Module 17: The future and the end

I am going to copy Musti's ideas for future reference first of all: Using technology in a classroom environment a. isn't something to be afraid of b. makes your lesson more effective and fruitful c. inspires the students d. provokes students’ creativity e. promotes collaborative learning f. helps students to aware what happens around the world by involving a project g. helps you to create your own online audio materials h. is not just showing a film for an hour When using technology we should a. never forget that the aim is teaching not using the technology just to sake of using it b. pay attention to netiquette not to offend people c. be careful about copyright of the materials d. make our students aware of cyber bullying

The two comments that I like most are: 'not to allow technology to lead the pedagogy. Pedagogy must come first'--Naomi from the Phillipines. 'I now always ask myself 'will this be engaging?'. We mustn't allow ourselves to be blinded by technology'-- Clare from the Czech Republic. I particularly like the ideas of all my fellow course participants and my colleagues, who talked about the importance of 'purpose', 'netiquette', and 'beng a lifelong learner'. My comment would be: I learned an awful lot from this course, and from my colleagues. What I will take away with me is: Technology is a wonderful opportunity for us, language teachers, to make use of the wonderful resources provided to enhance our students' learning experience. However, we should not forget that still the most important resource in the classroom is the teacher and the empathy he/she has for the students' learning. And this teacher will continue to be a wonderful resource by being a lifelong learner him/herself and by being open to all innovations, and challenges around him/her. The future: Mobile learning The possibilities for learning in general and language learning in particular are huge. Imagine your students being able to do grammar exercises on their phone on the way home from school. Or getting background information from the internet via their phone while on an organised school trip. Virtual Wolds: Second Life.... I wish I was a teenager learning English so that I could become a resident in Second Life :)))))

There are csme communities to keep up-to-date with innovations in education: Classroom 2.0 (http://www.classroom20.com/): An online community that looks at using new technologies in the classroom. IATEFL Learning Technologies Special Interest Group (LTSIG) (http://ltsig.org.uk/): The British Council's TeachingEnglish - Talk (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/talk) section also has lots of discussions, blogs, forum posts and polls on the use of technology in the classroom.

Below are some publications that look at emerging technologies - the technologies that are likely to have an impact on education in the future. Handbook of Emerging Technologies: http://ltc.umanitoba.ca/wikis/etl/index.php/Handbook_of_Emerging_Technologies_for_Learning This is a resource for educators planning to incorporate technologies in their teaching and learning activities. Horizon report; a report looking into emerging technologies in education, published yearly. The 2010 edition is at http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2010-Horizon-Report.pdf. New editions will appear at http://wp.nmc.org/. Each year six technologies are chosen that are predicted to have a major impact on education and practical examples are given on how these technologies are already being used.

A final word: In spite of my hectic lifestyle and multiple responsibilities, I am glad that I took this course. I would like to thank British Council, all the people who contributed to the development of the course, and our great moderators, Ayse and Nevin, for their great support.

Module 16: Practising Listening and Speaking with Online Video

Using Online video can be very valuable in practising listening and speaking skills. It is authentic, and versatile, and also there is a lot of variety. The students can be encouraged to make their own podcasts and videos, communicate with real people in a meaningful way, and practise pronunciation, intonation, and comprehension, and many more.....

Below are the ideas I got from this module: Teachers talk about three disadvantages of using online videos. These are the time it takes to stream videos, the reliability of sites and quality of the sound and pictures. Some advice on how to overcome these problems: YouTube is like a giant video flea market....so don't let your students use YouTube without an aim. The teacher should search ahead of time and be prepared by embedding the chosen video onto their own blog or wiki. The interesting thing that I learned here is to uncheck the box that says 'show the related videos'so that the videos that may not be appropriate are eliminated. Another very useful piece of information related to YouTube is the 'edu' section relevant to education, which teachers can benefit from. And lastly, you can upload your own videos on YouTube. By doing this, you can catalogue your own videos but other people around the world can make use of your videos as well.

Advantages of using video clips Students are exposed to authentic English in a natural context. You can really focus on the content, without students losing concentration. The visual element is stimulating to students. Short videos provide a nice alternative to reading or listening exercises which students are usually exposed to. Possible problems Technical problems can arise, either with problems of internet connection, or in the case of video on demand, a high demand at a given time for one particular video can affect the server. Some videos can be inappropriate, and the content may not be quite what you expect, hence it is crucial that you watch the video beforehand. All in all, another very useful module..... I wish I could refer to the materials, discussions, resources introduced/provided on this course all the time.....by having access to them after the course is completed.

Module 15: Practising Listening and Speaking with Online Audio

Podcasting has made broadcasting Personal and available On Demand. I didn't know that POD comes from Personal On Demand. 3 reasons why podcasts are so popular: 1. Anyone can do it, no satellites, studios needed. Only a microphone and a video camera, a computer, and a connection to the web is enough 2. You can subscribe to podcasts 3. Gatgetry: You can download the podcast onto your computer, but also an MP3 player. No dependence on traditional media. Podcasts are great for language learning because: a podcast is usually a structured audio text (has a beginning, middle and end section), a podcast usually follows a common entertainment genre such as a talk show or magazine type programme. content is usually scheduled at regular intervals (each day/week) and each episode often follows the same or similar structure to build into a series.

Benefits for teachers include: they are updated regularly easy to access copyright free for classroom use often free of charge and often have additional materials for teachers to use in class to teach extensive and intensive listening skills.

Using audio online for communication Considerations when recording online audio.

Audience e.g. is it for other students? what age? parents? Theme / topic Structure of content / genre Length Script Rehearse You Vs students Platform Media format Support materials All the resources, and tasks as well as discussions very useful again.