The Pro.t Conference in February was definitely one of the most worthy experiences this summer. The event brought together amazing national and international speakers who talked about up-to-date, hot topics in the ELT field. And it was a great opportunity to meet colleagues and old friends!
This is a selection of the thoughts and reflections offered by the speakers at the workshops I attended (there were many more, it was sooo difficult to chose!).
If you decide to tell a story, chose the one YOU like. It shows!
Mariana Derfler (Mariana blogs here)
The problem with listening is not the lack of skills but the lack of language. We have to raise awareness of the characteristics of oral speech, including phonetics.
Jeff Stranks (here's Jeff's webpage)
The deepest truths available to human beings have been transmitted through stories.
Inno Sorsy (Inno is the founder of the The Company of Common Sense)
Students and teachers are empowered when given the opportunity to choose how they want to learn.
Neil McMahon (find more about Neil's presentation here).
Students are only motivated by things that are meaningful to them.
Neil McMahon
In a country where authentic learning situations are rarely found, teachers need to learn to appreciate and resort to the magic of Internet, exploiting free sources and resources for genuine interaction.
Jennifer Verschoor (Jennifer blogs here)
Many times, teachers just "deliver" materials. What about acting as mediators intead of postmen? Jamie Keddie (Jamie is the author of the well-known Lessonstream)
Mainstream beliefs may prevent each particular teacher's delivery techniques from flourishing. Jamie Keddie
Digital literacies are the technical and social practices needed to effectively interact with digital technologies. They are the key 21st century skills.
Nicky Hockly (you can find Nicky's work at Theconsultants-e)
Thanks Pro.t for a wonderful event!
Dear Bárbara,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this precious post. I have not been able to attend and was hoping to read about the presentations by these ed gurus, as the event was not streamed online, and they have not recording anything as far as I know.
I follow Jamie Keddie and I wonder if you know there's anyway to see slides of his presentation.
Again thank you for this gift.
Hugs
Debbie
Thank you so much, Barbara! Lots to read and learn. = )
ReplyDeleteThanks so much your for warm comments, girls! I don't think there are any slides (he didn't show any) but he did say we could find the activities on Lessonstream and his book IMAGES (Oxford I think). His talk was about working with images and the basic idea was that the teacher should act as a mediator between the image and the students (new ideas for picture dictation, etc.)
ReplyDeleteSee you around!
The president of Argentina took action in regards to the eduaction resources and last year gave students from all over the country some netbooks for the to learn about technology and work more efficiently in school projects. I had decided to rent an apartment in buenos aires at the time, and, since I was near a school, I saw the kids with their netbooks very often!
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