Archive for December, 2008
An Ideal E-Notebook
‘Spent the day contemplating Clarke’s e-note-taking advice. Isn’t it amazing? They’ve got it all online but for proper note-taking tools. I mean Moodle doesn’t have such a module or activity as a notebook. Nor does Blackboard Vista. Well, they do have blogs and notes sections, but they’re so-o badly designed that I do not want […]
In: Course Design, Instructional Design, language learning e-tivities, Learner Skills, Observations, Teacher Skills, Using Blogs in EFL, Using Wikis in EFL · Tagged with: affordances, categorizing, Clarke, e-learning skills, note-taking, sorting, tagging
E-Learning & Note-Taking
Alan Clarke (E-Learning Skills, 2004, p. 26) made my day today when I read this E-learning does not provide an event at which you are required to take notes. All the content is presented in a form you could save as a file or print out. It would seem that you can capture everything. However, […]
In: Learner Skills, Learning Styles, Using Blogs in EFL · Tagged with: e-learning skills, note-taking
Storytelling for Dummies
Fun lovers are sure to appreciate this exemplary story
In: Digital Storytelling, Learning Language Teaching · Tagged with: writing skills
Learning Tools & Technologies: Implementation Issues
Whenever I come across a book on web-based learning tools and technologies that seems remotely relevant to my current objectives, it talks about tools and technologies that are either as old as the hills and ever so often do not exist any more, or have been replaced by or evolved to to be something completely […]
In: E-Learning Design & Management, Observations · Tagged with: implementation
Techniques to Increase Memory & Stimulate Deep Cognitive Processes
According to MacLachlan (1986) сited by E. L. Criswell (1989, pp 36-39) the following instructional techniques can help the teacher teach and the student learn: Explaining the benefits of the lesson to the student before or at the beginning of the lesson. Memory is increased when the student is paying attention. That’s logical though sometimes […]
In: Instructional Design, Learning Language Teaching, Statistics, Teacher Skills · Tagged with: Criswell, MacLachLan
Teaching EFL to Very Young Learners, Part 2
While we were in the middle of exploring Cookie and Friends, I gradually introduced two more CD-ROMs, also by OUP. They are Tilly’s Word Fun 1 & Tilly’s Word Fun 2. Product Description Tilly’s Word Fun 1 – Topics Animals Face Family Food School Toys Tilly’s Word Fun 2 – Topics At home Body […]
In: Instructional Design, interactive CD-ROMs, language learning e-tivities, TEYL · Tagged with: Tilly's Word Fun, Very Young Learners
Teaching EFL to Very Young Learners, Part 1
I started teaching my child English when she was 3y8m old. The software that we used was very positively accepted, and the child was required to provide her responses using the computer mouse and clicking. The CD-ROM Cookie & Friends by Vanessa Reilly, OUP, was amongst the very first. Product Description Provides a colouring activity […]
In: Instructional Design, interactive CD-ROMs, language learning e-tivities, TEYL · Tagged with: Cookie & Friends, Vanessa Reilly, Very Young Learners
Structure of Human Development: Implications for Instructional Design
Piaget (1964) cited by E. L. Criswell (1989, pp. 35-36) developed the theory that children grow intellectually in stages: From years 0 to 2, children explore their tiny environments, and through physical exploration, learn that objects exist and do not change from day to day. This is the sensorimotor stage. This is a period of […]
In: Educational Technology, EFL/ESL CD-ROMs, Instructional Design, interactive CD-ROMs, language learning e-tivities, Learning Language Teaching, Learning Styles · Tagged with: Chapman, coloring activities, Criswell, Dollaghan, Kenworthy, Miller, Piaget, Very Young Learners, Wilkinson
Digital Storytelling
A digital story is a personal experience represented in narrative format. The script is amplified by including video, music, still-frame imagery, and the author’s voice. A digital story typically lasts for two to three minutes. Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools p. 43 It must take ages to create such a story, but the idea […]
In: Collaborative Learning, Digital Storytelling, Educational Technology, groupwork, Instructional Design, language learning e-tivities, Learning Language Teaching, Web 2.0 Buzz Words, Web 2.0 Tools · Tagged with: Solomon & Schrum, writing skills
How Many Limited English Proficient (LEP) Learners are There?
According to the US department of Education, there were ca. 5,400,000 ESL students in the USA alone in 2006 and the number is increasing. ESL or LEP students are US fastest-growing population and are expected to make up one out of every four students by 2025.
In: ESL Facts & Figures, ESL statistics, Statistics