Teaching English with Technology: an Introduction

Aims of the seminar• To consider the reasons for using

technology

• To address some issues connected with using technology in the classroom

• To familiarize ourselves with some materials and tools available online and consider their usefulness

• To share ideas and provide references on further information on using “online” teaching

• Obvious (CDs, DVDs, printers, computers, TVs)

• “Tools” – a better word?

• Focus mostly on tools available on-line (web 2.0)

Define Technology

Technology or no technology?

Reasons for:• it’s there• fun• variety• keeping up with our students (not B.G!)• professional development• new opportunities

Reasons against:• lack – expensive• extra work (complicated, time-consuming, unreliable)• requires a different approach • simply unnecessary • shifted focus

Why? – back to the issue of You Tube videos:

“New opportunities”• It allows us to do something we wouldn’t be able

to do otherwise• It allows us to do something we are already

doing more efficiently

“A different approach, a shift in focus”• A usual procedure for a skill/structure lesson• “New” components (integrated skills,

collaboration, independent learning, etc.)

Hardware, software and liveware

• Minimal system requirements – not even that ;-)

• Space for instructions, interaction and feedback; activity tools – mostly to be used off-line in class in our case

• Rules of on-line communication vs. rules of f2f communication

Liveware

Teaching online is more than tackling the technology. It is still teaching. No matter how smooth your technical delivery, you are still running language courses (Hocky & Clandfield, 2010: p. 27).

“Tools”• Course site tools (VLEs; social networking

sites; wikis; discussion groups)

• Activity tools (blogs; chatware; concordance sites; comic creator sites; mindmaps; movie creator sites; online music players; podcasting sites; quiz makers; screen capture tools; shared whiteboards; slideshow sites; sound recorders; subtitle creator sites; survey sites; video sharing sites; voice boards; word clouds, etc.)

How to classify? – By use

Should be meeting the students’ needs

• Individual (homework: individual needs)

• In class (video, music, traditional h/os)

• Collaborative (homework: projects; team-building)

How to classify? – By area

Should be suitable and relevant

• For teaching general English

• For teaching YL

• For teaching exams

• For teaching ESP

How to classify? – By skill/system

Should have some purpose

• For developing listening (or reading, writing, speaking)

• For presenting/practising grammar/vocabuary

• For developing integrated skills

• For developing “new” literacies

Useful links

www.bbc.co.uk

e.g. Learning English (The Teacher, Keep your English up to date, phrasal verbs, etc.)

http://www.youtube.com/

e.g. podcasts, songs, film clips, instructions, NG

Useful links (cont.)• Comic creator sites

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/How-to-Play/Educators/

http://www.pixton.com/

• Concordance sites (BNC, Lextutor)

http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/

http://www.lextutor.ca/

• Shared whiteboards

http://www.sookooroo.com/

My Favourites - podcasts

• Ready-made podcasts

http://www.ted.com/talks

http://www.listen-and-write.com

http://listenaminute.com/

http://www.lyricstraining.com/

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/

http://www.englishcaster.com/

http://elllo.org/

My favourites (cont.)• Creating own podcasts

http://www.podomatic.com/login

http://vocaroo.com/

http://audioboo.fm/

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

• Social software and combined with other tools

http://corp.eyejot.com/

http://www.brainshark.com/mybrainshark

My favourites (cont.)

• http://vyou.com/

• http://mailvu.com/

• http://www.wikispaces.com/

• Russel Stunnard’s online tutorials on how to use many of the above:

http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/

Activities• Show and tell (My Precious)

• Things in Common

• Reading race

• Jigsaw tasks

• Your picture, my story

• I’d like some information…

• What about you?

• My favourite podcast

• Listen to this!

Activities (cont.)

• Grammar in the clouds

• Corpus work

• Create your own mindmap

- Feedback and praise!!!

Constraints

• Inappropriate content• Over-reliance/overuse• Copyright• Lack of confidence

• Be selective• n/a• Creative Commons• Practise!

To sum up…

• It is important never to lose site of the liveware, and it is unlikely that computers will ever replace the teacher. Good online teaching needs effective human mediation – and this is provided by the teacher, not by automatic ‘drag and drop’ activities.

References

• Sharma, P., Barret, B. Blended Learning (2007), Macmillan

• Dudeney, G. & Hockly, N. (2007). How to Teach English with Technology. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited

• Hockly, N., Clandfield, L. Teaching Online (2010), Delta Publishing

• Hockly, N. (2012). Digital literacies. ELT Journal, 66/1, 108-112

• Hockly, N. (2012). The digital generation. ELT Journal, 65/3, 322-325.

• Stannard, R. (2012). The Connected Classroom. Webinar recording. http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/

References (cont.)• Pegrum, M. (2009). From Blogs to Bombs. The Future of

Digital Technologies in Education. Crawley: UWA Publishing

• Peachy, N. (2008). Dictation goes Web 2.0. http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/2008/06/dictation-goes-web-20.html

• Peachy, N. 36 Tools for Digitalising your ELT Course Book. http://issuu.com/nikpeachey/docs/53030128-36-tools-for-digitising-your-elt-course-b/1

• Peachy, N. Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers. http://issuu.com/nikpeachey/docs/web20-tools-for-teachers/1

Thank you!