3rd Meeting

Let's start by reflecting upon these two questions

How does the use of technology affect teachers?

No CC available

What's the teacher's role when using technology in the classroom?

What is the Teacher's Role in the Classroom? from NAIS on Vimeo. (No CC available)

Are you ready to change the traditional role of a teacher?
Are you ready to let your students be in charge of providing knowledge?
Are you ready to be a "mediator"?

Writing

According to Jeremy Harmer (2004) writing is divided into two categories: Writing for learning and writing for writing. He explains that writing for learning means students write predominantly to "augment" their knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary of the language. Although in Writing for writing improvement of the language and helping students to learn better by using this skill are implied, teaching writing is more than that. It is about helping students to communicate real messages in an appropriate manner. We have to make sure that our students have some writing aim. Effective writers usually have a purpose in mind and construct their writing with a view to achieving that purpose. "The most effective learning of writing skills is likely to take place when students are writing real messages for real audiences or at least when they are performing tasks that which they are likely to have to do in their out-of-class life." (Harmer, 2004)

Using different tech tools or resources when taking into account writing, really helps students find that real purpose and that real audience Harmer makes reference to since they are aware of the fact that just by being published on the net, someone may find it and read it.

Let's start working

Evernote is a free app for your smartphone and computer that stores everything you could possibly imagine losing track of, like a boarding pass, receipt, article you want to read, to do list, or even a simple typed note.The app works brilliantly, keeping everything in sync between your computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Watch this video to know about it

Place your mouse over the video and without clicking, you will be able to see the CC option for you to listen to the video and read the subtitles at the same time.

Watch this first tutorial




Place your mouse over the video and without clicking, you will be able to see the CC option for you to listen to the video and read the subtitles at the same time.

Watch this second tutorial



Place your mouse over the video and without clicking, you will be able to see the CC option for you to listen to the video and read the subtitles at the same time.

To download the PDF manual click here

To read the Unofficial manual online, click here
To get started with Evernote on its official site, click here
To watch the tutorials on the Evernote YouTube Channel, click here

You can use Evernote just online or you can download it into your computer. If you want to download into your computer, go to the site and click on MENU on your top right, a window will open, click on DOWNLOAD EVERNOTE. Also, you can download the app into your mobile phone by using the Play Store app.

Penflip is a way to write collaborative Markdown documents as well as publish sets of documents (like a book for example). Not only is it a great editor as well as a great collaboration tool, but it’s also an extremely user-friendly publishing tool and all three of those components complement each other in really great ways.

Watch this tutorial

There is no sound. This is the way you can see how Penflip works in the site, too if you scroll down the site.

To download the PDF user guide/manual, click here

This tutorial will help learn how Penflip works but though you'll find some explanations hard to understand, you'll see that it is easier to deal with when you really start using it.

Why may it be hard to understand certain content?

Because in Pengflip everything is written with Markdown. What is that?

Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML (or HTML).

Thus, “Markdown” is two things: (1) a plain text formatting syntax; and (2) a software tool, written in Perl, that converts the plain text formatting to HTML. See the Syntax page for details pertaining to Markdown’s formatting syntax. 

The overriding design goal for Markdown’s formatting syntax is to make it as readable as possible. The idea is that a Markdown-formatted document should be publishable as-is, as plain text, without looking like it’s been marked up with tags or formatting instructions. While Markdown’s syntax has been influenced by several existing text-to-HTML filters, the single biggest source of inspiration for Markdown’s syntax is the format of plain text email.

The best way to get a feel for Markdown’s formatting syntax is simply to look at a Markdown-formatted document. For example, you can view the Markdown source for the article text on this page here: http://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/index.text

Why using it then?

Because you can:

• Focus on writing with our minimalist markdown editor, or work offline with your favorite text editor.
• Send a link to gather feedback - no downloads. Easy version control and revision history built right in.
• Download your beautifully formatted ebook with just one click. Compile to PDF, ePub, HTML and more.

What is collaborative writing?

In an article on the technology and processes of collaborative writing, David Farkas offers four possible definitions useful in approaching collaboration through an analysis of processes. For his purposes, collaboration is:

1. two or more people jointly composing the complete text of a document;
2. two or more people contributing components to a document;
3. one or more person modifying, by editing and/or reviewing, the document of one or more persons; and
4. one person working interactively with one or more person and drafting a document based on the ideas of the person or persons. ([Farkas1991] p. 14)

Tasks

1. Create an account on Evernote.
2. Create a note about a topic you like a lot. It could be anything. 
3. Share that note with me by sending me the link to veronica73.arg@gmail.com
4. Click in this link https://www.penflip.com/veronica73_arg/oriels-2015?invite=BL1vJDfy
5. Click on MAKE CHANGES, sign up (this means you're creating a new account), and once you are in, read the instructions on the document, collaborate following them and then submit your changes by clicking below on your right on SUBMIT CHANGES. Write your name and submit. Your changes will be pending approval. This means that when I log in, I'll see your changes and I'll have to accept them and then they'll be there. 
6. When you make the changes, I'll receive an e-mail telling me that, so I'll immediately accept the changes for the others to be ready to follow you.
7. You'll be able to see the document and all the collaborations by clicking again on the link above.