E-learning

This session explored the link between pedagogy and technology in EFL/ESL teaching. The presenters demonstrated the actual uses of various online sources in an EFL/ESL course and the pedagogical reasons for their use. We will use this term to refer to a planned teaching (and learning) experience that uses the Internet to engage students in activities and complete learning tasks. Learning can be supported by technology in various ways. For our purposes, we will focus on the Internet tools that can supplement our teaching in order to reach our students needs and enhance their learning. When we decide to use technology in our classes, we must consider the reasons why we //want// to use these tools. Our goal is to reach our students interesting and enhance their learning by engaging them in the learning process through these methods and tools. The use of technology is also a way to support collaborative learning. Collaboration is a method that encourages students to learn together effectively by not only supporting communication of ideas and information among learners, but also sharing information and documents among group members on a shared task. Using technology for collaborative tasks facilitates the group learning process and enhances the group dynamics by engaging students in on-line communication which can be less threatening than face-to-face communication Why do we have to use technology? Why is e-learning relevant? Take a look at this video on You Tube before answering these questions. A vision of students today by Michael Wesch (Kansas State University) [] A vision of K-12 students today by B. Nesbitt [] Now, we cannot deny that technology is all around. Our students live in a world of instant information, communication and entertaining, which demands new skills both for them and for us as teachers. If we don’t want education to be so distant from real world we must build the bridge. As regard as the Internet, our students were born in its context, that’s why we call them **native learners**. The necessity of the Internet in classrooms has to do with redefining 21st Century education. School cannot be a 19th Century institution any longer. Traditional education used to //give// information to students; our challenge nowadays is to help them develop their critical thinking, **//teach them to think//**, to critique, to organize that information, to find relevance and meaning in every lesson. The use of these skills fosters a sense of empowerment in every student that otherwise would be difficult to achieve in any EFL class. How can we enhance our own teaching experience with on-line tools? There are three e-tools that enhance collaborative learning:  §  **  Podcast   **  §  **  Blogs and Wikis  **  §  **  You Tube  ** **//__ Podcast __//** : Ipod + Broadcast Podcast is any audio or video file that you can find on the Internet. These files foster students listening skills. Also help them develop knowledge on some topic. We can make them read and collect articles on line on one specific issue; watch and find videos on line while having contact in FL. Do you know any source of podcast on the net? ....................................................................................................................     In simple terms, a **blog** is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not. A **wiki** is also a type of website, it is a “blank page” on which you and your students can easily add, remove, or edit content. Applications in education: Do you know any wiki or blog that your students use? Any other site that you can use for teaching? ....................................................................................................................   YouTube  is a [|video sharing] website where users can upload, view and share [|video clips]. Three former [|PayPal] employees created YouTube in February 2005. In November 2006, YouTube was bought by [|Google Inc.] for [|US$] 1.65 billion, and is now operated as a [|subsidiary] of Google.   It is not the only sharing video site, but for sure is the most popular one. We may use it in a classroom for:  ·   Watching videos  ·   Having e-classes in English of Yoga, Language, Grammar, Science, Technology, etc. Many //how to// videos are now uploaded on You Tube  ·   Attending webinars (Web + seminars) for us to keep our training and education as teachers.  Do you know any other video sharing web site? ....................................................................................................................    **In the 21st Century we must teach children to think, to analize, to create and to solve problems. They can do that** **trough the Internet**. // All the material has been adapted from the original booklet of the2009 International Congress of Professional Development for teachers of English, from the session´ E-learning: Teaching with technology ´by J. Armbust and S.A. Cesar, from Portland University, Oregon. //
 * __ E-learning: Teaching with Technology  __**
 * //__ What is ‘E-learning’?  __//**
 * __ Blogs and Wikis  __**
 * Teachers may write a blog or a wiki for students in their classrooms with links to Internet sites that aid in learning and/or research tasks.
 * Teachers may have students use blogs for learning reflections, story writing, etc.
 * Viewers can leave comments that aid the writer in his/her writing development.
 * __ You Tube  __**