One of my school projects required me to entirely build a Webquest for my ESL students. But wait a second. What is a Webquest?
Working on that project made me realize that this type of Internet research could become very interesting to create an interactive and interesting activity for my students. Let me tell you more about my findings on Webquests and how it is possible to integrate one into an ESL classroom.
Using a Webquest or a similar task is great because of the motivation it brings to the students. When students are motivated, they undeniably tend to put more efforts in what they have to accomplish. Especially if you use a Webquest that reaches the interests of the students, it is possible to reach a very high level of motivation related to the accomplishment of that project.
Also, a Webquest prepares the students for real life situations. This is also known as an “authentic task”. A Webquest is something we all do without knowing. Nowadays, everybody needs to know how to find information on the Internet efficiently.
Develops thinking skills
A Webquest is not the type of task that you can accomplish just by memorizing information. You need to process that information and transform it into a more complex, more meaningful task. That transformation process is truly beneficial for the students because it develops their thinking and processing skills.
Cons
Because you always need to take a look at the other side of the medal, some elements need to be taken into consideration when performing a Webquest.
First of all, you need computers or other electronic devices for you students. If you don’t have access to that type of equipment with your students, you may want to reconsider you choice of activity. Also, if the Webquest you propose to you students is not interesting or specific enough, you may have to deal with off-task behaviours and students losing their time on the net.
Another element you need to be aware of is the fact that students may use unreliable sources. It is possible to find information very easily on the net, but some sources are not reliable. Students have to be aware of it.
In conclusion, using different kinds of activities is the best way to keep your students interested and motivated. A Webquest is exactly the type of activity that will break the routine, and help the students develop a different set of skills.
Youtube has changed many things in different spheres of our lives. It has changed the industry of music, the way we design video clips, the marketing industry, the publicity industry, and also, it is now revealing itself as a great tool for teachers. But just like every new technologies making their appearance in the classrooms, it has its pros and cons.
Before reading on the subject, my personal opinion regarding the use of Youtube in the classroom was that it is an efficient tool when you want to integrate video content to any kind of presentation. Being a Youtube user, I also knew that when using it with students, it would be important to follow certain rules to avoid undesirable situations. Those hypothesis were revealed to be true while watching this “video tour” of Youtube offered with the perspective of a teacher.
This video also gives some great advice when using Youtube for academic purposes. One of them is not to let the students search aimlessly for videos. The content of certain videos that are accessible on Youtube may not be suitable for all audiences. This is why a teacher should give his students some clear instructions when making researches on this site. This video tour also gives another tip when presenting a video in one of your presentation. Searching in advance is the key to find the appropriate and relevant material efficiently.
Another great reason to use Youtube for academic purposes is the network Youtube EDU. This is a network that regroups the best educational videos from over 800 channels. Teachers add relevant content continuously to this virtual video library that is accessible to everyone.
Also, some specialized Internet sites present a list of the bests Youtube videos for teaching purposes. They are classified by subject and they provide the URL link to access the videos directly. It is easy for teachers to find good videos to present to the students.
As an ESL teacher, Youtube is always very relevant because a majority of the content is presented in English. If you search in advance, an ESL teacher will always find relevant and interesting videos to integrate to his presentation. This is a great visual support and it is perfectly fitting with the use of interactive white boards (IWB).
Schools now have a tendency to go for paperless alternatives when it comes to design activities, communicate with parents, and several other spheres of the academic life. Online school portals are truly reflecting that current. But what is a school portal? How can we integrate it efficiently in a school?
An online school portal is an Internet platform where students, parents and teachers can log in, in order to exchange document, grade reports, messages, timetables, schedules, and all sorts of important and useful information.
For my first practicum, I have the chance to work in a school where they are using that kind of portal, Edmodo. I was able to collect the comments of the teachers and students who are using it regularly, in order to have a feel of how they are using that tool, and if they like it or not.
As a university student, I also have to work with an online portal called portail des cours (ENA). That also helped me to draw my own conclusions regarding the use that technology. Is it effective to use an online school portal? What are the benefits of using that kind of online device?
Benefits
Communicating with parents is, I think, one of the greatest advantages related to an online portal. Teachers are now able to send messages to students or their parents directly on those platforms. Yes, sending messages is a way to communicate with the parents, but the thing is that parents (well most of them) want to be aware of what is going on in their child’s class. With a portal like Edmodo, parents are able to access the report cards, the attendance sheets, activities, homework, etc. Parents are now connected to the classroom on an everyday basis. It is also great to share school news, extra curricular activities, etc.
Another great thing that is possible to do with an online school portal is to share documents, notes, or instructions on the web. Students are now able to access the documents or instructions distributed in class directly from home. This is also a great idea if the parents want to get involved in their child learning process.
Also, with that kind of portal, it makes it very easy to access different types of information all at the same place. Your grades, schedules, assignments, and e-mails are all at the same place. There is no need to look at different sites to find all you need. That “one-stop-shop” characteristic is very convenient for both the students and the teachers.
That was also my observation while using my portail des cours. In one click, I can access, the course syllabus for my different classes, the material that will be used in those classes, send messages to my teachers, access my grades, and I can also get involved in a forum with my classmates. All those interesting features all regrouped at the same place makes it a lot easier to organize your schedule.
How to integrate it to you ESL classroom?
My associate teacher for my first practicum uses the school online portal in a very intelligent way. She creates PowerPoint presentations for the students to take notes during class. The presentation is then put on the portal so the students (and their parents) are able to access those presentations at any moment during the school year. You don’t have to deal with students losing their notebooks or forgetting them at school anymore. When it is time to study, you only have to get online, log in to your account, and there you go, you have access to all the material seen in class.
Going paperless is the big trend in our education system. That alternative is also a synonym of being more dependent on technology and the different electronic devices related to it. What are the disadvantages of going online? Are those online portals the first steps toward an education system that will be 100% online, where the human contact between teachers and students will be neglected?
Being 22 years of age, I am the kind of student who never really had the chance to experience the arrival of interactive white boards in the classrooms. Most of my teachers were using (and are still using) PowerPoint presentations to explaintheir material in class. As a student too, I learned quickly that PowerPoint was a great tool and that it would significantly help me to create good visual supports. But is PowerPoint truly beneficial? Would it be preferable to use a different teaching strategy?
Why use it?
As a teacher, PowerPoint is great when you want to have a neat and organized presentation.
With PowerPoint’s bulleted text, you can express several ideas very clearly without a lot of words. It also allows portability. It is indeed possible to transport your presentation from one platform to another without any specific skills or efforts. From your computer to any projector, you can perform the same presentation in different classrooms without having to rewrite everything on the board. It saves a lot of time and the clarity of the presentation will facilitate the note taking process.
Opposition
On the other hand, some say that this application is killing intelligence, that it would “replace serious analysis with charts and clip art.” They also argue that professors are locked in their presentations. This is therefore discouraging interaction in general between the students and the teacher. This kind of presentation will create a passive state, discouraging students’ interactions because they fear to interrupt the teacher in his lecture. And you know it just like I do; there is nothing worst than a teacher reading a PowerPoint in front of the class.
Would you make your presentation available to the students? If yes, would you hand it in before or after class? There is an ongoing debate regarding that interesting question. Some say that giving the presentation to the students will discourage them of listening or even showing up to class. I strongly disagree. Students are responsible of their learning process and if they are not smart enough to show up to class it’s their own business (we are not talking about primary or high school students here). Personally, I think that the best way to follow a presentation is to have the content in front of you on a printed sheet of paper or your computer. That way, you can write additional information, highlight important parts, write your thoughts in the margins, etc. It is way easier to write directly on a printed version of the PowerPoint presentation instead of rewriting everything on a separated piece of paper.
In addition, PowerPoint is a tool that does not require lots of computer skills to be mastered. It is very user friendly, and just in case, several tutorial videos are available on the net if you are having difficulties with a certain feature of the application.
In conclusion, PowerPoint is a very useful application that can be used in a lot of different ways. Every person using that application, teacher or student, should be aware of the pros and cons of PowerPoint. Some new teaching technologies may be more appropriate for academic purposes.
A friend once told me that he had been able to complete a team project without even meeting his teammates. “I can tell you are not in a social science program!” I answered to him. I was very sceptical with the idea of completing a school project only using Facebook or regular e-mails to communicate. But that was before I was introduced to Google Drive.
Now that I know more about that tool, I am wondering: as a future teacher, how is it possible to integrate Google Drive in a classroom? Let me present you some of the ideas that came up to me while reading on the subject.
Writing workshop
Writing academic papers is probably the most obvious type of activity that could be done with Google Drive. Of course those activities could be done individually but this application is very well built and make it easy to work with one or several teammates as well. All the steps of the writing process can be done on Google Drive. Brainstorming, writing the outline, the first draft, giving feedbacks and opinions, and writing the final draft could all be done on this great application.
Why doing it on Google Drive instead of a regular sheet of paper or a regular Word document? Google Drive is interactive; everyone on the team can work on the document simultaneously. The work is automatically updated so the other members of the team are able to see the actual progress. Also, since the work is saved on the Internet, students don’t have to worry about losing or forgetting their work.
Reading Workshop
After reading any piece of literature, it is always good to have a discussion or an activity with the students related to the content of the book/novel/article. Instead of using the good old blackboard, it would be a good idea to write the important points of the discussion on a Google Drive document. The discussion/activity can now continue from home. Students are able to add content to the discussion as they keep on reflecting. If they have to write a text related to a novel that they previously read for example, pupils can interact with each other on Google Drive by asking questions, writing suggestions, or adding details. A reading workshop would be a great activity to perform with the help of Google Drive.
Sharing Documents
Sharing documents with your students is one of the most effective and easy ways to use this application. When sharing a document via Google Drive, all your students are going to be able to access it wherever they are, and with any kind of electronic device (smartphone, tablet, computer, etc). A good example if this happened in one of my university classes. The (great) teacher had the (brilliant) idea of sharing his course plan via Google Drive. There is no need for students to print a copy of the course plan since the document is permanently on the net. Plus, every time the teacher would update the course plan, the modifications would be done automatically on the Google Drive document as well. What an easy way to share information quickly with a great number of people.
Google Drive is a brilliant tool and it possesses a number a great characteristics. Is it convenient enough to replace the good old face-to-face reunions? I don’t think so. But one thing is sure, if you use this application intelligently, it could easily be implemented in any kind of classroom.
As a teacher, would you let your students use their cellphones in the classroom? Of course those electronic devices are now very performant and could be useful if used intelligently. But on the other hand, it could be a great source of distraction for the students. What are the benefits for the students to use their phone in a classroom? What are the inconvenient? After looking at the pros and cons of that interesting topic, what is the best decision to make for a teacher?
Pros
Of course, just like every other electronic device, a cellphone is very helpful when it come to researching information. It is possible to access Internet with a majority of cellphones and this tool could easily replace a computer or a tablet. If it is impossible for the students to have access to a computer or a tablet in the classroom, why not letting them use their personal cellphone for academic purposes? Here is a list of ways students can use their phone for academic purposes.
While reading on the subject, I noticed that security was also one of the major reasons why we would allow students to use their cellphone in class. Some parents think that it is very important to be able to reach their kids at all time for multiple reasons. It is also true the other way around. If something important occurs during school time, the parents want their child to be able to reach them.
Some may say that cellphones are very distracting for the students. In fact, it is possible to put those devices on silent or vibration mode in order not to be disturbed. Also, cellphones are great tools when it comes to take notes. It is possible to record a lecture and relisten to it later on.
Here is an interesting text that shows some other pros of using cellphones in a classroom.
Cons
With my personal experiences and by reading on the subject, it was easy to find some cons of using cellphones in the classroom.
Yes it is possible to put a cellphone on vibration or silent…Is it enough for any high school student to forget about it and prevent him from looking at his phone every 5 minutes? I don’t think so! In addition, a lot of students (and sometimes teachers) forget to put their phone in a quiet mode. Well at least they forget until their phone rings in the middle of the class and disturb everyone!
Also, allowing students to have their cellphone in class may result in illegal/wrong use of their device. Even if your warn the student that they may use their phone for academic purposes only, it is absolutely not going to prevent them from texting their friends… Even worst, it is possible for them to cheat during evaluations by looking on the Internet or communicating with other students in the class.
A majority of students now have a cellphone, but what is going to happen to the few of them not fortunate enough to have the new generation of IPhone? Those devices are very expensive and not everybody is able to afford them. They may feel rejected or left aside. This may be a problem that we need to take into consideration when allowing students to have their cellphone in class.
Just like every other electronic device, students may become dependent on them to work efficiently. What if student become dependent on their phone to write a text or solve a mathematic equation?
Conclusion
My opinion concerning the use of cellphone in the classroom is very well defined. I am absolutely against it. Why? Because I am a student too, and I use my cellphone is class. Let me tell you a secret. It is never for academic purposes…
Social media are surrounding us in every sphere of our lives. Whether it is to find information, to connect with others, or just to relax your mind, the use of every type of social media is increasing at an impressive rate. Would it be possible to integrate that new technology to a classroom? Opinions are divergent regarding that question.
Positive aspects
After reading on the subject and experimenting it by myself, it is possible to claim that social media can bring some positive elements to a classroom. First of all, students are going to use social media anyways. Facebook, Twitter, Skype and others, are already well implanted in the life of a great proportion of them. Why not showing them how to use those tools properly and safely?
Those tools are also great to find information and keep in touch with the news. A lot of great sources are publishing relevant information on their Twitter or Facebook account. It could very well be integrated in any kind of project. This is something that we could call real world learning.
Also, it is important to show the students how to express their “public voice”. They need to understand that everything that you say or write on the web is public. You therefore have to be very careful while navigating. The sooner the students learn to write “intelligent” and “respectful” content on those platforms, the better it is for them. This is a part of learning how to use social media in a proper way.
Indeed, social media are not only good to find information; they are also useful to connect and share information with others. Our Computer Applications’ class is a very good example of it. By creating a private group on Facebook, it is possible for us to interact and share information in a very simple way. Everyone can interact and access the published content. The most convenient aspect of it is the fact that (almost) everyone is already having a Facebook account so it facilitates the process.
Be Careful
Yes social media can be great in a classroom, but there are some aspects that we need to be careful about. The first one is cyber bullying. Students often don’t realize that what they write or post online can have strong outcomes in the life of others. It is important to make them understand that social media are also part of the “real life” and that they need to be careful about what they say, write, or post online.
Also, it will be possible for students to access a lot of private information about their teacher if they are using social media in the classroom. If a teacher is careful about the content he/she puts online and is rigorous with the privacy settings of his/her account, this is not a problem. But a teacher not well informed or careless could have some bad surprises at some points.
Suggestion
As a basketball and a football coach, I think that social media (especially Facebook) are very useful tools when it comes to organize schedules and communicate with players. By creating a secret group, it is possible for me to interact with my players very easily. The pleasant thing is that I don’t even need to be friend with them on Facebook, which is a good thing since they are still in high school.
Before being interested in the topic, I was sceptical regarding the use of social media in the classroom. The more I learn about it, the more I am able to recognize and experiment the benefits related to those Internet devices.
I think that one of the best ways to get the students interested and involved in a project is to stimulate their creativity. I recently had the chance to attend a seminar with Mr. José Pinard that discussed this issue. During the seminar, he presented some great electronic tools that can be used in a classroom to interest the students while they practice their writing skills. One of the programs he presented was Make Beliefs Comix, an interactive Internet site that can be used to create your own comic strip.
After experimenting the program by myself, and reading on the subject, I found several positive reasons to use of Make Beliefs Comix in a classroom.
Stimulates creativity
Students love to use their imagination. It is totally possible to do so with this program because there are absolutely no restrictions. It is possible to use any type of character, and place them in any kind of situation. Let your students be creative with Make Beliefs Comix.
Free & Easy
This is a totally free program; it does not require any specific licence. It is possible to access the site with any computer or tablet as long as you have an Internet access.
User-friendly
The usage of this software does not require any kind of specific computer skills. It is very easy to use and after only a few minutes, the students are going to be very familiar with the different functions. Because of this characteristic, students of all ages and of different levels can use Make Beliefs Comix.
Versatility
It is possible to write comic strips in different languages. Yes it is a helpful tool to teach English as a second language, but since you can use any language, it is possible to adapt the content of the activity to any kind of class.
Also, the types of activities that can be performed with this site are infinite. Of course you can let the students chose their topics and talk about whatever they want, but it is also possible to give more specific instructions to make them practice different things. Here is a list of the different types of activities that are possible to perform.
To conclude, during his presentation, Mr. Pinard talked about several sites to create stories such as Storybird & Storyjumper. Because of its convenient features and its user-friendly characteristics the site Make Beliefs Comix was my favourite one.
http://jeanporter.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/Make+Beliefs+Comix
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/How-to-Play/Educators/
http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2011/09/make-beliefs-comix-daily-comics-diary.html#.UTeX845G1bA
I have the chance to do my first practicum in a school where the different technologies are used on a daily basis. One technology that my associated teacher relies on is electronic tablets. I have indeed the chance to witness how it is possible for a teacher to integrate tablets in a classroom, and what are the pros and cons concerning those electronic devices. Is it really positive to use them? Are they appropriate in every types of learning situations?
Tablets fit students’ lifestyle
The first thing that I noticed is that students really enjoy using those technologies in the classroom. They are good with them and it changes the routine. Using tablets certainly brings a motivation factor in the learning process. All of a sudden, students enjoy taking some notes and working in their textbooks.
Tablets are the best way to show textbooks
Technologies are bringing a new way of exploring textbooks that was not possible with the old regular ones. E-books make it much more interactive for the students and the teachers. It is now possible to add some links, videos, and audio content in the material presented in class.
Eco-friendly characteristics
We now have a tendency to think a lot more about the environment in every sphere of our lives, which is a good thing. Why wouldn’t we apply the same reflection with our education system? The utilization of tablets would significantly reduce the amount of paper that is used in a school. It is possible to perform the same types of activities, but without wasting as much primary resources.
Develops computer skills
We now know how important it is to be good with computers. Working with tablets during their education, students will develop a set of skills that will undeniably be useful in their future lives. Our school system is supposed to prepare students for their future jobs? Developing their skills with different technologies sure is a part of that preparation.
Of course, using tablets in a classroom environment has several benefits, but we must ask ourselves some questions. Will the students become dependent on those technologies? Yes it is a great thing to have access to more and more knowledge, but at the same time, it is important to be able to transfer that knowledge into useful competencies.
http://edudemic.com/2012/12/25-ways-to-use-tablets-in-the-classroom/
http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/top-3-problems-with-tablets-in-the-classroom/
http://content.mobicip.com/content/benefits-tablets-classroom-learning
Monday the 25th of February, it’s my first time standing in front of a class as a teacher. My first observation practicum is going well so far, but it is now time for me to move on to the next step and practise my teaching skills. I’m feeling confident but one thing is stressing me a little bit. The classroom I’m in is not equipped with a good old backboard. I will only have access to an interactive whiteboard.
It was my first time using this tool and here are my impressions about this technology.
Positive
- Indeed, interactive is the appropriate term to call that technology! In opposition to a normal blackboard, it is possible to add links, images, and videos. Because of the Internet, computers and video games, today’s student are so used to be entertained constantly that using a board with the same characteristics is something very positive for the future of teaching.
- The board was actually linked to my personal computer. After writing a lot of content on the board, I could have saved it on my laptop in order to reuse the material in another class, or hand in the material to the students to facilitate their learning process.
- My apprehensions concerning the utilization of that technology quickly disappeared. It is a very user-friendly device and after a few minutes, I was able to do pretty much whatever I wanted with the board.
Negative
- The first negative aspect concerning this tool is the lack of space. I think that the dimension of the board is too small and it does not allow the user to put enough content on it. Of course it is possible to open a new page to include more information, but I think that a good old blackboard is better if you want to see the content all at once.
- Yes this technology makes it possible to perform all sorts of tasks, but at the same time I think it makes it more complicated to do very common things such as erasing. Instead of using your finger to erase a simple spelling mistake, you need to go through a much more complicated process.
- I don’t know if it is because of my lack of experience with this device, but I observed that it was a lot harder to have a nice and neat calligraphy. My letters were not formed as well and sometimes it was hard to read some of the words.
Those were my observations after my first experience with this technology. After reading on the subject, I realized that a lot of people’s observations were also going in the same direction. The main positive points were the following: the creation of interactive presentations, the promotion of e-learning, the convenience of saving the material on a computer and the fact that it is perfectly suited for some activities such as brainstorming or other group activities.
Those same observers also found some negative aspects. The cost of the technology was the first one. It is indeed a lot more expensive to by that device if we compare it to a normal blackboard. The second negative aspect was the disruption factor. Since it is an electronic device, it is impossible to be 100% reliable. It is sometimes not working as well as we wish, or not working at all.
Taking a step back, I think that a white interactive board can be a great tool for any teacher. If it is used in an intelligent way, it can bring important benefits to a classroom.
http://www.neamb.com/professional-resources/benefits-of-interactive-whiteboards.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Interactive-Whiteboards-Benefits&id=1006486
http://www.ehow.com/list_5969798_disadvantages-interactive-whiteboards.html
http://sellistoit103201.blogspot.ca/2012/02/interactive-whiteboards-advantages-and.html
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