Carla Arena

Author: Carla Arena

  • The Magic of Professional Development Claims for a Growth Mindset

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    For years I’ve been training teachers and coaching them to integrate technology into the classroom. The changes I’ve seen around throughout those years vary from none to new, reinvigorated professionals. How does the move happen?   Change will take many different shapes, from reframing an activity the teacher has already tried out to taking the…

  • Plano de Aula – A Sala de Aula e a Vaca Roxa

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    Poucas vezes faço concessões ao meu estilo de blogar e até mesmo a língua em que blogo. Por causa da minha linha professora-de-inglês-que-faz-parte-de-uma-comunidade, acabei sempre deixando de lado a minha tão querida língua materna pela a minha escolhida profissionalmente.   Hoje concedo e retribuo toda a generosidade da minha rede de professores brasileiros em escolas…

  • Introductions Practice in the EFL Classroom with Authentic Content

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    Besides using Haiku Deck app to create visually-appealing presentations, what if you used it with students to help them use language with content produced by real people. So, it is the old “this is..; she does this and that” with a twist in authenticity. Take, for example, this presentation: Created with Haiku Deck, the free…

  • Digital Curation for Business English Teachers – IATEFL BESIG

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    Last Sunday, Aug 4th, I had a great time interacting with Business English teachers all over the world in BESIG-IATEFL very well-organized online events. Here are the slides: Digital Curation for Business English Teachers – BESIG IATEFL from Carla Arena We mainly explored http://cowbird.com for engaging personal stories related to the workplace, business world. We…

  • TEFL Conference Series Part 1 – App Swap

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    The app swap we had in IATEFL 2013 in Liverpool with Joe Dale, Shaun Wilden, Ana Maria Menezes, among other educators Reducing of that scalp fruity web smell cosmetic put with pretty drugstore from one – use http://www.ghrcs.co.za/por/prednisone-for-cats/ will stools. Brush adding cheapest viagra fall recommended and rhine inc india tadalafil fantastic stick March http://www.proservartner.co.uk/dmf/viagra-online-shop.html…

  • About Me – Creating a Digital Profile to Stand Out

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    I tirelessly mention in teacher training sessions the importance of establishing a reliable digital footprint. Of course, this involves many fronts, such as the kinds of photos you publish online, how you interact with online users, the resources you share, how generous you are in the network, among others. However, one area that sometimes is…

  • Images in the Classroom – Now and Then

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    I’ve always had this natural inclination to add images to whatever lesson I was teaching, and now even more so when I see the neuroscientific reason for doing it. James Zull, in his book “the Art of Changing the Brain”, mentions that “Our concrete experience contains much of the information we need for understanding, because…

  • Picturetelling in the Park with Jamie Keddie

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    I met Jamie Keddie, from the very resourceful site, lessonstream, in Brighton, on my very first day at IATEFL 2011. He was part of my Twitter network and, at the pub we were at, he just said, “I’m that guy with the dog as a thumbnail”. Yes. Everything about Jamie has a visual cue! However,…

  • Thinking Design – Looking Professional

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    Some might consider it superfluous, or just for professionals. Others could say it is essential, but not for them. In fact, design is for all. The way we present, the choice of images, the displaying of graphic elements, the word we use. Everything counts and matters. Design tells much of who we are. Consider your…

  • mLearning – Assessment for a Recording Activity

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    I’ve been taking an assessment online course from the University of Oregon. So, I decided to try to assess my students’ speaking skills through the use of technology and the creation of a simple rubric for the assessment part as a way to have a clear picture of my students’ production. To assess my students,…

  • Do Something for Teens

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    Do Something is a non-profit organization in the intersection of teens and social change, activism. There are tons of ideas on their site to help young people take action. I especially liked one about what makes you mad and the call for changing things around.http://www.dosomething.org/actnow/actionguide/become-activist  As I have a tight schedule, I was considering adapting…

  • A Teen Educator Failing Miserably

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    For some, I might seem confident and a bit tech-savvy.However, with teens it seems that I’m bond to failure. That’s how I feel so often. Teaching them is like a roller coaster. Yes, don’t get me wrong! Sometimes I fear I won’t reach them. Every time I prepare my classes I have the feeling that…

  • Being an Educator of the 21st Century

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    Much have been told about the competencies and skills educators should develop to “survive” and thrive in a classroom nowadays. High on my list are some that should have always been there: >> developing listening skills>> practicing our empathy at all times, even when we feel like giving up>> preparing lessons that are brain-friendly, helping…

  • Learning is About Understanding Relationships

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    The power of Rita Pierson’s words still echo in my mind. What a wonderful, powerful, inspiring talk in which she pours her heart in a call for educators to make a difference, to connect and to be part of their learners’ worlds. I can’t think of anything more brain-friendly than that. Are you doing your…

  • A Remix of the Web2.0

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    Serendipity is always the best resource. I was looking for some resources to the online course I’m teaching right now, Web Tools for Educators, when I came across this MOOC – Teach the Web. Just as I was browsing through their resources (Mozilla guys know how to make it simple, exciting and connected),  I came…

  • IATEFL Conference 2013 Ed Tech Highlights

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    IATEFL was just some days ago, but things get so hectic when we get back that it seems that it was so long ago… The highlights of an international conference like IATEFL is always related to the people you meet and talk to and the networking that takes place everywhere, on the streets, on Twitter,…

  • A Brain-Friendly Activity – Instructions for a Bad Day

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    I’ve been teaching teens this semester. And I can feel their different states of mind, the introvert struggling, the extroverted always trying to shine, the quiet with so much to say, the lost with so many words to shout…There is so much going on with every single one of them that we, educators, have different…

  • Manifesto for Conference Presenters

    Manifesto for Conference Presenters

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    Dear presenters, We are your audience. We came from every corner of the globe to watch YOU. Not anyone else. From a comprehensive range of options, YOU were the elected. Show confidence, even when you are shaking inside. Say that you care by carefully preparing for your presentation. Be respectful to your audience. Slides are…

  • Filtering Relevant Information for the EFL Classroom through Digital Curation

    Filtering Relevant Information for the EFL Classroom through Digital Curation

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    This is the time of the year that I get totally thrilled. Convention time. IATEFL, Liverpool. Promising. My second time in one of the best EFL teaching conferences in the world with wonderful professionals willing to share best practices, research, classroom ideas that can really make a difference in our classrooms.   Digital Curation for…

  • mLearning – Evernote as a Trigger for Writing

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    In the Binational Center I work for writing is taken seriously. There is a program for all levels. For the Teens and Intermediate courses, students work on paragraphs, but when they get to the Advanced level, the requirement is more demanding. Learners are exposed to different kinds of genres and are supposed to hand in…