A big world for small equipment.

I wonder what percentage of my life is spent touching this small piece of equipment that sticks out a little in one hand and fits in both hands.

It's easy to connect with the world. Also, there is so much information in it. What's notable about the development of social networking is that it allows us, as ordinary people, to share information. 

For example, Twitter. They can tweet whatever they want. As you know, it has its pros and cons. Let's start with the pros.

First, you can talk about your hobbies and share your thoughts and opinions. Secondly, you can expose yourself to ideas that you have never encountered before. Furthermore, Twitter gives us more opportunities to learn about things. However,  as we all know, there is a good and bad side to everything in the world. 

The ease with which anyone can disseminate information is inextricably linked to the ease with which they can disseminate content that has not been scrutinized. Sometimes this is called misinformation or fake news. Whether it is intended or not, it's very difficult to correct misinformation that has been spread one by one. 

What's more, the most tricky part is the "like" reactions and follower responses. It instantly satisfies the need for approval, but it also creates a need for further approval. Are the statements we make to satisfy your need for approval really our own opinion? 

In my opinion, we need to find our own way of dealing with social media. In order to judge misinformation, a basic knowledge of the chemical sciences, the study of history from many different perspectives, writing skills, and the ability to read texts are required. And also, we have to learn how to deal with our own pschology. 

Written by Anna Koshi.

Professional Development - PANSIG Conference in Akita

Last weekend Damian & I drove up to AIU to attend the annual PANSIG Conference. Quite a drive, and a very impressive weekend full of presentations, learning & sharing. Damian made a poster presentation, using Luna's experiences with Aurasma to show how we Expand Our Interests at Luna. He put a lot of hard work into presenting your hard work, and I could hear the WOW!!! reactions across the room.

I thought I'd share with you how the Conference played out on twitter, using storify to collate events as they unfolded over the last month, culminating in the big weekend and a lot of really exciting interaction. I enjoyed meeting old friends, making new ones, and connecting with people I've 'heard of' but never met in the flesh before.

I was inspired - I hope you will be too.

Website review - Twitter

Twitter is a social networking service site (SNS) or an application aimed at people who uses PC or smartphones frequently. Launched about a decade ago, it already boasts in excess of few million users world wide for it's ease and cost.

Twitter is mostly described as a blue bird, or a white bird drawn in a blue box. It comes from the word 'Tweet' which is bird's chirping, and as the word says, it's a tool to comment what you feel at the moment.

There wouldn't be such a thing as an instruction, therefore you only need to remember a few things. "Tweet', 'ReTweet', 'DM'. 'Rtweet' is to have someone's 'Tweet' in your page and 'DM' is to directly chat with friends.

You could change your profile picture and a background picture as well, also you can edit your profile and birthday. All in all, if you keep rules according to the Twitter guide line, it is one of the easiest SNS.

Posted for Shimei

International Women's Day - #OneDayIWill

You may be aware that today is International Women's Day. For the occasion, and to support the hashtag #OneDayIWill, we got our female students to finish off the tweet in their own words.

Mrs X: #OneDayIWill go to other country and make a lot of youngman friends

Reiko: #OneDayIWill go to another country with my children

Yukari: #OneDayIWill be a billionaire $$

Yuka: #OneDayIWill study English in different country!!

Megumi: #OneDayIWill get much money and go to many countries by gorgeous ship

Eleanor: #OneDayIWill be a patissier

Rie: #OneDayIWill be slim belly and dance on stage!

Hakeu: #OneDayIWill give to my family more relaxing life

First Aid - my first (painful) experience

When I was 7-years old, it was caught a finger in the heavy front door in my previous house.  The door of my previous house had a thickness of about 8 cm and was so heavy.  It had strong pain and my nail of injured finger was gradually turned purple and finally whole nail of injured finger turned to purplish black.

When 2-3 month passed after injured, I visited a small farm nearby my grandmother's house and gathered grass to give to goats, sheep, and houses etc. After I gathered grass a few times, I found that my injured nail was removed completely without any pain. I couldn't find removed nail in grass field.

Have you ever seen under the nail? I have memory that under the nail, there was winding muscle? construction like large/small bowel and it was not good to see for a while. At that time, I was given first aid.

I couldn't remember how long new nail took to grow. I am sorry that I didn't carefully saw my nail's growth at 7-years old and didn't take any picture. If I have iPhone at that time, I will take many photos and update my nail's growth to twitter.

Posted for Ritsuko

A very good list of Twitter tools

Twitter Chat and Hashtag Tools

And well worth reading TeachThought.com often!

Some fantastic place for a photo shoot - after reading What Rose Saw

I recommend to visit one mountain several time a year. You can see/enjoy nice view of contrast of green wood and lingering snows in spring, of verdant wood in summer, and of autumn leaves in autumn. Even if it is same day, you can see very different view in a bit difference of temperature, weather etc. I experienced every time that the view utterly changed in a few minutes.

Also, I recommend to see alpine plants which are very tiny and tough and can not see them in areas near human dwellings. It is alarmed not to collect and damage alpine plants, so most of people can't see them until their lifetime end.

I want to ask photographers to take photos of alpine plants and upload them to social network like Facebook, twitter etc. to show them to many people.

Posted for Ritsuko

#ELTchat - teachers working outside the box/professional development

As my last class was cancelled at the last minute this evening - ongoing business meeting (again - what can be so important at 8pm?) I was able to join in a 'conversation' that I have missed for several weeks.

How can you have a 'conversation' on twitter? Sounds barmy, doesn't it? Well, frankly, yes, it does. But, if you use a regular schedule and use a consistent hastag (#), then you can achieve/join a forum to discuss pre-decided topics. You can lurk, ie just watch, without joining in/sharing...but if you are 'brave' and dip your toe in, you get an awful lot more out of the discussion.

So this evening I realised I was listening to the cricket (not accidentally - England are playing South Africa at The Oval!) and that I could participate in the #ELTchat "chat", that happens (for me) every Weds night. I usually can't, and although there is a summary written up aferwards, I feel I have missed a chance to get involved - you don't write to people after a party you didn't go to, do you? Reading about it later is not the same as chucking your hat on the ring! So, with my Tweetdeck still working (opinion about Tweetdeck being scuttled later) I joined in.

The thing about twitter is (at least with peers) that you are not 'at' nor obliged even to respond. Contrast that with, for example email. A very good definition I read lately of email is that it is a 'to do list drawn up by other people'. And I hate that. If I send an email, I am going to end up with xyz number of extra things to do that I do not want to do - at the very least acknowledge/write a reply. I don't know about you, but I need time to think about stuff like that - be in the right mood, have the time to find attachments, craft the thing in such a way that I don't end up with yet another inbox stressor to deal with...

A twitter discussion = a topic I have decided is relevant to me...or a discussion about a topic by a bunch of people who I think are relevant ( I don't know who they are in advance, but they will be using the same #hashtag to identify the topic/discussion) is very empowering. They shatter geographical boundaries, overcome local insularity, and flatten playing fields.

Twitter chats also happen at the speed you can type; usually any 'chat' will be over in an hour. I find I need a second device necessary (my iPhone to respond) while following on a primary device PC using Tweetdeck (I wanted to use Monitter) to keep an eye on the ongoing feed. Otherwise, my response speed (unconfident) can mean I have missed 5 minutes of 'chat' and have become irrelevant/late. Sometimes people reply to you directly, in mid-flow....great! You have been heard, your answer is valuable, your public - peers - await!

So, while I did not have dinner tonight with my dad - in Japan for a week (or my kids, as usual) - or actually have dinner at all (school owner syndrome?) I instead found myself having a very impromptu & high speed chat about teachers & managers. Given that you can only tweet 140 characters in one go, you have to be very concise. Given that you also only have one hour - and multiple participants with a time line moving on quickly - you also do not have time to 'consider'. And I love that. You really do get 'gut' reactions - not rants or ambushes. Imagine a phone conversation with your phone card running out - and you want to say something. I have yet to engage in a chat with 'my' people that has not been an enormously positive experience.

Caveat. I am engaged with a professional group - not a social one. I am an adult, and I do not take bait or react to bullying. That itself is something you have to be old enough/smart enough to recognise. I do not give a shit if somebody I cannot identify says something negative. I do not identify specific examples or people. I take a few sessions to take the temperature of the group - see how well it is moderated - and to check who the bigger fish are. Are they my actual peers (do they have public profiles? Do they have many followers? Do they 'rant'?), is the discussion fair, will it be useful for me?

Tonight I was engaged with a "tight" group of people. I have taken the time to check out my industry, build a list of teachers around the world I think have valid/valuable opinions, follow #ff links and read blogs. I have noticed which contributors are fair, respond to others, share extras eg links, respond by naming @person who said something, welcome newbies etc. And to get involved, I have replied to the @person and used the #hashtag and from there I am in the middle of a conversation...mine...I am being retweeted, favourited, replied to and asked follow up questions. That's OK - I am 'on my topic'. If the conversation has moved on (and it will!) re-join. Maybe you did not read the topic carefully enough or your first message 'missed'. Keep trying (and leave space for  retweets - only use 120 characters) & remember to include the #hashtag!



Tonight, I was in a very high speed conversation with teachers/managers working in Dubai, Greece, Australia, the UK, South Korea, Finland & Croatia. There was no 'you are the expert' or 'you are stupid', 'I have a PhD' or 'Who are you?'. Instead, I was asked to explain (my 'shorthand' not the same as everyone elses) or to give examples or to expand. Some people retweeted my tweets, others were 'favorited'....and others got no response at all! Relax - none of us can be the eternal font of all wisdom!

I learned a lot of useful things from my "one hour of free-time" tonight. I also came across a stack of people on twitter I would like to get to know/follow/pay attention to. I also started to realise who some of the 'big hitters' are. I started a conversation with somebody I never had any chance of talking to otherwise...

And that is the beauty of twitter. I don't get teachers who don't get twitter. I really don't! The next last most useful resource for EFL teachers was The Guardian Weekly...back in the steam age!

How to use Quizlet? Look no further than Sandy Millin

A lot of people ask me what the point of twitter is. Very simply, I have met teachers worldwide and learned so much from them, as a result of twitter, that I really can't imagine not using it. I love finding stuff, and the remarkable (ever growing) like-minded teachers I come across on twitter are constantly coming up with great ideas, games, tips, flops, success stories, inspiration...and sharing them.

My students know I love Quizlet. A lot of them need a lot of help 'getting' it. Imagine my unconfined delight when I was pointed to this unbeatable explanation by @sandymillin  As I read, I was nodding like mad muttering Yes, Yes, Yes! Please follow this link to Quizlet explained. When you are finished, remember we have created a TON of materials for Luna's students (and therefor the planet as well) as "LunaTeacher". Sign up, join our classes, and enjoy learning even more.

http://independentenglish.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/quizlet/

On twitter, Jim is @oyajimbo. Luna International is @lunaIntnl

Bon Bon Photos - request

This is the address for the "set" on flickr we shall be using for tonight's Bon Bon photos - please share yours with us as well?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saint_george/sets/72157630868528122/

If you like, you can share with us through Facebook instead

 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Luna-International/125002814212039

If you are tweeting, pls mention @luna_intnl and use the #Luna & #BonBon

Script for a Jester's Tear - observing iATEFL

I have to admit it felt very wrong to be driving towards the Fukushima nuclear power station on Friday night. I was not actually going there, but close enough (a lot closer than my relative safety in Nagano prefecture anyway). It was not a pleasant drive either – I passionately hate the Misayama tunnel road (I used to drive it regularly with classes in and around Ueda/Maruko) and it rained/was foggy all the way.

I was the only person staying in the hotel in Suzumenomiya. I am surprised there’s even a hotel there. The beer machine wouldn’t take notes – I only had notes. An exciting Friday night then? 

Well, actually yes, because on the other side of the planet the2012 IATEFL Conference was drawing to a close. I had been trying to keep up via twitter and their brilliant website which featured live interviews with the great & the good of planet EFL, as well as an archive. The final Plenary speaker was going to be a Scottish guy called Derek Dick – I’ve only ever known of him as “Fish”...but here’s the thing, I have known of him since about 1981. I was pretty sure99% of my teaching peers had no idea who they were going to be addressed by to conclude their shindig!

“Fish” used to be the lead singer/song-writer with a ‘prog rock’ group called Marillion. I saw them play a few times in Sheffield & Lancaster, even had a t-shirt. I managed to get the live feed going on my iPhone just as his familiar accent was reading a lyric from an oldie – which I was able to remember and recite from some very dark and dusty memory. My signal dropped out and eventually failed completely, but not before I had enjoyed hearing him sing to a genuinely gobsmacked audience (judging from tweets out of the audience) relishing his wordcraft and love of a story told well. 

I was annoyed to have lost the feed, but it actually gave me time to contemplate how lucky I was at all to have been able to participate so voyeuristically with a bunch of teachers in Glasgow on a wet Friday night in the middle of nowhere, Japan. If you had told me during my sixth form year that the lead singer who had just sworn his head off through a set at the Sheffield City Hall would be addressing me through my phone to a teachers’ conference on the other side of the planet (and that I would also know members of the audience and be ‘reading their minds’ in the process)...just too bizarre.

Have to admit I was jealous of the likes of @barbsaka @shellterrell @mickstout @eltexperiences etc actually being there...looks like one hell of a good conference and one that Japan’s own JALT really needs to take heed of. But, by the same token I knew I’d be back in Matsumoto for dinner without having to endure cattle-class & the indignation of being fingerprinted as a “welcome back”.

Just a small matter of examining 30 or so children for their Cambridge ESOL Young Learners exams in the morning, before the drive home tomorrow afternoon.

What? No books?

Martin Sketchley writes interesting morsels on his blog ELT Experiences and shares on twitter as @ELTExperiences.

Recently I came across a brave video of him teaching his class with his pants down - not literally, I assure you...but for a lot of teachers not having a table to lean on or a book to prop us up, 'dogme' means the same thing. Dogme is a bit of a buzzword at the moment, and seems to be the Marmite opposite to Web 2.0. You either like one or t'other.

Personally, I can't see the point of slagging one approach off, when maybe next week another angle of attack will work just as nicely! For example, my students rely heavily on their books...when I want them to become a bit more independent I often move books (open) to the far end of the room. Same with electronic dictionaries (I hate them with a passion!). If students want to have a peek, they can, but it is just enough of a nuisance to go and do so, that a remarkable flash of inspiration or memory comes to the rescue. Funny how that works. However, they'd find it very hard to join up their learning without a book at all (and find it intimidating). I do not have enough tricks up my sleeves to bedazzle every lesson, either.

Image via Wikipedia"Teacher uses twitter shock". A lot of people don't get twitter. I don't get how they don't get it - for work at least. How else would I have come across Martin's ideas & found a new way for my business class to get their brains going a bit quicker? Followed a short link to his video on my phone while I was waiting for train, and filed the idea away for a very rainy day. That was Monday evening, and I wanted my students to 'hurry up' and activate a fluency issue which has been slowing them down/tripping them up. Namely, using /to/ or /ing/ after certain verbs (which they were familiar with - mined a reading passage for them, sorted them, reviewed as homework, did pair work...)

I enjoyed the view from the other end of our classroom table, handily next to the coffee & biscuits. I offered them a verb from our list, and asked them to move to the /to/ side or the /ing/ side of the board (or the middle, one or two take both of course). I enjoyed the "I'm right/you're wrong" that this produced, and the kudos it gave the less able students who had done their reviewing properly versus those that had not done it thoroughly.

Once the grammar was agreed (checked at the annoyingly distant book if necessary - I was tempted to charge for this/add an element of gambling...next time perhaps) students were then challenged to quickly come up with a suitable sentence using the verb properly. I didn't say anything, but pulled a face or used my body language if I heard something a bit out of place - encouraged them to look at their listener, to listen to each other closely, & to be competitive/nick each others threads.My plan was to do this  for about ten minutes, but they got so animated I let it run - standing up they were gesturing a lot more than usual, interrupting each other, and reacting much more forcefully. They were visibly annoyed when we ran out of words!

Fortunately, Martin does not run out of words. Check out his blog some time - your students won't notice but you might get an extra cup of coffee out of it!

Yuki-chan on Twitter

The fabulous Yuki is now on Twitter. She doesn't know how it works and doesn't have any 'friends'.
Please follow her?! http://www.twitter.com/luna_intnl

Twitter 101

Think smart - drink water

Jim-sensei was not at all sure how to start this class today!

He asked for some advice on Twitter, but maybe everyone was busy teaching too?! This is an annual problem though, as children are not hydrated properly in schools. In Australia, every child has a water bottle on them all the time, and are reminded to keep taking in liquids...here it seems almost an admission of weakness if you have a sip of H2O.

This affects a child's ability to concentrate/think, as well as actually being able to survive a very hot day without 'conking out'. We encourage our children in school to have a drink if they want - at first this is a culture shock itself!

Question remains - what would you do if your students were flat out asleep when you were due to start? 

(His classmates & I played a quiet game until he woke up & sleepily joined us.)

The longest day

It's been a while since I started a business trip at 9pm! I did so last night...

This has been Luna's first week back after the holidays, as it has been for most people; it has been just as hectic for us as everyone else too! Gossip to catch up on and email to wade through; old students to reconnect with and schedules to remember. You know?!

At Luna we also had to replace our car over the break. Nothing wrong with the old one except the shakken/roadworthiness would have cost more than buying a second hand vehicle.

If any students did not get a New Year card (nengajo) from us I apologise. Please email us & tell us your new address! (Help save trees and scroll down a bit?). The fault is probably mine - I am never organised with nengajo nor Christmas cards until it is too late, and I never give Yuki a list :(

At the end of a 'welcome back to work/school & let's be cheerful' campaign, I literally ran home, got changed & threw stuff in a bag before continuing running to the station for my trains. Damn. All the platform kiosks were closed. Local train = no buffet cart with food (or beer...important) BUT heated seats set to 'melt arse to chair' temperature. Horribly uncomfortable to Nagano, trying to sit on one 'cheek' before cooling off in Nagano. Then same performance again on the last chugger to Naouetsu.

I meant to read & finish one of my books on the go, but instead listened to an extremely good podcast on British naval history from Binge Thinking History. I have already read half of a brilliant 'biography' of the Royal Navy, but this was easier as my head kept banging the frozen windows!

What to do around Naoetsu station at the midnight hour in early January? Find somewhere warm? Yes! Next to the sake-reeking old gits curled up in the (only) heated waiting room? Lovely. I know for a fact there are no convenience stores near here for a bento (or a beer!).

{How do you know that, Jim? Well, funny you should ask. In Dec 1989 I first came here to get me visa extended, and only managed to get the hairs in my ears trimmed. As then, I froze.}

At 00:55 the Kitaguni Express slid along platform 6 and I found my berth against the rafters in the last carriage. It's been a while since I had to undress lying flat, and I posted on Twitter what to do with valuables! I woke, feeling like I'd never really fallen asleep, rocking into Kyoto pre-dawn with a few minutes to find the Shinkansen Nozomi to Okayama. Still no food, and no longer in the mood for a beer...saw the sun rise on platform lucky 13 before being whisked away west to arrive an hour later disheveled, dehydrated, and discombobulated.

Less than an hour later starting a day-long training session for Cambridge ESOL Centre JP176 & my friend Malcolm Harding, who is trying ever so hard to get the exams going. A pleasure to be here for him (I just wish I didn't feel like a ghost after that trip!) and to meet some quality new examiners.