Week 15: Providing Feedback with Technology

Cristian Alberto Menjívar Alemán

Week 15: How to Use Technology to Provide Feedback and Assessing Language using Computers.

The readings for this week present useful information to provide feedback using technology.  Something that made me want to read more about this article is that it mentions a very useful tool that is screen capture. This tool allows the teachers to check the student’s homework and record themselves at the same time to provide feedback and areas of improvement in the activity. It really caught my attention because it is as if you were next to the student providing personal feedback.

I remembered having this type of feedback in our technology class, and I considered that it was really good and personalized; I was able to see the teacher going through the parts of the activity and evaluating one and each of the criteria.

The second article presents information about assessing language using computers, and the development in the use of technology in the creation, delivery and scoring of language tests. 

It is also important to know some of the threats when providing feedback using technology because the students are in the other side of the screen and they will see every movement the teacher does when recording themselves and it always needs to be with educational purposes.

To sum up, it is great to know that there are some ways to provide feedback when having a virtual class and that the interaction is personalized as if it was a one on one feedback. 

Rate: 5

Week 14: Increasing Students' Interaction in the Classroom

Cristian Alberto Menjívar Alemán

Week 14: 10 Benefits of Getting Students to Participate in Classroom Discussions and Increase Student Interaction with "Think-Pair-Share" and "Circle Chats"

The articles for this week provide information about the benefits of getting students to participate in the class. In the first article what made me want to read more about it was the fact that provides 10 different benefits of having students participate in the class.

My favorite quote from the article was “If a student is dozing off, texting, quietly chatting or otherwise not attending to what’s happening that student can be called on or the student next to the offender can be asked to respond.” It is interesting to see that sometimes students are not paying attention in the class but then if you call their attention they may not want to do it again because they will feel ashamed to be called on in front of the whole class.

Something I learned from this article and that every teacher should know is that participation engages students, a good question can pique their interest, make them wonder why, get them to think and motivate them to make connections with the content.

The second article presents activities and other benefits to increase students’ interaction.  Ever since I discovered this great technique of Think-Pair-Share I said to myself that I would be applying it in my English classes. I consider that is important to give students the chance first to analyze on their own any question you may have asked, then compare with another person (peer-checking) so they can see if they are in a good path or have the same ideas, after that they will be able to express or share with the class what they have worked on.

To sum up, teachers should encourage their students to participate in the class and share their ideas to check understanding of what has been taught. 

Rate: 5

                          

Week 12: The Implementation of Project Work

Cristian Alberto Menjívar Alemán

Week 12: Maximizing the Benefits of Project Work in Foreign Language Classrooms and Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning

This week readings show important information about the benefits that project work provides to students. Project based learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem or challenge.

Something I want to remember from this article is that when having students work in groups and giving them the opportunity to develop this type of projects is that it helps them increase their critical thinking, collaborative work, communication, which is really important so they can get to an agreement and reach the goal they have set up for the project.

Also, teachers should be aware to provide students with a topic that is attractive and appealing so they can succeed on the project.

The second article provides information about what every project needs in order to be good. There are two important criteria that must be taken into account and the first one is that students perceive the work as personally meaningful; in other words something that fits their needs or that is important for them. The second aspect is that a project needs to comply with an educational purpose. 

Rate: 5

Week 11: Using Mobile Phones in the Classroom

Cristian Alberto Menjívar Alemán
Week 11: Twenty Ideas for Using Mobile Phones in the Language Classroom.

The reading for this week presents different ideas for using mobile phones in classroom. Something that made me want to read more about this article was that it describes 20 practical ways to use mobile phones to support second language learning. The author mentions that students nowadays have more access to a phone than a computer and that they prefer using their phones instead.

As teachers, it is important to have your goals set or what you are trying to achieve when you will use this tool with your students. You have to think if you want to teach any particular skill such as listening, reading or speaking so that the learning process really takes place.

Some of the activities the text mentions are quite impressive that will support and contribute in students’ learning process when using the phone for example: use the notes features to collect vocabulary, use the text messaging feature, use the mobile phone to keep a blog, use the mobile phone for microblogging on Twitter and some others.

On the other hand, there may be some barriers or problems when using mobile phones and some of them are that not all students may have a phone, the cost of mobiles phones and access to Internet, also increased teacher workload for example if the teacher has to reply to all student who may send messages.

All in all, the use of phones to support second language learning exceeds the cons of applying this method in the classroom.

Rate: 4

Week 10: Collaborative Writing Project

Cristian Alberto Menjivar Alemán

Week 10: Online Collaborative Writing Using Wikis.

My initial reaction to the article was quite impressive because it talks about an important tool that teachers can used in order to enhance students’ writing skills that is called wikis. Something that made me want to read more about it was the fact that it provides a real example of a teacher having applied this tool in his class. The teacher explained the process that took place in order to develop this writing activity. I consider really helpful these types of websites and online activities that will contribute in students’ writing skills.

It is also great to see that the teacher during the process provided the prompts so that student could continue on their own having a reference or assistance on what they should do. Students could also help each other, and this promotes collaborative work. For example they could check on their classmates writing, and they could add ideas or help them come up with new things to add.

Something that I consider really important is that teachers should provide students with an interesting topic, or things that are appealing to them that way they will feel motivated and enthusiastic to write more.  I would certainly apply these types of online activities in my class to improve students’ writing skills. 

Rate: 5

Week 8: Acquisiton of Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Skill

Cristian Alberto Menjivar Alemán

Week 8: Online English-English Learner Dictionaries Boost Word Learning and Using Technology to Assist in Vocabulary Acquisition and Reading Comprehension.

The articles assigned for this week provide relevant information about vocabulary, the use of CALL and technology. The first article provides a variety of different dictionaries that student can use to look up for new words or phrases they are not familiar with. Something that made me want to read more about this article was that it presents five important features that dictionaries should contain to enhance students’ vocabulary and learning.

The first feature mentioned is corpus-based dictionaries which mean content is based on real word. The second feature is word frequency meaning whether a word is used very often or not that often.  The third feature is collocations it refers to the word combination that usually go together. The fourth feature is authentic examples meaning that uses authentic examples to illustrate the use of words in context. The last feature mentioned is topical vocabulary which refers how the words relate semantically to different categories.

The second article talks about vocabulary acquisition to enhance reading comprehension. Something that surprised me in this article was that it mentions that an adequate understanding of academic texts requires a vocabulary of at least 7,000 words, also readers need to know the different meanings of words according to the context and words’ grammatical properties.

The article mentions the benefits of CALL for vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. It is interesting to see how technology keeps playing an important role for teaching. Multimedia is one of the tools used which has various types of content for example text, audio, video, graphics etc. 

To sum up, there is a close relationship between vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Teachers and instructors should be aware of the important role that play multimedia and technology to apply it in their classes. 

Rate: 5

Week 7: Using the Internet to Enhance Reading and Writing Skills

Cristian Alberto Menjívar Alemán
Week 7: Using the Internet in ESL Writing Instruction and Using Internet-Based Children’s Literature to Teach EFL

This week we were assigned two different readings: Using the Internet in ESL Writing Instruction and Using Internet-Based Children’s Literature to Teach EFL, which provide very useful information to improve writing skills making use of the Internet.

The first text mentions how extensive readings help improve children’s vocabulary, grammar, reading, comprehension and writing skills. Students feel more comfortable looking for a text that appeals them the most rather than looking for new words or phrases on a dictionary. The internet plays a very important role because teachers can ask students to look for readings that also contain comprehension questions so that they can complete them outside the classroom.

The second article provides some suggestions on how to use the Internet in the classroom to enhance learning and how to write different writing genres. Something that made me want to read more about this article was the different genres and activities that can be made in order to improve student’s writing skills. Some of the ideas that the article mentions are writing an argumentative essay, notices and advertisements, a description of a book, film or play.

It is interesting to see how the Internet will enhance student’s writing skill since it will give them the chance to choose from among different activities, they can be authentic which will give them a real purpose of writing.

Rate: 5

Week 6: Communicative Activities in the ESL/EFL Classrooms

Cristian Alberto Menjívar Alemán

Week 6: Speaking and Listening Online: A Survey of Internet Resources 

This week’s article talks about some of the online activities that can be used in ESL/EFL classrooms. It also mentions about the benefits and limitations of these new technologies and how they are making a contribution to learn the target language.

Something very useful from this article is that it presents a variety of different links and activities that can be used with students to practice listening and speaking skills, the majority of websites are for free and some others may have a fee. However you can try these activities in order to help your students’ learning, they include tasks as multiple choices, gap filling exercises, comprehension exercises and some others.

Something that made me want to read more about the article was that there is also some other interactive communication activities such as such as live chat and instant messaging, they can text messages in real life, and is something that we are not that accustomed to. These chat sessions also allow you to use audio and video and is pretty good because you have the chance to interact most of the time with native speakers.

There may be some limitations when using the Internet as a resource for these activities, and is that a good and stable connection is required; otherwise you may be interrupt while performing the activities, also the audios or videos may present technical issues or another may be that the servers are down.

What I learned from this article was that learners have opportunities to interact and negotiate meaning, they will also interact with an authentic audience and can receive feedback to improve in the areas of opportunity.

Rate: 4

Week 5: Thinking Out of the Box

The reading for this week presents important information about critical thinking and the use of technology.  Something that made me want to read more about this article is when it mentions how to make our students the best ones and how technology can make to accomplish that goal.  

Something that is really important and that we as teachers should know is that every student thinks differently, each student have their own way of learning, some may learn faster than others and others may need some dedication.  We as humans are naturally curious, rational and emotional creatures as the text mentions, but we need to get our students’ attention as a whole, we have to focus in their preferences, the things they don’t like, catch their attention in order to make their learning better and faster.

After we have discovered what type of learners we will be working with, they can be kinesthetic who likes to always be in motion, standing up, going to the front; auditory, who prefers listening to CD players, podcasts, etc. or visuals, who loves using flashcards, pictures, diagrams, flow charts, then we can engage them and prepare activities that best suit for each of them.

The use of computers in the classroom will have a positive effect in students’ learning and will help us achieve the target of the lesson, they will be thinking critically and in a creative way, they will also want to learn independently. Something important and that I would like to remark is that if you will use the materials, use them to make your students learn not only to provide the information and pass to a different topic. A quote that I really like was "Don't think about covering the material, think about uncovering it so your students can better understand it."    

Rate: 4

Week 4: Applying Internet into the Classroom

This week's article was about Integrating the Internet into English Language Teaching. What surprised in this article was that less than 35 percent of the world's population is able to get online. That is an incredible number that caught my attention, meaning that the majority of people in the world is able to get online. Teachers can take advantage of this fact since using Internet in the classroom is benefitial in many ways, because it increases learner motivation, engage learners into the class and promotes learners autonomy which will help them to be conscious of their learning process.

In addition when making use of the Internet in the class you can search on the website for different activities to practice vocabulary, grammar and listen to podcasts that will help student improve their pronunciation and listening skills.The text also mentions that will help students being more creative and will foster communication and collaboration.

Something that made me want to read more about this article is that even if you do not have access to the Internet you still have options to facilitate learning.You can use authentic material that means material not created specifically for language teaching or semi authentic materials which are created for language learning purposes by non native speakers of English.

On the other hand, it is interesting the fact that there may be some limits for the use of Internet in the class as the text quotes “the evidence that technology has a direct beneficial impact on linguistic outcomes is slight and inconclusive." This citation is something that makes you think and creates doubts about if the Internet is really been helpful in the classroom or not. I consider that with more findings and investigations will be able to determine if it is accurate or not, otherwise the use of the Internet in the class has helped in a big way.

Rate: 3

Week 3: Using Podcasts in the Classroom

This week we were assigned to read two different texts regarding the use of podcasts during the classroom. The first text is called Integrating CALL into the classroom and the second one is Blending Technology in ESL. What surprised me in both of these articles is how fast technology is integrating more and more into the current classrooms. I do agree with the fact of using podcasts in the classroom, it gives students the chance to practice more exercises, activities or any academic assignments, they can also access them at any time, as long as they have Internet access, a computer or an Ipod.

There are many other areas that help students when using podcasts, for example it helps improving their listening skills, pronunciation and learn a wide variety of new words. Making use of podcasts in the syllabus or course is benefitial either for students or teachers, because you can provide them with more activities or examples of what you taught during the class, that will help them reinforce what they did not understand or was not clear enough.

Another benefit of the use of podcasts is that will keep students motivated, since they will be working with new methods, and updated language tools. One of my favorite quotes from the text was  “Initial reactions of learners suggested that the use of this program was more attractive to them than combinations of books, tapes and videos. This may be due to the way in which individuals can tailor their learning or may be a case of novelty, a matter for further investigation."

On the other hand, there may be some inconveniences when blending technologies in the classroom. It will depend on the institution or school, if they have the resources available, IT support and necessary time the use of the technology will be effective; however if the institution does not count with the resources, or are limited to the tools to use technology it may be affected.

I'm looking forward to continue with the next part of the activity for this week and create the podcast exercises in order to get more involved with the technology when teaching the language.

Rate: 4

Week 2: The Integration of ICT Tools to Reach Learning Autonomy

Something I want to remember from this article was the accuracy of information and the findings of the research. One of the first things that I would like to mention is that if the student is responsible, consistent and self-aware of what his doing he will most likely achieve his goals and learn a new language. In my own experience, that  happened to me when I got an scholarship from high school to study English. I remember being organized, responsible and always wanted to participate in class, I made sure that my howework and assigments were neat and clear that was one of the factors that helped me learn the language easily.

In addition, the use of technology is very useful nowadays in order to teach a language. The findings in the article show that there is a possitive impact of the use of technology in the class in fact it helps keeping students motivated.

A belief of me was confirmed was that teacher's performance do influence in students learning process. The teacher not only should pay attention to student's performance but to the progress they have had during the course or semester. Teachers should be a guidance to students and help them keep on track. Providing extra activities or however is good because that way student can practice more, also asking for help in any concern or doubts student may have.

All in all, the integration of ICT tools is very effective in the process of language learning. It demonstrates us as future teachers that we should implement them in our classes. The use of metacognitive control strategies make our students being aware of their own learning which will lead them to be autonomous.

Rate: 5

Week 1: Using computers for language teaching

I consider that the use of computers has increased in the classroom and impact possitively to students. Nowadays, the use of technology is so important because you can find more accesible information, visit different websites that help students with their assignments and homework. It is also benefitial for teachers because they can make use of multimedia, internet and different resources available to teach.

The article mentions that computer have been used for language teaching since 1960s and has been divided with the past of the time in three main stages: Behavouritic CALL in this stage computer was viewed as a mechanical tutor that allow students to work at individual pace.

The second stage is Communicative CALL this one corresponded to cognitive theories which mention that learning was a process of discovery, expression and development. In this period the popular CALL software was developed which included text reconstruction programs, allowing students to work alone or in groups to rearrange words and texts.

 The third stage is called Integrative CALL which looks to integrate various skills, such as listening, speaking, reading and writing and also integrates technology in the teaching process.

Something I learned from this article and that every teacher should know was the use of video recordings and games has helped a lot in the process of teaching a language. For example, using recordings help in order to improve student's pronunciation, also to speak fluently and the use of games to motivate language learning.

To sum up, the use of computer has changed in a great way throughout the years and with technology there's new resources and techniques that help teacher implement new methods and ways to teach a language.

Rate: 4