viernes, 10 de octubre de 2014

Interesting lesson

Building Vocabulary

How to read and understand a text

Easy Tips for Speaking

Learning Vocabulary Tips

The Ten Best Vocabulary Learning Tips



  • Vocabulary Learning Tip One: Read, Read, Read! Most vocabulary words are learned from context. The more words you're exposed to, the better vocabulary you will have. While you read, pay close attention to words you don't know. First, try to figure out their meanings from context. Then look the words up. Read and listen to challenging material so that you'll be exposed to many new words.
  • Vocabulary Learning Tip Two: Improve your context skills. Research shows that the vast majority of words are learned from context. To improve your context skills pay close attention to how words are used. Doing a search on a word using dejanews.com (for searching newsgroups) will give you many examples of how that word is used in context. Play our Daily Context Vocabulary Quiz.
  • Vocabulary Learning Tip Three: Practice, practice, practice. Learning a word won't help very much if you promptly forget it. Research shows that it takes from 10 to 20 repetitions to really make a word part of your vocabulary. It helps to write the word - both the definition and a sentence you make up using the word - perhaps on an index card that can later be reviewed. As soon as you learn a new word, start using it. Review your index cards periodically to see if you have forgotten any of your new words. Also, do a search on a word using dejanews.com (for searching newsgroups) to get many examples of how the word is actually used.
  • Vocabulary Learning Tip Four: Make up as many associations and connections as possible. Say the word aloud to activate your auditory memory. Relate the word to words you already know. For example, the word GARGANTUAN (very large) has a similar meaning to the words gigantic, huge, large, etc. You could make a sequence: small, medium, large, very large, GARGANTUAN. List as many things as you can that could be considered GARGANTUAN: Godzilla, the circus fat lady, the zit on your nose, etc. Create pictures of the word's meaning that involve strong emotions. Think "the GARGANTUAN creature was going to rip me apart and then eat me!"
  • Vocabulary Learning Tip Five: Use mnemonics ( memory tricks). For example, consider the word EGREGIOUS (extremely bad). Think EGG REACH US - imagine we've made a mistake so bad that they are throwing eggs at us and a rotten EGG REACHes US. Such funny little word pictures will help you remember what words mean, AND they are fun to make up. Also, find out which learning style suits you best. Everyone learns differently!
  • Vocabulary Learning Tip Six: Get in the habit of looking up words you don't know. If you have a dictionary program on your computer, keep it open and handy. America Online and other internet services have dictionaries and thesauruses on their tool bars. Find them and look up any word you are not absolutely sure of. Use a thesaurus when you write to find the word that fits best.
  • Vocabulary Learning Tip Seven: Play with words. Play Scrabble, Boggle, and do crossword puzzles. These and other word games are available for the computer, so you are not dependent on a partner to play. Also, try out the Franklin Electronic Dictionary that features built-in word games.
  • Vocabulary Learning Tip Eight: Use vocabulary lists. For the serious vocabulary student, there are many books that focus on the words most commonly found in standardized tests, such as the SAT and GRE. There are also many interesting word sites on the Internet, many of which will send you a word a day by email.

  • Vocabulary Learning Tip Nine: Take vocabulary tests. Playing games, such as the ones on this site, that test your knowledge will help you learn new words and also let you know how much progress you're making. Offline sources for vocabulary tests include SAT prep books (we recommend "10 Real SATs" by ETS), and the Reader's Digest Wordpower section. For more, check out Amazon.com or your local bookseller.
  • ibliography:  http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/vocabulary_tips.htm

7 Tips for Learning English

Seven Tips for learning an English Word a day



1. Use the new word in a sentence After you have read the word and understood its meaning, use that new word in your own sentence. It is best to try and create a sentence that has some type of relationship or connection with your life.

2. Look for grammatical variations of the word Look for the different ways (grammatical forms) the word can appear. For example if the word to suspect (a verb) is given to you, you can look for its noun form (suspicion), its adjective form (suspicious) etc. Suspect can also be a noun (a suspect). Remember that not all words have all grammatical forms. It pays to have a good English dictionary to help you with this. Once you have the different forms of the new word, you can then try and make a sentence with each one.

3. Do Word Associations Try and associate the word with other things (like a mind map). Not only will it help you remember the new word but it will also increase your knowledge (vocabulary) of other things associated with the word. For example if you have the new word CAR (a noun), Think of nouns associated with the word (parts of a car: windscreen, steering wheel…) Think of verbs associated with the word (to Brake, to accelerate, to crash…) Think of adjectives to describe it (Fast, rusty… ) Think of examples of the word (Limousine, Jeep…) If the word is an adjective for example BIG Think of synonyms or words with a similar meaning (large, enormous, huge…) Think of antonyms or opposites (small, tiny…) Think of examples of the adjective (Big: Elephant, a continent, Jupiter…)

4. Carry a list or a notepad with you Write the new word and its meaning (and maybe an example too) in a small notepad that you can carry with you and read whenever you have a spare moment (or some people keep them in their smartphone). This can be read while you are sitting on a bus, on the underground/subway, or while you are in a waiting room. This will help you see the words more than once and will help them stick in your mind.

5. Make flash cards Make little cards with each new word on one side and the meaning of that word on the other side. Put them on the ground and if the meaning is face up, then try and think of the word. If the word appears face up, then think of its meaning. When you start to have a lot of cards you can shuffle them and randomly pick out 10 or so every day.

6. Look for examples on the internet Type the word in a search engine (such as Google) and write down 7 different sentences that contain an example of that word. This way you will see the word in context and maybe other vocabulary associated with it. For better results, look for one sentence every day over 7 different days.

7. Learn the word again on other days Don’t just learn or practice a word one day and then forget about it. You may think you have learned the word (since you have just been using it) but if you try to remember/use the new word a couple of weeks later, you may find it difficult. To really remember a word you need to reuse that word over and over before it sticks in your long-term memory. There is a saying in English “Use it or lose it.” Basically this means if you don’t use (or practice) something you have learned, you will eventually forget how to use it properly.

Bibliography: www.woodwardenenglish.com

domingo, 5 de octubre de 2014

Conectivismo

Educar y Enseñar en Contexto


Presidente Correa invita a usar Software Libre

UNIDAD I
SOFTWARE LIBRE

La Definición de Software Libre

«Software libre» significa que el software respeta la libertad de los usuarios y la comunidad. En 
términos generales, los usuarios tienen la libertad de copiar, distribuir, estudiar, modificar y 
mejorar el software. Con estas libertades, los usuarios (tanto individualmente como en forma 
colectiva) controlan el programa y lo que hace. 

Cuando los usuarios no controlan el programa, el programa controla a los usuarios. El programador controla el programa y, a través del programa, controla a los usuarios. Un programa que no es libre, llamado «privativo», es por lo tanto un instrumento de poder injusto.  Por tanto, el «software libre» es una cuestión de libertad, no de precio. Para entender el concepto, piense en «libre» como en «libre expresión», no como en «barra libre». 

Las cuatro libertades esenciales: 
Libertad Cero: "usar el programa con cualquier propósito". Es decir, el ejercicio de esta libertad 
implica que lo podemos utilizar con cualquier fin, ya sea educativo, cultural, comercial, político, 
social, etc. Esta libertad deriva de que hay ciertas licencias que restringen el uso del software a un 
determinado propósito, o que prohíben su uso para determinadas actividades. 

Libertad Uno: "Estudiar cómo funciona el programa, y adaptarlo a sus necesidades". Significa que 
podemos estudiar su funcionamiento (al tener acceso al código fuente) lo que nos va a permitir, 
entre otras cosas: descubrir funciones ocultas, averiguar cómo realiza determinada tarea, 
descubrir que otras posibilidades tiene, que es lo que le falta para hacer algo, etc. El adaptar el 
programa a mis necesidades implica que puedo suprimirle partes que no me interesan, agregarle 
partes que considero importantes, copiarle una parte que realiza una tarea y adicionarla a otro 
programa, etc. 

Libertad Dos: "Distribuir copias". Quiere decir que soy libre de redistribuir el programa, ya sea 
gratis o con algún costo, ya sea por email, FTP o en CD, ya sea a una persona o a varias, ya sea a 
un vecino o a una persona que vive en otro país, etc. 

Libertad Tres: "Mejorar el programa, y liberar las mejoras al público". Tengo la libertad de hacer 
mejor el programa, o sea que puedo: hacer menores los requerimientos de hardware para 
funcionar, que tenga mayores prestaciones, que ocupe menos espacio, que tenga menos errores, 
etc. El poder liberar las mejoras al público quiere decir que si yo le realizo una mejora que permita 
un requerimiento menor de hardware, o que haga que ocupe menos espacio, soy libre de poder 
redistribuir ese programa mejorado, o simplemente proponer la mejora en un lugar público (un 
foro de noticias, una lista de correo, un sitio Web, un FTP, un canal de Chat)


Ventajas del software libre
• Nos hace creadores activos de tecnología.
• Favorece la cooperación.
• Independencia del Fabricante.
• Actualización según necesidad.
• El código es abierto y se puede modificar.
• Costo de licencias nulo, ahora y siempre
• Software Libre en la Educación hoy es imprescindible para enseñar. Ya que no es posible 
educar con restricciones.
• Desarrolla el sentido crítico y creativo del estudiante.
• Permite ser compartido por los profesores y estudiantes.
• Enseña a pensar la tecnología como un producto de la ciencia y no como un objeto de 
consumo.
• Incentiva la Innovación tecnológica
• Tiene niveles altos de seguridad para evitar borrados de archivos ajenos (muy común en 
aulas de informática), privacidad; casi no existen virus, es estable y confiable.Tabla No.2: