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Week 4 - Claire and Mercedes

Page history last edited by Claire Hart 10 years, 1 month ago

                                                                               

 Welcome to Week 4! 


This week we´re focussing on technology and how we can make use of it in business English courses. 

 

As you can see from the two photos on the left showing the technology used by the crowds who gathered to welcome the new Pope Benedict in 2005 and those who gathered to welcome the new Pope Francis last year, the world has changed. Not only have mobile devices become more prevalent, they´ve also developed into multi-media online portals. Another change which occurred between 2005 and 2013 was the introduction of tablet computers, most famously Apple´s iPad, and these devices have also become more and more prevalent.

 

In this course we have teachers from all over the world, working in a very wide range of teaching situations. You will have different relationships with technology - some of you will love it, others will hate it - and you, perhaps more importantly, you and your learners will have different levels of access to and familiarity with it. The tasks and resources that we have prepared for this week should, however, be beneficial to you regardless of your situation. We are keen for you to adapt the input we are giving you to your own particular circumstances and would like to support you as you do so. 

 

There are also two live sessions this week, one with Claire on 6th February, 4pm GMT and one with Mercedes on 8th February, 4pm GMT

(see below for more information and the links you need to join them).

 

 

The week is divided into two parts: 

 

1 Using tech tools (lead moderator: Claire Hart)

Objectives:

 

  • To explore the range of technological possibilities we can harness to promote learning inside and outside the classroom.
  • To examine the pedagogical value these technological possibilities can convey.
  • To look at and try out the practical applications of tech tools. 

 

2 Using technology to develop business English materials (lead moderator: Mercedes Viola) 

Objectives:

  • To explore how to effectively select online materials for use in business English courses.
  • To look at and try out ways of using this material to design and develop materials that suit our business English clients´ language needs.

 

Start here: Click on the screenshot of Mercedes and Claire below to watch a video we´ve made to recap the last three weeks and welcome you to week 4

 


 

Task one: warmer - Monday - Wednesday (15 minutes) 

Getting to know you remixed 

"When I start teaching a new group, I want to build rapport with them as quickly as possible. I´ve found that one effective way of doing this is to invite them to find out more about me. I ask the learners to use Google or any other search engine they like to use to find out as much as they can about me. I give credit to those who are able to find out information about me that no one else in the group found. The aim of this activity is also to develop the learners´ digital literacy as it raises their awareness of how people present themselves online and what creates a positive or not so positive impression in this context. It also makes them see how easy it can be for people who are basically strangers to use the internet to find out information about your life. In class I would ask students to use their notebooks, phones or tablets to go online and search." - Claire

 

Your task: Go online and search for either "Claire Hart" or "Mercedes Viola" and post three facts that you found out about us from your search in the Week 4 - Task 1 Edmodo group. If possible, look for information that you don´t think any or many of the other participants will have found. 

 

You might find it helpful to look at this infographic on How to use Google search more effectively before you start googling. 

 

Task two: the SAMR model for integrating technology - Monday - Wednesday (20- 30 minutes)

Post your response to questions 1, 2a and 2b in the Week 4 - Task 2 group 

Start watching the video below and then pause it at 2:29.

1. Which of the tech tools on the pyramid have you used in the courses you´ve taught? Give an example of how you have used or could use one of the tech tools on the pyramid to fulfil the purpose it´s connected with here, e.g. creating or evaluating.  

 

2. Continue watching the video until the end.

a) Choose either substitution, augmentation, modification or redefinition and give an example of an activity you´ve used in class which is an example of this way of using technology

b) Choose a way of using technology that you´ve never used before (either substitution, augmentation modification or redefinition) and think of an activity that you could use with a group you teach/ have taught which would apply this principle of technology integration. If you´ve already used activities based on all four of these principles, please share with us an example of a redefinition activity. 

 

 

This video is taken from the blog Technology Enhanced Learning 

 

Click here for an image showing iPad apps organised according to Bloom´s taxonomy. Some of these apps are also available for computers and mobile phones. 

 

Task three: exploring digital opportunities - Tuesday - Thursday (20- 30 minutes)

Let´s look at some tech tools we can use when we want to enhance and transform learning with technology...Take a look at the resources for one of the three areas below (either 1. Technology for recording students, 2. Apps for business English or 3. Videos for business English) . In the Week 4 - Task 3 Edmodo group: 

- Tell us which of the tools you think would be the most useful for your learners and why

- Give us an example of an activity you would do with it. 

 

1. Technology for recording students

I think we would all agree that recording our learners speaking is a good way to get them to reflect on their speaking abilities, give them feedback on their speaking and benchmark their progress. We can substitute the traditional Dictaphone or tape recorder for one of the following: 

  • Voice memos - on mobile phones - Click here for a prezi presentation where you can see and listen to one use of voice memos in the business English classroom
  • Pamela for skype voice recorder - Find out more here
  • Speech Analyzer - watch business English trainer Jennie Wright giving a presentation on how to use recordings with Speech Analyzer in the classroom

          - Here´s the hand-out from Jennie´s session which takes you through the different ways you can use the tool step-by-step 

 

2. Apps for business English

Apps are becoming more and more prevalent. So many of our learners now have smartphones or tablets with apps on them. We can augment a range of activities using the following apps: 

 

3. Videos for business English

Many of our learners also enjoy watching videos and they can be an effective way of augmenting listening activities. Here are some sources: 

 

This page on "Teaching with video: Tools and resources" put together by Carl Dowse is well worth looking at too. 

 

Recording of the live session with Claire 

 

Links: 

What kind of Asian are you? video 

Lesson plan on using Linkedin

Tree octopus lesson plan and other digital literacy ideas from Nicky Hockly

Website for the Pacific Northwest tree octopus

Keepvid - for saving and keeping YouTube videos

 

Task four: material design and technology - Thursday - Friday (15 - 20 minutes)

Exchanging points of views: 

During the live session we will be looking at and discussing material design and technology. I would love to hear your views on the following questions before, so we can continue building from there in the live session.

Please write your responses to the following questions in the Week 4 Task 4 small group folder on our Edmodo group page.

  • Do you think we, business English trainers, need to design materials for our classes? Why or why not? Pros? Cons?
  • What is the role of technology in material design? How can it be used?

 

Live session with Mercedes (see below)

 

Task five: Let's do it  - Thursday - Sunday ( 40 - 50 minutes)

Designing and sharing

 

  • Design an activity or a lesson to a group of business English students you have – it can also be a one-to-one class. You can use some of the tech tools we talked about or others you are familiar with
  • Share your activity on Edmodo and explain it.

 

We will add the activities to the wiki.

If you do not want to use a current class, you can use this example one.

  •  An in-company group of 6 students
  •  Ages - between 35 and 45
  •  English Level - B1 according the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). If you are not familiar with the CEFR, you can read a general description on pages 5,6 and 7 of this document 
  • You can choose their area of expertise (finance, accounting, IT, human capital, or suggest one)
  • They need English to be able to receive and entertain visitors, participate in meetings, deliver presentations, attend conferences, attend and deliver training sessions in English.

     

 

Live sessions

 

Please attend the live session with Claire on Thursday, 6 February at 4pm GMT.  

You can watch the recording of this live session by clicking on this link: Recording of the live session with Claire

You can download the slides from this live session by clicking here: Integrating technology into business English courses

 

 

Please attend the live session with Mercedes on Saturday8 February at 4pm GMT.  

You can access the live session by clicking on this link: Recording of the live session with Mercedes 

You can check your local time here

 

Online resources we have shared

Apps

Business English Pod

 

 

Blog posts and infographics

10 Teaching with technology mistakes you don´t want to make

The digital learning switchover infographic

 

Mind-mapping

Bubbl.us

 

Videos

Movie segments to assess grammar goals

Ed.ted - resources for building lessons around Ted Talks

 

Online materials to read to find out more about using technology in ELT and some links to useful information

E-moderation Station - tools, tips, techniques and tweets for online moderators (Nicky Hockly) 

Technology for Business English Teaching -  Scoop.it (Carl Dowse)

Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers - e book (Nick Peachey)

Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching (edited by Gary Motteram)

 

 

 

 

 

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