aPLaNet Teacher Guide

TEACHER GUIDE
CONTENTS
B E F O R E H A N D ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
P AR T I .................................................................................................................................................................. 8
1. 1. G E T F A M I L I A R W I T H T H E A PL A N E T P R O J E C T S B A SI C T E R M S .................................. 8 W HA T I S A P E R S O N A L L E A R N I N G E N V I R O N M E N T (PLE) ......................................................... 9 W HA T A R E I N TE R N E T S O C I A L N E TW O R K S (SN) .......................................................................... 9 W HA T I S A P E R S O N A L L E A R N I N G N E TW O R K (PLN) .................................................................. 9 1. 2. W H Y D O W E N E E D T O C H A N G E T H E W A Y W E P R O F E S S I O N A L L Y D E V E L O P : R E L E V A N C E O F PLN S F O R L A N G U A G E E D U C A T O R S ............................................................. 9 1. 3. A D V A N T A G E S O F B E C O M I N G A E U R O P E A N T E A C H E R ................................................ 12 1. 4. H O W PLN S C O N T R I B U T E T O D I GI T A L L I T E R A C Y ................................................... 13 1. 5. T H I R T E E N G O O D R E A SO N S W H Y E D U C A T O R S S H O U L D N E T W O R K . .......................... 15 1. 6. D O Y O U S O C I A L N E T W O R K ? A S A N E D U C A T O R , Y O U P R O B A B L Y SH O U L D ................ 16 T W E E T I T ! U S I N G T W I T TE R ............................................................................. 20 P O S T I T O N F A C E B O O K ! U S I N G F A C E B O O K ....................................................... 22 T HI N K I N G A B O U T J O I N I N G A N I N G - U S I N G N I N G C O M M U N I T I E S ......................... 23 1. 7. W H A T A PL A N E T P R O J E C T O F F E R S T O E D U C A T O R S .................................................. 20 J O I N A PL A NE T A N D F I N G Y O U R S E L F A M E N T O R ..................................................................... 25 ICT TO O L S F O R E D U C A T O R S M A D E E A S Y ..................................................................................... 26
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The project Autonomous Personal Learning Networks for Language Teachers has been funded with support from the European Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
CONTENT S
P AR T II ............................................................................................................................................................ 27
2. 1. A B O U T T H E A PL A N E T P R O J E C T ................................................................................ 36 2. 2. I N C R E A SI N G D I G I T A L L I T E R A C Y W I T H ICT T O O L S A N D S O C I A L N E T W O R K S ........... 37 2. 3. I N T E R N E T T O O L S A N D H O W T O U S E T H E M I N L A N GU A GE T E A C H I N G ....................... 38 2.4. S O C I A L N E T W O R K S G U I D E ..............................................................................................................32 T W I TT E R ...................................................................................................................................................... 32 T W E E TD E C K ............................................................................................................................................... 37 F A C E B O O K ................................................................................................................................................... 43 NING ............................................................................................................................................................. 54 2.5. W E B R E SO U R C E S G U I D E ....................................................................................................................59 I. C O M M U N I C A TI O N A N D W E B C O N F E R E N C I N G R E S O U R C E S ............................................. 59 S K Y P E ............................................................................................................................................................ 59 W I Z I Q ........................................................................................................................................................... 64 V Y E W ............................................................................................................................................................. 67 A D O B E C O N N E C T ..................................................................................................................................... 71 C O M M U N I C A TI O N TO O L S C O M P A R A T I V E C HA R T ..................................................................... 74 II. A U D I O D I S C U S S I O N R E S O U R C E S ................................................................................................ 76 V O I C E T HR E A D .......................................................................................................................................... 76 V O X O P O P ..................................................................................................................................................... 80 III. B L O G G I N G . ......................................................................................................................................... 83 B L O G G E R ..................................................................................................................................................... 83 E D U B L O G S .................................................................................................................................................. 87 W O R D P R E S S ............................................................................................................................................... 91 B L O G G I N G C O M P A R A TI V E C HA R T ......................................................................... 95 IV. C O L L A B O R A T I O N TO O L S A N D W I K I S . .................................................................................... 96 G O O G L E D O C S ........................................................................................................................................... 96 W I K I S P A C E S ............................................................................................................................................ 100
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PB W O R K S ................................................................................................................................................. 103 T Y P E W I T H M E ..................................................................................................................................... 106 W I K I S C O M P A R A T I V E C H A R T ............................................................................. 109 V. D I G I TA L S TO R Y T E L L I N G . ............................................................................................................ 110 O U R S T O R Y .............................................................................................................................................. 110 G L O G S TE R ................................................................................................................................................ 114 VI. P R E S E N TA TI O N S . .......................................................................................................................... 117 S L I D E S HA R E ............................................................................................................................................ 117 P R E Z I .......................................................................................................................................................... 120 VII. W R I T I N G S K I L L S TR A I N I N G . ................................................................................................. 124 M A K E B E L I E F S C O M I X ........................................................................................................................ 124 T O O N D O O O .............................................................................................................................................. 128 VIII. A U D I O R E S O U R C E S . ................................................................................................................. 131 P O S T E R O U S ............................................................................................................................................. 131 A U D I O B O O ................................................................................................................................................ 134 IX. W O R D C L O U D S . ............................................................................................................................. 138 W O R D L E .................................................................................................................................................... 138 W O R D I T O U T ........................................................................................................................................... 141 X. S O C I A L B O O K M A R K I N G . ............................................................................................................... 144 D I I G O .......................................................................................................................................................... 144 D E L I C I O U S ............................................................................................................................................... 147 2.6. G E T I N V O L V E D I N P E R SO N A L L E A R N I N G E N V I R O N M E N T ...................................................147 2.7. R E F E R E N C E S .......................................................................................................................................149 2.8. G L O S SA R Y O F T E R M S ......................................................................................................................149
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BEFOREHAND
Professional development becoming a better teacher is chiefly about learning to know what
we are doing in the classrooms and how to improve our teaching. Here you do not need large amounts of resources but perhaps a different approach to the work. Teaching and learning are effectively about collaboration, working together. This is also the main idea of the aPLaNet project. The aPLaNet project has opted for social networks and web-based educational resources as a path leading to wider possibilities of self-learning and professional growth. The core idea is that the introduction and wide-scale availability of new media tools and social networking resources provide a means for professional learning to grow through using social networks. This document acts as a Guide for language teachers and educators interested in getting involved in social media for professional development purposes.
WHAT IS THIS MATERIAL ABOUT?

This is the Teacher Guide of the aPLaNet (Personal Learning Networks for Language Teachers) project, which is a European Union funded project that aims to help educators to understand benefits of shared knowledge based on social networks, and to learn how to build their own professional personal learning networks using social media. The Teacher Guide is conceived as a theoretical and practical introduction to the project, providing background to the project and explaining its rationale and goals. It reflects on the terms connected with social media environments, positives and use of the networks, presents educational resources suitable both for teachers development and suggestions for usage within a classroom.
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WHO IS THIS MATERIAL FOR?

This aPLaNet Teacher Guide addresses especially language educators, teacher trainers, methodology experts and all educators interested in joining the European and global network of teachers and educators that are pursuing the benefits of shared knowledge. It is meant to help especially teachers who are new to possibilities of professional collaboration on social media sites to help them join and use Internet Personal Learning Networks (PLN) using social networks (SNs).
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS MATERIAL?

This document acts as a guide for educational institutions, teachers and educators to help them understand: What social networks and PLNs exist for language educators Why language educators should use them How teachers can get involved
The Teacher Guide is therefore intended to be as comprehensive as possible so as to provide you with a wide range of options for growing as a professional and engaging with educators all over the world. It was developed to facilitate and support teachers orientation in the world of social media and ICTbased approaches to teaching/learning. Aside from the theoretical background, it provides highly practical suggestions and hints for teachers. It presents a large number of ICT resources divided for better orientation into several categories. All of them are described both in terms of general characteristics, technical and other requirements, steps to be takes for successful set-up and configuration, navigation and operational rules. The suggestions, strategies and learning/teaching activities are included as well for you to choose what you might like to try in your classroom as an inspiration. To sum up, the material helps to raise awareness of educators about individual social media platforms and increase technical know-how to run the selected applications. The concept of the aPLaNet project is actually that teachers will be able to create their own PLNs Personal Learning Networks and use them to create or become members of teacher communities to become truly European teachers.
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H O W I S T H E M A T E R I A L P R E SE N T E D ?
What follows is an outline of the actual structure of the complete Teacher Guide. Since the Teacher Guide is relatively thick, we included a detailed Table of Contents for better orientation that will help you to choose the section which is of your concern. The Guide is split into two main parts: Part I is the theoretical background of the project and its field of interests: teachers professional development in the digital era and social media environments. Part II is a practical guide where teachers are given suggestions of interesting educational ICT resources. These tools are typical of the type of resources that are being shared on the SNs. The identified tools are divided into 10 categories according to their main scope. All of the categories contain several tools with an in-depth description. Each category is described and then individual tools are featured. The description includes all the aspects that are needed when integrating the ICT tool into your classroom or aspiring to grow professionally in the age of technology. At the end of the Teacher Guide there is a Reference section and the Glossary of terms.
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P ART I
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1.1.
G E T F A M I L I A R W I T H T H E A PL A N E T P R O J E C T S B A S I C T E R M S
The aPLaNet project is a European Union funded project that helps language educators who are not yet using social networks to learn how to join and use Social Networks (SNs), for professional development purposes by creating a Personal Learning Network (PLN) of their own.
W HA T I S A P E R S O N A L L E A R N I N G E N V I R O N M E N T (PLE)
According to Graham Stanley (2010), "a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is a flexible system that helps people take control of and manage their own learning. It consists of a number of different tools (a blog, wiki, social networks, etc.) that a teacher or learner chooses, around which he or she builds a group of people that can be turned to for knowledge, help, advice and support. This is the teacher's or learner's Personal Learning Network (PLN)".
W HA T A R E I N TE R N E T S O C I A L N E TW O R K S (SN)
There is no agreed definition of a social networking site. An OFCON report (2008) refers to it as a site which allows users to create a personal page or profile and construct and display a social network of their online contacts. Basically, in this document, we consider social networks to be websites on the Internet where individuals can create a profile about themselves and then connect to other individuals on the same network. All SNs allow users to send messages to each other and post messages in their profiles about items of interest. Permitted individuals (called Friends or Followers depending on the SN) can then comment on their postings. The most popular SNs for educators at the moment are Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. There are also many SNs for educators that have been created on a web tool called Ning, for example,
Classroom2.0, http://www.classroom20.com, and The Educators PLN, http://edupln.ning.com.
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W HA T I S A P E R S O N A L L E A R N I N G N E TW O R K (PLN)
The term, Personal Learning Network, is closely linked to the previous one. As Castaeda, Costa and Torres-Kompen (2011) assert, a PLN is actually the result of all the connections and relationships users establish over time on their social networks. The personal, professional network that each educator can build on social networks is now often called a Personal Learning Network (PLN). This is like a typical staff room that educators are well used to. The difference is that this staff room is made up of your professional contacts online. They can include people you already know, educators located anywhere in Europe or around the world, people in your subject area or others. The unifying force is that all the people in your PLN are happy to share and help you in your professional development. Many members of your PLN may have expertise or knowledge outside of your experience and their willingness to share with you can be the best possible way for you to develop your knowledge. As these are people who face the same daily problems you do and really understand your problems and how to deal with them.
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1.2.
W H Y D O W E N E E D T O C H A N G E T H E W A Y W E P R O F E SS I O N A L L Y D E V E L O P : R E L E V A N C E O F PLN F O R L A N GU A G E E D U C A T O R S
Due to globalization and the Internet, people need to learn a second language more than ever. Greater connection and collaboration among nations, countries and organizations are becoming inevitable, creating a great need for learning and knowing another language. In areas such as trade, tourism, international relations, technology, media and academia, common languages are used. Learning another language has subsequently become more important. In order to keep pace with the rapidly developing world trends many countries have adapted their education policies and teach at least one foreign language in primary and secondary schools. To succeed in teaching languages, it is necessary to ensure that the learning and teaching process is efficient, engaging, relevant and enjoyable. Traditionally, a teacher meets the students in a classroom. Usually textbooks are used to teach the foreign language, supplemented with workbooks to let students practice, and audio files for listening. Once or twice a year a teacher is told by their institution to participate in a teacher training session or one-day refreshment course. This approach is limited and primarily passive. Nowadays, the opening of frontiers to the world has supposed massive changes that have also been reflected in the learning/teaching process, creating spaces for global approaches to teaching to be adopted. As the pace of change accelerates, lifelong learning is now a requirement for teaching, and professional development should be part of a teachers daily activity. Teachers are, however, always time-squeezed. How can this be done then? According to The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), professional development consists of reflective activity aimed to improve an individuals attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills. It supports individual needs and improves professional practice no matter what the field is.
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A 2003 research by Evidence for Policy and Practice Information (EPPI at the Institute of Education, London) listed key characteristics of effective professional development: Direct relationship with the classroom/school. Uses external expertise linked to school based activity. Involves observation and feedback. Includes peer support. Participants identify focus of development. Enables staff to be reflective. Opportunity to work with colleagues and share practice. Opportunities to receive regular, structured feedback. Process over a period of time to embed learning into classroom practice. Opportunities for independent self study.
Educators are always lacking time to devote to their professional development and often do not have time to read the latest articles or studies. But thanks to new channels of communicating and processing information on the Internet, student learning and our own professional development as educators can be supported in new ways. In fact, PLN or Personal Learning Networks have always been here. Originally this role was conducted by family, friends and colleagues who shared our concerns with us and offered advice. With the emergence of technology and web-base teaching/learning approaches, these personal networks have taken a slightly different technological shape and come out of isolation. Now people gather online in numerous communities built on the Internet, in social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, on blogs, wikis or through social bookmarking tools. The core benefit and reason for gathering remains unchanged, however. It is the ease of finding and sharing information and if you ask for it the group feedback that individuals can get for their ideas, concerns and projects. Personal learning networks provide a way of working outside of time limitations as they can be used at any time for as short or long as available as an important way of learning. As Montero and Roldn (2008) in their research have remarked, educators active in the virtual surroundings stop being direct instructors and start being facilitators, offering resources and tracks that help to develop their own process of learning.
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The aPLaNet project has therefore opted for SNs and web-based educational resources as a path leading to wider possibilities of self-learning. The core idea is that the introduction and wide-scale availability of new media tools and social networking resources provide a means for professional learning to grow through using social networks. The aPLaNet project aims to answer the necessity of a more efficient teachers professional development by: Encouraging educators to create a social networking community on social media sites and set up their PLN, which means, briefly, a group of people who can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience. Present uses of online and offline ICT tools in language teaching, connecting schools, students and educators via Internet. Propose ways of teachers professional development and promote sharing teaching ideas and materials with other teachers as well as get to know about important professional events such as educational conferences, seminars and workshops.
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1.3.
ADVANTAGES OF BECOMING A EUROPEAN TEACHER
Language learning is clearly an activity with global relevance; it is particularly important in Europe in both practical and political terms. Multilingualism and language diversity are considered as priorities not only in the economic sphere as a means of ensuring the mobility of workers, but also in the political context of European integration, as increasing mobility is also seen as a means of encouraging greater interaction and understanding between the different European cultures and states (Chambers, 2001). Europe is a fertile ground for collaborative projects in language learning which bring together learners teachers and academics from different countries and this is supported by the Lifelong learning programme of the European Union government. Priority is given to innovative areas which are considered to have the potential to be effective methodologies for learning. The use of ICT lies among these priorities and collaborative ICT and language learning projects are supported within the programme. A key feature of Europe is its diversity. This is particularly true in the area of education, where systems and practices vary enormously from one country to another. This diversity is a source of enrichment for all and offers fertile ground for innovation and the quest for quality. A typical attitude was expressed in the EU Lingua project, Don't give up, Together we can be stronger and more creative. There is enormous potential for the use of the internet in language education. Using Social Networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Ning enables teachers to create and/or become part of a European educational community where ideas, experience, thoughts and materials are exchanged among teachers from different countries within Europe and the rest of the world. A perfect example is the
Facebook group, EU_Educators, www.facebook.com/groups/EUEducators, where European educators

are sharing ideas, resources and projects. SNs, PLNs and online resource centres allow the creation of new spaces for sharing and storing educational materials. In addition, the Internet opens up new ways to communicate with teachers 14
from any country, you can use the communication tools to participate in European language projects, attend educational conferences and learn in online workshops. If teachers join a SN, they can build their own PLN, joining a community of educators from all over Europe, keeping in touch with them, sharing ideas and materials, finding out about educational conferences, workshops and seminars which would never otherwise be known about. Educators are also sharing news of interest to others that might include jobs, government changes, opportunities for development, awards and calls for proposals. Many of these can be difficult to locate offline or even just by visiting websites, but having a PLN means you will be part of the sharing of all these crucial professional development items all the time. Education today is a lifelong development process. Learning and training no longer means only what goes on in school or university, but also in less formal environments and at any time of life (Dont give up Project, 2009).
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1.4.
H O W PLN S C O N T R I B U T E T O D I G I T A L L I T E R A C Y
A global movement for digital and media literacy education is developing all over the world (FrauMeigs & Torrent, 2009). In the European Union, media literacy has been identified as a priority for the 21st century. Digital literacy has grown exponentially and digital devices have proliferated computers, mobile phones, laptops and mobile wireless devices - changing the way people communicate, work, study and spend their free time. The term itself has slightly different meanings depending on individual research: The ability to understand and use information in multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via computers (Gilster, 1997). The ability to succeed in encounters with the electronic infrastructures and tools that make possible the world of the twenty-first century (Martin, 2005) A persons ability to perform tasks effectively in a digital environment. Literacy includes the ability to read and interpret media, to reproduce data and images through digital manipulation, and to evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from digital environments (Jones-Kavalier; Flanning, 2006). Hobbs (2010) uses the term digital and media literacy in her research as a umbrella term to encompass the full range of cognitive, emotional and social competencies that includes the use of texts, tools and technologies; the skills of critical thinking and analysis; the practice of message composition and creativity; the ability to engage in reflection and ethical thinking; as well as active participation through teamwork and collaboration. Hobbs sees digital literacy as a cycle of 5 supporting interrelated competencies (see Figure 1) since the creation of digital media until the ability to work individually and collaboratively as a result of this process to share knowledge within a community or society.
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Figure 1: Essential competencies of Digital and Media Literacy

According to Peachey (2010), the main obstacle which prevents this circle from functioning smoothly is the fact that digital technologies and networked communications are still very much in flux. Many teachers still use technology as a gimmick or a reward to motivate their students and that very often the use of the technology in class, does not really add greatly to the pedagogical aims of the overall lesson. However, As Peachey suggests, a better understanding among teachers of digital literacies and what they are, would enable more teachers to use technology and combine its sound use into the aims of their lessons. The reasons for sharing resources and outcomes are numerous: Might be shared and discussed online in the social media sites supporting community-level digital and media literacy initiatives, including promoting community partnerships and creating a Digital and Media Literacy (DML). Offer great platforms for teachers professional development. Sharing interesting resources and tips for educational exploitation of tools is good and both-sided positive activity. Raise professional qualification in terms of digital literacy which can be then cascaded to students to help them raise their own levels of digital literacy. Increasing visibility for educators active in social media networks. Active members can disseminate their projects and work and enrich themselves from the comments and feedback from other educators in the world. Social media are often used for sharing projects, conference contributions, newsletter, etc. Develop measures to assess learning progression and video documentation of best practices for digital and media literacy instructional strategies.
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Effectively, the days of relying solely on the staffroom has come to an end. Every day people students, teachers, workers, parents connect through social media because they want to keep in touch with their friends, develop professionally, learn, get inspired by others, meet interesting people and make new friends, collaborate and be a part of a global world. Today we have technology that allows us to stay current with people around the world. As knowledge changes rapidly networks create a solution to stay current all the time.
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1.5.
THIRTEEN GOOD REASON S WHY EDUCATORS SHOU LD NETWORK
Despite the above, however, many educators and teachers are still isolated in their schools and job commitments. Many teachers go to school each day, teach their students and leave. Palmer (2007) observes that conventional pedagogy is scarcely communal and that teachers and students gather in the same room not to experience community, but to keep the teacher from having to say things repeatedly. Similar situations come up when a teacher needs advice. If she does not get a satisfactory reply from his colleagues down the hall, she is left to struggle alone. Educators who have built a personal learning network and have started sharing resources, advice and techniques do not suffer this isolation from the huge professional development potential found on social networks. Here are ten reasons why educators should start a building their own personal learning network: 1. To develop their own professional skills, both in teaching and ICT. 2. To be introduced to a variety of online tools useful for teaching languages. 3. To find different and interesting methodologies for teaching. 4. To engage students in learning actively using tools they are sometimes already familiar with. 5. To gain insight into interesting teaching techniques and creative activities and to recharge their batteries with ideas and support from colleagues. 6. To sift through all the data to identify the information that will be most useful to them. 7. To identify professional events and opportunities in the educational community. 8. To share their work (blog entries, projects, conferences attended,etc.). 9. To participate in online learning. 10. To gain access to scientific publications and texts. 11. To follow members of their PLN during virtual conferences or join them as presenters. 12. To participate in reflective practice thanks to the feedback a PLN can provide. 13. To keep knowledge up-to-date.
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1.6.
D O Y O U S O C I A L N E T W O R K ? A S A N E D U C A T O R , Y O U SH O U L D
As the OFCOM research (2008) indicates, the rapid growth of social networking that has been noticed over the last two to three years is indicative of its integration into the daily lives of many people. In parallel with this, there has also been considerable media coverage of the growth of social networking, its potential positive outcomes and concerns about the way that some people are engaging with it. As trends surrounding social networking move rapidly, audience figures change as well but presently the most widely used social networking sites are Facebook, www.facebook.com, Twitter, www.twitter.com, and the community platform Ning, www.ning.com. The reasons and benefits of engaging on social networking were described above, it is useful to provide an insight into the main features of the largely used social networking sites.
T W E E T I T ! U S I N G T W I T TE R
The micro-blogging service Twitter,
www.twitter.com, is an online social network where people express themselves through brief statements (called tweets) of no more than 140 characters. This tool has started to make it easier for teachers to manage their own learning and professional development, and communicate with others in the process. There has been a considerable rise in the number of language teachers using Twitter but there are less language learners at the moment, but I believe teachers can help learners help themselves through building their own PLN" (Stanley, 2010).
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A teacher can build his own PLN on Twitter, including people she knows. Twitter is public and more general which means that your PLN can be visited by strangers who would like to provide answers to questions and/or links to resources. As Stanley (2010) remarks, "what became clear from the many comments is that building a PLN with Twitter at the centre has given those teachers, who have done so, a very useful network of people they can turn to." Building a PLN on Twitter can support language learning as well as teacher development. Students of foreign languages can find people on Twitter who speak the target language and practise the written form. Here are several ways that students can use Twitter in language learning: to help each other with grammatical questions. to chat to each other in their mother tongue. to chat to friends who speak their target-language. to ask their teacher questions about their class and tests. to respond to interesting tweets sent by other users.
When you register on Twitter with a user name and password, you will need to set up a profile. After logging in you need to start following people that you know or interesting people that you have heard of. When you tweet, only the people that follow you will receive your messages ( tweets), so it is best to start making a name for yourself by retweeting other's messages until you build up your own following. Then you can tweet events, links and ideas, leave comments and answer questions. The most important thing is to engage by tweeting, joining discussions, projects and collaboration.
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POST IT ON FACEBOOK! USING FACEBOOK

Facebook, www.facebook.com, is the largest social networking sites with over 500 million registered users. Facebook allows its members to interact with one another, share thoughts, photos, and videos, etc. People all over the world use Facebook for social, education and business. Facebook can provide an integrated social environment for a class or course. It allows an individual to create a personal profile that includes personal interests, affiliations, pictures, and almost anything about the user. The profile information is used to link the user with others who posted similar information, e.g. same hometown, a particular band or a favourite film. Users can also create special interest groups, for example "EU_Educators" (http://www.facebook.com/groups/EUEducators/ ) about education in Europe and the European Lifelong Learning programme. All you need to register and create a Facebook profile is an e-mail address. Once you set up an account, you can update, add or change information as often as you like. You can browse other user profiles (this can be limited by each user due to privacy requirements), search for people you already know and make contact with them through private messages or public notes on their profiles. You can also friend other Facebook users and build up a network that can be part of your PLN. You can also send group announcements to all or some of your Facebook friends. Educators can use Facebook with their students as an option to use technology in creative and useful ways. It has the potential to teach students about appropriate citizenship in the online networked world. Facebook also stresses the importance of creating content, not only consuming it. It allows and encourages students to express themselves, communicate with others, and create unique profiles that highlight their talents and experience. Facebook also offers an opportunity for educators to understand the elements of social networking that students find so interesting and to integrate those elements into teaching and learning.
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T HI N K I N G A B O U T J O I N I N G A N I N G - U S I N G N I N G C O M M U N I T I E S
Ning, www.ning.com, is an online platform where
each individual can either join existing communities or create their own private or public social networks. Most Ning networks are devoted to a single issue and almost every area of education is catered for either by the larger general education Nings (such as Classroom 2.0, www.classroom20.com) or other specialised ones like http://aplanet-project.org. Using Ning is easy and appropriate for less skilled internet users. A Ning allows you to communicate with people and fellow professionals who have the same interests, opinions, goals and/or work on the same project. You can discuss problems, share your thoughts, ideas and materials, and/or write blogs. One of the useful features for educators is the Ning group facility that allows users to set up sub-groups on a Ning, these are particularly useful for teachers and students for project based work or communications. As an administrator of the community you can design its features and functions. There is a wide range of tools, e.g. chat, forum, blog, notes or photo, video and music sharing etc. You can adjust your Ning community so that everything looks and functions according to your wish. A Ning account can also connected to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.
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1.7.
W H A T A PL A N E T O F F E R S T O E D U C A T O R S
The aPLaNet project will answer the need to enable language educators that are not using social networks as a tool for their professional development to do so. Regarding this ambitious mission of the project, the main objectives of the aPLaNet activity to provide: Solid and compact information about the various social networks that are being largely used and provide paths and hints how they can be explored, even by less skilled ICT users, for language teachers professional development purposes and collaboration with peers all around the world. Detailed descriptive information on the type of tools that are being shared on SNs by language educators and how they are using them in their teaching and peers collaboration (with examples of usage). The individual resources will include relevant resources to help educators to use the online tools and social networks effectively: Teacher guides a theoretical guide of the project aims, methods, resources and a highly practical and detailed description of useful and easily exploitable ICT tools for educators Videos demonstrating usages of SNs Mentoring guides Case studies
The whole system will be extensively piloted through the associate partners, 140 institutions from 33 countries that have already joined the project. Its resources will be available in several European languages: Bulgarian, Czech, French, German, Greek, English, Italian, Romanian, Spanish and Turkish.
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J O I N A PL A NE T A N D F I N G Y O U R S E L F A M E N T O R
APLanet has launched its Ning community which is open to all interested educators, and which is at the heart of the project. You can join the Ning aPLaNet community at: http://aplanet-project.org and set up your own profile. In the aPLaNet project Ning is a mentoring system where experienced users of SNs and PLNs will help educators with little or no experience. The mentoring system will support language educators across Europe who wish to become part of SN communities and gain awareness of the ICT tools available. Educators interested in joining the aPLaNet activities can join the project either as piloting educators (testing the resources and the mentoring system), resource providers, or by mentoring new educators who want to use social networks. The aPLaNet mentors will be prepared and available online on a one-to-one basis to new teachers. Teachers will be able to ask questions about joining a SN, they will be introduced to useful members of the communities, they will be shown which SNs they can join, they will be shown how to use the different types of SN and the informal rules regarding posting and commenting. Teachers who will join the project through the projects Ning http://aplanet-project.org and will become members of the aPLaNet project community, will be able to: Learn to operate recommended ICT tools for language learning fully and efficiently. Increase and maintain their students motivation. Create their own PLNs. Learn how to participate in many types of social networking communities. Gain information on important events, e.g. news, educational conferences, seminars and workshops. Extend their network of friends and important contacts across Europe.
For day to day news, events and links and outside events of interest: join our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/aplanetproject follow us on Twitter at @aPLaNetproject
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ICT
T O O L S FO R E D U CA T O R S M AD E E AS Y
Part of the aPLaNet project includes a compilation of a number of ICT tools. These tools are typical of the type of resources that are being shared on the SNs. The project has also included examples of how educators are using the tools in language education, again, typical of the type of ideas that are being shared. These particular tools were chosen for two reasons: Resources that are useful for professional development and in teaching practice ICT tools that are useful for teachers to use themselves to aid their communication and use of SNs The identified tools are divided into 10 categories according to the main scope of the tools. All of the categories contain several tools with an in-depth description. These tools and the results of their use in education are typical of what is shared via social media networks. These categories are: I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. IX. X. Communication and Web-conferencing Tools Voice Discussion Tools Blogging resources Collaboration Tools - Wikis Digital Storytelling tools Presentations Writing Skills Training Word clouds Social Bookmarking Tools
VIII. Audio Resources
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P ART II
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2.1.
F E W W O RD S A BO U T TH E A PL A N E T P RO J E C T
The aPLaNet project is a European Union funded project for language educators all over the Europe, especially those who are new or do not use Internet social networks (SN) but wish to learn more and buil their own Personal Learning Network (PLN)1 for professional development purposes. The project has prepared clear guidelines that will help you understand the benefits of the world of SN for language educators, about PLNs and explain, with clear practical examples, how can these tools can be used and the benefits educators will find. They will help raise their digital literacy and professional development. The project will show the uses and benefits for educators for their teaching practice, and how ICT resources can be integrated in to the teaching/learning experience. The project partnership includes the British Council in Spain, CELT Greece, EuroEd Romania, ISTEK Schools Turkey, Language School PELIKAN Czech republic, Sofia University Bulgaria, and the University of the West of Scotland UK. This document acts as a practical guide for educational institutions, teachers and educators interested in joining the European and global network of teachers and educators that are pursuing the benefits of shared knowledge. This Teacher Guide will provide you with clear guidance through a set of identified ICT tools and resources and show you how they can be exploited within education.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Learning_Networks 28
The project Autonomous Personal Learning Networks for Language Teachers has been funded with support from the European
Commission. This document reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
2.2.
I N C RE AS I N G
D I G I T AL L I TE R AC Y W I TH
ICT
TO O L S AN D
SN
Technology provides opportunities to participate in new kinds of learning, social, community and work activities. We all need to be digitally literate to make the most of these opportunities and start using new technologies which make obtaining information, innovative ideas and teaching materials easier. In the 21st century, technology is everywhere around us. ICT in the educational field plays a key role in developing the peoples ability to innovate, advance and prosper. Enhancing the skills to use ICT can improve the quality of education by improving the engagement with educational content and fostering access to learning opportunities both for students and teachers. Learners motivation is also shown to be positively impacted by the use of ICT for both teaching and learning. Having skills to operate ICT in teaching has been shown to increase teachers enthusiasm and positive attitude towards their work. The core idea of the aPLaNet project stresses that the advent and availability of new media tools and social networking resources, provide a means for networked professional learning to grow for European educators. The fusion of web based applications and social networks with learning and teaching of languages is a natural choice that leads to mastering essential skills of the 21 century. By learning how to use a number of online resources for learning and teaching, teachers and students involved in the process will be enriched. To help in this process the aPLaNet project includes a methodical outline of:
How a personal learning community on SN sites can be used by educators. A range of online resources that can be used in language teaching, and shared via Internet, including examples of use. Practical guides raising teachers job prospects also by the ground of professional development and broader opportunities.
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2.3. I N TE RN E T
TO O L S AN D H O W TO US E THE M I N L AN G U A GE TE AC H I N G
The tools described below are examples of the type of resources that are constantly being shared by language educators on the social networks. Often networked educators will network together to explain in detail how they used the tools and the outcomes. Included below are some of the most widely used tools that allow teachers and students to interact, create, share and communicate. All these tools are very easy to use as a newcomer but many have multiple additional features and tools included that will require more time and practice to master, but the final outcome is enriching both in terms of professional growth and job satisfaction. The identified tools were divided into separate categories to provide a clear idea how the selected applications fit within the large perspective. Each category is described and then individual tools are featured. The description includes all the aspects that are needed when integrating the ICT tool into your classroom.
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Each tools description includes: An overview of the tool, its benefits and functions and how it answers the need stated in the rationale. An explanation of the basis or fundamental Description reasons for using the suggested resource, what needs does the resource address, specifically as well as generically. This section is seperated into two parts. Resources required, describes the steps needed and if any special equipment is required to run the application. Most of the suggested tools How to do it work best after creating an account (registering) and logging in to your account. The time requirement is also included. The required resources can be either obligatory or optional. Set up shows the extent to which styling features (look and functions) of the application can be changed by a registered user to allow for individual preferences. Outlines how the tool can be implemented in to a language classroom situation. It includes a number of educational situations where the tool Methodology can be exploited and a basic outline how a successful implementation can be achieved. Sometimes additional implementation information or background can be found here. A ready-made lesson plan using the chosen application which can be Example of implementation directly used by teachers as an initial source of inspiration. It states all necessary details, steps and tips. To reduce the length: (T stands for teacher, Ss or S for students or student).
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2.4. S OCIAL NETWORKS GUIDE

S O CI AL
N ET W O R K I N G S I T E S S UP P O R T CO LL A B O RAT I O N B ET W EE N P R O F ES SI O N A LS AN D
CO N N E CT L AN GU A GE T E A C H ER S A R O UN D T H E W O R LD EN CO UR A GI N G T H E E X C HAN G E O F I D EA S , AD V I C E , S UG G E S T I O N S , E XP ERI E N C E S , A N D O P I N I O N S , AL L O F W HI C H L EA D T O A B ET T E R AN D S W I F T ER P R O F ES SI O N A L D EV E LO P M EN T .
T W I T TE R
W W W . T W I T T E R . CO M
DESCRIPTION
Online networking sites support collaboration between professionals and connect language teachers around the world encouraging the exchange of ideas, advice, suggestions, experiences, and opinions, all of which lead to a better and swifter prefessional development. In addition, they provide an excellent online environment for collaboration between learners and teachers allowing the latter group to monitor the former groups progress and overall learning. At the moment, there is not only a very high number of foreign language teachers and ELT authors who are on Twitter, but also a large number of foreign language institutes, publishers, as well as renowned organisations in the ELT field posting links to educational websites, free downloadable resources, weblogs, events, webinars, and so.
HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES Only a desktop computer or a laptop with Internet connection is required to use Twitter. To use Tweedeck you need the same the doswnloadable application called Adobe Air.
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If you have an iPhone, Blackberry or Android, you can download special apps which allow you to log into your account and use Twitter through your mobile phone.
SET UP To create a Twitter profile, the steps below must be followed: 1. Visit http://twitter.com and click on Sign up to enter your personal information, i.e. full name, and a valid email address. You also need to enter a password of your choice so that you can log in safely in the future. Your email address is necessary so as to receive notifications sent by Twitter. Once you have filled in all the registration form with the necessary information, click on Create my account. 2. Twitter will then send you a confirmation email. You need to login to your email account, open the confirmation message, and click on the link which will take you straight to the first page of your profile. 3. On the top right-hand side of your screen you will see the Get started on Twitter section. There, you will be presented with three options which are the following:
a) Browse popular accounts by interest you will be presented with a range of
different topics among which you find the one(s) you think is/are apporpriate and you click on it/them. Then, you will be redirected to a list of Twitter users who all share the same interests. Note: You can look for any topic you wish by typing it down only after you have inserted a # symbol.
b) Look for your friends Under this section, you will be given all the different online
services you might be using so that you attempt to find your contacts and friends from lets say your Yahoo email contanct list. Those contacts/friends need to have an existing Twitter account, however, for you to find them. Note: Uploading and sharing your contacts emails with Twitter is not advisable without their prior consent.
c)
Find users by name Also, if you are already aware of the Twitter usernames of the
people you would like to follow, then you can just type in their username and then click on the FOLLOW button next to their profile picture.
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4. Next, you need to set up your account and your profile. There is a very efficient way of navigating from your homepage also known as timeline to your profile settings, direct messages and suggestions on who to follow. At the top of your screen you can see the navigation bar where you are presented with all the options mentioned above. 5. To set up you account, click on the Profile option at the top of your screen. Then click on Edit your profile. From this page you can edit all aspects of your profile ranging from your password to the design of your homepage by clicking on the appropriate category at the top of the webpage. 6. Once you have set up your profile and your account settings, you can either continue finding and following Twitter users of your interest or you can compose your first tweet. The maximum numbers of characters per tweet is 140. Note: If you are looking to connect with other foreign language teacher colleagues, it is suggested you fill out your Bio stating you are a teacher or connected to foreign language teaching. Twitter users generally avoid following back users who do not reveal information about themselves as they are wary of advertiser or spammer followers.
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NAVIGATION
Once you have completed editing your account and you have started following the users of your interest and preference, you must start using your account by posting a comment in response to someone elses update or a useful link to a weblog or website you wish to share.
TWEETING
To send a tweet you simply type down the message you wish to tweet (maximum number of characters is 140) in the box at the top of your timeline/homepage. Then, you click on the Tweet button and your message will appear on the timeline below the empty box.
R E TW E E TI N G
The rationale behind retweeting is the dissemination of information. Not all users of the same interest have the same followers. Consequently, useful information might not be accessible and visible to all users. Therefore, to ensure that a good piece of information may that be a simple tweet or a link reaches as many users as possible, a retweet is vital. The way to retweet is to hover your mouse over the tweet you wish to retweet and there will appear certain options available one of them being retweet. If you simply click on that option then you will have managed to retweet the message of your choice. Another way to retweet is to copy the message and then paste it in the box where you compose your own tweets. However, do ensure you type down the username of the person who originally tweeted the information/link you have decided to retweet. The way to do that is by typing down the symbol @ and then the username of that person i.e.
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M E N TI O N S
When you want to mention other users it is because you want them to get a special notification of your tweet so that you ensure they do not miss the tweet or because they have contributed to something (see Retweeting above). What you do is simply type down their username in the box you compose tweets right after you have inserted the symbol @ i.e.
D I R E C T M E S S A G I N G (DM S )
A direct Message is a private message sent to a particular user of your preference/choice and its content is not visible to any other user since it does not appear in the timeline; therefore, your followers will not be able to see it on their screen. Direct Messages (DMs) can only be sent to people who follow you. If a user is not one of your followers, private messaging by DM is not possible. To send a direct message you click on the Messages option on the navigation bar at the top of your screen. Then, you click on the New Message option and you simply type down the username of the person to whom the DM is addressed, type down the message/ or paste the link and, finally, you click on Send.
T W I TT E R L I S T S
Lists are the equivalent of a Facebook group. They can be very easily created on twitter.com and users can add any of their followers in those lists. They help reduce the number of tweets which are not of primary concern to you. For example, you wish to follow family members as well as colleagues and you wish to be able to see their updates separately. Then, you can create two different lists so that your timeline is not cluttered with tweets which are unrelated to one another regarding content.
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T WEETDECK
W W W . T W E ET D E CK . CO M
DESCRIPTION
Tweetdeck is the most popular platform for following tweets outside a browser and here are some of the things you can do on Tweetdeck that you cannot do on your browser: You can view more information simultaneously, for example: your Twitter timeline your DMs tweets by your list of favourite users tweets which contain a specific hashtag (#) e.g. #ELTchat, which allows you to see tweets even of users you are not following you can manage and follow more than one account at the same time, e.g. your personal account and your school account. Its capacities of categorising lists of followers, speed of replying to tweets, sending and storing direct messages are extremely useful, especially when it comes to situations when the know-how and speed of the users skills are of utmost importance. Whats more, it allows users to connect with contacts not only on Twitter but also Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Buzz etc. at the same time on the same platform. Therefore, it has naturally become an integral part of using a number of social networking sites.
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HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES To use Tweedeck you need the same the doswnloadable application called Adobe Air.
SET UP To set up your Tweetdeck, the steps below must be followed: 1. Go to www.tweetdeck.com. 2. At the top of your screen you will be presented with certain choices depending on the device you wish to install it in. For example, if you want to install Tweetdeck in your computer, you will click on the option Desktop as shown below. 3. You will be taken to the next page of the website where you need to click on the Download Now option. Once you click, tweedeck will be automatically downloaded. When it finiishes downloading, you need to click on the following options a. Run b. Continue and the installation will be complete. 4. Tweedeck will open automatically and you will be presented with the following window (pic below). This is a very user-friendly guide which helps you make the most of Tweedeck. For example, by clicking on the apporpriate box you will be shown how to sort your information into different columns according to categories of your preference, how to add multiple Twitter or a Facebook accounts on the platform, etc.
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IMPLEMENTATION
Twitter can be used both as a tool exclusively by teachers for ther professional development and as a
tool with a group of foreign language learners.
A)
T W I T TE R A S A P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T TO O L F O R F O R E I G N L A N G U A G E S T E A C H E R S
Teachers can sign up and follow users with common interests and pursuits in the field, exchange opinions and experiences to solve problems and/or expand their knowledge on a given topic by participating in live discussions, such as ELTchat. They can also follow links redirecting the reader to a wide range of materials ranging from academic papers to the latest web-tool specifically designed for classroom use. They can also follow teacher associations, conferences and educational institutions which specialise in English language teaching and visit useful links related to education and teaching posted on a daily basis. By connecting with institutions and individuals, they can become more connected and take advantage of the numerous opportunities to enhance their career. By following and participating in hashtagged conversations, they can keep up with their professional development through the contact, resources shared, blog posts created and classroom teaching ideas freely shared by chat participants during these conversations.
I M P L E M E N TA T I O N E X A M P L E
The following are links to Twitter users and organisations that foreign language teachers are advised to follow on Twitter. In addition, there are some examples of well-known groups which organise and implement online, live discussions on interesting topics revolving around ELT. http://twitter.com/#!/ELTchat you can follow organized chats every Wednesday http://twitter.com/#!/aPLaNetproject you can follow our project account for news and links http://twitter.com/#!/BloggersELT bloggers http://twitter.com/#!/TeachingEnglish you can find out about posts and links on the BBC British Council website http://twitter.com/#!/iateflonline you can follow activities and discussions before and during the annual IATEFL conference 39
you can find out about the latest blog posts of many
Some well known ELT authors are also very active on Twitter, for example, Jeremy Harmer @Harmerj, Scott Thronbury @thornburyscott, Jim Scrivener @jimscriv, and others. Note: A comprehensive list of active Twitter users in the field of foreign language teaching is included in the report Identifying Social Networks for Teachers.
B) T W I T TE R A S A L A N G U A G E T E A C H I N G TO O L
Foreign language learners can use Twitter to: Exchange ideas and opinions on assigned projects or videos. Post useful links redirecting the reader to weblogs, articles, dictionaries, and other supplementary materials commonly used in the English language classroom. Engage in peer-teaching and/or helping weaker members of the class by giving feedback to their fellow classmates on homework, such as compositions, letter writing, and so on. this also promotes learner autonomy. Connect and collaborate with other language learners from different countries praactising the language as well as expanding their cultural awareness. Reflect on their own learning and take appropriate action to improving their learning strategies with apporpriate guidance, of course. Do vocabulary/writing activities assigned online by third tutor.
I M P L E M E N TA TI O N E X A M P L E S :
The teacher posts updates about new vocabulary or idioms and asks the learners to use online dictionaries to find semantic meaning/connotation/synonyms/antonyms, etc. The teacher asks learners to engage in writing a story based on a tweet he has already posted. They need to continue and complete the story (twittories). The teacher gives the learners long paragraphs or sentences and asks invites the learners to reduce the number of words to 140 characters using any means whatsoever to do so. This way they can practise using elements, such as substitution, ellipsis, participles, reduced relative claused, adverbial clauses, etc.
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Learners tweet questions they might have about specific language may that be grammar, something they have heard and are not aware of the meaning; their fellow classmates or other learners help them answer the questions. Learners can exhange ideas and experiences on learning strategies with peers. The learners brainstorm ideas on a topic or any issue for deliberation and further discussion. The teacher asks student to conduct an informal survey by addressing all followers, analysing findings, and, finally, preparing a presentation on a given topic. Students comment on videos/pictures exchanging ideas and opinions. They share resources and links that might prove to be useful for personal reflection on language learningand/or acquisition of new language. Students play favourite music videos from You Tube explaining what they like about each clip. The teacher asks colleagues to asnwer questions posed by the class and, if possible, projects their responses as they are given in real time to stimulate a class discussion or project.
C) M O R E U S E S O F TW I TT E R I N T HE C L A S S R O O M
Teachers can use Twitter to: Monitor the learners progress on assigned projects and homework. Provide learners with immediate feedback and constant support. Post useful links that would be relevant to what the learners need at the time thus guiding them ad scaffolding. Making suggestions and/or sharing their own learning experiences with learners and strategies they followed to solve particualr problems iin the context of learning. Set quick activities on vocabulary/grammar/writing. Invite learners to do brief research on a given topic so that they prepare it for the next lesson. Post announcements and reminders. The teacher can ask individuals or groups to follow specific public figures or celebrities and to study their tweets and make comments about anythinng special about their content or style of expression.
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I M P L E M E N TA TI O N E X A M P L E S :
Students search with an assigned key word to see how much it comes up and how it is used by real users (as opposed to coursebook examples). If the students are adults, they can be asked to find key figures in their field and follow them. Students can follow news agency Twitter accounts for the latest news. Give learners a set of words and set a bief task, i.e. create sense relations, find meaning/connotation/ synonyms/antonyms, write a short sentence using the items given. Give learners a link, i.e an article, so that they prepare a short presentation for their next lesson and/or find additional related articles on the topic along with language they extracted from both articles. Ask learners to search for a number of experts in their professional field or area of interest. Ask learners to recommend one of their chosen five and write a #Followfriday recommendation explaining why others should follow this person. Ask Ss to write a short but clear bio which explains who they are in 140 characters.
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F A CE BO O K
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM
DESCRIPTION
Facebook, one of the most popular social networking sites, was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg,
originally as a platform for Harvard University students. Like any other social network, it is about getting in touch with others. At the moment, a large number of foreign language teacher, different educational institutions or publishers can be found on Facebook sharing links to educational websites, free downloadable resources, weblogs, events, and so forth. Using Facebook as a tool beyond the formal classroom teaching environment follows the principles of connectivism. Increased exposure to L2, swift and immediate feedback to projects and homework assigned to learners, groupwork, surveys and questionnaires followed by presentations are some of the ways in which this particular social networking site can be used. Learners can become more responsible for their own learning and linguistic improvement. They become more aware of the fact that the English language is actually used at a global level, ergo the varieties of English are not considered to be of lesser but of equal importance. At the same time, they can see a very real and immediate use of language and skills acquired in the classroom and this should add to their motivation to use the target language and to keep up with their language development.
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HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES To start using Facebook, you will only need a desktop computer or a laptop with Internet connection.
SET UP To create a Facebook profile, you need to follow these steps: 1. Visit www.facebook.com and under Sign up enter your personal information, i.e. first name, last name, and a valid email address. You also need to enter a password of your choice so that you can log in safely in the future. Your email address is necessary as to receive notifications sent by Facebook Inc. 2. Facebook will send you a confirmation email. You need to login to your email account, open the confirmation message and click on the Get Started button which will take you straight to the first page of your profile. 3. You will be offered the opportunity to find the Facebook profile pages of all your contacts in your email contact list so that you can start making friends on Facebook. If you do not wish to befriend any of your contacts, you can skip this step. By clicking on Skip this step in the right bottom corner of your page. 4. Next, you have the choice of filling in your profile information, i.e. the name of the secondary school you attended, university, current employer. This will help you find your friends more easily on Facebook. Once more, filling in the gaps is optional. You can either Save and Continue to the next step, or skip completely. 5. Next, you are can upload a profile picture from your computer or taking a new photo using your webcam. Your Facebook profile page will appear on the screen once you have completed the previous steps. You can edit your information, look for friends, colleagues, and/or classmates who are currently on Facebook
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6. Once you have finished creating and have edited your profile, you can navigate through different sections of your page. These different sections can be found on the left side of your page as depicted below. You can click on News Feed to receive the latest posts/links your friends have posted or shared with you or if you have received or wish to send a message, which are private between you and the sender/recipient and do not get posted in the news feed page, or even find friends, create a page, get informed about events to which you have been invited, etc. What is more, you can click on the sections below and find applications available on
Facebook, browse photos of your friends, read questions/polls, search for groups and
pages, etc. Some of the previously mentioned sections, i.e. News feed, profile page, Finding friends, and Account settings page can be also found in the top right corner of your page. If you click on profile, then you will be taken to your own private page and you will be presented with a number of choices, such as adding a photo if you have not done so already, sharing your experiences, interests & hobbies, adding a badge to your site, and so on.
NAVIGATION
HOW TO CREATE A GROUP AND A PERSONALISED P AGE A Facebook page resembles a weblog in that it can be edited solely by the person who has created it.
Facebook pages usually revolve around a particular topic, person, organisation, institute, and so on.
On the other hand, Facebook groups resemble mostly discussion forums in that they are used mainly as platforms to exchange ideas, links, posts, etc. and can be used by all Facebook users who have been invited by the administrator(s) and have accepted to join the group.
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CREATING A FACEBOOK PAGE In order to create a Facebook page the following steps must be taken: 1. Click on the Account button and then Help Centre. 2. You will be directed to Facebooks Help centre where you need to click on the Browse Help Topics option on the left side of your monitor. Then, click on the Pages. 3. You will be presented with a number of options/questions varying from what a Facebook page is to tips on how to troubleshoot in case you have problems with your page.
CREATING A FACEBOOK GROUP In order to create a Facebook group the following steps must be taken: 1. On the left side of your monitor you can see an option Create group. Click on that and you will be presented with a box where you need to type in your groups name, send invitations to the people you wish to allow access to, and choose whether you wish it to be open, closed, or secret (privacy setting). 2. Once you have created your group, you will be directed to the group's page. You can click "Edit Group" at the top right of the page to add a group description, set a group email address, add a group picture and manage members.
HOW TO JOIN A GROUP To join a group, first you need to check whether you wish it is suitable for you and your interests. Once you take that decision click "Ask to Join Group" at the upper right side of the group's page. You can also be added to a group by a friend who is already a member. Groups require admin approval for any prospective member to join; therefore you might have to wait for an administrator to confirm your request. Administrators can also block specific people from joining a group. Certain groups on Facebook are secret and will not appear in search results. You cannot request to join these. Only being added by an existing member will give you access to these groups.
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ACCOUNT SETTINGS
By clicking on the Account Settings button on the top left corner of your screen you will be directed to the following page. On this particular page you can edit/add all the relevant information regarding your account on Facebook. Namely, you can moderate which notifications you receive and see on your News Feed page, change your password, edit privacy settings, create a Facebook advert, and so on.
SHARING INFORMATION , LINKS AND UPLOADING PHOTOS At the top of the page you are presented with the following options: Posts Links Photos Videos Questions
Use them to share the apporpriate file/comment as shown below: Group members get notified about all new posts in a group unless they choose to restrict their notification settings. If group privacy is set to Closed or Secret, only group members will be able to see things that get posted in the group.
IMPLEMENTATION
Facebook can be used both as a tool exclusively by teachers for ther professional development and as
a tool with a group of foreign language learners.
A) FACEBOOK AS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TOOL Teachers can sign up and create/join a group for teachers with common interests and pursuits in the field, exchange opinions and experiences to solve problems and/or expand their knowledge on a given topic by participating in discussions posted and updated on the groups page. They can also follow links redirecting the reader to a wide range of materials ranging from academic papers to the latest web tools specifically designed for classroom use. 47
They can friend or follow (like) reputable educational organisations and institutions which specialise in English language teaching and visit useful links related to education and Foreign Language Teaching shared/posted. They can connect (friend) with other foreign language educators from their own or other countries, thus enriching their knowledge and awareness of teaching methods and best practices used in a variety of teaching and learning contexts. They can keep up with their professional development in a free and autonomous way, one of the major objectives of this project. They can maintain or increase their motivation to keep up with the latest developments in the fields of language teaching, linguistics, applied linguistics, research and new technologies.
I M P L E M E N TA TI O N E X A M P L E
The following are some popular and well populated groups of ELT teachers who participate in discussions revolving around English languae teaching and learning. In addition, there are some examples of well-known organisations and institutes in the English language teaching field: www.facebook.com/internationalhouselondon www.facebook.com/britishcouncil www.facebook.com/groups/eltchat www.facebook.com/LearnEnglish.BritishCouncil
B) FACEBOOK AS A LANGUAGE TEACHING TOOL: Teachers can create a group on facebook for their learners so that the latter can: Exchange ideas and opinions on assigned projects or videos. Engage in pair/groupwork. Upload useful links redirecting the reader to weblogs, articles, dictionaries, and other supplementary materials commonly used in the English language classroom. Engage in peer-teaching and/or helping weaker members of the class by giving feedback to their fellow classmates on homework, such as compositions, letter writing, and so on. this also promotes learner autonomy. 48
Connect and collaborate with other language learners from different countries praactising the language as well as expanding their cultural awareness. Reflect on their own learning and take apporpriate action to improving their learning strategies with apporpriate guidance, of course. Note: Facebook groups can be open, closed or secret. Closed or secret groups are ideal for students, as admission to the groups can be monitored by the teacher who acts as administrator (or a school administrator if one is available) and unwanted members or visitors to the group page cannot post or see the posts of the students or access their discussion forums.
Teachers can create a group on facebook for their learners so that they can: Monitor the learners progress on assigned projects and homework. Provide learners with immediate feedback and constant support. Post useful links that would be relevant to what the learners need at the time thus guiding them in a particular direction. Note: Younger learners should not be allowed access to Facebook. Indeed, in some countries and institutions, the use of Facebook is banned. In all cases, in the case of minors, parental consent should be obtained and parents should be advised to monitor Facebook activity for teens.
I M P L E M E N TA TI O N E X A M P L E
Facebook encourages, by dint of the nature of the medium, mostly writing and communicating
through writing, something which ought to give written homework a new boost, as writing is usually a poor relative in language classrooms and homework can be dry and not highly motivating for learners.
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A)
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
These can be posted on the group wall, pasted in a group forum or written in a document which
Facebook now allows:

Any genre/topic may that be a letter, a report, a story, etc. A continuing story to which learners are asked to contribute an episode. Part of a collaborative assignment report, essay or letter (see above). A book review or other review, e,g, an online game the learners have played, a language practice website they have been asked to visit.
B)
COMPLETING A SURVEY
On Facebook, it is possible to complete surveys by using the poll application in the status box, analysing findings, and, finally, preparing a presentation on a given topic, e.g.: Favourite food, drink, TV series, film, actor, etc. Opinion polls on small or larger issues on which the class has been working. Habits and routines. Various quizzes. Report writing on the results of a survey carried out by the learners. Learners create their own polls, collect results and write reports.
C)
COMMENTING
This is a major function of Facebook and it can usefully exploited by the classroom teacher to encourage written expression and interaction amongst learners. Learners can comments on material the teacher links to the page/group or that the learner link to it. Here are some ideas: Brainstorming a good way to complement or prepare for any type of lesson, e.g. ideas for a story which was set as homework, or ideas for a topic which will be covered in a future class. Topical videos to generate exchange ideas and opinions. This could also be part of the brainstorming in preparation for a class discussion or written assignment on a set topic. Photos and cartoons. Music videos. Blog posts. Articles published on the web. 50
A book or short story the learners have using in class or as extensive reading at home.Any applications or tools which the teacher has decided it is safe to share with the learners.
D)
PRACTISING A GRAMMAR POINT GIVING PERSONALISED EXAMPLES The teacher can ask a question or leave an incomplete sentence for learners to continue, e.g.
What would you do or say if you saw a mouse in your room? I have never tried .
The teacher can answer questions on language on the wall or in a special Grammar Clinic discussion forum. The teacher can ask students, singly or in pairs/teams, to create content using another application, e.g. video or photopeach or devolver, to create and illustrate a dialogue practising specific grammar points or areas. Results are shared on Facebook. The wall or a discussion thread can be used to share links for further clarification or practice of grammar points the students are not clear about. Grammar Challenges - The teacher or the students can post incomplete/gapped sentences and offer the students a number of choices from which they need to choose the correct one (multiple choice items). These items can range from discrete grammatical items to idiomatic language, phrasal verbs, and so on, e.g.
I would ______ the exam if I had studied a bit harder. a. have passed b. pass c. had passed d. passed
E)
CHALLENGING STUDENTS
The Facebook page or group can be used to record progress in a challenge set by the teacher, e.g. A reading challenge Ss can be given a list of readings and a target to complete- they report progress on their page. Listening Challenge (as above). Pronunciation challenge Ss can report progress on a website such as englishcentral.com where their efforts at improving their pronunciation are rated and they appear on leaderboard.
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F) G A M I N G G A M E S P L A Y I N G Many of the games which millions of users play daily on Facebook, offer ample opportunity for reading and interacting in the language in a more relaxed way, e.g. to build a farm or to beat an opponent in a word game. There are many Facebook applications which allow one to do this; however the teacher needs to try them out very carefully to make sure no unwanted adverts or inappropriate content is posted along with the game frames, especially in the case of teens or young adults.
G)
IDENTIFYING ERRORS IN OWN OR OTHERS WRITING
The teacher uploads some of the students homework - could be either written or a recorded conversation - and invites the rest of the students to post their comments giving their fellow classmates feedback based on certain criteria, e.g. fluency, accuracy, range, task fulfillment, coherence, content, etc. (Note: This is best done in a closed or even secret group and with the learners consent). The teacher can post samples of student writing and stage a short contest the winner would be the first one to spot an error. The teacher posts a link with some authentic content on the web which contains language errors. Students are invited to identify errors. Comments on aspects of writing other than linguistic errors are encouraged, e.g. the teacher links a piece of writing and invites students to comment on coherence, cohesion, relevance of content, etc.
H) L E A R N E R T R A I N I N G D I S C U S S I O N S A C T I V A T I N G T H E M E T A C O G N I T I V E F U N C T I O N Making suggestions and/or sharing their own learning experiences and strategies they followed to solve particular problems in the context of learning/dealing with isolated examples of language. The teacher can ask learners to write reflections on how they approached a specific task which was introduce in class or online. The teacher creates a group on Facebook bringing together more advanced/stronger students with weaker ones. The former group can take on the role of a mentor while the latter group will greatly benefit from interacting with a person other than the sometimes daunting figure of the teachers. 52
I) M O R E C O M P L E X & C H A L L E N G I N G P R O J E C T S Once a class is a lttle more familiar with Facebook, they can be asked to create a special interest group page and generate conversations from their classmates. As for examples: A topical page on fashion, sports, music. A profile page for one of the characters from a book of fiction they have read or are in the process of exploring. An environmental page. A causes page on a cause which they have become aware of in their local area. A page with interesting facts about the language or local community. A culture page. A funny idioms or strange expressions collection page. An all-you-need-to-know-about-an-exam page to prepare them for a public. examination they are about to take (Fact File or Tips or both). A literary or interesting quotes collection page. A page to feature a number of videos or animations following a class project.
J) F A C E B O O K C O N N E C T I O N S Just as it is possible to invite a willing fellow educator to connect with your class on Skype, it is also possible to invite a colleague or even a non-teacher native speaker for an organized chat or interview which can be done synchronously or asynchronously some possible topics might include: Life in the UK, US, Australia or other country. Cultural idiosynchrasies related to aspects of life in the target language community students can be encouraged to ask even very simple questions about the time of meals and clothes for specific occasions, to more complex interview topics. Interviews can be streamed live there are third party applications such as Livestream, which connect and can be used with Facebook so that your learners can be listening and looking at the interviewee and can be typing questions in the comments section.
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NING
W W W . N I N G . CO M
DESCRIPTION
Ning (which means peace in Chinese) is described here as it is particularly popular among educators
and provides a stable, feature-rich communication platform. Hundreds of thousands of educators around the world used it and created online teacher and learner communities although numbers have decreased dramatically since it was turned into a paid social networking tool, its popularity is still so great that the word Ning has come to be used generically for any type of similar social networking application.
HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES desktop computer or laptop reliable and stable Internet connection, preferably though not necessarily broadband microphones or web cam (optional: only if one wishes to use audio and/or video chat applications) rudimentary knowledge of Social Network features (to become a member of a Ning), a certain skill in organising digital content (to create your own Ning)
SET UP To become a member of an already existing Ning, you have to visit their Main page. Once there, it is very easy to join. There are two separate Sign Up buttons located on the Main page, as shown in the image below: 1. Fill in a few personal details and click on Sign Up.
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2. Having completed this simple form, a welcome e-mail is sent to the registered address, including various links to the Ning. These links provide immediate access to various features of the Ning, as well as the ability to invite your contacts to the Ning and/or tell your Twitter followers about it. 3. All that is needed, after clicking on any of these links, is to sign in here: Note: As with other social networks, it is well worth considering whether it is advisable to share the emails of friends and contacts with an application before you are confident that it is a trusted application. 4. Once you are on the Ning Main page, you will see that the contents of a Ning are typically organised in tabs, which are visible on the top part of every Ning web page for easy cross reference: Note: If you wish to create your own Ning, subscription fees start at 14.95 a year (only for educational nings), but the features offered are limited. A fully functional
Ning subscription fee starts at 149.95 a year.
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I M P L E M E N TA TI O N
There are many possibilities in language educators exploring Nings both for use with their classes and for professional development. Here are a few ideas on how Nings can be used by language teachers, together with specific examples where applicable.
Nings are particularly useful in a class context in several aspects.
A) C L A S S C O M M U N I C A T I O N
Nings provide an excellent class communication platform that can be accessed at any given
time from any given location provided there is Internet access, of course. This makes it ideal for online or blended learning contexts. content is delivered and discussed. It can also act as a very useful backchannel throughout the course, where comments and opinions are exchanged and feedback on course
B) P L A T F O R M F O R P R A C T I S I N G L A N G U A G E S K I L L S
Nings provide a fully functional platform for integrating language skills, especially through the use of:
The Blog feature, for reading and writing practice. As mentioned above, it is very userfriendly and allows students to publish their written work and receive comments on it by their teacher and classmates. It is perhaps more suited to extensive reading and writing practice, with more focus on fluency and the communication of ideas rather than on accuracy. Please
see examples in the Implementation section below.

The Forum, which is another area where reading and writing skills can be practiced. Here the teacher or any of the students can start discussion threads on topical issues and opinions can be exchanged. This is extremely useful in raising awareness of text features such as tone, register and level of formality, as well as in providing an opportunity to practice communication skills, such as expressing ideas clearly and voicing agreement or disagreement politely. The length of the written text can be considerably less than that of a blog post, but the focus is again more on fluency, clarity and appropriacy rather than on accuracy. Please
see examples in the Implementation section below.

The Chat feature, which also provide an excellent opportunity for reading and writing practice at the sentence level. Since chat speech presents a mixture of oral and written text features, 56
it is ideal for practising discourse skills such as negotiation of meaning and turn taking. Its added value is that it is a synchronous tool, therefore students can communicate in real time, which reinforces discourse skills practice in an authentic context. The Messages and Comments feature, available on almost every Ning page. Students can practice their reading and writing skills at the sentence and paragraph level by exchanging messages or leaving comments on each other's pages. This also involves communicating in an authentic context and greatly assists in developing fluency in writing. The Video and Photo upload feature. Content can be uploaded by either the teacher or the students and specific assignments can be set in the Blog or the Forum, after students have watched the video or looked at the photo(s) (listening and writing). Ning applications that allow voice or video chat between members, opinion polls, digital content sharing and many more. Please see examples in the Implementation section below.
I MP L E ME N T AT I O N
EX A MP L E
Teachers can use the Blog feature for reading and writing practice, with tasks such as story competitions, student diaries, reflecting for instance on their learning, special writing challenges set by the teacher (i.e. research and report writing, exploring a topic within a set number of words, etc.). Some examples of successful use of the Forum, again for reading and writing practice might be: French Book Club This is a link on a discussion thread about the heroine's choices in a French novel. Latin Studies Here the forum is used by the teacher to assign homework, asking the students to comment on certain reading texts already introduced in class.
There are special Ning applications that allow voice or video chat between members, opinion polls, digital content sharing and many more. Some examples can be found here: Instructions for a roleplay can be given by the teacher in a blog post and then students can act their roles in pairs or groups through a voice or video chat application, like Tokbox's OpenTok (reading, listening and speaking). The teacher can provide input on current topic of interest in a Blog post and organise an online debate using the Events feature. The debate can take place on OpenTok 57
and then one of the many poll applications, like Polldaddy, can be used for the students to vote on the topic. Results can be immediately diplayed on the Ning's Main Page and further discussion can be taken up in the Forum (all skills).
C) P R O M O T I O N O F L E A R N E R A U T O N O M Y This can be achieved by allowing members a certain level of freedom regarding the content and look of their personal pages so that it reflects their personality and choice of interests, creating special interest groups within the Ning and encouraging collaboration among students and classes. The latter is of the utmost importance, since students working autonomously on a project or giving feedback on each other's work or simply helping each other complete an assignment without active teacher inference is one a very effective way to foster learner independence. The Ning is designed primarily as a communication and collaboration tool, therefore lends itself to project work while at the same time allows the teacher to discreetly monitor progress and pinpoint shortcomings. D) T E A C H E R S P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T
Nings are also very useful from a professional development aspect. They can help language
teachers to: Connect with educators all over the world sharing ideas, opinions and generally comparing notes. Pursue a special area of interest by participating in a group with like-minded professionals. Schedule online events like webinars, conferences or chat sessions, through the Events tab Share digital material either for teaching or professional development purposes. Create a personal learning network of friends and colleagues through easily integrating Ning to Twitter, Facebook and other online platforms. Collaborate on projects with other educators both from within their local community as well from the international community. Connect their classes with those of other educators teaching a foreign language or even with teachers teaching native speaking learners.
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2.5. W EB RESOURCES GUIDE

I. COMMUNICATION AND WEB CONFERENCING RESOURCES
WEB
C O N F E R E N C I N G I S B E C O M I N G I N C R E A S I N G L Y P A R T O F O U R C O M M U N I C A T I O N TO O L B O X
T HR O U G H A V A R I E T Y O F F R E E A N D P A I D S E R V I C E S .
IT
E N A B L E S U S T O C O N D U C T M E E TI N G S
A N D P R O V I D E P E R F O R M A N C E O P P O R TU N I T I E S W I T H C O L L E A G U E S N E A R A N D F A R .
SKYPE
WWW.SKYPE.COM
DESCRIPTION
Online technologies enable building bridges between geographically distant subjects and lowering barriers to communication. Potential benefits of unlimited global communication are obvious. Skype allows direct interpersonal engagement which is necessary for all kinds of classroom and educational situations. Skype is a computer programme used for communication via the internet. It allows written and spoken communication between two or more users and can be used to send and receive digital files. Its functions include making calls (one-on-one or conference calls with multiple users). It has a video feature, allowing multiple users to see video of each other simultaneously (paid facility) and for oneon-one conversations for free. During audio calls the file sending and chat feature can be used as well. It also has a screen-sharing function that allows a user to show the other user their computer screen. All Skypes functions like instant messaging (chat), Skype-to-Skype audio and video calls and screen sharing are completely free. Additional features like calling to mobile and landline phones, sending text messages to mobile phones and call forwarding are paid. 59
This program enables information flow, trainings of educators, online language lessons and exchange of data. The ease of using Skype makes it a widely accessible tool. In fact, it is now estimated that over 30% of global international telephone calls are on Skype.
HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES Only an Internet connection is needed for a smooth and high quality voice transmission through Skype. After downloading the programme Skype from www.skype.com you will need to register and then can start using the application. For phone calls you must have speakers and a microphone or a headset and for videos call you will need a built-in or external web camera connected to your computer.
SET UP Downloading Skype to the computer is necessary. Then you must create a user account. To set up a personal Skype account, you have to choose a username and password. After signing in to your account you are able to use all the types of communication mentioned. You can build up a list of contacts very easily. There is an interface to find contacts, once you have found your target you have to send them a request and if they confirm you they are added to your list of contacts. Also people you know will already be on Skype and will give you their usernames.
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METHODOLOGY
Using in classroom situations vary from: Distant learning for delivering language content. Blended learning lessons. Holding training for students and teachers located in various locations at the same time. Simulation of videophone calls and videoconferences in business language lessons. Task-based learning. Practising writing skills and spelling as a peripheral competence. Foreign language learning through reciprocal peer communication.
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Type of lesson: Skype Learning General English, A2 of CEFR Lesson number: 9 Age group: Adults Number of students involved: 3- 4 Duration: 45 min online Introduction: All students and teacher log into Skype, Plugs in their headsets and webcams. The T welcomes SS and describes the content of the lesson and checks homework. T starts a brief conversation to warm-up. T sends SS their edited essays (file sending function) and comments on them with SS. A short revision exercise of last lesson content aimed at practising will future, present continuous and going to future is sent to SS and checked. Conversation topic: Festivals and customs. Discussion is held around major holidays, traditions and special days organized in honour of some historical figure, organization, cause or object, both in the Republic and English speaking countries that people are familiar with. Also special events like birthdays, graduations, wedding and special customs associated with them can be commented. T can present more events unfamiliar to students and share interesting links related with the topic. After discussion T draws SSs attention to the most common errors which appeared in the conversation and corrects them. Vocabulary: T writes in the Skype writing box important expressions and vocabulary related with the conversation topic and asks for definition of those the SS are familiar with. Students can look for new expressions also in an on-line dictionary. Grammar: T presents a new grammar unit comparatives and superlatives of adjectives, regular and irregular forms. T sends SS text document containing rules and exercises. They go through the rules together and after an example exercise, SS complete a new exercise to practice. After certain time, it is checked and all questions and doubts are addressed by T. Reading: SS are sent a file containing a text connected with the conversation topic and given time to read it and to accomplish the comprehension task(s). SS retell the text in their own words and check the answers within the group.
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Listening: T sends SS a link to a video related with customs or chooses a song and sends SS the link and a file with comprehension questions or gaps. Students listen or watch and complete the exercises. Conclusion: T assigns a task to prepare for the next on-line lesson - Welcome to The Czech
Republic. SSs task is to prepare a brief presentation about the Czech Republic as if they would
like to present it to a business partner. They can include its historical, geographical and cultural background, grown crops, imported / exported products, interesting places and as well can mention a few details about their home town or city in which they live or work. SS are given a limit to hand it in. In the next lesson they will present their task and share links for the storage place where they placed their presentation, e.g. www.slideshare.net.
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WIZIQ
WWW.WIZIQ.COM
DESCRIPTION
WiZiQ is a platform supporting collaboration between both teachers and/or learners. For teachers, it breaks the isolation of the classroom and brings career rewards and daily satisfaction. Virtual classrooms are perceived as being very important. WiZiQ is a unique set of tools for teachers and students and are available on a web 2.0 social networking interface as it caters exclusively to education. WiZiQ is an online teaching and learning platform, which provides a free virtual environment for users. They can interact online and communicate in real time. WiZiQs target audience is teachers. Nevertheless, it can be easily used for online conferences and meetings, too. The tool and the website includes: Schedule and conduct Virtual Classroom. Store audio, video, and writing tools and share contents as "public" or "private". Take advantage of multiple whiteboards plus and whiteboard toolbars to see what the trainer or teacher is demonstrating. Create interactive questions and tests, interact in communities. Browse through gallery of educational tutorials by tags and categories. Maintain a content library, which is associated with a profile. Users can also build a profile, keep an availability schedule. Recording of sessions for sharing and embedding of presentations/tutorials on websites. Import and invite contacts from Yahoo, Gmail, AOL and Hotmail.
The application offers two membership plans - free with limited range of tools and fully featured for a subscription (Premium). The platform offers the Premium version for a 30-day free trial. The paid plans include separate plans for individual teachers or trainers and plans for business and organizations.
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HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES To use WiziQ it is necessary to have a desktop computer/laptop with a stable and preferably broadband internet connection and Adobe Flash Player installed. To operate the plaftorm you need to create a WiZiQ account on www.wiziq.com and have speakers and a microphone or a headset. It is optional to use a web camera.
SET UP Registration is necessary to use the application but it does not require any installation on the user side as WiZiQ works in Flash format. You create a user account by selecting Join Now. You will be asked to enter your name, email address, and a password. WiZiQ will request further information from you when joining a class in WiZiQ. Fill in the blanks and select whether you are a teacher or a student.
METHODOLOGY
There is a large number of different ways in which this tool can be integrated in an L2 environment. The following comprise a brief list of some of the ways: In teaching/learning practice, WiZiQ lets you: Share teaching and training experience with people all over the world synchronously. Pursue (free) professional development with online learning. Participate in presentations actively / review presentations already given. Give presentations. Complete lessons with learners (there is no restriction geographically or culturally). Familiarize with technology as an integral part of modern society.
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Type of lesson: Teacher training course Lesson title: Scheduling online session on WiZiQ Level: Teachers Age group: Adults Number of students involved:25 Duration: According to duration desired Introduction: The trainer explains the goal of the workshop: be able to design online workshops and sessions on WiZiQ. After a short discussion about possibilities of professional development in online environment, the trainer introduces the application and its features. He invites the participants to enter the page and create their own free accounts on WiZiQ. Lesson flow: Participants working in pairs are explained the basic steps that must be followed to schedule a class: 1) Go to Classes tab and click on Schedule a Class link. 2) Fill in details like Title of the class or About the class. You find a date and time by default. If you want a different date and time, enter them in the relevant fields marked for them. 3) Decide whether you want to hold classes only for your students, and then click on Private, or if you are willing to welcome new student contacts, choose your class as 'Public'. A public class is first approved by WiZiQ administrator and is then listed (as WiZiQ Public Class) on the WiZiQ Public Class page. 4) Finally, click on Schedule and Continue button. This schedules your class. 5) As soon as your class gets scheduled, you may invite your students to the class. You may choose to invite your webmail contacts. 6) Finally, on the scheduled date and time, you have to launch your class to enter the Virtual Classroom. It is a good idea to open the classroom 10 minutes before the scheduled time in order to test headsets and get accustomed to the platform. Follow-up: Trainer shows the participants how to handle some useful features like the whiteboard for live writing and drawing, using live videos and audios or shifting classroom control to other participants, at the discretion of the instructor/moderator. Follow-up discussion is opened then and all the questions are answered by the trainer. 66
VYEW
H TTP :// V Y E W . C O M
DESCRIPTION
Collaboration and interaction are both important aspects in language learning as well as professional development. Colleagues/Teachers-Learners interacting and exchanging opinions, experiences, ideas and knowledge is bound to lead to motivation and genuine learning as opposed to the theory of instructionism. Vyew is an online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), which allows users to meet online and collaborate on a project synchronously or asynchronously. Documents, pictures, files, and/or videos can be uploaded and shared/used by all the people who have been invited to join in and contribute to a specific project/discussion or lesson. Presentations and webinars can be hosted, viewed, and reviewed using a set of drawing, commenting and discussion tools, such as recording messages, writing comments, drawing shapes, importing pictures. Participants in such online events can:

Directly download the materials used in the presentation/lesson/meeting in real time Revisit already given presentations/lessons by entering the appropriate URL address in the navigation bar of their browser View and download the materials used in a presentation/lesson which has been given/taught Review and comment on presentations/lessons which has been given/taught
Vyew is partly free. With regard to features, there is no difference between the free Vyew and the paid Vyew versions. The same tools are at the users disposal in either version, the paid versions do not have advertising and allow more simultanious users.
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HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES To use the application it is required to have a desktop computer/laptop with preferably broadband internet connection and a created account on Vyew. Speakers or a headset are required to hear and if you want to actually interact a microphone or headset, and web camera.
SET UP Vyew is easy to setup and configure. First, you need to visit www.vyew.com and create your account by clicking on the Sign up button in the top right corner of your screen. Then, you will need to register by typing in your email address and a password of your choice. Vyew provides you with Free, Plus, and Professional versions. You need to click on the option you require and then select the Continue button to complete the registration.
METHODOLOGY
There are many different ways in which Vyew could be integrated in an L2 environment. The following lists some of the ways of teaching or learning ideas:

Communicating with people from anywhere synchronously or asynchronously. Exchanging opinions, ideas, and experiences collaboratively. Participating in presentations interactively and/or review recorded presentations. Giving your own presentations/lessons to a local, regional or global audience. Familiarization with technology as an integral part of modern society. 68
Type of lesson: General English Lesson title: Thought on criminality developed through Vyew Level: Teenagers Age group: 15 19 Number of students involved: 30 Duration: Variable Introduction: T presents the content and aim of today lesson: 1) Develop Speaking skills: Practise learners fluency (sustained speech) commenting on offered solutions to tackle the issue of criminality; 2) Using functional language (standardised lexical chunks) to agree/ disagree & justify their answers. The learners have had a lesson revolving around the context of criminality and have been introduced to certain topic-related lexis through an authentic piece of text. They have also discussed the topic regarding its gravity and have looked into several cases where members of a community have taken measures to tackle the problems they face. They have been exposed to the language described in the aims and have received appropriate practice. Lesson flow: Example A: The teacher has decided to set up a Vyew meeting where learners will meet (any time convenient for them) and do the following: Read a text offering solutions to the problem. Give their opinion on the text using a recording feature at their disposal on the platform. Listen to their peers comments and comment on them as well. Example B (in case there is an additional aim, e.g. turn-taking skills): The teacher sets up a meeting for all the class to meet at the same time (synchronous) and do the following: Read a text offering solutions to the problem. Give their opinion on the text using a headset. Listen to their peers comments and comment on them as well.
Example C: Watch a short video walking you through a teacher preparation for an online reading lesson using Vyew: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyRmOzr2yVE 69
In the interim, the teacher monitors the development of the discussion and perhaps prompts less talkative / willing learners to join in. Follow-up: Feedback could be implemented either right after the end of the discussion or in the next lesson. For instance, learners could be asked to play the role of the teacher and prepare corrections for their peers thus promoting a Learning by Teaching constructivist method.
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ADOBE CONNECT
W W W . A D O B E . C O M / P R O D U C T S / A D O B E C O N N E C T . H TM L
DESCRIPTI O N
Adobe Connect is an web conferencing solution for online meetings, eLearning, and webinars. It is based on Adobe Flash technology.
Within the online environment it provides audio and video communication for small or large teams, for example up to 100 concurrent users. The system can be integrated in to an audioconference. It can display a variety of different content types (pdf, ppt, and other) and allows interaction with a Whiteboard, sharing of screen, breakdown meeting rooms, and integration in Learning Management Systems as Moodle, Blackboard or Sakai. Adobe Connect is free for participants. For hosts there are several pricing options. It is recommended to talk directly to sales assistant, as the Education sector can have special prices in some countries. Check here: http://www.adobe.com/uk/education You can find examples of purchase plans here: https://service.acrobat.com/cfusion/bots/purchase/index.cfm
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HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES The requirements for Adobe Connect are a desktop computer or laptop with reliable and stable Internet connection, and the licence for the host who organizes the meeting. The rest of participants only need Adobe Flash Player 10. To hear online calls and participate in meetings you will need headphone and microphone or headset and, if desired, built-in or external web camera for video calls.
SET UP Once the licence is setup, the host creates a meeting in the administration backend and he can send an email directly to participants so they can enter the virtual room. The room can be publicly available, private with password or private with URL.To use the system it is necessary to have Flash 10 installed. Acrobat Connect Pro is available in English, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Turkish and Simplified Chinese.
METHODOLOGY
The tool allows the live delivery of materials and communications to participants in a session. Most often, Adobe Connect is used by educators to: Deliver distant learning forms of language content. Organise training sessions for educators located anywhere (locally, regionally or globally) simultaniously. Simulate videophone calls and videoconferences, especially useful in business language lessons. Practice task-based learning. Create a reusable set of class materials. Hold project meetings. Invite guest speakers to class conversations. Promote foreign language learning through reciprocal peer communication.
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Type of lesson: General English Lesson title: Online meeting with an interesting personality from another country Level: B2 of CEFR Age group: Young adults Number of students involved: 20 Duration: 1 session of 90 minutes
Prepration: Before class, T creates class materials, including presentations, videos, homework assignments, reference documents, and quizzes using tools available for producing quality online content. T can design an attendance list of enrolled participants. T opens an Adobe Connect meeting room for the needs of the meeting. This room can be reused for more than one class. E-mail invitations. The invitation includes a link to test their connection settings and system requirements. Suggest that students review reading assignments or other prerequisite materials prior to class to promote greater understanding, discussion, or collaboration during the online class. Ask students to come to class with prepared questions for the guest.
Lesson flow: When the class begins, change to the Sharing layout and display your class agenda for review. Allow a few minutes to orient students to the Adobe Connect meeting room. After introducing the host, he or she can start going on with the prepared materials and present the topic. After the initial words of the guest, promote discussion and activity. SS ask prepared questions and come up with new ones. Follow-up: When presenting to a large audience, you may get more questions than can be handled so it is a good idea to have an assistant to answer them while the T keeps the meeting on track. The meeting can be recorded.
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C OMMUNICATION
TOOLS C OMPARATIVE CHART
It might not be easy to opt for one or other web-conferencing platform, if you are not an experienced user. For this reason, these 4 platforms described aboce, namely Adobe Connect, Vyew and WiziQ besides the well-known Skype, are compared with respect to educational and web conferencing purposes so that the teachers or other educators can choose between one or the other, depending on the purpose or task they are interested in.
Adobe Connect
Cost
Free for attendees, paid for organizers Application download and installation required, user account Yes, multiple (hi-res)
Skype
Free basic plan Application, download required, user account Yes, but only 1 to 1 (hi-res)
Vyew
Free basic plan
WiziQ
Free basic plan
Set up
Browser based, user account Yes, 5 users limit, adjustable resolution Unavailable; class remains available online for participants, invited or allowed attendees to revisit Limited for certain types of files Yes (1-10) 10 atendees free, 80 paid Asynchronous / Synchronous
Browser based, user account
Webcam
Yes, one (low-res)
Conference recording
Yes, automatic (paid)
Yes (via third party application)
Yes (only 10 free members, up to 250Mb) Unlimited for public content, 5 GB for private content in free plan Unlimited 500 attendees
Material storage
150 GB (uses your own hard-disc)
Unlimited Yes (free on one to one calls)
Screen sharing Web conferencing capacity Type of collaboration
Yes
500 atendees Asynchronous / Synchronous
10 attendees
Synchronous 74
Synchronous
Communication tools
Whiteboard, text chat, webcam, live presenter video, free teleconferencing Doc, pdf, jpg, gif, ping, ppt, video, sound on their own or embedded in ppt
Text chat, webcam, screensharing, phone and video calls
Whiteboard, text chat, webcam, live presenter video, free teleconferencing
Whiteboard, text chat, webcam, live presenter video
Uploads
None
Doc, pdf, images, ppt, video, sound on their own or embedded in ppt
Doc, pdf, images, ppt, video, sound on their own or embedded in ppt Possibility to create an account as a teacher; offers online community of users who may network, follow and friend each other
Special features
Break out rooms
Text chat available outside call time and available for messaging among contacts
Class available for revisiting by attendees and possible reuse by presenter
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II. AUDIO DISCUSSION RESOURCES

AUDIO
MESSAGING WEB P LATFORMS ALLOW YOU TO RECORD AND UPLOAD AUDIO FOR THE
R E S T O F TH E W O R L D TO HE A R .
THE
M U L TI M E D I A A P P L I C A T I O N S L I S TE D P R O V I D E S I M P L E
P A T HS I N TO T HE W O R L D O F O N L I N E A U D I O D I S C U S S I O N E N A B L I N G U S E R S TO H O L D C O N V E R S A TI O N S A R O U N D V I R TU A L L Y A N Y TO P I C O R T HE M E .
T HE S E
TO O L S D I F F E R T O
COMMUNICATION
A N D W E B C O N F E R E N C I N G R E S O U R C E S A S T HE Y D O N O T P R O V I D E L I V E
AUDIO SESSIONS, ONLY RECORDED AUDIO
(AUDIO
DISCUSSION FORUMS)
VOICETHREAD
H TTP :// V O I C E THR E A D . C O M
DESCRIPTION
VoiceThread is a Web-based media album that provides a tool where users can add audio messages (with images or video) in to a conversation or to describe a single topic. It enables visitors to make comments on their stories in five different ways: voice with a microphone voice with telephone text audio file video with a webcam
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VoiceThread has two distinct advantages for classrooms that are communicating and collaborating across time and space: It is asynchronous: There is no need to be connected at the same time while adding comments or files. It is engaging and motivating: While digital communication between user through email and discussion boards is based on plain written text, VoiceThread appeals to user in many audiovisual aspects, and in addition, hearing the speakers voice makes the digital communication more personal.
VoiceThread is similar to a text based forum except users leave an audio message instead of a text message. The application allows group conversations to be collected and shared in one place, and accessed from anywhere in the world or they can be kept private for selected individuals. Basic use requires free registration. VoiceThread have created paid options for educators that increase the functionality for schools and classes. The prices start at $60/year or $10/month (single educator) or $1.00 per student per year (school subscription).
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HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES To ensure a smooth and high quality voice transmission an Internet connection is needed. You will need a microphone or telephone for recording audio files or video camera for video comments. SET UP There is no need to download any software, install or update. The application runs inside the web browser and stores the media you upload (audio, video, image). Website registration is required to save your work.
METHODOLOGY
To create a new VoiceThread there are several basic steps: 1. Signing in and clicking on Create. 2. Uploading of images or video from a user's PC, the web or a weblink. 3. Script out opening comments for each image that will contain a question for participants to answer. 4. Recording of the initial comment using the microphone. 5. Saving and sharing of the voicethread publicly or privately. Teaching/Learning ideas of VoiceThread are very rich: Classroom discussions around a topic that will promote conversation and debate between students. Presentations about books the students read. Professional development training. Storytelling based activities with additional multimedia content. Virtual class spaces. Task-based learning. Practising writing skills, sentence composition, vocabulary and spelling as a peripheral competence. Foreign language learning through reciprocal peer communication.
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Type of lesson: Teacher training session Lesson Title: Using VoiceThread for presenting an EU language project (EuroLib) Number of participants involved: 7 Duration: 45 min Introduction: Go to the home page, log in and create a new VoiceThread placing video or picture according to what you would like to present. Lead-in: All participants sign up for free accounts at VoiceThread using valid email addresses. Then they are added as contacts and invited to the VoiceThreads that you make. Lesson flow: Participants are assessed a task to perform. In this case, each participant prepares a short introduction of the project in question for the audience in their home country. They can refer to the video used in the centre and comment on it freely. Their voices are recorded via microphone and their pictures are taken through the built-in webcam. Participants can comment by microphone and text an unlimited number of times. Conclusion: The VoiceThread is enriched by participants comments in target languages of the project. The outcome is stored in the page and can be disseminated through the link. Follow-up: If required, participants can evaluate using verbal and visual cues. In disciplines where students create a portfolio of their work, VoiceThread provides the opportunity to create annotated presentations that contain voice, video, and text explanations of what has been done. The final outcomes can be embedded in a classroom blog (www.blogger.com) as well.
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VOXOPOP
WWW.VOXOPOP.COM
DESCRIPTION
Voxopop is a web based audio tool that enables users to record themselves speaking. They can also comment on an image, video or graphic. It is a message board system that uses voice instead of text. Messages are recorded in a group referring to a common issue. The groups are called "talkgroups" communities of people discussing various topics using their voices. Users can join an existing community or to create their own. Talkgroups can be private, a useful facility for classrooms. An invite mechanism is available so the user can invite selected uother users (perhaps students) to a specific talkgroup. Voxopop uses Flash Player for playing audio and Java for voice recording. Major features are: web-based platform does not require any downloading ease of use learn from peers building learning/teaching community It is free
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES The application requirements include Internet access to enter the site, www.voxopop.com, headset or microphone and speakers to record and use voice in discussions, and a prepared image in .jpeg or .gif format to add to a profile.
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SET UP It is necessary to register using a valid email address. Non-registered users can listen and explore the application but only signed up members can open talkgroups or join in on discussions. Registered members get access to other features offered by the platform like being able to add discussions to a watchlist or receive notification when others contribute. Registration is free and allows holding unlimited discussions. It is possible to listen to most messages without signing in. If you want to start a discussion or add a voice message, you need to be signed in. To record your own voice message, after signing in you simply click on the record button and add your message.
To create your own talk group you need to be a registered user. Voxopop Talkgroups can be public, private or restricted. Then you simply share the URL with your students or other educators.
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METHODOLOGY
Voxopop can be used for: Discussion points. Collaborative narratives. Dictations. Pronunciation practice. True false statements. Activate background knowledge about a topic which is going to be worked in class. Assessment of oral skills. Finding collaborative solutions for questions regarding teaching process and teachers work.
Type of lesson: General English course Level: A1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Tell me a few facts about yourself Age group: Children (aged 10 - 14) Number of students involved: 18 Duration: 90 min. Starter: T goes to the home page, logs in and creates a new talkgroup for his SS uploading a picture. T clicks on Record a message and states clearly the task which SS need to accomplish. Introduction: All participants sign up for free accounts at Voxopop using valid email addresses, usernames and passwords. Then they can join Ts group. Assessment: Participants are asked to prepare a short presentation about themselves, their work or studies, hobbies and interests. They can rehearse first with their classmates without being recorded. Then, after practising for a while, their voices are recorded via microphone and their pictures are taken through the built-in webcam. microphone and text an unlimited number of times. Conclusion: The recorded messages are stored in the page and can be commented and reflected upon. Follow-up: If required, participants can evaluate using verbal and visual cues. 82
Participants can comment by
III. BLOGGING
WEBLOGS,
O R B L O G S , E M E R G E D I N TH E L A TE
1990 S
O N TH E
WEB,
QUICKLY BECOMING A
N E W W A Y TO C O M M U N I C A T E I D E A S , O P I N I O N S , R E S O U R C E S A N D N E W S .
T HE Y
CAN B E
D ES C RI N ED AS AN O N L I N E JO U R N A L O R DI A R Y BU T T H E Y A RE US E D I N MAN Y O T H E R W AY S A S W E L L .
BLOGGER
WWW.BLOGGER.COM
DESCRIPTION
Blogger is a web-blogging tool that allows people to become authors by creating and maintaining their own free, journal-like website where they can publish a text, photo and/or video on the internet for public or private viewing. It includes navigation links and other standard website features such as a homepage, etc. Blogger can be used to openly post ideas and reflections on a given issue putting it up for discussion thus facilitating collaboration with peers and colleagues from all over the world. It is a free (owned by Google). People who know the weblogs URL can visit the page, read the posts, and, leave their comments as text, image or video. The need to share ideas, reflect on experiences, keep a record of those reflections, network with other colleagues, keep up to date with current techniques and practices, and express personal views freely and publicly has become an essential ingredient in modern teachers lives. Blogging has become an important addition for educators to established publications in print format which aimed at providing essential information regarding advances in the field of language learning.
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HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES Blogger works in the browser online and does not require any downloaded on to a computer. First, create a Blogger account on www.blogger.com. Either sign in using your Google account (if you have one) or click on the Get Started button if not. To create an account, you have to enter your email address.
SET UP After you have created a Google account, you will be taken to your Dashboard, which is going to be your blogs main page. By clicking on the Create your Blog now button, you will be guided through some steps to finalize the creation of your weblog. These include giving your blog a title, choosing a design template, etc. After you have completed all of the above steps, you can start publishing posts inserting pictures, videos and other features. The author can always change and/or add the content of posts or even moderate comments through the main page of the blog (dashboard).
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METHODOLOGY
Blogger can be used very effectively in the classroom. There is a many different ways in which Blogger can be integrated in an L2 environment. Some possible uses by learners include:

collaboration for the preparation of projects and discussions posts contributed by learners on topics set by the teacher or chosen by the learners a data resource bank of a learners written work throughout the course resembling a portfolio a data resource bank of extra materials/links for the teachers/learners reference blog challenges and competitions of short stories or poems commenting on other students blog posts to encourage critical thinking, as well as raise awareness of errors
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B1 of CEFR Lesson Title: samples of texts Age group: Young adults (aged 18 - 21) Number of students involved: 10 Duration: 90 min. Introduction: T presents the content and aim of today lesson to use the blog format as a follow up stage in a reading lesson (alternative to what is known as the pyramid-structure speaking activity).
Using blog to discuss differences between formal and informal writing based on
Lead-in: The learners have read and exploited a reading text in sufficient depth and detail. After the teacher has involved learners into pair discussion incorporating the use of any language focus whatsoever he asks each pair to highlight the difference between written and spoken discourse. After the features have been elicited, T invites pairs to work together and write down their previous ideas in a more elaborate style. Focus: T asks each group to enter the school blog and upload their ideas. They can either scan their page and upload it on the blog as pictures or even compose the written sample straight onto a computer. Follow up: As homework, learners have to log in the blog and leave their comments on what their peers/classmates have produced. These comments can vary from content and structure to style and appropriacy. As a final step, T evaluates each contribution and opens a discussion about the events presented. The T has the capability of monitoring the learners work and comment on it by praising, highlighting areas for further improvement, prompting and so on.
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EDUBLOGS
H TTP :// E D U B L O G S . O R G
DESCRIPTION
Edublogs is a free WordPress-powered platform specifically designed for teachers, students, librarians, researchers, professors, administrators, corporate trainers and other subject involved in education. Blogs are resources available to teachers and students creating an environment for participants to work on common interests. The use of blogs has grown popular in educational spheres and become an important tool for sharing useful information and tips among co-workers, dispersing information to students, or keeping in contact with students. Teachers can use blogs to provide an area to point students to useful resources and discuss issues arising as part of a teaching and learning program. Blogs are easily linked and cross-linked to form learning communities. They promote cohesiveness and social interaction. Blogs maintained by individual students or a class enable learning together and are mechanisms of self-motivation. EduBlogs can include specific content practiced in the classroom or exemplary lessons that is wished to share with other teachers or regarding any issues in education including classroom management techniques and policies. In this way the blog often acts as a support system for teachers where they can access ideas, tools, and gain support and recognition from other professionals in their field. Some of these blogs have become nationally recognized as useful tools.
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Blogs can be used for many reasons: enhancement of classroom instruction among students allowance of editing and adding content at any time increased exposure to other students or educators from around the country or world mechanism of improvement of writing and communication skills notice board function - important information such as homework, important dates, missed lessons projects, discussion boards can be posted ease of operation and accessibility group projects, peer collaboration platform act as a reflective journal for educators and students
HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES Obligatory resources are a desktop computer or a laptop, an Internet browser and lastly, an account on Edublogs.
SET UP Registration is required to get started. Users can choose between three pricing levels Free, Pro and Campus.
METHODOLOGY
Each teacher and class can have their own blog where they write about their experience related with school, learning, posting their book reviews or similar. Blogs used for teaching could include: Links to other resource websites Observations on learning/teaching content Discussion forums Learning/ teaching resources Syllabus Teacher professional development events
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EduBlogs can be used in the teaching/learning experience to: Store materials and resources Host online discussions Create a class publication Place your newsletter Encourage students to blog and contribute to class blog Engage with educators across the world Integrate multimedia of all descriptions: It is easy to embed online video, slideshows, presentations into an edublog and combine it with written text to produce multimedia content. Get feedback from students, educators or parents Create a fully functional website
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Culture events of the month - review Age group: Young adults (aged 18 - 21) Number of students involved: 18 Duration: 90 min. Introduction: T presents the content and aim of today lesson to use the blog format for creative writing practice. At the end of session, SS will have produced several contributions referring about some of cultural events taking place in their region. The class blog will act as a recommendation site of cultural events and place to get to know about what is happening in the region. Warm-up: T starts a classroom discussion about different culture festivals, concerts, films or theatre plays which can be attended in the SSs region, their characteristics, venue and dates. Focus: T divides SS into groups of two or three and asks each group to select a cultural event which they have attended and to compose a review. Then they are asked to enter the school blog and upload their review which they can enrich by adding photos or short videos regarding the cultural events. They can add useful tips and recommendation for other SS to take into account when interested in participating in it. Realisation: SS following Ts technical and methodical instructions produce a blog entrance based on the outcome of the preparative stage. They choose photos, videos to accompany the event they would like to present and they type in the blog information about it. Follow up: As a final step, T evaluates each contribution and opens a discussion about the events presented.
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WORDPRESS
H TTP :// W O R D P R E S S . C O M
DESCRIPTION
Wordpress can be used to create a website or blog. Wordpress is free for up to 3 gigabyte of storage (supported with occassional ads). It can be upgraded for yearly fees or for ad free. Educations provides solutions that improve learning and the accessibility of education to a worldwide audience. An education blog can be a powerful and effective technology tool for students and teachers alike. Blogs can be very useful for students and teachers because they can be worked on at virtually any time, in any place with an Internet-enabled computer. They also can be used by teachers to create a classroom that extends beyond the boundaries of the school premises. Using them is a way to engage students or colleagues.
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES The only requirements are very a desktop computer or laptop connected to Internet. Wordpress works within a web browser, it does not require downloads. You do need to register and login. To create or edit your website, login and access the backend administration panel. This is the control that allows users to change the look & feel of the site, to add new pages or posts, change themes, edit comment etc.
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SET UP You need to go to Wordpress.com and click the sign up button. Then choose a domain name for your blog. This is the unique address that visitors will be using to see your blog. Using yourblogname.wordpress.com is free. If you are want a custom domain name, you can purchase it. After getting the activation link in an email you can get started. If you do not wish to create your own blog and you just want to comment on the others blogs, you can select username. When youre signed in, youll see a tab at the top of the page saying My Blog. It shows all the blogs registered to your username, and enables you to access your dashboard. When youre logged in, you can see two sets of dashboard menus. The left-hand navigation menus are a way to access almost all the featrues of your blog. Your other menu is the toolbar across the top of your blog. You can adjust the Wordpress blog with these tools to your linking. Sign up for just a
METHODOLOGY
The benefits of using blogs are vast for educators not only in their lessons but also for their professional development. In addition to providing an excellent tool for communicating with students or colleague educators, they are able to: Motivate students, especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms. Provide opportunities for students to read and write targeted contents. Serve as forums for collaboration and discussion. Enable scaffolded learning or mentoring system. Be means of collaboration or professional presentations of educators.
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Some teaching/learning ideas are: Classroom Management: A blog can serve as a space to foster community of learners or educators. Setting up a blog is not difficult and updating is easy. Therefore, it can be used to inform students of class requirements, post handouts, notices, and homework assignments, or act as a question and discussion springboard among educators. Collaboration: Blogs provide a space where both teachers and students can practice their writing and other skills with the advantage of an instant feedback. Teachers can post instructional tips enabling online mentoring. Learners can benefit from peer collaboration and review. Groups of students can also take part in cooperative learning activities that require conducting and sharing research findings, ideas, or suggestions. Discussions: A class blog opens the opportunity for learners and teachers to discuss topics regarding the lesson content, classroom management, games, etc.. With a blog, every person has an equal opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. Students have time to react to ideas and reflect on learning. ePortfolios: A nicely organized and maintained blog can be a storage place of students work as digital portfolios. Since older entries are archived, authors progress may be analyzed more conveniently. Additionally, the notion that a personal contribution will be published and viewed have a strong motivating effect to produce better writing.
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Type of lesson: Composing an ePortfolio entry Lesson content: Building an ePortfolio entry Participating group: Teacher training workshop Target group: Educators and interested public Duration: 90 minutes (30 min. discussion and demonstration, 40 minutes preparing the presentation, 20 min. presenting draft results or ideas) Introduction: T presents the content and aim of today lesson to use the blog format for T personal development. The workshop trainer presents the benefits of the ePortfolio to educators. A paper published by JISC about e-Portfolios (2007) identifies a range of purposes that e-portfolios might serve across a lifetime of learning: 1) Application providing evidence in support of an application for a job or for admission to further study. 2) Transition providing a richer picture of learners achievements and needs as they progress to a new environment, and supporting them through the process of transition 3) Learning, teaching and assessment supporting the process of learning through reflection, discussion and formative assessment, and providing evidence for summative assessment. 4)Personal development planning (PDP) and continuing professional development (CPD) supporting and evidencing the pursuit and achievement. Lead in: Trainer starts a discussion about the uses of professional ePortfolios. After a short discussion they elicit possible answers which can include some of the suggested answers above. Lesson flow: T divides trainees into groups of two and asks each group to come up with ideas that might appear on an ePortfolio and what kind of entries they suggest producing. Typically, these might be About me, My work, My projects, Contact me, Useful Classroom resources, etc. The blog can inform about upcoming projects, interesting studies, post samples of teachers work, adding multimedia content and similar. Realisation: Trainees following Ts technical and methodical instructions produce a blog entrance based on the outcome of the preparative stage. They choose photos, videos to accompany the ePortfolio entry they would like to present and they type in the blog information about it. Follow up: As a final step, contributions are commented and a discussion is opened about the entries presented. 94
B LOGGING
COMPARATIVE CHART
We have chosen to compare the two most popular blogging platforms, Blogger and Wordpress. The Wordpress software is also used on the EduBlogs website. The aim of this chart is to help educators to choose the best blogging tool which responds best to their needs.
Blogger
Free Privacy Password Posts Roles Comment Spam Comment Editing Post by Email Image Storage Themes Pages
Yes You can restrict access to invited Google account holders Not available
Wordpress
Yes You can restrict access to 35 invited Wordpress account holders You can password protect individual posts or make them private Administrator / Editor / Author / Contributor Moderation and spam protection
Administrator / non-administrator Visual confirmation / spam filtering / moderation options No Submit posts by email. You can receive new posts by email too 1 Gigabyte. No interface for image browsing Easy-to-customise collection of templates Up to 10 static pages can be added
Yes Submit posts by email. Images can be attached 3 Gigabytes. You can also upload .ppt, .doc, .pdf files too Wide collection. No template editing, but you can add widgets. Create posts or pages. Pages are listed in separate menu
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IV. COLLABORATION TOOLS AND WIKIS
C O L L A BO R AT I O N
T O O L S C AN I N C L U D E
W E B - B AS E D
W O RD P RO C E SSO R S , SP R E A DS H E ET S ,
P R ES EN T A T I O N S , FO R M S , AN D DA T A S T O R A G E SE R V I C ES T H AT A L LO W US E RS T O C R EA T E AN D E DI T DO C U M EN T S O N LI N E W HI L E CO LL ABO R AT I N G I N R EA L - T I M E W I T H O T H E R US E RS O R W I K I S .
WIKIS
A R E W EB SI T E S T H AT AL LO W S T H E CR E AT I O N AN D E DI T I N G O F
AN Y N U M BE R O F I N T E R L I N K E D W EB P A G ES V I A A W E B B RO W S ER .
WIKIS
AR E T YP I C AL L Y
P O W ER E D BY W I K I SO F T W A R E AN D AR E O FT E N U S E D CO L LA BO RA T I V E LY B Y M U LT I P L E US E RS .
GOOGLE DOCS
H TTP :// D O C S . G O O G L E . C O M
DESCRIPTION
Google docs is a free online application for editing documents, spreadsheets, presentations and forms. It can be used by a group of people that are working on the same document or by one person that wants to share a document with other people. Once a Google document is shared by its author, it is accessible, to view by everybody having the link of that document or modify, with the initiators permission. A Google word processing doc, looks very much like its Microsoft Office equivalent and also has some similar formatting options. The Google docs formats available are: DOC, XLS, CSV, ODS, ODT, PDF, RTF and HTML and in all these formats documents and spreadsheets can be stored on a computer. Documents can also be uploaded online with Google docs. Very often it is important and efficient to share ideas and information with people that are not in the same place, maybe even thousands of kilometers away from each other. Google docs is a way of
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working on Microsoft Office-like or Open Office-like documents together with other people via the internet and without having Microsoft office or Open office installed on the computer.
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES To use Google docs a functional Internet connection is required. There is no need to install anything on your computer but a Gmail account will do. Documents can be shared only with people that also have a Gmail account. A Gmail account (Google account) can be created at mail.google.com/mail/signup. You are not obligated to use the Gamil account, it can just br used to access Google docs and other Google services if you wish.
SET UP To start using the application, there is no need to install anything on your computer, only to set up a Gmail account or use your current Gmail account. After logging in you can access the Google docs link.
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METHODOLOGY
This tool can be explored in several ways in educational contexts, including class management, correspondence with students and project work. In classroom situations that are learning specific, the usage of Google docs is conditioned by the fact that every learner must have access to a computer or that there must be at least one computer per group of learners. Teaching/Learning ideas of this collaboration tool include: Distant learning form of delivering language content. Delivering blended learning lessons. Collaborating on a document with fellow teachers. Keeping track of grades, attendance, or any other data. Holding training for students and teachers located in various locations at the same time. Task-based learning. Practising writing skills and spelling. Foreign language learning through reciprocal peer communication.
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Organizing a concert using Google docs Age group: Upper secondary Number of students involved: 18 Duration: Project work - 1 week deadline The aim of the lesson is to set students on discovering organisational aspects in this case related to the organisation of a concert; They will be directed to using set language chunks while developing their tasks. The lesson will be based on online collaborative writing, online editing and sharing of documents. Warm-up: Present the topic of the lesson organising concerts; email all students inviting them to the online activity and sharing the folder with the content documents in Google docs. Lesson flow: All activities in the lesson are included in the ppt. Students are invited to watch online with the rest of their class. They will first watch several videos with different concert experiences and then focus their attention on a few aspects related to the organisation of those events from the point of view of the performer and the fan. Writing: After watching the videos Ss will be presented two different perspectives upon the same event performers and review writers and they will be invited to develop a plan for the organisation of the concert/ reviewing the concert experience. Synthesizing their perception on the videos linked in the ppt will help students create a support structure for their writing tasks and identify those elements they need to include in their work. Class management: Ss will be grouped in two teams who will access their tasks directly through the ppt. Their writings will be edited online and all participants will share the same folder so that they have access to everyones input. Working online will facilitate collaborative writing without requiring face-to-face meetings. Ss will have one week to work on their tasks online. They will also be able to read the others work but without editing it. Ss will be able to share their comments using a common document with separate sections for those in the role of the performers and those in the role of the reviewers.
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WIKISPACES
WWW.WIKISPACES.COM
DESCRIPTION
A wiki is a Web site that can be edited, organized, and collated by anyone who is in the wiki's user base. Wikispaces is a collaborative, community, building application that allows updating information, discussing with invited members and keeping track on changes that have been done on the wiki by others. A wiki offers a 2G space for collaboration and processing information. An unlimited number of users can join a single wiki. Collaboration is a critical job and study skill and Wikis allow you to model and develop this skill online. Wikispaces is a tool to collect and collate web finds, report on your activities, organize teachers and student's online portfolios, update and build together materials. The page set up allows the visitor to explore the finds and use this tool as a web 2.0 learning journey. Another benefit of using a wiki for classroom education is the ability to facilitate and document collaboration among class members. Wikispaces allows working asynchronously and synchronously on collaborative projects regardless the location of the participants.
HOW TO USE IT
RESOURCES Wikispaces is does not require downloads. Apart from a desktop computer or laptop with an Internet connection (not necessarily broadband), you only need a valid e-mail address to register and logging in at www.wikispaces.com.
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SET UP After choosing a Username, Password and your email address, you are transferred to the welcome page where you can type in the name of your wiki. You will proceed to Welcome to Your New Wiki page where you can get a help and view some tutorials guiding you step by step in the creation of your wiki.
METHODOLOGY
A wiki is an excellent platform for content storage, sharing and collaborating. This makes it ideal for organising course content in a variety of contexts: distance, contact or blended learning. The emphasis on collaborative editing and ease of access in a highly customisable yet very secure environment renders Wikispaces can be exploited by users of all ages and levels of proficiency.
Wikispaces allows you to: Organise and deliver course content in a variety of formats. Organise assignment work, deliver contents, keep track of grades, attendance, and feedback. Encourage project work in classroom and task-based learning activities. Have learners edit each other's assignment work. Get classroom feedback. Provide learners with further resources, additional reading, videos to watch, useful links and resources. Assign each learner their own individual page, where they can upload their work and receive comments and feedback. Keep records of learner work and progress. Help learners and educators create their own professional e-Portfolio. 101
Type of lesson: Teacher Development Lesson Title: Using Wikispaces as a class syllabus Age group: Applicable to all levels Number of students involved: 30 Duration: 90 minutes (basic outline) Introduction: The aim of the presentation is to explain how collaborative tools as Wikispaces can be used as a class syllabus. Lead-in: T discusses the idea of on-line class syllabi and that includes course information such as a list of required textbooks, necessary prerequisite courses, assignment due dates, and other expectations. Then, the possibilities of taking advantage of Wiki tools while designing a course are commented on. T introduces the concept of Wikispaces and explains how to operate the application, show the basic options and discuss what the usage might be. Then he explains the goal of the course to compose an on-line syllabus for one of their lessons. Focus: Participants will work individually or in pairs to compose the basic outline of an imaginative course or use some of their real courses as inspiration and basis for further expanding and use. Typically, the sections that an on-line syllabus might include are course information, course requirements, attendance, grading criteria, week-by-week schedule, recommended study literature and online resources, course assignments, course documents, bookmark course websites, www.delicious.com, etc. At the end of the session, a basic outline of the class personalised dictionary should be built. Follow up: The outline of the syllabi can be reviewed, expanded, updated and edited as many times as wished. This way, SS can keep track of what the aims and requirements of the course are and organize how to meet them.
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P BW O R K S
H TTP :// P B W O R K S . C O M
DESCRIPTION
PBworks supports collaborative learning and is connected with the assumption that learning can be much more effective when done as a shared activity. Advantages of using wikis such as PBworks, include the development of learner independence/autonomy, the negotiation of learning objectives and methods between teacher and learners, and choice of activities. PBworks and all wikis facilitate sharing ideas, resources, teaching and learning materials and the learners' own work, e.g. projects, assignments etc. Learners can learn from each other as well as from the teacher. Teachers can also learn from their learners, as well as from each other, so sharing ideas, opinions and resources among educators is a key feature of collaborative learning. PBworks is also a great tool for Continuous and Autonomous Professional Development for Teachers as it is ideal for collaborative projects for teachers from the same institution or from a variety of countries within and outside the European context. PBworks is one of the best known wiki platforms. It is a very simple version of an editable website, which allows multiple participants to contribute and edit pages and documents. It is extremely versatile in form and structure and this makes it ideal for sharing and shaping content in a variety of contexts.
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HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES To start collaborating on PBworks, you will need to have an an e-mail address (although it is possible to register students who do not have one) and register at http://pbworks.com. Everything is carried out online so there is no necessity to install anything. SET UP There is no need to download any software to your computer. To get started, a user account has to be set up at http://pbworks.com. This requires a username, password, and a valid e-mail account.
METHODOLOGY
A wiki is a platform for content storage and sharing, as well as for organising course content in a variety of contexts (distance, contact or blended learning). PBworks wiki is suitable for use with learners of all ages and levels of proficiency. This tool can be exploited to: Organise and deliver course content in a variety of formats, all in one place if so desired Organise assignment work, deliver products and feedback. Have learners work together on a project. Set up task-based activities in general. Have learners edit each other's assignment work. Provide learners with further resources, like additional reading, videos to watch and other relevant online content. Assign each learner their own individual page, where they can upload their work and receive comments and feedback. Keep records of learner work and progress. Facilitate self-access work. Help learners create their own work portfolio.
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: A2 of CEFR Lesson Title: Composing Class Dictionary, Stage 1 Age group: Primary school students (aged 11 to 14) Number of students involved: 30 Duration: 90 minutes + work on the dictionary during all classroom sessions Introduction: T presents the SS the aim of today lesson. Using the PBworks application, SS will create a foreign language dictionary to catalogue new words encountered throughout the lessons. Lead-in: T introduces the class to the format of PBworks and explains what the usage might be. Then he explains the long-term goal of the course to compose the class dictionary. It is up to discussion if the SS consider more useful to keep the dictionary sorted by topics or if they prefer to build one personalised but general dictionary. Focus: SS will work together divided into groups or pairs to compose their task on the dictionary. T assigns each group or pair a letter or letters they will be working on. Each group needs to come on the first session with basic expression they already know that start with the letter they were given and write them down using the PBworks application. T can provide help if SS are not sure HOW TO Use IT. At the end of the first session, a basic outline of the class personalised dictionary should be built. Follow up: The dictionary can be viewed online and updated and expanded very easily. This way, SS can keep track of what vocabulary they have come across with and should be already aware of.
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TYPEWITHME
H TTP :// TY P E W I TH . M E
DESCRIPTION
Typewithme is a free document sharing tool which has a low technical requirement and is easy to access, as there is no registration process. Once the user is connected to http://typewith.me, a new document can be created immediately. Typewithme features a basic word processing tool with various editing, exporting and saving options. Sharing the document is very easy through the sidebar: a unique URL is created to sent to contributors via e-mail or instant messaging or by using the inbuilt e-mail form if you so wish. On the sidebar there is also a chat window, for further synchronous communication. It has a feature that highlights the content added by each separate user, assigning a different colour to each contributor. So users can view what has been contributed and by whom at a glance, which helps to pinpoint changes in content and avoids repetition, while working on the document synchronously.
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES Resources to run the application are basic: a desktop computer or laptop with Internet connection and an active e-mail account. SET UP After clicking on Create a New Document, you type the name for each contributor in the box provided in the sidebar.
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METHODOLOGY
This tool can be used for sharing and editing content in a variety of education contexts. A teacher may create a Typewithme document and share it with learners, who can add to it or edit it. The learners themselves can create their own documents and share them with classmates and eventually their teacher. Finally, teachers can collaborate with each other in producing written content for various purposes. Teaching/Learning ideas in a distant or blended leaning context include: brainstorming activities collaborative story writing editing and providing feedback to written assignments collaborative work on a reading text, using the chat feature to negotiate content before recording it on the document itself project work, as a drafting platform other task-based learning activities note-taking during a plenary speaking activity, in which one or all of the contributors can add to the minutes practising negotiation of meaning in a written context generally, e.g. agreeing on a timetable
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Writing collaborative stories and practicing past tenses using Typewithme format Age group: Primary school students (aged 11 to 14) Number of students involved: 30 Duration: 90 minutes + work on the Introduction: T presents the SS the aim of today lesson: To help SS to move past passive learning to active learning, to find better ways of engaging themselves in the learning process and practice use of past tenses. Lead-in: T introduces the class to the format of Typewithme and explains what the usage might be. Then he presents the aim of todays lesson to tell a story using past tenses. Focus: SS will work together divided into groups or pairs to compose their task. In groups the SS are asked to choose 10 or 15 verbs and to use the past tense forms of these verbs into a short meaningful composition. Each S will contribute to the creation of the story by adding his or her text using Typewithme. The final version of the group's composition is sent to the T. Follow up: The composition can be viewed online. All the updates can be viewed marked in a different colour. Typewithme can be also used for commenting on a piece of written work.
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W IKIS
COMPARATIVE CHA RT
It might be slightly confusing to select one or other wiki platform, if you have limited experience with online collaboration tools. We have chosen 2 services for creating wikis, namely PBworks and Wikispaces. These are compared with respect to usability purposes so that teachers or other educators can choose between one or the other, depending on the purpose or task they are interested in.
PBworks
Cost Free basic plan
Free basic plan Several workspaces, a maximum of 100 users, 2GB of storage
Wikispaces
Free basic plan Several workspaces, unlimited number of users, 2GB of storage (files must be up to 10MB) Several video tutorials, customized for different functions and features of Wikispaces Easy to use for editing text, creating links and pages is easy and self explanatory It is easier to find your way around in Wikispaces, the visual field contains essential information, placed intuitively In the free version of Wikispaces, there are 2 levels of access: member (read only) and organiser (read-write access)
Support
Little customized support, a helpdesk address and a video about Wikis in general Easy to use for editing text, creating links and pages is easy and self explanatory Although easy to use, finding information
Usability
Look & Feel
seems a bit more difficult than in Wikispaces In the free basic plan, the administrator of
Access levels for members
a Wiki created with PB works can easily find and select the access level of the other invited members (reader, writer etc.)
Privacy
Private and public wikis
Public wikis only
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V. D I GI T AL
S TO RY TE L L I N G
D I G I TA L
S T O R Y TE L L I N G I S T HE P R A C T I C E O F C O M B I N I N G N A R R A TI V E W I T H D I G I TA L
C O N T E N T , I N C L U D I N G I M A G E S , S O U N D , A N D V I D E O , TO C R E A T E A S HO R T S T O R Y .
THE
E L E M E N TS T O I N C O R P O R A TE I N T O A D I G I TA L S TO R Y A R E V I R TU A L L Y L I M I TL E S S , G I V I N G T HE S T O R Y TE L L E R G R E A T C R E A T I V E L A T I TU D E .
O UR
S T O RY
W W W . O U R S TO R Y . C O M
DESCRIPTION
Our Story is a tool that allows the creation of expressive stories. It is a platform for capturing and sharing events using text, photos and video. It is possible to embed your story into your MySpace, Blog, or your own website. Standard edition Our Story is free. Paid features are Text Formatting and Spell Check (font size, colour, bold, italics and spell-check). A premium member can add as many photos per story as required. Standard members can only add 6 photos per story. The traditional text-oriented teaching/learning cannot offer a global vision of the learner's needs. Also the incentives need to be many and creative. Our Story format offers possibility of engaging students actively in composing texts and stories inspired by their everyday life, and searching for additional material. Our Story also fosters teamwork and collaboration with classmates and develops student's ability to reflect critically on their own L2 experience which are the core necessities for making progress in L2.
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The greatest benefits of this tool are: To improve students writing skills. To support students creativity. To express their personality. To encourage research. To reinforce connections between teacher student lesson content and improve communication. To lowers students constraints and inconformity related with productive skill. To promote classroom discussion, community awareness, global awareness, and a connection between what students do in the classroom and the wider community. This digital tool enables the inclusion of images and videos to support a learners text-based production and results in a professional look that learners can feel proud of displaying. Its enjoyable format also helps enhance students motivation to learn languages by using an active learning tool.
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HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES To use the application you need a desktop PC or a laptop with Internet connection. You can also use a printer to print the results if you wish.
SET UP Registration is required. An account has to be set up by choosing a Username and Password. After logging in you can start using the platform.
METHODOLOGY
In classroom situations, some of the uses are the following: Reflect on a particular life experience or event. Express opinion on certain topic. Illustrate a language problem. Gathering vocabulary illustrating with examples. Talk about family, education, travel, work. Draw attention to each student's life experience and adventures. Deal with a topic or problem given which might be personal or wider social.
The results can be printed, emailed, embedded into a website or blog, and/or placed in the classroom. Another possibility is to select the most interesting or the funniest story of all the students and place it on the school websites or in a school magazine.
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B2 of CEFR Lesson Title: Childhood stories Age group: Young adults (aged 18 - 21) Number of students involved: 17 Duration: 90 min. Introduction: T presents the content and aim of today lesson to use Our Story format to present funny and interesting stories from each student's childhood. Warm up: T asks SS about their childhood, their family and family members, family trips and adventures. Modelling: T presents to SS the new resource showing it on a projector screen connected to a PC with Internet access. As an example, T shows SS how to set up an account and create a story. T produces a sample story adding a photo or/and a video to give them a clear idea of how to work with the application. Task: In the lesson or as homework, SS are asked to create a story introducing some experience or adventure from their childhood, including photos and videos. The task is supposed to be carried out individually so that each S makes his/her own active approach. Realisation: SS choose a single adventure or event from their childhood and they use a text, videos and photos to describe it. After this, they email their results to Ts email address. Output: T receives to his email account SSs stories and comments on them in the next lesson. Follow up: As a final step, the result can be shared by email, embedded to a website or blog or seen directly in the screen. In the classroom blog, results can be compared and commented.
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G L O GS TE R
WWW.GLOGSTER.COM
DESCRIPTION
Glogster is a free tool that allows users to create posters to express information. Glogs are multimedia posters that can include text, images, video or links to additional web resources that relate to the topic. For the classroom usage the possibilities are boundless. Teachers can create glogs for their students to use and students can make their own to present their school work, present themselves and their project creatively. Teachers or students themselves can link to websites that contain valuable information. Videos and graphics can be embedded right into the glog so the information is neatly in one place. They can express an event in history, information about culture events, or L2 related concepts and many more. Each contribution in the glog needs to be structured in order to provide valuable information, but should present them creatively and allow self-expression. For teachers it is a valuable and versatile tool that can be integrated in diverse areas including not only languages but as well other curricular field (science, history, art, music...). Other advantage relies in improvement of student-teacher relationships by allowing both to explore Web 2.0 and learning concepts together. Use of Glogster in the classroom for producing personalised and original text-based results keep teachers and students up to date with modern technology in a very amusing way.
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES A desktop computer or laptop with Internet browser and connection. If you wish to print the results, you will need a printer.
SET UP Registration is required. An account has to be set up by choosing a Username and Password. After logging in you can start using the platform immediately. Results can be embedded in a blog or wiki or other web page, or shared by email. 114
METHODOLOGY
Regarding classroom situations, this tool allows: to reflect on a particular life experience. to express opinion on certain topic. to illustrate a language problem. to gathering vocabulary illustrating with examples. to talk about family, present hobbies, likes and dislikes. to draw attention to a local or national events, cultural life, social trends. to deal with a topic or problem given which might be personal or wider social.
The results can be printed or emailed, and/or placed in the classroom. Another possibility is to select the best comic between all the students and place them on the school websites or school magazine.
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B2 of CEFR Lesson Title: Travelling in the past: Age of Discovery Age group: Young adults (aged 18 - 21) Number of students involved: 18 Duration: 90 min. Introduction: T presents the content and aim of today lesson to use the Glogster format to reflect on travelling in the past. Warm up: T asks SS about travelling in the past, their ideas, differences, constraints, etc. Modelling: T presents to SS the new resource showing it on a projector screen connected to a PC with Internet access. As an example, T shows SS how to set an account and create a glogster. T produces a sample multimedia poster using the widest range of options for designing the glog to give them a clear idea of how to work with the application. Task: In the lesson, or as homework, SS are to create a glogster poster introducing some aspect of travelling in history, including photographs, videos and solid topic-related information based on research of websites. The task can be carried out either individually or in groups. Realisation: SS following Ts instructions to produce a glogster poster based on the outcome of the previous researching stage. They choose object, videos, audios and text which they would like to use in their piece of work. After this, they email their results to Ts email address. Output: T receives to his email account SSs glogs and comments on them in the next lesson. Follow up: As a final step, the result can be shared by email, embedded to a website or blog or seen directly in the screen. In the classroom blog, results can be compared and commented using e.g. audioboo programme (audioboo.fm) which can be embedded to blogs.
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VI. PRESENTATIONS
W E B - B A S E D P R E S E N TA T I O N T O O L S A L L O W A M U C H R I C HE R C HO I C E O F F E A TU R E S T HA N TH E TR A D I T I O N A L D E S K T O P S O L U T I O N S , S U C H A S E M B E D D I N G I N W E B P A G E S , C O L L A B O R A TI O N O V E R T HE W E B O R K E E P I N G T HE P R E S E N TA TI O N S A C C E S S I B L E A N D V I S I B L E O N L I N E .
S L I D E S H A RE
W W W . S L I D E S HA R E . N E T
DESCRIPTION
Presentations are an essential part of lessons and an effective means of getting students involved. Teachers can use the site to share lessons, and other classroom materials outside of the school. Storing presentations online also helps to cut down on printing costs, and gives a more permanent record of the work done. Slideshare is probably the most well-known presentation tool online, and rather than helping you create presentations or content, its a way to help your presentation go viral. It provides a way to share already created Powerpoint or other presentations online, tag them, email them, get comments on them, and embed them to your own blog, wiki or website. You can add audio, notes, and even YouTube videos to Powerpoint presentations in SlideShare. You can also find presentations others have created on the topic and communicate with those who have similar interests through system of tags. You can also synchronise an MP3 audio file (podcast) with the slideset presentation to add an additional level to your presentations/tutorials.
HOW TO U S E IT
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RESOURCES Requirements are a laptop or computer with an Internet connection. You will need to register (create an account) and login.
SET UP Signing up is free. Enter the address www.slideshare.net into your web browser and click on Sign up for a new account. Fill out the information on the Sign-Up Page and press Join Now. An confirmation email will arrive to the email address you have entered. After logging in, you can start using the application. You are allowed to upload up to 100MB using free account. If you need further storage you will need a paid account.
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METHODOLOGY
These tools come in very useful if you have prepared a presentation of a school project or any other subject you would like to spread online, share with others and receive comments of colleagues or, in case of students presentations, of their peers. Teachers can use this tool, for instance: to upload presentations and provide a link for absent students to access presentations; to have student to create their accounts and upload class project presentations for review by their peers; to download presentations to supplement school curriculum and enrich your lessons.
Type of lesson: Business English Lesson content: Business presentation Participating group: Adults Duration: 45 minute + home preparation
Lead-in: Students are introduced to the aim of todays lesson preparing business presentation and use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources. The final point is to display the presentation on Slideshare. SS are assigned the task for the next lesson to prepare a presentation. Depending on the line of business or their position in the company they prepare a short presentation about the course of action in their department. Lesson flow: SS need to browse the Internet to find suitable photos and materials and prepare a rich presentation. They need to create a presentations and prepare a speech to present the slides. SS are advised to rehearse at home. The presentation has to be uploaded on Slideshare and the link sent to the teacher. Follow-up: The final outcomes can be embedded in a classroom blog, www.blogger.com, shared via email, Facebook, www.facebook.com, or Youtube, www.youtube.com, as well.
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P RE Z I
H TTP :// P R E Z I . C O M
DESCRIPTION
Presentations are an effective and essential part of lessons. Prezi is a presentation application which also makes online collaboration possible by letting its users share and create content together online. Prezi offers educators: an innovative presentation format an opportunity to design engaging and collaborative activities for students an online platform where they can collaborate with other teachers
Prezi is a web-based presentation application that uses a single canvas instead of traditional slides. Text, images, videos and other presentation objects are placed on the infinite canvas and grouped together in frames. The canvas allows users to create non-linear presentations, where users can zoom in and out of a visual map. By using Prezi from an internet browser, you can: Share your presentations for collaboration with others. Send and show your presentations to Prezi and non-Prezi users. Log in from any computer, access your presentations and work on them.
By using Prezi Desktop, you can: Work on your presentations without internet access. Insert large media files. Upload presentations to Prezi.com.
Prezi allow users to use the simple editor; download your presentations and show them from your computer; create groups to share and collaborate with; import images, videos, PDFs, and Flash files; and embed presentations into blogs and websites. 120
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES Prezi can either be used directly from an Internet browser (e.g. Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari, Opera) without the need to install anything or can be installed via Prezi Desktop and used without internet access. Exported prezis are supported on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X operating systems and no additional software is required. Prezi can be used from any desktop computer or laptop which meets the following requirements: reliable and stable Internet connection installed Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher minimum 1GB memory a scroll mouse / touchpad supported browsers are: Internet Explorer 7 or higher; Firefox 3.0 or higher; Safari 3 or higher
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SET UP You are required to create an account first. If you are going to sign up as a student or a teacher, you need a certified educational email address. If your institution does not provide email addresses, Prezi accepts the email addresses provided by Gaggle.net, https://gaggle.net. If you are going to use Prezi from an internet browser (Free and Enjoy versions), no setup and configuration is needed. If you want to create presentations offline (Pro version), you need to download Prezi Desktop. After the download, you open Prezi Desktop and sign in once by entering your username and password in order to activate the application.
METHODOLOGY
Prezi is very different from other presentation applications like Powerpoint. Instead of traditional slides, Prezi gives you a blank canvas on which you can create a big picture. You can insert details in the big picture and zoom into these details in order to create a dynamic presentation. Thanks to Prezi, educators are able to: Create engaging presentations. Ask students to create their own prezis. Create mind maps. Present new vocabulary. Design group work activities that require students to work on Prezi presentations online and share presentations with each other. Build global learning collaborations (students from different countries can plan and work collaboratively on Prezi presentations). Collaborate and share resources with other teachers online. Design an engaging online CV.
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Type of lesson: Possibilities of disseminating an EU funded project Lesson content: Prezi presentation of the EU project aPLaNet Participating group: Teacher training Target group: Educators and interested public Duration: 90 minutes (30 min. discussion and demonstration, 40 minutes preparing the presentation, 20 min. presenting results) Lead-in: Atendees are introduced to the notion of online tools suitable for presentations. Participants share their experience in using such tools (if they have none, trainer should be ready to demonstrate some of them). Prezi is then presented to everybody and its basic functions and benefits are commented. Stage 1: All participants sign up for free accounts at Prezi using valid email addresses. Then they can start working within the application. Stage 2: Participants are encouraged to explore the space to get idea of how it functions. Assessment: Participants are assessed a task to perform. In this case, the objective is to prepare a short introduction of the project in question, its rationale and solutions for the audience in their home country and abroad as well. After logging in, participants start creating a new Prezi placing videos, pictures, plain text, etc. according to what they think is the best to present throughout the project. Conclusion: The outcome is stored in the page and can be disseminated through the link. Follow-up: The final outcomes can be embedded in a classroom blog, www.blogger.com, shared via email, Twitter, www.twitter.com, Facebook, www.facebook.com, or Youtube, www.youtube.com, as well.
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VII. WRITING SKILLS TRAINING

READING
A N D W R I TI N G A R E I M P O R T A N T A C T I V I T I E S F O R A L L L A N G U A G E L E A R N E R S , A N D
I N TE G R A T I N G D I G I TA L C O M I C B A S E D E X E R C I S E S S O F F E R S TE A C H E R S A N I M P O R TA N T N E W TO O L TO D R A W S TU D E N T S I N T O T H E W O R L D O F W O R D S .
M AK E B E L I E F S C O M I X
H TTP :// W W W . M A K E B E L I E F S C O M I X . C O M
DESCRIPTION
Enhancing writing and creative literacy skills is an important support to many aspects of learning. Digital comics offer a way to experiment and utilize these skills in a way that removes constraints caused by psychological barriers to production in L2 learners and minimize stress connected to productive skills as this instrument allows them to express contents confidently through the comic characters. A digital comic utilizes the included clipart and images to support a learner's story and allows a professional result that a learner can feel proud of displaying. This is particularly true with language learners. The tool helps maximise the use of simple language for lower-levelled students, but as well to use a variety of language registers for the higher-levelled ones. Its enjoyable format also helps enhance students motivation to learn languages by using an active learning tool. The possibility to quickly produce results and edit results is a second advantage.
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Make Belief Comix is one of the oldest and simplest digital comic tools on the Internet, originally founded by Bill Zimmerman in 2006. There are a large number of educator supports including: How to Play Story Ideas Writer Prompts Educator ideas A set of character clip art A set of object clip art Choice of panels (1 4), backgrounds, speech and thought balloons, panel prompts, characters, objects The images placed in each panel can be moved, scaled, brought to the front, flipped, and deleted. Results can be printed and emailed.
The tool is available on the website and is extremely simple to use. It includes:
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES Obligatory resources are simple a desktop computer or laptop with Internet browser and connection. In case you wish to print the comics, you will make use of a printer. SET UP No download or setup are required. You can directly start composing your comic and after completing it, it is possible to print it directly or send it by email to selected email addresses.
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METHODOLOGY
Lessons based on exploitation of the digital comic format can be done directly in the lesson, in the language classroom equipped with computers or equally, completed as homework. Students can work either individually or in groups to come up with a solution. By using this tools, it is possible to: Have students place value or reflect on a particular experience in a comic strip. Use comics to talk about holidays, school, work, etc. Illustrate a language problem. Have a character to go through a vocabulary SS were taught in the lesson. Have a character to explain a grammar point. Create a comic book using the strips created by students. Students may serialize their comics by creating a new strip each day as part of a continuing story. Encourage students to use comics characters to comment on local or national events, cultural life, social trends. Create a comic in which the characters deal with a topic or problem given which might be personal or wider social.
Type of lesson: General English course Level: A2 of CEFR Lesson Title: Using Comic Strips to Graded Reading of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Age group: Teenagers (aged 14 -17) Number of students involved: 15 Duration: 90 min.
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Introduction: T presents the content and aim of today lesson to use the comic format for reading practice. At the end of the lesson, SS will be able to read and comprehend the writing style of L. Carrol and fit their ideas related to the reading impression into a condensated format. Focus: T asks SS if they know what the story contained in the book is about, what characters appear there and what actions take place in the book. Together they bring the information. Reading: T brings photocopies of graded reading book of Alice in Wonderland adapted for A2 levelled SS and divide the class into groups of two or, if the class is small, individuals. Each group is assigned a chapter to work on. SS read in pairs or individually the content of the chapter and ask for unknown expressions. After this stage, they are asked to make an outline of what happened. Modelling: T presents to SS the new resource showing it on a projector screen connected to a PC with Internet access. As an example, T shows SS how to create a comic and produces a sample on using the widest range of options for designing the comic to give them a clear idea of how to work with the comic strip creator. Preparation: T asks SS to come up with a list of scenes, a script, and a storyboard based on the content of the chapter and define 4 panels as a basis for the comic. Realisation: SS following Ts instructions to produce a comic strip build their own comic based on the outcome of the previous stage. They choose characters, settings, and complete speech bubbles. After this, they email their results to Ts email address. Output: T receives to his email account SSs comics. These are printed and ordered according to the chapter sequence. SS go through them and are asked to retell the Alice story by looking at the comics and imagining what happened. SS working on the strip can correct or complete the story. Follow up: As a final step, a PPT presentation using the comic strips can be built as an e-book and placed in a storage place for presentation, e.g. www.slideshare.net.
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TOONDOOO
WWW.TOONDOO.COM
DES CR I PT I ON Toondoo uses a Flash player in a browser. The website also includes other tools that can be used with the comic generation tool, these include make a Toonbook, make a Character, digitally edit a user imported image, add user generated image. There is also a large repository of user created cartoons and other users can comment on created cartoons. Completed cartoons can also be embedded on other websites. The tool is available on the website and has many features and tools. It includes: A very large set of characters, backgrounds, clip art, props etc. Tools to create user generated images. Import and edit/adapt user images. Add character expressions based on template or user imported image. Email. Edit, save, save as, publish.
The images placed in each panel can be moved or rotated, scaled, brought to the front or back, flipped, or either deleted if you are not happy with the result. You may also clone or swop panels. Results can be printed, shared (published) and emailed.
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES To use the programme you need an Internet connection and flash plug-in in the browser. To print the results a printer is required.
SET UP Toondoo requires registration (Username and Password and an email address in case you forget the password) and you will meed to login. The application is a Flash-based browser tool. 128
METHODOLOGY
Lessons based on exploitation of the digital comic format can be done directly in the lesson, in the language classroom equipped with computers or equally, completed as homework. Students can work either individually or in groups to come up with a solution. In classroom situations, thanks to Toondoo teachers can: Have students place value or reflect on a particular experience in a comic strip. Use comics to talk about holidays, school, work, etc. Illustrate a language problem. Have a character to go through the vocabulary SS were taught in the lesson. Have a character to explain a grammar point. Create a comic book using the strips created by students. Students may serialize their comics by creating a new strip each day as part of a continuing story. Encourage students to use comics characters to comment on local or national events, cultural life, social trends. Create a comic in which the characters deal with a topic or problem given which might be personal or wider social. The results can be printed or emailed, and/or placed in the classroom. Another possibility is to select the best comic between all the students and place them on the school websites or school magazine.
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Using Digital Strips for creative form of viewing the Endangered Animals topic Age group: Children (aged 10 -14) Number of students involved: 15 Duration: 90 min. Introduction: T presents the goal of today lesson to use the comic format for creative work on the topic of endangered species. Focus: T starts a discussion with SS about the topic of endangered animals. Together they bring the information. Modelling: T presents to SS the new resource showing it on a projector screen connected to a PC with Internet access. As an example, T shows SS how to create a comic and produces a sample on using the widest range of options for designing the comic to give them a clear idea of how to work with the comic strip creator. Preparation: T asks SS to come up with a list of scenes, a script, and a storyboard and define 4 panels as a basis for the comic. Realisation: Guide Ss' research by starting them off with the following questions to answer: What sort of animals belong to endangered species? What problems have to face exotic animals nowadays? What are the reasons? What can be done about it? SS following Ts instructions build a comic based on the questions given. They can choose characters, settings, and complete speech bubbles. After this, they send their final products to Ts email address. Output: T gets to his email account SSs comics. These are printed and ordered according to the chapter sequence. SS go through them and a small competition may be held in order to choose the most appealing one. SS can design an informative chart and display there their works to share information about this topic with the rest of class. Follow up: The best comics can be embedded in to a Blog www.blogger.com.
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VIII. AUDIO RESOURCES

T HE
RATIONALE UNDERLYING THE USE OF CLASSROOM AUDIO RESOURCES IS BASED ON LEARNERS L I S TE N I N G AND SPEAKI NG SKILLS.
DEVELOPING
T HE
O P P O R TU N I TY
TO
I N S TA N TL Y R E C O R D T H O U G H T S A D D S A N O TH E R O U TP U T C O M M U N I TY T HR O U G H Y O U R O W N V O I C E .
S HA R I N G I D E A S W I T H T H E
P O S TE RO US
H TTP :// P O S TE R O U S . C O M
DESCRIPTION
Nowadays people want to share different formats of information through the Internet and Posterous is an easy way to do it. You can send a file of any format and Posterous will accept it and automatically convert it to the most web friendly format available. It is possible to send audio and video files, documents, links and photos. Posterous is completely free tool. Through Posterous you can upload images, audio and video files, links and documents. Posterous enables you to post things online fast using email. You send email at post@posterous.com and Posterous replies instantly with your new Posterous site. If you use email, you can have your own website to share thoughts and media with friends, family and the world. There are no limits to what you can post. Posterous will accept any file you send and convert it to the most web friendly format available. It will host everything and publish it online instantly. You can attach any type of file and it will be posted along with the text of your email. You get up to 1 GB of total space for personal use. When you approach 1 GB, the application will contact you and if you need the space they will increase your limit.
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HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES You need a desktop computer or laptop connected to Internet and download the programme Posterous (for download go to https://www.posterous.com). Optionally you can use as well your mobile phone, iPad or iPhone.
SET UP You need to register and set up a user account using a valid email address. To activate your user account you will need to clicking on the link in an activating email sent by Posterous to your email address you can get started posting.
METHODOLOGY
The application is ideal as it offers a simple web presence, you can send your students and parents quick and simple information which can be enriched with multimedia content.
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Posterous is very effective when you are searching for ways to: Store useful documents, song saved as an MP3 or web links you want to keep and share. Host online discussions. Place your newsletters. Encourage students to blog and contribute to class blog. Integrate multimedia of all descriptions. Integrate recorded parts of lessons or speeches for others to view. Get feedback from students, educators or parents.
Type of lesson: General English course Level: A1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Finger puppet plays parade on Posterous Age group: Children (aged 8 to 11) Number of students involved: 10 Duration: 90 minutes Introduction: SS will work together in groups to perform a very simple finger puppet play. Posterous will be used to upload and share the video with classmates and parents. T presents to SS the aim of the lesson which is: 1. To create a very short play with finger puppets, 2. To design simple dialogues between two puppets, 3. To use a mobile device to capture the little plays. 4. To utilize Posterous application to upload the plays to a school on-line space. Focus: The classroom is divided into groups. T asks SS to decide upon the characters and plot of the play. Each group needs to select characters and think of a short story. SS rehearse their plays and when they feel they are ready for it, they record the plays on their mobile phones and send the file to Posterous email address to get them uploaded. SS compose a short email telling basic facts about their small play, write the main protagonists and the plot. T can provide help if SS are not sure HOW TO Use IT. Posterous will accept the files and publish it online in the most web friendly format available. It will be posted along with the text of the email. Follow up: The plays can be viewed online. These can be commented using Twitter or
Facebook.
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A U D I O BO O
H TTP :// A U D I O B O O . F M
DESCRIPTION
Audioboo is a free social platform which is used for recording audio messages up to 5 minutes long, called boos which can be displayed directly in the Audioboo platform and/or shared on-line on Social networks like Facebook and Twitter or via mobile devices. Smartphones users can also record and playback their boos. Uploading an Audioboo can be completed with an iPhone or Android Phone, or directly on the website or via email. Boos are automatically saved in users' accounts as mp3 files and added to an RSS feed. This means that they can be added to iTunes or Google Reader. Boos are posted to the users online account and can include an image and location. Audioboo caught educators' attention due to its ease of use, good sound quality and social networking functionality. The importance of listening in communication is huge. L2 learners often focus on speaking ability believing that good speaking equals good communication. Nevertheless, ability to listen is equally important for successful communication. Audioboo provides opportunity to share thoughts online but offers one more output sharing them using your own voice. This means that users practice and need to make use of various language skills speaking and listening at once. It is clear that the more time a student can be immersed in the language the more they learn. Audio format might be also seen as an alternative to traditional written assignments and written reflections.
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HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES Audioboo is a user-friendly and uncomplicated platform that does not require high levelled technical skills. Only a desktop computer or laptop with reliable and stable Internet connection (preferably broadband) are required. A microphones must be used to record the message and webcam can be used as well. SET UP Audioboo is a great free platform with easy orientation and well-arranged navigation for publishing audio online. To operate Audioboo there are two options: Going directly to the main page, set up a free account by choosing a username and password and start recording straightaway. Downloading the Audioboo Application to an Apple device or Android smart phone.
The site is very simple and once the registration has been completed, it enables simple publishing of audio messages.
METHODOLOGY
The recording of the Podcast should be planned as any other classroom or teaching activity. It should state objectives, contents, expected output and evaluation process. Teachers can setup their own account which means that they can post under their own name to a selected place. The possibility to instantly record and publish someones oral production can be very powerful, especially when using a task based approach. For students, this practice offers a very interesting feedback on their own speaking and pronunciation. The idea that they will be recorded and the result published provides extra motivation to repeat tasks, focus on what has been learn and concentration on achieving more advanced level of accuracy.
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Some of the suggested implementation ideas into the teaching/learning practice are the following: Sharing life experience with others. Connecting with educators all over the world sharing teaching tips. Pronunciation practice. Interview with interesting person. Reflexion on news in the world or local news. Opinions about some interesting issue (fashion, lifestyle, culture, nature, environment, ...). Digital storytelling.
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Type of lesson: General English, C1 of CEFR Lesson content: Spring/summer fashion trends Age group: Teenagers (aged 15 19) Number of students involved: 10 Duration: 90 min research + 90 min recording and commenting others messages Introduction: T presents the aim of today lesson to discuss via voice messages fashion trends for spring and summer in the following term of year. At the end of the lesson, SS will 1.) have gained a range of new vocabulary connected with fashion and likes/dislikes, 2.) be able to express their opinion in a number of different ways, 3.) be familiarized with characteristics and typical expression of journalese style of fashion magazines. Warm-up: T asks SS if they follow fashion trends, what their shopping habits are, whether they wear specific articles of clothing, traditional clothing in their countries of origin and what fashion magazine written in the studied target language they know. Research: T divides the class into groups of two or, if the class is small, individuals. Each group have to conduct a small online research on trends for oncoming season in websites of popular fashion magazine and compile a list of vocabulary and expressions related with the topic. Focus: T opens a space in the Website for students to place their comments. Ss are now ready to use Audioboo in this Speech Making class as a device for practicing their speeches and giving opinion. Each S has to record a three to five minute message explaining what the trends are and what their opinion and satisfaction is with. After making their record, they can listen to their pronunciation, phrasing, and fluidity. Since Audioboo is a social network, the Ss within the same news group can share their news boos prior to their real Audioboo presentation. Evaluation: SS can then comment on the speeches by following each other in Audioboo listening to each others speech boo sending their critiques in message boos, also affording them speaking and listening practice T can award homework credit for these message exchanges as well. 137
IX. FUNNY TEXT-BASED TASKS
AN
A T TR A C TI V E A R R A N G E M E N T O F R A N D O M L Y P O S I T I O N E D W O R D S I S A C R E A T I V E W A Y T O
S U M M A R I Z E T HE K E Y E L E M E N TS I N S E N TE N C E S , W H O L E D O C U M E N TS , W E B A D D R E S S E S O R TA B L E S O R , T O P R A C TI C E S P E L L I N G A N D V O C A B U L A R Y .
W O RD L E
WWW.WORDLE.NET
DESCRIPTION
Wordle is a tool for generating word clouds from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and colour schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. If you choose to save your Wordle cloud to the online gallery, a link appears after doing so and you can paste the link into your blog or home page to link to the Wordle. The Wordle front page has a built in feature so that inappropriate images or links for classrooms are blocked. Wordle is useful for language learning as it can help to maintain students motivation and attention. And can be used to improve writing skills. It can be used for an active approach and participation in task that will help students widen their vocabulary, learn how to spell properly and also develop and improve their collaborative skills.
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES Wordle works in a standard browser that has Java applets enabled on any computer or Laptop. If Java does not work on your computer, neither will Wordle. 138
SET UP Wordle, does not need an account or registeration. Access www.wordle.net and select Create in the main page.
METHODOLOGY
Wordle can be used in the classroom as additional activity to maintain students motivation and attention. As it helps practise students writing skills and spelling, the teacher may give individual students or small groups of students a task to create a word cloud using different groups of words. Groups of words can be related to different topics worked on within the class. This tool is particularly useful for: Encouraging collaboration on a task with fellow students. practising spelling and writing skills promoting foreign language learning through creative and active participation.
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Creation of word clouds using Wordle Age group: Upper secondary Number of students involved: 20 Duration: Project work - 1 week deadline The aim of the lesson is to ask students to use a group of words related to a specific topic and use Wordle to create a word cloud. Students can work individually, in small groups or pairs. Group work maintains collaboration among students. The lesson will be based on online collaborative writing. Warm-up: Present the topic of the lesson creating a word cloud; direct students to www.wordle.net and show them some of the created clouds in Wordle gallery for inspiration. Lesson flow: Students are shown how to create their own word clouds and are shown the gallery of already created clouds. Students are given a word group related to a specific topic and are asked to make a list of words they would like to use. Writing, creating a word cloud: After searching the Wordle gallery to gain inspiration, each group of students will start creating their own cloud. They will use the application window to write as many words as they choose to use or they can think of. Some of the words will be written repeatedly in order to have different size of words in the final cloud. Class management: Students will be divided into pairs or groups of three to work on the task. Students will have one week to work on their tasks online. During the week they will share their ideas using social networks, blogs or email. At the end of the week the students will present their printed word clouds to other groups. When all word clouds are presented, the students will vote for the best one.
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W O RD I T O U T
H TTP :// W O R D I TO U T . C O M
DESCRIPTION
WordItOut is a word cloud generator. A word cloud is an arrangement of randomly positioned words, where the words used most are larger than the others. WordItOut is free to use and no sign up is required. It allows you to customise many settings: Create word clouds from sentences, whole documents, web addresses or tables. Decide how to filter the text, which words to display or remove, and tweak their importance with ease. Design your word cloud as you wish, find the perfect layout, choose your own colours, fonts and sizes, or let WordItOut find a random look of your cloud. You can also keep control of your word clouds: Share your word cloud with the world or keep it secret. Easily embed them on your own website. Download your own copy as an image file. Get any word cloud as a present or gift on a T-shirt, card or more.
You can embed your word cloud on your own website or blog, or save it as an image to your computer. To save the word cloud to your computer you need to save it on WordItOut first (this requires only your email address, no sign-up). After saving your cloud on WordItOut you click on Download button to save your own copy to your computer. WordItOut enables you to make multi-word phrases by using tilde "~" and/or underscore "_" to link the words. These symbols are replaced with a non-breaking space which will keep words together.
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HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES There is no need to install any additional software to your computer. Just a Computer or Laptop connected to Internet is enough.
SET UP Wordle works within internet browsers. Go to www.wordle.net and click on Create.
METHODOLOGY
WordItOut can be used in the classroom as an additional activity to maintain students motivation and attention. It helps practise students writing skills and spelling, the teacher may give individual students or small groups of students a task to create a word cloud using different groups of words, or even a story or an article. Groups of words or an article can be related to different topics worked on within the class. The most useful teaching/learning uses of this tool are: collaboration on a task with fellow students. practising spelling and writing skills. foreign language learning through creative and active participation.
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: B1 of CEFR Lesson Title: Creation of word clouds using Wordle Age group: Upper secondary Number of students involved: 18 Duration: Project work - 1 week deadline The aim of the lesson is to ask students to write a story related to a specific topic and use the text to create a word cloud. Students will be asked to work in pairs or small groups. Group work maintains collaboration among students. The lesson will be based on online collaborative writing. Warm-up: Present the topic of the lesson creating a word cloud using WordItOut; direct students to http://worditout.com and show them some of the created clouds in WordItOut gallery for inspiration. Lesson flow: Students are shown how to create their own word clouds and are shown the gallery of already created clouds. Each group of students is given a specific topic which they should use to write a story they will later use to create a word cloud. Writing, creating a word cloud: After deciding on a plot the group starts writing their story using a word processor to save the story on their computers first. Class management: Students will be divided into groups of three or four to work on the task. Students will have one week to work on their tasks online. During the week they will share their ideas and pass along the text document using social networks, blogs or email. Each student in the group will have his/her own task one part of the story (the beginning, main plot, solution, the end). They will take turns in writing the story so each student in the group will have the document for a day and will write his/her part. On the last day of the task week the group will make final editing of the story and will create a word cloud entering the story in WordItOut text window. All created word clouds can be placed on school websites or printed out and presented in the class. The students can then vote for the best one.
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X. SOCIAL BOOKMARKING
SOCIAL
B O O K M A R K I N G I S T H E P R A C TI C E O F S A V I N G A D D R E S S E S S O F W E B S I TE S A N D
TA G G I N G T HE M W I T H K E Y W O R D S I N O R D E R TO K E E P TR A C K O F I N T E R E S T I N G I N F O R M A T I O N , M E M O R A B L E I M A G E S O R U S E F U L S I TE S .
DIIGO
WWW.DIIGO.COM
DESCRIPTION
Diigo allows users to collect and access a variety of web based information in the users personal My Library on Diigo. Diigo allows you to bookmark a web page, highlight, include sticky notes, images and documents in to your library. You can then tag your items to find them easily Diigo works on all the main web browsers, and Android, iPad and iPhone. Items in your library can be sent to others. Diigo is partly free. Registration, setting an account and all tools are provided free. Some of the tools are limited by a number of uses per month or year. You can buy unlimited use of all the tools, with a premium account. It is a known fact that project-based learning is an effective way to teach students and cultivate their skills of finding, organizing, synthesizing, and presenting information, as well as the social skills of working in groups, all of which are necessary in the knowledgebased economy. Diigo is a great tool for this kind of exploratory and collaborative learning. 144
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES Diigo can be used without downloading the Diigo toolbar on a Computer or Laptop or Android device, iPad or iPhone with Internet access. Downloading of the toolbar gives greater functionality, the toolbar is free. You can also download, install and create an archive of websites on your computer or device, the archive can then be used without Internet access.
SET UP You have to register a user account and login on www.diigo.com. After setting up your account you can follow your friends by searching for their usernames or you can set up a group and share information with a group of people. You can add Bookmarks, Images and Notes to Diigo without installing their tool-bar but for more functions you will need to install the Diigo Toolbar on your computer, Android, iPad or iPhone.
METHODOLOGY
Diigo is an online research and collaborative tool that integrates tags and folders, highlighting and clipping, sticky notes, and group-based collaboration. It is designed for online knowledge management, and can be effective for learning and teaching using technology. Diigo is an effective tool for teaching. Its features allow educators to: Highlight critical features in text and images. Write comments directly on the web pages. Collect and organize series of web pages and web sites into consistent and thematic sets. Facilitate online conversations within the context of the materials themselves. Teachers can collaborate and share resources among themselves.
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Type of lesson: General English course Level: A2 of CEFR Lesson Title: Using social bookmarking tools to prepare a term essay on famous inventions and inventors Age group: Teenagers (aged 14 - 17) Number of students involved: 15 Duration: 90 min. Introduction: SS will work together in groups to learn information about inventions and their inventors. Diigo will be used to organize and share their information with classmates. T presents to SS the aim of the lesson which is: 1. To conduct a research and become familiar with famous inventions they already know, 2. To conduct a research and become familiar with famous inventions that is new to SS, 3. To use Diigo to organize and collect the information that will be needed to complete their project. 4. To utilize bookmarks, captures and highlights in order to organize information. Focus: T asks SS to research two famous inventions. The classroom is divided into groups. Each group needs to select one invention that they know anything about, and one invention that they are totally unfamiliar with. All research must be completed on the Internet and Diigo must be used to compile the research and share with teammates. Found materials must be shared with others in the class. SS need to search for information to provide answers for answers in the worksheet which will be handed in to SS. The answers need to be complete sentences. Worksheet: T creates for SS a simple worksheet containing a basic guideline for SS throughout their task. Some of the possible points for SS to consider might be: Name of the invention. Who invented this? When was this invented? Why was this invented? Have you ever used this invention? Circle "yes" or "no" . If "Yes", explain how your life would be different if this had never been invented. Output: SS complete their worksheets and display the results on school blog, e.g. www.blogger.com.
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D E L I CI O US
WWW.DELICIOUS.COM
DESCRIPTION
Delicious (a product of Yahoo) is a social bookmarking tool. It is designed in a way that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. Delicious users can add "tags" to their bookmarks (tags can be used to find these bookmarks later). Users of Delicious can also view the bookmarks of all other users featuring a particular tag. In short, Delicious can be used as a tool that helps users build their own catalogue of information relevant to them and it also allows them to benefit from others catalogues as well as share their own findings.
HOW TO U S E IT
RESOURCES There are no special resources required here apart from a desktop computer or a laptop and reliable and stable Internet connection. Since it is a Yahoo product, a Yahoo ID is required and Delicious add-ons for the browser you are using.
SET UP To get started you need to donwload from http://www.delicious.com/help/tools the Delicious Add-Ons and Bookmarking buttons for the browser/website you are using in order to integrate the tool to your browser and start managing your bookmarks. Then you need to sign in or register for a Yahoo account at https://login.yahoo.com by hitting the Create new account button.
METHODOLOGY
This ICT tool is suitable for exchanging information searched for according to some special criteria among students (both secondary and higher education). Created virtual collections can be built to resemble virtual bibliographical (or any other type) database. They can be used in project-based
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learning and in various forms of out-of-class individual and group assignments thus allowing both teacher and students to use the web more efficiently. Its eploitation by educators might range from: Developing classroom collaborative projects. Assigning of task-based activities. Collecting professional research materials for papers or field studies. Orientatingstudents towards credible science websites to develop their written assignments. Creating personal online dictionaries. Building lists of useful sites for teachers and students needs. Keeping track of useful sites and picking back up when the work has to be interrupted.
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Type of lesson: Blended learning based on Social Bookmarking and web resources Participating group: Pre-service training of future teachers of English Lesson Title: Using social bookmarking tools to track the most useful ESL websites Age group: Teenagers (aged 14 - 17) Number of students involved: Immaterial Duration: One 30-minute class in a computer room with computers/laptops with internet connection, followed by two 45-minute sessions online, followed by a 30-minute session in class Lead in: Students are introduced to the notion of social bookmarking. Students share their experience in using such tools (if they have none, teacher should be ready to demonstrate a couple of them, e.g. Delicious, Diigo, etc. Students brainstorm the advantages and disadvantages of using such tools for educational purposes. Step 1: Students practice downloading the Delicious add-ons and signing in. Step 2: Students are invited to find other peoples bookmarks using the tag esl. (See
attached screenshot.)
Setting the out-of-class task: Students are asked to: 1.) Browse internet resources already tagged with esl and rate them according to their practical applicability as sources of extra materials that can be used in class with secondary students of English 2.) Browse the Internet in order to identify three resources that can be of help in terms of methodology support and tag them with esl teaching tips using Delicious 3.) Look though the bookmarks with the same tag their colleagues have made and decide on the top 5 bookmarked resources. Summary (back in class): students report on their findings and reflect on the experience.
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2.6. G E T I N V O L V E D I N P E R SO N A L L E A R N I N G E N V I R O N M E N T
aPLaNet project focuses on supporting all language educators across Europe who wish to become part of European community, share their teaching experience, ideas and suggestions with other educators, and build or enlarge their list of contacts to gain access to various information from the field of language learning and teaching. Teachers can join the project either as piloting educators (testing the resources and mentoring system), resource providers, or by mentoring new educators who want to use social networks and create their own learning communities within a SN. You can get to know more about aPLaNet on the websites http://aplanet-project.org where you can set up your profile and start networking. If you want to learn what the project team is up, come and join us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/update_security_info.php?wizard=1#!/aplanetproject Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/aPLaNetproject
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2.7.
REFERENCES
CASTAEDA, L.; COSTA, C.; TORRES-KOMPEN, R. (2011). The madhouse of ideas: Stories about networking and learning with Twitter. In: Proceedings of the The PLE Conference 2011, 10th - 12th July 2011, Southampton, UK. CHAMBERS, Angela; DAVIES, Graham. (2001). ICT and language learning: a European perspective. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers. EPPI-Centre systematic reviews of continuing professional development. Retrieved 15 April 2011 from: http://www.curee-paccts.com/our-projects/eppi-centre-systematic-reviews-continuing-professionaldevelopment FRAU-MEIGS, D., &TORRENT, J. (2009). Mapping media education policies around the world: Visions, programmes and challenges. New York, N.Y.: United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. Retrieved 15 July 2011 from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001819/181917e.pdf GILSTER, P. (1997). Digital Literacy, New York: Wiley and Computer Publishing, p.1. HOBBS, R. (2010). Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action. The Aspen Institute. Washington, USA. Retrieved 20 April 2011 from http://www.knightcomm.org/wpcontent/uploads/2010/12/Digital_and_Media_Literacy_A_Plan_of_Action.pdf JONES-KAVALIER, , B.; FLANNIGAN, S. (2006). Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century. Educause quarterly, Vol. 29, number 2. Accessed July 28, 2011 from http://connect.educause.edu/Library/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/ConnectingtheDigitalDotsL/39969 MARTIN, A. (2005). DigEuLit a European Framework for Digital Literacy: a Progress Report. Journal
of eLiteracy, Vol 2. Accessed July 28, 2011 from http://www.jelit.org/65/01/JeLit_Paper_31.pdf.

MONTERO, Miguel ngel; ROLDAN Jos Antonio (2008). Statistic eLearning. Journal of Applied
Mathematics, Volume 1, Number 2. Retrieved 20 June 2011 from

http://journal.aplimat.com/volume_1_2008/Journal_volume_1/Number_2/Montero_Roldan.pdf. 151
THE NEW MEDIA CONSORTIUM. (2005). Global Imperative the report of the 21st century literacy
summit. Retrieved 20 April 2011 from http://www.newmediacenter.org/pdf/Global_Imperative.pdf.

OFCOM (2008). Social Networking: A quantitative and qualitative research report into attitudes, behaviours and use. OFCOM. Retrieved 20 June 2011 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/02_04_08_ofcom.pdf PALMER, P. J. (2007). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teachers life (10th anniv. ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. PEACHEY, N. (2010). ELT and the Crisis in Education: Digital Literacy. Delta Publishing, 29 November 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2011 from http://www.deltapublishing.co.uk/development/elt-and-the-crisisin-education-digital-literacy PELIKNOV, D.; RUBIO, G.; JOSEPHSON, J. (2009). D O N T G I V E U P : Motivating adult students to
complete language courses. Brno.

STANLEY, G. (2010). Before and after Twitter: Personal Learning Environments.
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2.8.
A PL A N E T
G L O S S A RY
O F TE R M S
C O N FU S E D
B Y A L L T H E T E C HN O LO GI C A L T ER MI N O LO GY YO U ' R E CO MI N G A C RO S S W HI L E
T RYI N G T O S ET UP Y O U R
P E R SO N A L L EA RN I N G N ET W O RK ? U S E
T HI S G LO S SA RY T O
S MA RT EN Y O UR T E C HN I C AL V O C A BU L AR Y UP .
For those who are not technologically inclined, or who have limited experience in using the world of social networks and ICT for professional development the task of decoding all the technological vocabulary can be confusing. There are some basic terms of the technospeak you may encounter along the way and this glossary, of the most frequently used terms, will help you understand and familiarize yourself with them so you will equipped to start you using the social netwroks and building your own Personal Learning Network.
Text in RED is listed within the Glossary. Registering on a website or Internet application that permits a user to save information or have access to particular features/ functions of the website/application. Usually requires a username and password to access the account. AS Y N C HRO NOUS
C O L L AB O R AT I O N
A C C O U N T ( AL S O K N O W N
AS W E B S I T E AC C O U N T )
A type of collaboration when users are not online at the same time. The start and end of an activity depends on every user and his time availability. Examples are Forums.
BLOG
A web-tool that allows people to become authors by creating and maintaining their own, often free, journal-like website where they can publish text, images and/or video. (Used to be called weblog.)
BLOGGER
A person who maintains a blog. There is also a free blog publishing tool from Google called Blogger Posting or editing a Blog.
BLOGGING
153
B O O K M AR K I N G
Saving addresses of interesting websites and tagging them with keywords in order to keep track of useful information for future use.
BROWSER
A software application to display the contents of the Internet. Examples are Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer. Online written communication, generally as a conversation. Sometimes in chat rooms, today generally found in chat boxes attached to websites or other applications. Examples are found on Facebook, Skype and Google Plus. Due to the speed of this communication, many abbreviations are now accepted and recognised, e.g. gr8=great, u=you, LOL = Laugh out loud etc. Taking a file, image, audio or data from the Internet and adding it to your computer. The opposite of upload. An easy way of sharing an Internet image, video, audio file on other websites. A short piece of code is made available that you can copy and put on your own website / blog. The aPLaNet badge on the aPLaNet Ning is an example. A term that is used to show which users you follow on Twitter. Followers. Individuals that you create links to on a Social Network. Generally permits mutual sharing of information, text, images etc. Differing social networks use different terms for the same function. A hashtag (#) is a character that prefixs a word or term on Twitter. Using a hashtag, and its suffix, allows people to search for particular tweets. For example, if you search for #aplanet on Twitter you will find all the Tweets mentioning the aPLaNet project. ICT stand for information and communication technologies. It is in fact an umbrella term which includes a diverse set of web based applications and resources used to communicate, create, store and/or share content. Examples are web conferencing tools ( WiZiQ), audio tools (Voxopop), collaboration tools (Google Docs), and much more.
C H AT
EMBED
FOLLOW SOM EONE
FOLLOWERS
FRIENDS
H AS H T AG
ICT T O O L S
154
NETTIQUE TE
Contraction of Internet ettiquette. These are unwritten rules users of the Internet should be bear in mind when communicating over the web. Typical rules are to control use of emoticons, avoid typing in capital letters (since it is considered shouting), using acronyms (the communication partner might not be familiar with them, e.g. btw = by the way), or sending spam or hoaxes.
NI NG
Ning is an online platform where individuals can either join existing

communities or create their own private or public social networks. Most Ning networks are devoted to a single issue and almost every area of education is catered for either by the larger general education or specialised ones. A Personal Learning Network is the network of professional Friends or Followers that an individual connects with on the social networks that they have Registered on. This group of people can guide your learning, point you to learning opportunities, answer your questions, and give you the benefit of their own knowledge and experience. It has been described for educators as a Virtual staff room. See Personal Learning Network. A Personal Learning Environment is a flexible system that helps people take control of and manage their own learning. It consists of a number of different tools (a blog, wiki, social networks, etc.) that a teacher or learner chooses, around which he or she builds a group of people that can be turned to for knowledge, help, advice and support. See Personal Learning Network. The information that a user of a specific website, places on the website to describe themselves. It can include personal interests, professional affiliations, images, personal details, almost anything about the user.
P E R S O N AL L E AR N I N G N E T W O R K ( PLN )
PL N P E R S O N AL L E AR N I N G E N V I R O N M E N T ( P LE )
PL E PROFILE
S C R E E N C AS T
A digital recording of computer screen output to a video file (also called a video screen capture); can include audio.
155
S C R E E N S H AR I N G
Screensharing is an option which allows a user to share their PC screen with another user or users. It can be used in a many ways. For example, when you want to explain how a ICT tool works or show a presentation. Examples are Skype, WiZiq, Vyew, etc. Is an image of a all or part of what is being displayed on a computer screen. Windows includes a simple screen capture tool or you can use other applications e.g. Jing. A website on the Internet (Facebook, Twwitter, etc) where individuals can create a profile about themselves and then connect to other individuals on the same website or network. All Social Networks allow users to send messages to each other and post messages in their profiles about items of interest. See Social Network. Social bookmarking allows you to organize, store, search and share tagged images, websites, online resources, etc., online. It is possible to grade and rank the bookmarks in a certain logical order, but classification is subjective. The sources themselves are not stored, only their "bookmarks" are. On the other hand, social bookmarking allows people to find online materials, marked and commented by other users. Internet or digital collaboration when users are online and interacting at the same time. Examples are web-conferencing tools or real-time chat or VoIP tools as Skype. A tag is a keyword used to describe an article or website; tags are commonly used in social bookmarking, social news and blog entries to help users search for relevant content. Posting a message on Twitter to Followers restricted to a maximum of 140 characters. A Social network where users are restricted to sending post called Tweets to their Followers, with a maximum of 140 characters. It means sending a file or data from your computer to another computer system on the Internet. The opposite of download.
SCREENSHOT
S O C I AL N E T W O R K
SN S O C I AL B O O K M AR K I N G
SYNCHRONOUS
C O L L AB O R AT I O N
T AG S AN D T AG G I N G
TWEETS
TWITTE R
U P L O AD
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V I D E O C AL L S
Refers to audio-visual communication between two people over the web using some VoIP application such as Skype. A community of people sharing common interests, ideas, and feelings towards a subject. Also called a web community or online community. The Internet system (protocol) that permits synchronous voice and video conversations over the Internet. Applications include Skype,
V I R T U AL C O M M U N I T Y
VOICE OVER INTE RNE T P R O T O C O L ( V O I P)
WizIQ.
W E B I N AR Abreviation for Web-based seminar, a session, conference or workshop transmitted over the Internet from single or multiple presenters to single or, generally, viewers or audience. Permits managed interaction between the presenter and audience. WIDGET Its a graphical element that displays information and interacts with the user. They include different functions such as a button, scroll bar, tiny map, clock, visitor counter or unit converter. Widgets are used to customize the appearance and content of the websites or blogs. WIKI Wikis are websites that allow the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser. Wikis are typically used collaboratively by multiple users. The most well-known example is
Wikipedia.
This Teachers Guide is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 2.0 License. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
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TEACHER GUIDE

WHAT IS THIS MATERIAL ABOUT?

WHO IS THIS MATERIAL FOR?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS MATERIAL?

Classroom2.0, http://www.classroom20.com, and The Educators PLN, http://edupln.ning.com.

ADVANTAGES OF BECOMING A EUROPEAN TEACHER

Facebook group, EU_Educators, www.facebook.com/groups/EUEducators, where European educators

Figure 1: Essential competencies of Digital and Media Literacy

THIRTEEN GOOD REASON S WHY EDUCATORS SHOU LD NETWORK

POST IT ON FACEBOOK! USING FACEBOOK

VIII. Audio Resources

2.4. S OCIAL NETWORKS GUIDE

Facebook now allows:

IDENTIFYING ERRORS IN OWN OR OTHERS WRITING

Ning subscription fee starts at 149.95 a year.

Nings are particularly useful in a class context in several aspects.

see examples in the Implementation section below.

see examples in the Implementation section below.

2.5. W EB RESOURCES GUIDE

TOOLS C OMPARATIVE CHART

Browser based, user account

Yes, one (low-res)

Yes, automatic (paid)

Yes (via third party application)

150 GB (uses your own hard-disc)

Unlimited Yes (free on one to one calls)

Screen sharing Web conferencing capacity Type of collaboration

500 atendees Asynchronous / Synchronous

Text chat, webcam, screensharing, phone and video calls

Whiteboard, text chat, webcam, live presenter video, free teleconferencing

Whiteboard, text chat, webcam, live presenter video

Break out rooms

Class available for revisiting by attendees and possible reuse by presenter

II. AUDIO DISCUSSION RESOURCES

AUDIO SESSIONS, ONLY RECORDED AUDIO

Participants can comment by

IV. COLLABORATION TOOLS AND WIKIS

Look & Feel

Access levels for members

Private and public wikis

Public wikis only

VII. WRITING SKILLS TRAINING

VIII. AUDIO RESOURCES

IX. FUNNY TEXT-BASED TASKS

of eLiteracy, Vol 2. Accessed July 28, 2011 from http://www.jelit.org/65/01/JeLit_Paper_31.pdf.

Mathematics, Volume 1, Number 2. Retrieved 20 June 2011 from

summit. Retrieved 20 April 2011 from http://www.newmediacenter.org/pdf/Global_Imperative.pdf.

complete language courses. Brno.

FOLLOW SOM EONE

Ning is an online platform where individuals can either join existing

VOICE OVER INTE RNE T P R O T O C O L ( V O I P)

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