I believe that in order to meet the needs of our students, who are digital learners, we teachers need to implement the use of technology on a regular basis in our lessons. I think that learning the new means of communication that students use will not only raise the probability of engaging them in our lessons, but will also make our own teaching more intriguing and challenging.
Technology requires, by definition, a continuous adjustment to the new forms of learning. Textbooks with digital software and dynamic activities have slowly replaced the old type of grammar-oriented courses and have revealed themselves way more effective and student-centered. I use technology during the entire lesson, assign technology-based homework and projects on a regular basis, and often ask students to be creative and use the software they are comfortable with. They often surprise me with the latest technological tools and often teach me new apps and software that I then use to create new lessons.
In the 20-60-20 framework that I use in every class, I use digital inputs during the opening section and online games during the closing section. For the activities in the work session section, I use interactive slides with Peardeck (see my article). I create various digital activities to reinforce each topic I teach in class, therefore I have decided to register to several didactic platforms. If you would like to utilize some of my activities, feel free to do so. You should be able to see my activities if you login to the individual platform and then look for the username I use in the search bar. The list below shows some of the platforms I use on a regular basis and some examples of activities.
Finally, one of the most effective tools to have students practice the interpersonal mode is definitely Flipgrd.com . This platform allows students to create and post videos of their presentations, dialogues and respond to their classmates’ videos. Students have fun, talk about what they learn, practice with organizational and presentational skills. It is a very effective assessment tool, to use in the last section of the 20-60-20 teaching practice. In case you do not know Flipgrid, here you will find a presentation that I put together with the instructions.
Wordwall (www.wordwall.net). Username: roberta146
I pasti, vero o falso
Che cosa hai fatto?
Quizlet (www.quizlet.com ) Username: roberta_pennasilico
La scuola italiana:
Dove lavora?
Thinglink (www.thinglink.com) Username: roberta pennasilico
La piazza
Sorrisi e lacrime 2021
Kahoot! (www.kahoot.it) Username: MsP_2006
I simboli dell’Italia
Il presente e i lavori
Gimkit (www.gimkit.com) Roberta Pennasilico
agree/disagree
Describing people
Textivate (www.textivate.com) Username: MsPennasilico
Mi presento
Il mio appartamento
Blooket (www.blooket.com) Username MsP2006
Likes & favorites
Agree & disagree
Gli animali + fare
