TESOL CoP

BYE BYE....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 22:04:00 +0000

Dear Anna Franca,
I'm sorry but I 'm afraid I won't be able to participate and contribute to this com any longer...
At the moment I'm rather engaged in a number of different...activities? projects? However you'd like to define them - concerning both the school I'm trying to teach in and the village I live in...
My students, my sons, my friends, my friends' sons and daughters....
I still believe blogs and wikis could and should become useful teaching and learning tools - and I'm somewhat thinking about it - yet, I'm convinced the first 'learning' step should be taken by teachers; you can't use a blog with your students if you have never tried to use it by yourself.
As far as the questionnaire issue is concerned...I'd create one for teachers (followed by a specific course?) before imaginig of proposing anything to students.
Just my personal point of view, you see.
I have no clear -cut idea about how to use a blog with one of my groups of student - in spite of the fact that Iìve my own blog and often contrivute to others'.
This blog - TESOL' S C om of pratice can account for very few people actually trying to actively parcipate : just a couple of us...?
Anyway I really enjoyed being here- and I'd love to repeat it....
Luv,
Dani

noreply@blogger.com (Paola) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Dear everyone,

I have been reading a recent publication, which I have found very interesting and would therefore like to share with you:

Paolo Ferri, 2008, La scuola digitale, Milano: Bruno Mondatori Ed.

The first part of the book deals with Web.2 tools, and it is in my opinion very clear and well-structured. The second reports data and reflections about the way in which the digital generation (‘digital natives’ opposed to the ‘Gutemberg natives’), and relates to the web and to new technologies with specific reference to the possible impact and changes it can have on schools and education.

Last week I bought a new mobile phone and… I have to confess that the feeling is that of being a ‘Gutenberg native’ without any hope, if not that of being an” immigrant” in the best of cases, into a new world - the new millennium world of digital generations: the ones who were born with a remote control in their hands.

I am trying. I have been trying both within this community of practice and in other on line courses, not merely to “keep up to date” with the resources offered by new technologies, but out of a real sense of curiosity and need to learn and understand. I am grateful to this community of practice to have given me the opportunity to arouse curiosity even further. I do believe, and more and more so as I go on reading about the topic, that they (and Web.2 in particular) can offer great potentialities to transform learning. To connect classrooms with real life. To speak the language of our students. To put collaborative and cooperative learning in practice. To move from a teacher-centred to a student-centred way of operating and thinking in designing and realising didactic activities.

Nevertheless, the feeling is that of an immigrant in a world I did nor grow up in and with. Of all the wonderful things my new mobile phone can do, including podcasting, creating/sharing/using and what else God knows with multimedia files, I find it difficult to find my way and use them all. While I am sure my 15-year-old son, or even his younger mates, would just plunge into it and do it. It is not only that I do not have a try-and-error approach – it’s just that my mind very likely works in a gutembergian linear way, and “advanced” hypertextual ones feel at times more like a labyrinth than an opportunity. With a consequent feeling of frustration – because I want to learn and to do/use all those wonderful things. Probably the same feeling of frustration some of our students go through using “our” linear books and ways of dealing with knowledge. Once more, it’s probably good to be “on the other side of the desk” from time to time, but… but: so many question marks. And once you seem to be able to cope with one tool, it’s out of date already, and there are so many new other ones to learn about…

Will I ever be able to manage in a sufficiently self-confident way these tools in order to use them with my students? And together with me how many educators? Is this feeling of frustration and insecurity what keeps technology out of real school projects and practices (data in Ferri seem quite dramatic in this respect).

Help from a Gutenberg native! ;-(

Paola

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Franca) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 07:02:00 +0000

HAPPY EASTER!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 14:36:00 +0000

So nice to be on holiday....
Happy Easter to everybody!
Luv,
Dani

Let's design the questionnaire

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Franca) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 08:51:00 +0000

Ok Dani!
Let's go back to the issue of designing a questionnaire.
Let's first ask ourselves some questions:
1. what is the aim of the questionnaire?
2. what are we going to ask SS?
3. what format (open/closed), length and arrangement should the questionnaire have?
4. what format should responses have?
5. how should it be administered and evaluated?

Some helpful ideas are available at:

http://student.bmj.com/back_issues/0601/education/187.html

Be careful ! It's addictive....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:17:00 +0000

Dear Anna Franca,
I tried... 'n' did it...
Now I have this 'button' in my blog - something like 'share'(very coloured and appealing...)
If you click on it, you open a window...: and there you find de.li.cious, technorati, read me and a number of other...I don't understand exactly WHAT...
I haven't actually understood what a feed is yet - except at a very superficila level.
Yet, I realised that the bookmarks I have on my pc are all there - which means I can get and use them even when I'm using a different pc - any pc worldwide -(just need a internet connection), and this is ...useful. Indeed.
I signed in for Technorati, too - and it seemed to me it's a way to open your blog, and your favourite other blogs to a larger 'audience', which might decide to contact you on the basis of the tags you chose, or the content of your posts - or while they're just looking for something through some kw which have some kind of link to your tags or what you wrote in the posts...

Very...fascinating.
Yet, A bit ...overwhelming, too.
For me, at least.

I like working on my blog, participating to other blogs -chatting on skype or msn - thinking about using a blog and other e-tools either for educational aims or just to improve communication...
I'm also really enjoying Paola's wiki experiment: the idea of co-writing a story is great!
And I appreciate all your suggestions and hints leading to a further immersion into the incredible potential of the web - yet, I'd rather...slow down?
Scrolling through the posts and comments I realise we didn't fully developed some good ideas - eg, the questionnaire/survey to present and promote the use of a blog with our EFL students - or/and the designing of a 'blog-project', with some specific detailed EFL aim...

You see, I definitely Love challenges - the new, the unknown - I feel 'alive', when I don't understand, when I have to make a genuine effort to understand -and I'm sure this can only bring along positive attitudes and new opportunities as regards our learners.
Yet, this is not my blog...
I somehow feel we might have 'scared' a number of possible participants 'coze we were going on too fast...Only a couple of us actually tried and created a blog - or already had one.
Don't know exactly what I mean....Just a 'feeling'.
Thx for anything and everything: I learnt a lot...
:-))))
Dani

RSS feeds

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Franca) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:19:00 +0000

Watch the video RSS in Plain English, by Common Craft.
1. Register at My Yahoo or Google Reader
2. Subscribe to the RSS feed of our blog, and then add it to your RSS feeds reader
3. Go to http://www.addthis.com/
4. Click on the "AddThis Button"
5. Get your free "Feed Widget" (Remember you must have created your own blog first) and subscribe to the RRS feed of your own blog.
When you are finished with the above tasks, please go to our blog to post an entry about what you learned.

Excellent 6 step on how to subscribe to RSS feeds using Google Reader
http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan04/richardson.shtml#

Dear Bloggers ….

noreply@blogger.com (sara) — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:49:00 +0000

Hello everyone,

wow! I’m overwhelmed with all the postings and the interesting material to read or view. I teach English at the Science Faculty at Unical. I was unable to log on earlier, but just a note about blogs. I’ve used blogs with university students and they really enjoy it. I had my group write short articles and then post them on the class blog. The only drawback I found with University courses is that they are so short that by the time the students actually post their work and then get a dialogue going with comments the course is over. The other difficulty of course is getting a computer room so the work can actually be done in class as not everyone has a computer at home.

Wikis on the other hand, sound like a fascinating tool to try but I have never used them. I really liked the video on wikis. I will continue to view all the other videos posted.

I came across a short article on the Wired Campus on a professor experimenting with blogs as a formative peer review process. Here's the link--you might want to read it

http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/2817/blog-vs-peer-review-update-interactivity-brings-some-surprises

How long will this CoP last, by the way?

Sara

wiki created...

noreply@blogger.com (Paola) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:40:00 +0000

hi tesolcop mates :-)

still in progress... but fun to experiment!

http://learnteachexperiment.pbwiki.com/

there's a story to create, if you feel like to have a creative collaborative break ;-)

Paola

Wikis + Weblogs

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Franca) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:13:00 +0000

Hi!
- What are the advantages of combining wikis and weblogs?
http://bolka.at/pubs/2005/snips.pdf

- Set up your own wiki using http://www.pbwiki.com/
The initial phase is just like setting up an email account. Remember to sign up as an educator so that you have an advertisement-free site. Practice adding photos, audio, and video to the wiki pages.

- Share your wiki via the TESOL CoP blog.

Wikis in Plain English

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:22:00 +0000

Cooperative Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:15:00 +0000

WIKIS...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:01:00 +0000

Nice, clear... and simple....

http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7004.pdf

Other blogging ideas!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:26:00 +0000

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/

This could be a possible way to show our students how a blog in English can work - what they can do in a blog, using English to communicate with other people from all over the world...

Luv, D
Dani

Blogs and Wikis...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:12:00 +0000

I largely agree with Paola's analysis as regards the differences between blogs and wikis - but I must confess I have very little knowlege of wikis : the only one I could mention is Wikipedia - all the others I saw were mere attempts, experimentiments in their initial phase, sort of "let's try and do it..."I'm going to have a more thorough look at the world of wikis...I promise. Yet, on the whole, my impression is that wikis are more concerned with 'writing' rather than with other different expressive codes (photos, videos) - even though, you can upload images and create links to videos in a wiki...- they are used for more 'serious' tasks and have often a sort of 'revision group' who monitors what's being unploaded (content, form etc.). Blogs seem to offer a freer way to e-working but if we want to use a blog for educational teaching aims, we need to include some 'usage' and behaviour rules - and also make sure they are respected...
Difficult task, Anna Franca: maybe we shoud try and use both tools to understand differences more clearly...
Have a nice day,
Dani

web.2, blogs, wikis, second life

noreply@blogger.com (Paola) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 07:44:00 +0000

Hi Annafranca and everybody

I have found a video at the following link

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=F1IRkqbUoXY

that briefly explains the difference between blogs and wikis, introducing also possible uses of "Second life" in education. Hope it can be useful.

Love

Paola

Web 2.0 technologies: blogs & wikis

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Franca) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:32:00 +0000

Here are 2 points worth reflecting on:

1.What's the difference between a blog and a wiki?
2. What ethics would you expect from bloggers?

technorati resources

noreply@blogger.com (Paola) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 09:01:00 +0000

Hello everybody :-)

Sorry I have been absent for a while, but have been completely absorbed by work. I have kept on reading you, however, and it is always so stimulating to read comments and reflections from you all. Thanks, Tesol Cop blog-mates! :-))

I have browsed through technorati, as Annafranca suggested, with different words: EIL/ELF, cooperative learning, learning styles, and found different materials, blogs, videos, though not all particularly useful in my opinion.

Two have attracted my attention:

one on cooperative learning, as it has been produced by students after a research of CL
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=HEh8Z0sbiRE

and this could be an idea of how to exploit this resource in the classroom, with CL work or with project work, as a final product

the other is about learning styles, and I have found it interesting as it is addressed to parents in order to create awareness about differences in the ways of learning
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp6IADRDf2A

I have tried to insert the video directly, as skillful Dani has done, but has not managed it: how do you do it?

As concerning the question on how students see it, I agree that a survey would be a very good idea - it could also perhaps be attached to a project using blogs for didactic activities, so learners would have an idea of what it is like: what do you think?

All the best

Paola

FURTHER HINTS...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:40:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cncW5tzMvP0
Students talking about using blogs as a learning tool...

http://www.apogeonline.com/webzine/2007/02/21/23/200702212301

An article about Technocrati - and some suggestions on how to use it....

How To Maintain Classroom Discipline - Good And Bad Methods

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:05:00 +0000

TECHNORATI...that is 'technological litterati....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:18:00 +0000

I vaguely remembered I had already visited Technocrati in the past - almost by chance, as it sometimes happens when you 'surf' with no very specific aim, following a sort of thought chain, starting from a point and getting to something different, only slightly related to your starting quest, yet related to some different interest of yours...
Yet, what Anna Franca asked us to do was quite specific, thus I focused on her suggestions.
Tried to do so... Yess.
Search box, key words. I tried with EFL, ESL, teaching/learning ESL/EFL, using blogs/web0.2 for learning/Teaching, educational technology etc. - differently combined and mixed - and I found lots of useful and useless 'stuff' (single posts, blogs, videos): 'tags' might be misleading, they don't always bring you exactly to what you're looking for...Example: 'teaching' might appear in a blog just 'coze the guy is a teacher...but is blog is utterly devoted to photography...and you find absolutely nothing about 'teaching'...You see the point?
What I liked best were the videos - and I finally chose to watch a number o f them related to teaching and teachers, rather than learning through web0.2 - and somewhat completely forgot about Anna Franca's task.... Sorry... Have a look at the one I posted here.

ps. I know this is not what Anna Franca's task required...just liked to share it with you all!

Let's try it...

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Franca) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:35:00 +0000

1. Which Web 2.0 tools are we familiar with? Why should we use them in EFL/ESL classrooms? What are their pedagogical value? How can we integrate them into our ELT?

2. Go to Technorati.com and look for the search box there, ( usually on the right top corner of Technorati site). Enter key words relevant to your ELT area, and then see what results you get.

3. Post your feedback on this experience with ideas or ways you may integrate this technology in your classes.

Reading resource:An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Tagging in Blogs , by Christopher H. Brooks and Nancy Montanez

Dear Anna Franca, Dani and Paola,

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:29:00 +0000

I have tried twice to respond in the blog to your comments, but unfortunately, I am "scaduta" and cannot seem to log on again! But, I did want to comment and hope that since I do not have Paola's email handy, one of you will send it on.

Having now taught 'solo' and side-by-side teachers here in Italy for several years in a number of different settings, I would like to comment on the blogging response. I wonder if it has to do with teacher's attitudes toward their students, level of teacher training and also, comfort level with writing in English. Just some thoughts. I so admire people such as yourselves who have committed to being bilingual and who can express yourselves so eloquently. Certainly, I think my own chances in doing so in Italian are slim at this ripe age of 58 (notice I omitted OLD!). But, the point is that we have to look at the English language teaching community itself and imagine how such an important group of people are not regularly attending teacher-training programs and are not required to join professional organizations such as TESOL-Italy. Frankly, all I hear about is how many hours they have to do, the drag of teaching, etc., etc., etc. But, wouldn't one think that if they gave up the teaching approach that bores them and their students and usually has minimal effect on the class at large, then all would be joined in a more mutually enjoyable and rewarding teaching/learning exchange? Until there is better teacher preparation, until there is a movement toward learning in English and not superficially about English, until English becomes a way to 'express' the inner lives of each individual, I don't feel that much movement in terms of interacting professionally and bringing about significant change over a large area of the population is going to work for quite some time.

I want to share a recent experience I had this week. I teach with 4 teachers doing 'lettore' at a well-reputed classical high school here in Venice. The students are engaged in "Fast Track' and a literature books, Voices and Views. Now, all classes are mixed levels, nobody really knows at what levels the kids read because this is never considered. Two classes, quite out of control with the regular classroom teacher, have now come into some semblance of participating in the hours that I have them. The teacher asked me to do . . Dickens. What could I do? For three weeks I have brought in new materials I took from the 'net and even graphically (sometimes using a few colorful words, I admit!) described London, had them imagine Venice in the same conditions, then we looked at a timeline of Dickens' life and tried to evaluate emotional, traumatic, normal experiences (he was a VERY troubled person), we talked about social reform, etc. But, at the end of the day, we had to do the piece from David Copperfield. Imagine their delight. . .I finally closed the book and announced in the hours I had left with them, I was not going to subject them or myself to such a didactic teaching text. .something suitable for an AP course in America or England perhaps. Now, I choose from my own materials to teach them to develop their independent thinking, reading and pronunciation skills in English. . those mispronunciations can be a source of potential errors! In two weeks, we will start a small project (I'm still working on the shape of it!) based on the film 'Freedom Writers." Next week, we will start a piece on communication about the work with animals in the sign language programs in the U.S. Why? to get them to think about acquisition, what it serves and how it shapes out lives particularly when we learn a new language which then can transport us into a new realm of experience and thinking. .and no, we do not learn culture by watching exchanges about "couch potatoes" in our latest version of . .well, you know what I am saying. I hope before the hours are up, we can read a chapter froom Stones in the Water, a book based upon a real life experience of a Italian-American who as a child in Venice was abducted with his friend when they went to Mestre. All in English. . . . By the way, a student told me that the teacher announced to them that the reason I was not doing Dickens was because I was American and since I spoke a 'different' version of English from BRITISH ENGLISH, I was not really able to read Dickens to them and so therefore, chose not to do it. Hmm. .my first degree in English was with an emphasis on British lit! This kind of narrow-mindedness prevails everywhere. . everyone too busy, too whatever to really figure out what they are doing in their classrooms (or not). So, for me, it has been a distinct pleasure. Keep pressing for change and keep haranguing those people to BLOG.

And, let's hope people realize that they can spend two weeks in America in English just as well as in England!!

Love to you all,
Nan

PS. Hi, everybody...I've just cut and pasted here Nancy's text: she sent it to me by e-mail as it seems she can't post it herself for some technical problems. I'm just a sort of 'go-between'... Yet, I do believe there are some interesting topics for discussion within Nancy's text, eg, British English vs American English in a world where we all have to cope with 'Englishes'....
Do we still have prejudices of this kind as regards English - while we have a great number of students - Italian, native Italian speakers - who gets to University entry texts and miserably fail..'cause, after more than ten years of compulsory educational curriculum still result unable to decently use their own native language...?
Luv :-)))
Dani

noreply@blogger.com (Anna Franca) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:05:00 +0000

Participation is vital to the phenomenon of any CoP. Geographic dispersion and the usage of ICTs serve to heighten the difficulty of securing interest and participation. Human communication and sharing is always more forthcoming in an environment of physical proximity.

In any case, let's move on ...
1. Which Web 2.0 tools are we familiar with? Why should we use them in EFL/ESL classrooms? What are their pedagogical value? How can we integrate them into our ELT?

2. Go to Technorati.com and look for the search box there, ( usually on the right top corner of Technorati site). Enter key words relevant to your ELT area, and then see what results you get.

3. Post your feedback on this experience with ideas or ways you may integrate this technology in your classes.

Reading resource:
An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Tagging in Blogs , by Christopher H. Brooks and Nancy Montanez

FURTHER 'THOUGHT SHARING'...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:59:00 +0000

What about talking a bit about 'Indicazione per il curricolo'?
Blogs, the Web might become a way to change things...
Yet, Is it really possible to think about such a 'change' while there are 'people' who still strongly believe there's no ...whatsoever difference between designing a curriculum on exit competences rather than one on objectives (actually resulting in vague 'contents')?
Last Tuesday, I spent more than half an hour to try and 'explain' to my maths collegues that starting from 'expected competences' was different from listing a number of 'objectives/contents'.
What do you think?
Can we really work for a Change'?
Dani