FREE book "Digital Tools for Teachers"

Happy New Year, everyone!  As we begin classes in the new year, I wanted to share a useful resource for remote instruction that can be accessed for FREE. You can download Nik Peachey's book Digital Tools for Teachers at this link https://bit.ly/2PPhLjA. Nik writes, "Just click on 'Buy Now' add your email details and then this code: R98UIQIGL6 This will reduce the price to $0 Enjoy!"

The online resources focus on tools for teaching reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar, presentation, surveys and polls, infographics and course creation and are usefully organized  into chapters accordingly.

As Peachey explains "At present each chapter contains between 5 - 10 different sites that have been selected to help you make a quick choice of the tools you need. All of the tools and resources selected for the book are either free or have a useable permanent freemium offering ,so you will never be forced to pay for any of these resources in order to sustain the work you are doing with your students." I should point out, however, that the lesson plans featured at the beginning of the book require a fee.

Having a list of tools such as this is valuable since Peachey has carefully vetted and annotated each one. Some teachers will be familiar with some of these tools but will certainly find others that are unfamiliar. Let us know what you've found to be especially useful.

Take care, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, Teaching & Learning CoP

Comments

Thank you for sharing this great book, written by a fellow English teacher! He does a great job explaining how he uses the sites in practice and how they benefit students. I just downloaded my free copy using the code per your instructions, and I found many exciting websites in all of the 9 different chapters, especially listening. 

I especially liked this digital tool: Lyricstraining, http://lyricstraining.com/, This smartphone app is designed for everyone, including ESL students, to create content on their cell phones. Immigrants benefit greatly from sharing their day to day experiences with family and friends back home on their smartphones. They get feedback and comments that break through the walls of separation and loneliness. Just like us, our students learn easier when they have ways to calm their anxieties of navigating a strange world.

From Nik Peachtree's book Digital Tools for Teachers: 

"This site features music videos in a range of different languages. Students can choose a video and then select their level of challenge. The site then generates cloze activities based on the song lyrics. 

At the advanced level, all the words are deleted and it becomes a dictation type activity, but at lower levels, just a few words are extracted. Students then listen, line by line, and type in the missing words. There is also some gamification to add to the motivation level. Students can score more points if they type in the words more quickly.

There is also a time limit and if they are too slow they have to restart the activity. If there’s a song you particularly want to use you can register on the site and create your own activity. You will need the lyrics and a link to the video on YouTube. This is a great way to great way to get students working on their listening skills at home."

 

 

Hi Phil, Thanks for sharing these details about one of the sites included in Nik Peachey's book. Lots of teachers and students enjoy using music to learn English. Dictation is a great way to enhance listening skills. This program also helps learners to improve keyboarding skills. 

If members explore other sites from the vast number recommended in Peachey's book and find them useful, we'd love to hear your thoughts here in our community.

Take care, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, English Language Acquisition CoP