Intro: A Dinosaur In A New Technologies World

                        

Hi! My name is Sheila and I'm originally from California, though I've lived all over the world (or at least it feels that way!) I'm studying a Master's in Secondary Education at the Public University of Navarre (UPNA), in Pamplona, Spain. Fingers crossed, I'll soon be a high school English teacher!

This blog is a learning diary for one of the courses I'm taking at UPNA about new technologies for language teaching and learning. Here I'll explore what I've learned about working with new technologies and how to take the best advantage of what they have to offer for teaching English to EFL learners.

I half-jokingly titled this introduction A Dinosaur In A New Technologies World because I'm coming to English teaching at a later age than most (well, all!) of my classmates, and sometimes I really do feel like a fish out of water- an ancient soul from a by-gone era. The first time I studied at university hardly anyone even used a computer! And the library was where we got all of the info we needed for our research!

Times have changed, as they say, and obviously things have come a long way since then. I'm excited about learning new skills and different ways that technology can be used to enhance the teaching and learning experience.

In "America", we always refer to Europe as "The Old World," since so many of the first immigrants to arrive to the US came from European countries in order to seek a better life in the new world. Now I'm the new immigrant in this old world, colliding with all of the high speed technologies of a global culture. Thus, my blog's title: New Old World ESL. I'm hoping to combine the best of the new that technology has to offer, while still keeping my feet grounded in the old school wisdom of language teaching and learning. 

Let the fun begin!

CLASS 1: Internet Resources, Mind Maps & Digital Competence- January 12, 2016

                  

Today we had the first class about new technologies and I've already learned so much! We met our teacher Camino, who arrived explaining that we needed to get started right away because she had so much to teach us in such a short time. And classes are 4 hours! I can tell that this is going to be a very intense and useful subject that will give me a lot of tools that I can use as a teacher. I'm very excited!

We started off covering some basics about using DropBox, Google Drive and saving documents to "the cloud." I must admit that although I knew about these resources, I haven't personally used them, and so the work we did in class has been a very useful orientation for me. Storing documents in an online platform where you can always find them makes so much sense, not only because you avoid losing important work in case your computer crashes, but also because it is an easy way to keep everything organized and in one place. Very handy for busy teachers! The only drawback I can see is that if you are counting on accessing materials from DropBox or another online storage platform you may have a problem if you can't get the internet up in the classroom- as I've seen so many times in real-life situations. Better to always bring what you need for classroom presentation backed up on a pin-drive, so that if you can't get online in class you've got your materials at hand. As for Google Drive, I especially like that you can create shared documents and work collaboratively with others, making changes and seeing the changes others have made in real time, as well as having a record of various drafts. This is such a practical feature- especially for us graduate students who are creating presentations in pairs or groups. It's often not possible to meet in person to work, so this is something incredibly useful!

In the second part of class we read about digital competence and ICT competences, both for teachers and regular users. We then worked in small groups to create a mind map that explained different dimensions of digital competence, and how they are similar or different for teachers than for the general public. The different topics covered were:

Information, Communication, Content Creation, Safety, and Problem Solving.

I worked with Patri and Alba to make a mindmap using Lucid Chart about the topic of SAFETY, relating to digital competences. We included an analysis of the Lucid Chart tool and then each group presented their mind map and critique of the tool they'd used (Coggle, Mindomo, mindmup, lucidchart, mindmeister.)

My favorite part of the class was seeing the presentations of each group and learning about the advantages and disadvantages of different mind map tools. The mind maps were really impressive! Each tool seemed really distinct, and while I might not often use a tool like coggle, which makes a mind map that looks like a subway map, or tree-type diagram, for particular presentations it could be very appropriate.

Here is what my group created:

                                             Mind Map using LUCID CHART

Lucid chart advantages and disadvantages

From our point of view we consider this mindmap tool a very useful one due to the following reasons:

On the bright side this program presents different templates that people can use as a starting point of their own work; this templates are divided into different categories, which make the search of the ideal template much easier.

Moreover, Lucidchart is a cooperative program perfect for working in groups. People can work from their own computers at the same time, on the same piece of work, and you can see the changes that your mates are doing. It also provides a chat where people can talk at the same time they are working; which makes the work faster, in case any doubts occur.

However, it also has some disadvantages due to the fact that the space is limited, you just have one “page format” and in a way it marks out the area. Sometimes the tool is slow to react or awkward, making it slightly frustrating to work with.

Class 2: Blogs, Correcting In Word, Quizlet, Kahoot & Hot Potatoes- January 19, 2016

                        

                        

It's been a busy week in the new technologies class! Firstly, we had an assignment to create a blog using blogger or Word Press. After trying both options, I chose blogger, as I've been using it for many years for a photography blog I have and I'm very happy with the interface. To be perfectly honest, I couldn't access Word Press properly on my old Mac that has outdated programs. One of the challenges I've encountered in using "new" technologies with an "old" technologies computer is that many new sites won't even open when I try to enter them! In any case, I'm happy with my blogger blog, and I've spent a lot of time creating the design and writing my first entries.

We also had a reading, and the task of registering as users on all of the sites we'll be accessing in the coming weeks. I can see that this class will demand a lot of time and attention, but that it should be a worthy investment.

In class today we started with some features in WORD that are very useful tools for teachers. Camino, our teacher, showed us how to make corrections and add commentaries, so that you can directly give students feedback within the document. This was something that I hadn't used in WORD before and which I was very happy to learn about.

To practice using the commentary feature, Camino had us visit different resource websites for English and write an analysis, working from a common document in our class folder in Google Drive. It was a good way to apply what we learned directly, though I found that with so many varying and lengthy comments the commentary feaure could get a little out of control. I found it impractical to click on each comment, and was sort of missing a more traditional style comment sheet. So, I do think this feature is excellent for making comments on an individual student's writing, especially if the corrections or comments are brief, but for longer commentaries I prefer a separate document, or notes added at the bottom.

The next part of the class was super energetic and fun. Camino showed us Kahoot and had us do a competition, about the previous week's reading, on kahoot.it (which allows students or players to access the games created by the teacher). We all got very into it, and it was eye opening to see the possibilities for using this kind of game in class to review lessons. I definitely think this use of technologies has the potential to be very motivating for students.

Next we created study sets on Quizlet, a very useful site that is great for creating matching activities. I liked that you can use pictures from the site, or upload your own. I especially like the audio feature, and that you can create listening/spelling activities. It's a fun way of learning and reviewing new vocabulary and  I'll definitely use Quizlet to create materials for my students!

Finally we learned about creating different types of activities on Hot Potatoes. It seems like a really great tool- you can create crosswords, clozes, matches, and mixed sentences. Exercises can be saved and/or printed, which is a real plus. The only criticism I have is that the website seems old and is not as visually appealing as Quizlet. I would like to explore it more before deciding to use it or not.

Class 3: PowerPoint, Debut, Podcasts- January 26, 2016

                

Today's class was totally packed with information and moved super fast! We learned how to use so many interesting and useful tools, but I really wish we could slow down and have more time to spend with each one! 

To start with, we learned how to download videos and save them as MP4s that could be edited and how to insert them into Power Point. I didn't know that this was something so easy to do, and I'll definitely be using this feature when I want to show a short clip of a video that I've pre-selected from a longer piece.

Another program that we were shown is Debut, which allows you to record everything that happens on your screen. This could be a very good tool to use in order to create tutorials that students could view from home in order to do an assignment. 

We worked with DotSub, a subtitling tool, that would be a good way for students to demonstrate their listening skills. One nice feature of this program is that we were able to simultaneously work on one video as a group, each taking a 30 second chunk to subtitle. This would be a very good activity to do with a class that has access to a computer room, so that everyone can work at the same time and a short video could be subtitled in one session, and shown so that students could get immediate feedback on their work.

Camino showed us how to customize some things on our blogs, that I've already applied, such as setting a date by hand that allows you to control the posting order. We also learned about creating links and labels.

The main lesson in class today that I felt most interested in was about creating podcasts. I'm really excited about the possibility of working with audio recordings as a way for students to practice their pronunciation and self expression in English, and podcasts are a really fun and accessible way to create and share audio. We worked with podomatic which seems like a simple program, and have an assignment to create a podcast for our class portfolio.

Finally, Camino showed us Quandary, a program for creating web-based action mazes, and we looked at an example- the Malta Experience- that demonstrated how you can create an interactive experience that will change depending on the choices you make (for example, to go to the beach, or to go shopping.) I liked the activity, but must admit that as a teacher it seems like it could be really time-consuming to create mazes using this program. Again, it moved so fast, so I will need to revisit it one day to see if I would use it or not. In any case, it could be a great tool for students to create something like a guided tour of a city that they need to research. 

Class 4: Lyrics Training, Interactive White Boards, Animoto, Story Jumper, Pow Toon & Moovly- February 2, 2016

                

If last week's class was jam packed, today's was even more so! Class started with a lesson about Lyrics Training, a program which helps students improve their listening skills by filling in gap words while listening to a song and watching a video.  It has 4 different levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced and expert. I tried the intermediate level with a song, and even had a challenge with a few of the words, so I can imagine how hard it can be for students! This is a program that I will certainly use with secondary school students, as kids like and connect with music so much, and it's a great way of getting them interested in improving their English! There are more than 30 different genres to choose from- everything from folk to hip-hop to country or punk. I had a lot of fun with it and want to try more songs!

Camino gave us an introduction to interactive white boards, giving us some good advice, asking "What is the advantage of using the technology?" She added that anytime you introduce a new technology it's more work, so it needs to have an advantage, and that the advantage of white boards is movement, and that we should take advantage of this feature. She also showed us how we could use Debut to record everything done on the whiteboard, which could be useful for reviewing lessons or evaluating students' work. 

At UPNA the program used for creating white board lessons is E-beam, and we learned how to use that tool so that we can create a lesson in groups for the next class. We had time to practice with the white board and I must say that it's super fun to use and seems to offer a lot of possibilities for creating dynamic activities.

Next we quickly moved through several programs- Animoto, Story Jumper, Pow Toon, and Moovly- for creating animated videos and story books. I find these programs to be super appealing, but also think that they are incredibly time-consuming! I imagine myself spending 20 hours just to create an animated video! And although that's probably not necessary, I'm almost certain that I would invest way too much time and effort, especially with Moovly and Pow Toon. On the other hand, I think students would be super enthusiastic to use these programs, and I can see their application in the classroom as introducing something fun and creative that encourages students' self-expression.

Class 5: Interactive Whiteboards, Excel For Grading, Edmodo, Encuesta Facíl, Survey Monkey-February 8, 2016

Another intense class, but I can see that things are winding down. We started out today's session with showing our white board activities, and it was really great to see what everyone had done and how they'd taken advantage of the best points of this tool. One group created a CLIL type lesson about weather and they had an activity in which students had to create weather maps and then do a news-style weather report. I can really see how fun this technology can be to use in class. Another group cut up different fashion or celebrity images so that students had to unscramble them and put them in the right order. It was designed to review adjectives and clothing vocabulary. The third group created a crossword puzzle and word search, which was fun to use in this format. And finally, my group made an activity about a recipe that started with a listening taken from BBC English. Students then had to choose the photos of the ingredients and utensils used in the recipe, and finally they filled in missing words to complete the recipe. I thought all of the activities were clever and effective uses of white board technology, but the main question that arose was how to engage the whole class at the same time. What do the students who don't have the white board pen do while only one or 2 are at the board? All in all, I think I'd love to work with a white board in a classroom setting, keeping in mind which activities can benefit from it's movement feature. 

Next we worked with Excel to create a grading sheet. Oh Excel, you make me dizzy! Camino assured us that it's really easy once you understand, but I have yet to experience an epiphany when it comes to using this tool.

We also learned about different digital classroom and learning platforms and ways of creating online quizzes and surveys (Edmodo, encuesta facil, and survey monkey). These tools seem really incredible, once you get the hang of it, and I'm sure teachers and students will be using them more, flip-classroom style, in the future. 

My favorite activity from today was seeing my classmates' whiteboard activities. I definitely learn by example. Really inspiring!

Class 6: Symbaloo, Edmodo, Portfolio, Hurray!- February 9, 2016

Well, the last class has finally arrived and we will be on our way to becoming working teachers soon! 

Today we learned about a tool that I think is one of the most useful ones for teachers- Symbaloo- an individualized digital platform for saving and organizing bookmarked links. It sound simple, and it really is, but I feel so happy to know that I can organize all of my bookmarks and links in one easy-to-access place! I really enjoyed setting up my Symbaloo account, and I already feel like my life has changed for the better. Yayyyy Symbaloo!

Camino also showed us some things about Edmodo that will be useful. We learned how to set the language and how to set up groups or classes so that we could communicate and give assignments via the platform. I really like that there are digital learning environments like Edmodo that are password protected spaces so that you can present materials without worrying about violating students' privacy.

We also looked at and worked with webnode, a platform for creating web pages that seems quite handy  and easy to use.

Finally, Camino explained the portfolio that we have to turn in at the beginning of April. So this isn't exactly the end after all!

Final Reflection

Teaching is an art that is changing quickly, demanding that those who enter the profession are prepared to relate to a new generation of learners whose learning styles are evolving with the times. As English teachers, not only must we be experts in the language, we also need to be savvy at finding the best ways to motivate, inspire and engage our students. This means that, in addition to teaching sentence structure and the greatest points of English grammar, we know how to help students learn by using the best tools that new technologies have to offer.

When I look back at all of the things that I've learned in this course and what I've been able to accomplish in such a short amount of time, I'm honestly quite blown away! As I've already mentioned, I sometimes feel like a fish out of water when I encounter a new technology that I've never used before. I know that my learning curve is greater than someone's who has been born into the digital age and grown up using technology as part of their day to day life. It simply takes me more time to get the hang of new tools and use them with proficiency.

Before taking this course I had a working knowledge of Word, PowerPoint, blogging, podcasting, and photo and video editing. I hadn't used whiteboards, digital learning platforms, correction tools in Word, mind map tools, digital surveys or quiz creating sites like hot potatoes, quizlet, and kahoot. And I was, quite frankly, anti-Excel! Needless to say, this course has really opened my eyes to the possibilities that digital teaching tools have to help and enhance the teaching/learning experience. Many of my fears about new technologies have softened or dissolved, and I know that when I start my teaching career I will be well prepared to meet the demands of the modern EFL classroom.