Week 8: Design of Digital Language Learning Tasks

4.1 Task 2
While some senior educational policy-makers have pointed out that English teaching in China should be one of the areas where the use of IT is most likely to make a breakthough in changing the traditional teaching mode, the EFL teaching and learning in my university (Shandong University at Weihai) remain traditionally closed and restricted with only slight and slow changes.

• As far as the time, place, curriculum and pace are concerned, students are restricted to being physically present on campus and attend teaching sessions. No flexible choices are given to them in the teaching resources and methods to best suit their particular learning needs. Everything is pre-determined and fixed.
• Most of the electronic teaching resources are devised by the textbook publishers. Instructors simply take and use them with little or no modification.
• Another example of IT-related classroom is the listening and speaking classes. In the language lab, the teacher's role is pretty much like that of a technician controlling the media player.

We used to complain that lack of computers and computer labs prevented us from integrating IT into the syllabus design. However, after more than three language labs have been built in my department with enough PCs accessible for carrying out instruction reforms, we found that such labs are actually frequently left unused. This is due to another fact: lack of training on IT on the part of teachers is another factor that results in the closed and restricted learning and teaching. Having been accustomed to traditional practice, they don't quite know how to change effectively even when they want to. Consequently, it takes time for innovative practice to take place on a large scale. Fortunately, different problems have been gradually identified and effort is being made to solve them. More and more instructors have benefited from the integration of IT into instruction. With time passing by, I think we have every reason to believe that the more flexible and liberated language learning tasks will be integrated into the future teaching. However, it may be hard for completely free language learning tasks to become a reality.

My webography Topic: Using blogs to help develop students' interest in writing

Writing instruction in my university, with too much attention being paid on the final product, is far from being effective. It always puzzles me, as a teacher, how to involve students and help them learn to write? Having learned the IT module, I think that this haunting problem can be partly solved with the help of modern technology. To be specific, blogs can be used to help develop students' interest in writing. With more interest developed, learners will be able to write better articles by practicing more with posting and sharing with their peers.

website 7
http://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/cb/tasks/writonline.htm

• The current website is founded by Christine Bauer-Ramazani from Saint Michael’s college, Colchester, Vermont, USA. Readers can get access to many task-based activities for teaching online writing.
• In addition to the related links, many readings are accessible related to similar topics. In such writings as "Paperless Classroom" and "Writing and Technology", we can learn about some researchers’ attempt in revolutionizing writing instruction with the help of the Internet. Undoubtedly, with modern technology, classroom teaching can be more effective and takes on a new look.
• Instructors can learn about teaching online writing on this website. By better integrating IT into teaching such as creating a blog to involve learners posting and sharing, one of the significant improvements must be students' more interest in such subjects as writing.

Website 6
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/?q=node/100

• On this webpage we can read about an article entitled “Welcome to the blogsphere: using weblogs to create classroom community”, published by Tom Nelson and Jan. Fernheimer in August 2003 on CWRL (the computer writing and research lab). This is a website especially dedicated to computer aided writing programs and on-line writing workshops.
• By reading the article, instructors can learn about blogs, their potential uses in the computer-assisted classroom, composition and literature courses in particular. In the article, the author provides some background knowledge and terminology on the evolution of blogs and blogging, the characteristics of blogs that appear to be relevant in classroom teaching, including their interactive nature, their multi-author capacities, and their public presence are touched upon. Based on these features, numerous ways are suggested in which blogs might be used effectively in the CA classroom, as well as some potential problems worth taking into consideration.
• The second half of the article focuses on pedagogical application of blogs which is of practical significance to teachers. The possibilities of using blogs to foster classroom community are being investigated as well.

Website 5
http://www.teflweb_j.org/v3nl/blog_ward.pdf

• This page provides a paper entitled “Blog Assisted language learning (BALL): push button publishing for the pupils” written by Jason M. Ward from American University Sharjah, published in 2004 in the TEFL web journal.
• What the paper presents here is of significant value to instructors intending to start using blog in classroom teaching. In addition to the definition of weblog and the history of weblog development, the paper discusses how weblogs help develop writing, reading and communicative skills. The positive and negative potential of weblogs for language teachers is discussed. The writer also demonstrates the use of weblog in a writing class with non-native English language learners in their first year of university learning. Students’ feedback is also considered.
• Obviously, the paper has a lot to do with the topic I have chosen. By learning more about others' using blog in writing instruction, I can do better in my intended activity.

Website 4
http://blogsforlearning.msu.edu/

• This website is founded by Michigan State University. Its "Blogs for Learning" is an online resource about instructional blogging, which provides information and resources about the technical and pedagogical aspects of blogging in the classroom.
• A wide range of content is included in the resource, which is growing every day. The articles discuss various aspects of educational blogging, such as the use of RSS and case studies. The interactive tutorials are flash-based short instructional presentations on activities like creating a blog template and posting photos to your blog. Readers can also get access to the blog founded here called "The Learning Curve" for shorter contributions or updates.
• With more and more people being engaged in using blogs for literacy development, this blog is where most of the interaction will take place. Hopefully, the more a novice blogger learns, the more he will enjoy blogging and the more interest he will have in writing. This is exactly what I want to try with my future students.

Website 3
http://hickstro.org/

• On this website, we can read about Digital Writing and Digital Teaching, a blog written by Troy Hicks, a doctoral student in Teacher Education at Michigan State and professional development coordinator for a Red Cedar Writing Project.
• A variety of issues related to teaching writing with new media are explored. Different means of using modern technology into teaching are introduced, including how to use blog for peer review in the process writing instruction and how to encourage collaborative work among students. Educators can share ideas related to teaching and read about activities or appropriate topics to recommend for students to write.
• It's a good website for educators as well as for language learners who are to develop writing and reading via modern technology. What is of significance for me is that I can learn about the use of blog for peer review in process writing instruction, which is a new method and which will arouse learners' interest in writing.

Website 2
http://www.englishclub.com/webguide/Writing/index.htm

• ESL resourses can be found in this website for both English instructors and learners. This English club was founded in 1997 by Josef Essberger from Cambridge, England.
• As an instructor intending to integrate blog into writing instruction, I am especially impressed by the different writing resources here. To effectively integrate blog into teaching and develop our learners' interest in it, we need to find topics for students to write about and we need to involve the students in reading some essays and then practise writing by posting. Here are many such kind of topics and essays for our reference.
• In addition to the information related to my webography topic, there are actually more sections in this website such as secrets for ESL learners or ESL forum and games to engage learners. Everything is free here and learners can learn and enjoy the process.

Website 1
http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_6/huffaker/index.html

• Here we can get access to "the educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom" by David Huffaker. David Huffaker holds a Master’s degree in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University, and begins a Doctoral program in Media, Technology and Society at Northwestern University in Fall 2004.
• This paper explores the role of blogs in classroom settings as well as the importance of literacy and storytelling in learning. The paper also reviews examples of blogs in practice.
• Using the Internet to communicate allows an author to use verbal literacy while extending digital fluency. Blogs promote self–expression, a place where the author can develop highly personalized content. By blogging, learners are able to develop interests in writing which is exactly what I am intended to do. Many such writings can be found on this website.

Week 5: Digital Distractions in a Wireless Classroom

• Admittedly, while classroom access to the Internet has constituted an outstanding teaching tool, it can also be a barrier to learning. In this sense, it's like a double-edged sword. We have come to realize that modern technology has created too many rude technology users. More than frequently, we frown at someone's endless chat on a phone in public or one’s cell going off in the middle of a presentation or lecture. Last semester one of our instructors seriously declared that our laptops must be turned off during lecture period.
• With IT being integrated into the classroom, more and more instructors complain about students’ websurfing, text-messaging or gaming during class. Just how to combat technology distractions? From my perspective, it's far from a good solution to shut off the wireless however tempting it is. To reclaim the classroom of etiquette education sounds better. Students should learn to be sensitive to classroom etiquette. Once ground rules are established and everyone is aware of the importance of staying on task, we’ll no longer suffer. Instructors don’t have to be frightened by technology distractions.
• It’s comforting to see that regardless of how effective a role modern technology plays in instruction, there is still a need for a well-trained expert to be in front of the class and discuss the substantive areas of their field. Modern technology has put more pressure and made our teachers' job even more challenging because our lectures should be more appealing to our students than whatever the modern technoloy provides. Hence, all that is worth trying for teachers is to be an expert in our field but not to be distracted by those distractions.

Week 3: Teacher's role in the Information Age

For Task 1A, our group has chosen to find out about the IT educational policies in China. The four categories of findings have been divided up among us. My post here is related to the teacher's role in the information age.

• The role that teachers play has been changing greatly in many areas in the information age. With the wide-spread use of IT into modern instruction, teachers are expected to be somewhat like a technician in addition to be knowledgeable in their own field. They are not only judged by how learned they are, but also how well they can integrate modern technologies into their instruction to achieve effectivemess.
• Teachers today are supposed to work better as facilitators, consultants, guides, or directors. Children prefer learner-centered classrooms instead of the old-fashioned style where teachers act as knowledge transmitters. A vivid description of the teachers' role might be the transfer from the traditional "sage on the stage" to today's "guide on the side".
• Teachers nowadays are compelled to keep up with the time and be experts not only in their own field but in the modern technology to better benefit their learners.

Links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China#Teachers
http://www.moe.edu.cn/english/index.htm.

Week 1: The Road Ahead

2.1 Task 1
The similarities and differences found out by comparing and contrasting material from Gates’ The Road Ahead with the local teaching and learning circumstances in my university are as follows:

Similarities:

1. Many of the classrooms and offices have been connected to the network which enables students and teachers to communicate with their counterparts across town and around the world.
2. It is true that communication between parents and teachers has become more efficient and more frequent due to the network.
3. The classroom has expanded its walls via the information and communication links to other parts of the community and world made possible by the Information Highway. One of the schools in my university, for example, has been making good profits by opening such educational courses to faraway students.

Differences:
There are a great many differences, some of which are as follows:
1. Gates predicts in The Road Ahead that teachers will remain centrally important but will probably spend more time with small groups of students working together using a personal computer that is connected to the network. It is not the case however in my local circumstances. The computer has not been so effectively or widely used in teaching by us.
2. The miraculous Digital White Board in The Road Ahead seems too far away for teachers in my local circumstances.
3. It is obviously hard for us to teach via multimedia as is expressed in The Road Ahead.

Enjoy being elsewhere

Hello, guys!
Do you enjoy your life here in Singapore? What do you like about it? I like the rain so much. How about you?