CLOUD

The cloud is an intangible place on Internet where you can save information and download files.

You can do a lot of things with the cloud because it offers a wide range of services such as download files, also keep and share your information for example photos, music, videos, documents, etc.

Now, I show you some pros and cons about the cloud.

Advantages:

First, the cloud is a cheap system.

Second, you can access your information when you want and where you are.

Third, it is a good tool to share information with other people and work together; even they can edit it too.

Fourth, your information will be in a save place. You have a name and password and nobody know them. All your information saved in a cloud is safe from hackers or other people that want to access to it. For this reason, you need to look for a good service where they warrant your privacy.

Disadvantages: if you want to use the cloud, you will need some computer skills and internet access.

There are some webs where you can work with cloud and get more information. I advise you to read the clauses because it is very important to know where you can download files and keep confidential information.

https://cloud.google.com/

https://www.icloud.com/

https://shared.com/

I have never used a cloud but I encourage you to use it because it is a new way where we can share our files. I will do it. And you?

Interaction in class

I choose secondary students in an art class, who have been studying English from the school and their levels are between A2 and B1.

I will use a Communicative methodology, introducing an active learning method.

It is essential the students will understand the theory to do successful the practice task. As a teacher, I have to motivate them and to know if they are following me with questions about the task.

Some things that we have to do as teachers are:

• Connect specific lexis with daily language, and do a brain storming ideas about the topic.
• I show some pictures. In groups, the students have to choose one and debate what the characteristics of the image are, and after that they explain us. They have to use the specific lexis. 
• When they finish their art work, we will do an art exhibition. Some of them are artists and others are art critics. They have to explain their work and the art critic will say their opinions. They must use all the concepts learned in last lessons.

In relation with the previous list about teaching strategies and how you can use them in a class; we can explain advantages and disadvantages about it.

Do interactive tasks help the students to communicate with them and express their ideas. For example, in a brain storming ideas, they will feel free to say something that they think about the topic without any negative feelings like embarrassment or afraid to do a mistake.

When they work in groups, they could feel confidence with your partners to show their opinions, and when they share ideas they learn values like respect and know ways to do the task.

The third step, play a role in an art gallery. They will communicate together and they will feel free to explain their opinions.

Nevertheless, there are disadvantages in these strategies because they can cause arguments among the students.

Teachers have to watch the behaviour of the students and avoid negative situations. 

Vocabulary

GLOSSARY

• Art: Creative activity resulting in the production of paintings, drawings, or sculpture.
• Artist: a person who creates paintings drawings or sculptures as a profession or hobby.
• Create: Action of making or inventing something. For example: artwork.
• Collage: a piece of art made by sticking various different materials. For example: photographs and pieces of paper like newspaper or other materials like plastic.
• Gallery: A room where you can see or buy art works.

Word Map

 ART MAP 

Corpora

In these webs you can know where you can use the sentences that you are looking for. 

For example GO ON.

Thesaurus

I have obtained synonyms and antonyms about nowadays.

When you are looking for synonyms or antonyms you have to think that if you change the word your sentences must to have the same meaning.

For example:

Nowadays, there are a lot of cars.

Currently, there are a lot of cars.

Dictionaries

I chose a word (nowadays) to look for in these three different dictionaries merrian-webster dictionary, oxford dictionary and wordreference.

I could read in merrian-webster, you can see the definition, examples, synonyms, antonyms in the same page. This is very comfortable. In this same page you can see some options like quiz and games, the word of the day for entertaining you and learn at the same time.

About oxford dictionary, you can look for the mean of the word, and you can click in some options like synonyms, grammar, explore. Here you can play too and know about different topics.

I use wordreference to look for the mean of the same word but at the beginning you have to select your option English definition, English-Spanish, English synonyms, etc. It is a disadvantage but at the same time is an advantage because you can translate some words in different languages.

The disadvantage that I have found is the publicity. It is around the web and sometimes it is difficult to find some options of the web.

I usually use wordreference and oxford dictionary to know the mean of the words and translated them in Spanish. I didn’t know the merrian-webster. It is a useful dictionary but I prefer oxford dictionary than this because I know how I have to use the web and I like it.

Finally, I try again to look for the same word in other dictionary and I find the same result, but only with the mean. 
The http://www.learnersdictionary.com/ is simpler than the last dictionaries, but the definitions it is very similar with the others dictionaries. 

Games from dictionaries

In the last dictionaries you can play and learn at the same time. For example, in Oxford you can play a game where you listen to a word and after that you write it. Merrian-webster has games too. In this web you can play and learn vocabulary. It is very interesting.