Wikis and Google doc

The more I learn about technological tools the more I get surprised and more interested in the opportunities that nowadays teachers have. Wikis and Google docs are other interesting tools which can be very helpful and useful in an EFL classroom. They provide a free space where everyone can access and add things, edit them. The only thing you need to have is a computer and an internet connection. What I like the most about them is that the teacher can monitor the student’s work. There is a place where the teacher can see the revisions, so he/she can be sure whether everyone has added things or not. However, wiki has a drawback…. It doesn’t let multiple users to add things simultaneously, so it is better to assign wiki activities as a part of their homework not as an inclass activity. 

To my opinion Google doc  is more users friendly.  It’s easier to set up and it provides opportunity for multiple users to work on it at the same time. Here as well the teacher can see the students’ revisions  but they have to access with their Google accounts so that the teacher can see the names…

The only thing that is a drawback for Google docs is that in wikis the teacher can create a page, the way she/he likes and design It the way she/he likes, use it for many times, whereas Google doc is just a page, just a place for a certain activity….

These two tools can be very helpful in developing the student’s writing skills why not creative thinking and enhance group work among the students. Hopefully these tools will become part of my EFL classes in the nearest future. 

Podcasts...

Yes, technology is developing in a very fast speed. Besides blogs and RSS feeds I have learnt about not less interesting technological advancements-podcasts. To my opinion podcast is a great technological achievement which can be very helpful for educational purposes. Podcasts provide variety of talks about anything you are interested in. The students may listen to the podcasts outside the classroom. If years ago finding authentic materials was difficult, now the only thing you need to have is a device, even the cellphones now provide that opportunity. The students may listen to the podcasts on the go, in transportation at home when having rest, while doing exercises etc. I myself have subscribed to different podcasts which interest me and I have started listening to them systematically. This way I am aware of new developments or achievements of the sphere that I am interested in and also I am developing my listening skills more and more... So why not try this at a classroom as well? I believe the students will love it. Particularly they will love it if the teacher won't choose the podcasts for themselves, if they will have the opportunity of choosing whatever they like the most.
Another attractive thing about podcasts is that it appears that creating a podcast is not a great deal. If the teacher shows the necessary steps for the first time, the next time the students won't have problems creating their own podcasts.
The article that I read about using podcasts in classroom suggested different activities which the teachers may use in their classrooms. I really liked them. Unfortunately I wasn't able to try them out in my classroom, and I think I won't be able to do that in the nearest future, as the place were I am going to teach doesn't have access to the internet and computers.I truly believe, that this kind of technological tools should be used in teaching if there is the access to the internet and computers, as the teacher should show them how to do it for the first time and also I think it may be useful to use them in class as well..
Hopefuly in future I will have those opportunities and I will use these tools in my classes as well!:)

Technology, technology...

In my previews blog I wrote about the changes that  technological advancements have brought and today I am going to talk particularly about two things- weblogs and RSS.

Nowadays most of the people have their own blogs. In blogs people share their ideas thought, whatever they find interesting. It is kind of a journal. Blogs can be used for different purposes and for teaching and learning purpose as well. As we know, kids get more motivated when they create their own web pages and design it the way they like. So why don’t we ask them to create blogs for learning purpose? This will be both fun and useful for them.

 It is useful because blogging has many advantages. First of all blogs give us the potential to help our kids to become network creators.  Blogging is not only intensive writing but also intensive reading, as you have to read a lot of things so as to know what to write about. Another advantage of a blog is that students will be more motivated to write for a real audience. Also, when the students will write something for a bigger audience it is more likely that they will be more cautious not to make mistakes and write correctly. Also, blogs may foster communication between the kids which will make studying fun for them. I think this a great tool which teachers should use in their classes.

Another interesting finding for me was RSS (Real Simple Syndication). With the help of RSS you can connect to other’s blogs without clicking on their blogs separately. Like you connect to a blog and get the new things the time they are published. It’s kind of a mailbox where you receive the new staff that you are interested in. this is a very helpful tool for us, students and teachers as well. Whenever we want to write about something we can subscribe to a blog which is about it and get the new staff without searching for it… RSS feeds may be very useful in classrooms as well. If a teacher uses blogs in his/her lessons, instead of going to his/her student’s blogs one by one, he/she can subscribe to their blogs and get all the new posts in one place.

I believe these tools may be very useful and helpful in the process of teaching and learning. I’ll use blogging in my classes for sure, but as for now, I don’t think that I am ready to present it to my students. In order to present something to students who have to be very proficient in it, unfortunately I am not that proficient in blogging yet. There are many dark sides where I have to spread light. Hopefully my exploration of blogging will be successful and I will be able to use them in my classes in future properly. 

"The world is flat..."

Hello everybody! Welcome back to my blog…

Today I am going to write about something which interested me a lot. When you read the title of my post you may be surprised as much as I was surprised when heard that expression from my instructor. However after doing some listening I agree that "The world is flat". This idea belongs to Thomas Friedman who has written a book with the same title. 

In the speech that I listened to Thomas Friedman presented how the technological advancements have influenced our lifestyle and what major changes we have faced even without understanding that we were involved in that process…. He talked about three different areas of globalization. The first one he called globalization 1.0 which took place between 1492 and 1800. This is the beginning of global arbitrage when the world shrunk from size big to size medium.  The second area of globalization started from 1800s and lasted till 2000. This time the world changed from size medium to size small. This was not about the globalizing countries but about the companies and he called this period “globalization 2.0”.Finally,  starting from 2000 we entered the globalization 3.0. This time the world transformed from size small to a tiny. Globalization 3.0 is about the ability of individuals and small groups rather than the countries or the companies. This revolution resulted in flattening the world. Thomas Friedman talks about ten huge flatteners, which are; Berlin wall, the Netscape that gave us the internet, workflow,  outsourcing,  open source, in-sourcing,. off-shoring,. fiber-optic(uses light), supply-chain and in-forming (Google). These flatteners are about new ways of communication and collaboration. People all around the world got connected to each other regardless the place they live. Employees of one company can live in totally different parts of the globe. These changes had their impact on the way people now live in the world and they have also changed the perception about the world. Yes the world is flat now…

In order to catch up with these advancements you have to be very attentive. But the interesting part is that the new generation is catching up with these changes easily. The videos that I watched were the proof of my words. They were about 5 different kids who were very advanced in technology. The idea which I liked the most was that “all the kids have thinking skills and problem solving skills. And when you provide the kid with the tools it is very likely to be surprised by what he/she may be able to do with it in the nearest future”. The surprising fact about the kids was that they were teaching their teachers, that is to say technology has reversed their roles. The teachers were asking the students to stay after classes and help them. They were helping not only their teachers but also their parents, neighbors and everybody who needed some help in technology… yes, technology have changed the way we live...

 After listening to these stories I got a little bit disappointed. I started to think that I have missed something. These kids were younger than me but much more proficient in technology than I am. And I, as a person belonging to the 21^st century do not have right not to know all of these things. …. As a TEFL students and a future teacher I have to be very attentive to new developments so as to teach the students rather than to be taught.  This doesn’t mean that if my students would come to me and show something new and explain the way it works will be shameful for me, no, but I do believe that teachers should “update” themselves frequently, not stick to one technique of teaching. Teachers have to teach the students literacy so as they can interpret things correctly. Armenian teachers particularly should do their best to benefit from the opportunities that internet is providing. In many cities, villages not all of the people have access to computers, so the teachers should do their best to be able to use technology as much as it is possible. Explain and present new technological developments and use them during their classes.

So, my dear colleagues, be awake and prepared as we are living in a totally new world- in a flat world.