Webquest

A webquest is an assignment which asks students to use the World Wide Web to learn about and/or synthesize their knowledge a specific topic. A “true” webquest, as originally designed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March, requires synthesis of the new knowledge by accomplishing a “task,” often to solve a hypothetical problem or address a real-world issue. Simpler web activities designed for students to investigate and collect new knowledge from web-based sources can also be a more engaging and effective replacement for read-the-chapter-and-complete-the-review-questions.

Building Blocks of a WebQuest:

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/buildingblocks.htm

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/buildingblocks/p-index.htm

ESL

http://stbern.com/Classroom%20Pages/computer/Halloween%20Web%20Quest/scary_web_quest.htm


http://www.isabelperez.com/webquest/taller/l2/word/tv_news.htm



Other Links:
http://www.michellehenry.fr/idecours.htm

http://www.fourcornerslearning.org/edresources/Webquests/CarQuest/carwebquest.htm

http://www.isabelperez.com/webquest/marbella/welcome_to_london/index.html

Glogster

VISUAL LITERACY AND THE 21ST CENTURY LEARNER

Visual communication is a process of sending and receiving messages using images. Visual literacy can be defined as the ability to construct meaning from visual images. (Giorgis, Johnson, Bonomo, Colbert, & al, 1999: 146) To make meaning from images, the reader uses the critical skills of exploration, critique, and reflection."
~ The Visual Literacy White Paper, Dr. Anne Bamford, Art and Design University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

http://www.glogster.com/

PowerPoint

PowerPoint can be used to teach new ideas and concepts to students. In theory this sounds very good; however, in practice this can be tricky. The teacher must anticipate areas of misunderstanding and difficulty. Once the teacher knows the troubles, which the students will face, he or she can create or adapt a presentation for the students. The presentation must be clear and uncluttered. It should address anticipated areas of student difficulty in an orderly manner. This type of presentation is difficult to prepare, but it can be done. Once an initial teaching presentation is prepared, it can be saved and used again and again, and it can be shared with others.

Prezi

Windows Movie Maker Guide

Windows Movie Maker Guide

http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/tvprog/resources/Windows_Movie_Maker_GuideAUG2005.pdf

PodOmatic

http://www.podomatic.com/login


A podcast is the name of a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program. Podcasts are published on the internet as MP3 files. Interested listeners are able to download these MP3 files onto their personal computer or personal MP3 player of any type The files can be listened to at the convenience of the listener. Learners can listen over and over to any material that is of interest to them. To be useful in a school setting a teacher would need internet access, a computer that can play audio files or an MP3 player.

Podcasts can be as short as two to three minutes and as long as an hour. Teachers can subscribe to a podcast through an RSS subscription (Really Simple Syndication). The advantage of this practice is that as new episodes become available they are downloaded to the computer automatically. Also, they come at no cost to the subscriber. Because podcast content is free, teachers now have a way to build up a big listening library for their students on contemporary and relevant topics. Teachers can also encourage students to download podcasts on their own so that they have more listening input.

Voxopop

Used by educators all over the world, Voxopop talk-groups are a fun, engaging and easy-to-use way to help students develop their speaking skills. They're a bit like message boards, but use voice rather than text and a have a specialized user interface. No longer confined to a physical classroom, teachers and students of oral skills can interact from home, or even from opposite sides of the planet!
Anywhere. Anytime. .

Language learning
Conversation practice
Collaboration projects
Oral presentations

Effective Ways to Use Authentic Materials with ESL/EFL Students

When used effectively, authentic materials help bring the real world into the classroom and significantly enliven the ESL class. Exposing the students to cultural features generates a deeper understanding of and interest in the topic. On one hand, the students develop their ability to zero in on relevant information, and on the other, they learn how to disregard what is not relevant. As students pool their individual strengths they gain confidence in being able to function in an English-speaking society.

Do you agree with the use of technology in the EFL/ESL classroom?

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
By Marc Prensky
From On the Horizon (MCB University Press, Vol. 9 No. 5, October 2001)
© 2001 Marc Prensky

It is amazing to me how in all the hoopla and debate these days about the decline of education in the US we ignore the most fundamental of its causes. Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.