Week 8 Teacher Resources Online

This week was very full with work, family and of course, the course. I'm exhausted!

I've been introducing two new types of technology into my classroom for the course project. On Friday, we had a trial run with the camera in the class. On Monday and Tuesday, if all goes well, we will record the student presentations and they will be viewing them and uploading them to Vimeo on Wednesday. I'm hoping the technology will help the learners identify their strengths and weaknesses. I'm also hoping that having a record of their presentation will motivate them and make them feel proud of themselves. This will help them when they have to do their presentations in the next EAP level. I have to be careful when operating the camera that I keep the students in frame, but at the same time not move the camera too much. I may need to work on my technical skills before the next term starts.

The students have been using a class wiki. This is the second new technology I've brought into the classroom. They have been using the website to ask questions, answer questions, and post comments on the short stories and academic articles we have been reading in class. They have also been using it to compose and edit essays. There have been two surprises. The first one is that the students need more direction than I had thought. They are questioning if they are writing too much or too little and if their comments are clear. Next term, the wiki will be introduced more slowly and with more scaffolding from me. I'll have a trial run with the wiki just like I did with the camera. I'll give the students immediate feedback. The second surprise is that the wiki is really helping the shyer students speak up more in class. By writing comments on the class wiki before the in-class discussion, they are beginning to be more confident about speaking and explaining their opinions. Their contributions in the class wiki and in the discussions help all the students gain a fuller understanding of the text and helps them all "negotiate meaning".

The course this week looked at different ways to create a class site. I have a blog here and I've already started a class wiki this summer. Therefore, I decided to set up a Nicenet site for one of the classes that starts in the fall. This is an ESL class that only meets twice a week. I think the Nicenet site will be a great way for the learners to keep in touch with each other throughout the week. By commenting at times during the week, the connections between the learners will grow. By giving specific homework assignments, I can help with the continuity of learning. I can also list additional discussion topics and links to enable students to work at their own level and pace. I'm excited about the opportunities available through Nicenet. The most important advantage that I see is that it will help the learners connect with one another and they will learn to learn from each other. I surveyed my learners this term and they all had computers at home with an Internet connection, so I expect that all the students will be able to take equal advantage of the Nicenet site.

It was interesting to see all of us taking the Oregon course reacted a little differently to the websites Deborah has suggested we try out this week. For example, some of us, including me, found Hot Potatoes to be very user-friendly, whereas others found it to be difficult to use. I found Easy Test Maker to be frustrating. I'll have to try it again at another time because this week, it just didn't seem to work for me. However, others loved this site.

This parallels how our students may feel. What we think may be an easy technology for them to use, may in fact, be frustrating and difficult for them. I thought using wikispaces as a discussion board would be a cinch, but some of my students were hesitant about it at first. Of course, the reverse may be true, like our Nicenet discussion on learner autonomy when several teachers discussed the possiblity of using cell phones in class as a learner aid. I would have to ask my students to teach me how to use these functions!

There are so many online exercise makers available and as Bella noted, one site leads into another site which leads into another site, etc. I was a little overwhelmed this week trying to figure out effective and creative exercises for my classes. For example, Arjana's blog includes an exercise from www.eslvideo.com and Camelia's blog has an avatar from www.voki.com.
These are fun and motivating, but I just couldn't think of how I could use these for my classes. I need to create exercises that connect to the coursework and build on it. I think that with practice and time, I can think of great activities using all the teacher resources websites we have been introduced to this week, exercises that will be motivating for the learners and really helpful for them as well. However, for me to put in the time to create these activities, I need to know they really will be useful, especially for adult learners. I think planning is essential. However, I've been inspired by the work of my colleagues in the course and I look forward to having these tools available to me next term and beyond.