Tarea 5.3 Mini- Proyecto con Genially

 I'm getting closer to the end of my course, but I must say I keep being surprised at the creative tasks we are asked to do. This time I need to design something to foster speaking and interaction and I decided to connect it with the celebration of the Day of Europe on May 9th. 

Discovering Europe!

Target level: A2–B1
Group size: 2–3 students
Duration: 4 lessons
Final product: Oral presentation using Genially

Overview of the project
Each group will choose a European country and prepare an interactive Genially presentation to teach the class about it.

Their goal: to keep the audience engaged while sharing 3–4 fun facts or cultural elements about the country.

The presentation must include:

• Visual support via Genially

• At least one interactive element (e.g., quiz, guessing game, live poll, or audience question)

• A brief Q&A at the end to involve classmates

                                             Image creatd with IA

STEP BY STEP PLAN

STEP 1: Group formation & country selection (Lesson 1) 

• Students work in pairs or groups of 3. I let them choose, but them check that groups were formed to mix different skill levels and make changes if necessary. I also foster collaboration.

• Each group picks a different European country from your list (no repeats).

• Introduce the goal: to present their country in an engaging way using Genially.

STEP 2: Students complete a simple Project Planner that includes (Lesson1):

• Country name

• 3–4 cultural facts or fun curiosities

• Roles and responsibilities

• Interactive idea (how they’ll involve their classmates)

• Needed visuals or props

STEP 3: Creating the Genially presentation (Lessons 2-3)

• Each group designs their Genially (you may provide a basic template to get them started).

• Encourage them to use images, simple animations, maps, flags, and other engaging visuals.

• Include rhetorical questions, eye contact, gestures, and clear voice in their practice.

STEP 4: Presentations & feedback (Lesson 4)

• Students present their projects in front of the class.

• Each group includes at least one moment of audience interaction.

• Take photos, short videos, or audio for the blog post.

• Classmates can ask questions at the end.

Own Reflection

Using Genially in the classroom is an effective way to motivate students and enhance their oral skills. The visual and interactive format can encourage them to plan carefully and think about how to engage their audience. They become more aware of body language, voice projection, and eye contact, and they can include fun quizzes or games to get classmates involved.

This project not only reinforces speaking and presentation skills but also supports digital and cultural competence.

                                      Imagen generada con Gemini

As soon as my students carry out this task, I’ll be sharing photos and the best presentations here — stay tuned!"

Tarea 3.4 Edpuzzle

The video was selected for its relevance to the students' lives and its ability to spark conversation about emotional intelligence, values, and social skills.  It uses authentic language about friendship and personal growth, which aligns well with the students' age group and developmental stage. It's part of the learning situation 5.

Learning Objectives:

• To introduce students to the importance of quality friendships and how they affect self-worth.

• To teach vocabulary related to friendship (e.g., self-worth, gossip, vulnerability).

• To foster critical thinking on the role of friendship in personal development and well-being.

• To provide opportunities for reflection and oral communication on relationships.

Sequence of Activities:

• Before class: Students will watch the video at home and complete EDPUZZLE questions (vocabulary, comprehension, reflection). They will reflect on key vocabulary like self-worth, gossip, one-sided relationships, and the quality of friendships.

• In class: Group discussions, role-plays, and further exploration of the friendship themes. Let's see some possible class organization to work on the video.

1. Discussion: Based on the video’s ideas, students will discuss the following:

What makes a friendship fulfilling or rewarding?

Is it more important to have a few close friends or many acquaintances? Why?

How do you handle gossip in your friendships? Why is it harmful?

2. Pair or Group Work: I will create small groups to discuss different sections of the video and share their reflections with the class.

3. Role Play/Reflection Exercise: students will practice dialogues about supporting friends in need and offering honest, open communication.

Flipping the classroom allows students to engage with new content at their own pace at home, giving them the time to process the vocabulary and themes. This way ensures that class time is dedicated to interactive tasks, discussions, and reflections, where students deepen their understanding through active engagement.

The flipped learning model worked well as students had the chance to reflect at home before coming to class, allowing more interactive and meaningful discussions during the lesson.

I think next time  I will extend vocabulary work by using additional resources like short articles or song lyrics related to friendship.

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!