Teaching & Learning

If you are interested in Didactics, check the ninth number of Lingvarum Arena, the Language Didactics magazine of Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto.

There is a hidden Internet, completely separate from the surface Web. Documentary filmmaker Alex Winter spent several years immersed in this fascinating world and talks about how the battle for your right to privacy is being waged in this dark corner of the Internet. You may have heard the "Dark Net" is a scary underworld filled with crime, but Alex's findings will surprise you.

On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Soviet Union suffered a massive explosion that released radioactive material across Belarus, Russia and Ukraine and as far as Scandinavia and western Europe. Chernobyl dramatizes the story of the 1986 accident, one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history, and the sacrifices made to save Europe from the unimaginable disaster. Chernobyl premiered May 6 on HBO.
What is the cost of lies?

As the Internet becomes an increasingly pervasive and persistent influence in people's lives, the phenomenon of the blog stands out as a fine example of the way in which the Web enables individual participation in the marketplace of ideas.
Teachers have picked up on the creative use of this Internet technology and put the blog to work in the classroom. Even though newer and more appealing Web 2.0 technologies are on the move, education blogs can still be a powerful and effective tool for students and teachers alike.


What is a blog?
A blog (sometimes referred to as a weblog) is a Web publishing tool that allows authors to quickly and easily self-publish text, artwork, links to other blogs or Web sites, and a whole array of other content. Blogs are set-up like conventional Web sites, with navigation links, and other standard Web site features. Blogs have one standard characteristic, however: the posting. Blog postings are text entries, similar to a diary or journal, which include a post…

Social media has become an essential part of most people’s everyday lives, from checking Facebook and Twitter to posting blogs, Pinterest listings, and uploading YouTube videos. However, and with smartphones making it easier than ever to spend time on social media networks, in what ways can these networks be leveraged to engage and build a foundation for future student learning? While the potential of distraction is there, the right social media teaching strategies can lead to creative learning, and a productive approach to making social media part of ongoing professional development. There is already evidence that teachers are using social media as part of teaching strategies, with the aim of encouraging students to view social networks as less of a pleasurable distraction, and more as something that can be used in projects and for personal expression in a medium they prefer. Steven Anderson has recently proposed a comprehensive set of general approaches to integrating…

Courtesy of Paula Susana Ribeiro