Wow! November was certainly a busy month here on ELT Sandbox!!
'What? Busy?' you say. 'But there were no new posts or updates!'
Well, right you are. There were no new posts here on ELT Sandbox (something to be addressed over the coming weeks) but I was busy writing guest posts around the web as game-based learning in ELT seems to be attracting a bit of curious interest.
I wrote a series of four posts for eltjam.com, a great website and blog if you are interested in GBL and use of educational technology in ELT in general. Earlier in the month, I also 'guested' for Vocabla with a post aimed at students but still worth a read for you teachers out there. Finally, at the end of this week, I will have a post published for iTDİ's 'Games and Gaming in ELT' special blog issue - very exciting to be part of such an amazing group.
So here are the links to my guest posts in case you missed them. Normal service will resume here on ELT Sandbox shortly!
'What? Busy?' you say. 'But there were no new posts or updates!'
Well, right you are. There were no new posts here on ELT Sandbox (something to be addressed over the coming weeks) but I was busy writing guest posts around the web as game-based learning in ELT seems to be attracting a bit of curious interest.
I wrote a series of four posts for eltjam.com, a great website and blog if you are interested in GBL and use of educational technology in ELT in general. Earlier in the month, I also 'guested' for Vocabla with a post aimed at students but still worth a read for you teachers out there. Finally, at the end of this week, I will have a post published for iTDİ's 'Games and Gaming in ELT' special blog issue - very exciting to be part of such an amazing group.
So here are the links to my guest posts in case you missed them. Normal service will resume here on ELT Sandbox shortly!
ELT Jam Series on Game-based Learning
My first post for ELT Jam focused on some of the myths, mistakes and misunderstandings about GBL in language teaching and education in general. It generated a good discussion in the comments as well.
This post responded to some questions and doubts I commonly hear about GBL along with a look at how and when a teacher might go about bringing games into the classroom.
This post laid out four different ways to approach GBL in detail, showing that there is more to using games in the classroom than simply playing them in groups. Discussions, game-inspired activities, using walkthroughs and reviews, and co-operative play are all different ways we can help our learners get the most out of GBL.
The final post focused on what the future might hold for GBL in the world of ELT and how/if publishers and materials developers might get involved, concluding that it is better for language learning to come into a gaming environment rather than for gaming to be forced into a language learning one.
Vocabla Guest Post
This guest post is actually aimed at language learners themselves, offering advice on how to get the most out of English-medium games in terms of developing language skills. There is still a lot of good information in there for teachers though. ;)
Coming Soon - 'The Games Issue' on iTDi
Very soon (this week hopefully), there will be one more guest post as I have the honour of contributing to an iTDi 'special issue' for the first time. The theme is, of course, games and my post will focus on computer games, of course! Other posts will be contributed by Vicky Loras and Adam Simpson so it should be a great read. I will share the link here and on Twitter, Facebook etc as soon as it is available. In the meantime, check out the previous iTDi Blog Special Issues - well worth the read!
More Playtime Outside the Sandbox
In addition to the above mentioned iTDi special issue, I have a couple more guest post spots lined up elsewhere in the near future, details of which will be shared here and through social media when the posts go live.
And don't forget that there is also a webinar coming up this month (December 18th) for Teaching English entitled 'Using Games to Engage, Motivate and Educate Language Learners' - click on the link for details. I hope to see you there!
And don't forget that there is also a webinar coming up this month (December 18th) for Teaching English entitled 'Using Games to Engage, Motivate and Educate Language Learners' - click on the link for details. I hope to see you there!