280 slides-presentation made easy

Powerpoint is important in students' lives, especially college students because they have lots of chances to do presentations.
I found a tool that is easy to be used which is 280 slides. I think this is a good tool for both PC or MAC users. The system of MAC is different from PC, and some PC users don't know how to use MAC system. It would be more convenient to make power point on the internet without the restraint of systems.

The features of 280 slides are as follows:
1. import existing documents
2. autosave and recovery
3. take it with you
4. download to powerpoint
5. built-in media search
6. publish to the web
7. quality themes
8. run in your web browser



Teachers or speakers can also use this to do their speech. The file can be stored on the server but the limitation is there should be an internet connection. If the speaker forgets to bring the file, he or she can get it online. Moreover, it can be download to powerpoint and uses can also put photos or music from youtube or flickr. It is really convenient to be use but the disadvantage is it depends on internet. 280 slides can also be published to the web and share to others.
However, the bad news is the tool is going to be closed on 12/21.

I am touched.

Last week, we had a guest speaker to share what she had done on her teaching when she was in Korea. I was so impressed to know how she taught her students and I wondered why I did not meet a foreign teacher like her when I was learning English. Honestly, she is the best foreign English teacher that I have ever seen. I met many foreign English teacher in Taiwan, but none of them did the same thing to improve students' motivation on learning English. During her sharing, I kept thinking in my mind that those students were so lucky to have her. She really integrated technology into her teaching, and students all did a good job. 

She also talked about the educational situation in Korea, and I would like to share my experience with you since I am from Taiwan. What she shared about the educational situation in Korea is general in Asian countries. Students in Taiwan, Korea, China, and Japan have to learn so many subjects and they are asked to be great so that students can go to great colleges in the future. Compared to American children, children in Asia have no childhood because they have to learn so many in their children. What they have to do is study and learn instruments such as violin and piano. Therefore, children have lots of pressure before they go to college. What's more, because of the teaching style, many children don't have critical thinking. They don't know how to think, and they just wait for others' instruction. It is a culture shock when I first had class in America because everyone is willing to express themselves. This would not happen in Taiwan.  

I keep thinking about why I cannot integrate so many interesting activities into my teaching. The main reason is we have to catch up with progress, and we won't have enough time if we do activities in class. The other reason is we don't have enough technology materials such as computers and projectors. Most of the schools don't have computers in classrooms, so it would be quite difficult to do some technology things in the class. If I can integrate some web 2.0 tools, my students would have interest in it. After I go back to Taiwan, I hope I can figure out how to stimulate students motivation to learn English. 

Use blog in my teaching.

     It seems that it is normal to integrate blogging into classroom teaching in America. This makes me think of my own country. Would it be possible to integrate blogging in my teaching? I have asked myself this question for a long time since we blogged in this class. Or can I integrate any web 2.0 tool that we have learned in this class into my teaching. I really want to introduce my students what I have learned in America because it is so amazing and different.  

     Students in Taiwan also like to use blogs to record their lives and post photos on their blogs in order to share with their classmates. When I was teaching in Taiwan, I found that some students tried to use English in their blogs even though there might be some grammatical errors. I was so happy when I saw them use English. They would use  simple words or sentences in their blogs and I think it is a good try. 

     English is an important language in the world and so many parents in Taiwan put emphasis on learning English. However, children don't understand why they should learn the language and they have no desire to learn. Many of my students told me that they won't go to America in the future, so there is no need to learn English. When I heard this, I felt so sad because I know they will regret in the future. 

     I would try to use blog or other web 2.0 tools in my classroom teaching. As a matter of fact, we seldom use  web 2.0 tools in our class because we have to catch up the progress. If I can use it in my class, my students would feel interesting because no other teachers have done this before. I would ask them to write two or three sentences a day and they can write whatever they want. And then I would ask my students to give feed back to their peers. 

     However, there are some limitations to blog. Many students would go to cram schools after they go home, so they might have no time to do the additional work. What's more, students have to use computer so that they can post something in their blog, but some parents don't want their children to use computer so often. Therefore, there are many difficulties that I have to overcome before I start to use blog in my teaching. Hope I can have the chance to do what I want them to do. 

Classroom tools

When I was searching on the Internet, I found an website which makes learning become interesting. This website "create free educational games, quizzes, activities and diagrams in seconds." 
This website contains 24 templates that are available for teachers to use in their own classrooms or classroom blogs. It is not only useful for teachers but also for students. Some students are visual and kinesthetic, and they can use some templates such as Venn diagrams and timelines to reinforce their learning. 

Teachers can even create some games that would attract students' attention, and students can learn what they should learn by playing. It would be more attractive if students can play games in class, and they may not feel bored in class. I think this tool can be use from K1 to K12 or even college. There are many different templates and teachers or students can choose what is the most suitable for them. Users can make good use of the "sample files". There are many subjects and users can choose what subject they want and choose the template they want to use in order to find the example. 


Where to find : http://www.classtools.net/
Brief introduction:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_suA923NBgM