I have been absent for the past two weeks. I haven't got a laptop, or a tablet computer. My only online connection when I travel is my old Nokia. I don't know whether this is good or bad. On the one hand, I get completely rested this way. On the other hand, I feel overwhelmed when I come back. Now I am even more late with my Free Tools Challenge. I am stuck on Challenge # 8, which is Glogster. Not that I am complaining too much, I love Glogster.

I promised I would give you practical advice on how to use these tools and that I would do that from the point of view of a TEFL teacher teaching adults. So, here we go.

A glog looks like a poster and it is precisely this feature that should be used to the full. You can use it to introduce yourself when you start teaching a new class, the way I did here:

As you can see, this glog has two elements. The first part is actually my Twitter bio and the second part is a collage of photos that represent what I like. Students usually like to know more about their teacher. This collage of photos is not that easy to decipher and they have to ask additional questions to find out what some of those pictures represent. (For your information, starting from top left-hand corner: my guys, teaching, coffee, dark chocolate, travelling, reading, computers, writing, nature.)

Students can create their own glogs and they can introduce themselves any way they like. They can combine text, images, sounds and videos. Or they can follow the format I used here. Writing a Twitter bio is not easy, but it is a fun way for the students to define their interests in a clear succinct form. Creating the "What I like" collage is great because it can later serve as a conversation prompt. When they get to know each other better, they can create a glog that represents their class and put it on their class blog for everyone to see.

The second glog I am going to embed here was created for my Digital Storytelling class. I was comparing three online tools and I used the same poem in all of them. The winner was Photobabble and I featured it in my blog here. I almost forgot about the Glogster version of the same poem, but here it is:

I searched Glogster a little and found a whole section devoted to text letters and poems. Some of them are just amazing. As I have remarked in this blog before, there are so many talented young people out there.

If you have students who like writing poetry, Glogster is a great tool for them. However, there is one other idea that came to my mind when I looked at my old glog with fresh eyes.

Glogs look like posters. (I know, I have already said that). What if this was actually a holiday destination? And what if it turned out the food was terrible, the beach was far away and the hotel roof leaked. Tourist agencies don't always tell the truth.

Students can create advertisements for different holiday destinations in Glogster or you can do it for them. You can put pictures of beautiful beaches and expensive-looking hotels. You can then add the text of the advertisement. As I have said, tourist agencies don't always tell the truth. Students can come up with a whole list of things that didn't meet their expectations. They can role play a dialogue in which one of the students is a dissatisfied tourist and the other one is a travel agency employee. This can be followed by a letter of complaint.

The whole poster/advertisement thing gave me an idea and I just had to try it out. So I came up with this ad:

This can be a speaking/writing prompt and different things can be done with it, from the mundane "We need to have the doors oiled" grammar exercises to horror stories. Who bought the house? Why? What was their first night in the house like? What did they do afterwards? Who is the ghost?

Glogster is great as a writing prompt. You can create a glog with a random combination of pictures and ask the students to write a story. You can give them the first sentence if you wish. Another thing you can put into your glog is different sounds. You can find the sounds you need here.

Looking for more things to do with Glogster? Check Greetingsfromtheworld. This amazing wiki project was started by Arjana Blazic and her students, but now it has taken a life of its own.

I have been absent for the past two weeks. I haven't got a laptop, or a tablet computer. My only online connection when I travel is my old Nokia. I don't know whether this is good or bad. On the one hand, I get completely rested this way. On the other hand, I feel overwhelmed when I come back. Now I am even more late with my Free Tools Challenge. I am stuck on Challenge # 8, which is Glogster. Not that I am complaining too much, I love Glogster.

I promised I would give you practical advice on how to use these tools and that I would do that from the point of view of a TEFL teacher teaching adults. So, here we go.

A glog looks like a poster and it is precisely this feature that should be used to the full. You can use it to introduce yourself when you start teaching a new class, the way I did here:

As you can see, this glog has two elements. The first part is actually my Twitter bio and the second part is a collage of photos that represent what I like. Students usually like to know more about their teacher. This collage of photos is not that easy to decipher and they have to ask additional questions to find out what some of those pictures represent. (For your information, starting from top left-hand corner: my guys, teaching, coffee, dark chocolate, travelling, reading, computers, writing, nature.)

Students can create their own glogs and they can introduce themselves any way they like. They can combine text, images, sounds and videos. Or they can follow the format I used here. Writing a Twitter bio is not easy, but it is a fun way for the students to define their interests in a clear succinct form. Creating the "What I like" collage is great because it can later serve as a conversation prompt. When they get to know each other better, they can create a glog that represents their class and put it on their class blog for everyone to see.

The second glog I am going to embed here was created for my Digital Storytelling class. I was comparing three online tools and I used the same poem in all of them. The winner was Photobabble and I featured it in my blog here. I almost forgot about the Glogster version of the same poem, but here it is:

I searched Glogster a little and found a whole section devoted to text letters and poems. Some of them are just amazing. As I have remarked in this blog before, there are so many talented young people out there.

If you have students who like writing poetry, Glogster is a great tool for them. However, there is one other idea that came to my mind when I looked at my old glog with fresh eyes.

Glogs look like posters. (I know, I have already said that). What if this was actually a holiday destination? And what if it turned out the food was terrible, the beach was far away and the hotel roof leaked. Tourist agencies don't always tell the truth.

Students can create advertisements for different holiday destinations in Glogster or you can do it for them. You can put pictures of beautiful beaches and expensive-looking hotels. You can then add the text of the advertisement. As I have said, tourist agencies don't always tell the truth. Students can come up with a whole list of things that didn't meet their expectations. They can role play a dialogue in which one of the students is a dissatisfied tourist and the other one is a travel agency employee. This can be followed by a letter of complaint.

The whole poster/advertisement thing gave me an idea and I just had to try it out. So I came up with this ad:

This can be a speaking/writing prompt and different things can be done with it, from the mundane "We need to have the doors oiled" grammar exercises to horror stories. Who bought the house? Why? What was their first night in the house like? What did they do afterwards? Who is the ghost?

Glogster is great as a writing prompt. You can create a glog with a random combination of pictures and ask the students to write a story. You can give them the first sentence if you wish. Another thing you can put into your glog is different sounds. You can find the sounds you need here.

Looking for more things to do with Glogster? Check Greetingsfromtheworld. This amazing wiki project was started by Arjana Blazic and her students, but now it has taken a life of its own.

Sitting in a tree by Silhouette, made at DoInk.com

Today's Free Tools Challenge is DoInk, a free vector editor that you can use to create images and animations.

If you can draw, that is.

I, personally can't. You know how people say they can't draw, but they create lovely little paintings. Well, I am not one of them. I really can't draw. I never draw on the board, not because I am embarrassed by how I do it, but because my drawings only further confuse my students. Is it a bird? Or a butterfly? Oh, it is a flower. Isn't it?

I can't draw and I am going to prove it to you in a second. Yes, I did try DoInk. Of course I tried it. I managed to create this lovely educational video:

I am jumping 3 by lunas994, made at DoInk.com

I bet my beginner students would never have grasped Present Continuous without it.

I can't draw, but other people can. And you can share DoInk drawings and animations on your website.

butterfly by Kikanolify, made at DoInk.com

From what I have seen, most of the people in the DoInk community are very young. If you are teaching teenagers and if they enjoy drawing, this might be a perfect place for them. They have to be over 13 to join. But even if neither you nor your students feel like drawing, DoInk still has a lot to offer. Just explore it a little and see what you can come up with. For example, I really think I will be able to use this animation with my students:

How to Make a Baked Potato by Alina722, made at DoInk.com

As you can see, there is a lot of lovely language inside. And it fits perfectly with the topic of food and cooking.

If you are a blogger, you will find it easy to identify with this girl:

It happens all the time by GranolaBar, made at DoInk.com

A lot of students are apparently choosing DoInk to do science projects, which is great if you teach CLIL.

For example, this little video is amazing:

The Precambrian Era by Writersgift, made at DoInk.com

And if you are interested in the topic, just follow the link underneath. There is more by the same author.

The trick here is to play around, watch a couple of animations and wait for the idea of a lesson plan to come to you. Unless you can draw, of course, in which case you can create exactly what you need.

As for my beginner students and their problems with Present Continuous, I think I am going to give this animation a try:

Precipitation Meme by Quake, made at DoInk.com

Sitting in a tree by Silhouette, made at DoInk.com

Today's Free Tools Challenge is DoInk, a free vector editor that you can use to create images and animations.

If you can draw, that is.

I, personally can't. You know how people say they can't draw, but they create lovely little paintings. Well, I am not one of them. I really can't draw. I never draw on the board, not because I am embarrassed by how I do it, but because my drawings only further confuse my students. Is it a bird? Or a butterfly? Oh, it is a flower. Isn't it?

I can't draw and I am going to prove it to you in a second. Yes, I did try DoInk. Of course I tried it. I managed to create this lovely educational video:

I am jumping 3 by lunas994, made at DoInk.com

I bet my beginner students would never have grasped Present Continuous without it.

I can't draw, but other people can. And you can share DoInk drawings and animations on your website.

butterfly by Kikanolify, made at DoInk.com

From what I have seen, most of the people in the DoInk community are very young. If you are teaching teenagers and if they enjoy drawing, this might be a perfect place for them. They have to be over 13 to join. But even if neither you nor your students feel like drawing, DoInk still has a lot to offer. Just explore it a little and see what you can come up with. For example, I really think I will be able to use this animation with my students:

How to Make a Baked Potato by Alina722, made at DoInk.com

As you can see, there is a lot of lovely language inside. And it fits perfectly with the topic of food and cooking.

If you are a blogger, you will find it easy to identify with this girl:

It happens all the time by GranolaBar, made at DoInk.com

A lot of students are apparently choosing DoInk to do science projects, which is great if you teach CLIL.

For example, this little video is amazing:

The Precambrian Era by Writersgift, made at DoInk.com

And if you are interested in the topic, just follow the link underneath. There is more by the same author.

The trick here is to play around, watch a couple of animations and wait for the idea of a lesson plan to come to you. Unless you can draw, of course, in which case you can create exactly what you need.

As for my beginner students and their problems with Present Continuous, I think I am going to give this animation a try:

Precipitation Meme by Quake, made at DoInk.com