The wiki so far

The wiki (EFL and Web 2.0) is now finished. Click here.

An Introduction

The aim of this site is to provide EFL or ESL students with enough technical knowledge to use the internet independently to study. It covers a range of skills from basic file management to producing podcasts. It is aimed at those with limited or minimal computer skills and so often deals with very basic issues which may put off more advanced users. However, in classes with mixed levels of competence in computing the more knowledgeable can quite happily used by the teacher as a learning resource.

In terms of linguistic competence, I would argue that the course is pitched at upper intermediate students and above. (Common European Framework B2 to C2 levels). However, with enough linguistic support, it could be used with students at lower levels.

The course could also be used to introduce L2 teachers to the use of technology in their lessons.The lessons are designed to be as "hands-on" as possible. In every lesson the learner has to produce something tangible at the end of the time, be it a blog entry, short podcast, a Wiki etc. In addition group and pair work is absolutely vital if the skills taught are to be mastered.

At every turn I have made every effort to make the exercises collaborative, taking as much responsibility for learning out of the hands of the teacher and putting it into those of the learners.


REQUIREMENTS

1 Access to a PC with DVD or CD Writer using Windows XP OS

2 Broadband internet access (though a dial up connection is ok for most lessons).

3 One of the following;

A mp3 player with voice recorder
A digital camera
A mobile phone with mp3 capability and a camera (ideally, with the ability to connect to a PC)

Table of Contents

1 File management - learning to move stuff around your computer.
2 Internet 101 - A quick look at what the internet can do
3 An introduction to blogging
4 Using and creating Wikis
5 Using digital cameras in the classroom (1) - using still photography
6 Using digital cameras in the classroom (2) - using video
7 Using and creating podcasts
8 Ideas for using Skype.

1 File management

One of the most important things that any computer user has to know is how to move data on and off a computer and to know where it is on the hard disk. If students cannot perform these basic tasks then much of what follows in this course will be incomprehensible.The teacher should therefore cover the following areas;

1 Explain what a hard disk is, what it does and how you find it using MyComputer. Then show students how to;

2 Create and name their own folder.

3 Move information from an exterior source and into their folder. This could be done by giving each student a CD or DVD with mp3s and asking them to choose the songs and or albums they like and then put them in their own folder.

4 Find their folder gain when starting up Windows.

5 Move the data to external medium such as an mp3 player or mobile phone.

6 Students then swap computers and find music on another person's computer that they like and using an mp3 player or mobile phone transfer it back to their computer.

7 Show students how to move the data from the hard disk to an external medium by ask them to burn a CD with their favourite songs.

Homework:

Students put the mp3s on their own PC. If you are doing this lesson with language students then ask them to review an album or write down their personal reaction to the music.

It is very important to remind students that mp3s are just the same as any other kind of data, be it Word documents, photos, music etc. That they can all be moved around in the same way.

If time permits show students how to how to use DVD Shrink (there is a very good page which explains it here).1 hand out a DVD movie and blank DVD to each student. Then using the site mentioned, go through the procedure for copying a movie. Also show students/teachers how to remove subtitles.

Homework:

Students create their own DVD copy with only English subtitles.

2 AN INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET

Or internet skills for scaredy cats

In this lesson the main idea is to show people how to;

1 find a page by putting in its web address
2 find something on the internet using a search engine such as Google or Yahoo.
3 refresh a page
4 stop a page loading
5 go back and forwards between pages and bookmark a page
6 open up new tabs
7 get their own email address using MSN Hotmail
8 send an email
9 open an email
10 reply to an email
11 send an email with an attachment
12 get their IM (MSN Messenger) address
13 how to chat
14 how to download files from the internet and put them in their own folders.
15 the basics of internet safety.

Before doing this lesson the teacher should have taken the class's photo and have loaded it onto each of the student's PCs.In the beginning make sure that all the students are aware of how you can connect their PC to the internet i.e. which icon to click on and what to do next if they are using a dial – up.

For steps 1 to 6: This could be done as a whole class but I think it would be more efficiently carried out by students themselves in small groups each one headed by a more computer literate student. The teacher should only intervene if the students feel that they can't understand something.

Just gently remind those who know about this stuff that they should be sensitive to the fact that not everyone shares their love or knowledge of computers.

For step 7: The teacher should be ready to guide the class as a whole step by step through the MSN Hotmail sign - up, as this can be very confusing to a newcomer, however, keep the groups created beforehand to act as a backup in case some students don't understand.

Be warned this stage will take time as finding an acceptable email address which hasn't been already claimed may be more than one attempt. Also there will inevitably be lost pages, mis-starts etc.

It is also a good idea for the teacher to keep a record of the students' email addresses, user names and passwords, as there is a good chance that students will forget or lose these details. If students do not feel comfortable knowing that someone else has such information then explains to them this email address is only for the course and that they can set up their own personal email address whose details will be known only to them at the end of the lesson.

For steps 8 to 10: First get students to swap their email addresses with someone else in the class. Show them where to put the email address they are writing to, subject, the main body of the message, and how to send it. The students are then shown how to open an email and rely to it.Students then repeat this procedure two more times with two new addresses.

For step 11: It would be a good idea if you have previously taken the class's photo and loaded it onto the student's PCs. Then show students how to attach, send and read such an email. Get them to send a reply with an attachment taken from their own PC.Just make it clear that they realise that files should be quite small in size.

If necessary show them how to find out the size of a file.

For steps 12 to 13: Go through the procedure using MSN Messenger as a class and ask students to chat with two other people, preferably on the other side of the classroom to give a sense of added realism.

For step 14: Go to CNN podcasts page and show them how to download the latest podcast using the right click and “save to” procedure. Just make sure they know how to choose My Folder. Students then download another file on their own.

For step 15: students should be made aware of the dangers of ;

opening attachments from people they don't know.
downloading .exe files.
not using up to date anti-virus programmes.
giving out personal information such as phone numbers, addresses, credit card numbers etc on the net.

Homework. Send and reply to an email from someone in the class. Use IM to chat with another member of the class.NB I would recommend using Mozilla Firefox rather than Internet Explorer for safety reasons.

3 An introduction to blogging

Ideally, the introduction to the idea of blogging should happen in the lesson before students are asked to create their own. The first step is to explain what a blog is. The usual way is to say that blog is the combination of the words “web” and “log”, which, however, will mean little or nothing to most. Better way is to call a blog your own free-of-charge internet site. The “free-of-charge” part should get their attention.

Also remind students that to set up and run a blog requires no more technical knowledge than sending an email.

In the lesson before introduce the http://www.technorati.com/ site. Explain to students that this is a place where they can find what people are saying in their blogs about various subjects. Ask them to choose something they are interested in e.g. teaching English, the World Cup, their favourite singer etc, put it in the search engine and find some blog entries. Encourage students to flip from one site to another.

Also ask them to find and make a note of a blog they like.(It would also be a good idea for the teacher to set up a class blog in advance. It can be used to post assignments and lesson plans for each part of the course. It could also be a forum in which students discuss any problems they have with the homework).

Alternatively, you could surf Technorati in the first ten minutes of your lesson.

Lesson plan

1 Students show the blog they've found and explain why they enjoyed it.

2 Take a photo of the class using a digital camera. Explain to students that one of the things they can put on a blog is a photo.

3 Students then take photos of each other. Explain that they will be needed later.This would a good time to put students into small groups with a more computer literate person in each one.

4 Take the students through how to set up a blog. I use Blogger (more because I'm used to it, rather than any innate superiority). This will be a time consuming procedure and be sure to not rush people through this. As with anything technical, allow the more computers - minded to help make sure everyone understands.

It is also a good idea to keep a note of students' blogs user name, password and blog title. It has been my experience that many students lose these pieces of information or fail to note them done in the first place.

5 Fill in the Profile Section on Blogger. Make sure the everyone, especially younger students, understand that this is a public forum and no personal information, such a surnames, phone numbers and details that could identify where you live, work or study should not be included. If working with children or teens, double check that students have not included anything too revealing.

6 Show students how to;

Post entries,
Add photos from the hard disk (using the photo that was taken earlier).
Add photos from the net.
Put in hyperlinks.

7 Student write a short biography where they have to add a link to the class blog, add a photo and a picture of the city in which they live.

8 For homework students should repeat their biography in the class blog and post another entry in their own blog on any subject they like. Just make sure that the post has a photo and a link. Also ask students to comment on at least one other person's blog entry.

In the weeks that follows students should try to post at least one entry with photos and links. The teacher could recommend a subject for the students to blog about or students could just choose stuff on their own.

9 Show students how to use RSS programmes.

10 If time permits, show students how to link their blog to other peoples' blogs and other sites. Make sure that everyone links to everyone else's blog in the class. Also show students how to add a visitor counter such as Clustrmaps or Geovisitors. I feel that if students get outside interest in their blogs the incentive to work on them increases enormously.

This is just the first step in a process which should last at least as long as the course and hopefully, much longer. The basic idea with blogging as with all the areas covered in the course is that you give people tools they can use to learn for themselves. It's the process, not the end result that counts.

USING WIKIS IN THE CLASSROOM (1)

Wiki or Wikipedia to use the full name is an encyclopaedia written by anyone who has an interest in a subject and access to the internet. Literally, anyone can write or amend entries. As well as being a great starting point for students doing research it can also be a valuable way for students to reach out to a wider audience.

Recently, there has been a lot of debate over whether the site is a valid source of information, the idea being that since anyone can add to it, who is going to control the quality of the content ? What is stopping people from deliberately adding untrue facts ? Indeed there have been cases where this has taken place but generally speaking, the quality of the entries compare favourably with the Encyclopaedia Britanica.

On a more fundamental note, the use of Wiki and the possibility that they may be wrong is an extremely powerful way to introduce the idea that no source of information should be accepted unthinkingly, as automatically correct. A very powerful idea and potentially troubling one for students who are brought up in educational systems where the teacher and the course book are seen as the source of all knowledge and are to be accepted without question.

LESSON PLAN

1 Choose a subject that students are likely to be well acquainted with. A good source of such ideas are local or national celebrations. Ask students to find out what they can about the chosen topic on Wiki

This might be a good opportunity for you to revise basic internet search techniques.

2 Ask students to comment on the quality of the information provided and make any suggestions on what could be done to improve the entry. This could be anything from amending a spelling to adding new paragraphs or photos.

3 Show students how to;

register with Wiki,
the rules of use,
how to modify an entry.

HOMEWORK

1 Choose an article which needs updating and edit it.

2 Post an entry on your blog and the class blog which links to the Wiki page and explain what you changed and why.

3 Read somebody else's blog and comment on their changes.

4 RSS the page and see if your changes have been edited.

USING WIKIS IN THE CLASSROOM (2)

In this part of the course the students are going to add their own Wiki entry to the encyclopaedia. this would best be done in large groups or as a whole class as it is a challenging exercise.

LESSON PLAN

1 Students decide upon the theme of their Wiki entry. I would suggest they focus on something local and connected with their immediate surroundings, for example their neighbourhood, school or class.

2 In groups either find or create their own content for the entry. In the case of a local entry most of this will have to be generated by the students themselves. (no bad thing, of course).

Ideally, the students should then go out and get photos to illustrate their article.

3 Each group then adds their entry to Wiki. This is best done in class time in order for the teacher to give as much technical assistance as possible.

HOMEWORK

1 Post a link to your group's wiki page on your blog and the class blog and explain in brief what it's about.

2 RSS the group's article and see what changes have been made.

3 Choose one other group's article and make one change that will improve it.


6 Using digital cameras in the classroom (1)

With the fall in prices in the price of digital cameras has become more and more affordable. The cheapest ones now cost less than 100 euros. In addition memory cards, which allow more photos or video to be stored has dropped equally dramatically. This coupled with the ever growing popularity of camera equipped mobile phones means that there are few reasons not to use them in class.

When you remind students to bring their camera or phone to the following lesson, also ask them to bring any connecting cables they may have. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a USB cable on hand as well as a card reader.

Lesson Plan

1 Everyone takes a class photo and some photo of the others in the class.

2 remind students how to get the photo off the camera/mobile phone and into their folder on the computer.

3 Teach students how to;

Rename their images.
Resize images (so that they know how to shrink image file sizes so they can be used more easily on the net).
How to upload them onto their blog
How to send them as an attachment in an email.

4 Explain to students what Flickr is and then ask them to look at the site. Give them five minutes to find an image they like and get them to post it on their blog, download to their folder on the computer and email it to another student.

5 Explain to them ho they can set up their own flickr account. It is also a good idea to keep a note of students' Flickr user name and password. It has been my experience that many students lose these pieces of information or fail to note them done in the first place.

6 Get students to upload the pictures they have taken in the class, get them to add a label, tag and description. Also make sure the students to set up groups so the can easily see each other's pictures.

Homework:

Post some photos on Flickr along with tags and descriptions.

Post a Flickr photo on your blog.

7 If you are working with teachers here is the time to brainstorm possible ways in which digital photography could be used in the classroom,especially ways in which it could be used in conjunction with the course book.

Below is an example idea for beginning and intermediate students.A book that I have used over the years with beginners and post beginners is the Longman Photo Dictionary by Marilyn Rosenthal and Daniel Freeman (out of print). Basically each page is devoted to different aspects of everyday life with photographs to illustrate things such furniture, fruits etc (see photo below). However, this book was published in 1987 and so is somewhat out of date.

The idea is that students use their phones/camera to create their own, updated version. This could be a great way for students to practice basic vocabulary. This could also perhaps form the basis of a Wiki page or be used to create a drum for use by all the students in class.

LESSON PLAN

1 Divide the students into pairs. Give each pair a photocopy of one of the pages from the book. Deal with any vocabulary items they may notunderstand.

2 The students do the exercise on the page.

3 Now explain to the students that they have to produce their own page, using pictures they have taken themselves to illustrate the various vocabulary items.For example, one page is entitles Actions at Home and shows people;

shaving
cooking
combing their hair etc.

4 The students then use the picture(s) to create a page that does the same job as the original photocopy.

5 Students then use the internet to find photos of more exotic pages such as Winter Sports.

6 The various pages are all collected into one file which could be part of a Wiki page or left of the hard disk of a class computer.

Alternatively, each student could take a copy home with them on their mobile phone memory card, mp3 player or CDR. Homework: Post a lesson plan on your blog.

7 Using digital cameras in the classroom (2)

In addition to still images most digital cameras also have the ability to record video. The length of such video depend up the quality of the image and the size of the memory card that the phone or camera has installed. My digital camera has a 256 mob SD memory card which can store about 25 minutes of video. It most also be remembered that the quality of the video is not particularly good, however, despite these limitations there are plenty of extremely interesting uses for these video in the classroom.

Remind students that when they bring their digital cameras and/or mobile phones they should also bring any connecting cables that came with the device. Also it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a USB cable and a card reader.

Lesson plan

1 Get your students to take a couple of short videos of their classmates and remind them how to move the file off thecamera and into their file on their PC.

2 Show students how to move this file into Windows Movie Maker, then teach them how to;

Add titles
Cut from scene to scene
Add music
Add commentary
Edit down scenes.

3 Students then use the short video they recorded earlier to produce a short one - two minute film with titles and music.

Then why not try one of the lesson plans below with the class. If teaching beginner, intermediate students then does the Video your Course Book exercise.

4 If you are doing this with teachers then brainstorm other ways in which video could be used to help students learn.

Homework.

Students do the Record a Journey exercise at home and bring in the video using your camera or phone as flash memory.

Teachers could try out one of the ideas they brainstormed with their classes and write a blog entry on what they did and how well it worked.

Video your course book

All the software used either comes as standard with Windows or can be downloaded free of charge from the internet.This is another idea I have shamelessly stolen from Video by Richard Cooper, Mike Lavery and Mario Rinvolucri. Basically, it involves using a video camera to practice various grammar points in your course books. In this case the present continuous rule.

Lesson Plan

1 Present the rule in whatever way you usually do it.
2 Ask one student to work the digital camera or use his mobile phone. The others line up in a row, standing, and the person at the one end mimes an action, e.g. brushing their teeth.

The next person asks them:

"What are you doing?"

The second student replies, "Lying";

"I'm eating an apple"

The second student immediately starts miming eating an apple.

The third student asks:

"What are you doing?"

The fourth student answers;

"I'm chopping onions."And so on and so forth.

3 The whole class views the computer screen.

4 Darken or turn round the screen so they the students can only hear. The students take dictation of each new present continuous tense.

5 Now use the course book to present the tense.

Recording a journey

What you do is that you ask students to record a bus journey (it could also be done by passengers in a car or pillion passengers on the back of a bike - or Vespa, in my case). The students could record a travelogue as they went, explaining where in the city they are, what they think about the places passed etc. Or more realistically, add it later using Windows Movie Maker.

The aim is to give a 10-20 minutes guide to the city which could be posted on a blog or burnt onto CD and shared with the other students.If the idea of holding a video/digital camera for such a long time doesn't appeal then students could take still photos and again use Windows Movie Maker to create a slide show and then add commentary, titles and even music.

A standard digital camera with a cheap 256mb SD card can record 20-25 minutes of video.

8 An introduction to podcasting

Once again there is not much point going into technical details when introducing podcasts to beginners, you'll just confuse them or put them off with a bunch of meaningless gobbledygook. So the best way is to say that a podcast is a radio programme you can save onto your computer and which you can listen to at your leisure. Also that they can put it on their mp3 players or mobile phones and so listen to it anywhere they like.

Remind your students that the content of a podcast can literally be about anything and just as the subject matter varies enormously so does the quality of the content. Basically, the only differences between a regular radio programmes and a podcast are that podcast are transmitted via the internet and that anyone with a pc, internet connection and a microphone can create one.

Lesson plan

1 The best way to introduce students to the idea is to give them a list of podcast directories e.g. Podcast Alley, itunes etc. to look at.

2 Show them how to download a podcast onto their pc.

3 Students then chose a podcast that they like and download it on to their pc. Remind them to make a note of its internet address.

4 Then show them how to transfer it to their mp3 player/mobile phone.

Homework:

1 Listen to the podcast and write a short two paragraph review e.g. one paragraph on what they liked about it and one about what they didn't like.

2 Post this review along with a suitable image and the podcast link on their blog.

3 (Optional) Choose another podcast mentioned on somebody else's blog and download that.

In the next lesson students do one of the exercises mentioned below and collect the raw material for their own short podcast. I don't think it is realistic to ask students to do 30 or 40 minute podcasts on their first attempt instead this should be done collaboratively with each student or pair of students contributing two to three minute segments

Using podcasts in the classroom (1)

I came across the Guardian podcast travel page (see here) and downloaded their podcast on Athens. I thought that it would be a good for my private students to listen to it. They could compare their experience of Athens (the older ones usually go there at least once during their high school years) with that of the presenter.

Actually, I as loaded it from my ibook onto her mobile phone, which can play mp3s it suddenly occurred to me that this same phone could be used to create a similar podcast (with photos) about Thessaloniki.I know that I’ve mentioned this idea before in previous posts but I could now see how such a project could be done with equipment that many of my students carry with them, a mobile phone and then be transferred effortlessly to a PC where it could be turned into a podcast using readily available programmes which can either be download free from the internet or come with Windows as standard.

LESSON PLAN

1 Ask students about their impressions of Athens. What did they like or not like and what they would recommend people see and do.This is probably best done by asking students to spend a couple of minutes jotting down ideas and then putting them in groups or pairs and comparing them.

2 If you do this in a private lesson then give the Guardian podcast for homework and ask the student to write down how it compares with their experience of Athens.If you’re doing this as a class, play a short three to five minute extract from the start and ask them to compare it with their own experiences.

Students then discuss answers and hear it a second time.

3 Ask students what places would they recommend a foreign visitor to go to here in Thessaloniki.

What is the place?
Why is it interesting?

Here you may encounter some difficulties as students may have never visited the tourist traps or have seen them so often that they are hard pressed to describe something they consider self-evident. You may need to work with them on how to “distance “themselves from their home town in order to see it afresh.

4 For homework ask students to visit one of the places described and write down a few notes in English and Greek (if necessary) on the questions mentioned previously. Also ask them to make a note of any difficult vocabulary items that might be useful when describing these places.

5 In the next lesson students discuss their ideas and ask for help with vocabulary etc.

6 Explain to students that they are going to use their mobile phones to record a short, five-minute podcast. Remind them that they can do this on their own or in pairs as a kind of interview.

7 Students then write down a brief outline (and make sure it is brief as we want a sense of spontaneity, rather than the droning lecture).

8 Check the outline and make suggestions, if necessary.

9 Students record their podcast for homework and if possible, take photos (again, using their phone).

10 In the next lesson transfer (hopefully, the phones should all have USB cable connections - check to see if you need any other kind of cable).

11 One idea is to use Audacity and Lame to join and edit the different podcasts. Alternatively, Window Movie Maker (which comes with Windows XP) could be used to add photos and titles to the podcast.

12 The final product could be put on a webpage or blog, burnt onto a cd or stored on the students PC for use in their European Language Portfolio.

Using podcasts in the classroom (2)

LESSON PLAN

I Ask students ask about their favourite bar or cafe.

What makes it special?
Would it appeal to a foreign visitor?

2 Ask students what they know about Krakow, Poland. If you think that they'll not be able to answer then set this for homework.

3 Play one short extract from the first few minutes of the podcasts.

4 Students write down everything they can from it. They then share their information with each other.

5 Play the extract again. Students then discuss the differences between their favourite cafe and the one mentioned in the extract.

6 Divide students into two groups and explain to them that they are going to do something similar. One group thinks up questions and the other think about how to describe their bar/cafe.

7 Put the students in pairs and let one interview the other. If possible record the interview. It could become a great podcast idea.

USING SKYPE

Skype is a programme which can be downloaded free of charge from the net and it transforms your pc with broadband connection into a phone capable of making calls either free of charge or at a very cheap rate (as I speak, it is 1,7 cents per minute).

As with all of these lesson it does wonders to emphasise the fact that it's free and that it can save them a fortune if they make long distant phone calls. That, at least, should get their attention.

As with an ordinary phone the possibilities for communication are endless so whatever I talk about here will be the tip of the iceberg.

The most interesting ideas I have come across include;

Skypecasting

This is basically, the ability to join in a phone call with one or more speakers from any Skype enabled pc on the planet. As well as being able to take part in other people's discussions you can set up your own. Once again there are no limits on subject matter, duration or number of people allowed to join.

However, be warned as the larger the group the harder it is to communicate coherently. In addition the technology is still quite new and the quality of the connections varies considerably.

The beauty of Skype is that the majority of people using English on Skype use it as a foreign language which means that your students are on a level playing field in which no one is automatically "right" or "wrong". This is a powerful incentive to students to practice who feel intimidated by the speed and complexity of native speaker's language.

Tandem learning

Etwinning

Phone a stranger