Goodbye to G+

I started working in G+ communities  over  4 years ago.
Thanks to Shelly Terrell and  Nellie Deutsch I became part of an international community of  educators involved in new  technologies and ELT.
Many educators loved FB while others  suggested using  G+. Others used  Moodle but G+ was the place where we met virtually online.

G+ is shutting down and we cannot work on it any more. The day  has  almost  arrived : 2nd April 2019.
 It was a social network where we could post, share ideas and worked online. I did courses and also worked online while doing interesting  CPD online.

I must say that I learnt a lot and  was inspired by the educators who were online.  I was part of an EVO group and  worked on the platform in 2018.

This year moderators worked  for EVO by using  G+. The learning  environments  were  chosen by them but for running the organization we  had  chosen G+.

I am working in some  close  LMS  and  also for some  Moocs: they have chosen  FB groups and  Twitter for sharing ideas.

Now some have moved to new  lands. I might also try new  platforms.

This one has been suggested online as it seems to take about the privacy:

https://mewe.com/

#MeWe is the #SocialNetwork that allows you to freely communicate online the same way you do offline: with people you actually know & like, & with people who share common interests. MeWe puts fun, control, & #privacy back into social sharing.😻 #MeWeMarch https://t.co/NJ5pySfLv5

— MeWe (@mewe) 28 marzo 2019

I will try to learn more about it............meanwhile 

Goodbye  to  G+ communities! 

Creating stories online: Commaful.com

New Web Tool

Yesterday I was online and as usual the best of educators were sharing ideas and files online.
Twitter is my favourite  social network as I can follow many topics and the chats online.
I got some good ideas shared by  Shelly Terrell.
She introduced a new tool which can be used by educators .
It is Commaful.com  https://commaful.com/

You can use it for Creative Writing and it can enhance the students' learning while using images and creating texts online.

You can create your own account online or you can create a story by simply using the tool online: you can write a text, a poem, describe a feeling or any experience you would like to describe.
It is perfect also for creating some texts when you want to share them online in your blogs or projects.

I have embedded my first text by using the images which were offered online: I have no account but I liked the idea of using it in class for revising and working on some language input with my learners.
I will ask my students to work on some words and create their own texts in English. They need to better their language input
It is really inspiring and I think that educators could use this simple tool online with their learners.

via Commaful


I wish to thank Shelly Terrell  for sharing such  helpful tool!!

Safety online: think before you do something online

Surfing the web can be interesting but we risk a lot. Everybody should become aware of the great dangers and help the young to be safe while they are  online and not to risk. Most of us have a social life and post a lot on Twitter, FB and other  social networks.

This video released some years ago can be used in class to help the students learn about what they should or they should not share when they are online. Privacy and Data are at risk anytime  we use our devices.

 

Link to the video :https://youtu.be/aMSHtE42mmI


Some weeks ago I had to change all my passwords for the main mails and  accounts that I had online as someone used my mail with an Italian account. I had changed the password in February but  they must have stolen my identity. I spent some days worried about what might happen and honestly I thought that if I did not spend so many hours online , they would not have entered my account and stolen my identity.

I found some interesting sources and links online which can help you when you want to be safe and need to take action:

https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/identity-theft-fraud-cybercrime/identity-theft-fraud/

https://staysafeonline.org/stay-safe-online/managing-your-privacy/always-privacy-basics/

For educators there are plenty of resources which are  worth sharing:

https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/internet-safety.html

In order to know if your email account has been compromised you can check it online:

 /https://haveibeenpwned.com/


Happy  Surfing!

More useful Links:
https://staysafeonline.org/resources/


https://www.commonsensemedia.org/video/advice/privacy-and-internet-safety

https://cybersafeireland.org/

https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/