Spring 2011 Web-Based Lessons and Activities

We've finally come to the final post in our class blog this semester. To wrap things up and to showcase your final projects, please post a link to your group's web-based lesson or activity in the comments to this post.

ESL, From Paper to iPad, Slowdown or Go?

iPads and tables are taking over the classrooms in many school systems around the country (see links below). A lot of the media-hype stresses the idea of "paperless classrooms." This will obviously affect language learning due to classes demanding the use of technology over what would be called 'traditional' (paper-full) classrooms. View the links below to inform and guide your thoughts. 

• http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/05/education/05tablets.html?_r=1
• http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/01/could_school_boards_move_to_ip.html#cmpid=v2mode_be_smoref_digg

This post will discuss both criticism and raves on CALL thru studies conducted by Ferit Kilickaya, and illicit possible ways to prevent these problem from cropping up in classrooms as they move to computer (tablet) environments. 

In a paper by "The Effect of Computer-Assisted Language Learning on Learners' Achievement on The TOEFL Exam," Ferit Kilickaya, Ph.D studied two groups who were being taught the same material (English); one thru 'traditional' and the other thru CALL. This study extend from the start of the EFL course all the way up until they took the TOEFL exam -- again one group with paper, and the other using computers. She found the following after the exam: (this is not the order presented in her paper).

For the structure section of the TOEFL:

• No significant score differences for multiple choice sections tests. 

For the reading section:

• Traditional (Control) outperformed CALL 
• Possible Reasons:
• In class: students were distracted when reading due to it being on the screen. So they avoided reading, so this lowered the score. (this was mentioned in section 5.3.2, Implications for Teaching) 
• Not possible to take notes, underline the important points. 
• Not seeing a reading passages as a whole
• Bored with scrolling up and down
• Not being used to reading passages or text on the screen. 

For the listening: 

• CALL outperformed Control (traditional)
• Generally, students reported that in a traditional course, listening was ignored. 

Overall the CALL group reported a generally good experience, stating that they "spen[t] more time on the sections they are having difficulty in" and enjoyed "getting immediate feedback." (Kilickaya 2005) (editing mine).

Since everyone knows what a 'traditional' class is, she did not include responses from her traditional students which would indicate how they felt about their experience in-order to contrast it with CALL. (They could not have contrasted with CALL as they potentially never took a CALL class.)

Question:

All of these criticism and critiques lead to the following questions: In light of the complaints regarding the reading portion, is it yet appropriate to be going to a completely "paperless" classroom? And what can be done to challenge the points made regarding the CALL group’s significant difference in score in the reading section? 

Kilickaya, F. (2005). The Effect of Computer-Assisted Language Learning on Learners' Achievement on The TOEFL Exam.

CALL Resources

We have come a long way since the beginning and I would like to thank Dr.Sauro for sharing all of her wonderful resources! I wanted to compile a list of all of the sources we have in order to help us in a CALL classroom and tell WHY we like them.

Hot Potatoes- This is a great site where you can make an assessment just for the needs of your class!

Quest Garden- A great resource for webquest! You can find a wide range of content and grade level material, not to mention you can create your very own!

FREE WIKIS!- A free site to impress your class or colleagues with! Use this site to collaborate with others to create something bigger and better.

Blabberize it! Make any project personal and engaging with this site!

First Call for CALL

First call for CALL

Laptops' Pros and Cons for Elementary School Students

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, many people who have a stake in education are interested in just how much technology there is in the nation's elementary schools, and how that technology is being used. Schools are striving to help their students become technologically literate at a young age. So let's talk about advantages and disadvantages of using laptops for young kids.

Implementing laptop use in elementary school classrooms exposes a child to the technological culture. It is clear, that if students are introduced to laptop in early age they will be better prepared for the required use of laptops in high school and college; these students when in higher grades show better typing skills and familiarity with Internet use as compared to those that have never used laptops.

Using laptops for the purpose of note taking can be very beneficial, since a strong typist can record much faster than writing by hand. So in this time and age it is prudent idea to introduce laptops to children in the classroom, especially children in grades 3-12, to give them a head-start they need to keep up with changes in technology.

But, let's think about the cost. At several hundred dollars per unit. Laptops are too expensive for many public elementary schools. According to the study, done by UCLA Department of Education, software, internet connection, maintenance, and training costs must also be considered when budgeting for a laptop program.

Good news! Laptop use encourages enthusiasm in a child when it comes to learning. Young kids may equate the use of laptop with opportunity for entertainment, but this helps to increase the child's interest in learning. In addition, laptops can assist teachers to find online programs, which can be of interest to younger students.

But computer crashes can hinder teaching and learning. If replacements are not available, the classroom time is wasted. Allowing students to use laptops in elementary schools can eliminate the need for to spend time on fundamentals of computer training in later times.

Although, there is a growing concern about the safety of the electromagnetic fields emitted from wireless devices used by laptop computers, the great benefits of use of laptop such as the developing skills to stay organized cannot be ignored. Young students need to learn how to remember school work and do home assignments. It is a great idea to ask kids to return their home works via email and to participate in internet-based classes.

Also, not all students can have an internet connection at home. Even when a laptop is borrowed from schools, it can't be used for internet-based educational activities.

The question of security also has to be taken into consideration. Laptop computers are small and lightweight and can easily be smuggled out of school and stolen.

In the above paragraphs I have tried to cover pros and cons of having laptops in elementary schools but, some questions remain unanswered for myself. Questions such as:

When is the appropriate age for introducing young students to advanced computer technology?

Do you think professional teachers need to have good understanding of negative health affects of electronic teaching aids? How to continue teaching and make best use of valuable classroom time when technical problems make computers unavailable? Does it mean elementary school teacher has to be prepared with plan B in case something goes wrong with computers?

Should teachers discuss pros and cons of laptops with parents and prepare them for unexpected events?

That's a wrap...

The end of the semester is near. With final exams just around the corner, I find it appropriate for us to share our final thoughts on CALL. Here are a few questions for you to help light the way.

1. Which CALL software/tool do you feel most comfortable with and why?

2. Which CALL software/tool are you the most excited about integrating into your current classroom/job setting?

3. Are there any other CALL issues or trends that you would like to learn more about?

4. Do you have any CALL success stories that you'd like to share with the class?

5. What do you feel is the biggest challenge with integrating CALL into today's classrooms?

6. In terms of professional development, how do you see yourself continuing to educate yourself on CALL trends after this semester?