Evaluation of New Teachnologies of LT

This is my frist time to use google site. I enjoy all the lessons in the course.  The blog gives me a room to think over the relationship between IT and education and I can also express my opinions there.  I feel very greatful to our teacher Dr. Christopher.  He always shows his enthusiasm, knowledge and support for the teaching.  He provides lots of IT information, links and "serious games" for us.   Surfing on internet is fun, but searching for useful links and information for teaching is not easy and very time consuming.  Each time Dr Chris teaches us to use the links and finish the in-class tasks.   Sometimes we discuss and slove the problems together.  I think it is good to raise the learning atmospher in the class. 

Besides doing the assignments, I never thought that I can apply the skills in my teaching.  I find that it is a very effective tools to draw my students' attention, motivation and interest in one component.  New technologies really paly an important role in nowaday's education system.  It gives an oppotunity for the students a way to continue to learn in second language, no matter in speaking, writing, reading and listening.  It is very amazing.  Once you have tried, you will know the advantage of it but you must willing to spend a lot of time on it.   I hope and I also belive I can have this passion and vision to use new teachnologies in my teaching in the future.

This is my first time to use google site, it is very fresh to me.  After taking this course, I can have one more planform to express my opinions.  I can also share my points of views with the others in the blog. 

About IT learning

Hi, Dr. Christopher,

Thank you for your comment.  After reading your reflection, I believe that study and play are not incompatible.  Here is an example of myself.  When I was nine, I found that I had learning differenty because I used to mix up with the left and right side of the Chinese words or English spelling.  My parents were very worry about my future and they felt very disappointed.  None of them could help, even the teachers because no one alert my problem until I became a teacher.

I found that some of the students got the same problem with me.  I tried to understand and taught them in another way.  I changed the letters into funny pictures and created stories to tell the meaning for them and it worked.  It inspired me to create some jokes, games and stories teaching in the class, especially to someone in need.  I found that this kind of method was also useful for me.  Therefore, I tried to make fun to learn for myself.  On the other hand, I wanted to know what’s my problem.  So I took some seminas and I know I belong to dyslexia but not serise.  I felt very lucky that I can study in University.  I will try my best to do and learn.  Sometimes I would like to choose tortoise to describe myself.  Although it is slow but never give up.

After taking this IT course, it really opens my eyes and mind.  It is because the new technologies let me entre the 21^st century skills and comopetencies.  You are right, it provides use with rich envitonments for simulated learning experiences and situated learning.  I think the digital games would be one of the very effective tools to enhance my students’ learning in writing and speaking.  This morning I tried to introduced my web-site to one of the colleages.  She felt very surprised and she said this idea was very freash , although she is more than fifty.  She also suggested me to put this web-site into the school surfer.  I felt very happy that at least someone can understand and receive the suggestion.  I hope this is the good beginning of IT teaching in English Subject.  

Summary on Week 12

Learner Autonomy and Tandem Learning

Summary:

In this article, Schwienhorst shows the insights on the relationship between pedagogy and technology.  He focuses on three different approaches to learner autonomy.  They are individual-cognitive, social-interactive, and experimental-participatory perspective.  He also talks about the use of asynchronous and synchronous communication tools and language learning structure, especially e-mail and object oriented multi-user domain (MOOS).  This is useful for learner autonomy in computer mediated environments.

Reflection:

I am agree with the author about the telecommunications envitonments CALL in the article.  I think it is useful and necessary in nowadays language learnning in schools.  But how do we put the priciples into practical?  It needs time to try and commit with the school headmaster, the colleagues and the parents.  Therefore, the article mentions about the learner autonomy and tandem learning is very important.  If we can provide the CALL at school, I think more or less it can motivate students' learning in or outside the classroom.  He or she may learn more independent. In fact, the schedual is very tight in school. Teachers need to follow and finish all the syllabus.  School and parents only expect the students can fulfill their expentation in acadamic.  Therefore most of the students don't know how to solve the problems or take care themselves, don't say critical thinking.  I've tried to squeese some time to introduce my web-site for my students to use before their exam.  Unluckly, it makes the classteacher unhappy.  She thinks it will make the students only paly with the computor and it may afftect their result.  So she suggests me show them after the exam or in the school picnic.  What a pity!  So the school support and colleguaes understanding is very important for promoting this CALL at school.

Summary for Week 10

Summary
In the article, Chinnery talks about the mobile technology language learning tools which can enhance the language learning environment, such as the Cell phones, Ipods, PDAs(Personal digital assistance) and the Portable digital audio players. Besides, he also introduces the benefits and challenges of them as they are easily utilized outside of the classroom. Therefore, the mobile tools take an advantage of their convenience for learning the second language in anywhere.

Reflection
I think the mobile phones contain lots of different funtions nowadays.  Through the mobile phones, people can receive and send messages, play games and taking photos and etc.  Although the mobile technologies are very popular, mobile-assisted learning into second language classrooms is not comment nowadays.   The main reason is they are too expensive and not many people can affort to buy.  Secondy, not many people would like to learn the second language in this way.  It may be a trend to use ipods, PDAs and cell phones in the future.  But as a teacher, the school work load has been very heavy, once to use this mobile technology in teaching, I think we need to be confident to use them.  Otherwise, it just waste time and money.  Lastly, the important thing we need to consider is it should be support by the school and the parents.

About digital storytelling

Reading

Bull. G.., & Kajder, S. (2004). Digital storytelling in the language arts classroom.

Learning and Leading with Technology, 32(4), 46-49.

Reflection 

Story telling and Share reading are one of the important parts for children when they were young in kindergarten.  It is because children may start to learn their first vocabulary or sentence structure in the stories.  Therefore, reading and writing are closely linked together.  Teachers and parents would like to let the children understand a lesson or express their feeling by telling stories.  Therefore story telling is a useful tool to educate and communicate with children as they cannot grow without stories.

Now the author introduce the digital storytelling is an updated technological teaching aids for teachers. Through this tool, students can improve their writing skills and at the same time it can also stimulate their imagination to create other new stories. Digital storytelling seems not difficult to use by the writers because they can use the tools like, Window Movie Maker and digital cameras in the beginning stage.  It is different from the traditional writing. The writers may have fun and bring their talent into full play and even their language and computer skills.  After knowing the technological story writing in last lesson, I will try to introduce this method to my students.