Irish Writers with Time Toast

 

Timelines, Texts and Travelling: Using TimeToast to Explore Irish Writers Before Our Trip to Killarney

As part of our build-up to the school trip to Killarney, I wanted to find a meaningful and creative way to link English language learning with Irish culture. TimeToast is an online timeline tool that turned out to be perfect for this activity!

The goal was to help my students work on reading comprehension, summarising, and teamwork, while also learning about important Irish writers.

 Learning Objectives

• Develop reading strategies through text-based research

• Practise planning, summarising, and self-evaluation

• Work collaboratively using digital tools

• Learn about influential Irish writers and their key works

• Prepare background knowledge for our upcoming trip to Killarney

How We Set It Up

1. Selected short texts on Irish writers: 

• Oscar Wilde
  
• W.B. Yeats
  
• Maeve Binchy
  
• Seamus Heaney
  
• Bram Stoker
• Jonathan Swift

1. Introduced TimeToast with a short tutorial

2. Students worked in groups of five, each assigned to one author.

3. They read the text, identified key dates, and built a collaborative timeline with images and short descriptions.

4. Groups presented their timelines in class.

5. We wrapped up with a short peer/self-assessment activity and reflection.

Why did  time toast work?

TimeToast proved to be an effective tool in the classroom because of its user-friendly design, which allowed students to learn how to use it quickly and independently. Its visual format encouraged chronological thinking, helping students to organise biographical information in a clear and logical way. The platform also gave learners a sense of ownership, as they had full control over both the content and presentation of their timelines. Working in small groups, students were able to divide tasks naturally, which supported cooperative learning and ensured that everyone participated meaningfully. Most importantly, TimeToast helped bring literature to life—transforming texts into something visual, personal, and relevant, which made the subject matter more accessible and engaging for all.

 Challenges and How We Solved Them

Some groups struggled to summarise biographical texts, so I provided a simple checklist with prompts (birth/death, famous works, key influences).

Others worked at different paces, so I broke the task into mini-deadlines and created group roles (reader, summariser, designer) to balance effort.

What Students Said

Students were enthusiastic about using a new tool and liked the fact that it was linked to our trip. Many said that building the timeline helped them remember the writers better and made reading more fun. The creative freedom and working in teams also helped build confidence.

What I Would Improve Next Time

I think I should have provided a sample timeline as a model. Students would have known better when to use images and how to write the information, so next time I will also offer more structured support with writing short, meaningful descriptions. In addition, I hope I can do a scavenger hunt in Killarney if we find connections!

3 Ways TimeToast Helped Achieve Our Goals

1. It supported reading comprehension by requiring students to extract and summarise key information.

2. It encouraged metacognitive strategies like planning and group regulation.

3. It allowed us to bring Irish literature to life in an engaging, digital format students enjoyed.

Here you have some of the results:

• Oscar Wilde
  
• W.B. Yeats
  
• Maeve Binchy
  
• Seamus Heaney
  
• Bram Stoker
• Jonathan Swift

Reflection on some reading habits

 When looking at different reading situations, it is fascinating to observe the variety of texts people engage with. This blog entry is inspired by one of the tasks from the course Innovative Teaching Practices Supported by the Focused Use of ICT Tools in the Language Classroom. In this post, I reflect on various reading habits depicted in five different images, which basically serve as the basis for my analysis

In the images analyzed, we can see a range of reading materials: books, newspapers, and even a tablet displaying a graph. Most readers seem to have chosen their texts freely, except for the children in the classroom, who are all reading the same book. This suggests that personal choice plays an important role in the reading experience.

Most of the readers in the images seem to be enjoying their reading. The individuals in the library and the mother reading with her daughter appear relaxed and absorbed in their books. However, in the case of the person reading on a tablet, it is difficult to determine her emotions, as her face is not visible. I am sure the type of conten he is readingt—possibly a work-related —might influence the level of engagement differently compared to reading for leisure.

Personally, I strongly relate to two of the images: the peaceful atmosphere of a library and the structured reading environment of a classroom. Libraries have always been a sanctuary for me, offering the perfect setting to immerse myself in a novel. Interestingly, my reading preferences vary depending on the language. In Spanish, I enjoy novels and poetry, while in English, I primarily read academic articles and books realted to my field of work: teaching and learning English as a foreign language. Newspapers are also part of my English reading routine, but I am surprised to see that fiction  and most of the poetry are a domain I reserve for my native language.

The choice of reading material is often influenced by time constraints and responsibilities. As I am currently working on my PhD, I spend a significant amount of time reading scientific literature, which even though it sounds weird, I do enjoy it when I have the time. However, I make a conscious effort to balance this kind of reading with poetry in Spanish, which provides a refreshing contrast to academic texts. For some reason, I have always felt more comfortable reading this genre in my own language. 

Regarding formats, I read in all possible ways—on paper, e-readers, and online. Nevertheless, when it comes to pure enjoyment, printed books still hold first place in my personal ranking. I appreciate the fact of holding a book in my own hands; it enhances my reading pleasure.

Finding time to read is always a challenge, but I try to integrate it into my daily routine. For pleasure, I read on my e-reader at night, while throughout the day, I engage with various texts—from short social media posts to poems and newspaper articles. No matter the format or language, reading remains an essential and rewarding part of my life.

Imagen creada con la IA

¡Volvemos con fuerza!

 Tras mucho tiempo sin utilizar este medio, vuelvo animada por una de las tareas del curso INNOVATIVE TEACHING PRACTICES SUPPORTED BY THE FOCUSED USE OF ICT TOOLS IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM (25K9906AV128).

After a long time without using this platform, I’m back, encouraged by one of the tasks from the course INNOVATIVE TEACHING PRACTICES SUPPORTED BY THE FOCUSED USE OF ICT TOOLS IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM (25K9906AV128).

Nos piden que expliquemos el propósito del blog, lo cual me hace reflexionar sobre el origen de este blog, que en esencia sigue siendo el mismo: compartir mi propio "diario de aprendizaje" con la comunidad educativa. Este diario se conforma tanto por los contenidos que voy integrando en mi práctica de los diferentes cursos que voy haciendo como de todos aquellos recursos ligados tanto a la enseñanza y aprendizaje de lenguas como a la educación, en general, y que puedan ser útiles en nuestro día a día. 

I have been asked to explain the purpose of this blog, which has led me to reflect on its origin, which essentially remains the same: to share my own learning journal with the educational community. This journal consists of both the content from courses I integrate into my practice  and all the resources related to language teaching and learning. It also deals with education in general, which may be useful in our daily work.

Voy a empezar compartiendo un par de imágenes creadas con la IA (Chat GPT): una avatar y un poster de animación al aprendizaje de inglés (a ver quién encuentra el gazapillo típico de la IA)

I’m going to start by sharing a couple of images created with AI (ChatGPT): an avatar and a poster to encourage English learning (Can you spot a typical AI mistake?).

Como parte de este primer post, junto a un blog roll, disponible  a la derecha del blog, me piden  compartir tres sitios para practicar inglés online, así que os dejo por aquí los que más suelo usar:

As part of this first post, along with a blog roll available on the right side of the blog, I’ve been asked to share three websites for practicing English online. So here are the ones I use the most:

1. GRAMMAR: https://www.ego4u.com/ 
2. READING: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/
3. LISTENING: https://www.voanews.com/

From now on, the upcoming posts will be written just in English!

NOOC Alerta, Virus!

NOOC Ergonomía Digital (1ª edición)

Legislación: Real Decreto 488/1997, de 14 de abril, sobre disposiciones mínimas de seguridad y salud relativas al trabajo con equipos que incluyen pantallas de visualización Real Decreto 486/1997, de 14 de abril, por el que se establecen las disposiciones mínimas de seguridad y salud en los lugares de trabajo.
PASO 1: IDENTIFICACIÓN DE FACTORES	PASO 2: OBSERVA, REFLEXIONA Y EVALÚA	PASO 3: MEJORA
1.      PANTALLA	MAL. Normalmente he de bajar la cabeza para enfocar.	Regular la altura de la pantalla a la posición de los ojos.
2.      TECLADO	REGULAR. Es un portátil, por lo que no es independiente.	Trabajar mejor con un ordenador de sobremesa que contenga un teclado independiente que permita el apoyo de codos y antebrazos.
3.      RATÓN	REGULAR: uso el ratón del propio portátil, aunque de momento me libro de dolores musculares.	Buscar un ratón ergonómico con reposamuñecas.
4.      MESA	MAL. Parto de que no siempre uso mesa, a veces es sofá donde apoyo el portátil. Si utilizo mesa, no suele estar regulada en cuanto a las medidas recomendadas.	Ser constante en el uso de una mesa adecuada. Esta ha de ser poco reflectantes, tener dimensiones suficientes y permitir una colocación flexible de la pantalla, del teclado, de los documentos y del material accesorio.
5.      ASIENTO	MAL. Uso sofá o silla rígida sin posibilidad de ajustar altura o inclinación.	Buscar un asiento con altura regulable y respaldo reclinable
6.      POSICIÓN DEL DOCENTE	MAL. Vuelvo a la incorrecta postura de la espalda si se trabaja en sofá.	Angulo de 90º entre muslos y espalda. Codos pegados al cuerpo y flexionados 90º Columna y tronco apoyados en el respaldo. Piernas formando ángulo de 90º
7.      ESPACIO	REGULAR. Trabajo en cualquier lugar de casa, salón, cocina, etc.	Buscar un espacio con dimensión suficiente para permitir los cambios de postura y movimientos de trabajo.
8.      ILUMINACION	BIEN. Intento en la medida de lo posible usar la luz natural.	No es necesario.
9.      REFLEJOS	BIEN. Evito ponerme cerca de ventanas luminosas para evitarlos.	No es necesario.
10.  TEMPERATURA	BIEN. La temperatura de casa es aceptable.	No es necesario.
11.  HUMEDAD	BIEN. Humedad aceptable.	Usar un humidificador en su ausencia.
12.  RUIDO	REGULAR. Actualmente a veces trabajo con mis críos cerca o con la televisión encendida. El portátil no realiza ningún ruido estridente ni molesto.	Buscar otra zona más tranquila: biblioteca o despacho.
13.  VENTILACION Y CORRIENTES DE AIRE	BIEN. Casa correctamente ventilada.	Ventilar cada cierto tiempo.
14.  PORTÁTIL	MAL. Aunque no lo transporto frecuentemente, sí que lo uso como ordenador de sobremesa.	Usar un ordenador de sobremesa.
15.  FATIGA VISUAL	BIEN. No percibo lagrimeo ni imágenes borrosas.	Realizar la dinámica del 20-20-20: Cada 20 minutos realizar 20 segundos de descanso.
16.  DESCANSOS	REGULAR. Según el período del año, realizo más o menos descansos.	Debería ser más constante y metódica con los descansos.