Brain-friendly eLearning ideas & design.

Educational technology, blended learning initiatives and online teaching have presented teachers of today with new challenges, new opportunities and new learning curves.

"Computers are useless. They only give you the answers"Pablo PicassoTechnology has come a long way since Picasso's time and we now live in the era of intuitive, user-friendly, responsive web design. But even today, do computers give us answers?We can ask the right questions and get the right information but the best approach is still action research and sharing experiences with others.

In my years of teaching online and exploring educational technology, I've come to recognise three main areas of difficulty for teachers, schools and students with regard to web-based teaching and using digital resources. That's why I'm very excited to review a new book for teachers and learners which simplifies the complexity of trying to integrate technology into the classroom experience.

It's a great honour for me to host Dimitris Primali s on WiziQ for this guest article about innovating education through technology. Dimitris has deep insights into the true nature of educational technology and an intuitive feel for the creative possibilities inherent therein. Image c reated by Sylvia Guinan using Prezi technology.

The quote that started it all: "I prefer to entertain people in the hope that they learn, rather than teach people in the hope that they are entertained." - Walt Disney In my first post on creative strategies I promised to feature some leading Edupreneurs in a follow-up.

Once upon a time there was a girl who had great admiration for trees, paths, and open spaces. She often went on long, lonely walks accompanied by a willful imagination and a quest for 'ahas' m-attacks. Image credit: Joe Ormonde Imagery and inspiration.

"A different side of EFL" is hosting Sylvia Guinan, an online educator who gives a dream list of online tools and resources to stimulate your teenage learner's interest and boost their autonomous learning! Click on the links and let the journey begin... Our teenage students are wonderfully complex, creative learners.

"The shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story." -Anthony de Mello Image credits:Joe Ormonde Perhaps, also, the story serves as a bridge to understanding. David Heathfield's story at Harrogate features a bridge. As one of the key words in a four-word story prompt, the bridge serves to impart a beautiful concept in the unfolding tale narrated by David.

If so, fear not. Relax, make a cup of coffee, preferably Irish coffee, and let your online explorers climb the mountains of endless apps on your behalf This is for teachers who are just dipping their toes into educational apps for education or who are trying to scale Web2.0 versus Web 3.0 technology.

When I was asked to present at the ELT Digital Conference in Ireland, my instincts told me to take these insights further. I wanted to tell the story of timeless innovation from the early days of educational technology up to the present age. I also wanted to acknowledge the educational technology pioneers I had learnt from.

MEDIA: video, comic, drama, literature, art, music LANGUAGE: Questions, answers, speaking, grammar, asking for and giving advice, storytelling, collocations This is part one of my new series about social and emotional learning. I recently presented at a webinar for the British Council on the subject of ' Social and Emotional Learning approaches' to teaching with technology.

Online teaching presents us with lots of exciting ways to practice fluency development with our students. Multi-media and the visual arts lend themselves perfectly to learning English online. We must make the most of what technology has to offer by brain-storming and experimenting with colleagues and students.

Today I will share some experiences, resources, and ideas about teaching with poetry. I see poetry in everything, but this is not just a fanciful mindset. My main aim is to show that poetry is a practical tool for language learners and not just literature students.

"Our students must be able to move gracefully and fluently between text and images, between literal and figurative worlds" Lynell Burmark This article is part of my own research into visual literacy and book design. What if we could create visual mnemonics that could capture feelings, experiences and trigger the imagination in powerful ways?

Perhaps a great sign for 2014 is the fact that I've been too busy to write a New Year's article. One of the things I've been busy with is helping to moderate Shelly Terrell's brilliant initiative, 'Creating the eperfect textbook', #ebookevo.