webquest 2

Hi all!

today we are working on the last webquest. Just click!
Please send it to my email: teacherandreamardones@gmail.com

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b9mf9mjga36gxd0/webquest%202%20Level%203%20%283%29%20%282%29.docx?dl=0

Evaluation of your blogging experience

Blogs? in class? Yes, I think you thought it was weird to write so many blogs during the semester, most of the time the students think is too difficult, or not a real learning experience. Well, I have to say that I have seen that it's a useful tool, because it helps you to write more easily, you learn new words and also structures.
This semester I had a very good experience with the group of this Faculty (even though I was always reminding you about your attendance, etc haha), I really enjoyed reading your posts, that way we could know each other better; you could also reinforce vocabulary, grammar and using internet tools, like for example the forum in word reference. 
I hope you enjoyed writing here, and congratulations for your effort!



In this last post you have to write about your experience using blogs in the English class. 

Say:

> What you think about the experience in general
> How much you feel your writing skills have developed
> What you would like to include in the future
> What else you would like to write about


Wordcount: 200
Make comments on 3 of your classmates' posts+ MY POST

3rd themed-post: Abortion

Hi all!

this week we are writing the last topic you chose as a group: abortion.

Lately, this issue has been in the arena due to the legalization of abortion in the three limited cases, recently issued by the Chilean Congress. If we stop and take a look at people's reactions during those days when the Constitutional Court was voting to approve or not the bill, we may feel surprised because of the extremist opinions; which I think were mostly based on catholic and illogical reasons (on the side of anti abortionists), tried to make us come back to the Medieval Period, forcing us to follow some people's convictions instead of giving women the right  to choose. Most of the anti abortionist people argued that it was against God's precepts, the result of the ideology of "death", and also against Chilean Constitution; but when they were asked about scientific or more based reasons to be against they seemed defenseless, because if they were compelled to leave God out of the discussion; most of them didn't know what to say.
I must say that I support this because we shouldn't force people to do or think as a group of people does, and if we want to be fair we have to give women this right and not blame them for choosing wisely; which represents another kind of violence against us.

word count: 190 words.
don't forget the comments!

A subject you enjoyed studying this semester

Hi all!!

This week post is about University, and more specifically the subject you really enjoyed studying during this semester. I know you are very stressed at this point of the semester, and maybe you don't want to hear about subjects, studying, tests, etc...you just want to relax, sleep,etc. but, anyway your mission now is to choose one subject you really liked during this semester.

You know I finished university many years ago, but I remember that a subject I really liked was French (I studied translation, too), I was very good at it, and my teacher made us read interesting articles, and discuss about them; and she was really kind, it was a pleasure to be in class, so I tried to be there all the time. Another subject I enjoyed, too was Judo (yes, martial arts), as any university student I was stressed, so doing sports was a good choice to relax, so with a partner we joined that sport (I had no or little information about what was it about), and at the end I was really into that sport, which I practiced for about 3 years.
What about you?

don't forget to make comments on 3 of your partners posts + my post
word count: 180 words

London Webquest

Today we are going to work on the first webquest about London. Here you have to complete a table with information about some places to visit, the price of the tickets and information about where each place is located.
In the link you can check more detailed information about this:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bwyerogst6vcrtz/London%20Web%20Quest.docx?dl=0

When you finish, please send the table via email (teacherandreamardones@gmail.com).

Career-related website or An expert on your field

My favorite career-related website

Thinking of that, I wasn't really sure which is my favorite one, because I visit a lot of them! But, the one I visit most often is www.busyteacher.org,  a really good name for a website for teachers. This website contains worksheets, class ideas, etc. It's a really good tool for teachers of all levels (it has resources ranging from kindergarten to university-level students); when I first used this tool you had to create an account to access the resources, but nowadays it`s not necessary (which is awesome, because I used to forget the password all the time!). I visit this website quite often, when I need more attractive ideas or when I want to use a song to reinforce a particular topic in the classroom. There's another website I use for getting new ideas, which is en.islcollective.com, a

site where teachers share the worksheets they have made; which really helps when you ran out of new ideas.
The other website that I use quite often is www.wordreference.com, which is one the best online dictionaries. The reason why I think this is one of the best dictionaries is that it has forum discussions, which are very useful when you are looking for the translation of a phrase or expression.
Well, if you are a teacher or a student of English, at least one of these websites could be a good option for enhancing your learning or saving time when you are planning your lessons; and if you're writing blogs I'm sure I told you to use wordreference and not google translator!!




 Hi all!

This week we will write about a career-related website that you enjoy visiting. You have to: 
1. Provide the link 
2. Describe the website (sections, features, etc) 
3. Say how often you visit the site 
4. Explain why you like the site


and... what if you don't have or know a website related with your career?? you can write about a person/expert on your field that you admire!
You have to mention:
1. Who this person is (short biography)
2. What this person has done (examples of their work)
3. Include his/her image

 WORDCOUNT: 170 WORDS (don't be afraid!)
Make comments on 3 of your classmates' post+your teacher

2nd themed-post: Accidents you've had

Hi all!

this week´s topic is one that you chose: accidents.

Well, as long as I remember the first accident I had was when I was around 8 eight years old; I was in a school recess when one boy accidentally pushed me and I fell on the floor hitting my head against the corner of a wall. Immediately I went to the restroom and I realized I was bleeding! My best friend came back to the school yard and beat the boy! Afterwards I was sent to the hospital and had some stitches.

The day before the accident

Years later, when I was a university student and I worked for a call center, I had a bike accident. I used to ride my bike to work and when I was arriving I fell on the pavement...I don't remember quite well what happened but I was sent to the hospital in a ambulance, which was weird, and I had x-rays and other tests; at the end I had a long sick leave and some stitches on my lip (very uncomfortable).
Finally the last accident I had was about eight years ago while I was climbing down a mountain covered with ice: I slipped and thanks to a partner who stopped me, I survived. I had some bruises around my nose, I was lucky.
What about you?
Any accidents?
Have you ever been taken to the hospital?

write a text of about 160 words and don't forget the comments!

A photograph you like

I must confess that I like to take pictures, and most of the times I'm the person in charge when there's a celebration or something like that...everyone in my family expects me to take pictures (which is a little bit sad... I don't appear in many pictures). That could be the reason that it was complicated to choose one picture. Anyway I chose this one which was taken during September holidays, it's a selfie with my son, behind us there's a waterfall. That day we were visiting a big park and in that moment we were in the aviary. The reason I like it, it's because my son looks crazy and I hope that he never loses the spontaneity that characterizes childhood. Even though I think I don't look well  in the picture, I'm sure that if I see it again in 10 years I'm going to remember the good times we had in that travel.

Write about a photograph you like.
Say:
Who took it
What it shows
When it was taken
Why you like it
Upload it too

Include any other information you'd like to mention.
Write at least 150 words.


Add comments to at least 3 of your classmates’ blogs+ your teacher

Drugs

If I had to talk about drugs in general and the connection they have with medical treatments, I should only write about one: cannabis…why? First because it is a plant, and as far as I know it is the only “drug” that has been proven to have positive effects on different diseases and painful symptoms. I could say that I support the idea that people who suffer painful diseases have the right to use cannabis to relief the pain, instead of taking traditional medication which has several side effects, high cost and are not a real and effective solution for chronic diseases. Fortunately, today we can see a growing trend of acceptance of marijuana for its medical purposes. 

Regarding the recreational use, I think that some other legal substances are more dangerous to health than cannabis, for example alcohol: we all know that alcohol consumption is a big problem nowadays, basically because it starts at a very early age and is highly addictive and hard to control, we all know that buying alcoholic drinks is very easy, even though when you are a minor. Moreover, the alcohol causes traffic accidents, domestic violence, etc. the important thing here is that human beings shouldn’t need to use substances to feel better or happier or look cooler, but the use of natural substances has to be allowed in case ill people need them because they are physically suffering, and that’s the best option they have to improve the quality of their daily lives.

what do you think? do you agree with the medical use of drugs? what's your opinion about hard drugs? and what about legal drugs like alcohol?

word count: 140 words

don't forget to make comments on 3 of your partner's blogs and my post

My favorite gadget

Hi all!

This week post is about technology, and your favorite device…I think it’s difficult to choose just one, because we are so dependent on technology that we could think that living without one of those is almost impossible; anyway, if I had to choose one as my favorite (even though I don’t like to depend on technology) I’d choose my laptop: it has everything I need to work and also to have fun. I can type, surf on the internet, listen to music and watch videos and movies, and save pictures which mean a lot to me.  I got my laptop as a gift, because I needed one lighter and more portable than my old one, I use it almost every day (I try not to use it at the weekends). If I had to imagine how my life would be without it, I’d say that it would be more complicated because I’d have to stay longer at work, maybe going to a friend’s or relative’s house if I had to work on the weekends, and I’d have to watch movies on TV (but, instead of that I think I’d go to the park or somewhere else, and that would be better!)

Write about your favorite piece of technology

Say:

What it is.
When you got it.
How you use it.
How often you use it.
Why you like it.
What life would be like without it.


- 140 words minimum.
- Include a picture. 

- Comment on at least 3 of your classmates’ blogs+your teacher

Why did you choose the career you're studying now?

Hi everyone!

this week you are going to write the second post of this semester. The topic is about the reasons,motivations, etc. that made you choose the career you are studying.

write about:

• your dream jobs when you were a child
• other career options that you had at the moment of applying to university
• what made you decide in the end
• your experience at university until now
• the kind of job you would like to have

Word count: 120 words

In my case, I first studied Translation English-French into Spanish, why did I choose that? Not sure...I was good at learning languages, and I didn't know what to study, so it seemed a good idea to study translation. I was admitted in the program, so I spent 5 years studying languages. Looking back, I think the main reason for studying that career was that I wanted to know the world, so in order to find out how people from other countries saw the world, I decided to study their languages.
When I finished the career, I worked for a while, but then I realized I needed to be surrounded by people (you know a translator just works in an office or at home, just with a cup of coffee), so I came back to the university to study English Teaching. I had a good time there, and since then, I feel happy working with people, I really have a good time with you!

Don't forget to make comments!! (3 partners+Teacher's post)

Life

Hi all!


This is the first post of this semester...and the first topic is your autobiography.


Well, I was born in Valparaiso some years ago!! but that was a geographical accident, because at that time my parents lived in Venezuela, so I was born in Chile and then I came back to Caracas. I lived there until I was 3 or 4, then I returned to Chile with my mom and grandma.

when I was 1 and a half years

When I was a girl and a teenager too, I didn't like going to school so much, I thought it was boring and useless. When I finished school (I attended a school for girls the last 7 years of school) I had no idea of what to study, and as I was good at learning languages, I decided to study translation. When I finished I worked as a translator for a while, and a couple of years later I enrolled again to become a teacher.




The first job as a teacher was in a big school in the south of Santiago, I learned many things there and even though it was very difficult at the beginning, it was a very rewarding experience.

After working 5 years at schools, I started working in institutes and universities, which has been one of the most interesting and exciting experiences of my life as a teacher.

My son with our favorite animals

During those years, I met my husband, too. We met when we were climbing mountains, and five years ago we became parents of a nice boy named Gaston. I could say that being a mother has been the most rewarding and difficult job so far!

Well, what about you?

taking selfies it's not our thing

in this post you have to write your autobiography. Include:


birth info
studies info
family info
hobbies
others

you have to write 120 words (minimum) and make comments on three of your classmates posts+ your TEACHER

Welcome!

Hi all!

today you are going to describe a picture you like. You have to go to http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/2017/07/coyote-yellowstone-wildlife/   where you have to choose one picture and write why you like it, and post the picture to your blog.
You must write around 30-40 words. Here's my choice:

This picture drew my attention because it shows the connection some people have with their animals based on the dependance they have, and also how their lives are so different from the ones we have, which makes me feel that we need a change and get closer to nature, especially our generation of screen junkies kids.