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Message board > what if there were no templates!!!
what if there were no templates!!!
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lockman
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what if there were no templates!!!
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Well I don know how to start this but the idea keep occupying my mind whenever i log on to this marvellous site .I just noticed that the more knowledge about office ,templates and the formatting a contributor has the more points he gets.Minor attention is paid to the content of the contribution.More praise is given to the form at the expence of content.The negative effect of this is that contributions are overestimated due to the beautiful presentation they advertise and not the language components and the creative ideas of the contributors.I find this highly unfair because first ,I am one of those who don t master those techniques and second there are many excellent contributions in plain balck and white.I can t however deny the importance of graphics when used appropriately.I hope that collegues become aware of this and give each contribution its due right and value. |
15 May 2010
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silviamvdeo
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I agree with you up to a point. I teach young adults and adults at advanced levels so most of my ws are plain black and white with some imagery to anaylse because that �s what works for my students. When I taught primary and lower levels I used loads of colour and pics and that helped my sts focus their attention since they needed that kind of visual input. From what I can see most teachers here teach primary and lower levels so I think that �s suitable. It �s all about adjusting the ws to our own teaching contexts and situations! |
15 May 2010
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lockman
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Thanks silviamvdeo for your reply.I ve just gone through some of your contributions .You re a real example of what i am talking about .Great worksheets yet few points!!!! I hope Victor and others will find a way to compensate for this!!
NB .I teach teenagers aged 16 to 19 |
15 May 2010
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lizsantiago
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lockman, this is something that have been brought before, but the problem is that we as teacher should be always update with technology, and this site is not a points competition. if people download the colorful or pictures ws that is because they find them useful for their students. and if they upload this kind of ws is because it is what they give to their students. i dont download plain ws because i have plenty of exercises like that in my textbooks and my students find them boring. I think is unfair to say that teachers here prefer layout vs content, because we are all professionals and as teachers we know what is worth or not. as slivia said apparently many people here teach elementary levels so most of the ws here are address to that. i understand that we need to get points in order to download so if you need points then make ws that will spark peoples interest so you can get the points you need. aside from that try to visit the template section or download tutorial on how to make your ws attractive. another thing you can do is to take your time to experiment with the tools microsoft office have, that will give you the skills you need. |
15 May 2010
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zailda
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Hi!
IMHO who has 30 free contributions to download each day also has the right to choose which ones he �ll download.
It �s up to us to read the ws before downloading it. After all we have a window that allows us to do that.
But I want to remember you that we are not here to judge other people �s work. If the content is not OK for us, we have the option to ignore it and download something that will satisfy our pattern.
If someone is concerned about points, the best to do is learning how to prepare more appealing wss and not trying to convince 300.000 that they should change their taste.
We are teachers and I �m sure no one would download something only because it �s beautiful, we are aware of the content.
Have a nice day.
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15 May 2010
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MJ_Misa
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I respect Liz and Zailda very much but I will disagree a bit with you now. I remember several members saying they download those "cute and lovely wss" even thought they really don �t need them and cannot use them because they cannot print in colour. It �s sad but it �s true. And the numbers say it all - B&W wss can have never got so many points as the coloured ones. But as both of you say - anyone can upload tutorials and templates for free (and I saw lockman has used one of mine templates, so he know about this opportunity;o), and make their wss more attractive.
Hugs, Michaela
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15 May 2010
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zailda
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Michaela, the fact is: most of us don �t prepare ws especially for ESL Printables. I - for instance - prepare ws to use with my students and since I learned here how to make them useful and beautiful, why not? My students love them and I post them on a blog, they download and print at home. They prefer the colored ones.
I assume most of us do the same, so I don �t accept that because of the points issue we are asked to "decrease the frill". And there �s no relationship between content X beauty. There are marvelous ws with terrific content, and plain ws that are perfect copies from somewhere.
Of course some use templates to mask the fact they don �t have much to share and only need points to download someone else �s work. But what �s the problem? Aren �t we here to share?
If a person wants do download a ws only because it �s beautiful, there �s no problem either. Many people go to the store and buy the most expensive only because of the famous brand. It �s their right as customers.
If a person wants more downloads, he has to follow the site tendency because - I guess - changing the opinion of all the downloaders will be very difficult.
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15 May 2010
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aliciapc
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I only have to add - and agree with some - that there are great colorful ws and great b+w ws too - and both types which have no real content or have many mistakes.
As Zailda, says, we have a window to check before downloading, and I, being one of the not really skillful contributors (regarding computer stuff) always upload what I can prepare and suits MY students, not ESLP members. When we upload I guess we should do it to share and give back some help, the same way we get so much here with ws, not thinking about points ... A  to all ... |
15 May 2010
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zailda
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Just to add some points:
Many download the ws for its content. They say they don �t print in colors, so they download and take color and pictures off - so they like the content.
Many download a plain ws and add color + picture (as I sometimes do). But some also reupload them as theirs.
A ws is to be downloaded or ignored - or so I learned from Victor - and not to be judged. If the content is not what we �re looking for, go for something else.
This is not a competition, with the best winning at the end of the day. It depends on what the others are teaching at that moment or if they want a text comprehension or some exercises to practice grammar. So no one can predict what will get more points, unless we have ESP (not related to English) - extra sensorial perception.
It �s not true that we don �t care if we have 2 or 200 downloads. When someone downloads our work it means he likes it. So - please guys - don �t destroy our belief. I �d like to continue believing that who downloads our work really appreciates it (content and form).
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15 May 2010
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misseleonora
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Of course everybody wants to win points and to feel their Ws are appreciated, but I have always felt that contributors making a fuss for more or less points display kind of a childish behavior. After all, the purpose of anyone`s worksheets is to teach our students.
And I really think life is a jungle where we have to learn how to survive in there, and with this I mean, if one WS gets million points THERE MUST BE A REASON. So, for those who think it`ss all about getting more points, then they will have to learn and follow the rules to deal with the world of advertising. And I am sorry to tell you, in that world, colors, nice templates and pictures, are very important.
As for myself, I will go on trying to bring my students the best material I can, and in the meantime get points if my work appeal to you, teachers. =) See you soon. |
15 May 2010
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lockman
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I am happy that my point of view triggered so much talk .I ve also learned a lot from your replies and i will take some of your advice simply because they are right.But I think I need to clarify my point further to avoid any misunderstanding .The whole matter is not about "points � as you made it clear ,neither is it about content and form ,it is simply about good evaluation criteria and objectivity.I ask both Zailda and liz to go over contribution in black and white and see how much appreciation they get.I am not asking you to change the course of time .We re living in a world full of graphics where a picture stops a war,elects a president and even makes public opinion.I am aware of that.But as teachers we have to evaluate the work in relation to its creativity.I prefer to download a good idea rather than a good picture because that is what we lack in our day to day work.This does not mean all ws with good presentation are void of ideas.There are a lot that combine both form and content and they merit all our applaud.But the thing is we have to appreciate others� works even though it is in black and white in the same way.We are teachers from different locations and no one can deny that there is a big "digital devide" between us.In saying all this I am not underevaluating the use of templates ,graphics and so on but i want to stress the fact that as there are good quality colourful ws ,there are likewise good quality black and white ones.I remember a saying by Samuel Goldwyn �Color television! Bah, I won�t believe it until I see it in black and white.� |
15 May 2010
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