ESL and Technology

Comment

Comment by Tim Musgrave on June 2, 2010 at 7:53am

Hi ESL/EFL teachers... I really need your help with a research project I'm doing on EFL coursebooks.
So far I've only had 6 questionnaires completed... I need so many more. It will only take 5 minutes of your day.
Visit:

Comment by Barry Bakin on May 18, 2010 at 11:17am

I have been incorporating the use of technology into ESL instruction and training others on doing so for the last several years. I have made regular postings to my blog Tech4ESL describing my efforts and the efforts of others to do the same. My students practice writing using wikis and standard office productivity software like Word and PowerPoint. They make use of websites intended for ESL instruction and language practice like www.makebeliefscomix.com and www.spellingcity.com. They take quizzes I've created at profprofs.com. They practice speaking in class by giving oral presentations accompanied by PowerPoint slide shows, by narrating their own PowerPoint presentations, and by responding to videos used as speaking prompts. Given access to the right equipment, the interested teacher can integrate technology into ESL instruction on a daily basis!

Comment by Denise Stewart on March 21, 2010 at 8:50am

Hi Gary,

I posted the same problem to this tech community early on and received some awesome responses. I posted all the results below (I copied it from my blog). My kids love the typing activities and they are teenagers!



'I posed Tired of seeing your students peck away at a keyboard?
Seeing my students this year "type" almost made me cry (a bit of exaggeration here):) At the end of my wits in trying to stem the tide of two-finger typing, I turned to www.classroom20.com to ask my colleagues for kid-friendly typing sites and received many great suggestions which I am including below:


www.typingweb.com -- This involved registration so only 2 wanted that one (those two have computers and internet at home).

http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/cjh/appliedtech/Business/Keyboarding/ -- This one was the most traditional and that was effective with those with high literacy skills.

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html -- This was the most popular and though geared to kids, my teenage ELLs loved the site. The moving spelling targets hit a chord with them.

http://learn2type.com -- Only my TA went here. This makes sense since he is off to college next year and needs to improve his typing skills.

Let me also add here that I am beginning to send more assignments via the email addresses I gave them last week. It makes lab time SO MUCH MORE productive:)

Now, I will be looking for more activities to deliver not only English, but typing skills. I realize that the kids feel as though I am tying their hands behind their backs since they can't type as quickly, but I did assure them that in 6 months they will thank me....I hope:)


Enjoy:)

Denise

www.ellteacherpros.com

www.teachingsuccesseswithells.blogspot.com

Comment by Jesse Elam on March 20, 2010 at 9:23pm

Gary, I easily solved this with a program called Dance Mat Typing, hosted on the BBC website. I takes a little dedication, about 30min once a week. But I had my kids touch typing in less then 6 months and they love the animations and game style. Good luck and hopefully you have some staff members helping you out. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Comment by James O'Reilly on March 14, 2010 at 10:19pm

European Association for Quality Language Services EAQUALS http://www.eaquals.org/

Comment by Dr. Rita Oates on March 14, 2010 at 1:30pm

Heinle ELT and ePals Launch the First Virtual Community for Connecting Student English Language Learners Worldwide
Safe online workspace facilitates collaboration for students and instructors in a controlled environment
Go to http://heinle.epals.com.
This community is free through June 30.
Heinle Community is a safe and secure virtual workspace designed for learners to practice English through collaboration on projects in an authentic learning environment.

Members of the Heinle Community can connect and practice English language skills with other students and instructors worldwide using the "Heinle Student Projects" section. Projects combine Heinle's language learning content with other high-interest topics, and all projects can be incorporated into each classroom's online workspace. The community's unique "Connect" feature allows teachers to identify classrooms around the world to partner with on selected projects. Educators also can connect in the "Teachers' Lounge" where they can exchange project ideas, share best practices and explore professional development opportunities.

Each project and classroom workspace provides members of the Heinle Community with a range of Web 2.0 tools for collaboration – including blogs, forums, media galleries and wikis - giving learners the opportunity to use English in a natural and authentic setting. Additional resources include detailed instructions, teacher tips, a unique project picture dictionary, question bank and access to the online Newbury Dictionary.

Within the Heinle Community, students are granted controlled, moderator-enabled access to their classroom workspace. To ensure student safety, the ePals platform on which the Heinle Community is based, is both TRUSTe verified and COPPA compliant, and utilizes the latest technologies to ensure learners' safety, including inappropriate language filters, content moderation, controlled connections and role-based permissions.

A free 6-month membership for select customers, beginning on Jan. 15, 2010, will offer teachers and students full access to the Heinle Community. The commercial launch will be announced this summer as a subscription-based service.

Comment by Benjamin Stewart on February 25, 2010 at 1:11pm

We are having our third DELT session tomorrow and everyone is free to join. These live sessions are part of an open, distance English language workshop going on now. You may enroll at any time!

Comment by Denise Stewart on February 21, 2010 at 1:30pm

I am passionate about having my ELLs become proficient in internet skills. This is no small challenge since 95% of them only have access to the internet at school and few teachers feel comfortable using it to enhance lessons. My latest endeavor is to "play with" Google Docs in the hopes that I can successfully incorporate it into my ELD classes (high school) in the fall. It is another way to liven up the writing process and hopefully help them pass the California required high school exit examination.

Denise

www.ellteacherpros.com

www.teachingsuccesseswithells.blogspot.com

Comment by James O'Reilly on August 27, 2009 at 5:03am

Second Life Language Learning & Google Translator Toolkit
http://second-life-tool-ranking.ning.com/group/freesecondlifeeducat...

Comment by Beni Studhalter on July 15, 2009 at 1:28am

Hi
I'm a Swiss ESL teacher using the internet a lot. I've created a website for my students where they can do exercises online (http://englishbuddy.jimdo.com)

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