alice’s posterous

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Moving to Germany

I am moving to Weimar, in Germany this Sunday and as you can see my house is pretty full with boxes!

So...I won't be blogging, tweeting, facebooking... for a few days until the actual moving is done and we get an Internet access (I have been told it should be quick :) I rely on German efficiency here ;)

Before I shut the Internet for a while, I just want to share a few tips I have learnt from moving. I have been moving around quite a few times in my life but this is the first time I move with a family of two little boys:

  • Use a private wiki to list everything you need to do, i.e closing accounts (electricity, water...). My dear man set up a private wiki where we store all our personal/ private information.
  • Keep all the cardboard boxes you used from your previous move. Six years ago, we moved from Zaragoza, Spain to Leicester, UK and we kept all our boxes in the attic. This time, we re-used our boxes, hence saving money and the time of having to collect new ones.
  • When you pack stuff in a box, number the box and then record the number and what is inside the box in your private wiki. When you have finished doing all the packing, remember to print the boxes list (pack the printer at the last minute!). When you don't have the Internet, you still have your list printed so that when you are in your new house, you know to which rooms the boxes go.
  • Send your children away! I don't know how we would have done without the help of my parents- in- law (Daniel and Nadine) who are looking after our boys in Brittany, France! They are having a great time with their grand-parents and we can pack everything on time. 
I hope to be blogging again soon and to tell you about my new life in Germany!

What about you? Do you have any useful tips about moving?

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Filed under  //   boxes   Germany   moving   private   share   tips   Weimar   wiki  

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More Wordle with year 7 (11-12 years old).

Last week, we finished the topic about school with my year 7 classes so I took them to the computer room and asked them to type some of the topic's key words on Wordle.

I had already tried this lesson previously in the year and it had been a success, and this time because my students knew the tool already, they enjoyed it even more ;)

Wordle: Module 5

The only drawback to Wordle is that there is no search option. It makes it difficult to look for students' works to then embed them on the school blog.

I went onto Wordle's forum and found this comment from Rob Elliott 
"As long as you always save your wordles to the gallery with the same 
username you can search for them by entering the following into your 
browser address bar: 

http://www.wordle.net/gallery?username= 

adding your username after the = 

That is currently the only way to search for wordles."

I knew my students' usernames so I followed the instruction above. This is something to keep in mind when working with Wordle.

Also, check out 23 Ways to use Wordle in the MFL Classroom by @spanishsam on Twitter. It is full of great ideas!

And you? Have you used Wordle in your lessons?

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Filed under  //   11-12 years old   blog   French   idea   lesson   revision   tips   web 2.0   web tool   wordle   year 7  

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Affordable Interactive Whiteboard.

Looking at affordable ways to get an Interactive Whiteboard. This video shows how to create your own with a Wii remote and a LED.

Have a look at this video. What do you think?

When choosing the right IWB, Nick Peachey's post on the British Council website is also full of useful tips:
http://teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/nik-peachey/some-thoughts-choosing-right-iwb?mtk=20

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Filed under  //   DIY   Interactive Whiteboard   IWB   LED   lesson   teacher   teaching   tips   Wii remote  

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