Unit (4) Internet Applications in TEFL

1. Unit (4)Internet Applications in TEFL Dr. Nazmi Al-Masri 2012 The Islamic University of Gaza

2. Internet Applications in TEFL Objective To empower pre-service teachers with the skills to use new technologies: • ePals Global Community • Mobile learning • Email • Facebook • RSS • (Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts & Vodcasts, Webquests)

3. ePals Global Community ePals Global Community is the leading provider of safe collaborative technology for schools to connect and learn in a protected, project-based learning network. With classrooms in 200 countries and territories, ePals makes it easy to connect learners locally, nationally or internationally. http://www.epals.com/index.php

4. Mobile learning (M-learning) • Work in pairs or groups for 5 minutes and try to think of how you can use your mobile in teaching English. • Try to list at least 3 ways

5. Mobile learning (M-learning) 1. Mobile has several features that can be used in teaching English. These features include • Camera • Video recording • Audio recording • Downloading • Internet access • Texting – messaging • others

6. Mobile learning (M-learning) Teaching Task Read these 2 articles on m-learning and answer the 3 questions below: • HayoReinDers (2010) Twenty Ideas for Using Mobile Phones in the Language Classroom. English Teaching Forum. No 3. pp1-33. Available: www.innovationinteaching.org. • Naveen K Mehta (2012) Mobile Phone Technology in English Teaching: Causes & Concerns. MJAL 4:2. pp82-92. Available: mjal.org/Journal/Mobile%20Phone%20Technology.pdf

7. Mobile learning (M-learning) As a Palestinian English language teacher, to what extent can you use the above features to develop the 4 language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), the 4 language sub-skills & literary works (stories, poems and plays) included in English for Palestine. Work in groups, think and try to complete this table.

8. Using Mobile learning in teaching English

9. Using Mobile learning in teaching English Work in group and list 2 main challenges Palestinian English teachers may face in using mobiles in teaching English and 2 suggestions to overcome them.

10. Email in teaching English Lab Task Familiarise yourself with the following features of receiving & sending emails: • Creating emailing lists • Sending CC & BCC emails • Attaching a file • Creating folders • Moving & copying messages into folders

11. Email in teaching English • Work in pairs or groups for 5 minutes and try to think of how you can use your email in learning & teaching English. • Try to list at least 3 ways

12. Email in teaching English Teaching Task • Read & summarise the main points discussed in this Article: Using E-mail in Foreign Language Teaching: Rationale & Suggestions. Available: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Meloni-Email.html

13. Email in teaching English Read & reflect in terms of language skills, learners’ level, etc. • Teacher: I have emailed you the course syllabi, course descriptions, announcements, & links 4 learning English, writing essays & research papers. • Teacher: In this activity, you are simply going to send me & your colleagues an e-mail message summarizing/ expressing your point of view about a story, text, picture, song or poem that we dealt with in class today.

14. Email in teaching English 3. Teacher: I’d like each one of you to actively participate in expressing his opinion/feelings about a certain current issue, for example, release of Palestinian prisoners, the day of EidAdha.

15. Email in teaching English 4. Teacher: In this activity, you are simply going to exchange e-mail messages with one of your colleagues asking (questioning) & giving him/her information about: • name – nationality, age, address • family – father’s and mother’s work • 3 interests (hubbies), hopes and wishes, • Other information.

16. Email in teaching English 5. Teacher: I have emailed you good sentences or paragraphs written by some of your colleagues to enhance your writing skills, grammar, punctuation, etc (observe, imitate, create) 6. Teacher: I’d like each one of you to actively participate in an interactive discussion on a controversial issues, for example, …………(S-S)

17. Email in teaching English 7. Teacher: Who is birthday today or tomorrow I’d like each one of you to email him/her a message of congratulations. (S-S) 8. Teacher: I used email for developing descriptive and narrative writing skills through emailing pictures to learners.

18. Email in teaching English 9. Teacher:I used email to send learners a topic & some related points in advance to let them prepare for oral discussion or giving a presentation. 10. Teacher: I used email to promote learners' cultural awareness. 11. The teacher locates a partner classroom of either English native speakers or other students of English who are at approximately the same level & age as the home classroom students.

19. Email in teaching English 12. The teacher divides the class into 2 teams: one team applies for a job -other team discusses, accepts or rejects, writes letter of reply. Or one team writes a letter of complaint - the other team writes a letter of apology in response.

20. Email in teaching English Think & write some examples related to how email can be used to develop English language skills in relation to these points: 1. Description 2. Narrating events

21. Email in teaching English 3. Reporting 4. Direct & indirect speech

22. Email in teaching English 5. Prepositions 6. Asking wh-questions

23. Email in teaching English • E-mail enables teachers to communicate with students faster & easier and can be used to develop most languages skills and sub-skills. Taking this statement into account, think and try to complete this table.

24. Email in teaching English

25. Challenges: Email in teaching English Work in group and list • 2 main challenges Palestinian English teachers may face in using Email in teaching English • 2 suggestions to overcome them

26. Facebook in teaching English Lab Task • setting up a new Facebook account • discussing the pros & cons of Facebook use • exploring security & privacy issues surrounding Facebook • adding content to their profiles in order to create a usable social networking space

27. Facebook in teaching English Teaching Task Facebook Groups: • Teachers can create a Facebook group for their class or for a particular class project & ask students to join the group. • Students & their teachers can discuss class-related topics on a platform enjoyed by students. • Teachers use the walls in their Facebook group pages to provide materials like articles, news clips, videos, and links to pertinent websites. • Students can use discussion boards to share their thoughts.

28. Facebook in teaching English Facebook Applications: • Facebook provides over 200 education-related applications. These tools allow teachers to provide • presentations • Tests • notes for their students • The Study Groups application lets ss work together outside of the classroom. They can work on • group projects • share notes, & • help each other prepare for tests. • The WebinariaScreencast Recorder lets teachers make videos to share with their students on Facebook.

29. Facebook in teaching English Teachers can use Facebook to develop • 4 language skills, • 4 sub-skills • literary works (stories, poems and plays) included in English for Palestine. • others Work in groups, think & try to complete this table. (Use the table on landscape page layout)

30. Facebook in teaching English Think & try to complete this table.

31. Facebook in teaching English Lab Task • setting up a new Facebook account • discussing the pros & cons of Facebook use • exploring security & privacy issues surrounding Facebook • Adding content to their profiles in order to create a usable social networking space

32. Facebook in teaching English Work in group and list • 2 main challenges Palestinian English teachers may face in using Facebook in teaching English • 2 suggestions to overcome them.

33. Blogs Preparation Task • Academically, a blog is a website on which teachers and students can post and share their thoughts &ideas. Effectively, it is like a notice board, school magazine & book club, all rolled into one. • different types of blogs named for the way content is delivered such as: • vlog—comprising videos; • linklog—comprising links; • sketchblog—comprising sketches; • photoblog or photo logs (Flogs)—comprising photos (Tony Erben, Ruth Ban & Martha E. Castañeda (2009) Teaching English Language Learners Through Technology.p136)

34. Blogs • One of the useful articles that discuss using blogs in teaching English isBlogging for ELT: www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/blogging-elt • "This article takes a look at blogging, which is becoming increasingly popular as a language learning tool. It gives an overview of blogging websites, suggests why you might want to use them, and gives some practical advice on setting up blogs for use with your own classes." • Read and summarise the main points discussed in this article. To maximize your benefit from reading this article, try to answer these questions:

35. Blogs • What is the difference between the three types of blogs outlined in the article? Look at the examples to fully understand the differences. • How many reasons are mentioned for using blogs? What does this mean to you? Are they all related to language learning & teaching? • How many ideas suggested for activities? Can you add more activities? • What other points does the article discuss?

36. Blogs There are many blogs dedicated for teaching English as a foreign language. Fully browse only 3 of the following blogs that English teacher use with their students and complete the table below. • Joe Dale's Blog: http://joedale.typepad.com • Teach ESL to Kids: http://teach-esl-to-kids.com/blog/ • Kalinago English: http://kalinago.blogspot.com/ • The Daily English Show (vlog): http://thedailyenglishshow.blogspot.com/ • Amanda Salt's Blog: http://amandasalt.blogspot.com • Suel’s English Learning Blog: http://suelenglishblog.blogspot.com/ • José Picardo's Blog: Box of Tricks: http://www.boxoftricks.net • Alice Ayel's Blog: http://aliceayel.posterous.com • Nik Peachey's Blog: http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com • Jame Pearson's Blog: http://elblogjimmyp.blogspot.com

37. Blogs

38. Blogs - Lab Task • Create a teacher blog, using "the world's most popular education blogging service" called Edublogs (http://edublogs.org/). • Manage the blog through mastering these blog features: • "Add New": Post a text: story, poem, proverb, joke, etc • "Add New": image, a video & audio) • "Add New": link • "Add New": user • "Comments" • "Access to forums" • "Appearance"

39. Blogs - Teaching Task Here are some general ways to use your Edublog to enhance teaching English in Palestine. What activities can you use your blog for? Think & try to complete this table. • Develop students’ reading skills • Develop students’ question formation skills • Develop students’ communication skills through discussions & debates. • Engage learners in knowledge sharing, interaction, reflection & debate with peers • Provide a forum for discussion that goes beyond coursework to include culture, politics, and other areas of personal exploration. Students often learn as much from each other as from instructors or textbooks, and blogs offer another mechanism for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing & acquisition.

40. Blogs in teaching English