have done with their primary school students:

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/fa/ICTFalkirkPrimaries/sway-for-engaging-online-presentations/

‘Microsoft Sway – what it is, how to use it in the classroom, and how to create one’ by Fiona Beal from Schoolnet SA

Comparing the tool with what has already been  used in making presentations online: Emaze and Sway:

http://theprezenter.com/presentation-tools/sway-vs-emaze



More information about   Sway can be found in my  Tackk:

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