SECOND LIFE

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While reading the article written by Calogne, who has experience in teaching courses using the virtual world of Second Life in nine universities, I was surprised to learn that nowadays there are educational institutions that are using virtual worlds for educational purposes successfully. Second Life is a 3D graphical setting and each person can have an avatar representing themselves. In this new type of learning environment student can meet for class activities, which include lectures, discussions, various group projects and case studies. It was very exciting for me to learn that a teacher can transfer his/her regular class into a completely new setting. For example, you can have a class somewhere on the beach, or in a different country. Besides, in Second Life students can create content using virtual tools. Here they really have the chance of being creative. Here students are not passive; they are actively involved in the learning process.

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Another important thing that I would like to mention is that in Second life students’ participation is observable by the teacher throughout the course. This in itself makes it easier for the teacher to assess and give feedback.

According to the article by Welch, virtual worlds are a good way to capture students’ attention as they get excited when they have the chance of interacting in a new kind of environment, socializing and accomplishing tasks. Various kinds of virtual worlds, including Second life, can be adapted for educational purposes. However, for this teachers should consider many essential factors affecting the quality of virtual education.  According to Welch, one of the main challenges is transferring a safe physical environment into a safe virtual learning environment.

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Welch thinks that lessons conducted in a virtual setting are not well-developed and often lack proper guidance and monitoring. However, according to Cologne, teachers can have a well-structured course due to careful planning, a good syllabus defining the main objectives of the course and proper grading rubrics.

I think, it would be really exciting to introduce this kind of learning in the English courses in Armenia. However, we should realize that virtual worlds are not completely safe in terms of content, and this might not be appropriate for any age-group. Thus, together with benefits, teachers should be aware of the challenges Second Life  presents and try to face them in the right way.

The Role of Video Games in EFL Classrooms

I would like to continue reflecting on digital technologies, video games in particular, and their effect on today’s young generation. It is common knowledge that young people are actively involved in computer gaming. I think, as teachers we cannot deny the fact that computer games play a huge role on shaping our young learners’ minds and behavior. Therefore, their needs and interests are often different from those of the older generation. Research studies show that these digital technologies lead to “mind alterations” or “cognitive changes” in the area of learning (Prensky, 2001). If we are to accept this fact we should think of new ways and methods of teaching. Traditional in-class activities are no longer effective with such generation as they do not fit into their learning style and perception of things.

Patricia Greenfielad, a professor of psychology, has done a lot of research in this area and has come up with some interesting facts. One of them is that video games help to strengthen the learner’s skill in reading visuals as representations of three-dimensional space. Also, various computer games develop their ability to “discover“ rules rather than to follow them.  I think this implies that we, as teachers, should introduce the new material inductively rather than deductively. Even during the class young learners are “players”; they like to be actively involved in a rule discovery process, predicting the possible outcomes rather than being told about them. Besides, due to video games a person is capable of monitoring multiple locations simultaneously. Thus, as teachers, we can assign projects or activities that require the learners’ concentration on multiple tasks at the same time.

If a teacher wants to keep such “digital” learners focused on the lesson, she/he should find some ways to integrate video games into the curricula. For example, there are certain topic-based educational games that can help learners understand and use the newly learned material in meaningful, real-life situations. I have also learned that some commercial games can be adapted to classroom needs and integrated into the learning process as well.

Thus, today’s teachers are exposed to a variety of options that can be used effectively to satisfy the “digital youth’s “  needs and interests.

Digital Story-Telling and Video Production in EFL Classes

As  a continuation to my previous posts about implementing new technologies in EFl classrooms, I’d like to discuss digital story-telling as another interesting and useful tool to be integrated in regular English language classes. I personally think that video production can help English teachers to engage the learners in a meaningful task-based learning, which in itself promotes the target language use in a meaningful context.

Like some of the technological tools discussed in my previous posts, video production, first of all, fosters collaboration and interaction among learners. It is a good way of sharing interesting information with your peers. Last week we had a group assignment; we had to produce a short video and later share it with our classmates. I found this type of activity really engaging and informative. We produced a tutorial and I found it not only to be fun but also helpful in terms of language use. Besides, while shooting the video we had to pay attention to some technical issues such as the light, sound quality, music, etc. Although our video was not a perfect one, we all enjoyed the process of producing it.

I think in the future I ‘d like try this technology  with my students. This will help them to view the English language as a tool to produce something really meaningful. Furthermore, this kind of activity is a great shift from traditional language learning. This is something that the “digital youth” will definitely like doing. I think as teachers, we should help our learners use the target language in a context that really appeals to them.  

WIKIS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

Nowadays wikis are becoming more and more popular. They can be used to create entire communities where people can get together and create and store a whole bunch of interesting activities, stories, discussions, etc.

 According to an article named “Educational Wikis; Features and Selection Criteria” (Schwartz, Clark, Cossarin, and Rudolph , 2004), wikis are already used by some universities for educational purposes and they  seem to be quite helpful. For example, they can be used by teachers to create interesting activities for their students, or to present the course material. They can also help teachers to monitor and evaluate the students ‘ progress through their discussions in wikis during the course.

Wikis are often compared to blogs in terms of sharing information and bringing people together. However there is an essential difference between the two. One of them is that once you have created a post in your blog it cannot be edited by others, whereas in wikis you have such tool. For example, students can create a story and the peers can continue or edit each others’ stories. From my personal experience I can say it is really fun. Besides, such activities build up a sense of collectivism and collaboration among learners. Another difference is that blogs are structures whereas wikis are more flexible in terms of internal and external hyperlinking.

In my view wikis can be used not only for creating in-class but also extracurricular acivities. In this way the teacher can indirectly engage his/her students in the learning process outside classroom. For example, students can use their knowledge of English to get or create information about any topic they are interested in. Through wikis they can create their own community or even connect to other communities sharing the same interests.

PODCASTS

Continuing the topic of my previous two posts, I would like to mention the integration of podcasts in the teaching-learning process.  There are some recent studies discussing the benefits of using podcasts in EFL classrooms. For instance, some writers suggest using podcasts for improving students’ pronunciation   (Ducate and Lomicka, 2009) or using podcasting as an effective tool for exchanging  information and creating content (Mehring). According to the article written by John Mehring, podcasting is very helpful in motivating the students and engaging them in meaningful activities such as exchanging recopies. I, personally have never used podcasting in my English classes, however, reading those positive comments about the effectiveness of this tool , I would love to integrate this technology in my further teaching process.

First of all, podcasts give learners the chance of listening to authentic material which in itself helps them to develop their speaking and listening skills. There is a huge resource of content which the learners can make use of.  Besides, the learners can choose the topic of their interest such as business, technology, medicine, education.  Personally, I prefer podcasts on Psychology, Art and human brain apart from education.Thus, I think when using podcasts in teaching, it would be a good idea for teachers not to restrict their students choice. The students learn better when they are really motivated and interested in the content.

Besides listening to podcasts, students can be engaged in podcasting. They can create their own podcasts and share with their peers. This can help the learners use the target language as a tool to create new content and exchange information. This will certainly develop not only their language skills, but also creative thinking.

Introducing Blogging in EFL Classrooms

In my previous post I discussed the phenomenon of making the world “flatter” by using the Internet.  In my view, blogging can be considered to be a great “flattener”  as it helps people  not only to reflect on various topics but also to connect with other people and share ideas. Some of the educators all over the world have already started using blogging  in their classrooms and have had quite successful results in terms of raising their learners’ motivation and involvement. I think, I would like to use this educational tool in my future teaching practice as it certainly has lots of positive features.

According to the video with Will Richardson, a famous blogger, blogging is a specific writing genre that helps to develop learners’ creative, critical and metacognitive thinking. There is a siginoficant difference between writing on paper and blogging; unlike writing on paper, blogging helps you to connect to other people having the same interests. Also, it is a rich source of new ideas and resources. Besides, you can learn a lot from the comments made by the readers of your blogs.  For instance, there are a lot of hot discussions going on about specific areas of interest.  Educators, as well as learners all over the world can share their experience and suggest new ideas for various things. Thus, blogging can develop not only the learners writing skills but also reading skills and critical thinking .

According to Will Richardson, blogging really helps your learners to get involved in the learning process. Here people have the chance of creating content for real audience and the fact makes a big difference for them. They become more motivated and interested in learning as a result.

`In conclusion, I think I would really love to use the tool of blogging in my classes. One of the possible challenges that I might face is that the Armenian learners are more used to the traditional way of leaning. So I will have to indroduce the idea of using English outside the classroom. They should realize all the potential this tool can offer them and make the best use of it.

The World is Flat

While watching the videos called "Digital Youth",  I was surprised how easily and quickly the children of the 21^st century have adapted to the world of technology. They can use technology  “naturally” and the most striking thing about those “digital” children is that no one have really taught them how to use those complicated tools in detail, how to get information or how to create something using computers . They were simply introduced those tools and learned all by themselves. For example, in one of the vidioes  Cameron (grade 6) have started  using computer since the age of 4. The surprising thing is that no one told him how to create something on a computer. He has built problem solving skills all by himself and now he can easily create movies on a computer.

Another similar example is Dylan (grade 8) who works on a website and helps children from all over the world to connect to each other virtually and share information. It is amazing how those children collaborate with each other and try to raise other children’s awareness of important global issues such as animal cruelty, for instance. In fact, those children have contributed in the process of making this world “flatter”, a term that I have heard in the video called “The World is Flat” on YouTube.

I think, the above mentioned examples illustrate how important technologies can be for children to pursue their goals and interests. The time has come to realize that various technologies are essential educational tools nowadays and teachers should realize their importance. It is obvious that the younger generation is far better at computers and cell phones than the older ones. However, I think, Armenian teachers should not be afraid of these “new things” that they are not so good at.  They should simply introduce those tools to their pupils and let them learn by themselves. Teachers should realize that when  children are interested in something and is actively involved in the process of getting information or creating something  they will do all these by themselves. They just need some guiding on part of the teacher.

The representatives of the new generation are “digital natives” and they are directly involved in the process of making this world flatter. According to Thomas Friedman, the author of the book called “ The World is Flat”, we have already entered the stage of making this world “tiny” . This means a person can easily communicate, share information, collaborate and get an access to the information he needs with the help of the new technologies. He mentions 10 flatteners, the first of which is the fall of the Berlin Wall, when the term globalization was first introduced. Then the Netscape company went public in 1995 and gave us the internet browser. Another important flattener is the introduction of the fiber optic cable, which brought down the cost of communication and more people could connect with each other cheaply.

It is really amazing how fast the Internet has integrated into our lives. People can simply sit at home and make important business deals, make hotel reservations or book tickets, participate in conferences or learn something.  In my view, people should really work hard to keep up with this crazy pace so as not to lag behind.