How could a raven not enjoy an ELT blog called "Magpie Moments"? :-)
I think as a teacher, teacher-trainer, materials designer and blogger, there's no greater feeling than seeing people not only notice your ideas, but take them, adapt them, reflect on them and then share them even wider.
I've got to experience this recently through a new blog called Magpie Moments ("a collection of other people's shiny ideas that are inspiring my teaching") from a teacher named Anna.
Anna has taken several of my ideas and templates, adapted them to the needs of her own teaching context, added her own creativity, then posted the results of her work and a range of very thoughtful reflective ponderings on her blog.
Some of the English Raven ideas/templates Anna has made her/our own! WriteWays Unit 1, Talk it Up!, and the results of her first try at Live Reading.
I'm enormously flattered that Anna would take some of my ideas and materials into her classroom, and wowed with the way she has tinkered with them to make them work for her and her learners. The prominent references and links back to the original ideas/materials/posts is really appreciated (this is how polite and considerate sharing of resources should be done!), and it's wonderful to see that Anna is making everything she makes available as well, creating her own new set of sharing ripples.
This is the general spirit behind my call/challenge for teachers to make and share more of their ideas and materials via the ELT blogosphere.
If we make more in the way of templates, explain how we use them, and invite others to adapt and reflect and share as well, I think it is really exciting what we might be able to achieve...
In any case, thanks Magpie! You've made a raven very happy -- not because you used his ideas, but because you tweaked them in new interesting ways and provided such interesting reflective teaching notes about them.
=D
