Tools For Collaborative Work For Language Learning -- Using BookCreator!

In last week, we have known about VoiceThread, where we could engage students in collaborative work for language learning. This week, I will introduce another application for you. 😀😀 Its name is BookCreator, you can visit the website through the link: bookcreator.com. It is a place where supports jointly constructed knowledge and understanding through interaction and "scaffolding practice" (Cullen & Kullman, 2013).

Users of Book Creator can generate their own digital books by typing, drawing, or uploading video, audio files, and images. On the one hand, as teachers, we can provide students with the books we design; On the other hand, Book Creator allows multiple students to collaborate to create a book in real time, which is conducive to students' cooperative learning.

Since Book Creator is so powerful, let's take a look at how to use it! 👀

Usage Guide

Step 1: Go to bookcreator.com and click sign in.

Step 2: Sign in as a teacher or a student.

Step 3: Create your own library and click “+New book” on the upper left.

Step 4: In your new book, use the “+” sign on the upper right to import or generate any content.

Step 5: Use the “i” sign on the upper right to adjust settings of the page.

Step 6: Use the play button to get the preview page to share, download, or use “Read to me” button to listen to your book.

Due to the complexity of the steps, here is a video that specifically shows you how to use this software.

Software evaluation and recommendations

Advantages 😀😀

(1) Substitution. Digital books have replaced traditional textbooks, which are green and environmentally friendly, with richer forms and larger content capacity. For example, when students are learning pronunciations of English words, watching a video or listening to a standard recording is more helpful than reading a line of text.

(2) Easy to modify. When users create their own book, they can modify the content repeatedly, which is more flexible and convenient.

(3) Students can create a book with their personal characteristics. Traditional unified textbooks are difficult to design teaching content based on the characteristics of each student, while Book Creator is more unique and targeted. For example, while students are learning English, they can create a book where records the key points they are not familiar with, avoiding reading already familiar content.

(4) Students and teachers are free to exchange ideas and brainstorm through Book Creator.

Disadvantages 😔😔

(1) Information security. Due to improper actions, the edited content may not be successfully saved. In addition, public information platforms increase the risk of information leakage.

(2) Lack of regulation. The speech is not regulated, and some dangerous negative remarks may have an impact on users.

(3) Visual impairment.

In summary, I highly recommend you to use Book Creator in the classroom, as it can effectively help students participate in textbook production and promote interaction between teachers and students. However, when guiding students to use Book Creator, we need to provide them with technical guidance and appropriate information supervision. 

See you next week!

Reference

Cullen, R., Wild, C., & Kullman, J. (2013). Online collaborative learning on an ESL teacher education programme. ELT Journal, 67(4), 425-434. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/cct032

Tools For Collaborative Work For Language Learning -- Using VoiceThread!

Cullen and Kullman (2013) pointed out in their work that knowledge and understanding were jointly constructed through interaction and "scaffolding practice". The rapid development of the network and the opening of software provide more opportunities for us to engage students in cooperative learning. In this blog, I will introduce a simple but powerful learning website, VoiceThread, which you guys can use in teaching, especially in remote online teaching. 😀😀

Software Function Overview

The name VoiceThread indicates that this is an application that allows users to participate in discussions and become the main body through voice. VoiceThread combines Flash production tools with audio recording, allowing users to add voice comments through the microphone, to add video comments through the camera, to add text comments through keyboard. Similar to Google Docs, where multiple users can edit the document at the same time, users of VoiceThread can effectively annotate videos at the same time. Moreover, their annotation has a more diverse formate.

Software Usage Guide

Add recordings to a video in VoiceThread

Step 1: Go to https://voicethread.com/ and register an account.

Step 2: Upload a video.

Step 3: Add your comment (voice, video, text, images, etc.).

Software evaluation and recommendations

Benefits 😄

(1) From the brief steps above, it can be seen that VoiceThread is easy to operate and suitable for people of all ages.

(2) Students no longer passively accept knowledge during learning, but actively participate in collaborative discussions.

(3) Participants do not need to be online at the same time and can access the video at any time, making time arrangements more flexible. Moreover, students can deeply reflect on the classroom content and are no longer limited by class time.

(4) Students can replay their comments on VoiceThread to learn what they have been thinking in the past.

(5) Students have the opportunity to freely exchange ideas with their classmates on VoiceThread. They no longer feel anxious, and teachers can learn more about students' thoughts.

(6) For beginners of a second language, VoiceThread is more practical. Unlike keyboard text input, the functions of voice input and video comments allow beginners to record their comments without the need to accurately spell words. In addition, the voice input function reduces the time and improves learning efficiency.

Shortcoming 😔

(1) The voice input function cannot ensure the accuracy of information. The highlight of VoiceThread is the diverse form of discussion. However, speech input is influenced by factors such as the speaker's physical condition and environment. For example, if the speaker's voice becomes hoarse or the background is too noisy, the recording cannot be understood.

(2) The video function increases the risk of information leakage.

(3) Lack of regulation. The age of VoiceThread users is not restricted, and their speech is not regulated. Some dangerous negative remarks may have an impact on teenagers.

Suggestions

In short, VoiceThread has more advantages than disadvantages and it is a website that is very suitable for teachers to use to develop their teaching skills and engage students in collaborative work. However, when guiding students to use VoiceThread, we need to exercise effective supervision.

Finally, if you want to learn more about VoiceThread, you can see the video from YouTube below. See you next week! 😄😄

Reference

Cullen, R., Wild, C., & Kullman, J. (2013). Online collaborative learning on an ESL teacher education programme. ELT Journal, 67(4), 425-434. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/cct032

Guide Students to Learn Autonomously -- Using Tubequizard!

The traditional language learning classroom is often teacher-centered. In order to make students achieve good results in the exam, teachers mechanically outputs knowledge points to students. The questions they set have standard answers, which in fact reduces students' imagination and interest in language learning.

The 'Empty Vessel' Theory of Learning

However, modern teaching usually advocates student-centered. As the saying goes, it is better to teach people to fish than to give them fish. In addition to giving students more interactive time in class, we should also guide and encourage students to make efficient use of their free time after class. It is worth noting that in modern times, the development of the Internet and artificial intelligence has also provided students with richer resources and more flexible methods for autonomous learning. According to Pikhart’s (2020) survey, the younger generation uses the Internet more often and for longer than any other generation. Therefore, as teachers, we can use the Internet to strengthen students' interest in language learning and increase their language practice.

 

Today, I want to introduce a language learning platform: Tubequizard. Users can create interactive listening quizzes based on subtitled YouTube videos to understand real life promotion of high frequency language. Obviously, the purpose of this website is to boost users' listening skills, improve their understanding of top frequency expressions and grammar, and learning some special vocabularies.

I recommend Tubequizard to you as it has wide range of topics, including business, entertainment and language learning. Meanwhile, users can adjust the speed of audio playback at will. This function is necessary for repeated practice. Interestingly, students can upload any YouTube video they are interested in. It is really attractive!😜😜 Most importantly, this website is free! 😊😊 Therefore, we can recommend it to our students and ask them to make efficient use of their spare time.😏😏

 

Of course, as a conscientious blogger, I would like to declare that I did not charge their advertising fees! 👀 We need to note that tubequizard also has its own shortcomings. Firstly, the website does not need to register an account, which leads to the disappearance of students' practice records. Meanwhile, students need to upload the same video over and over again. Therefore, as teachers, we need to guide students to summarize their mistakes, so as to facilitate review. Secondly, this website can only learn English, and can't help in learning other languages. 😖

 

Finally, if you want to know more about tubequizard, you can watch the following video!

Reference

• Pikhart, M. (2020). Intelligent information processing for language education: The use of artificial intelligence in language learning apps. Procedia Computer Science, 176, 1412-1419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2020.09.151

 

Kahoot! -- A Fun Game-based Online Tool for Teaching

How to motivate students to participate in class activities is always a difficult problem for many teachers. Johns (2015) found that students who were motivated to learn performed better, and teachers played an important role in motivating them. Kahoot! makes it possible to quickly evaluate the learning outcome. The Pronunciation of “Kahoot” is close to “cahoot”, which is derived from an American slang word means cooperation (Wang & Tahir, 2020). Based on the on-site interactive question answering, Kahoot! allows an unlimited number of students to participate in real time, and obtains effective formative evaluation through interesting questions and quick voting.

Now, let's learn how to use Kahoot!:

Step 1: Register a free account. Choose to create a Kahoot! from scratch, or copy a ready-made account.

Step 2: Describe your Kahoot!.
Step 3: Add questions with at least two answers and set at least one answer as correct.
Step 4: Review, play and share.

For more detailed guidance, please check the official step-by-step guide of Kahoot!.

Through the use of Kahoot!, teachers create a supportive environment in the classroom, with flexible topic setting and appropriate difficulty of questions. Kahoot! makes the originally dull answers interesting, and truly achieve "teaching in fun". Furthermore, Kahoot! has created friendly competition among students and consolidated the knowledge of each participant. You can't feel that you are learning, but it is really going on! 😝

However, although students only use Kahoot! for few minutes in class, the activity needs teachers to spend a lot of time on finding videos, setting questions and answers before class. Moreover, students need to have an electronic device (such as a mobile phone) while using Kahoot!. We need to supervise students not to open other software! 😖
 
Finally, if you want to know more about Kahoot!, you can watch the video below.

Reference

Johns, K. (2015). Engaging and assessing students with technology: A review of kahoot. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 81(4), 89.

Wang, A. I., & Tahir, R. (2020). The effect of using kahoot! for learning – A literature review. Computers and Education, 149, 103818. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.103818
 
 

The Vitality of Blog: The Role of Blog in ICT in TESOL

With the rise of new media, such as instagram and YouTube, blog, which seems boring and traditional, was considered to play a smaller and smaller role in the field of education and teaching. However, is this really the case?

We can find the answer in David Petrie's blog "All pedagogical art is bad art, but all good art is pedagogical". The audience may not get a lot of information and teaching skills from this blog. However, David proposed a new direction of thinking by comparing the pictures in the textbook with the real scenes in real life: Can we move away from the stock photo unreality of bland anodyne culture and towards something that is more engaging and ultimately more real?

Obviously, the target audience of his blog is not only ordinary teachers (teachers only need to maximize the use of text and images in the textbook), but also the textbook writers and higher level leaders in the education system. The author tries to lead the work direction of educators through his blogs, so as to improve the educational environment.

While expressing ideas, David's blog uses a good and clear structure design. Firstly, he gave a concrete case with authenticity. Secondly, while analyzing the case, he expressed his view that the pictures in the current textbooks are divorced from reality and are very hypocritical. Finally, he ended his blog with a question sentence, which triggered readers' deep thinking. He used few but precise pictures (see the following picture), and also provided key video links to give readers a rich reading experience.

David's blog is very attractive and readers won't feel bored during reading. Compared with emerging social media, such as instagram, blogs pay more attention to the quality of content. Instagram focuses on fragment reading in a short time, while the existence of blogs makes room for the audience to think deeply. Similarly, compared with video applications such as YouTube, blogs' content is more abundant. Text, pictures and videos can be quoted in. Aadditionally, the blogger can effectively manage information and resources in his blogs, avoiding the unsystematic and chaotic information output. With the old media, such as newspapers, blogs give readers and bloggers the possibility to exchange information and ideas.

If you want to learn more about how to be a good blogger, you can see the following video from YouTube!

Finally, I will also share my views on teaching in the form of blog here. 😄😎 Welcome to my blog! I hope it can help all teachers! 💗💗