Molnár Edit /angol/

Period: 07/08/2017-12/08/2017

Topic: Smartphones and Tablets-Using mobile devices as educational tools

Accomodation: Avalon House (55 Aungier Street, Dublin 2)

Hosting Institution: ULearn School ( 89 Harcourt St, Saint Kevin’s, Dublin 2)

Jakki O’Donovan –host teacher

Paul Gill- Director of Studies

Description

My plan was to make studies in the field of ICT since in our country, Hungary, it is a a field under devepolment in this territory. Also, in previous years while I was on maternity leave the world of teaching has changed a lot. ICT has made a significant progress in teaching and I needed a close up.The kids are interested in using their phones during classes instead of paying attention to the teacher and they live in a world of games on electrical machines. Therefore teachers can transfer knowledge by these means. All in all I was interested in means of ICT tools, how to teach with the help of them in our school.

During the course we got to know different applications on the phones and online, or downloaded into our Tablets.

On the first day after introduction of our schools we discussed the pros and cons of using the internet in our age.

The second day was about tes.com/lessons, an application with which we can create whole lessons from explanation part to the practice part. An other application was coggle.it. That is a mind map to create shared, complex information and to highlight connections. Third day was about Study Stack and Cram.com.– which are online flashcard creators.

On the fourth day we have learnt about Kahoot.it for creating games and Plickers also a quizz making program which the teacher can use with phone bar code reader.

The last day was about ED PUZZLE , EDMODO and ISL Collective. While ED PUZZLE is a video puzzle creator, EDMODO and ISL Collective are more complex place for whole lesson materials.

f course besides these everyday activities there wrere extra-curricular activities too. Evevry afternoon there were activities organized by the school where participation was elective. Also I have oganized tours and visit by myself. I have been to Guinness Brewery, Jameson Distillery, National Museum and National Art Gallery, visited Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and Christ Church, The Museum of Irish Immigration and the city of Dublin. I went to Hawth- a penninsula close to Dublin, the city of Galway, the Cliffs of Mohair, the UNESCO Global Geopark, the Burren. At the weekend I have been to The Giant’s Causeway which is a Unesco World Heritage-listed sight, the Dark Hedges, Dunluce castle, Carrick-a-rede rope bridge and the city of Belfast.

As for skills, by the end of the program participants were able to create whole lessons or lesson sequences applying the underlying apps and ICT tools, we have improved our IT, software, language and teaching skills.

I think for methodological purposes I will be able to use the learnt apps in our institutions lessons. Especially tes.com/lessons and Kahoot.it. We can use them without wifi which is a key point in the intitution.The course tought us through real life problems and game theory which are key points in teaching english as a foreign language.With the help of these apps I am sure to be able to observe what students can do insead of what they cannot do.

The objective of the program was achived and EUROPASS assured enough opportunity for practice, and after that learners self- reflexion or analization of learning outcomes.

From the point of view of sustainability, I think with the help of a powerful internet source in our school we can make progress in ICT and can stay on that level.