Prompt #2
*BLACKBOARD – Egbert, J. (2005). CALL Essentials: Principals and Practices in CALL Classrooms.—Ch. 1. Introduction: Principles of CALL.
*RICHARDSON Ch. 3. Weblogs: Getting Started
Egbert describes the optimal conditions for classroom language learning. Discuss how blogs and blogging can be a tool for achieving these conditions with ELL students. Finally, describe your own experience creating your blog this week. What topic or topics do you plan to blog about?
Maastricht aka Mestreech
Maastricht a.k.a Mestreech, "the oldest city in the Netherlands".
I think blogs offer a creative way to support the conditions outlined by Egbert. As a learning tool, blogs stretch the classroom walls and increase opportunities for social interaction. ELL students are able to communicate with a larger audience, which also addresses the goals of learner interaction with an authentic audience and through authentic tasks. For example, posting student work on a class blog and inviting feedback from fellow classmates encourages discussion. Opening your blog to parents, linking it to other classroom(s), and inviting learners to form their own blogs builds a community - one your students help create. Learning, in this sense, becomes less abstract and promotes a variety of opportunities for language use. Richardson gives a seemingly inexhaustible list of ideas for blog use in the classroom (p38-40). With a bit of creativity, teachers can vary the ways they present materials to their students, addressing particular student needs and learning obstacles. This type of format also gives some flexibility as to the amount of time and feedback learners receive. More time can be given to students who need it and extended activities added for more advanced learners who need an extra challenge to stay motivated. By giving students some choices in their learning, Egbert’s notion of learner autonomy is supported as well. Both Richardson and Egbert emphasize not losing sight of the fact that technology in the classroom, blog or otherwise, is merely a tool and should never supersede the role of the teacher. The more I learn about these tools, the more I see the potential.
ReplyDeleteThat is not to say though, that I have now overcome my apprehensions about blogging. It is still a bit overwhelming to be part of the blogosphere as I have not gotten used yet to writing for an audience. This week, I only spent a little time on my blog, but did follow Richardson’s suggestion to read some good weblogs (p44). I looked up the Edublog Awards site and actually found a great blog pertaining to ELL: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org. It has a wealth of helpful resources and other links. In terms of modifying my own blog, I ran into trouble trying to add photos, but will give that another try later. I’m also not pleased with the aesthetics, so that is a work in progress.
As to the goals for my blog…I have great compassion for the plight of refugees around the world and want to be an advocate for those who do not have a voice and need our help. I have been out of the resettlement field for a while, so I’d like to learn more about current policies regarding the ESL component in resettlement programs. To that end, I’m also interested in research in SLA that may be helpful to refugee education and policy reform. I hope that my blog will help me compile resources and provide a forum for discussion on this topic that’s dear to my heart.
Great comment Diana! And your blog is looking great.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your last point, if you aren't already familiar with it, check out the Center for Applied Linguistics (www.cal.org). They've been around for years and were involved in creating information for schools and instructional materials for refugees back in the 80s. They're now doing the same with some of the newer refugee groups, plus a whole lot more.
Thanks for your feedback Dr. Wright - I will check out the site you recommended!
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