“Communities of Practice” (CoP) is an interesting concept that makes you reflect on all the possibilities that nowadays exist to grow professionally and to assist our learners in refining and improving their language learning process.
Language teachers could join a CoP to obtain information about a particular focus of interest. According to Wegner (2006), “Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly”. For example, teachers could learn more about how to better implement Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into their ordinary teaching practice. Through this, they could receive information about methodologies, websites, strategies, software, programs and so on, that they may implement in their classes.
However, being member of a CoP not only implies receiving; it also involves sharing and contributing to others with own experiences and information. As stated by Wenger (2006), “members engage in joint activities and discussions, help each other, and share information…The practice of a community is dynamic and involves learning on the part of everyone”. From this perspective, for example ELT educators could contribute by sharing their experiences after implementing what they have received from the community and that way enabling and encouraging other professionals to replicate them.
In terms of language learning, students can also create their own communities. They might for example, create a community to overcome a particular difficulty that they share in terms of language proficiency, writing for instance. Through the community they could share specific exercises, strategies, websites, etc. Then, they may share their results and conclude which strategies work better and which ones do not.
Finally, one CoP that I would like to join is The European Association for Computer Assisted Language Learning (EUROCALL). This is an association of language teaching professionals from Europe and world-wide that provides information and advice on all aspects of the use of technology for language learning, for those involved in education and training disseminates information via the ReCALL Journal and works towards the exploitation of electronic communications systems. From this organization I would expect to receive a lot of up-to-date information regarding the use ICTs in language teaching. What really calls my attention from this organization is that although it is based in Europe and promotes the learning of languages within that continent, it is also open to share information with the rest of the world about technology and language teaching which is my main interest nowadays.
References
Wenger, E. (2006) Communities of practice: a brief introduction. Retrieved from
http://www.ewenger.com/theory/ November 15, 2009.
Wenger, Etienne. http://www.ewenger.com/theory/index.htm. Retrieved November 15,
2009
Wenger, Etienne. (2002) Cultivating communities of practice: a quick start-up
guide. Retrieved from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/start-up_guide_PDF.pdf
Monday, November 16, 2009
Microblogging and Social Networking
Microblogging is a form of sending and receiving short messages that can be open to public or accessed by a selected group of people as well. There are different websites that offer microblogging services such as twitter, tumblr, plurk, etc.
Microbloggin is a way to establish social networking and people use social networking for a variety of purposes; business, education, fun, socializing, etc. Given these characteristics, m icroblogging has become an ideal tool for collaborative work.
One of the most popular microblogging tools is twitter. It allows people to communicate quick ideas either about unimportant events or for relevant themes of common interest. The way I see it, twitter and in general microblogging can be a useful tool for language teaching and learning in a community.
Some of the advantages of twitter, is that being so popular, makes it attractive for students to participate in particular language discussions or tasks. Students feel motivated to participate because it implies writing short texts instead of long writing assignments. They can also share ideas and discuss topics, as well as receive and provide instant feedback from tutors and peers which makes it more dynamic than e-mail or virtual classroom platforms for example. Therefore, it can be used as in-class activity or as homework.
For some settings, for example with advanced learners, one disadvantage of microblogging could be the limitation in the number of character (140) as they might be expected to compose longer and more elaborated pieces of work. Also, students can divert the topic very easily from the one originally proposed by the tutor. It might be useful for informal, short tasks but not for formal assignments.
In my particular context, I find it a bit difficult to use it with young learners because of their limited computer and literacy skills. However, some activities could be designed in which they receive assistance from their parents to share ideas about a book or story they have read or to talk about a specific topic established by the teacher.
In sum, microblogging and networking are important tools that should be considered by language tutors so as to generate a sense of collaborative learning with meaningful and practical purposes.
Microbloggin is a way to establish social networking and people use social networking for a variety of purposes; business, education, fun, socializing, etc. Given these characteristics, m icroblogging has become an ideal tool for collaborative work.
One of the most popular microblogging tools is twitter. It allows people to communicate quick ideas either about unimportant events or for relevant themes of common interest. The way I see it, twitter and in general microblogging can be a useful tool for language teaching and learning in a community.
Some of the advantages of twitter, is that being so popular, makes it attractive for students to participate in particular language discussions or tasks. Students feel motivated to participate because it implies writing short texts instead of long writing assignments. They can also share ideas and discuss topics, as well as receive and provide instant feedback from tutors and peers which makes it more dynamic than e-mail or virtual classroom platforms for example. Therefore, it can be used as in-class activity or as homework.
For some settings, for example with advanced learners, one disadvantage of microblogging could be the limitation in the number of character (140) as they might be expected to compose longer and more elaborated pieces of work. Also, students can divert the topic very easily from the one originally proposed by the tutor. It might be useful for informal, short tasks but not for formal assignments.
In my particular context, I find it a bit difficult to use it with young learners because of their limited computer and literacy skills. However, some activities could be designed in which they receive assistance from their parents to share ideas about a book or story they have read or to talk about a specific topic established by the teacher.
In sum, microblogging and networking are important tools that should be considered by language tutors so as to generate a sense of collaborative learning with meaningful and practical purposes.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Benefits and suggestions for implementation of "blogs and wikis"
BLOGS
BENEFITS
-User - or blogger - posts items on a regular basis
-Does not need to have any previous knowledge on computer programming
-Enables people from all around the world to relate according to interests
-While a website is often a one-way form of communication, blogs are two-way (like other web 2.0 tools) since readers are encouraged to contribute (leaving comments and sharing opinions); blogs, then, can also be collaborative
-Focus on one specific area of interest
-They can be private or public
SUGGESTIONS FOR ELT
Fosters collaborative writing
Encourages discussions
Promotes learning in community
Helps to improve writing skills and sub-skills such as spelling and vocabulary
Students can receive feedback from other people different from the teacher
Students can keep a diary to track their progress in writing
PREFERRED PLATFORM: BLOGGER
It is easy to open blogs and use
Everyone is familiar with it
Through Google you can receive information about related blog topics
WIKIES
It is a group editable website
It is a collaborative tool
they encourage meaningful topic association
As anybody can edit the pages or undo the edition, wiki communities depend heavily on the trust between its users
SUGGESTIONS FOR ELT
Fosters collaborative writing
Discussions and debates
Learning community
Improving writing skills and sub-skills such as spelling and vocabulary.
Students can receive feedback from other people different from the teacher i.e. classmates
Creating glossaries to improve vocabulary.
PREFERRED PLATFORM: WIKISPACES
It is very popular
There are wikis especially designed for teachers
There are wikis especially designed for K-12 grades
It is fast, free and easy to use
BENEFITS
-User - or blogger - posts items on a regular basis
-Does not need to have any previous knowledge on computer programming
-Enables people from all around the world to relate according to interests
-While a website is often a one-way form of communication, blogs are two-way (like other web 2.0 tools) since readers are encouraged to contribute (leaving comments and sharing opinions); blogs, then, can also be collaborative
-Focus on one specific area of interest
-They can be private or public
SUGGESTIONS FOR ELT
Fosters collaborative writing
Encourages discussions
Promotes learning in community
Helps to improve writing skills and sub-skills such as spelling and vocabulary
Students can receive feedback from other people different from the teacher
Students can keep a diary to track their progress in writing
PREFERRED PLATFORM: BLOGGER
It is easy to open blogs and use
Everyone is familiar with it
Through Google you can receive information about related blog topics
WIKIES
It is a group editable website
It is a collaborative tool
they encourage meaningful topic association
As anybody can edit the pages or undo the edition, wiki communities depend heavily on the trust between its users
SUGGESTIONS FOR ELT
Fosters collaborative writing
Discussions and debates
Learning community
Improving writing skills and sub-skills such as spelling and vocabulary.
Students can receive feedback from other people different from the teacher i.e. classmates
Creating glossaries to improve vocabulary.
PREFERRED PLATFORM: WIKISPACES
It is very popular
There are wikis especially designed for teachers
There are wikis especially designed for K-12 grades
It is fast, free and easy to use
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Benefits and suggestions for the implementation for Web 2.0 tools
Delicious
Description
It is a social bookmarking site.
Bookmarks can be tagged (have keywords added to them), so that you can search for similar sites within all of your bookmarks
Potential uses for language learning classes
As a teacher you can create a Delicious account to keep websites easily accessible to integrate within your lessons plans.
Language teachers could use a Delicious account as the homepage for the browser; They can then share the account with the sites the students need to use in class - this way it is easier for students to access the required sites for class lessons
Students can use Delicious as a way to save frequently visited sites to practice and reinforce the four communicative skills
Students can use it to keep track of sources they are using for a research project.
Diigo
Description
Diigo is a free social bookmarking, research, and knowledge sharing tool created to mimic the ease of taking notes while providing a network for sharing and discovering information.
Potential uses for language learning classes
Diigo allows students to take personal notes and highlight text information on web pages similar to what you would on a piece of paper. They can share this information with other students to foster collaborative learning.
You can then bookmark and save this information for further review, while adding tags to keep everything organized.
All of this information is also saved online and can be accessed by any computer or browser, including cell phones with browsing capabilities.
For ELL this allow them to have access to language anywhere.
Wall Wisher
Description
Wall Wisher is an online notice board maker. It gives you a virtual space where you can post short text notes in the same way that you could put post-it notes onto a notice board in your classroom.
But this noticeboard can be shared between people all over the world. As well as text notes you can add images, video and links to other websites.
It’s a neat way of getting a shared space to collect ideas from people for a brainstorm. Or to post resources for a topic
Potential uses for language learning classes
Students can ask questions about a topic which you (or each other) can then answer enhancing language learning in community.
Description
It is a social bookmarking site.
Bookmarks can be tagged (have keywords added to them), so that you can search for similar sites within all of your bookmarks
Potential uses for language learning classes
As a teacher you can create a Delicious account to keep websites easily accessible to integrate within your lessons plans.
Language teachers could use a Delicious account as the homepage for the browser; They can then share the account with the sites the students need to use in class - this way it is easier for students to access the required sites for class lessons
Students can use Delicious as a way to save frequently visited sites to practice and reinforce the four communicative skills
Students can use it to keep track of sources they are using for a research project.
Diigo
Description
Diigo is a free social bookmarking, research, and knowledge sharing tool created to mimic the ease of taking notes while providing a network for sharing and discovering information.
Potential uses for language learning classes
Diigo allows students to take personal notes and highlight text information on web pages similar to what you would on a piece of paper. They can share this information with other students to foster collaborative learning.
You can then bookmark and save this information for further review, while adding tags to keep everything organized.
All of this information is also saved online and can be accessed by any computer or browser, including cell phones with browsing capabilities.
For ELL this allow them to have access to language anywhere.
Wall Wisher
Description
Wall Wisher is an online notice board maker. It gives you a virtual space where you can post short text notes in the same way that you could put post-it notes onto a notice board in your classroom.
But this noticeboard can be shared between people all over the world. As well as text notes you can add images, video and links to other websites.
It’s a neat way of getting a shared space to collect ideas from people for a brainstorm. Or to post resources for a topic
Potential uses for language learning classes
Students can ask questions about a topic which you (or each other) can then answer enhancing language learning in community.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Collaborative and Transformative Learning
According to Palloff and Pratt (2007), collaborating in an online learning course implies expanding learning experiences, trying out new ideas and sharing them with the group, additionally to giving and receiving critical and constructive feedback. The main advantages that I see in this type of learning has to do with the opportunities for students to negotiate different aspects of their own learning processes as long as the instructor designs the course in such a way that allows it to happen.
Collaborative learning provides students with opportunities to develop a sense of shared goals which in the long run will involve them in a unified effort to meet them. Also, it permits students to develop a sense of belonging to a learning community when they have the opportunity to introduce themselves and share with the others their expectations, their fears, their limitations and so on.
In addition to this, collaborative learning promotes in students the involvement of their own real-life experiences in the contents of the course so as to make it more meaningful and contextualized. This can be achieved by having students solve real life problems and connecting topics to their real situations.
These characteristics of “Collaborative learning” can be easily applied to language teaching and learning. In its basic definition, language implies communication and negotiation of meaning, and this has a lot to do with collaborative learning as it has been established before. An online learning community is the best scenario for the development of a second language in a meaningful context. It provides the possibility for the exchange of information by employing communicative skills such as reading and writing. Regarding listening and speaking, the tutor may utilize forms of synchronous communication such as video conferences. It is up to the tutor to design activities and tasks that really meet the learners’ expectations and needs and place them into meaningful contexts which require the contribution of all learners in a balanced way.
On the other hand, “transformative learning” as stated by Palloff and Pratt (Idem) basically entails a continuous process of self-reflection about learners’ own progress. It may lead them to think about what they are learning, how they are learning and the instruments they employ to reach their goals. Concerning language teaching and learning, this can be adapted by implementing a scaffold online program in which students have to go back and forth in contents and strategies so as to facilitate a reflection process in which they have to analyze what they need to access a higher step in the command of the language. Also, by establishing a reflecting instrument such as blog portfolio in which they register the main activities carried out in the course to have the possibility to track their advancement in the different skills.
Collaborative learning provides students with opportunities to develop a sense of shared goals which in the long run will involve them in a unified effort to meet them. Also, it permits students to develop a sense of belonging to a learning community when they have the opportunity to introduce themselves and share with the others their expectations, their fears, their limitations and so on.
In addition to this, collaborative learning promotes in students the involvement of their own real-life experiences in the contents of the course so as to make it more meaningful and contextualized. This can be achieved by having students solve real life problems and connecting topics to their real situations.
These characteristics of “Collaborative learning” can be easily applied to language teaching and learning. In its basic definition, language implies communication and negotiation of meaning, and this has a lot to do with collaborative learning as it has been established before. An online learning community is the best scenario for the development of a second language in a meaningful context. It provides the possibility for the exchange of information by employing communicative skills such as reading and writing. Regarding listening and speaking, the tutor may utilize forms of synchronous communication such as video conferences. It is up to the tutor to design activities and tasks that really meet the learners’ expectations and needs and place them into meaningful contexts which require the contribution of all learners in a balanced way.
On the other hand, “transformative learning” as stated by Palloff and Pratt (Idem) basically entails a continuous process of self-reflection about learners’ own progress. It may lead them to think about what they are learning, how they are learning and the instruments they employ to reach their goals. Concerning language teaching and learning, this can be adapted by implementing a scaffold online program in which students have to go back and forth in contents and strategies so as to facilitate a reflection process in which they have to analyze what they need to access a higher step in the command of the language. Also, by establishing a reflecting instrument such as blog portfolio in which they register the main activities carried out in the course to have the possibility to track their advancement in the different skills.
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