Virtual Visit to Pradena

 Tuesday, January 19th, 2021

This visit was like no other "observation" session that I have participated in.  As usual, Raquel had gone above and beyond with "her homework", and uploaded all of the resources that she planned on sharing with us onto our "Equipo" on Teams.  One of my favorite parts of participating in One 2 One last year with Raquel was the fact that we intentionally tried to include the "observer" in the class activities, and this year was no different.  What WAS different was the added challenge of doing it all virtually, especially taking into consideration the resources that Raquel was working with!  

She did a great job, despite the fact that internet wasn't working well--Paola and I were able to connect with her 2º E.S.O. group, and we shared information about ourselves so that they could complete the "dictogloss" that Raquel had given them.  Since she had sent us the file previously, we were able to focus specifically on the information that they needed to listen for.  One of my favorite parts was seeing us projected larger-than-life on the screen behind Raquel, and also waving to the students (Raquel turned the camera, so we could see them waving back--it was really sweet.)

When we tried to connect with her 3º E.S.O. group that's when things got really tricky.  The internet at Raquel's school refused to cooperate, which meant that poor Raquel was trying to re-connect with us while maintaining control of the class....  Meanwhile, Paola and I took advantage to look at other resources that Raquel had uploaded to Teams (I'll explain those in a minute) and eventually determined that we weren't going to be able to connect "live".  Since we knew that Raquel had a listening activity prepared for the class (one that we were supposed to participate in!) we decided to take turns and record each other speaking, and then send the recordings to Raquel.  We weren't sure if she'd be able to access them for that specific session, but knew that she could use them at some point.  

For this activity, we talked about travelling in the United States, so that students could complete the worksheet.  Again, Raquel had previously sent us the activity as well as the vocabulary that they were working on, so we were able to try to make it really relevant to what they were studying at that point. 

Because of Raquel's particularly busy schedule as dean this year (plus COVID, plus a specific disciplinary problem at the school,etc....) we had to re-connect a different evening so that she could share more about the activities that she had uploaded to Teams.

The resource and activity that really caught my eye and my imagination was the use of the website Pixton to create comics.  Raquel generously uploaded her tutorial, a rubric, as well as a "required elements" page that she gives to her students, to help direct their work.

 

For her assignment, students are able to incorporate the content that they have covered in class (grammar, vocabulary, expressions,etc) in a fun way, strengthening (or starting with) their TIC competency at the same time.  They create the comic, and then do a presentation in-class.  Classmates are encouraged to pay close attention, because at the end Raquel asks them different questions to see if they are paying attention (which is conveniently included in her rubric, of course!)

What I love most about discussing different projects with Raquel is how centered she is on her students, her school, and the resources that they have available. She told me that she has a plan A, a plan B, a plan C..... For example, if they don't have internet at home (or a computer, or whatever) she allows them to do a comic in their notebook.  When the students do the presentations, they are instructed to bring their comic on a USB, in case internet isn't working, etc.  

I am SO EXCITED to use this tool in the classroom, and I am planning on trying it at the end of our current unit, to have my students demonstrate that they understand the difference between Present Perfect Simple and Past Simple.  Here's an example of my idea:

Raquel also shared with me an activity called "Holiday Time", which begins with a 3 minute guide to Thailand and culminates with the students creating a travel guide.

As you can see, the activity is another great way to get students to write in a creative way using the contents from class, and an opportunity to have them do research on another country.  I also loved that Raquel gave them multiple options for sharing their final product, giving additional points to those students who recorded their presentation (video + audio).  

Raquel also shared the website Learn Hot English with me, which she explained was a great resource since it offers resources for A1/A2/B1/B3, and C1 and that the material offered is REAL English.  

I want to take the opportunity to thank Raquel for her time, energy and dedication.  As always, I walked away from the experience with new ideas, new resources and newly inspired to think outside the box and give my students the opportunity to really use English to do "cool" things, and not limit their experience in class to what is defined by the book.  

Thank you, Raquel!!!!  

Jessica Church