I had planned to write on my blog last Thursday when I was supposed to have conducted a professional development seminar for my coworkers about educational uses of blogs and wikis. Upon arrival at our language centre, we discovered that our network was temporarily down and I was therefore unable to go through with the presentation.
Technology like anything else has it's moments of glory and pain. It can be limitless in it's educational and personal uses and also unpredictable at the most inconvenient times. We often forget that it is in fact a machine and breaks down usually due to unforeseen circumstances. But, doesn't it always seem that it's only unreliable when you've planned a professional development session, have a major assignment due that needs to be electronically submitted, or stuck in a foreign country when your passport has just been stolen??
From these experiences we need to take our technology "with a grain of salt" and have a backup plan in case of emergencies. Our session has been delayed until this Thursday and I plan to write another entry this week detailing the outcomes and hopefully successes.
My posting today leads me to my question of, "What is your backup plan when technology fails to deliver?"
-Postpone the lesson?
-Do the lesson without technology (if possible)?
Looking forward to your thoughts,
Adrienne
Monday, April 20, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Online Discussion Forums in Second Language Learning.
Why discussion forums?
I've chosen online discussion forums as my next adventure! Since I have recently begun to teach in the Direct Entry Program (DEP) at Griffith University's English Language Institute, our students are using online forums on a weekly basis. DEP is a 10 week university preparation course for English Language Learners that entails four courses. Research Preparation and Practice which includes time management skills, academic writing skills and requirements. Critical Thinking which includes debating strategies and critical analysis of various texts. Issues in Australian Society and Language in Use dealing with Australia news and intense use of grammar in English. As part of the Critical Thinking course that I am teaching, students must respond to a weekly question on the discussion forum and respond to at least one other student's comment.
First, what is an online forum and how do I use it?
Online forums take place on many university and higher education websites. At Griffith, we have learning@griffith and at USQ we have USQ Connect. Both of these areas on the websites require the users to sign in with a user name and password, then click on the appropriate area to make their contributions. Online forums usually have a title and that you can click on to access. Once you are in the forum area, you can view all the previous submissions by other group members and hit a "REPLY" button. This will give you a new window that looks like a word processor. You can type in your comments, do a spell check and then press "submit" and ta-da your submission is now visible to all the other participants. What about editiing? Well, every onlinne forum is different and some do not allow you to edit your work once it has been submitted, others may give you a 5 minute editing window to modify your entry.
Why are online forums beneficial in second language learning?
1. Developing communication skills in writing, discussion, expressing opinions and ideas via electronic medium
2. Developing critical analysis and of several topics.
3. Developing argument skills with supporting statements.
4. Developing accurate writing and grammar skills.
When have you used online forums in education?
I invite you to share your thoughts and comments about online discussion forums and their benefit in second language learning.
I've chosen online discussion forums as my next adventure! Since I have recently begun to teach in the Direct Entry Program (DEP) at Griffith University's English Language Institute, our students are using online forums on a weekly basis. DEP is a 10 week university preparation course for English Language Learners that entails four courses. Research Preparation and Practice which includes time management skills, academic writing skills and requirements. Critical Thinking which includes debating strategies and critical analysis of various texts. Issues in Australian Society and Language in Use dealing with Australia news and intense use of grammar in English. As part of the Critical Thinking course that I am teaching, students must respond to a weekly question on the discussion forum and respond to at least one other student's comment.
First, what is an online forum and how do I use it?
Online forums take place on many university and higher education websites. At Griffith, we have learning@griffith and at USQ we have USQ Connect. Both of these areas on the websites require the users to sign in with a user name and password, then click on the appropriate area to make their contributions. Online forums usually have a title and that you can click on to access. Once you are in the forum area, you can view all the previous submissions by other group members and hit a "REPLY" button. This will give you a new window that looks like a word processor. You can type in your comments, do a spell check and then press "submit" and ta-da your submission is now visible to all the other participants. What about editiing? Well, every onlinne forum is different and some do not allow you to edit your work once it has been submitted, others may give you a 5 minute editing window to modify your entry.
Why are online forums beneficial in second language learning?
1. Developing communication skills in writing, discussion, expressing opinions and ideas via electronic medium
2. Developing critical analysis and of several topics.
3. Developing argument skills with supporting statements.
4. Developing accurate writing and grammar skills.
When have you used online forums in education?
I invite you to share your thoughts and comments about online discussion forums and their benefit in second language learning.
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