Welcome to the new world, or how to engage teachers and students to the learning process using technological solutions

Houston, we have a problem!

We believe that you have heard this warning many time throughout your life. But, let’s ask you something different: how often have you heard “No problem, we have a solution”?

Let’s think together, please. Are you tired to struggle for students attention against internet and new technologies/social media networks? Do you want to learn how to bring Tablets, Mobile phones, Laptops and other future gadgets into your lesson? Yep! So, we believe that we have some tips for you.

Actually, we are Brazilian Teachers from Federal Institute Network taking part in a Vocational Education Teacher and Training - VET, at HAMK University in Finland. And, after a month, maybe we can tell you something about how to engage teachers and students into learning process.

We have been trying something new and we would like to share with you our impressions and possibilities to improve your lessons and get shared attention from your students. We are going to present you some internet solutions for learning process and to explain you how we believe you could use them for that.

We have made some competence demonstrations using BLOGGER, PADLET, TODAYSMEET, TELLAGAMI, PEARLTREES, THINGLINK and ZOOBE. Take a look in our tip and enjoy this New World with your students.

BLOGGER - Mostly of you maybe know what is it. If you aren't in this earth, or in this century, blog is an internet page where someone can find a space to publish your thoughts. In our VET course, we have learned that it as a reflexion space. It means we can make students think about how and what they have studied. It is a way not only to check students’ learning, but also to self-regulate teachers’ approach. Pay attention that when a student writes about some topic, he/she has to describe and to argue about something. When a student do that, he/she go deeper in your own thoughts and the learning process happens. He/she will learn by heart. For teachers, it is an amazing way to assess learning process, because they can make explicit students’ competences. Follow our blog, there you may see how much we have learned.

PADLET - Do you have some shy students? How engage them to express their opinion? Padlet can help your students in the learning process. It is an online virtual board, where students and teachers can collaborate, reflect, share links, videos, pictures, in a secure location. It works like an online sheet of paper where people can put any content anywhere on the page, together with anyone, from any device.. Padlet is free and easy to use! 

One import thing in this tool is that your shared wall will be avaiable to anyone to contribute with the same features, and they don’t have to sign up for an account or anything else. There are no barriers. It gives groups of people the ability to collaborate easily and effortlessly, which makes Padlet useful in different possibilites. 

When the Padlet is finished you can share it in a variety of social networks, Facebook, Twitter, Google +, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn and email or you can share it as a jpeg image. Lastly, they give you a QR code that you can share with others to get to your page.

What about this tool? Would you like to learn more about it? Come here and start to trying.

TODAYSMEET - Chat! Chat! Chat! TodaysMeet is a private chat room where you and your students can have a online conversation space together. Its interface is very easy to use and the information discussed can be saved. Students can access the site via any computer with internet access or from their mobile phones. 

TELLAGAMI / ZOOBE -  Not every student feels the desire to make a presentation or video, these situations can be embarrassing for some students and result in poor school performance. Below we present two tools that can make their lives easier and, why not, more funny.

With these applications, students can create their own amusing avatars and insert them into slide shows, post on social networks and blogs. These tolls are available at Android (Zoobe) and iOS (Zoobe and Tellagami) platform, students will develop in their own devices, no need for internet connection and just an inspiring breath to develop the activity at anytime and anywhere.

THINGLINK - Link your things! If you want to create more engaging content using photos,videos, maps, posters, infographics etc, you can try an easy and intuitive way. Thinglink permites adding links to your medias in order to explain or emphasize important aspects. So the student can explore the media and learn more and more. Taste it. 

PEARLTREES - Pearltrees is an aggregator. It's amazing tool, you can add and share your links and contents, as well view and explore the shares of your connections. The students will feeling part of learning process, they will can share your finds and improve their learning. Pearltrees will suggest related topics with your preferences, it will increase the possibilities to learning in some subjects. 

COMIC STRIP - One digital tool we founded in the Play Store is called Comic Strip. With this app you can use images and photos to create a storyboard and make a comic strip. This kind of tool can be used by students to demosntrade their learning in a funny and relaxed way. In the Thinglink there is an example of a Comic Strip construct in the app about your visit at Proacademy.

We cannot tell you that these are definite solutions to engage your students but these tools can help the students become protagonist of their learning.

Ops, are you think not able to work with these tools? Do you are not comfortable to introduce technology in your classroom? Maybe you can ask your studentes to help you with technology!!! Probabilly, most of them have some expertise in tech.

Student centered learning is the key for the future.

By: Antônio, Conceição, Leonardo, Rita, Rodrigo^2
Trust Family