|
ESL Forum:
Techniques and methods
in Language Teaching
Games, activities
and teaching ideas
Grammar and
Linguistics
Teaching material
Concerning
worksheets
Concerning
powerpoints
Concerning online
exercises
Make suggestions,
report errors
Ask for help
Message board
|
ESL forum >
Message board > Growing number of worksheets... Do you go though all of them?
Growing number of worksheets... Do you go though all of them?
|
|
moravc
|
I mentioned this problems some time ago... and I was told the moderators are not supposed to consider the quality of content... The moderators are supposed to report / vote to delete a worksheet against the rules... :-(
I usually download few worksheets now. I download what I need or when I see a unique idea / game. We can usually judge the quality of content from the preview and we can see if the contributor spent some time making his worksheet... So I do think about the quality and creativity very much...
I wish the contributors would include more PAGES when uploading stuff for little kids...
I would be really ashamed to share a worksheet prepared within 5 minutes, consisting of a bw copied pics + 10 words / sentences... But, as you can see, some people upload as little as possible and they rather upload 10 single pages, than 10-paged worksheet...
I sometimes write to those members and give them advice how to resize pics, how to include several pages etc...
But, as you know, uploading many many single pages one after another is not against the rules, and the contributor might get more points for that... And to stop contributing after reaching the 30 points is not banned too. We cannot FORCE someone to be fair and generous, can we? So there are some givers and many many takers... Well, this is the life... right?
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
zailda
|
Yes, I do agree with you that some members only take and since they are forced to give first, they give as less as they can and expect tons in return.
Unfortunatelly we are supposed to remove wss against the rules and there �s no rule against pennypinchers.
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
PhilipR
|
What if we just reported low-quality worksheets anyway and voted to remove them?I know, I know, it �s against The Rules. Btw, weren �t they meant to be broken? :-o Viva la revolucion!
Sorry for feeling a bit rebellious this morning. ;-)
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
Judith@rwen
|
I agree with the fact that the quality of worksheets seems to decrease day after day. I also think that many old members, apart from being demotivated or maybe not as enthusiastic as they used to be in the past, they also check and download well-known members only and the rest are just overlooked.
I usually spend a lot of time to prepare my printables and I try to make sure I upload authentic material ..valuable stuff that I consider other members would be able to use with their students and enjoy it. I´m not after points ...
I also have the feeling that some members are in a race for points and I completely dislike worksheets for young learners which are so simple and plain that you actually think: �If I had children, I wouldn �t like them to have such a lazy teacher. � In the name of simple and easy for YL some upload printables which are very poor!
I know we can �t judge the quality of other people �s works as it might actually be rude and /or offensive to some... but it �s quite unfair that people upload loads of cliparts as posters and so on and take other people �s hard work.
I guess this has been discussed many times... I just thought I �d give my opinion..
Good night!.
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
boombox5
|
hi all! i was perusing this thread and came across a comment that said that there were numerous threads telling new members how to make awesome worksheets using microsoft word and really being a newbie (and fairly computer illiterate) i have no idea where to find them. if there are threads telling newbie �s how to make colorful interesting worksheets in microsoft word i would be more than happy to read them and figure it all out. one problem i have though is that most of the computers i work on are not in my native language (English) so making colorful interesting worksheets are a bit more of a challenge for me (although even if they were in English it would be a challenge for me  ) but i really would like to learn. i have mostly used textbooks in my teaching career and have recently moved to a school that doesn �t provide me with any teaching materials so i am having to rely alot more on my computer skills and the internet. so, long story short, if anyone can point me in the right direction of tutorials i would be more than happy to put the time in to learn and make what will hopefully be interesting worksheets to share.
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
PhilipR
|
Some tutorials can be found here:
http://www.eslprintables.com/printable.asp?id=66440#thetop
http://www.eslprintables.com/printable.asp?id=135147#thetop
http://www.eslprintables.com/printable.asp?id=99025#thetop
There are probably more.
Also, if the language of your computer poses a problem, I suggest you download the English version of OpenOffice (freeware - www.openoffice.org) which is basically identical to MS Word. Just remember to save your work as .doc files (Save as). I �m pretty sure you can install this software on a thumb drive and use it on any computer. Same goes for browsers (Firefox Portable).
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
boombox5
|
Hey PhilipR, thanx for the advice on OpenOffice. I have some time this weekend so I will make sure to set some time aside to figure this out  . have a great weekend! |
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
elfelena
|
Dear Friends,
I joined the eslprintables in January 2008 and at that time Victor himself wrote to me when I tried to upload a very easy worksheet (a reading about LOST with questions) - he said that it didn �t contain enough exercises and was not so interesting. At that time I realised that we should spend a lot of time in order our worksheets could be published at this site.
Nowadays - there are tons of not interesting worksheets here.
But dear friends - I do not agree that posters or mathing with pictures exercises as well as picture dictionaries are not worthy!
My adult elementary students like them so much!!! And I am happy that some teachers shared their posters and picture dictionaries!!!
Please, do not say that they are useless!
Thanks to everybody!
P.S.
When I look through new contributions I pay attention onlyy to those that are colorful. But what I noticed is that when I need something particular and I search for it on purpose - then I download even simple in design - just sentences without any pictures exercises and they are great also! But I overlooked them as they were not bright!
|
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
boombox5
|
oh and the openoffice program is great! fairly simple to use and I think similar enough to Microsoft that I can use the worksheets you suggested to learn to make nicer worksheets. thanks a million  |
20 Nov 2009
|
|
|
alien boy
|
|
It can take time for new members to develop the technical skills to produce impressive worksheets, so giving ANY members the authority to judge on quality is a very dangerous thing. Not every member (& this includes moderators) is so faultless as to be a reasonable authority on quality. If a poor worksheet is uploaded then that item is unlikely to be downloaded. I understand that their is already (at least in theory) a mechanism to remove uploads that have not been downloaded:
If nobody downloads your worksheets in a whole month, they will be automatically deleted.
In addition, the detail & examples of what should be uploaded are very clear: http://www.eslprintables.com/send_printables/beforesend.htm
Maybe it �s just that I am very against turning this site into some elitist �members only � club that has constraints that will intimidate & limit aspiring/new teachers. I don �t believe that was Victor �s intent when he created the site.
It �s crucial that new members have time to develop their skills & interact with the more experienced & knowledgable teachers (& others) who are members here.
For me, quality is not the key to uploading but the key to making something a popular & successful download (check my uploads if you think otherwise). As members gain ability & points they should check their own uploads & remove the less popular or less useful ones of their own accord. A �quality police � is not necessary if we all regularly review our own uploads. I, for one, have removed several uploads which eren �t particularly effective & will remove my other ones when I upload some better items soon. Because I have enough points to do what I want with I also have promised myself not to duplicate other upload topics unless I can add something I believe is worthwhile.
So, for me... NO THANK YOU to a �quality police �, a big welcome to newbies. Maybe their should be a little �welcome pack � of advice re quality of worksheets formally given to every new member? Include details on how to search the forum, uploads & bookmarks?
Regards,
AB |
20 Nov 2009
|
|
< Previous
1
2
3
Next >
|
