2nd Week
Contrast and compare various asynchronous
tools,
different weblog providers,
styles and uses
The
final lesson a writer learns is that everything can nourish the writer.
The dictionary, a new word, a voyage, an encounter, a talk on the street,
a book, a phrase learned.
(Anais Nin)
Recommended
Readings
Pre-reading for James Farmer's chat
Communication dynamics: Discussion boards, weblogs and the development of communities of inquiry in online learning environmentsPre-reading for W. J Reagin's chat
How the ‘Blog’ Can Change English Language Teaching (pdf file)
Individual TasksBefore you start, you may want to print and fill in this KWL chart before/after every week as you go along. It may help you organize your thoughts and reflection on your blog later.
What kind of blogs providers can we use and what do they offer us? What are the advantages and disadvantages you see in them?
Step 1: Choosing a Provider
Choose one blog provider from the wiki list (or add another one that is not listed) and open an account as you did with Blogger last week. Note down all that comes to your attention in the process and which may be of advantage or disadvantage to your students.
Task Set #1: Write a short review on your personal blog comparing your chosen provider to Blogger.
Step 2: Classifying blogs according to content and use
ESL/EFL Blogs range widely in style and content. To prepare to design EFL lesson-specific blog activities, let's start by getting familiar with what there is in the field.Task Set #2:
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Choose 3 to 4 student and teacher examples of blogs from the charts and analyze the type of content listed in the left column. Each letter at the top of the columns is a link to a specific blog. There are additional blank rows for you to use for additional content or comments as they occur to you. In each cell, put a /, +, or ++ to indicate whether each blog fulfills that category not at all, a little or a lot.
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When you have finished, make a post on your personal blog commenting on the patterns you have noticed and what kind of blog you would like to set up, considering:
(i) the public you will be dealing with(ii) their level, their communicative competence(iii) your setting, degree of formality of instruction(iv) access, amount of time you can spend on it(v) curricular constraints, institutional support, technical resources
(vi) your common needs and objective
Collective TasksPlease click here to volunteer for the task you know you can be responsible for this week
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Group 1 (Collective Blog): Write a summary report of the week. You may want to use the wiki page to brainstorm collectively and/or the draft function in blogger before publishing the final version to the collective blog.
Some points for discussion:
- The difference (advantages and disadvantages) between notice boards/forums and a blog/wiki
- What main features blog providers offer and how these functions can help/hinder learners (you may want to check what other participants have written)- Different ways teachers and students have been using blogs and your perception
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Group 2 (Wiki): Transcribe all the useful links of this session to the Wiki adding a description and comment/review
- Group
3 (Wiki):
Pool and list all the questions/answers that have popped up in YG, grouping
them together according to subject in the FAQ section.
- Group 4 (Collective Blog): Blog James Farmer's Chat live on your personal blog for people who were not present, compare your notes to the others and together draft a final report on the wiki and post the final version on the collective blog.
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Group 5 (Collective Blog): Review the transcript from the jam session with Dana, Jason and Stella at Tappedin and blog a report for the people who were not present. You may want to use the wiki page to draft together the final version before you publish it in the collective blog.
