LET'S GET INFO(GRAPH)RMED!

 Welcome back to my forest, forest dwellers! 🌱🌲

Today, I will be telling you about an awesome and helpful way to learn information: infographics. 

 

This week, we discussed infographics, which are eye-catching graphics that utilize statistics, symbols, pictures and text. After learning a bit about infographics, we were asked to make one on the ethical/legal technology issue we wanted. I chose cyberbullying as I think it is one of the biggest problems we have today.

For my infographic, I chose to use Canva because I already had some past experience using it. I also think Canva allowed me to get creative with its many options. 

I think the hardest part of making it was finding the approtiate statistics information, because there were some sketchy sites out there. I had to look for actual research or organization websites.

I also had some trouble picking the colors because I wanted it to look interesting but not too joyful, as it had a serious topic!

In around two days of work, I created this infographic:

Cyberbullying

I think infographics can be an incredible tool to engage students. They relay lots of information quickly and rely on both text and visuals, so students with different learning styles can benefit from them. A well-made infographic can help with language learning.

So, what are your thoughts, forest dweller? Have you ever made an infographic? If so, which parts were hard for you? Do you think infographics should be utilized in the classroom? Feel free to answer these questions, and I hope to see you again soon! 🌱🌲

REFERENCES

 All the graphics used were free-to-use through Canva. Here are the creators:

 @tghdesign @sparklestroke @irasutoya @amethyststudio @vectoryzen @nounproject 

Here are the statistic references: 1 2 3 4 5 6

21st CENTURY LEARNING

 Hello again forest dwellers! 🌱

Today, we will learn about 21st century learning together. 

With new technologies, the way we look at teaching and learning has changed. Let's see how we can integrate these changes with our subject 👀

 

Our graphic shows the vital systems of this new era of learning, but we will focus on 4C skills.

1. Communication is key in our society, especially now. With the help of new technology, both us and our students are connected to people all around the world. We communicate with this diverse group through language. It is very important for us to help students become better communicators. Communication also helps drastically when learning a new language.

 

2. Creativity is very important because we need out students to not just consume things but also be active artists of their own. We need to foster their creative thinking skills and encourage their ideas.

 

3. Collaboration - I know some of us (myself included, oops) aren't too fond of working with others. But, being able to cooperate with others is really important. Language learning itself is a kind of collaboration, isn't it? We can assign group projects to develop these skills in class.

 

4. Critical thinking - We live in an age where we are bombarded with new information every single moment. So, we need to develop critical thinking skills to analyze it. We can help our students develop this skill by doing brainstorms, debates etc.

 Aside from these, it is important to teach our students how to use technology effectively. We live in the tech century after all! The new technologies should not be feared but embraced to help further language learning. We can show our students things like videos, games, apps, etc. so they have a grasp on how to use educative technology.

 If we are able to grasp and teach these skills, we have become true 21st century educators. 📖

  I recognize that it is a lot we have to learn -and eventually teach- nowadays. It shows that we should never stop learning and growing 🌱 Even I am aware that I lack some of these skills and try to improve myself.

🌲 What about you, forest dweller? What fruits have you picked and which ones are still ripe? 🍃

REFERENCES:

Kurt, Gokce & Başkan, Pınar. (2023). Educational Technology in English Language Teaching.

P21 resources: 21st Century learning resources. Battelle for Kids. (2024, January 8).

 

 

 

WELCOME TO THE FOREST

 

 

Hello and welcome to all forest dwellers and their friends!

I welcome you to my educational learner blog, or as I call it, my "Forest of ELT". My aim with this blog is to:

- Document my progress in our Instructional Technologies and Materials course.

- Share my thoughts, feelings, experiences and beliefs related to ELT.

- Become accustomed to regularly updating an educational blog.

- ...Have fun!

I am currently a second year student who is majoring in English Language Teaching. So, my blog will mostly have ELT related posts. Although I might use it after our course ends, who knows? 

I hope to see you soon, forest dwellers!💚🌲🌱

- Bade