James Trotta
Jason Ham
Using Ning for language classes
Using Ning for Language Classes
Joshua DaviesDonaleen Jolson Sunday 12:00-1:20 This was one of the highlights of the conference for me. Not because I didn’t know about Ning before. I was planning on using it for classes, and potentially as a portal, long before this presentation. However, it was great to hear about someone using it and how they use it. This post is linked to some general information and the presentation is embedded below.
KOTESOL 2007 – Content-based ESL for EFL learners
Clara Lee Brown
Univ. Tenn, Knoxville
CBI in Korea,
New emphasis on English, with greater competency requirements, English Villages, native speakers….lots of money.
She emphasized the need to use the language, rather than learn the language (Krashen lover 🙂
Message is more important than the delivery of the message. Communication is king.
Really, this is a commentary on EFL in Korea, hitting on the need to revamp the system. Change the goal and change the approach (Paradigm Shift)
What she doesn’t address is modification, error correction, dual-language instruction, and lack of authenticity (CBI in Korea is NOT authentic).
Because CBI EFL in Korea not authentic, we have to be very careful in how we carry it out.
Authentic materials are NOT comprehensible input, which she says is a rationale for CBI. Then she recommends not buying textbooks and using authentic materials ??? This is directly taken from Krashen. (She addresses this later, but really glazes over the need for output. Emphasizes input again).
Just like you have to break through the affective filter to reach the LAD, she’s got to break through my filter to reach me. Her blind focus on input, raises my filter.
I really enjoyed her approach with the audience and I think that we have more in common than not, but her presentation put me off a little. I’d love to discuss it with her in small group.
Using blogs to improve writing fluency
Terry Fellner
Matthew Apple
Maggie Lieb
Saga University
10:30-10:50 AM
Looked a writing fluency. Established fluency = word count + lexical frequency + comprehensibility
Focused on increasing writing fluency.
- Enlarge active vocabulary (from passive to active)
- Increased exposure to vocabulary
- use of blogs
- concordances
- Movie trailers
- Grammar games
- Diamond ranking (Fellner, 2005)
Used daily topics, in a 7-day course,that were emailed to the students. They were restricted to 20 minutes for a blog posting. They then commented on classmates’ blogs.
They wrote more (though that is a little fuzzy). They did control of typing speed (great idea). They tested on first and last day.
KOTESOL 2007 – Forums 2.0: Getting the most out of online forums
Forums 2.0: Getting the most out of online forums
Thomas Pals
Michael Shawback
Mark Sheehan
Shizuoka University of Art and Culture
9:00-9:50 AM
They encourage students to post on forums anonymously, though teacher has admin function that allows for identification. They developed a module to do this.
They use Proboards, which is a free (self-hosted) system.
Most of what they talk about is the description of the systems and their methodologies for use. They have a very rich discussion board, with a lot of topics and good participation. However, they look like they have serial discussions, which aren’t very good for critical thinking. More cognitive support is necessary to take learners to the next level of engagement.
They are also using the forums to connect cohorts over the years. Nice usage of the technology, in my opinion. I’m interested in doing the same thing with a social network like Ning.
Overall, it looks like a very good application and it seems to be modifiable.
Some links:
Presentation MovieKOTESL 2007 Presentation » SlideShare
KOTESL 2007 Presentation » SlideShare
Here is a copy of my presentation on slideshare. You might have to manually advance it to get it started. I don’t think the embedded video (in the presentation itself) will play.
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Overview of Web 2.0 Technologies Used in the CALL Course
This video is a more in-depth look at some of the technologies introduced to the CALL class (though not all were actually used by them)
Web 2.0 Collage
This is the collage of Web 2.0 sites that I show at the beginning of my presentation at KOTESOL.