Blogging

Communication in action

This communication tool can be put to good effect in the ELT classroom.  Blogging fosters interaction and, a well-structured blogging task can build confidence in reluctant writers.  

Many students find writing the hardest skill of all, and some avoid doing writing tasks when they are set for homework.  Many writing tasks appear meaningless and outdated in today's digital world.  How many young people will need to write a formal letter of complaint?  Nearly all communication is done online nowadays and students need to be working in appropriate platforms in order to value their learning.  

Blogs (or web logs)  are very easy to set up.  Blogger is a Google application, accessed through Chrome, which simply requires a gmail account. Students can blog individually or as a group and chose who they share their blog with.  Sharing is an important factor, as fundamental to blogging is the role of audience.  This gives writing tasks a real purpose - not just to practise language and engage with ideas, but to use writing as a genuine means of communication - sharing ideas, discoveries and opinions with others and receiving comments in return. Receiving comments can encourage and motivate bloggers to write more, in that they feel their thoughts and opinions are valued and acknowledged.  

Blogging can promote:

motivation      language awareness     self-expression      self-evaluation    learner autonomy

However, tasks need to be thought through and carefully managed, with learning outcomes clearly defined.  The teacher needs to guide and support, ensuring that peer-feedback and interaction takes place.  Teacher feedback will enhance self-esteem and promote motivation and lead to students evaluating their work, bringing higher-order thinking skills into play. 

I would use the following YouTube video to explain to my students what a blog is and why and how they are used. 

 

Blogging has the power to change your life!

In the movie Julie and Julia, we see someone's life turned around through the medium of blogging.   I'm not claiming that blogging will change my students' lives, but signposting them to the film could be a fun and engaging way to show the power and potential of this tool - with the added benefit of being immersed in the target language for entertainment purposes.  A lovely, heart-warming film - I recommend it.

Screen-capture

Tools to take learning beyond the classroom

http://screencast-o-matic.com/

With this tool you can present whatever is on your screen and talk your audience through it (screen-capture).  Producing a video of your screen and sharing it is very easy to do. There are several free versions available:  Screencastomatic, which I will look at in more detail in this post, and Jing, which works in a similar way.  Snagit is another excellent tool, but is not free.




Screencasting can be used to:

• flip the classroom

Language presentation can be received at home, allowing students the opportunity to follow it at their own pace, reviewing as often as necessary.  Class time can then be devoted to group work and one-to-one advice.  

• provide visual and verbal feedback

Teachers can talk through corrections on students' work, pointing out highlighted areas,  expanding on short written comments and making suggestions for improvement.  It's the next best thing to giving face-to-face feedback, which is not practicable in a classroom of up to 20 students.  

• recap

Salient points from a lesson can be highlighted, providing students with the opportunity to review at their leisure.  Pronunciation can be modelled, brainstorming ideas shared, together with vocabulary lists and grammar input. 

  

Here's an example of a screencast being used to recap points from a lesson.  This could be embedded into whatever learning platform you use with your class, enabling students to review language points whenever they wish. 

This tool can help students take ownership of their learning.  It helps with engagement, encouraging students to act and work outside the classroom.  Learners know that the teacher has put in a great deal of effort to provide such detailed feedback and recap opportunities.  They feel valued and the outcome should be that they value their learning.
Russell Stannard's article (2012) provides more details on how screen-capture can be an asset to  English language teachers and students.
Russell Stannard, The Guardian.com