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ESL forum >
Make suggestions, report errors > Suggestions on worksheets
Suggestions on worksheets
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trelly
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Suggestions on worksheets
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I�m not a so frequent writer here, but I read your comments and posts everyday when I get home. This is a really lovely site, and I adore it. Don�t get me wrong with what I�m going to write here, but it�s been so long since the first time I said "Oh, I�ll write my opinion there" and I forgot, that I will write everything I remember here.
Last week I saw lots of people complaining about many things, but all of them, in the end, where related:
There was a thread here about the way worksheets are made. Some people said that they should be colourful, while others said they should be white and black.
I was looking at the printed version of some of the ws I downloaded from this site, and I have to admit that I had to change the background of those that are coloured. I love colourful worksheets, so when I want to print a colourful background I use couloured paper (those A4 coloured cardboard blocks, or coloured printing paper - they�re not so expensive!).
What I mean is that there is a solution for most of our complaints, for example if you want coloured worksheets, and the ones you find useful are just b&w, take some minutes, open the ws, copy the images to an image editor, and colour them! (If you want to make it easier you can replace them ;))
I really find colouring images myself REALLY useful, because when I need to print many copies, I just print them b&w, and if they have colour pictures, it�s a pity using them grayscale (they really don�t look as good as b&w or as coloured ones!)
If the ones you find are coloured, again, you can use them grayscale or just you can take some more minutes and remove colour (or replace the pictures!) It may be time-consuming, but the truth is, people share their work for free, so I see no point in making them change their beautiful works (I love both, b&w and coloured worksheets!) to make our lives easier!
About stolen worksheets: What�s the point of accusing someone here? Can�t we just report the ws? I feel it�s better if we report it and make a short comment. Teaching is said to be a sharing and caring profession, don�t you agree? If someone uploads a stolen worksheet, don�t download it and report it, Victor will know what to do. Complaining here just creates more traffic on the site. Perhaps that stolen worksheet was unknown for new members and it�s helpful for them. I know it�s not fair for the original uploader, but people, we are all grown ups, and we are responsibles for our doings.
I�m not sure, but, does Victor check everything alone? Perhaps some kind of "moderators" could be helpful on the checking of worksheets, and those that are "stolen" (I�d better refer to them as "mistakenly uploaded", don�t you think?) could be easily erased and, the uploader could get a warning instead of a "punishment" (what an awful word, please!) I don�t know, but perhaps, this could help avoiding not just such harmful comments we see everyday, but it could also improve the site a lot! Perhaps some rules of behaviour here will be useful! (Most websites have rules and people who check they�re followed)
A final personal comment: I�m an Argentinian teacher, and as I�m a teacher of English, member of a site dedicated to English teachers, I speak English here. I really can�t see the point of using mother tongue in posts that EVERYONE see and that EVERYONE, no matter mother tongue, could profit from. Don�t get me wrong, but we are here to share our knowledge and our opinions, and seeing such mean comments as "I�ll speak my own language here because this is my message" is not what I think makes this site so beautiful.
Let�s smile and stop complaining... we�ll be full of wrinkes really soon that way!
P.S.: Victor, you are making an excellent job here! I�ve never visited a better teaching site! Congrats and go on like this!
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20 Oct 2008
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Apodo
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Well said!
You covered so many points here.
It�s so much better to suggest constructive solutions than to complain.
Thankyou. |
20 Oct 2008
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GIOVANNI
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Like you Trelly, I am not a frequent writer, but I also often read the comments and posts. I am in total agreement with you and have been putting off writing my opinion on the items you stated above. You have written my exact sediments. This is a great site and as you stated "Let�s smile and stop complaining". Thanks to you, and all the dedicated teachers who have been making this site what it is. Congratulations, to all of you out there who have taken the time and effort to present such great worksheets, and of course to Victor who started it all. |
20 Oct 2008
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Logos
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You haave covered a number of very interesting points here in your letter, and I agree with many of your observations. I have in the past written about worksheets having the balance between colourful presentation and pedagogical content. Just because a worksheet has lots of colour and pictures, does not necessarily mean that it useful as a teaching tool. And the opposite is also true, worksheets which are simply text with no colour may be extremely useful in the classroom.
I have also written about the inconvenience of having colourful backgrounds that do not print on black and white printers. Even greyscale sometimes has the words being swallowed by the background.
But the fact is that in real life packaging is very often regarded as far more important than content. Look at the manufacturers of perfume for instance. Why is a person attracted to buy a particular fragrance? I would suggest that the first attraction is the packaging - and if you are buying it as a gift, this is probably the most important factor. I am sure I am going to be shot down by the perfume experts who discern distinct differences in each, but the fact is that packaging is extremely important in selling the product.
There are contributors on this site who are able to combine the two together admirably - content and packaging. But I feel equally sure that there are many who have a lot to offer this site, who are not as gifted at producing the packaging and we are neglecting their contributions as a result.
I am sure there is no easy answer to this dilemma. We are human and by nature we are attracted to things initially by their appearance rather than their content. This is not wrong and it may not be fair, but it is a fact of life and contributors who wish to �gain more points� need to bear this in mind when producing their worksheets. |
20 Oct 2008
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yetigumboots
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Hi Trelly, I agree with you on your comments. I log on here to benefit from the teaching experience of others. I would love to see more teaching tips rather than negative comments.
Take care. xx Yeti |
20 Oct 2008
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Vickiii
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Bravo
Well Said
I agree completely with you trelly. It is so nice to see some new people making comments as well.
Logos I also agree with you - very well thought out comments. I am completely with you on the perfume thing as well - packaging and marketing! We are all suckers for these two things!
This is a fantastic site - and I believe the forum really makes it something special - especially when it is discussion about teaching pedagogy and resources! Group Hug!
Vickiii |
20 Oct 2008
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