A Bit About Me

 

A Brazilian EFL teacher, explorer of the potential of technology integration into language learning, I started to dig into the possibilities of tech-applications some years ago and have been going on new cyber-journeys with my students ever since. I am a teacher trainer and site content manager at a Binational Center in Brasilia, Casa Thomas Jefferson. I am a blogging fan (or addict!) and enthusiastic Webhead.

 

New and emergent technologies keep me going further and perceiving the world in different ways, with different colors, shapes, voices. They give me support to take my students along. They teach me that there's no limit for connectivity. English, then, is the means to decode the messages and that's what I try to show to my learners.

 

Some of my class projects you may want to visit are the International Exchange Blog with Dennis Oliver, Brazil and Brazilians, SambaEFL,  http://ctjonline.blogspot.com and elearningCTJ

 

My personal learning and teaching reflections can be found at http://explorations.bloxi.jp and my personal views of a Brazilian in Key West, I report at http://brazilnaskeywest.wordpress.com

 

When I'm not in the professional spectrum, I'm with my family, having fun with my two little boys and my husband. I love to travel, read, take photos, meet people, have fun with friends, listen to music, sing for fun, and invent different kinds of activities against boredom.

 

Yahoo and Skype ID: carlaarena

 

View Carla Arena's profile on LinkedIn

 

 

Current Projects

 

 

Webcasting

 

With the great encouragement of the intrepid Webcasters gang in the http://webcastacademy.net">Webcastacademy, I'm learning a skill I'd never imagine I'd have. Besides adding more excitement to my never-boring life, webcasting brings new possibilities for my teaching/learning path. It makes me connect, reflect, exchange ideas, and meet wonderful educators all over the globe.

 

I've been working on streaming and show management, but the main thing is to keep everything documented for reflective action. So, I created my Webcaster's Portfolio at http://explorations.bloxi.jp/webcasters-adventures/

 

Part of my stimulus to go on with the webcasting project was because of the need to have the skills to archive the talks of a group of educators interested in Technology-Enhanced Language Learning, the Teachers4TELL, all Webheads, who felt the need to discuss informally topics related to their everyday lives as educators in different educational settings.

 

 

Electronic Village Online 2008

 

For the past months, I've been working with an amazing multicultural team of educators to devise and facilitate the Electronic Village Online Session, Blogging4Educators. We moderated a free six-week online session in January/February 2008 for Educators willing to integrate blogging into their teaching. We had a successful venture in January 2007 with the BloggingforBeginners group, and this year, with a bigger group of moderators, we were able to improve what we did and keep spreading the word on the potential of blogging in the classroom.

 

We've just created a Ning network to have the group explore blogging possibilities throughout the year.

 


View my page on Blogging4Educators

 

Certification in Online Teaching

 

As I'm on a two-year leave from Casa Thomas Jefferson, I decided to use my free time in a productive way, doing things that I generally don't have time to do when I'm in a full load, full speed at work. So, I'm pursuing a Certificate at University of Florida on "Online Teaching and Learning".

 

Listening Plus

 

I've gotten this new challenge of devising and teaching the first online course at Casa Thomas Jefferson, Listening Plus, for students who want to enhance their listening skills and understand the different Englishes spoken throughout the world. It's been a great challenge, but with the full support of the school administration and co-workers we've had a successful piloting experience and we're heading for more e-learning ventures. The interaction in the first course was so rich and intense that I created an online social network to keep learning and sharing with the group and with colleagues, friends and former students who are interested in language learning. In April 2008, I'll be teaching another Listening Plus online group.

 


View my page on ListeningPlus

 

 

 

Professional Development

 

 

 

 

Personal Learning Online Spaces

 

 

 

 

 

Online Authoring

 

Personal Blogs

 

 

Class Projects Blog

 

 

Wikis

 

 

Publications

 

 

 

Presentations

 

  • My Webcasting Experience - September 28th, 2007 - Online Co-Presentation with other Webheads in Learning Times - Rita's Presentation of "Emerging Technologies for EFL Teachers and Students: the Web 2.0 and its possibilities" - Available at http://tinyurl.com/2yn9l9 (Preparation Wiki at http://ritaz.pbwiki.com/CollaborativeTechnologies)
  • Co-Presenter of Bee Dieu's presentation at the Merlot Conference, "Open Networked Learning - Architectures of Participation" - http://merlot.wikispaces.com/communities, August 10th, 2007, "From Becoming a Webhead to Moderating an Online Session"

 

 

Online Participation

 

In Anne Fox's Absolutely Intercultural podcast talking about a mystery guest blogging project with her students in Denmark.

 

In another Absolutely Intercultural podcast I talked to Anne about an international blog exchange I carried out with Dennis Oliver and friends.

 

Contribution to Konrad Glogowski's Voicethread "The Dialogic Practitioner: Becoming Teacher 2.0" at http://voicethread.com/share/46254/

 

Participant of Larry Ferlazzo's 4th Blogging Carnival with my posts about blogging and fear 2.0.

 

Article on TESL-EJ, Volume 11, Number 4, March 2008. Blogging in the Language Classroom: It Doesn't "Simply Happen"

and contribution in the article Writingmatrix: Connectin Students with Blogs, Tags and Social Networking.

 

 

Collaborative Projects with the Webheads Community of Practice

 

 

Besides the wonderful collaboration I've been having with Dennis Oliver that started in 2005 with our International Exchange blog, I have a professional development digifolio together with Erika Cruvinel and Ronaldo Júnior,  BrazilBridges.

 

For the past two years, I've been moderating a free 6-week session on Blogging for educators all over the world through the Electronic Village Online with dear Webheads.

 

A small group of Webheads, avid readers, has just started an online book club to bring literature to life through the use of Digital media.

http://livinglit.edublogs.org

 

My adult students have communicated with Teri, an American Webhead living in Lybia.

http://top21.blogspot.com/

 

I've had wonderful mystery guest activities, one on our class blog with Dennis Newson a Webhead in Germany, and another one as a guest at Anne Fox's blog.

 

Vance Stevens has collaborated with my online group in a mini-project about Abu Dhabi

http://elearningctj.bloxi.jp/a/week-3-abu-dhabi/

 

Cristina Costa, a Portuguese Webhead, and I have had some webcasts.

http://peopleandplaces.bloxi.jp/

 


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