Module 14: Social Networking for Educational use

In our daily lives, we don't have much time for social contact unfortunately. Facebook is a substitute for this. I love finding out what people dear to me are doing, and responding to them, and kind of socialising with them in the virtual world. I have used Facebook with my students, but only for sharing information.

According to digizen.org, the activities listed below are some of the most popular that learners become involved in while using social networking sites. Communicating with existing networks, making and developing friendships/contacts Represent themselves online, create and develop an online presence Viewing content/finding information Creating and customising profiles Authoring and uploading content Adding and sharing content Posting messages – public & private Collaborating with other people

Micro-blogging is a Web service that allows users to post brief text updates or links to media such as photos. I have found out in this module that Twitter is a micro-blogging service although I have had a Twitter account for some time now..... I believe that Micro-blogging is useful for reporting breaking news, or some controversial issues. Also, at a personal level, it helps us to socialize.....Unfortunately no time is left to socialize in real life due to our hectic lifestyles. When it comes to using SNSs for educational purposes, I admit that I have got a long way to go.... First I need to rationalize it within myself, and feel comfortable, and then..... I will try.

Module 13: Collaborative Online Writing

I had never been very fond of wikis, and avoided using them as much as I could, the reason being the chaos created by many people revising the same text and sometimes ending up creating something really incorrect. Years ago, a colleague of mine started a wiki for professional development, and I opened a page there which I started using with my students. Yet, when I found myself in the world of MOODLE, I forgot all about wikis, and stopped using them altogether. This module has made me think that wikis have their own use as well. For collaborative work tidily presented to all the readers, wiki must be the solution....Also I did not know that there is a Simple English Wikipedia: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki . I will definitely suggest this to lower level learners. And here are my reflections of this module: Wikis are good for tasks that need planning and coordination. If planning is attempted through e-mail exchanges, the email exchange becomes chaotic, as the important information is scattered around everyone's inbox. With a wiki, coordination is easy....as the text is edited and chaos is avoided, on the condition that the users are trained in using wikis. The most famous wiki, Wikipedia, is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects: Commons: Free media repository, Wikiquote: Collection of quotations, Wikiversity: Free learning materials and activities, Wikibooks: Free textbooks and manuals, Wikisource: Free-content library, Wiktionary: Dictionary and thesaurus, Wikinews: Free-content news, Wikispecies: Directory of species, Meta-Wiki: Wikimedia project coordination

To use wikis educationally, the STOLEN principle could be useful: Specific Overall Objective Clear objective for the wiki The wiki needs to have a simple clear objective - a clear purpose, explaining the benefits of either contributing to it, or the benefits of the end product once produced. Understood by all All people editing the wiki must understand the objectives, to allow them to edit the wiki in accordance with these objectives. Not a 'general' area Although ideologically there would be some merit in giving people a 'blank space' for them to explore their thoughts and possibilities, in reality with the relatively small number of students on any one course, module or unit - a 'blank space' is unlikely to magically get converted into a media rich knowledge bank like wikipedia (Here is an addition I consider important) Grading strategy If your wiki is not graded, that's fine. But if you plan on grading your students on their work on the wiki, establish some rules ahead of time so students can be aware of what they will be graded on. You might have to assign individual or group spaces in addition to a common space. (Mathieu Plourde, Instructional Designer, University of Delaware) Timely Definitive times for different 'stages' of use It is very easy for this sort of activity to 'get put off until I have more time'. To avoid this, setting intermediate deadlines, is advantageous. Sending reminders (e.g. emails) will usually trigger a rush of activity so can be used as a mechanism to keep up a wikis momentum. Definite end point - even if left open after Resources like Wikipedia have no definitive end point, the resource will continue ad infinitum When creating a wiki for educational use, it is unlikely that such a resource will get created or be useful, so wikis should be set up for specific purpose, with a specific end point. There isn't a problem with leaving the wiki open afterwards, nor is their a problem with people continuing to edit the resource, as this would also be ideal. Ownership People need to feel that they 'collaboratively own' the wiki Students will create highly imaginative blogs, Myspace or Facebook areas - because they belong to the students, and these areas are a reflection of them and their personality. To get high levels of creativity in a wiki, then creating some element of ownership can be advantageous, although there is a risk that this 'ownership' if individual will inhibit the collaborative nature of the wiki. The conclusion therefore is to try to create a 'collaborative ownership'. This could be done by using language appropriate to the natural language of the group, or by having a soft touch when moderating the activity on the wiki. Another option is to designate certain areas to certain participants (of groups of participants) - it may be possible to make the exerise competitive, with different groups set a challenge of creating a resource that is 'better than other groups'. This will depend on the nature of the groups involved and will require deligence from the tutor. Localised objective Some structure of what is expected Wikipedia has evolved organically, effectively with no starting structure, however this has only been possible by the high numbers of people involved in the editing of the site. This model will not replicate itself at a smaller level with an educational wiki. Therefore the wiki creator will benefit from creating some structure of what is expected - this could be some headings to use, an example page etc. Starting points for editing For most people wikis are new concepts, and the thought of this collaborative editing is daunting to many, especially if presented with a 'blank canvas' - it is therefore beneficial to create some starting points for the students to edit - this will probably be linked to the structure that is being created. Engagement rules Who can edit Some people will be nervous about editing, so reinforcing who can (and is desired to) edit the wiki should be made obvious on the site. Which parts they can edit Clear guidance on which parts can (and is desired to) be edited should be made clear and obvious on the site. Acceptable and unacceptable use Depending on the ages and nature of the people who will be editing the wiki, it may be beneficial to provide some acceptable and unacceptable use guidance. This would benefit from not be presented in a formal 'Thou shall not' style, but could be incorporated in other information (e.g the purpose of the wiki) and should definitely be 'light touch'. Navigation Clear navigation structure One of the beauties of wikis is the way that they 'grow organically' however this often results in different people creating different styles of navigation structure, which can result in confusing navigation. The wiki moderator could create their own structure for people to follow - which should ease this problem, but may inhibit the 'freedom' of the site. The best that someone can do when using a wiki educationally, is look at what they have created through the eyes of the students, or ask a colleague, friend, relative to look at. Simple navigation As well as the navigation being clear, it will ideally be simple, usually this means not too many clicks to find a specific part f the wiki, but balanced by not having a long list of links or information. With some wiki providers it is possible to create menu pages, which sit at the side of the wiki - these can be used to help with the navigational structure.

Finally, it was nice to open a personal wiki after quite a bit of time: http://nilgunhancioglueldridge.wikispaces.com/

Module 12: Online writing for students and teachers

I have always loved blogs because of their ease of use, and the wonderful opportunities they offer....Ok, it has got some disadvantages. For example, the older posts are not visible on the home page, but by means of tags, you can access all the related information about a particular topic.

Thanks to blogs, we have all become news reporters. Each and every one of us can have their own version of any news, and make sure that our views are accessible to others, only if they are interested in what we think of course :)

Because people can comment on material on a blog, a blog is also a discussion and interaction forum. We have got a lot to learn from each other, and a blog provides a sharing and learning platform for us.

Another advantage is that we can subscribe to a blog, and get all the updates instantly without wasting time to visit the blog on a regular basis. In addition, people can keep their blog strictly personal and use it as a diary. A further advantage is that pictures, videos, or audio files can all be uploaded, which makes blogs very versatile.

Another feature of blogs is their collaborative nature. Blogs allow 'comments by other people who are interested in this topic'. Through this feature, students and teachers can contribute to each other's learning, and construct knowledge together, which is the basis of social-constructivist approaches. A further advantage of this feature for the students is that they practise and therefore improve their writing skills. As for the teachers, they can monitor the progress of their students, and observe the problems they are having with the target language. This feature has one major disadvantage though. Sometimes, the comment may be irrelevant, culturally, personally, or socially insensitive, or plain rude towards certain individuals. The solution: The owner of the blog should have the power to monitor all the posts, and allow a post to be published then.

Finally, what does the ability to publish freely to the Web mean for our students? Through blogs, students are opening themselves up to the whole world. The sense of purpose, relevance, but most importantly audience will develop, and as a result they will try to make use of all their language resources and end up developing their writing skills.

Long live blogs!!

Module 11: Using the interactive web in the classroom

As a regular user of Web 2 applications like gmail, Facebook, Authorstream, Youtube, blogger, Skype, Wikis, Moodle, etc, I thoroughly enjoyed this module, as it has both given and also will give me the opportunity to extend this knowledge, and benefit both myself, my students, my family, my colleagues, and my institution. I reflected on how Web2 has changed language teaching and learning in the forum, so I am going to cheat and paste it here as well :)))) But before doing that, I would like to do two things...First I would like to thank my friend Steve for introducing not only me but also a lot of people to Web 2 applications. And secondly, I would like to thank the course designers for creating the platform for us to actually see and listen to Nik Peachey talking about these applications.

And now my reflections:

I remember that in the past, when teaching directions, we used to draw imaginary cinemas and supermarkets on imaginary streets in imaginary towns to make it easier for our students to understand the language for giving instructions.... In the same way, we used to ask our students to buy a special notebook and keep diaries of their language learning experiences to personalize each language learning experience. We also asked our students to take photos of their rooms for descriptions, and we had to wait for a week for the photos to be printed. We created imaginary characters for our students to write letters to.

The world is a different place now due to the ever-improving technology, and accordingly the whole language learning and teaching experience has changed beyond recognition. Web 2 applications have made this new experience even more meaningful with their flexibility, interactive nature, variety, and diversity.

Which teacher or student today would think of buying a notebook and using it to record language learning experiences? Would we draw imaginary roads in imaginary towns when there is 'google maps'? How many of us get our photos printed today when our photos are ready at the click of a button and can be readily used to describe our rooms and shared with our classmates in a blog? Or uploaded on Flickr or Picasa to be shared with the whole world? Who would think of creating imaginary characters to interact with when our students have friends from all over the world on Facebook?

The Internet, but more specifically Web 2 applications....... They have changed the way we live, buy, sell, communicate, socialize, and teach and learn. Teaching and learning have become more fun, more meaningful, more outcome based, and more globalized.

Module 10: Using learning technologies for school links projects

If they are planned, executed, and reviewed with care, taking into consideration the target, the level and motivation of the students, and the steps to follow, projects are very useful in language learning since they engage students in the task at hand, there is cooperation, and an outcome, and the students feel they are creating something meaningful.

Using learning technologies makes the experience even more valuable, as the students improve not only their language but also their ICT skills, they can create partnerships with students far away, and therefore improve their cultural awareness, as well as their general knowledge.

For the last 5-6 years, I have been teaching thesis writing.....The things I am learning on this course, and the insights I am acquiring thanks to this course are making me want to teach intensive English so that I can put those ideas into practice.

Module 9: Using Office software in a computer room

This module has been a real eye-opener..... The things you can do with especially PowerPoint is amazing. I learned so many new things in this module. I liked the 'How people live' activity in Word, as you can adapt and use it in so many different ways.I also like the 'description' activity again in Word, as I thought that such an activity might get the students to feel like a teacher when they get boring texts without any details from the students—instead of a vivid description that activates imagination.

My favorites have been the PowerPoint activities though.....'Add a caption'--- and reported speech. Getting the students to create their own conversations and stories.... Never taught reported speech in this way....Would like to try it one day when/if I have students at this level. To promote creativity and trigger imagination, creating picture stories by using clip art is a very good idea. What is even better is getting the students to take their own photos, and then create their own stories by uploading the photos and using them in their PowerPoint story creations.

I enjoyed this module a lot. First time I produced speech bubbles in PowerPoint. I am proud of myself :)))