Hi,
I have just read the blog:  http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/06/2013-honor-roll-edtechs-must-read-k-12-it-blogs
Which lead me to a very interesting teacher's blog: http://www.purelypaperless.com/
Then when I started reading she was talking about the app: Chatter Pix Kids for Ipad and iphone:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=481iiMwgugM

It looks like a fabulous app - you use it to take a picture of something , then you bring it to life.
For example if you want to ask the kids for a book report they can photograph the cover page or any picture from the book and make it come alive with their own voices.
This is very exciting for me to make them speak for 30 seconds about what ever they want to tell me about the picture.

Take a look,
Debbie

Hi, just watched a fabulous and inspiring video posted by :
http://visualisingideas.edublogs.org/downloadable-goodies/
It was about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
The link to the video:
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=6252
I would like to play the video for my students while they listen and enjoy it the first time.
Second listening they will have to write down who they recognize and why they are in the video.
Then they choose one of the people from the video and search them in the tablets in the classroom.
At home they have to write one or two paragraphs about the person they choose and then they can present it in class.
Thanks Naomi - great idea from the video that you posted.
If Naomi is reading this - please tell me what you did with the video.
Have a great Shabbat.
Debbie

Flipped classroom

Hi everyone,
I have just read a blog about the Flipped Classroom.
What they recommended was to video record the lessons and then review in the classroom.
This is wonderful for kids home-bound for sickness or injury and if some review is needed.
However, more than that I felt from the article is too much freedom for the kids. Because what happens - according to a mom whose teenager uses this type of learning -  is that the kids either don't watch the video or watch and waste their time at school.  The teachers expect the kids to come prepared and only practice in the classroom. Then the teacher helps who ever asks for help and many of the others just talk among themselves.
I actually would like to prepare videos for my students - when they miss a class, I have a little stage fright must learn how to do it.
That's all for now.
Debbie
 http://teach.com/teach100/blogs/382-Free-eLearning-Resources

Hi,
I just read Naomi Epstien's - Visualizing Ideas:
HOTS exercise

I teach high school students and always think, "how will I make this interesting for them".  It's no fun to teach if it is boring for the students or me.
After reading Naomi Epstien's ideas - I feel refreshed.  I was even able to print out a worksheet that I believe the students will actually enjoy.  I have a feeling that they won't even realize til the end of the exercise that they were doing HOTS.
I placed the link above and highly recommend it to anyone who is going to be teaching HOTS.

C U Debbie

Hi

I just read a blog by Kairos Ed Tech - link

Kairos Ed Tech

He wrote about his experience with connecting two different classes by skype.  It sounds like a great idea and I would love to try this out. Since I teach in small groups after school I put a lot of emphasis on speaking and if you are also a teacher of small groups - I think that Jr. high school would be a good place to start - and you are interested, please leave me a note on my blog.

One of the goals of the skype call on the blog that I read was for the kids to discover where the other group was calling from. 

I think as e-pals it would be a good idea.

Hope to hear from you soon.
Debbie

Hi, everybody,
I am just testing this to see how it works.
Have a great week.
Debbie

Hi, my name is Debbie Naim and I am a certified English teacher with a BA in Education and Linguistics from Ben Gurion University (1988). I have been teaching English in my home in small groups for the past 14 years.
I have started working part of the class with tablets and feel that I don't know enough, therefore, from this course I would like to gain knowledge of the internet and how to utilize it to help me teach more efficiently.