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Readings

week 1 / week 2 / week 3 / week 4 / week 5 / week 6

Week 1

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Week 2

Suggested	-Almeida d'Eça, T. (2004). Online Tools that Promote Language Learning and Foster Professional Development. Polifonia, 2004. pdf "This article is based on my year-and-a-half experience with the Webheads in Action, an online community of practice... After referring the main features of each tool [Tapped In, Yahoo Messenger and Yahoo Groups], as well as some advantages, disadvantages and practical applications to the teaching-learning process and to online professional development, the article ends with advice and conclusions based on my practical experience with the Webheads". (18 mins.) -Farmer, R. (2004). Instant Messaging" Collaborative Tool or Educator’s nightmare!. Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada. "In conclusion, this paper reviews some of the good, the bad, and the ugly about instant messaging and some of the benefits and drawbacks of instant messaging in educational settings." (15 mins.) -Gonzalez, D. (2003). Teaching and Learning Through Chat. A Taxanomy of Educational Chat for EFL/ESL. IATEFL Poland Computer SIG Journal, Oct. 2003. "Chat are synchronic communicative spaces which are incorporated into online activities, especially in EFL/ESL courses, due to the possibilities to interact with native and non-native speakers of the L2 they offer participants. Teachers interested in using chat for educational purposes should know the characteristics of different chat tasks according to the objective, role of moderator, and structure of the interaction to be generated, in order to plan their activities accordingly. This paper introduces a taxonomy for educational chat which was designed based on the author’s experience using chat with language learners and in-service teachers." (17 mins.) -Pointers & Clickers (1999). Chat as a Teaching Tool. "How can you use synchronous chat effectively in an online course? Chat as a teaching tool calls for pedagogical uses of chat, chat room management techniques, as well as coping strategies for instructors and students. Well-managed and focused chats can be useful online learning experiences, and add a dynamic dimensions to an online course." (5 mins.)
Optional	-Haefner, J. (2000). Opinion: The Importance of Being Synchronous. Academic Writing. "...As our classes become increasingly computer-mediated, as our students become increasingly computer-literate and willing to take courses online, the dislocations caused by these sea-changes must concern us as teachers. As we consider using asynchronous or synchronous computer-mediated communication in our online classes, questions about and challenges to our teaching methods and objectives confront us like an insistent blinking cursor." (10 mins.) -Mynard, J. (2002). Introducing EFL Students to Chat Rooms. ITESLJ, Feb. 2002. "This article contains four lesson plans that show language learners how to use chat rooms for language learning purposes. This paper covers the following: A. Pedagogical rationale for using chat rooms as language learning tool. B. Difficulties language learners have with chat rooms C. Lesson plans for four activities D. References" (5 mins. + lesson plans)
Future use	-Martín, G. B. (2002). Using Chats in EFL: A Tool for Collaborative Learning. The GRETA Magazine. Volume 9, nº 2. "The present article will aim to offer a personal practical vision on the use of chatrooms in Secundaria and Bachillerato. It will try to go all the way from an initial hypothesis to the demonstration of the usefulness of chatrooms in the FL curriculum by showing an experimental study." (6 mins.) -Tudini, V. (2003). Using Native Speakers in Chat. Language Learning & Technology. Vol. 7, No. 3, September 2003, pp. 141-159 "This study considers implications for distance language learning of negotiations by a group of intermediate learners of Italian interacting in dyads on a Web based Italian native speaker (NS) chat program. The research specifically explores (a) whether live chat with native speakers offers opportunities for negotiation of meaning in open ended tasks carried out in single session interactions with unfamiliar NS without teacher supervision, (b) the principal triggers for negotiation and modification of interlanguage in these interactions, and (c) whether public NS chat rooms are likely to offer an optimal environment for SLA, even for learners studying at a distance who need to chat without supervision." (30+ mins.)

 

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Week 3

Suggested

-McCarty, S. (2005). Spoken Internet To Go: Popularization through Podcasting. The JALT CALL Journal, 1 (2), 67-74, (August, 2005). "This article starts with a brief historical background on the trends leading to the popularization of podcasting or the sudden prominence of Internet audio. Supporting Web services such as dynamic directories of podcast sites and iTunes are shown to contribute to this popularization. Specific examples are presented: the BlogMatrix podcast hosting site, the podcasting blog "Japancasting," and the "Spoken Libraries" project of the World Association for Online Education. There is also the little-known story that the first school in the world to give iPods to all students was not Duke University but rather Osaka Jogakuin College in Japan, where podcasting is therefore particularly made to order". -Stanley, G.(2005). Blogging for ELT. Teaching English, 7 Mar. 2005. "This article takes a look at blogging, which is becoming increasingly popular as a language learning tool. It gives an overview of blogging websites, suggests why you might want to use them, and gives some practical advice on setting up blogs for use with your own classes." -Stanley, G. (2005). Podcasting for ELT. Teaching English, 17 Nov. 2005. "What are podcasts, why might your students benefit from listening to them, and how might you go about using and producing them?"

Optional

-Kimball, J. (1998). Thriving on Screen: Web-Authoring for L2 Instruction. ITESL-J, Feb. 1998. "As recently as a year or two ago many second-language teachers were in early stages of Web anxiety. We wondered how we could connect to the Web and, once there, what we could do with it. But as more of us start experimenting with the Web, the sorts of questions we pose are shifting to Web pragmatics, questions such as, How can we best profit from the Web as a supplementary resource? Or more simply, Where in the Web does one turn to get great ideas and materials for teaching? And more proactive, How can we utilize the Web's array of electronic toys as a platform for online instruction?" -Stevens, V. (2004). Establishing and Maintaining Web Presence: A guide for educators. TESL-EJ, Dec. 2004. "Web presence is in essence the gift to see ourselves as others see us, enhanced uniquely by the Internet. It might be more precisely defined as an ability to convey messages in text, sound, and image over the Internet through means of communicating asynchronously through fixed URLs." -Wiki Starting Points. (2005).

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Week 4

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Week 5

Suggested

-March, T. (1997). Working the Web for Education: Theory and Practice of Integrating the Web for Learning. Ozline.com "So, it's not the titles that are needed, it's the structure, the organization, the forest for the trees. " -Pérez, I. (2003). Creating Materials Online with Free Teacher Tools. TESOL Spain, Newsletter 2003. "This article focuses on this utility of the Internet. Some sites are presented where teachers can easily design activities and exercises online, such as quizzes, tests, puzzles or surveys, which require no advanced computer skills. Included are only those tools that are free for educational use for obvious reasons."

Optional

-Gonzalez, D., & Mühren, A. (2004). Real English Online (REO) Review. TESL-EJ, vol 8, 1. June 2004. -March, T. (1995-2001). What's on the Web? Sorting Strands of the World Wide Web for Educators. Ozline.com "...the Internet is an embarrassment of riches that is next to worthless without an educator (You!) to facilitate learning and integration in your classrooms".

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Week 6

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