Reading Reflections~ week 4

Anderson article:

Key ideas and reaction

In this article Anderson explores the different ways and reasons of distance education and what types of interaction are available through distance education. First he emphasized the need and importance of collaborative activity in all types of education, including distance education, and more specifically for the purposes of this course, language education. First Anderson specifies what he means by “interaction” and he defines it as “reciprocal events that require at least two objects and two actions.” He reminds us that the idea of interaction is not new, as nearly one hundred years ago, John Dewey described a internal interaction as the part of the learning process “when the student transforms the inert information passed to them from another, and constructs it into knowledge with personal application and value.”

A main idea of the article were the modes of interaction: first the three more common types( student to student, student to teacher, and student to content) and then extended to the other three types( teacher to teacher, teacher to content, and content to content). He offers his theorem of equivalency, which basically says as long as one of the three main modes of interaction is at a high level, there will be deep and meaningful learning, even if the other two are very minimal or even nonexistent. High levels of two or even three of these modes will secure a better overall learning experience.

I thought that Anderson's theorem was interesting-- that only one type of interaction is necessary for learning to occur, but when there are more forms of interaction the enjoyment increases . He stated that currently people perceive that the most valuable type of interaction is student to teacher and thus it receives the highest market value. This shows it self in the way that schools and universities advertise what there student to teacher ratio is and what the average class size is.

I agreed with his critique of the lecture format, but I had never realized the historical reason why this was the only feasible method previously, but now there are so many others. He explained that it originates from the fact that books were rarely available, often hand-scribed. It was necessary for the teacher to read aloud these things to the others. Many students here are still taught in this format, as the teacher has the information in a book or notebook and then the students are to copy it into their personal notebooks. This is because the class has no other resources, textbooks, or matierals. However, as more resources become available, the need for this type of interaction, which is minimal, can be reduced, as other effective delivery modes are given in its' place.

Peyton article:

Peyton outlined several of the challenges that come with “computer-mediated interaction”. The first results from the newness of the medium, giving the students the feeling that they are anonymous and can say anything. The dialog can then quickly degenerate into confrontation and insults. Secondly, a problem can result from the “immediacy of the medium”. Much like the first challenge, the students are thinking about what is being said but are saying things flippantly that they probably would never try to say in a regular classroom. A third challenge comes from the way the networks discussions can quickly digress and it is difficult for the teacher to establish the authority to determine the direction of the discussion. It can be difficult for the teacher to maintain the authority when students are allowed write anything at anytime I do agree with the author that , even despite these challenges, the opportunities for learning through this type of interaction are wide and varied.

To the beach!

We're vacationing this week in Greece. We're in the northern part, called Halkidiki. The water is clear and fairly warm, the skies blue and most of the tourists are gone now!
My oldest son, who is always interested in languages, trying out his name in Greek.

Website Evaluation #1

While searching specifically for a language learning blog, I came across BBC's Learning English website http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ . The purpose of this site is to encourage and further English language learning. One aspect of this site is a blog http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/ and I will discuss it more in a moment. There were many more resources on this site and I will try to highlight some of these as well.

The blog section is actually two blogs. The first is written by an English student. A new student is chosen every month from different locations around the world. The blogger posts entries frequently and then other English students are encouraged to write in and respond to the entry. The one I reviewed was written by a young Brazilian women. She wrote about her home, her family and her profession as a dentist. At the end of the month, a new blogger is chosen. The second blog is written also in response to the first blog, but this one is written by an English teacher. She writes making suggestions on how the student may improve his English skills and his writing. She even makes assignments for the student to do.

One positive element about this blog is, as it says on the website, that this blog is different from a BBC broadcast because "it's a conversation between the author and the audience." Another positive is that it is a great way for students to learn about people from all over the world and have the opportunity to communicate with them. Also, this might be a good way to introduce students to the concept of blogging.

There are many other categories on the Learning English page. One that I liked particularly is entitled Quizzes. It had a number of different types of quizzes. One is called Quiznet. Each one has six questions, with multiple choice answers. For each incorrect response, the computer explains why the right answer is correct. The quiz changes daily. Other quizzes include Crossword (with a new topical puzzle weekly), Wordmaster (practices vocabulary in a game format) The Commentary Box (students listen to conversations of different World Cup matches, then take a quiz on what they heard), and Where to Next? (requires listening to audio directions, answering correctly about the location, all without running out of cash.)

Another category of the site is Exam Skills. It has pages for building vocabulary, writing exams, listening exams, speaking exams, and reading exams. This could be a very helpful section for students, like mine, who are not accustomed to standardized testing or college entrance exams.
Yet another category is "Grammar & Vocabulary".. This section includes Moving Words (with quotes from famous people), News English (teaches words being used in the news currently), Ask About English (answers questions that are sent in—the student can either read the answer or listen to them), How To (teaches phrases and expressions for particular situations), Keep Your English Up to Date (teaches new words that probably aren't even in the dictionary yet!), and Songlines (teaches vocabulary with the lyrics of a current song).

This website will be interesting to English learners of nearly all levels. There is something to interest everyone. With topics ranging from football to music to games to news, there is sure to be something of interest.

This site is useful for writing, listening and reading. The blog will target writing and reading. Feedback on the blog will be authentic as responses are given to posts that the students write. Assessment and Feedback is also given to the learner in the "Quizzes" section.

I found this entire site attractive and easy to navigate. Its strengths include the variety of topics and activities and the ability to beneficial to learners of all levels. One weakness might be just that it has so much material, the beginner might not know where to head. It might be helpful if it was separated between beginner, intermediate and advanced exercises.

The Good and the Bad of taking a class online

I was all prepared to make an entry today saying how wonderful it is to be taking my class online, as opposed to a traditional classroom. You see this week I am on vacation with my family in Greece, in an area called Halkidiki. How else could I do my classwork while also being in such a wonderful location?!? And then I was going to upload some pictures of just how great it is and how much fun we're having! But then, the internet quit working at our rental place. So, now I am writing you from a loud, hot internet cafe. Nine-year-old boys are sitting next to me, and hovering nearby as they play Counter-Strike and yell to each other. So here I am trying to concentrate and find a language learning blog to evaluate for our assignment. So vacation is wonderful, but I am a little worried at how I will compose something coherent!

This was taken just around the corner from our apartment. This is a quite common sight-- a horse drawn trailer filled with wood for sale.

Computer Assisted Language Learning~ readings

I found the chapter by Egbert to be a good introduction to CALL. The text brought in to focus what is meant, exactly, by this term. I really had wondered, prior to the course, is there something specific meant by "Computer-Assisted Language Learning?" All of the articles read explained that this is a broad term, applying to any possible use of the computer to teach or learn a language. It also does not apply only to English learning, but to any language, across content and skill areas.

One point made by Egbert that resonated with me was this: "Educators need to avoid putting technology ahead of learning in their classrooms (p. 4) Before I moved overseas, I taught in a public school in the U.S. We were required to attend a number of seminars on technology use. Sometimes I felt that we were learning these things for technology's sake, not for the sake of better instruction. So while I am excited to learn new ways to use the computer in language teaching, I want to keep in mind that what I implement needs to improve learning.

Egbert listed eight conditions for classroom language learning. I'd like to highlight four of them.
First, he said that to prepare students for using the new language in the “real world”, they must have opportunity to practice in social settings. I am hoping to discover some ways that social settings for the classroom can be generated through computer usage.

Secondly, he discussed the use of authentic tasks in language learning. The students will be much more motivated to learn when given a task that they have the skills to accomplish, given the necessary time and support.

Thirdly, Egbert stated that language learners are trying on a “a different language and culture and possibly even a new way approaching knowledge and the learning process” (p. 7). This has definitely been my experience here! We are asking our students to think and learn in a whole new way. Their education prior to our English classes is an old style of pedagogy that reflects their former Yugoslavian roots , with the teacher at the blackboard writing down things he wants the students to copy in their notebooks-- that is, if they happened to bring a notebook! The first few sessions in our classes are spent stressing the need to bring a pen and paper. The high school students aren't even used to using a textbook in class, much less any other materials or resources. After teaching them to bring supplies, then we move to some note-taking skills. But this is just the beginning as we want them to begin to think creatively, something otherwise rarely done in the classroom.

Finally, the author emphasized that the learner should have some autonomy in the language learning process. He referred to an example where the students are helped by the teachers to define their own learning goals and then later assessing their own progress toward attaining these stated goals. This is something that I have never done with students but I am intrigued by the idea. I'd be interested in hearing from any other participants in our class who have done something like this.