Podcasts in the Classroom

Podcasts are a great way for people to get their ideas across and basically make their own television or radio shows on their own.  There are many different ways that a teacher can incorporate Podcasts into their lesson plans.  A teacher can use it as a media source or source of educational entertainment in English to help stimulate motivation.  For example a teacher can create an assignment that asks the students to listen to a podcast about a theme or topic that interests them, then the teacher can have them create their own podcast on a subject of interest.  Activities like this can be a fun way for students to practice their listening and speaking skills in English in an authentic manner that holds their interest and keeps them motivated in their learning.


In addition to using Podcasts for media learning sources, there are also many Podcasts available that are ESL specific.  I listened to the Podcast English Cafe 446 on the website ESL Pod.  This Podcast was about the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.  It consisted of several vocabulary words about animals and science.  It included the narration of the "teacher" as well as interview clips with members of the scientific community behind La Brea.  The interviewees would talk about the actions of the pit and the teacher would then describe the language and vocabulary which included spelling out words for the listeners. The Podcast also included a question and answer period after the main lecture.  A Podcast like this can be a great asset to the ESL classroom, a teacher can build lesson plans around certain themes such as animal science vocabulary.  Or more likely there are other themes of Podcasts similar to this one that are a little more likely such as famous songs, organizing your house or famous Americans.  

ePals in the Classroom

ePals is a fascinating website that can connect teachers and students across the globe.  What makes ePals so great is that it's limitations for classroom implications seem almost limitless.  Like the world around it, the classroom is becoming more and more a global space for learning and participation.   With internet tools like these it offers students chances to interact with other students from all over the world.  With partners such as McGraw-Hill, the Smithsonian and National Geographic ePals can boast some serious learning potential.

There are a lot of things that you can do as a teacher with ePals.  One thing that I found really interesting as an ESL teacher was the ability to connect with other language classrooms.  On the website they mention "Teachers use the free ePals Global Classroom to create real world, culturally-enriching learning experiences for their students.  With ePals classroom atching, a high school class studying Chinese can connect with a class studying English in China, or the classes can work on a special project together."  Although this is reference to an American foreign language classroom, a similar idea can be used in an American ESL classroom.  You can easily implement something like this in an ESL classroom.  Authentic learning situations and culturally-enriching learning experiences are crucial to second language acquisition.  Both play a significant role in stimulating motivation by the learner.  By allowing ESL learners to interact with native English speakers learning their language as an L2 can be an incredible opportunity for growth as a learner.  Using ePals in the classroom is a great way to take advantage of and properly utilize
technology in the classroom.

Using GoAnimate in the Classroom

Using comic strips in the classroom can be a really effective tool for ESL learners.  Personally I used the comic strip generator GoAnimate to create my ESL 30 second comic strip.  I wasn't aware of this type of internet tool before and I was pretty fascinated by it.  It was actually a lot of fun to create despite having your options limited by the free 30 second version.  It was pretty clear to see the classroom and language implications that can be supported by such a feature.  There are so many ways to use something like this in class.  As a teacher you can get a subscription and make much longer comics that can be used to reinforce difficult lesson concepts or could potentially serve as the medium used to teach an aspect of the language.  There are so many options of characters, backgrounds and motions available through the website that you could create a running theme that could be incorporated into every lesson as an assistant to the teacher during the entire semester or school year.  The text to speech option makes it really very easy to have the characters say all kinds of vocabulary and produce all different types of grammar.

Using comic strips like this in the classroom can be very beneficial to student interest and motivation.  I prefer to use the comic strip generator over the digital storytelling in the classroom because I think it is more involved and that the possibilities  are greater than the story telling tool I reviewed in my earlier post.  Although I think both tools have good implications for L2 classrooms, GoAnimate just allows you as a teacher to do so much more and create so many more scenarios for ESL learners.
 

Using Animoto in the Classroom

I chose to use Animoto to create a video to practice the question "have you been?"  I think it is an interesting internet tool that can serve a purpose in a modern ESL classroom.  I was surprised at how quick and easy it was to make something interesting and aesthetically pleasing.  There are a couple ways that short videos can be used for ESL purposes.  One way is to create a video that reinforces themes or concepts learned during the lesson.  It can be used to reinforce vocabulary, grammar, and contextual awareness. Teachers can either create videos or have the students create their own videos.  The process of learning how to use Animoto and following the English directions, can also serve to reinforce practical language use by L2 learners. 

It would be interesting as a teacher to see what the full version of the program can do.  The thrity second trial video is just a good example of the potential of the program in the ESL classroom.  With the full version teachers and students can make much longer videos.  For example a teacher could make a video discussing a certain grammar structure or set of vocabulary words and have the student respond with their own videos explaining the grammar or unseeing the vocabulary.  Animoto is another great resource for teachers and students and has great pedagogical implications for the L2 classroom.

The Art of Digital Storytelling

Storytelling is an ancient human tradition, it has been around for as long as humans have had speech and language.  As the generations passed storytelling, like all things became modernized. Starting with the introduction of written language then paper and ink and the printing press and now we meet the 21st century's incarnation of the art of storytelling: Digital storytelling.  Digital storytelling is exactly what it sounds like, telling a story through use of digital media.  It gives the author the chance to pass down a story about their  family history, friendships, adventures, whatever they would like and share it with the world. 

There are many ways that digital storytelling can used for education, according to the article 7 Things You Should know About Digital Storytelling "Digital stories let students express themselves not only with their own words but also in their own voices, fostering a sense of individuality and of “owning” their creations" In an ESL classroom few things are more important than a student's voice and confidence in expressing his or her self in English.  Digital Storytelling gives students the chance to express themselves in English in a low stress environment in a way that is interesting and fun as well.   Digital Storytelling has some good implications for teachers as well.  On the website Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling it says "Teacher-created digital stories may also be used to enhance current lessons within a larger unit, as a way to facilitate discussion about the topics presented a story and as a way of making abstract or conceptual content more understandable."  Digital Storytelling is very versatile for use by both students and teachers .

As a teacher I can see the uses of Digital Storytelling in the classrooms.  In my future classroom I think I would use Digital Storytelling as an out of class assignment where students could create a short story fact or fictional and telling using this medium and share it with the class.  This is just one potential way I could see myself using this internet tool in a future ESL classroom.  There are of course several more ways that we as modern educators can use this technology in our classrooms.  The possibilities are only limited only by our own creativity and work. 

Gamififcation Part Two: The Serious Game

The serious game is the game that is designed with a purpose other than entertainment only.  There are a number of very good serious games that can be used for learning outside of the classroom.  I played the game The Garbage Game one time.  This game required the player to manage the waste produced by New York City.  I chose this game because it seemed to have an interesting and relevant theme to it, which is important for learner motivation. 

The game involved a lot of reading and use of reading comprehension skills.  This game would be very difficult for anyone below the advanced level of ESL.  For advanced learners this game is a very good way to practice intensive English reading in an authentic way.  Intensive reading comprehension is an important learning objective for advanced ESL learners. The theme of the game is a relevant one as well, the idea is to consume as little waste and use as little energy as possible.  Energy production and usage and its environmental impact has had an increasing voice in popular media as of late.  It is an important question that needs to be addressed in the coming generations and an interesting and relevant topic for discussion.  As ESL speakers become advanced they need to be stimulated by advanced readings that capture their ideas and help them to process more complex language usages such as thinking about and discussing real life hot topics such as waste management.

As a teacher this is a game that could be used as a homework assignment in comprehensive reading.  To check that the learning objective has been met you can require students to write a report on their results and and thoughts on the content and its real life implications.  A presentation could also be made to present their assignment as well as create an opportunity to practice speaking skills.

The Garbage Game  is an excellent game to use for advanced learners to practice their reading comprehensive skills.  It is best completed outside of the classroom as there is a lot of reading which can take a while for ESL learners.  Overall the potential for success depends on learner motivation, Gamification is an excellent resource to use in the classroom to help stimulate students and keep them motivated to learn.

Gamification: The Impact of Games on Learner's Motivation in the L2 Classroom

There are many innovative ways to impact student motivation in the L2 classroom.  One interesting way to stimulate motivation in learning is through games.  Gamification "is the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior" (Educase, 2011).  Through the increase in classroom technology it is becoming easier and more relevant to include games in school curriculum, particularly in L2 classrooms.

Gamification may seem abstract or even distracting for some classroom teachers, however, much can be said to rationalize the usage of games for second language learning.  For starters "Gamification offers instructors numerous creative opportunities to enliven their instruction with contests, leader boards, or badges that give students opportunities for recognition and a positive attitude toward their work" (Educase, 2011).   In language learning it is often quite common for shy students to fall behind, not because of some type of cognitive dysfunction but due to their shy and introverted personalities.  This is an area in which games can be very useful in second language classrooms: "Gamification  has the potential to help build connections among members of the academic community, drawing in shy students, supporting collaboration, and engendering interest in course content that students might not have otherwise explored" (Educase, 2011).

The game Phantasy Quest is a game that has a lot of potential in an ESL classroom.  I personally played the game once and found it to contain a wealth of new vocabulary for early intermediate speakers. The objective of the game is to click around the environment to rescue the girl and sail away.  By clicking on different items throughout the environment and through the use of logical thinking the player is able to achieve small tasks and victories that build up on each other and lead to the eventual achievement of winning the game. As we learned from Tom Chatfield's TEDTalk: 7 Ways Games Reward the Brain there is great importance of multiple long and short term aims as a way to keep the learner or game player continually interested.  The idea behind Phantasy Quest is to find missing puzzles pieces to unlock small achievements little by little until the final goal is reached.

There are many learning objectives that can be met through incorporation of this game.  One significant learning objective is vocabulary, a teacher can easily set up a lesson plan that teaches nautical vocabulary, the game has many vocabulary words associated with water, beaches, and even piracy.  The teacher can introduce worksheets and other traditional teaching methods to prepare the students for the vocabulary needed for the game.

Listening and speaking skills could also be strengthened through use of this game.  For example the teacher could separate the class into small groups depending on the number of computers available.  Each group member could have a role and different pieces to the walk-through.   The goal of the game is for the students to use their listening and speaking skills to work together to complete the game, groups could also compete against each other and time.  The teacher can serve as moderator, time keeper, and helper to the students.


To meet specific learning objects through games with out an abundance of computers is more challenging, however, it does not mean that it will not be useful.  For example most modern classrooms have one computer with projection capabilities.  The teacher could show the game on the projector and work through the process with the class.  Through this platform the teacher could instill question and answer format learning objectives.  Students could be separated into small groups, each group has the walk-through with various vocabulary words missing, they can offer their ideas for what to do next by "ringing-in" with their best idea for what to do next by utilizing the proper grammar and sentence structure.  The teacher will move the character in accordance with the students explanation and see if it works.  This is a good way to test if the learning objectives have been met; if the students complete the walk-through with the correct vocabulary and missing L2 information then the shipwrecked mate should be able to complete the necessary tasks.

The Phantasy Quest game uses a lot of logical and creative thinking in order to be successful.  This is an excellent platform for students to get comfortable thinking logical and creatively in their L2.  Whether this game is played in the classroom or outside of the classroom it is a very useful platform for a second language user to practice and learn English while staying motivated through a fun game.