11. Web-based Lessons

Every learner is different. When we learn, we usually have preferences or practices that work best for us. Hence, a key concept in teaching is that of learning styles. Learning styles are the various ways in which different people learn. For instance, there are students who prefer visual input, thus, texts or images are best for them; if they prefer audio input, podcasts or videos are adequate, and if they are kinesthetic learners, they can learn and experience through games or hands-on works (to know more about this topic, click here) However, all learners can potentially have a combination of styles. What we can do as language teachers is provide different learning conditions to fit all styles.

One way of achieving a good combination of learning styles in the classroom is by using the Web. The variety of media found on the Web is endless. We can take advantage of all the affordable tools we have on the Internet to help our students learn the English language according to their learning styles. Web-based lessons are a good way to meet the students’ styles. These integrate the use of the Internet and Web-sites to offer more opportunities than traditional lessons. An important fact is that these lessons provide never-ending possibilities, and teaching and learning become more interesting and fun. However, when planning a Web-based lesson, we must remember that the goal must be on the lesson and not the Web site. Students should not be surfing the Web aimlessly, but follow specific steps in order to achieve success.

To know more about this topic, click on the following links:
Evelyn Izquierdo's Web-based lesson
Web-based lessons

Examples of Web-based lesson plans are in here.





Here is my own example of a Web-based lesson plan:

Date: 11/24/09

Teacher: Ma Fernanda Liendo

Level: Basic (3rd Grade students)

Lesson length: 90 min

Topic: Prepositions of place

Aim: Students will learn prepositions of place in English

Objectives:
- Students will be able to recognize the different prepositions of place
- Students will be able to practice prepositions using a Web site
- Students will practice their computer skills

Materials: A computer with Internet access and headsets for each student

Description of activities:

0. In advance, the teacher will create a Wiki for the course and write all the links to be used in the class on prepositions; the steps to be followed should be also included. This site can be used for other classes too.
1. The day of the class, students will be asked to watch the first video on prepositions of place on YouTube.
2. The teacher will explain the prepositions of place using the board and students will access on ESL flashcards to see more examples. Students will be encouraged to make up their own sentences using the prepositions. They can write them down or say them aloud.
3. Students will access on Detail English and Prepositions of Place 1 and do the activities required with the teacher's help.
4. Students will play a game about prepositions on English Flash Games.
5. Finally, teacher and students will sing the song from the second video on YouTube and do the hand motions for YouTube Video 3.

Web-sites:
Course Wiki
YouTube Video 1
ESL Flashcards
Detail English
Prepositions of Place 1
English Flash Games
YouTube Video 2
YouTube Video 3

Follow-up: Students will access the course Wiki. They can watch the videos and practice the hand motions or play the game again. Optional: the teacher can look for more online games on prepositions for students to practice at home and write the links in the Wiki.

10. Virtual Learning Environments

Imagine that one of your students reads a book. This book can hardly be called a learning environment. However, when the book is read in class, discussed with other students, analyzed and, then, an essay or a summary is written, we have a learning environment. The same occurs with Virtual Learning Environments. A single Web page cannot be called a VLE, but social interaction about it can. Hence, a VLE is a set of tools, including computers and the Internet, designed to develop a learning experience. Usually, they are software systems designed to help in planning and developing of courses using the Web, controlled by teachers and, sometimes, by students. Originally designed to develop distance courses, they are now replacing face-to-face interaction.

We have to take into account that the term VLE is not restricted only to the information spaces. VLE ranges from text-based sites to 3D graphical representations, such as Second Life. Examples of other virtual learning environments are: Blackboard, Moddle, Elluminate, Lotus Learning Space, WebCT, among many others.

The principal components of a VLE include:
- Curriculum mapping
- Student tracking
- Online support for both teacher and student
- Electronic communication (e-mail, threaded discussions, chat, Web publishing, among others)
- Internet links to outside curriculum resources.

VLE are based on a cooperative, learning principle, which allows students to collaborate and express their thoughts, questions and comments in forums or chats. Besides, they include many other useful tools that make learning enjoyable and an interactive space of knowledge construction.

A short clip of London e-Learning Advisers speaking on VLEs' advantages.




Useful links to learn more about this topic:
Virtual meetings
Worshop on VLE

9. Communities of Practice

CoPs: A Social Discipline of Learning

By Etienne Wenger

Another of the Webinars in the Social Networking Event by Avealmec and Arcall was delivered by Professor Wenger. He is author of several books on CoPs (Communities of Practice), and he states that a CoP is a group of people who:

-share a challenge, passion or interest

-interact regularly

-learn from and with each other, and

-improve they ability to do what they care about

CoPs are a great example of social learning and learning partnership, in which people can collaborate to do something together, share knowledge, information or criticize their own works. In a CoP people not only share tips, discuss and help each other, but they interact with the world and make knowledge a way of living. Every CoP has three elements:

-A domain, in which the negotiation of topics takes place

-A community, this includes people and hierarchical relationships

-Practice, usually led by technology stewards.

These technology stewards are people with enough experience of the workings of a community to understand its technological needs with interest in technology to take leadership in addressing those needs. Stewarding usually includes selecting and configuring tech, as well as supporting its use in the practice of the community. The stewarding activities include community understanding, technological awareness, selection and installation of tools, adoption and transition, and, finally, everyday use. Stewarding strategies include:

-use what you have

-go for the free stuff

-build on an enterprise platform

-get a commercial platform

-use open-source software

-patch elements together

On the other hand, community activities are oriented to: community cultivation, context, relationships, access to expertise, projects, meetings, open-ended conversations, content publishing, and individual participation, among others.

Almost at the end of his presentation, somebody asked what to do with lurkers. Lurkers are people who read messages from the community and take advantage of file sharing, but never participate actively by writing or giving opinions. Prof. Wenger answered that you have to love them, since not all individuals can be active and can participate all the time. He said that lurkers are great and because they give balance to the community.

A video on how teachers can use Communities of Practice to connect with one another and share ideas, resources and content. From the National Association of Agricultural Educators

8. Social Networking and AVEALMEC

AVEALMEC stands for Asociación Venezolana para la Enseñanza y el Aprendizaje de Lenguas Mediados por (el) Computador, which is Venezuelan Association of Computer Mediated Language Learning and Teaching. The purpose of this association is mainly to group teachers, students and researchers from all over the world, who share the field of education and ICT learning. It was founded in 2007 by a group of English teachers interested in integrating new technologies to their language classrooms and in creating a community of ICT in ELT.

A year after the creation of AVEALMEC, ARCALL (Argentinian Computer-Assisted Language Learning Association) was founded in Argentina. They both share the same goals and, in fact, they organized together the Social Networking 2009 Conference event in November in order to promote the use of information and communication technologies in English classrooms, and also to encourage teachers to join communities of practice in their field. In this event, speakers from all over the world –including Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, USA, UK, Spain, Israel, United Arabic Emirates and Cyprus– shared their experience on social networking and language teaching.

I have to say that these virtual conferences were very interesting, and I learned many new ways of integrating technology into my language classroom. They were twelve conferences on different topics such as Personal Learning Environments, Social Networking for Professional Development, Communities of Educators, Creating Your Own Network, among others. My favorite one was Webheads in Action, which joined three experienced English teachers to describe this online community and their work. I will definitely become a member in January!

This event brought to us English teachers many concepts and ideas to apply in our own communities and especially in our classrooms. It is important to mention that hundreds of participants were joined together by a common purpose: exchange information, learn and share knowledge with their peers in the same field.

The recordings of these virtual conferences are still available on AVEALMEC's blog. A WiZiQ account is needed to watch them. If you do not have one yet, click here.

I will be summarizing the content of some of the conferences for you to get an idea, watch the ones that you find interesting and leave your comments here.

Before and After Twitter: Personal Learning Environments
By Graham Stanley from British Council

"The rise of Twitter and other Web 2.0/social networking tools has made it easier for teachers to manage their own learning and professional development, and communicate with others in the process" Graham Stanley

A Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is a system that helps people take control of and manage their own learning. In this e-conference, Professor Stanley states that Twitter is one of these new personal learning environments. According to him, Twitter has replaced blogging since it connects you with other people on a regular basis: “Twitter is for staying in touch and keeping up with friends no matter where you are or what you are doing”.

By using Twitter as a learning tool, you can connect to your community, ask questions and receive answers, which for language teachers, for instance, is very difficult to do otherwise. Twitter is not a chat; nevertheless it can be used for:

- receiving information,

-getting useful links,

-announcing events,

-self-promotion,

-conversations, and

-pointless chats, which compose 40% of all tweets.

If you want to enjoy Twitter and try it as your personal learning environment, create your account at Twitter.com. However, Professor Stanley warns that it has to be turned off from time to time, since “it sucks time away from other things.” So be careful and don’t get too excited with it!

Flickr-Design that Connects
By Carla Arena

"It's a hub for educational experiments, networking and visually appealing inspiration to any educator" Carla Arena

Flickr is not just a photo sharing space. An image can say more than a thousand words, thus, it shows who you are. It is a technological platform to connect people. Professor Arenas states that if you share a photo a day, you are creating a story and showing others who you are, since you learn a lot through pictures.

Flickr also provides a space to connect through mail and conversations, which many others can join. Once you enter the platform, you can create your own group and see pictures from all over the world, create galleries and exhibitions, talk to others about your and their images, building in this way an intercultural mosaic.

Flickr is a substitute for old flashcards. You can enhance your students’ learning by creating a gallery, and encourage students to label things in pictures or make photo show notes and write about their images. They can share, send or embed slide shows; create pop art posts, mosaics, magazine covers, party invitations, calendars, short videos, and many more. Professor Arenas proposes that you may even help your students to develop critical thinking through pictures.

Create your account at Flickr.com today and start connecting with other educators to find new ways of enhancing your students’ learning.

Webheads in Action
By Verschoor, Izquierdo and Cruvinel

Webheads in Action is a community of practice online. The purpose of this community is “to help learning professionals understand the potential benefits of the appropriate integration of available Internet technologies into their teaching practice, by first experimenting and learning in a hands-on, low-risk online environment before engaging their own learners.” It was created in 1997/1998 by Vance Stevens in Abu Dhabi, Maggi Doty in Germany and Michael Coghlan in Australia, for ESL learners and facilitators as a student-teacher community. It has 808 members, mostly English teachers who use ICT in ELT. They “explore the Web communication tools and share the best ways of using them in their teaching practice, engage with students in virtual classes, collaborate on projects and participate in conferences as audience and presenters”. It is also worth mentioning that they are all geographically apart.

Webheads are people in different fields that like technology and to share. They are people from all over the world (which implies diviersity –people from Ukraine, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Germany, Sudan, Indonesia, among others are members) who are always willing to help you. They are dedicated, willing to learn/help, cooperative, collaborative, e-literates, willing to lead, and many, many more other features that make them sort of “online heroes”. They even have their own song called “A Webheads Anthem”.

Once you are part of this community, you can practice Web tools and teaching resources, you will have continuous feedback, you can join collaborative and multi-cultural projects, you will have appreciation, respect, friendship… The benefits of joining this community seem to be endless:

-learning from different countries

-discussing relevant topics to the ELT field

-making new friends

-developing thinking skills

-exploring ICT on ELT

-increasing vocabulary

-promoting cooperative learning

-practicing English as a second/foreign language

-strengthening peer interaction

-doing research

-discovering new Web tools

-improving reading and writing skills

Here you have two examples of their work: international project, learning about different education communities

This Webinar is just an invitation to join the community and benefit from all the features it offers. So, if you want to have friends around the world, bring new things to your classroom and enjoy much more than a meaningful experience, do not hesitate and visit the Community Website, their Yahoo Group or the Electronic Village Online.

If you are interested in watching these video conferences, just click on the following link (remember that you will have to create a WiZiQ accont, if you do not have one already)
http://avealmec.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html

7. Second Life

It is exactly what its name proposes: a Second Life. It is a virtual world. You can be yourself or you can be somebody (or something) else. It starts with the election of an avatar, which is a kind of character, you give it a name and a last name, and it can resemble a human being, an animal or even just smoke. Then, you can choose your physical appearance, that goes from muscles and body fat, character's height, hair color or facial features to clothing. It is similar to that PC game called "The Sims", in which you choose your physical appearance, clothing and who you want to be. Nevetheless, in this game you can communicate and interact with other characters using the keyboard or a microphone and speakers. Once you are inside Second Life, you choose the place where you want to be. Our professor invited us to an island where we learned the basics of the game: how to walk, fly, interact with objects, talk to people, take snapshots and so on.

What is interesting about this game is that you have people from all around the world just next to you. This can be of great advantage for English learners since they can meet native English speakers or people from other languages (that use English as lingua franca)and practice the four skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. They are completely immersed in another country where they have to communicate using the English language. Another significant advantage, this time for teachers, is that you can actually teach inside the game. Teachers can create their own avatars and virtual classrooms and give their lessons using this tool. Children, adolescents and even adults will be thrilled to have class inside a virtual world, since they will feel that they are not learning, but just playing a game.

According to Nik Peachey, writer and learning technology consultant, one of the strengths of Second Life is that "it can give teachers from any part of the world with internet access the opportunity to be in the same virtual room as some of the most respected experts in our field. Also the ability to easily record these interviews means that they can be archived and shared with people who weren't able to be at the live event."

If you want to experience Second Life, just join this virtual community at Secondlife.com. If you want to know more about this topic, click on the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/nik-peachey/

I am still learning how to use this promising tool; however, here are some pictures from my SL experience: