How I could use Podcast in my classroom

I enjoyed this Absolutely Intercultural podcast a lot. Now, I am a international student and I am interested in culture a lot. I read and watched several episodes from here, and selected the episode of absolutely intercultural 142.

from Absolutely Intercultural 142

While learning abroad using different language and in the different environment, I have thought that language learning is closely related with culture of the language. I think without understanding the culture of the language, we cannot fully use or understand the language. This episode gave a lot of information related with culture and language. I like the information about the website of ‘Internations’ which expatriates community for people living and working abroad as well as all ‘global minds’.

How I could use Podcast in the classroom

I will let my students read this episode first and then share their thoughts or reflections about this episode. I think many students can get a glimpse of importance of cultural understanding while sharing this episode. After this discussion about cultural differences or importance, I will give students some assignments as a group to search the cultural differences between Asian countries and English-speaking countries. With these results, they can podcast their findings like this episode. Their podcast could include their own experiences, some paper articles, or broadcasting etc. I think I can use this podcast site as a source of developing intercultural knowledge of my students, whenever I find good ones from here.

How I could use digital story tool for teaching.

Digital story videos: Four Seasons


This is about "Four Seasons".
It could be very easy topic or somewhat  boring one, however, once we start to talking about this easy topic, we can find that there is countless story we could make.
For example, students can learn basic English words about seasons, and they can talk about their favorite seasons and the resson. Students also discuss the main event of each season.

Through dicussing this topic,
1. We are able to know the words about four seasons in English.
2. We are able to correctly use verb tense by talking about four seasons.
3. We are able to talk about our favorate episode about four seasons.

Likewise, we can discuss some certain topic using these digital tools which are able to show visual images.
I will use this kind of digital tools to show some related images to students and it makes students to understand some topic easily.
I can use this tool to give some native speaking using some visual images.

Finally, I will show students these story clips and make students four groups. Each group will have each season, and they will discuss the season assigned. After discussing each season, they will report their discussion with this kind of story board.
This will be able to enhence students' understanding and will be able to give more interest of the topic.

How can I use ePals in my class?

ePals provides various services for school students. This program and services are specified for helping students with their learning purpose in each area. Their program provides are such as:



ePals SchoolMail®365 is next generation email and communications for Schools and Districts.


ePals LearningSpace® is a safe virtual workspace optimized for K-12 communication and collaboration.


The ePals Global Community™ is the world's largest network of K-12 classrooms, enabling students and teachers to safely connect and collaborate on projects with classrooms worldwide.


In2Books® is ePals' curriculum-based e-mentoring program for students in grades 3 through 5.

                                   

Among these programs,this global community program attracted my interest. It provides worldwide network for working together with classrooms crossing the borderlines. This reminds me my secondary school when I started a pen pal with other country’s friend. I wrote a letter to my foreign friend in English and she also replied to me in English. It was just small communication between the friend and me, because we had just started to learn English, however, this experience gave me countless motivation why I learn and study other language hard. Likewise, I think teachers can use this tool for encouraging and giving reasonable motivation to learn other language. Through communication, students could also learn how each country’s culture is different in communicating each other. Students can learn target culture more vividly through direct communication. Students can also make global friends. I believe this function of this program can pour an infinite of possibilities of learning language.


                                
Second best function that I like is In 2 Books program. I like the idea to teach or instruct students using different approach. This program provides e-mentoring program for students in grades 3 through 5, matches students with adult pen pals, who read the same books, and exchange teacher-monitored, online letters about questions and issues raised by the text. The program provides standards-based professional development and professional learning communities and is facilitated by three resource-filled websites - one for students, another for pen pals, and a third for teachers. I think that this program could give more comfortable environment to learn something. I also like the idea they use adult pen pals who can guide the student through communication. Like this, in second language education teachers can use this tool for enhancing student s language proficiency. We can group three students, two is in similar language proficiency level and the other one is higher level of language proficiency. Though the group-work, the advanced one can guide the rest member students using correction and feedback. This method could be applied to writing or grammar class.

 Fianlly, I think this kind of tool and program can motivate and encourage students learn more actively and it also provide the door to go outside to the world. Teachers also catch up with and fill the need of the students using efficient technologies. These technologies can provide ample opportunity to students which may be not possible only inside of the classroom education.
                          
In my classroom, I will use each tool for my teaching:
1. ePals SchoolMail®365 : I will  use SchoolMail for a active communication with students. Studetns can e-mail school for any suggestion they may have for their school. The students' opinion may be reflected to the school or district's agenda.

2. ePals LearningSpace® : I will use this tool for communicating tool between students. Students can discuss some topic and they collaborate for any group project. I could have them to do some project through this virtual space where they communicate and discuss the issue.

3. The ePals Global Community™ : I will use this tool for a global network and communication. Students can meet some friends in the world and they can communicate and will get knowing each culture. Students might do some projects with communicate with students in other country. They can ask and answer the questions that they may do not know about. (e.g. cultural differences in each country)

4. In2Books®:  I will use tool for enhencing students' writing skills. Students can partner with more capable students. They e-mail each other and discuss some topic and the more advanced student can give some instruciton of correct writing skill or grammar tips in writing. Students may be communicate each other once a week about some readings and they correct each other's writing.

I think the ePals can provide an effective tools for language learning in foreign language classroom. This communication tool have more chance to enhence students' language ability through interesting activities.

How I can use Bubblr story using Flilckr photo in my teaching

I think I can use my story very effectively while I teach L2 learners English
My Bubblr Story: . How I use my story for teaching.



Photo by Marxchivist
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tom1231/254460772/

 For using this story making activity, I can provide more vivid experience and arouse students’ interest in new culture. Learning language means learning the target country’s culture and life style as well. When we comprehensively understand the environment of the target language, we can achieve true learning. Language is a tool to share peoples’ thought and communicate each other. Hence, if we have enough knowledge of the target language, we can be a more successful language learner. I will suggest some examples that I can use in my classroom.


First, I can teach geography using map. Students can visualize the location and the character of each state. I can show the students the map of the U.S.A. and ask them such as: Do you know why is the U.S.A. composed of 50 states? Where is your favorite state in U.S.A? While learning geography of the U.S.A, students can write some story of their interest, with which they can get more focused on language learning.
Second, we can talk about which state they visited until now, and how they felt about that? From the sharing of their feeling and thought, we can be more motivated to learn English.

I can discuss the differences of culture or school life between U.S.A. and their own country. Recognition of the differences between two cultures could enhance the understanding of target culture and motivation of language learning.

Finally, I could have the students create stories or this topic using the map. They may build a story clip according to their own interest. For example, students can make some story of his/her favorate state and why they like the state most, or what is the charactereistics of each state.
Students can put bubbles with text on a series of pictures together about cultrue. Students can text their feelings about foreign culture in the bubbles on a picture. It will improve their ability to make some storylines in English and also enhence their understanding of foreign culture. 
This kind of activity also give motivation to engage in class more actively, also students can grasp the gap between each culture by using visual tools.  

Digital Storytelling and how I could use it

Photo by Philip Wee

7 things you should know about DIGITAL STORYTELLING

While using internet, I have enjoyed telling my story in online space to share with lots of people. We can obtain various areas of useful information or get some chance to rethink about a certain topic which was dealt in some blog posts. Through this Module, I was able to know about ‘Digital Storytelling’, so I would like to describe the basic categories that we should know before we tell stories at online space. I got this information from 7 things you should know about DIGITAL STORYTELLING from internet site.

1. What is it?
Digital storytelling is the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component.


2. Who’s doing it?
For faculty, to facilitate various learning styles and connect to students’ interest in technology, and, for students, to develop their ability to appropriately evaluate and use online content and electronic tools as a means of personal expression.


3. How does it work?
Most digital storytelling programs promote the notion that users with little or no technical background should be able to create digital stories. Depending on the elements included in the digital story, a student might need a recording device and microphone, hardware and software to manipulate images and video, or tools to take pictures and video. Some digital storytelling applications are available free online

4. Why is it significant?
Digital stories let students express themselves not only with their own words but also in their own voices, fostering a sense of individuality and of “owning” their creations. At the same time, digital stories give students an opportunity to experiment with self-representation—telling a story that highlights specific characteristics or events—a key part of establishing their identity, a process that for many is an important aspect of the college years.


5. What are the downsides?
Many people find that piecing together a coherent narrative is considerably more difficult than they thought, and students not comfortable producing original work are likely to find themselves simply modeling their efforts on digital stories they have come across. Moreover, the multimedia technologies used in digital stories can be extensive, requiring considerable support and storage space for programs or institutions.


6. Where is it going?
The ongoing refinement of multimedia applications will place greater power into the hands of more people, allowing richer digital stories. The rise in digital storytelling will in some ways parallel the emergence and growth of social networking and video-sharing sites—these sites benefit from compelling content, and digital stories need an outlet.


7. What are the implications for teaching and learning?
Digital storytelling can serve as a bridge between these groups, encouraging a historian, for example, to delve into multimedia applications while exposing a computer scientist to the ideas of narrative through family lore.

(Which contents are summarized from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7021.pdf)

How can I use this ‘Digital Storytelling’ in my teaching?

From digital storytelling, we can access each other more easily and it makes our communication more efficient. I can use this ‘Digital Storytelling’ in class communication tool. Students may share their major concerns on learning language and they could encourage each other by sharing their difficulties or success stories in their online space. This kind of sharing may be limited in the classroom activity due to of time issue. Throughout sharing and communicating, I can encourage students and get more detailed information based upon each student’s experiences.

How I might use microblogs for teaching?

How I might use microblogs for teaching ?

Twitter, I heard and watched it from lots of gossip news mainly (J) such as some Hollywood starts’ twitting about their situation. I thought that Twitter is just for technology people seeking for a new-trend of life, so it was always very different story from my way of living. I never used blog or twitter in my daily life. I only use a phone, nevertheless that, I believe that I am accustomed to these kinds of new technology, because I have already heard about that so many times. I followed 5 edubloggers a few days, and I got some interests in this tool. As a graduate school student in education field, I am wondering how I can use these microblogging in actual classroom or for my personal development. I read two articles that can give me some hint or resources.

The first one I read was: 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Education

This article gives a lot of information that I hadn’t thought about yet. This reading gave a very systematic order of information from the ‘First Steps’ to build an account to the ‘Negatives and Positives’ in using this tool. In the section of ‘About WHAT to Tweet’, it provided really helpful tips for using Twitter in education.

First of all, we have to define the purpose of why we use Tweet. As cooper-Taylor suggested, we have to clarify that “Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”.  If I use Twitter in my classroom, I have to give them definite reason to use Twitter. For example, if I have a literature class, I can make students to share their opinion of some piece of literature (main characters, topic of this literature, meaning, etc.), and it would be our class’ attention to use Twitter. Another point from this reading was “Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions”. From twitting, our class share their thoughts without any limitation of time to designated or space to meet to talk. Students just can share their opinions in any time and any place. It removes time-spacial constraints and makes a new ‘Chronotope’ (Bakhtin, 1937). It makes a real community to get along with other peers by “Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting what others have posted” and “it is a great way to build community”. Final advantage that I found from this article was that “Twitter in the classroom helps people build an instant ‘backchannel’. Thus, even if students feel uncomfortable to ask questions to teacher, they can use Twitter freely in any purpose of their needs.

 

The second article that I read was: Getting the Most Out of Twitter

This article suggests some ways to make Twitter work for the users:

1.      A custom news feed

2.      Check your lists

3.      Attend a conference, virtually

4.      What’s around you right now

5.      Ask questions

I think this lists suggest effective ways of using Twitter for students and teacher as well. I think I can use Twitter as a place for more active communication among students, because “Even the most prolific users say Twitter has become more useful as a way to tap in to the discussions of the day than to broadcast their own thoughts”.

Another effective way of using Twitter is for asking questions, especially “when you don’t know whom to ask”. I think it is very important function of Twitter. If I do not know where I can get certain resources, then I can ask twitters in that area. I can know what is going on in education world in real time. Many information is shared in twitter. There exists no barrier any more regarding time, distance, culture, or race.

Social Networking Group: Classroom 2.0

Classroom 2.0 defined its character as;

“Classroom 2.0 is a free, community-supported network. We especially hope that those who are "beginners" will find this a supportive comfortable place to start being part of the digital dialog”.

This site provides a lot of useful information and various educational experiences.

In here, teachers (including future-educators) can get very helpful information and also I can communicate with other teachers about education. This site offers open place for discussion, communication, and technical support about using internet technology. These social networking with other teachers can help us keep up with current trends of educational technology, so as to teachers can provide real information to students.

The Teacher of Today

What is the role of teacher?

I never deeply think about this issue, because its answer is too obvious. Teacher is a person who gives knowledge to students. Then, where is teacher’s knowledge from? Of course, we know that answer: It is from their academic experiences, especially, college education



First, I think 'teacher of today' should act like an electric USB hub because it connects every informations together and  collects all the information from each USB into the main computer. We can select any information what we need for some tasks and modify some information according to the collected informations. Like these, the teacher  should connect and select all the necessary knowledge from outside source and convey the core knowledge to students.

From Siemens’ article of Connectivism, the author argued that;

“Personal knowledge is comprised of a network, which feeds into organizations and institutions, which in turn feed back into the network, and then continue to provide learning to individual. This cycle of knowledge development (personal to network to organization) allows learners to remain current in their field through the connections they have formed”.

Then, now we have to reconsider the fact that teachers’ knowledge could be derived from ‘network’, not from their academic experiences. Today’s teacher should have an access to the ‘network’ which provides an ample of learning and current knowledge.

Second, I think the teacher should also be guiding the students to become hubs as well. The information which is collected and selected from teahcer could be regenerated among students' interaction. They could make and add very new concept on the original one, likewise USB hub could connect each USB in a very various manner, they can contact and even creat their own hubs for their own purposes. Teacher's role should not be confined only as a deliverer (connecter), but it sould be extended as a regenerator of creating a new hub.
Finally, the teacher of today should take a role as a connector of current knowledge, like an USB hub, and as a regenerator (supporter) of creating a new hub, so teachers should keep connecting all the new information through ‘network’, and keep arranging all the information to support build new information hub among students. 

I would like to finish my posting with citing from the video, ‘The Changing Nature of Knowledge’:

“It’s not just what we know today that’s important. It’s our ability to continue to stay current as knowledge changes”.

Connectivism

Tips for English Teachers using Video clips

10 Speaking English Activities using TED.com

from  http://kalinago.blogspot.com/2011/09/10-speaking-english-activities-using.html.

 

Nowadays, more and more English teachers work with a video clip in the classroom to deliver more efficient class to the students. From my memory of English speaking classes, I also watched some video clips in my class and discussed the topic in the video, however, I never thought that classes working with video helped me improve my English speaking. It was just a kind of boring time for me.

I picked up this posting, because it describes the details about effective usage of video clips with which English teachers may obtain good results in their classroom. Her suggestion starts from preparation for the class.

The author advises teachers sit down and prepare carefully, because it is not “just glorified babysitting”. (I really agree with her this comment of ‘babysitting’.)

The author suggests 10 ways of activities teachers can do with the video clip in their classroom:

1.      Prediction:  what's the video going to be about?

2.      Vocabulary Collection

3.      Debate

4.      Post-speech interview

5a.Critique Presentation Style

5.      Compare body-language

6.      Wh-: who/what/where/when/why/how  

7.      Critical Thinking  - Who's the target audience?

8.      Will this idea fly?

9.      In his/her shoes...

10.    Rank my TED video!

11.    What else?   

I think these tips are very helpful to teachers on the site. Even these tips are focused on the TED site, it could be applicable in general English classes. Each steps are very organized: it starts with the step of before watching the video (Step 1-2), after watching the video (Step 3-5), specific quesitons about the contents of the video (Step 6-9). As such, the author's posting is beautifully organized and analyzed.

Brave New Digital Classroom

                          
What is language ‘learning’?

What does the ‘learning’ mean?

I think that ‘learning language’ is association through interaction with others.

I think that ‘learning’ is built by negotiation through communication.

Communicators make meaning through negotiation, and they make the ‘learning’ in their real world and in real life. Blake et al. extend the boundary of the ‘real’ life to technological space because digital tools are already composed of our ‘real’ life.

"People's interactions with computers, television, and new media are fundamentally social and natural, just like interactions in real life"(p. 3). 

Cyber space becomes one of the most popular and common communicational ground, so I agree with Blake’s thought.

“All language professionals need to become acquaint with the potential advantages of using technology in their programs. Without some general claims to success and media superiority, chairs, deans, and other decision-making bodies won’t understand or support new ways of teaching second languages with technology” (p.4).

However, we have to attend to the ‘real’ things that happen in our ‘real’ world right now. Our ‘real’ world is going to a certain direction, where “the web gives all peoples a channel to express their voice, promote their self-image, and legitimize their goals. This sense of authenticity provides endless topics for cross-cultural analysis and discussions in any content-driven classroom” (p.5).

 Blake, R. J.,  &  Chun, D. M.  (2008).  Brave New Digital Classroom: Technology and Foreign Language Learning.  Washington, D.C. :Georgetown University Press.

Educational Change Challenge

This video clip of Educational Change Challenge made me think about our education system today.
Is our education going to the right direction? If so, is all the curridulum or method for our children, or educational policymakers?
Children are too accustomed to the ways that they have gotten from school. Many school officials or teachers hesitate to applay new way of teaching to students.
Our education system is just focused on teachers' side not students'. They just teach things that they believe they should teach, and they never consider students' interest and what they really want to learn from school.

This video made me think about very fundamental thins about learning and teaching.

"Do I creat life-long learners and am I prepared students for my age or theirs?"
(cited form "Education Change Challenge")

                                       

Internet Safety Tips

Internet Safety Tips for Kids and Teens

1. Never give any personal information to anyone you meet online.
2. Never meet up with anyone you don't already know.
3. Don't fill out any "fun" questionnaires that are forwarded to you, even if they're from your friends.
4. Make sure you know everyone on your buddy list.
5. You do not have to answer emails or IMs from people you don't know.
6. There's no such thing as "private" on the Internet.
7. Be careful about posting pictures of yourself (if you must, don't post sexy ones or ones showing behavior you wouldn't want your mom, teacher, boss, or potential college advisor to see).
8. Don't send pictures of other people.
9. Don't download content without your parents' permission.
10. Never share your password with anyone but your parents.

You can get more related information here:

http://www.cyber-safety.com/teens.html

http://www.commonsense.com/internet-safety-tips/tips-for-kids.php

http://www.isafe.org/channels/sub.php?ch=op&sub_id=media_

You can get more articles related with cyber safety here:

http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet23/li.html

http://www.deakin.edu.au/dro/eserv/DU:30024050/hanewald-confrontingthepedagogical-2008.pdf

http://www.deakin.edu.au/dro/eserv/DU:30024050/hanewald-confrontingthepedagogical-2008.pdf

Three ways that second language teachers use blogs

Second language teachers could use blogs in their classroom teaching with an enriching, relevant, and challenging way. Computer assisted learning could give a chance to get a lot of language information largely: 1) technical access of the target language through usage of four language domains, 2) background knowledge of target language, and 3) communication with target language users.

1.      Computer assisted learning (Technically)

Standard: Second language learners will meet the standards of the Four language domains for developing second language.

Through computer based interaction, second language learners can improve their language skills in these four language domains. It could fill the gap between in-classroom learning and the real language usage.  

Usage of Four Language Domains

Each of the five language proficiency standards is divided into the language domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. While interaction naturally occurs between and among language domains, in this document, they are maintained as separate constructs as one way of thinking about curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Listening

Listening is an active skill. By highlighting an assortment of listening tasks across standards, the need to involve students in active listening and purposeful listening skills development becomes clear.

Speaking

English language learners engage in oral communication in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and in a wide spectrum of settings. As part of oral communication, students are constantly using language in meaningful interaction with others.

Reading

English language learners process, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols, and text with understanding and fluency. Learning to read in a second language may be enhanced or hindered by students’ level of literacy in their native language. Students who have a strong foundation in reading in their first language bring with them skills that can be readily transferred in the process of learning to read in English.

Writing

English language learners use written communication for a variety of purposes and audiences. Writing can be used to express meaning through drawing, symbols, or text. English language learners may come with writing styles influenced by their home cultures.

Source: http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/sec_document.asp?CID=281&DID=13323

2.      Background knowledge of target language

Second language teacher can provide various contents related with the target language: culture, society, custom, tradition, history, and etc. This information could consist of the background knowledge of second language learning. Based on the real input from the target culture or target society, the second language learns can enhance the understanding of the target culture and motivate the second language learning. Also, the teacher can function as a facilitator rather than a purveyor of knowledge throughout using this blog source.

3.      Communication with target language users (or Language websites)

This facility makes it possible that second language learners around the world can contact with native target language learners. Even these blog tools can offer many opportunities for second language learners with the integration of text (through e-mail, or comments), images, or video. Through this electronic communication, language learners can connect with the target language uses anytime, anywhere.

Even second language learners can access to thousands of foreign-language websites to learn a target language through a variety of ways: it ensures the approachableness of the second language learners to the target language.