Monday, December 3, 2012


Blogging




In my previous post I talk about “Digital Youth”, and how children use the new technology without any difficulties. I am still very touched by what I heard and read. So, once more I will repeat that the new generation is much more creative than we. Furthermore, sometimes they do help us with some obstacles that we face while using the technology.  In this post I will speak about the blogging, something, which is very important and essential for us.  Furthermore, I want to say that I am very thankful to our professor, for integrating blogging into our classes. The reason is that, sometime we do not have time to read our materials very thoroughly, but we know that we are supposed to reflect about them in our blogs. So we come back during the weekends and read them again, but this time we read very attentively J. Another big advantage, which I want to mention is again from my own experience. The thing is that, when I am going to write about something interesting, sometimes I read my friend’s blogs to see what they think about the same topic. Moreover, I go further and find out many other interesting topics, and I do read them. Thus, we can see that blogging helps us to be creative, and it develops our critical thinking.

Thus, as an English language teacher I would say that I will definitely use blogging in my classes. The reason is that, I consider the blogging to be very helpful in the classroom. Furthermore, as Will Richardson says, it helps learners to get involved and motivates them to continue writing in their blogs, as they create a content for real audience.  From my point of view, saving time could be another biggest advantage, because the teacher can read all the posts at home and give comments if necessary. It sounds to me that, the blog is something which will stay with you forever. For example, now I learn at the American University of Armenia, and for our classes we use the Moodle website. We have a lot of stuff there, including our readings and assignments. However, I do know that after graduating the University, all the information will be vanished. While, everything  that I wrote in my blog, will stay with me.
 In conclusion, I want to say that I like blogging, and I do like to write and share my thought with those people who are interested in the same topic. Moreover, as an English teacher, I will use blogging in my future classes for the above mentioned advantages.

Sources…

http://www.google.am/imgres?hl=hy&tbo=d&tbm=isch&tbnid=J21YCtgETe7rjM:&imgrefurl=http://www.magical-marketing.com/wanna-be-found-online-where-the-bleep-to-blog-to-get-to-page-one-of-google/&docid=FykuQJVHkUE8bM&imgurl=http://www.magical-marketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/i_love_blogging-787805.jpg&w=300&h=300&ei=aau8UJjrHaqm4gSYuoGAAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=194&vpy=110&dur=1061&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=92&ty=109&sig=111153760880240863882&page=1&tbnh=137&tbnw=137&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:78&biw=1366&bih=587

“Digital Youth” and “The world is flat”



My today’s post is going to be about “Digital Youth” and I will also speak about the lecture by Thomas Friedman “The world is flat”. Actually, before watching the videos, I thought that children are very creative and very clever nowadays, yet, watching the videos made me think that they are not only creative, but also geniusesJ. Why am I saying this, because while I was watching the videos, I realized how the new generation differs from ours. They do things, which I could not do at their age even in my dreams J .  Here I want to bring my brother’s example. Every time, when he plays computer games and he meets some obstacles, he calls his son to help him, who is only 10 years old. Thus, from this example it can be seen that children use technology without any difficulties.      
The amazing thing is that, all children use the technology very easily, and it seems like they born with it. What is more important, that they are fond of technology and they use it with great pleasure. Even one girl mentioned that she likes especially her dad’s iPhone as she plays a lot of games. For me this is really amazing. Furthermore, there was a girl whose name was Dana and she told about her first computer. It was very touchy.  She is nine now, but she was 7 when she got it. She said that she was very very very excited and she liked it a lot. The same was with me. I was really very excited too, but in comparison with her, I got my computer not at the age of 7 but a few years ago J
To sum up my topic about the “Digital Youth”, I would definitely say that children are very intelligent and very unique today.  They not just want to search. They want to use what they searched for and do something with it. And as I mentioned above, they do use the technology perfectly, even without anybody’s help. Additionally, what I have noticed in the videos, that technology has its own place in education in this 21st century. So, as an English language teacher, I would definitely integrate technology in my classes. As they are very interesting and motivating for children. Besides, it makes the work easier both, for the teacher and for the learner.



The next video which I watched was a lecture by Thomas Friedman “The world is flat”. I will say that it was a fascinating speech and I learnt a lot of new things from this man.  I would even read the book, however I am very pressed in time now. Hopefully, I will read it later because I am sure that it will enrich my knowledge and will give me a lot of new information.
According to Thomas Friedman, we have already entered the stage of making this world “tiny”. So what does this mean? Actually, it means that today we can share news and information very easily with the help of technology. And if we think for a moment, we can really see what technology allows us to do in the 21sy century. In his speech he mentions 10 flatterers, the first of which is the fall of the Berlin Wall.  The next important flattener is the introduction of fiber optic cable, which allows us to communicate cheaply. Thus, we can see how the technology entered our life and made it easy. So, as a teacher, I would say that these new technologies are of a great help in the classroom as well. Furthermore, they can be used for different purposes, like for developing a speaking skill, for promoting collaboration among students, for motivating the Ss etc.

Sources
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53vLQnuV9FY 
http://www.google.am/imgres?hl=hy&tbo=d&tbm=isch&tbnid=Po2_Ae8unWPywM:&imgrefurl=http://crcbeckley.com/TheChronicles/tabid/156/EntryId/8/Who-believes-that-the-world-is-flat.aspx&docid=VPuRkPSDtV-FtM&imgurl=http://crcbeckley.com/Portals/0/Images/flatEarth.jpg&w=1006&h=492&ei=6aG8UNHEFoTk4QTCnoD4AQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=557&sig=111153760880240863882&page=1&tbnh=148&tbnw=288&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:93&tx=81&ty=52&biw=1366&bih=624

Saturday, December 1, 2012



Second Life




My today’s post again is related to technology, and virtual environment. It’s about Second Life.  I will be honest and say that I didn’t like to play games neither in childhood, nor in adolescent.  In contrast, the Second Life was something new and very fascinating for me.  Furthermore, I was very amazed and surprised, when I heard from my professor that we can use the Second Life for educational purposes.  Here I realized how it will be motivating and engaging for students to learn a target language.

As a professor Cynthia M. Calongne says, virtual words are simulating were students can meet online for classes, including lectures, discussions, projects etc.  Moreover, A virtual world class differs from a traditional course management system, such as Blackboard or Moodle, due to the three dimensional (3D) graphical setting, the use of avatars to represent the class participants, and the sense of presence that puts the learner within the scene (Calogne, 2008 ).

Continuing my post about Second Life, I would like to mention that virtual world experiences are fun. The most wonderful feature of the Second Life is that it differs from traditional class in a way that classes can be held on the beach, in outer space or in another country. In my opinion, the Second Life is also very essential for those students who are not very active. So the Second life will motivate and engage them in the learning process, shifting them from passive learners to active learners.

We can see that the Second Life has a lot of advantages, and as a teacher I would like to see the Second Life as a part of my syllabus and lesson plans. However, I do think that it would be a little bit difficult to use the Second Life in Armenian’s schools. The first reason is a lack of technology. Our Schools are not well equipped for this game. Furthermore, the majority of our teachers belong to older generation, so here a lack of technological knowledge will come up. In conclusion, I do believe that using Second Life in the classroom will be beneficial for both teachers and students.


Sources
Calongne, C.(2008). Educational Frontiers: Learning in a Virtual World. A source: Welch, D.(2008). Virtual Worlds: Moving Beyond Today. 

http://www.google.am/imgres?hl=hy&sa=G&tbo=d&tbm=isch&tbnid=l8ZnoKGxAiJS9M:&imgrefurl=http://community.secondlife.com/t5/General-Discussions/How-To-Brighten-Up-YOUR-Secondlife-Dungeon-Tips-Tricks-For-Newbs/td-p/378830&docid=Byf4IiNLq1N2HM&imgurl=https://s3.amazonaws.com/lecs-community-secondlife/12738_Tabel%252Bpicture.jpg&w=1280&h=750&ei=9xq6UMOmDsz54QSd4YHACQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=234&vpy=151&dur=1650&hovh=172&hovw=293&tx=193&ty=108&sig=111153760880240863882&page=2&tbnh=136&tbnw=232&start=18&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:0,i:132&biw=1366&bih=587

http://www.google.am/imgres?hl=hy&tbo=d&tbm=isch&tbnid=7SGBDUhOH346HM:&imgrefurl=http://www.spacetoday.org/VirtualWorlds/WhatAreThey.html&docid=Kc2JsrP-_yftpM&imgurl=http://www.spacetoday.org/VirtualWorlds/images/SL_image_gallery/SaltBoxFishingCabin.jpg&w=512&h=512&ei=aBy6UMHvFuyN4gTVsoDoDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1100&vpy=114&dur=59&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=156&ty=110&sig=111153760880240863882&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=141&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:93&biw=1366&bih=624

Academic and Learning Analytics




My today’s post is related to academic and learning analytics. It is not a secret, that the way of teaching has changed dramatically, and it is impossible to imagine the future education without new technology and new innovations. One of such breakthrough in education is analytics. What I understood from my readings is that, the analytics provides Institutions with opportunity to improve teaching, learning etc.  However, while using analytics we should be cautious and think carefully about what we need to know and what data will help us with correct information.

According to the 1st International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge, “learning analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.”  Academic analytics, in contrast, is the application of business intelligence in education and emphasizes analytics at institutional, regional, and international levels ( Goldstein &Katz,  2005).

Furthermore, the role of learning analytics is more specific compared to academic analytics. Learning academics focuses on learning process, while academic analytics reflects the data analysis at an Institutional level.

In conclusion, I would like to say, there is no doubt that analytics will have a major role in the future of higher education, however we should take it carefully.  What is important to mention that nowadays academic analytics used wildly in comparison with learning academics which needs more implementation and experimentation.



Resources 

http://www.google.am/imgres?hl=hy&tbo=d&tbm=isch&tbnid=xs8HnFmdkJoJVM:&imgrefurl=http://www.innovationmanagement.se/2012/04/04/big-data-big-hype-or-big-value/&docid=rAY0w7iwEQgwfM&imgurl=http://www.innovationmanagement.se/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/big-data-hype-or-value-trend-alert.jpg&w=460&h=330&ei=wvK5UNnFMeih4gTim4DgBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1060&vpy=305&dur=821&hovh=190&hovw=265&tx=170&ty=109&sig=111153760880240863882&page=2&tbnh=143&tbnw=189&start=19&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:32,s:0,i:175&biw=1366&bih=587


http://www.google.am/imgres?hl=hy&tbo=d&tbm=isch&tbnid=-NeS7GM1tAC8DM:&imgrefurl=http://edudemic.com/2012/08/learning-analytics-101-what-to-expect-when-data-enters-the-classroom/&docid=Fi8xFVqyDptyEM&imgurl=http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/analytics-learning.jpg&w=400&h=250&ei=avK5UIeGL6WH4gTn1YDIAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=392&vpy=354&dur=1670&hovh=177&hovw=284&tx=193&ty=111&sig=111153760880240863882&page=1&tbnh=131&tbnw=210&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0,i:117&biw=1366&bih=667

Friday, November 30, 2012

                                           Google Apps



 In this post I am going to talk about three Google apps, which were unfamiliar to me before.  I am also going to write about their usability and usefulness in the EFL/EFL classroom. But before describe these three apps, I would like to say that the more I get familiar with new technology, the more I realize how it makes out work easier and more comfortable in the classroom.

Firstly, I want to begin with Google maps. This was something new to me, and I am really very touched by it. Google maps are incredible.  They are very well designed, and the search capabilities are amazing. The astonishing thing is that teachers can use Google maps in the classroom for various subjects, like English language, geography, art, history, etc.  For example, in an English class, they can take virtual tours of countries where the language they are studying e is spoken. Additionally, Google maps are now editable and students can add or move their school, favorite park, to help users to find the most accurate information.  However, it has some disadvantages too. For example, information is not always accurate and some services are not available everywhere.

The second new app for me was Google calendaring.  It allows having multiple calendars.  Thus, we can schedule our social and academic life, create personal calendars, and share them with others. Furthermore, Google calendar has the ability to display events from all the calendars overlaid on the top of each other, to give us a single view into day, week, and month.  The next astonishing feature of Google calendar is that we can choose to make this event Private. In other words, only those people who are invited to this event can see the details of the event.  For other people the calendar will be as a “free business calendar”. In contrast, I would like to mention one weakness of this calendar. What I noticed is that it allows others to see or activities, and this is a big disadvantage for me.

The third great product, which was unknown to me, is Google sites.  It is like a combination of various tools and services into one.  Google sites promotes collaboration amongst people. The good example of this is Google sky.It is very easy to use, and there is no need to know any complicated wiki language. As other apps, this one also can be very effective in the classroom, as it promotes collaboration, and also makes the learning process very interesting.

To sum up, I will definitely sat that I like all the Google apps mentioned above.  I found them very appealing and fascinating.  From my point of view, the creators of this apps make our work easier as a learner and as a teacher. 

  

Sunday, November 25, 2012


                              Online and Distance Education





In this post I am going to speak about online and distance learning. To begin with, I would like to mention that I did a research about online and distance learning, and I learnt a lot of new things. 
    
Firstly, what is online or distance learning? Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom.  According to Lewis (2005) online learning has become one of the most popular ways of gaining access to an education. The reality is that because of technology the world we live today is much different than 20 years ago. Our generation went from the time of the ‘Eight Track, leap to the times of the Walkman, CD player, VHS and DVD.’ etc. But today’s world is belongs to the ‘i Pod, text messaging, Wiki’s, Facebook and Blogs’ generation. These speedy changes have forced everyone, peoples or institutions to make immediate changes. Consequently, these Institutions have changed their programs, curriculums etc., in order to facilitate access to a good education.

Secondly, by reading an article by Phil Hill, I understood that he differentiates between several educational models.  Though, he says that not all these models will exist longer.
      So there are the following models:
  • Ad Hoc Online Courses and Programs
  •  Fully Online Programs
  • School-as-a-Service
  • Educational Partnerships 
  • Competency-based education
  • Blended/Hybrid Course and the Flipped Classroom
  • MOOCs
 Many faculty members of Ad Hoc courses claim that they are getting better results and learning outcomes using online tools and the reason is the quality of online learning. According to a study by Inside Higher Ed and the Babson Survey Research Group, fully two thirds of faculty members say that learning outcomes from online education are inferior compared with outcomes from traditional courses.
About an Educational Partnership I would like to mention that even is in not very famous, it has already shown great results. The Cisco Networking Academy program is a good example of this model. It has already scaled to serve more than 1 million students, in 165 countries, through more than 10,000 partner institutions. In this model, the educational institution offers the courses within its curriculum, allowing students to pursue industry-relevant certifications and even to use the courses as part of their degree programs.

In Blended/Hybrid Courses and the Flipped Classroom there are a lot of interactive activities and the logical extension is called the “flipped classroom”. The face-to-face class time is used for practice and actual application rather than for introducing the content being studied. The instructor then has time to help students face-to-face with specific problems. While in MOOCs, the course itself is scaled to enable an essentially unlimited number of students to take the course from the faculty members, who both design and lead the course.

Though online distance learning has advantages, it has disadvantages too. For this reason I did a research to see the challenges that students face while learning online. For this project I chose a group of learners who are doing their MA degree online in TEFL. The noteworthy thing which I found out is that, the most difficult aspect of online learning is the poor technology skill. The majority of students cannot open files, use PDFs or attach materials. Furthermore, they mentioned that they could not contact to their classmates.  The second most common answer given by the online learners was poor time management. They said that they cannot organize themselves properly, so cannot meet the deadline.

To sum up, I want to say that nowadays online learning is every popular, helpful and effective. However, while choosing to study online, the online learners should understand the time commitment required of an online course and possess or develop strong time management skills.

    

References 


žMassy, William (2002, May). Distance Education: Guidelines for Good Practice. AFT, pp. 9, 16.
žBozarth, J., Chapman, D. D., & LaMonica, L. (2004). Preparing for Distance Learning: Designing An Online Student Orientation Course. Educational Technology & Society, 7 (1), 87-106.




Monday, November 12, 2012

Mall


My current post is going to be about Mobile Assisted Language Learning. To tell the truth, I like the idea of using and integrating mobile phones into language learning process. I consider them to be very effective and engaging. Besides, it’s a great way to motivate students and keep them on the task. These three readings helped me to understand the role of MALL better, and of course enriched my knowledge.

   
Firstly, I would like to say that MALL could improve listening and speaking skills. There are various activities which can be used by the learners to develop or improve above mentioned skills. Here I would like to bring my own example. Last year, when I was practicing for taking an IELTS exam, something went wrong with my computer and it was really a disaster for me. I was in a panic, as the exam day was near, and I had no time. What I did is that I downloaded all those listening materials into my mobile phone and began to practice via it. I was listening to those materials even when I was outside.  It was really a great help to me and I am very thankful to my mobile phone J

Secondly, MALL can improve reading skill. There are a lot of textbooks, which are created mainly for the mobile phones. So learners can download these textbooks and use them whenever they want. Furthermore, MALL could be very efficient for revising or building vocabulary, which in its turn will improve spelling. It allows you to look up a word whenever you want even without having a dictionary, which, of course, was impossible in the past. Here again I want to bring me as an example. To be honest, my memory does not serve me correctly J so I do not remember words very well, and again my favorite mobile phone comes to help me. I downloaded a dictionary in my phone and I use it very often. The proverb “A friend in need is a friend indeed” is really about my mobile phone (joke). J But this is not the end. I use my cell phone to take some notes and I learn from these notes. For example, when I have a presentation, but I need to go somewhere and it is urgent; I do take notes and learn all the stuff from my mobile phone.

To sum up, what I think is that we should be very thankful to these technological innovations and of course, the creators of these innovations.  We should be very proud that we live in the 21st century, where learning is not boring or tedious, but rather engaging and motivating.