CMC tools in the classroom

As we've been seeing for the past few weeks, CMC can be a very valuable tool in the classroom. There are several aspects of CMC that still need to be researched, and these uses of technology in the classroom are most useful when investigated with an eye towards SLA research, as well.

My favorite application, from what we've seen so far of CMC in the classroom, is the use of synchronous chats in the classroom to give students more time to experience interpersonal communication. I like the idea that online chats can be saved and used for future activities, as well, so that the original purpose of the chat ends up doing double duty -- first as language practice, second as something else -- cultural reflection, grammatical reflection, the springboard for a follow-up activity.

A close second place would be either blogging or e-mail. Both blogging and email provide students with a forum to practice more formal writing skills than chatting (by nature, faster, more conversational than the writing found in blogs and emails). Blogs are more public than email, which can be both a benefit and a drawback, depending on point of view. For some students, knowing that any person can access the blog might be a drawback, while for others, that very same reason would be a benefit. Email communication can be more personal in nature than blog posts because it does tend to be less public than a blog. Both of these tools can also be used as the springboard for follow-up activities similar to those mentioned above.

So far, it seems that most research about these tools concludes that their usefulness is all in the way that they are put to use....So it's really still about good teaching, good context, putting things into a logical sequence....

research questions

We're thinking about our upcoming research projects, and thinking about how to write a good research question this week.

This feels like a really big challenge for me, because with my limited knowledge of the technologies available for classroom use I feel like I'm up against all of the smart people who figured out that technology could be used in a classroom a long time ago, and that they've already asked all the good questions!

I started brainstorming in class about webquests, and how to use them in the classroom. It seems too broad to ask a question like, "are webquests effective tools for teaching foreign languages?", but at the same time, I feel like my knowledge of webquests is so limited that I don't know what kind of questions have already been asked, what information has already been found about them, and what kind of questions would actually add something to the realm of SLA theory in relation to webquests.

So for now, the questions that stick out as possibly interesting topics for my research project this semester are:
1. How do webquests promote the inclusion of the standards for foreign language learning in the secondary classroom?
2. To what extent do webquests promote language proficiency in foreign language classrooms?

I think that both of these questions have potential, and both are related to a subject I'm interested in knowing more about. What I'm hoping to discover through studying this topic is more information about webquests, how they are useful, when they are useful, and what they are useful for, especially as related to the foreign language classroom.

I think knowing more about what aspects of webquests are truly conducive to learning would be very helpful for language teachers. Also, knowing the most appropriate strategies for using webquests in the classroom and having guidelines for what works well and what tends not to be a productive use of class time would be helpful for many teachers, including myself!

one of my favorite lunches

One of my favorite lunches is beet soup.
I found the recipe on the great big veggie challenge

And the recipe shows that I can upload a document -- woohoo!

Using widgets/polls/links in blogs

The theme for this week is the use of "add-ons" in the blog, and whether these can be useful in the classroom. And whether the blog, in and of itself, can be useful in the classroom.

I think, from what we've read and discussed so far, that incorporating not only use of computers but also use of the internet and internet based communication activities can be very helpful for foreign language students. Although limited by problems of access, incorporating technology into the classroom, in a hands-on, project based manner can give students the autonomy and motivation necessary to actively practice their new language skills and can provide a comfortable environment for this practice to take place.

I specifically think that blogs could be incorporated into the classroom in two ways. The first would be for the teacher to create a blog, which the students would be required to access for the instructions for specific activities, the links to specific activities, or the links to certain articles, readings, websites of interest. A "class blog" could centralize all of this information, making it easily accessible to all students who have web access. Of course, the issue of security comes into play, and as discussed in the Lafford and Lafford article, maintaining a secure environment is much easier when using programs like Blackboard, which restrict access to students. A second use for blogs in the classroom would be for the students to create and maintain their own blogs. I think this would be more useful at an intermediate level class, once the students already have a solid foundation in the target language and are able to write posts on various (perhaps assigned) topics, creating links to websites of interest in their target language and the like. Again, security issues and access issues might impede this type of technology use in the classroom, but if well incorporated into the teachers lesson plans and long-range goal oriented planning, it could be very interesting to see how it works.

Blog "add-ons", like videos and pictures, make the blog more interesting. When videos and pictures are well chosen, they can make the blog not only more interesting, but also more informative and easier to understand. Writing assignments, or oral communication assignments, could be given based on students' reactions to the videos or images posted on the blog. Other add-ons, like polls or surveys, could help determine students' interest level in certain topics or their reactions to other information posted on the blog. And link lists, of course, can provide students with many resources for the edification of their use of the target language.

This is to show that I know how to publish a document to my blog.

learning to use videos...

my first power point

You can click on the picture, or here to see my first power point presentation. Ever.

I have mixed feelings about power point, especially in the classroom. So many times, in the classes that I've been a student in, powerpoint presentations somehow make class less interesting -- perhaps because most of my teachers who have used power point in the classroom have had a tendency to read their lecture directly from the slides without adding much other information. I think I'm a capable reader, and I would rather read the slides for myself, at my faster reading pace, than have them be read to me. So far in my academic career, I have not seen powerpoint used in any other capacity. I suppose this could be helpful for visual learners, however, by satisfying their need to look at the information being presented to them, while other students still have the option of hearing the information presented in the lecture.

When one of my classmates heard that I hated powerpoint, she started listing some of the different ways that she has used powerpoint in the classroom, in more interactive ways than what I've experiences. I think that it can be an effective tool, when used in an engaging manner -- it seems that so far, I've encountered a lot of "user error" and what I might deem "false integration" of powerpoint into the classroom. Creating interactive games, for review purposes, seems like a new and different use of powerpoint to me, but one that could make common review games seem a lot more authentic in the classroom setting. I think I would like to learn how to make some sort of "choose your own adventure" with powerpoint -- but I'm so limited in my knowledge of what can be done with powerpoint that I don't know if this is possible!

Since making my own powerpoint presentations is so new to me, I think that, at least at first, using it in my classroom will be a challenge. It will take time for me to learn the tricks and tips for quickly creating interesting presentations and also for learning how to create more interactive presentations. I think that interaction is extremely important in the classroom, and I hope that powerpoint can be a tool that promotes interaction, rather than just make lecturing more convenient.

A look at my internet use

The internet is mostly a tool for communication for me. I send and receive emails mostly from close friends and family, with the occasional communication to or from a professor. Sometimes I will have quick chats online with my husband, usually while I am at work. I enjoy reading the news online; I check the BBC website three or four times a day, reveling at the balanced and outside-of-America point of view they present, and enjoying the pictures-of-the-day. In a typical week, all other internet use is directly related to work or school. The internet makes my day-to day communication a little quicker, a little easier, and a lot more convenient, on the whole, but the tasks I use it for are limited by my lack of free time.