Don't know how to make your lesson more interesting?If you want to take a more "digital" and interactive lesson you can use Blendspace or Thinglink.I've tried both. They're really easy to use.Blendspaceblendspace.com With Blendspace you can create  lessons with digital contents very quickly. You have a grid and you choose an interactive link for each box. You can also upload material from your pc.this is my example:http://blnds.co/1cII4wLThinglinkthinglink.comWith this tool you choose an image and then add many links (videos, music, images, etc.) to it to make it interactive. My example:http://www.thinglink.com/scene/481523444043743233Bye for now!I'll keep on surfing the Net through digital tools...

"For the dead and the living, we must bear witness."  Elie WieselJanuary, 27th is the Holocaust Memorial Day. First of all let's have a look at some interactive presentations about World War 2nd .Why did it start? From the Children's British History Encyclopedia, a very simple summary:http://history.parkfieldict.co.uk/world-war-ii/why-did-world-war-ii-starthttp://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/btt/holocaust/flash/index.htmlHere you can find some videos, images, comments and information.  There are interactive maps and a timeline. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/auschwitz_map/index.shtmlThis is a BBC interactive animation with historical information, images and a virtual tour of Aushwitz camp.Some activities in the UK:http://www.hmd.org.uk/event/findWe watched "The king's speech" in class. It is not about holocaust but it talks about the famous speech King George VI made to his people on September, 3rd 1939 marking the beginning of WW2.This is a webquest for you.To the link below you can find the film trailer, a George VI biography, the recording of the real speech with the script and some activities based on the movie. Answer the following questions:How did George VI become king?Who was his wife?Why did he become popular and loved by his people?Who helped him to amend his stammer? Where can you find the original transcript of his famous speech? Which part of the speech did you like most?What does the king mean when he says that he speaks to his "peoples"?Which is the principle he wants to fight against? What are the "motivational posters"?How many copies of "keep calm" posters were printed?Surf the sites I choose for you and find the answers: https://www.blendspace.com/lessons/fMT10AzSX4vCLQ/the-king-s-speech"If we bear all this suffering and if there are still Jews left, when it is over, then Jews, instead of being doomed, will be held up as an example." Anne Frank

 Last January some children from elementary schools came to visit us. We prepared some activities to show them our school! We had fun together! This is our video:http://youtu.be/2IpVuWZN8pYHave a look at this Thinglink presentation about our English classes!https://www.thinglink.com/scene/484085101685112833(click on the various links of the image)

Posters can easily draw student's attention but they should not be just wall decoration. They should be used to study in deep some topics or to visually organize concepts. Posters should easily be seen, so you need colours and images. Now you can create you own poster in a few minutes or you can even make it interactive!This time I tried Piktochart. http://piktochart.com/ It is very useful to create interactive posters. I already tried Thinglink and Glogster. (An example with Thinglink at http://thetravellingteachers.blogspot.it/2014/02/welcome-activities-this-is-our-school.htmlAn example with Glogster at http://thetravellingteachers.blogspot.it/2014/01/for-teachers-some-digital-tools.html) You can save your work as an image (.png or .jpeg) or copy the url if you want to use it as an interactive poster. In this case you have to add links, videos, etc. to your project!The following is an example of a project saved as an image. I've created it to advertise the study tour I am organizing for my students:This one, instead, is an interactive poster showing our English class activities, with videos and links:https://magic.piktochart.com/output/1198513-journey-of-loveHave fun with your posters! 

February, 14th  is Valentine's Day!St. Valentine's Day is celebrated all over the world. Have a look at my Blendspace presentation to get some information about the origins of this festivity.Blendspace:http://blnds.co/MJE76aWEBQUEST Now answer these questions: Who was Valentine?What do people usually do for St. Valentine's day?Are there any differences between American, British and Italian traditions ?What do you usually do on St Valentine's day?   LOVE SONGSSt. Valentine means love, flowers ... and love songs. Listen to this beautiful love song byJoe Cocker ... let's sing along!      And now listen to the top 10 love songs and watch the videos:http://ultimateclassicrock.com/love-songs/  Which song did you like most? Why?Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.Thomas Merton Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasmert387047.html#PwyFc8P0Erg1dcZH.99"Love is our true destiny.We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone, we find it with another." Thomas MertonLove is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.Thomas Merton Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/t/thomasmert387047.html#PwyFc8P0Erg1dcZH.99

 I've always used movies to improve students' listening comprehension, but I've always preferred movies taken from novels. So I have the chance to talk about literature, as well. This is a poster about my cineforum I created with Piktochart. You can save you poster as an image, as the following, or you can make it interactive, as you can see clicking on the next link.Below you can find the above poster, but now it's interactive...https://magic.piktochart.com/output/1237601-create-your-ownBelow you can have some more information. This time I used Blendspace.There are links to the movies' trailers, to some information about the novels they are taken from, to sites about movies or books for EFL students.           http://blnds.co/1gXfZtP "I think cinema, movies, and magic have always been closely associated. The very earliest people who made film were magicians". Francis Ford Coppola 

Today we celebrate the "Safer Internet Day"! http://www.saferinternetday.org/web/guest/home Safer Internet Day (SID) was born as an initiative of the EU SafeBorders project in 2004 and is now celebrated in more than 100 countries across all continents. Each year SID chooses a topic concerning online issues, from cyberbullying to social networking, to reflect on online safety,  rights and responsibilities, to encourage users to 'connect with respect'.  In particular, for  2014 the topic is "Let's create a better internet together".I'm a blogger, I use my blog with my students at school, I encourege them to use it at home because they are "digital natives". Moreover the Internet can be a wonderful resource for kids. But the access on the Net can also pose hazards and adults have to protect kids from the potential dangers. One of the most dangerous problem concerning our "digita kids" is cyberbullying.Cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass  another person. It can include:sending threatening or offensive text messagescreating or sharing embarrassing images or videosexcluding children from online activities or groupscreating hate sites or groups about a particular personstealing online identities to embarrass or trouble a childBut what are the main problems cyberbullying can cause in a teenager? Cyberbullying can provoke physical and emotional problems:depressionanxietysadness and lonelinesschanges in sleep and eating patternsloss of interest in school, hobbies, friendsself-harmWhat to doFirst of all parents, teachers and adults in general should:1. Step into kids cyberworld Adults have to get involved to keep their eyes open. It's important to be aware of what our kids see and hear on the Internet, who they meet, and what they share about themselves online.2. Set house or school rulesDecide how much time children can be online and which sites they may go to. For example, as a teacher, I usually use "webquests" if I want my students to do some research. With a webquest you decide in advance which sites your students can surf to find the required information.3. Teach kids to protect their privacy you should say your children/students:* never to give their name, phone number, e-mail address, password, postal address, school, or picture without permission* not to open e-mail from people they don't know* not to respond to hurtful or disturbing messages* not to get together with anyone they "meet" online. Kids should: 1. Tell  an adult they trust2. Walk away (ignoring bullies is the best way to take away their power)3. Resist the urge to respond 4. Save evidence of the bullying (it can help to prove the offence if needed)5. Report bullying to the service provider6. Block the bully (most devices have settings that allow to electronically block the bully  from sending notes)7. Be safe online (use password and  think twice before sharing personal information or photos/videos because, once posted, they are very difficult to delete).

"The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world." F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great GatsbyTop ten New York travel attractions:New York skylineNow surf the following sites to learn something about the history of the cityHistory of New Yorkhttp://kids.nypl.org/websites-for-kids/new_york_city_historyNew York timeline history:http://iloveny.com/what-to-do/reasons-to-love-ny/timeline-new-york-history Some information about New Yorkhttp://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0108570.htmlTimes SquareBrooklyn Bridge And now watch the videos below A day out in New Yorkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHoquYB0TZoNY historyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7lIdA8OUr8A melting pothttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIZdRvTwKbAYou read some information and watched some videos about New York. Can you answer these easy questions?Can you name some of the most famous NY attractions?Where can you find Central Park?Where is The Times Square located?What are the Broadway Shows?Who were the first inhabitants of NY?Which were the first names of the city?What is a "melting pot"?How many Italians are there in NY?  Let's sing "New York New York" with Frank Sinatra..."New York state of mind" with Billy Joel... "New York" with the U2...and "Sunday Morning New York Blue" with Rob Thomas!  YOUR TASK Which song did you like the most? Read carefully the  lyrics, what do you feel while listening these songs? Do  the songs have something in common? "One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years".  Tom Wolfe

 Carnival  occurs just before Lent and typically involves street  parades. People often dress up or masquerade during Carnival celebrations and parties.In this post I'm showing you three important Italian Carnivals. The Carnival of Venice (Veneto)was first recorded in the 13th century but Venice has only been "the city of Carnival" since the 18th century, when people from all over Europe came to its fantastic parties. Recently there has been a great revival of the Venetian carnival. In the city there are a lot of parties, dancing and costumes parades. The Carnival of Viareggio  (Tuscany)It was born in 1873 as a masquerade event for the rich bourgeois in their discontent at having to pay a too-high tax price. Through the course of time its principal characteristic has become its enormous, animated papier-mache floats. On these floats that parade along the coast of Viareggio, big caricatures of the political, cultural and showbiz names dominate. The Carnival  of Putignano (Apulia)is famous for the spectacular parade of papier-mache floats. It starts the day after Christmas and finishes the day before the ash Wednesday. The figure that represents the Carnival of Putignano is "Farinella". The name derives from Farinella, a chickpea and barley flour which is the ancient food of country workers.In July  there is a 'summer edition' of the Carnival. Have a look at the following information I've put on Thinglink about these three Italian cities. Moreover I've added on Thinglink some videos I've mixed up with Metta. Enjoy! View the presentation:https://www.thinglink.com/scene/488041961006039040 (once you open Thinglink, click on the links of the image)  And now, could you find some information about some other famous carnivals in the world? You could  make a presentation using some of the tools I showed you! Have fun!

Puglia (or Apulia) is the "heel" of Italy.Click on the following Thinglink image I've created to have some information:   https://www.thinglink.com/scene/481523444043743233I've also created a  presentation with Blendspace . You can find videos, pictures, recipes and information about Apulia:  https://www.blendspace.com/lessons/z47IiKrUtFiKkw/visit-puglia And now some information by my students about their town: In this blog we usually travel around the world and study different cultures, now we want to talk about ourselves! Our school is in Gioia del Colle, Puglia. It literally means "Joy of the Hill" and it is located on the Murge plateau at 360 metres above the sea level.There is a famous Castle, built in the 12th century, during the time of Norman Count Riccardo Siniscalco d'Altavilla. Destroyed by William the Wicked of Sicily, the castle was rebuilt in 1230 by Emperor Frederick II.Gioia del Colle is famous for its fantastic "mozzarella"!This is our school http://www.iclosapiosanfilipponeri.gov.it/At the following link you can have some information about some monuments of Gioia del Colle: http://www.infopointbari.com/index.php?pag=luoghi&tipo=Monumenti&citta_s=Gioia+del+Colle&action=Filtra&p=1Come and visit Puglia!!