8. Credits/Contact info:

.

Jenaro A. Díaz-Ducca:



jenarodiazducca@yahoo.com

bloguned2010@gmail.com



 

http://www.jenarodiazducca.com

http://bloguned2010.blogspot.com

http://chemcourseucr.blogspot.com 

Thank you very much!!!!!

7. FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are blogs safe?
A:  Blogs can be administered completely by the teacher.  He/she can decide which posts and materials are posted.  All entries can be approved by the teacher before publication.

Students may use nicknames instead of their real names, but as a requisite, they must tell their teacher which student is posting under which name.

In addition, access to posting and reading can be restricted according to the teachers' needs and interests to preserve privacy.

2.  Are blogs for free?
A.  There is no cost for creating or maintenance in public sites such as Blogger.com (affiliated to Google).

http://www.blogger.com/home


3. Are blogs fun? 
A: For students, having a place where they can share their points of view and materials while they practice English, can be very appealing.  Of course, a percentage must be assigned so students feel not only motivated but compelled to participate.  It also gives the sense of a collective creation just like wikis.


4.  Are blogs permanent?
A.  They are as long-lasting as anything else on the Internet.  At any moment comments, entries, materials or the entire blog can be deleted by the administrator (teacher) if so desired.  Blogs are constantly evolving so they get actually richer all the time.  The possibilities can be explored together by both teachers and students.


5.  Are blogs legal?
A. Since the materials are only being linked to, actually there's no copyright infringement.  This means no legal responsibility for any of the parties involved.  In any case, it would be just a matter of deleting the link from the blog.

6. What about videos and movies?

Teachers and students can also post their favorite videos by linking them:


JuanPatas wrote:


This is a real classic for me:  "Phil Collins: Against all odds"







 Stephanie89 wrote:
I love this song! 

5. Posting pictures and still photographs

Teachers and students can share their favorite pictures by linking them to the original website:

CarlosSonic wrote,
This is a crazy cow I photographed last weekend.  Send me your comments!











GreenTinkerbell wrote,
I think this is what Crucitas is going to look like in ten years:
 

4. Some ideas about the uses of blogs

- Teachers can post links for the Ss' reference and other Teachers' reference:





Blogging for ELT:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elt

Hip Teacher: using web resources:

http://hipteacher.typepad.com/

- Blogs can also be used for projects such as Web Quests:




What is a WebQuest?

http://webquest.org/index.php

Some Thoughts About WebQuests:

http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html

- Or for Weblog-based portfolios:




The Use of Weblog-Based Portfolios in Teacher Education 

http://www.editlib.org/noaccess/27890


 E-portfolios for information literacy

http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/2010/01/e-portfolios-for-information-literacy.html

3. What about Extensión?

In addition, Dirección de Extensión can use blogs for:

- Integrating different levels and groups within the same Sede.

- Integrate different groups between different Sedes (for example, Guápiles, Heredia and La Cosecha)

- Coordinate efforts, materials and online components between professors (by providing standardized materials at the beginning of a course)

- Offer online (blog) tutorías so Ss can post their questions about the Program or particular contents

- Create a data bank for professors and students that can be continuously enriched and expanded (links, handouts, pictures, movies, songs, conversations, etc.)

- Select Ss' posts to be used for future reference (exhibitions, ferias vocacionales, internal meetings, online or hardcopy publications, etc.)

2. What about teachers?

With a blog, teachers can:

- Evaluate Ss' writing skills

- Evaluate Ss' use of target grammar and vocabulary

- Encourage Ss to apply phrases to express their opinions, agreement, disagreement, etc.

- Provide feedback in either public or private manner

- Direct a discussion so Ss can produce in writing and not orally

- Suggest websites, links, videos and materials for Ss

- Use the blog as a portfolio for final course evaluation

- Integrate different groups to create collective discussions (for the same or different levels)

1. Welcome message!

Welcome to the Blog UNED 2010!

This blog has been created to illustrate how blogs can be incorporated as an important tool for English learning.


With a blog Ss can:

-Practice writing skills

- Practice grammar and vocabulary

- Express their opinions

- Learn how to discuss in a respectful manner

- Make their own suggestions (websites, pictures, links to videos, etc.)