Sunday 9th March, 9.30-10.30

Daniel Martín Helbling LanguagesFrom Whiteboards to Web 2.0Technology is gradually seeping its way into the classroom environment: from learners bringing their own mobile devices to class to teachers using computers and projectors or interactive whiteboards. I will be sharing some activities from my upcoming book From Whiteboards to Web 2.0 that contemplate use of Twitter, Google, smartphones, webcams and whiteboard software (both in isolated and combined use).

Daniel Martín has been working in language teaching for over 20 years. He is also a Pilgrims trainer and author of Activities for Interactive Whiteboards, nominated for the ELTons Awards 2010, Pop Songs 2 (both with Helbling Languages), Actividades para pizarras digitales interactivas (SGEL), Inglés, Internet y Pizarra Digital (self-published) and From Whiteboards to Web 2.0 (upcoming with Helbling Languages).

Your favourite website: I spend a lot of time online so there are many websites that I visit regularly which I enjoy for a variety of reasons. If I were to choose one, I would choose Twitter. It is an incredible source for research on different topics of my interest, such as web 2.0 tools, for instance. I follow quite a few English teachers, teacher trainers and ELT writers that post links to interesting articles on the matter and let people know about new tools. I also use Twitter a lot in class to run searches of language chunks and emergent language and show the resulting tweets to the students on the whiteboard. In my workshop I will be sharing –among other things- two really nice activities that contemplate use of Twitter in class.

A gadget you can’t live without: My mobile phone. Who would have thought 10 years ago that we would be carrying powerful computers in our pockets? A mobile phone is not just a phone anymore but a video and audio recorder, a video and audio player, a camera, a Web browser, a scanner, a book reader… I don’t talk on the phone much but I certainly use it a lot for the rest of the stuff.

Something you'd never throw away:

As much as I love technology in general, I still miss the excitement of taking a roll of film to a photo shop to be developed and then go back an hour later to collect the printed copies. I have many albums at home of neatly arranged photos taken mostly in the 90s and early 2000s, which bring back many fond memories. Digital photography has many obvious advantages, of course, but I’m not good at filing those photos. They are all over the place: in memory sticks, in hard drives of three different computers, in external hard drives, in phone cards… And quite sadly, many have been lost forever. I will, however, never lose or throw away my collection of printed copies.

Who or what inspires you?

Long walks on beaches.

Useful teaching tool: The interactive whiteboard (or a computer, a projector and Internet connection). I love looking for pictures to clarify meanings of words visually, running searches of language chunks on Twitter or having Skype conversations. I feel like a DJ wondering which song from the playlist he is going to play next. For the record, I don’t think I overuse technology. I try to use it wisely.

Your favourite lesson: I am very passionate about music, so I enjoy lessons or activities that involve singing or listening to music. I am very proud of the “El rap del camarero” songs that my high school students in Washington wrote and sang (about 13 years ago now!). I think it was my best lesson ever and nothing will ever match the feeling of accomplishment and joy that I got out of it.

Your favourite bit about your talk: The two Twitter activities that I mentioned earlier. For further details…well, you’ll have to come to my workshop session.

A lesson you've learnt while teaching: There are many key factors involved in teaching. You can try different methodologies or approaches, you may want to integrate technology, you may want to cater for different learning styles, you may take training courses and keep up to date with new trends in teaching but ultimately what makes all the difference is the affective domain. Great teachers always build a rapport with the learners.