Technology for EFL/ESL Classes

Nowadays classrooms should be complimented by some technology tool. We cannot keep teaching with the traditional methods while our students are fond of computer and mobile devices. It is the mission of the educators to find the best way of implementing the technology in the teaching-learning process. As an EFL/ESL teacher, I like using the technology in my class. Before our technology course, I used very simple tools such as; YouTube, Google search and the Internet to show some images related to the lesson. However, after this course I started using blogging and twitter. I like both of them; they are user friendly and really helpful for both the teachers and the learners. They bridge between the learning inside and outside the classroom. They can also be used to develop the language skills such as; reading, writing, listening and even communication. Moreover, I really like the idea of the digital games especially with the young learners, but I have a concern about it related to the time consuming and anxiety issues that the young learners may not be able to control it. We can get many educational games from the following link WWW.EDUCATIONARCADE.ORG .

Finally, I would definitely continue using the technology. Although, I may need some help from computer teachers or technicians but I feel myself more confident now to try any technology tool to facilitate the learning process and engage the learners in lifelong learning process.

 

 

Cloud Computing and Google Apps For Education

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services over the Internet. Cloud services enable individuals, organizations, education institutions and businesses to use software and hardware that are managed by third parties at remote locations. For example, online file storage, social networking sites, and webmail are all included in the cloud services. The cloud computing model allows the users to access to information or online resources at anytime and from anywhere that a network connection is available. Cloud computing provides a shared pool of resources, including data storage space, networks, computer processing power, and specialized corporate and user applications. One app is shared by everyone, with a commitment to security, reliability and flexibility. The U.S. National

Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines the cloud computing as the following: NIST cloud definition, version 15 http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloudcomputing/

 

”Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model promotes availability and is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.”

 

Cloud services are popular and have many benefits because they can reduce the cost and complexity of owning and operating computers and networks. Since cloud users do not have to purchase hardware, or buy software licenses, so it is flexible and can bring advanced services that a single company might not be able to afford or develop.

Some other benefits to users include scalability, reliability, and efficiency. It is Scalable because it offers unlimited processing and storage capacity. Additionally, the cloud is reliable because it enables access to applications and documents anywhere in the world via the Internet. Moreover, it is also considered to be efficient because it allows organizations to free up resources to focus on innovation and product development.

Another potential benefit is that cloud computing is secure. Users’ personal information may be better protected in the cloud. It improves specific efforts to build privacy protection into technology. Cloud computing will enable more flexible IT acquisition and improvements. It also permits changes to the procedures according to the sensitivity of the data itself. In addition, information in the cloud computing is not lost as easily as the paper documents or hard drives. Today’s education should not be limited; it needs technology to meet the evolving needs of teaching and learning. Google Apps for education help schools and institutions to extend the learning resources beyond the classrooms. It helps students to learn across a wide range of modalities and variety of learning opportunities. These apps are very important in the education because it engages everyone, such as the learners, families and faculties in the school community. It also increases the interaction and collaboration options that allows dynamic learning environment.  For example by visiting www.google.com/a/edu you can get today’s apps. www.Google.com/chrombooks/edu is also an easy and fast tool that unlocks the books for the students.

Finally, as an EFL/ESL teacher, I really like the idea of Google apps to enrich my knowledge and develop my methods. I would also like to help my learners to increase their motivation and creativity to become better learners.  

Learning Analytics

The connection between the learners and technology devices is consistently increasing. As an educator, I have always had concerns about the higher education. How can we make better decisions to improve the higher education? How can we learn about the weaknesses and strengths of our learners? How can we help our learners to improve their learning styles and become self directed learners? We really need reliable data to be analyzed and implemented in future higher education. Future education needs new technologies, flexible classroom designs, and higher interactive learning environment. Consequently, learning analytics depicts the future picture of the education. It is the measurement, data collection, and the reporting data of the collected analysis. For example, EDUCAUSE www.educause.edu and NGLC http://nextgenlearning.org work to focus on interactive learning communities to collect the data necessary for learning analysis. Online learning is able to record rich data traits and activity streams that can be used to prevent learners from dropouts and help them to achieve success and accomplish their learning goals. It also helps the institutions to make better decisions concerning their learners or the learning system itself. Additionally, it provides the learners with an important insight into their own learning strategies and methods to overcome the possible learning challenges. Moreover, watching the ted talk of Daphne Koller about online learning advantages inspired me with many creative ideas. She presented a new and young learning concept which mostly focuses on the learners. One of the most interesting features Koller referred in her speech is that the learners are able to listen to the lecture in an interactive way through answering to specific questions that may pop up on the screen throughout the lecture. The lecture will pause for a while so that the learner tries to answer a question. After watching Daphne Koller’s speech I changed some of the misconceptions that I used to have about the online education. I have never trusted the online education, but I was fascinated by her real life stories and how the online education helped people to accomplish important steps in their lives and get college degree. Finally, as MA TEFL profession I think developing the online learning features may have better results in the future higher education. www.linkedin.com , www.futurict.eu

 

 

LMS vs. PLE

The topic of this week comes in two different frames to shed the light on the feasibility of moving educational programming from institutionally centered learning, LMS, Learning Management Systems, which is also known as content management systems (CMS), to syndicated tools often referred to as PLE, Personal Learning Environment.  A learning management system (LMS) provides some tools which are considered to be comprehensive tools for educators to manage learning resources, administrative functions, assessments, and even grading. On the other hand, PLE is referred to be a unique interface into the owners’ digital environment. It integrates their personal and professional interests. PLE could include both formal and informal learning. It includes the same system of the portfolio which allows the user to follow their progress and have a content storage which can be used as needed. Moreover, the PLE is a social as well as an information environment because it uses the network to connect the user cooperative communities and activities, such as the YouTube, flicker, or Google. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9zSd5Gs6Mw. However, in LMS your information does not travel with you, while in PLE you choose your data providers and manage your own data. AS an ESL/EFL teacher and MA TEFL profession, I think LMS and PLE are important systems or tools in teaching-learning process. These two may encourage the faculty and the students alike to see learning as circulative process where effective tools are emerging constantly to create lifelong learning environments. An example of PLE tool can be the personal blogs. Having the students to post their class reflection may engage them in a collaborative learning environment. It also serves as web document that will not disappear at the end of the semester. In addition, Moodle can be a good example for the LMS systems, where the students need to be enrolled in a certain course to be able to learn and cooperate. Finally, EDUCAUSE also provides good resources and activities to all its members. It is created to support those who lead, manage, and use IT in their higher education. www.educause.edu.

 

Online Language Courses

 

The idea of online learning courses is a new experience for the students. The learners can apply for professional, skills, or language courses. Distance language learning courses offer good opportunities for those who have limited time to develop their second or foreign language. These courses provide the learners new ways of learning with interactive methods. They can be short courses, long courses or even for specific purposes. http://www.rocketlanguages.com/free-language-resources Like any other invention, the online language courses have their own advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, some research frames these advantages in the many fundamental areas, referring to the learners, the learning environment and the tool itself. The online language course gives the learners the flexibility to study any time and in any place. It provides flexibility of access in terms of the learning settings. In addition, this flexibility requires more awareness and commitment on the part of the learners. They are more responsible of their own learning and progress. The students need to learn how to use the technology and implement it in their learning process. In this case, the teacher is less available to evaluate, monitor or manage the learning-teaching process. So the students should develop self-directing and self-managing skills to reflect on their learning. However, completing the students’ online readiness tool can be helpful for those who are not able to make their decision about starting an online study. One of the interesting questions in the tool was the amount of time learners need to devote to the course. I think 10-20 hours a week may crucial for a language course.  Students usually apply for online language courses because of its flexibility. Consequently a twenty-hour course may be overloading for some learners. Above all, these courses also address students who have computers with headset and access to the network. Finally, as MA TEFL professional, I think online language courses may deprive the learners from their main right to communicate face to face with each other and their teacher. While few learners may show commitment and continue learning, most of them may get de-motivated and quit the course.

 

Open Educational Resources

Throughout the history of education, the educators and scholars have been struggling to get rid of any censorship imposed over the flow of knowledge and information. The sharing and reuse of educational resources by academics is not new; however the practice has become much more popular and feasible now that these materials are shared online. Open educational resources (OER) are freely available online learning and teaching materials. For example; full courses, course modules, lectures, games, teaching materials and assignments. They can take the form of text, images, audio, or video. They can also create highly interactive and collaborative learning environment. Teachers, administration, and students used to access information primarily from their own institution. Moreover, now they have access to a multitude of sources. Consequently, it has become even more important for those who want to reuse educational resources. A need has arisen for creators of educational resources to develop a better understanding of how to share their work. When the first full Jorum service became available, the intention was to provide a safe environment for educators to share materials. They used the licenses to restrict the access rather than permitting it. The launch of Jorum Open established a new approach, where all resources were shared by using an open license system. Teachers, learners and everyone in the public can access and make use of open educational resources. Individuals and organizations can create or/and share their own OER. However, we should know that releasing open educational resources is not only sharing some materials, we should also make it available in a truly open way. It is about retaining copyright so that others can copy it and make some uses of it. Open educational resources are shared via the websites of education providers and through public services like i-Tunes U, SlideShare, YouTube and Jorum. These resources considered to be rich educational packages that facilitate the learning process. In 2002 The Hewlett Foundation funds two major Open Course Ware initiatives: 1) MIT OpenCourseWare, free web-based course materials from subjects taught at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The university would go on to publish materials from virtually its entire curriculum. 2) Carnegie Mellon University Open Learning Initiative, offering online courses for learners and teachers. In 2002-2006 Jisc eXchange for Learning (X4L) programme starts to share small units of teaching material created with a view to being repurposed and reused. Above all, the open resources may have some negative aspects. For example, we cannot use any shared material because not all the resources are good or highly qualified. Finally, I think OER are essential part in our education as learners and educators. Having the online libraries save the time of the students and provide necessary information from different sources. It enriches our knowledge and broadens our view by expanding our educational scope. Despite some disadvantages of open educational resources, I use OER in my education and teaching for different purposes. We can overcome the limitations by monitoring the work of our children or learners.

You can visit this site to get access to more sources http://edge-op.org/grouch/schools.html

 

MALL

 

Mobile phones and other portable devices are beginning to have an impact on language learning process. Nowadays, the interest of the scholars and educators in the Mobile assisted language learning is rapidly increasing. Some studies refer to the specific effects of MALL within the areas of second language acquisition. The findings of research show that mobile technology use in different aspects of language learning support the hypothesis that mobile technology can enhance learners’ second language acquisition. The technology is being integrated into teaching and learning, as many educators want to learn more about the effects of the new methods and materials provided through mobile devices. Ogata and Yano (2005) refer to the main characteristics of mobile learning, which can be summarized in permanency, accessibility, immediacy, interactivity, flexibility, low cost, small size and user-friendliness.

These technology devices that are used to assist in teaching-learning process include any kind of handheld mobile devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), smart phones, pads, and pods. Laptops are not considered to be mobile in this context. Some researchers state that “computer assisted mobile learning uses lightweight devices such as personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular mobile phones, and so on” However, there are also obvious disadvantages, that can be referred as small screen size, and dependence on networks that may not always provide very high transmission capacity and may be subject to disturbances of many kinds. Despite these limitations, technology devices continue to attract the interest of language learners and educators. Moreover, mobile phones have special options and capacity in integrating language skills, and creating collaborating activities. I have already used some of these options in my ESL/EFL classrooms, such as taking the picture of the text and then transmitting it to a text, using the voice recorder to record the speaking of the students inside or outside the classroom, using the text messaging for circular writing, using it for micro blogging on twitter, and using the mobile phones for listening activities. In addition, there are still many activities can be done by using the mobile phones or any other mobile devices. We can learn about it and get inspired through watching some videos such as, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5igaZe7gDLM. As MA TEFL professionals, we need to learn more about the advantages of the mobile devices and try to implement it our classrooms. Personally, I would like to try the free programs to make flashcards for mobile phones, www.flashmybrain.com. Reading may also be interesting if the screen is big enough to see the words clearly. Finally, using new devices in our teaching may increase the enthusiasm and the motivation of eth learners specially the teenagers.