Responses to Two Course Readings

Reading Computer Assisted Language Learning: an Introduction by Mark Warschauer, I have better understood how the different modes of CALL have influenced our daily teaching. Take the online program, English builder, which our school is using, for example. It is actually a type of drill and practice program based on the behaviourist CALL. The computer is used as tutor. The computer is supposed to be the knower of the right answer. Students need to do listening, reading, writing and speaking exercises and the right answer and elaboration is provided by the computer rather than the teacher.
But the communicative and integrative CALL remind me that behaviourist CALL is not interactive and the language learning will be limited if learners can not communicate naturally and authentically. Teachers should adopt different technologies appropriately so that students can be stimulated to discuss and share and think by using the target language in a critical way. While students may be asked to express their opinions on the same topic on a blog or the blackboard, they may also make comments on and give responses to their group members’ post.
According to the chapter about Language Teaching and the Internet, autonomous learning, collaborative learning, cross-cultural learning, and critical learning are the important learning goals. Students must learn both the new technologies and the language together. More project learning and student-centre learning activities should be integrated into our teaching practice. Computer technologies and internet make it possible for students to first work on their own and then combine the works of all group members and modify the whole with suggestions from others.

After reading the two articles, I bear in mind that all the new technologies are not important in themselves but the way they are used to help with language teaching and learning. I used to use the computer technologies and the internet more as tool and tutor rather than stimulus in my class. Sometimes it was used for the purpose of integrating technologies. But how useful and effective were they in the language teaching and learning? I myself am in doubt of it. From now on I will try my best to use the technologies in the purpose of facilitating student-centered learning in a collaborative and critical way.

Webquest

Webquest uses online information and resources to design learning activities which requires high-level thinking skills. With Webquest teachers are able to carry out more project, problem, inquiry-based activities. The four samples provided have well elaborated how students solve problems, or use the internet resources to look for questions being asked. For example, in Dinosaurs before Dark, students need to document the Dinosaurs they meet in the book. Guided questions are well set. For example, students need to search if Frog Creek, Pennsylvania is a real place using the US postal service. Please refer to http://questgarden.com/52/36/4/070612201403/process.htm. By doing this, students can relate the reading to the real life. Webquest bridges well the classroom learning with the real life. Compared with the first sample, the rest three samples have tasks which are more demanding and require more problem solving skills. They require more collaboration work between peers.
I think Webquest implies integrative CALL because with the tool have successfully show a good way how students are able to pick up the technologies and the language together. Definitely I would try to implement it in my daily teaching. It is very useful to the project learning with all the learning materials and outcomes well filed. But when I design my own webquest file, I must select the resources carefully and provide clear and direct references so that my students, a group of low –achieving ESL learners, will not be scared by links full of incomprehensible English. Moreover, the four samples mainly provide reading and writing exercises. For my own webquest, I would try to use the video files as well so that students are able to practice their listening and reading skills. For example, sound tracks can be added to each chapter in the first sample, Dinosaurs before Dark.
Besides, I would have a try on other online programs such as Filamentality, zWebQuest ,and PHPWebQuest. I am the most interested on Filamentality because both teachers and learners in the 21st century are facing one problem, namely, how to search the relevant information in the era of information explosion.

How do I view new technologies before the course

Teaching in a low-banding CMI secondary school, I use new technologies like internet, computer, and camera in my teaching from time to time.
I rely a lot on the internet for searching useful information. Take the module on chimpanzees, for example. Photos about chimpanzees and its habitat were downloaded. Internet articles were modified and worksheets were designed depending on the information from Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com).
Except the printed materials, I use youtube (www.youtube.com) a lot in my class to introduce hot social events and popular culture to my students because most of them do not use English in their personal life because of their low social-economic background.
Powerpoint helps a lot with my lesson presentation so that I do not need to write much on the blackboard. But sometimes the effectiveness of the lesson is restricted because of this. Students’ responses go far beyond what have been prepared. Sometimes it accounts for the fact that the lesson is quite teacher-centred. Students find the class not interactive.
I believe I can learn more ways to get myself out of the trap so that I can make full use of different types of new technologies to assist my teaching.