iPad wallpaper

This is a cool wallpaper i found on the internet:







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JJs blogging...

So trying a new blogging software on my iPad... This one is macjournal for iPad. I've used the desktop version before, and what I like about this version is that I can update multiple websites at ones.

We shall see.

One of the key things is the offline drafting. That is key I Madrid.

Cheers

Movie

Just finished: Winning Season.

Bad
Good
Great

...Good.


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iPad and blogging

I decide to see if blogging from my iPad would be easier. I found an amazing program by squarespace for the iPad but it cost over 200 dollars a year. It's awesome but not that awesome. I will wait for a reduction in price or an increase in my cash flow.

For now I think this is perfect. Also I can always export blogger to squarespace blog.


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Location:Calle de Bernardo López García,Madrid,Spain

Nothing says Christmas like....

a high-tech ship camouflaged as a vintage British police call box.


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iPad crushing

I love LOVE my iPad!

It may not be the easiest e-reader to hold, but when you're sitting down, it is perfect. I love free writing my notes for the day, or writing a poem, or jotting down notes for the next blog entry.

Like my Kindle, I can't imagine living without it.

ipad notebook apps

A great app for the iPad is handwritable notebooks. You can keep multiple notebooks on your iPad with no extra bulk on your commute.

The Top Words of 2010

1. Spillcam — The BP Spillcam instantly beamed the immensity of the Gulf Spill around the world to the dismay of environmentalists, BP’s PR staff and the President.

2. Vuvuzela — Brightly colored plastic horns that first came to prominence at the South African World Cup.

3. The Narrative – Though used at least since The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845, ‘The Narrative’ has recently been gaining traction in the political arena, virtually replacing the need for a party’s platform. (Cf. to ‘truthily’.)

4. Refudiate — Conflation of “refute” and “repudiate” (un)officially coined by Sarah Palin.

5. Guido and Guidette — Hey! All things Jersey are hot, capish? (Actually, capisci in standard Italian.)

6. Deficit – A growing and possibly intractable problem for the economies of most of the developed world.

7. Snowmaggedden (and ‘Snowpocalypse’) — Portmanteau words linking ‘snow’ with ‘apocalypse’ and ‘armageddon’, used to describe the record snowfalls in the US East Coast and Northern Europe last winter.

8. 3-D – Three-dimensional (as in movies) is buffo box office this year, but 3-D is being used in new ways generally describing ‘robustness’ in products (such as toothpaste).

9. Shellacking – President Obama’s description of the ‘old-fashioned thumpin’ in George W. Bush’s words, that Democrats received in the 2010 US Mid-term elections.

10. Simplexity – The paradox of simplifying complex ideas in order to make them easier to understand, the process of which only adds to their complexity.



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What six books would you never be parted from?

An interesting question posed on the NYTimes website.  I am going to ponder this question.  But I do wonder what your opinions are?

Exhaustion Commute

Be careful when riding the Metro when exhausted (which is generally the life of a teacher) because it's very easy to miss your stop.  As happened to me.  You doze off even standing.  It's embarrassing to have the backtrack but it's also potentially harmful to your paycheck.  No busy student likes to wait for his teacher.

So, see coffee advice...

Macbook Blues...

Macbook Pro continues to give me problems.  Even though I've diagnosed the problem, I won't be able to fix the graphics card easily or cheaply here in Europe.

Quote

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of Hell, a hell of Heaven." -John Milton

advice

As much as possible, you should participate in the activities that you assign to your class.

advice

Longer travel time doesn't mean more money.  It just means more hassle and time.  Even if you're reading for an hour or more, you're better off waiting for a job closer to the center of Madrid.

Activity

Make a list of famous people.  Have students think of 3 adjectives to describe the person.  Then they say each adjective and the class attempts to guess who the famous person is.  Repeat 2-3 times.  Each time the students list their adjectives, you should attempt to improve on their choices, and give them examples of vibrant adjectives.

Advice

Always ask about their weekend.  It's a good conversation starter and can, in all honesty, eat up 5-10 minutes per student.

unisex

I have imaginary enemies.

Advice

Always make time for coffee

"Definitely. Maybe"

...is a cute movie.  Funny, well-written, diverting.  And important, it made me smile at the end of a long LONG day of teaching.

Random Thoughts...

The universe doesn't lie, but that doesn't mean you understand what it is saying.

Unisex

Silence!  I kill you!

Advice

Always watch the clock.  Time management is key in almost every circumstance.  So even if it passes slowly and painfully, you need to watch the time.  I keep an iPod Touch, which allows easy access to the clock with a touch of the button.

Kindle

All books since November are in Kindle format.  I know people have argued that ebooks are soulless and not as "fun" to read as paper books.  But I reply, as a constant metro rider, the ereader, be they sony or kindles or others, are easier to read.  In a crowded train, slammed up against five people, it's nice to be able to read easier with a button to flip pages and grapple with handholds.  As it stands, I no longer wish to go back to paper books, even in trains with less passengers.

Advice

Review, Review, Review!!

Even more important than location...  it is an essential tool AND it eats up 10-15 minutes minimum during class.  Also, it is boss foolproof as you can simply explain that your students are benefiting from a bit of review time.

Unisex

Ashley Militia

Current Reading

As of the first week in April, I am reading these books on my many hours of metro riding around Madrid:

1) Some Golden Harbor















2) Patient Zero















3) This Time is Different















4) Everything Bad is Good For You

Semana Santa

Is a great time to teach if you can get it...  you can sub for more cash, and one-to-one's will want class, and finally the metro is bearable with so few people on it.

Adjective activity

Have students pick 5 cities they've been to, and 5 cities they want to go to in the future.  Then pick on city and describe it with 3 adjectives.  Now students in the class must discover the city from the 3 adjectives.

Only in Madrid...

...can you literally run into a working girl in the middle of the street at 6am.

American TV

The best way to watch TV from the States is to use the internet.  Spanish TV is getting better and better but it's still hit or miss.  And quality TV is still found on the internet.  If you're going to move to Madrid, please make sure your apartment has internet.  It will save you a lot of hassles. 

Guy

Sometimes explosions are necessary.

Unisex

Problems are never solved, only replaced.

Guy

Justice is for the victim, Vengeance is for the survivor.

Nietzsche

No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.

Honor De Balzac

I believe in the incomprehensibility of God.

Socrates

The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.

Unisex

No-mind not-thinks no-thoughts about no-things

Unisex

Never let them see you fear

Unisex

Hell is empty and the devils are here!

You may not appreciate it, but when the whiteboard disappears from your classroom, you will.

If you find whiteboard markers, take them. You will ALWAYS never have enough. :D

Unisex

Love is nothing but Lust misspelled.

Unisex

Surrender, Dorothy!

Unisex

Friends don't let friends teleport drunk

Unisex

Hell is empty and all the devils are here!

Unisex

Spooky action at a distance.

Always assume that your exam will be finished earlier than you think and so you plan for something afterwards with the students.

Paramore and Grizzly Bear and Neko Case

3 "new" bands from the USA.  I completely enjoyed both.  And as I no longer live in the US, it's nice to be recommended new American music to listen to.  Give them a listen!

Unisex

Cornered the market on Sex and Guilt

When you see the bored look on your students face... IGNORE it! If you've done your job and prepared a well-done lesson, then don't let their response get you down. You've done your job, so ignore the blank looks and the yawns and the watching-looking, etc.

Female

The boobs that launched a thousand ships.

If you're going to go out of the city for class more than 20 minutes make sure that you are getting a block of hours. The minimum should be 2 hours. Anything else, you're better off staying closer to the center. Only newbies end up taking an hour class in Las Tablas.

If you're going to go out of the city for class more than 20 minutes make sure that you are getting a block of hours. The minimum should be 2 hours. Anything else, you're better off staying closer to the center. Only newbies end up taking an hour class in Las Tablas.

It may seem mercenary but sometimes you need to drop one class in favor of higher paying class or series of classes. It happens. You're not happy about it. But needs will out.

A good outlet for stress is being active... going to the gym or walking or running. Teaching can be very stressful for a lot of reasons beyond your control. Best to find something physical to be an outlet.

A good outlet for stress is being active... going to the gym or walking or running. Teaching can be very stressful for a lot of reasons beyond your control. Best to find something physical to be an outlet.

Unisex

Collateral Learning

Jobs

You will lose classes all the time... Don't let it get you down. There's more around the corner

Writing it all down....

Always write down your lesson plans for the day. Sometimes it is best to keep your lessons straight in your mind and many times your school will ask you for some hard copy of your in-class activities.

Unisex

Resistance is futile.

A great way to teach sentence structure is to put a label of a grammatical component (subject, verb, etc) to each student and have them arrange and re-arrange themselves into a correct sentence. This is activity is effective for low level students, but it can also be used to teach complex sentence structure to more experienced students.

Next Month's Workshop

There is still room in my latest class, and we might be expanding into
a second night.

Posted via email from movableteacher's posterous

Best English Language Bookstore

Read more here.

Great site for finding places of interest...

I fun site to find local place in Madrid:  Spotted by Locals (Madrid).

Unisex

You're Weird.  I Like You.

Homework

Homework is essential.  But be flexible with those students who have jobs.

Correcting Students

Correct mistakes but not constantly and not 100% in one class, this will simply lead to discouragement in your student(s).

Word Searches

Word searches are useful.  After finding the words, you can have students use the words in sentence construction.

WiFi

Even if you have WiFi at home, be aware of where your local hotspots are...  you will sometimes need to check your emails without having to return to your home.

Advertise

A great site to advertise yourself is LingoBongo.  They will send your CV/resume to all the schools in the Madrid area for 10 euros.

Field Trips

It's a good idea to plan a time to get your students out and about speaking English.  Now they best way to do this in Madrid is to go to an intercambio night at a local bar or for something less threatening, perhaps, an English Language bookstore such as Bacchus or JandJ's Books and Coffee.

Mind the GAP

Use popular songs as gap activities.  Students feel an immediate response when they are confronted by a piece of popular culture, especially a popular song that they are already trying to understand.

Hey hey it's my BIRTHDAY!!

Madrid is a perfect city to have your birthday....

Popular Culture

Popular Culture is a teacher's best friend!  Use it.

Dictionary

Always carry a dictionary of your host country's language with you.

Advice...

You should never be afraid to ask a more experienced teacher for help or advice.  Most teachers will be happy to help and give you helpful hints on everything from best textbooks to pay scales to how to deal with unruly students.  Take advantage of them, they are a useful resources.

FIND...

a niche and fill it.

Unisex

Still Sleazy even if Soaked in Bleach for a Week

Unisex

Facts are the ENEMY of the Truth!

Portable Speakers

Invest in a pair of portable speakers.  You can find a pair for under 20 euros.  Listening activities are essential to good teaching and you don't want to be at the mercy of the school/company's CD players.  Along with you iPod, you can cart around all the listening activities from your textbook and any others you create on your own.  Also, you look very cool to the students when you set it up for them.

Unisex

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