Webquest - Promoting Learner Autonomy

I really liked doing this.  Once I'd worked out what to do, I could see the potential for using it in the classroom.  I haven't quite mastered it 100% as the weblinks need to be embedded but I couldn't work out how to do it.  As it is, the students will be able to copy and paste the links into their browsers in order to complete the tasks.  I'll definitely use this again.


http://createwebquest.com/andreamcmahon/promoting-learner-independence

Supporting learners: developing learners' language and literacy skills in vocational areas

The course was developed in collaboration with a colleague from the Westminster consortium.  We had great fun doing it and hope that the resources will be of benefit to teachers who work with learners who have English as an additional language.

http://supportingliteracyandesol.blogspot.co.uk/

Snapshot of our VLE

This is a screenshot of the VLE page for the year 2 PGCE. I'd like to make it more interactive so that learners feel that there is some value in going there. It's well populated but it's mostly used as a repository for materials and resources.

The benefits of podcasting

I've recently discovered audioboo and I think there are quite a few benefits. I used it when I was working with a colleague on an LSIS project about 'supporting learners with language and literacy needs'. I found it was a good way to capture opinion quickly and in real-time. I have the app on my phone and this means I can carry it around with me and use it whenever (and with whoever - with their permission!) I want to; I can capture the moment as it were. The main downside is that you can only record for up to 2 minutes. It can be easily stored, managed and shared and these are good things.

Quizlet

I used quizlet recently in an ESOL lesson. I wanted the learners to review the grammatical tenses we had been working on. There were quite a few of them and I wanted to find an interesting and fun way of doing it. Quizlet seemed to fit the bill perfectly. It didn't take long to put together and I found there were different ways that I could use it. As this was a revision lesson, I opted to do a 'match' task (learners had to match the name of the tense to its definition) - it worked really well! They like a healthy sense of competition and I think this was the reason they engaged fully. If I were to use it again, I could take a different approach. For example, I could use it to teach them about the tenses (this is the name of the tense and this is what it means). The audio input is good and this opens up another avenue for learners to engage with meaning. It clearly works as a review and it's good because there are different ways of setting this up. In terms of inclusion, I think quizlet can work well in class (it can appeal to a range of students with different learning styles) and also for self-study purposes. On the downside, the text is quite small (I may be able to enlarge it though?), so this is a problem for learners who are visually impaired. Learners who are hearing impaired are excluded if the audio is played but there are other ways to set it up. Overall, I really like quizlet and my learners did too, so I will continue to look for ways to use it.

Social Media - Using Twitter

I've recently started using Twitter and have found that I'm really enjoying it! Previously, I have been sceptical about its value in education but I have changed my opinion somewhat over recent months. In my experience, educators use Twitter to share their ideas, and critique and comment on different issues; it happens quickly and this is what I like about it (it feels as if I am sitting around a table bouncing ideas off others). It's a good way to keep up-to-date with things that you're interested in - and also to learn about other people's opinions. For me, it enables me to reshape the way I think about things; sometimes my thoughts and opinions are reinforced and this feels good! The links that people post enable me to explore different avenues and perspectives in a way that I probably wouldn't have been able to before (the time it takes to search for things) - with Twitter, everything is there and it's almost like a menu of items that you can choose to ignore or engage with. Using Twitter in a classroom situation could create the same learning potential. Students could exchange ideas with others about things they were interested in or a topic you were teaching. Ater half term I am teaching a lesson on 'promoting learner independence'. After teaching the lesson, the students can continue to share ideas with each other via Twitter to deepend their learning. Alternatively, I could set them a pre-lesson task of finding out what other educators think about the subject and they can bring their ideas to the lesson. They can share interesting links they find with other. I think this approach could work effectively with some of the learners but I do think that some of them might just think "what's the point of this?" "it's time-consuming" "I can read about this on the internet". I really like teacher's toolkit! There are some great posts and links to further reading and clips. I don't think there are any real barriers to using Twitter apart from having the technical skills to set up an account. I think there are more issues relating to maximising its potential. For example, to make the best use of it, I think you need to find a 'voice' rather than just follow other people....by this I mean contribute your own thoughts and opinions. I think there is a danger of thinking "I haven't got anything interesting to say" but there's probably always going to be someone who thinks you do! Another issue is thinking that you have to read every tweet and follow every link; I think you need to accept that there isn't time for this and be selective about what you do decide to engage with. Overall, Twitter has been a revelation for me and I want to make more use of it in my classroom.

The pros and cons of technology

Last year, I read an article written by Marc Prensky about digital natives versus digital immigrants. I thought the ideas were really rich and it definitely grabbed my attention; I was firmly in the 'immigrant' camp but realised I had to get with it and start to experiment with different forms of digital technology. The main stumbling block for me is lack of confidence (in terms of technology my default position is that I don't understand) but actually this is a bit of a cop-out; one thing the e-teaching course has taught me is that with a certain level of self-belief and some guidance, all-things-technology are open to me too. So, how can technology enhance or inhibit learning? Through doing the e-teaching course, I've realised that the opportunities for learning can be significantly enhanced through the use of different forms of media; for example, everyone has a mobile phone meaning that learning opportunities can effectively be 'carried around' and accessed at any time. Personally, I've been using a twitter account to follow teachers, trainers and other practitioners whose ideas I really like; this has enabled me to reflect on ideas and adjust my learning accordingly. I don't always agree with everything but the fact that I can access ideas that otherwise might be denied me (or be too time-consuming for me to bother with) is great! It's almost no effort and this really appeals to me. Facebook can be used to communicate ideas with lots of people in many different places all around the world simultaneously - the opportunities for learning that this creates is 10-fold! Learning becomes global. Podcasting is another resource I've made more use of in recent months primarily to develop a course with a colleague at one of our consortium partners. This was a real revelation for me and so easy to use! Again this allows ideas to be shared and cascaded creating opportunities for learning that otherwise might not exist. At the college where we work, we use interactive whiteboards a lot; the tools available through the software allow students to engage with the learning and see information presented visually - in my view, they really like this because they are involved in creating the learning. So, for me, these are the advantages. On the flipside, I do think that are some problems which need to be considered, for example, not all students have access to technology, which can reduce their potential for learning and be exclusive rather than inclusive. I understand those learners who suffer from technophobia (being a sufferer myself!) and the limiting power this can have on one's ability to engage with technology. Finally, I think that technology can be gimmicky ie what does it really contribute to learning? Do teachers use tools just for sake of using them? I think that technology it needs to be used meaningfully and in a way that contributes to learning. Taking all things into consideration, I think that the use of technology should be embraced.