Puzzles in Classrooms

My Creation

I like puzzles very much. So when I found Big Huge Labs this web, I was very excited, because I could make my puzzles by myself with my favorite pictures. 

Of course, puzzles could also be used in ESL classrooms. For me, I would like to use it for second language beginners or young children. And those puzzles could not be too complicated. 

First, I would show some parts of a puzzle in the class and ask students to guess what it is. And they can also ask me some Yes/No questions. If students cannot get it, I will give them more parts. If they still have no idea, I will add more until they know what the picture is. I think this kind of classes would have a lot of fun. Not only can the activity attract students' attention, but also they would practice their English during the whole process. 

In the future, I think I would create more objects and make use of them in my classrooms.

Butterflies and Flowers By Dots Treats Cupcakes 

Twitter, Another Way for Education

The Network is always with you. That's true. I found wherever I go, I could find the logos of Twitter or Facebook. This kind of Internet tools plays more and more important role in people's daily life. It seems that it's hard for people to get rid of this invisible net. 


I enjoyed A Twitter Love Song. It shows the influence of Twitter. Especially, what impressed me most was that it provides lots of tweets about the advantages of Twitter. Some people said Twitter can provide her with positive feedback and support, plus fun and variety. And some people think Twitter connects him to hundreds of people smarter who share, and it reduces the isolation of the classroom. I like these tweets. And these tweets, to some extent, could also express what learners' need is. They want positive feedback, suggestions and connection with other people besides their classmates. 


From those tweets, I get some ideas about how to make use of Twitter in my future classroom. First, I would like to use Twitter as a "question corner". That means students can tweet their questions, and anyone who knows the answer can reply it. Not only is it a good way to deal with students' question, but also intrigue their interests in learning. Second, I would build a "communication bridge" among parents, students and me. For example, after the class, I could comment the students' performance and give them some suggestions or feedbacks. And I can also leave messages for parents how their children make progresses in school. I think that makes students and their parents trust me, and then building up a good relationship among us. 


As the author of What About That Twitter Thing pointed out, Twitter seemed to be the “best Professional Development” tool ever  invented. Indeed, there are a great number of educators or professors who have Twitter accounts and tweets what they think or some education news. From those tweets, I could know some famous or experienced educators' thoughts, which can give me some inspiration about education, and then improving my teaching. 


Network is really a huge net which connect with us together. Therefore, under this circumstance, it is better for teacher to use these Internet tools in today's classrooms.