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"Article about Blog in ELT"

 Blog in ELT

    This article takes a look at blogging, which is becoming increasingly popular as a language learning tool. It gives an overview of blogging websites, suggests why you might want to use them, and gives some practical advice on setting up blogs for use with your own classes.
What is a blog?
     A blog (short for weblog) is a frequently updated website that often resembles an online journal. It's so easy to create and update a blog - it requires only basic access to the Internet, and a minimum of technical know-how. Because of this, it is one of the easiest ways to publish student writing on the WWW. It's almost as easy as sending an email.
Nowadays, blogs can also display photos and some people are using them with audio and even video, but this article will concentrate on the basics, showing how a simple text-based blog can be used to great effect with your English language learners.

Types of blogs used in language teaching
   Aaron Campbell (2003) has outlined three types of blogs for use with language classes:

    The Tutor Blog is run by the teacher of a class. The content of this type of blog can be limited to syllabus, course information, homework, assignments, etc. Or the teacher may choose to write about his or her life, sharing reflections about the local culture, target culture and language to stimulate online and in-class discussion. In this type of blog, students are normally restricted to being able to write comments to the teacher's posts. A great example of this is Aaron Campbell's own 'The New Tanuki' http://thenewtanuki.blogspot.com/
The Class Blog is a shared space, with teacher and students being able to write to the main area. It is best used as a collaborative discussion space, an extra-curricular extension of the classroom. Students can be encouraged to reflect in more depth, in writing, on themes touched upon in class. Students are given a greater sense of freedom and involvement than with the tutor blog. A very good example of what has been done with this type of blog is Barbara Dieu's 'Bee Online' http://beeonline.blogspot.com/) and 'Bee Online 2' http://beeonline2.blogspot.com/
The Learner Blog is the third type of blog and it requires more time and effort from the teacher to both set up and moderate, but is probably the most rewarding. It involves giving each student an individual blog. The benefit of this is that this becomes the student's own personal online space. Students can be encouraged to write frequently about what interests them, and can post comments on other students' blogs. For examples, see the links to learner blogs from the class blog and tutor blog examples above.

Why blog?
       So, why should you blog with your students? There are many reasons why you may choose to use weblogs with students. One of the best reasons is to provide a real audience for student writing. Usually, the teacher is the only person who reads student writing, and the focus of this reading is usually on form, not content. With weblogs, students can find themselves writing for a real audience that, apart from the teacher, may include their peers, students from other classes, or even other countries, their parents, and potentially anyone with access to the Internet.


Here are some other reasons for using blogs:

    To provide extra reading practice for students.
This reading can be produced by the teacher, other students in the same class, or, in the case of comments posted to a blog, by people from all over the world.
    As online student learner journals that can be read by their peers.
The value of using learner journals has been well documented. Usually they are private channels between teacher and student. Using a blog as a learner journal can increase the audience.
   •To guide students to online resources appropriate for their level.
The Internet has a bewildering array of resources that are potentially useful for your students. The problem is finding and directing your learners to them. For this reason, you can use your tutor blog as a portal for your learners.
  To increase the sense of community in a class.A class blog can help foster a feeling of community between the members of a class, especially if learners are sharing information about themselves and their interests, and are responding to what other students are writing.
  To encourage shy students to participate.There is evidence to suggest that students who are quiet in class can find their voice when given the opportunity to express themselves in a blog.
   To stimulate out-of-class discussion.
A blog can be an ideal space for pre-class or post-class discussion. And what students write about in the blog can also be used to promote discussion in class.
  To encourage a process-writing approach. Because students are writing for publication, they are usually more concerned about getting things right, and usually understand the value of rewriting more than if the only audience for their written work is the teacher.
   •As an online portfolio of student written work.There is much to be gained from students keeping a portfolio of their work. One example is the ease at which learners can return to previous written work and evaluate the progress they have made during a course.
    •To help build a closer relationship between students in large classes.
Sometimes students in large classes can spend all year studying with the same people without getting to know them well. A blog is another tool that can help bring students together.

Keeping students interested
     Many teachers who start to use blogs find the novelty factor is enough to create student interest in starting to use them. However, blogs work best when learners get into the habit of using them. If learners are not encouraged to post to their blogs frequently, then they can quickly be abandoned. A failed experiment. Here, the teacher in the role of facilitator is vital for maintaining student interest. Here are some ideas to how this can be done:
   
 •Respond to student posts quickly, writing a short comment related to the content. Ask questions about what the learner writes to create stimulus for writing.
    •Students should be actively encouraged to read and respond (through the commenting feature of the blog) to their classmates.
    •Writing to the blog could be required, and it may form part of the class assessment. Students should be encouraged to post their writing homework on the blog instead of only giving it to the teacher





Learning Reflection On Lessons.

learning reflection on lessons.

 -  Innovative educational technology in the global classroom.
-   Thinking on the application of multimedia into college english teaching.
-   On the Problems and strategies of Multimedia technology in english Teaching.

  Innovative educational technology in the global classroom.
    Globalization and innovation in education practice are currently in great demand. ESOL teachers must deinventive, creative and committed to keeping up with innovationin a rapidly
changignworld.

Integrating Instructional Technology Into an Assignment.
   1. ELL case study portfolio,blogging.
  2. Learning about and creating podcasts .
 3. Enriching teaching content through use of a wiki.

The ELL Case Study.
 case study pedagogy engages students and teachers  in a dialogue with real-life situations in school settings.Case study portfolios give pre- and in service ESOL teachers opportunities to anlyze ELL inorder to gain experience working with common issues related to these students.
      1.Prepare a case study
      2.Collect data from the ELL.
      3.Analyze multiple data sets.
      4.create a problem scenario specific to the ELL.

Blogging
Blogs are online commentary personal reflections or news on a particular subject. They can include text, graphics,PDF files, pictures and tinks to other blog.

They did so using blog@USF.
      (http://blog.usf.edu)     
      (htt://www.blogger.com)
      (htt//sites.google.com)

-podcasting.
-creating a wiki.
-online discussion.
-implications.

   Thinking on the application of multimedia into college english teaching.


 1.The Current Status of Multimedia Teaching Method in College English Teaching. 

College English teaching is to set up a harmonious and high-effective teaching atmosphere in the English class to make students take part in the practice. Thus we can cultivate their listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities, which are the final teaching aim-developing the students' English intercommunicative ability.

  2. Relationship between the Qualities of the College English Teachers and Multimedia Teaching.

      Many men of insight have realized that our country should make innovation to the College English Test Band 4 and Band 6 because these exams have affected the normal English teaching.


   3. Misunderstandings and Kisadvantages of Multimedia Teaching in College English Teaching.

       3.1 Teachers attending to trifles and neglectiong the essentials, and English classroom becoming a demonstrating hall of computer functions
       3.2 Teachers depending on multimedia teaching method excessively and neglecting its auxiliary teaching function.
       3.3 Some teachers being impercipient to multimedia teaching method.
           
 4. Some Suggestions on Multimedia Teaching in College English Teaching.

      4.1 Teachers should change their ideas of using multimedia teaching.
      4.2 We should devote major efforts to developing multimedia teaching mode based on network circumstance

    And I learned about "On The Problems and Strategies of Multimedia Technology in English Teaching"

1.There are Necessity of Application of Multimedia Technology to English Teaching.

         To Cultivate Students' Interest in Study.
         To Promote Students' Communication Capacity.
         To Widen Students' Knowledge to Gain an Insightfull Understanding to Western Culture.
        
     
        To Improve Teaching Effect.

2.There are Problems Arising From Application of Multimedia Technology to English Teaching.

              Major Means Replaced by the Assisting One.

Application of multimedia technology is an assisting instrument to achieve the projected teaching effect. If totally dependent on multimedia devices duing teaching, the teachers may be turned into slaves to the multimedia and can not play the leading role in teaching.
               Loss of Speaking Communication.

That English class should be carried through all in English language.

               The Shrinking of Students' Thinking Potential.

Language teaching is different from science subjects, for language teaching does not require demonstration by various steps, rather, the tense and orderly atmosphere is formed through questions and answers between teachers and students.
               Abstract Thinking Replaced by Imaginal Thinking.
The process of cognition goes through perceptual stage and rational stage. It also applies to studying process.


3. There are Suggestions and Strategies to the Existing Problems.
              
              The Beauty of Courseware Is not the Sole Pursuit.
The introduction to each lesson and speaking communication are good way to improve students' listening and apeaking which the computer cannot fulfill. Therefor, teachers' interpretation shall not be overlooked

              The Computer Screen can't Substitute the Blackboard.

Teachers need to enrich the content on the blackboard eith emerging of new questions raised by the students.

              Power Point can not Take the Place of Student's Thinking and Practices.
Teachers need to encourage the students to use their own mind and speak more, actively join in class practice; we should not overuse the courseware merely in the hope of adding the modernized feature to class teaching.

               Traditional Teaching instruments and Devices should not be Overlooked.
Teachers are supposed to choose appropriate media and instrument based on the requirements of teaching and integrate multimedia instrument.
             
                 Multimedia Technology should not be Overused.

  The more interference of teaching information during transmission, the less the students take from the language materials.

Teacher taught me and my friends about :   
               
 - Mindjet Mind Manage Pro 7             

              - Creating blog in www.blogger.com

              - Adobe Caplivated 4 program











Exercise

1.  IT  Information technology
   Information technology (IT) is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications. The term in its modern sense first appeared in a 1958 article published in the Harvard Business Review, in which authors Leavitt and Whisler commented that "the new technology does not yet have a single established name. We shall call it information technology (IT)
        
 2. ICT Information and communications technology
          Information and communications technology or information and communication technology, usually called ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), intelligent building management systems and audio-visual systems in modern information technology. "ICT" is used as a general term for all kinds of technologies which enable users to create, access and manipulate information. ICT is a combination of information technology and communications technology.In an increasingly interconnected world, the interactions among devices, systems, and people are growing rapidly. Businesses need to meet the demands of their employees and customers to allow for greater access to systems and information. 
  
3. CAI Computer Assisted Instruction         
     
         Computers are a familiar sight in classrooms in the twenty-first century, and technology has been used to streamline many educational tasks. There are different types of educational computer use, and not every use of a computer in the classroom is considered computer-assisted instruction. The educational uses of computers that are considered to be computer-assisted instruction (CAI) or computer-based instruction (CBI) are those cases in which either instruction is presented through a computer program to a passive student, or the computer is the platform for an interactive and personalized learning environment.

4. CALL. Computer-assisted language learning
     Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is succinctly defined in a seminal work by Levy (1997: p. 1) as "the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning" CALL embraces a wide range of ICT applications and approaches to teaching and learning foreign languages, from the "traditional" drill-and-practice programs that characterised CALL in the 1960s and 1970s to more recent manifestations of CALL, e.g. as used in a virtual learning environment and Web-based distance learning. It also extends to the use of corpora and concordancers, interactive whiteboards, Computer-mediated communication (CMC), language learning in virtual worlds and Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL)
5. WBI  Web-based instruction
     The Web-based instruction is the process of interface between the current technologies and theinstructional design process to increase the efficiency of learning and overcome problems associated withotherwise having to give instruction at specific time andplace.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
6. CBI   certified business intermediary

       A certified business intermediary (CBI) is a trained and experienced business broker who has the skills involved to carry out business valuations, confidential marketing, negotiations, and the many complex details in the sale or purchase of a private company. The CBI designation is a credential, the professional commercial broker earns, which is part of the International Business Brokers areAssociation and have met the requirements of professional practice and academic and ethical standards of IBBA.
7. CMC  Computer-Mediated Communication

    Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is the process by which people create, exchange, and perceive information using networked telecommunications systems (or non-networked computers) that facilitate encoding, transmitting, and decoding messages. Studies of CMC can view this process from a variety of interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives by focusing on some combination of people, technology, processes, or effects. Some of these perspectives include the social, cognitive/psychological, linguistic, cultural, technical, or political aspects; and/or draw on fields such as human communication, rhetoric and composition, media studies, human-computer interaction, journalism, telecommunications, computer science, technical communication, or information studies.                                                                            
8. TELL  Technology-Enhanced Language
     Learning (TELL) in an increasingly globalised world. It is not a technical paper in the sense that it will deal with methodological or software issues.
9.  MUD  Multi-User Dungeon
      A MUD (originally Multi-User Dungeon, with later variants Multi-User Dimension and Multi-User Domain) pronounced  is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these.                                     


10. MOO 

      MOO (MUD Object Oriented) è un sofisticato programma informatico che permette a più utenti di collegarsi da remoto, normalmente via Internet, ad un ambiente condiviso che contiene stanze ed oggetti, all'interno di esso è quindi possibile interagire, sia con l'ambiente che con gli altri utenti, in tempo reale.    

Direction : Describs the following terms.

Synchronous Tools
      
        Synchronous tools enable real-time communication and collaboration in a "same time-different place" mode. These tools allow people to connect at a single point in time, at the same time. Synchronous tools possess the advantage of being able to engage people instantly and at the same point in time. The primary drawback of synchronous tools is that, by definition, they require same-time participation -different time zones and conflicting schedules can create communication challenges. In addition, they tend to be costly and may require significant bandwidth to be efficient.

Asynchronous Tools
   
Asynchronous tools enable communication and collaboration over a period of time through a "different time-different place" mode. These tools allow people to connect together at each person's own convenience and own schedule. Asynchronous tools are useful for sustaining dialogue and collaboration over a period of time and providing people with resources and information that are instantly accessible, day or night. Asynchronous tools possess the advantage of being able to involve people from multiple time zones. In addition, asynchronous tools are helpful in capturing the history of the interactions of a group, allowing for collective knowledge to be more easily shared and distributed. The primary drawback of asynchronous technologies is that they require some discipline to use when used for ongoing communities of practice (e.g., people typically must take the initiative to "login" to participate) and they may feel "impersonal" to those who prefer higher-touch synchronous technologies.

Reternces
 
 http://senarak.tripod.com/mudmoo.html




                                                           

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