Hi all,My name is Beyza Yilmaz and I am an English instructor at English Foundation Program at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, Turkey. I graduated from Istanbul University in 2005 . I have been involved in ELT for six years both as a teacher and material developer.I am also pursuing a master's degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). My interest areas are Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), learner autonomy and online teacher training. It's my third EVO and I can definitely say that I learned a great deal from EVO sessions.
I have been using web2.0 tools with different level of students in the foundation program for three years. I first started blogging and then explored using wikis with them. What we focus on is usually writing but I sometimes try to involve speaking activities in my class wiki. I am currently conducting a research on the relation between my particular use of pbwiki and motivation of the students in my class and writing an article to be published based on my study.
I keep two reflective blogs. One is for my reflections and experiences in web2.0 and the other is to share my MA reflections . You can find their links below:
http://beyzasfirstblog.blogspot.com
http://beyzasmareflections.blogspot.com
So far, I have had the chance to see many different digital stories and I find them really useful to promote creativity, and encourage students.I am planning to create a digital story related to Turkish culture and involve my students in the preparation process.
Here is a picture of me and my ex-students while we were having a strawberry party in class. After reading a text about strawberries, we decided to have a party in the class with the students. Maybe you can notice some of them eating strawberries and grinning at the same time!
Hoping to discover more about digitalstorytelling with you all.
Best wishes.
Beyza
