With the Spring Quarter right around the corner (i.e. tomorrow), I’m thinking about the courses I’ll be teaching in really big picture ways. I’m reflecting on two videos I’ve seen recently, which I’ve embedded below.
The first is a nicely edited visual summary of how the web, and Web 2.0 applications, are changing how we use language.
The second is similar, but has a much more Edupunk aesthetic and “call to action” vibe.
As I plan my courses for the spring (a high-elementary listening / speaking class and a high-intermediate grammar class) I’m asking myself how I can effectively use technology to enhance my students’ learning.
In the L/S class, my list includes a podcast to help students correct errors and a Moodle course to organize links, resources, and discussions. I’m not sure if they will be ready for much more than that. I’ll also need to work out a way to administer two simultaneous audio quizzes in a lab because this class is really an elementary / high-elementary split, but that shouldn’t be a major technological hurdle. I’ve also got a Smartboard this quarter, so I need to think of how to tie that in.
In grammar, I’ll again have a Moodle course which I’ll use for discussion and posting lecture notes on the grammar points we cover. I’ve been kicking around the idea of inverting what is done in class versus for homework. Can’t students watch a Slideshare presentation on the grammatical structure at home, then come in and do activities and ask questions in class? Would they actually watch? Would this be an improvement over studying out of a book? How can we make this process less unidirectional? Makes me wish I had captured my lectures last quarter.
I’m looking forward to teaching something new and taking on some interesting challenges. Stay tuned.
ESL Technology.com 