you needn't commute 1,300 km

YOU NEEDN’T COMMUTE 1,300 KM:

TEACHING WRITING SKILLS IN

Vedrana Vojković EstatievBrussels, BELTA Day, March 2014

Who’s this?

photo by @mandakelly4884

OverviewBasic information on the course / instructor

What is Moodle?

Teaching writing skills online

Giving feedback in an online environment

Sustaining motivation online

Questions?

Writing in EnglishCenter for Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, CroatiaUndergraduate Communication Sciences program

1 semester (4 months)Cca 15 students (Croatian + Erasmus)

B2-C1 according to CEFR

Borongaj Campus, photo from www.srce.hr

InstructorLecturer, 6 years

Teach EAP & Writing in English

Certified course designer & did Moodle MOOCTeaching online since moving to Belgium

Croatian Studies library photo from www.srce.hr

Background on MoodleOpen-source LMS

In use 10+ years

65 million users worldwide

Based on social constructionist pedagogy

“Learner-centric and collaborative”

Moodle 2.4 resources

Moodle 2.4 activities

Teaching writing skills F2FRelatively quiet

Time-consuming

Everyone finishes at a different time

Limited interaction

Small audience

Availability of reference materials

Teaching writing skills onlineRelatively quiet

Activity duration not an issue

Everyone finishes at a different time

Larger audience

Greater interaction

Availability of reference materials

Higher quality of writing

Greater engagement

Greater accuracy

Greater range of vocabulary employed

Increase in written communicative competence

Sample unit

Book – Chapter 1

Choice activity

Q & A forum

Book – use of multimedia

Mind map activity

Simple discussion forum

Workshop activity - setup

Workshop activity - assessment

Portfolio - reflection

Portfolio – feedback

Giving feedback onlineGreater personalization than f2f

Prioritize – don’t address every contribution

Error correction ≠ feedback

Be as quick as possible

Enlist student help

Sustaining motivation onlinePost regular updates on course noticeboard

Comment on students’ reflections

Have students comment on others’ reflections

Encourage those who have fallen behind

Add links to fun activities

Thanks very much for your attention!

I’ll also be happy to answer any additional questions at:

vedrana@octopus-jezici.hr