Learning in the 21st Century

Connie Yowell’s talk was very enlightening and interesting for me. She talked about the role of technology or digital media in the 21^st century learning. Reports conducted by different researchers say that those learners who are digitally literate have strong results than those who don’t. It is important to know that kids become digitally literate outside the school without any guidance from school administration, therefore, school stays behind and sometimes ‘out of date’.

Connie Yowell also talks about 3 conceptual shifts:

Ø Shift from education to learning. The first one refers to what institutions do and the second one refers to something that the youth and adults do.

Ø Shift from consumption to participation. Today learners are more doers than consumers. Thomas Freidman also talked about the need to move learners from consumers to makers, doers.

Ø Shift from institutions to networks.

The speaker also focused our attention on the necessity of conducting more and more qualitative or descriptive research on how kids use digital media in order to identify new categories and theories for a quantitative research. Besides, she pointed out the fact that it is not about technologies, it is more about social practices that technologies can afford. In order to satisfy 21^st century learners it is critical to move away from all traditional skills and to try to link the virtual reality with the real one and to support the whole learning environment both online and offline.

As a future EFL educator I think that is it necessary for me to explore the technologies that students are interested in and try to include them in face-to –face language learning. It is crucial to figure out the context in which the kids learn and try to operate in the best practices of the learners. Also, we should involve parents in the whole learning process and raise their awareness in the need of digital media in EFL learning.

To wrap up, nowadays learning has become more dynamic, more flexible and more learner-centered. Learning can’t be limited only in an offline context but includes other sectors situated in an online environment, like Google. The teachers should be open to innovations and try to recognize the new literacy practices whenever or wherever it occurs. The digital media is a powerful tool that if used correctly in an EFL classroom can be a real “springboard” in the successful language learning. Also, I would recommend using those technologies that are the most effective and can be applicable in for research agenda. They are digital storytelling, podcasts, blogs, Google apps, social bookmarks and wikis.

Google Apps for Education

                                               

Google has become very powerful nowadays. It is not surprising that it offers applications for Education. It offers schools or universities solutions for their e-mail, calendar or chat through Google Apps for Education. Here are some advantages of it:

•         It is free

•         It is easily accessible (no need for downloading and installing software)

•         It is secure

•         It motivates collaborative work

•         Its stores a lot of information

I am familiar with Google docs, Google, Map, Blogger, Google Earth and Google Book Search. I think all this apps are very useful and can be easily used in education. The one that all of us have tried and are still using for various projects is Google docs. It is easily accessible and stores the information that all participants add.

Now let’s move to the apps that I am not familiar with. Google Notebook is one of them. It is an online notebook which is designed for online collaboration. It consolidated in one place and one can access from anywhere. Besides, one can share it with others. It is a helpful tool for gathering the information you need in one place instead of saving it on separate word documents. Here is the link on how to add Google notebook.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2fuwVhwEG0&feature=player_embedded#!

The next app is Google SketchUp. It is a user-friendly program that allows students or learners to create, modify and share 3D models. After finishing the sketch one can make a movie or print it out. It is a creative and interesting app that I think students would be eager to use. Here is the link of tutorial

The last app is Google Groups. This app helps students to become motivated outside the classroom. It is an open forum that enables students, teachers and parents to communicate with each other and discuss some issues related to teaching and learning. It is some kind of distance education forum that helps people to benefit from each other’s feedback and answers.

Overall, Google apps for Education as any other Web 2.0 tool makes the learning process more engaging and effective. Also, it promotes collaborative learning, enhances students experience and supports them.

Cloud Computing

                            

I have a feeling that the more technological tools we learn the more we still need to know. It was very interesting for me to learn about cloud computing. As far as I could understand from readings and videos cloud computing involves sending hosted services over the Internet. The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the Internet in flowcharts and diagrams. Therefore, these services are divided into 3 categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service.

Cloud computing has many advantages. Here are some of them:

ü  It costs less

ü  It is flexible in a way that each user can have as many of its services as he/she wishes

ü  It is easily accessible- one just needs a personal computer and internet

ü  It is more reliable, more secure and more scalable

Hence, the examples of cloud computing are:

ü  E-mail services

ü  Yahoo

ü  Picnic

ü  WordPress

Taking into account the fact that we are future educators we should try to apply this tool in our teaching. One of the possible ways is to provide information accessible anytime and anywhere or to reduce the need of saving files on a CD or DVD as now blogs or e-mails are the places where these files can be stored or to be used as a personal work space both for teachers and students. I think we could use cloud computing in Armenian EFL classrooms. All we need are competent people that are willing to help, cooperation and a lot of effort and belief in the successful implementation of this tool. 

Web Analytics in EFL Learning

                               

Web analytics is a tool for measuring the traffic of the web site. Fortunately, it can also be used in EFL learning. It is a “mentor” that helps the teacher to improve his/her teaching. So, web analytics helps us to:

·         Follow students’ learning

·         Identify students’ needs

·         Identify students’ weaknesses and solve them

·         Help design blended course

·         Recognize the most popular activities

           

 It is worth mentioning about metrics that allows teachers to find out their learners’ needs and improve outcomes for them. There are four of them: engagement, satisfaction, behavioral and outcome.

I myself would like to try web analytics when I teach with any kind of technology. It gives a clear picture of students’ learning progress and makes them active learners rather than learners who simply complete the given assignments. Web analytics is a learner-centered tool that “monitors” students’ online presence and individual learning preferences. It makes e-learning more effective and engaging for all kinds of learners.

VLE vs. PLE

                                                                                        

Virtual learning environment is a virtual classroom where teachers and students communicate with each other. Materials, homework assignments, grades and discussions are carried out via Web. One of the examples of VLE is Moodle.  It’s already two years we study via Moodle and it is very interesting and useful experience. It is a place where one joins the community of learners and participates in the learning process. As compared to VLE personal learning environment (PLE) is more focused on individual tools and individual preferences. However, if in VLE the teacher can leave individual comments in PLE it is almost impossible to keep privacy.

I myself prefer VLE as it is a popular method of e-learning, which refers to learning through electronic means. While a VLE cannot fully replace the traditional classroom, it can be a useful way of teaching students who live far from the school or the university. Moreover, the experience that we had when we tried to add different activities in Sandbox showed that VLE is a very user-friendly tool and easily accessible. Therefore, VLE is the basic components of distance learning and can be integrated with traditional face-to dace learning.

Distance Learning

The articles that I have read and the video that I have watched spoke about the role and the main benefits of distance learning. So, what is distance learning? Distance learning is a field of education that delivers teaching to students who are far from the teacher and are making use of various technologies, like Internet, DVDs, and CDs to fulfill their learning.

Nowadays distance education is being used across the world. From high school students to those who are involved in high education, corporate trainings and lifelong learning. It is well-known that Internet connects people all over the world. Today Internet supports education in the form of virtual classes. The virtual teachers mentioned that they established more personal relations to their students, identified their main strengths and weaknesses more quickly and got to know them better than in traditional classes. Besides, online courses are there to help those students who are busy and can take those courses anywhere and anytime if there is internet access. Moreover, virtual classes offer students the opportunity to take courses that are not available in their schools and to fit their own schedules.

Thus, educators point out that virtual classes are not for everyone and one has to be highly self-motivated to take some courses and learn on his/her own. The main disadvantage is the lack of   social interaction between t-s and s-s.  

Distance language learning courses have been developed over the past years. First of all it is crucial for learners to develop the ability to engage with aspects of the learning context without direct mediation from the teacher. Distance language learners must develop the habit of controlling their own learning and constantly writing tests to check their progress.

Finally, distance learning has totally changed our perceptions of how teaching and learning should be. Its main goal is to improve the course via technology and improve the quality of education. Moreover, distance learning provides learners with new opportunities and new perspectives. The learners become more self-directed and autonomous as compared to face-to face-learning as they face the role of a teacher and participate in learning experiences that match their individual learning needs.

Open Educational Resources

The discussion on Open Educational Resources that we had with our guest speaker was very informative and meaningful. Before the discussions we had to read an article and learn about OERs from different sources. As far as I could understand the mission of OERs is to provide all kind of learners with digital materials for teaching, learning, research, etc. Here are some examples of OER: quizzes, tests, syllabi, lectures, textbooks, different activities, variety of games, etc.

OER is widely used across the world. The main advantages are the following:

ü  It focuses on learner involvement

ü  It creates space for individual learning

ü  The students are to choose from various resources on their own

ü  It supports lifelong learning

ü  It saves time and effort

ü  It is flexible in selecting from a wide range of materials for teaching and learning

ü  It promotes critical thinking and problem solving

However, learners should be very careful in choosing materials and try not to violate copyright laws. Naturally, face-to face interaction equals to zero.

There is some OER development in Armenia. Our speaker mentioned that there were no major changes in that direction as many OERs faced challenges, like mentality, lack of quality and financial support, etc. Thus, I do hope that the success stories that she told us and the overall movement that was going on in that direction would bring the desired results.

Mobile-assisted Learning

Mobile technology has become one of the most frequently used communication device. According to Liz Kolb, the 21^st century generation learners are free-agent learners as they learn anywhere, anytime and at any pace. Therefore, many researchers and educators talk about the use of cell phones as social tools that support authentic and relevant communication and cooperation among learners.

One of the advantages of this technology is that all learners have them as they are cheap and very powerful in giving and receiving information. The articles that I have read and Liz Kolb who is an expert in mobile assisted learning emphasize the use of mobile phones in EFL classrooms and introduce different ways of applying these devices for EFL learning/teaching purposes. I found many advantages in using cell phones in learning. Here are some of them:

ü  Enhances students engagement

ü  Takes the learning from inside the classroom to outside

ü  Gives access to online textbooks, dictionaries, podcasts

ü  Enables students to go beyond the classroom material

ü  Students can interview people

ü  Take videos in class and outside of it

ü  Download interesting things related to the topic

ü  Listen to EFL activities, songs

ü  Share their findings with their peers

Moreover, mobile phones help students to become self-learners, be creative and avoid all types of restrictions that traditional learning sometimes puts in front of them. However, there is a thread that the cell phones may serve as ‘cheating and distracting tools’ if frequently used in the classroom. To avoid that the teachers need to be trained on how to use this technology so that the students can benefit from it and to demonstrate the real purpose of using them in and outside the classroom.

I am an optimist and I think that mobile-assisted learning can be implemented in Armenian classrooms as almost everyone has a phone and if given clear instructions the learners can use them in their learning. To be honest I have used my cell phone as a tool that allows students to listen to different songs or other listening activities. I have not tried anything else, but I think that it will work pretty well. 

Virtual Worlds

Virtual games are very popular nowadays. These games allow people to create new things, to express their opinions and become heroes of their dreams. I am sure that virtual games like second life can have a positive impact on language learning. In the language learning context virtual games help students to communicate with each other in the target language, develop critical thinking, increase motivation and become self-directed learners.

Second life is one of the most popular virtual world games that children enjoy playing. To be honest I have tried to play this game and noticed that it is a very interesting and motivating game. Though I am not a “gamer” but I think the good thing about this game is that it gives you freedom to create your own game and to be creative as much as your imagination allows you. Each player chooses his/her own avatar and interacts with objects in the virtual world by moving mouse. The player can do whatever he/she wants and can explore the environments, socialize with other avatars, travel throughout the world.  

Thus, the articles also mentioned the positive impact of virtual games on learning. According to one of the articles that I have read virtual worlds give chance for visualization, simulation and shared learning experiences. Besides, the learners are excited to do things they practically can’t do in real life and be whoever they want to be. Here the teacher is more facilitator that controller. The students are active learners and use the knowledge gained in the class right away. Therefore, educational institutions need to take virtual worlds seriously as they are the future of education.

Video Games

It was very interesting for me to learn about the benefits and real purpose of video games. All videos and articles that I have read say that video/computer games give more freedom to students to use the new materials in real life and not just learn for knowing or for getting high grades.  Video games allow students to produce their own games. Therefore, they become the designers of technology and they can make it better and better every time they create a new game.

For me one of the main advantages is the fact that the students can make mistakes and they are not demotivated by low grades or teacher’s negative feedback. On the contrary they try even harder to improve the game and to solve the problem in that particular game. Besides, these games are available for everyone. The students or kids just need guidance and they can become from novices into expert designers of video games.

The main goal of the new media is to teach things in new ways and that can apply to all areas from math to language teaching. One of the speakers mentioned that video games are there for solving problems and for getting assessed.  They give the language one needs just in time. In this context words are powerful tools.  

Moreover, video games stimulate both writing and reading. There are many fan fiction sites where one can write a story and get feedback right away. Also, students are put in the world where they have to solve problems together.

The good thing about video games is that the students try on the role of a doctor or a scientist and they feel the position of a hero. Once they care or are passionate about certain things, they do things better and are motivated by failure.

Hence, the parents and teachers should realize that there is other kind of literacy and that the new media is the future of our children.

Video Production in EFL classes

 We live in a century of “technology boom”. As future TEFL professionals we can make use of all technological tools in our teaching. We can make our language classes the most interesting and effective places for students. One of them is video production. It involves both fun and pedagogic instructions in authentic materials that reflect real life interaction. The good thing about it is that it stimulates students to develop their problem-solving, critical thinking skills. By implementing videotaped materials, teachers can create a wide range of language teaching activities. Here are some of them:

·         Interview: Students can interview each other in English on videotape

·         Role-play: Students prepare a dialogue or a conversation

·         Documentary: Students make a short movie about places of interest or their free time

I think video production can be a powerful tool in language teaching if the teachers are aware of its benefits and are trained enough to use this tool in their classrooms. They should be aware of the fact that students become more self-directed and creative learners.

                         

Podcasting: successful educational tool

     

The word podcast derived from 2 words: iPod and broadcasting. As far as I could figure out from readings podcast is a type of Web 2.0 tool that includes video and audio files one can subscribe to. The “evolution” of podcasts started from 2004 and is dramatically increasing.

The readings proved that podcasts are a successful tool in education. The US colleges and universities have started to use podcasts for educational purposes. However, there are certain guidelines that need to be followed. Firstly, podcasts should be short and concise as the long ones will bore the listeners, secondly, they should be relevant to the course content and finally, they should not limit imagination or creativity.

I think one of the advantages of podcasts in learning environment was that it allowed students to have access to course materials 24 hours a day and they could download them easily and listen whenever they wanted. Even if students missed the classes they could listen to podcasts and catch up with the rest of the class. One major thread here was that the students would miss the classes but the opposite happened as students became more enthusiastic and interested in attending the classes so that they could take part in discussions and share their own experiences. Overall, learning via podcasting made students more enthusiastic, creative and ready to learn something new. Students could communicate with the course materials and offer their own interpretations on the topics discussed.

Thus, one of the articles talked about the main features of podcasting. One of them was learner choice and flexibility that podcasts offer. For instance, students could listen to a particular podcast several times whenever it was convenient for them. Another feature was to get the tacit knowledge of peers through various discussions. Tacit knowledge was the knowledge that one possessed through his experience or actions. Finally, the third feature was the sense of informality or friendly atmosphere that podcasts brought to academic learning.

A couple of years ago a research was carried out on the benefits of podcasting in undergraduate degree. The results showed that students were mainly positive about learning via podcasting and they improved their learning skills by engaging with listening materials and actively participating in exchange of ideas.

Moreover, podcasts focus on improving oral and aural skills of students both in classroom and outside the learning environment. Podcasting is some kind of “extension” of distance education as it could be implemented out of campus and students could listen to professors’ lectures and respond to these lectures by creating their own podcasts.

To sum up, podcasting has moved academic learning into the next level. It includes the following steps:

·         easy to access- can be easily downloaded and put in one’s iPod or mp3 player

·         access to course content and students can revise the materials before the exam

·         free of charge

·         interactive

·         includes a synthesis of different kinds of sources

·         stimulates creativity for real audience

·         connects informality to formal learning

·         students can be engaged in authentic activities

Weblogs in Schools and Blogs in Language learning

The term blog was introduced to public in 1997. Nowadays blogs are very popular and are used for various purposes. There are different types of blogs: personal, educational, etc. However, this post focuses on the role of blogs in education, mainly in language learning.

According to Will Richardson blogging is a specific genre of writing where one can link his/her ideas. He also talks about blogs as tools that help children become network creators and network learners. Likewise, blogs develop creativity as they are a place where each person can be reflective, problem-solving and do critical thinking. Blogs are very interactive as they allow us to communicate with others, share ideas and learn new things. Will Richardson recommends us to start from reading different sources. He brings various examples where children have used blogs and their writing as well as reading skills improved. Moreover, children are more enthusiastic about blogging as they create content not only for teachers but for real audience. Blogs foster collaboration as children start working together as blogging is a communication and networking.

Thus, blogs as tools can be used safely when clear instructions and clear goals are set on how to use blogs at school environment. I agree with him that one way to develop blog writing at schools is to start negotiating with parents and then with administrators as they are the key to a change in classrooms.

Speaking of role of blogging in language learning it is worth mentioning that blogs are easily integrated into language learning environment. If they are used properly they can serve as tools for successful learning. Blog writing gives the learners opportunities to develop their language learning strategies.

I would like to introduce blogging to my EFL classes as they are very strong tools of language learning. Firstly, parents should be informed about benefits of blogging and their worldwide use at schools abroad. Secondly, there should be access to technology at classrooms where I teach (unfortunately, EEC does not provide access to technology. Often times it is not so easy to conduct listening). In terms of assignments the starting point would be to make students write small essays and read other blogs.

What does it mean that the world is flat according to Thomas Friedman? What are some of those flatteners? What kinds of implications does this idea have for teaching and learning?

According to Thomas Friedman world is flat because technologies, habits and people converge. Besides, people work together and can collaborate.  He also mentions that the flattening of world has already happened in Russia, India and China. He says that there are three globalizations: globalization 1.0, that is, globalization through countries, globalization 2.0, that is, globalization through companies and globalization 3.0, that is, globalization through individuals.

Thomas Friedman talks about 10 flatteners and all these flatteners work together and that is why world is flat:

• the fall of Berlin wall which opened many windows
• Netscape went public-it gave internet to the world- people easily connect to other people
• Work flow (software)- people connect through applications
• Outsourcing
• Off shoring
• Open sourcing
• Supply chaining
• UPS
• Informing-collaborating with data
• Steroids-wi-fi

He also mentions things that converge. For instance, we should horizontalize ourselves, that is, change our habits in order to collaborate differently with others and to successfully interact with each other. His ideas can refer to teaching and learning in a way that teaching is also collaboration: with materials, students, other teachers, parents and the whole system under the term “teaching”.

Sugatra Mitra’s talk was rather interesting as he talked about primary education in remote areas. His findings showed that the remoter area was the worse the results were. His experiment proved that primary education could happen on its own. Besides, if they had access to the Internet, they could learn anything. It was pretty interesting that children were rather self-organized and worked well in groups. The most surprising fact was that they did not need a single teacher or instructor. They needed only a good computer and access to the Internet.

Digital youth portraits: What struck you most in these stories? What do these stories teach you? What do they mean for you as a TEFL professional in Armenia?

I am absolutely fascinated by all six stories I have heard. I know that the 21^stcentury is the century of technologies and that it is developing pretty fast but I did not know that it is ‘running’. I am struck by the fact that these children use technology so wisely and they can be a big change in this world. The story of Cameron struck me most because he was 11 but he was a computer genius for me. He was creating so many fascinating things, like i-movies, rewinding and many other things that I had never heard before. He was so creative and so talented for his age.  The story of Dylan was also impressive as he created a website that told people to be aware of violence against animals.

These stories teach me that technologies can help children to be more creative, problem-solving and actually do things that will help our planet to become a better place. Before I thought that children used technologies to play all kinds of computer games and spend their time in front of technologies. These stories prove that children can develop creativity with their help. Parents simply need to allow them to merge into the world of technologies.

As a TEFL professional in Armenia I realize that technology is a tool that opens a variety opportunities for EFL/ESL learners. One can learn a language online with the help of variety of resources, materials, forums, conferences. Besides, nowadays the language can be taught interactively and with great pleasure as compared to times when we did not have a computer or a cell phone. A year ago TUMO center was opened in Armenia; Yerevan. It is a place equipped with up-to –date digital technology and staffed by educators and media professionals where children aged 12-18 can attend classes on how to use technologies with purpose for free.

I also realize that in order to be a professional in TEFL I need to be “digitally” informed and prepared to satisfy the needs of 21^st century learners.