PAMELA ARRAR ÁS

JULY 17 T H 2010

Opportunities for Authentic Communication over the

Internet

Some concepts connected to CMC

CMC and language learning

Positive aspects of CMCTypes of CMC

Telecollaboration: a. definitionb. types c. phasesd. the role of the teachere. models

Telecollaborative projects:a. How to get startedb. Reliable sites with ready made projects & more info

Agenda

Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)

Timeline: Until late 1990s: only e-lists and e-mail. 2000: chat, IRC…internet becomes more popular 2006: web 2.0 2010: web 3.0?

CMC vs. CALL Who do you interact with?

Important features of CMC: Synchronicity Persistence Anonymity

Role of CMC in language learning

“In the field of foreign language education, it is often unclear whether

the

internet should be seen as a tool for learning foreign languages, or

whether learning foreign languages is simply one of the tools that our

students needs to work and communicate on the internet. In either

case,

the internet opens language teachers to a host of new tools and

resources,

including a vast amount of authentic materials in the target language

as

well communication tools that enable teacher-student or student-

student

communication in the same classroom or between classes at

geographically different locations.”

(O'Dowd, 2008)

Aspects to take into account

The relationship between the learners' current online

practices and the demands of formal online language

learning

The increased possibilities for communication and

learner participation that networked environments can

offer.

The new opportunities that online tools can offer to

teaching methodology. NOT a new way of doing the

same things, but NEW THINGS!!!!

What are these NEW THINGS?

Online intercultural exchange with learners in different locations. (Little & Brammerts, 1996)

Student participation in public discussion forums based in the target language. (Hanna & de Nooy, 2003)

Collaborative creation and publication of websites or blogs. (Godwin-Jones, 2003)

Positive aspects of CMC

more opportunities to interact than in a regular classroom.greater opportunities to come into contact and interact

with native speakers /other learners of the target languageasynchronous tools: give sts time to read their partners'

contributions fostering reflection and a deeper sense of understanding.

text-based nature of many interactions such as chat and forums provides more opportunities for noticing aspects regarding L2 structure.

possibility of printing and re-reading, or even going back online to re-read different interactions in the L2 provides teachers with authentic input that can be recycled for use in the face-to-face classroom.

Types of CMC

Asynchronous/synchronous

Blogs / videoconferences

One to many / many to many/ one to one

Blogs / chat rooms / e-mail

Classify the following tools:e-mailSkype (or VoIP)e-listsweb conferencingdiscussion forumsblogswikischat roomsinstant messaging

What about…Facebook?MySpace? Fotolog?

Exercise

Q & A

Before we move on…

What is telecollaboration?

“The use of Internet communication tools by internationally dispersed students of

language in institutionalized settings

in order to promote the development of (a) foreign language linguistic competence and

(b) intercultural competence.” (Belz, 2003).

Types of telecollaboration Warschauer (1997)

One-to-one telecollaboration. Eg. International Email Tandem Network.

Many-to-many telecollaboration: Shared students’ publications (such as is the case

with wikis or newsletter). Comparative investigations involving both groups

of students' cultures or issues of interest. Collaborative creation and exchange of folklore

compendia, oral histories and other projects. E-forums (my field of research )

Phases of telecollaboration Muller-Hartmann (2008)

Role of the teacher Hartmann (2008) and O'Dowd (2007)

Researcher: Experiment, change activities and adapt models to contexts through

observation in classroom and critical reflection (action research). Organizer:

Find appropriate partner classes, establish and negotiate activities with partner teachers, and find ways to integrate the projects to the curricula.

Model and coach: Provide students with models of what is successful intercultural

communication, to guide them and help them overcome misunderstandings and communication problems while at the same time promoting their autonomy.

Source and resource: Help their students put the information they receive from their partners in

context, as sometimes it is so specific or culture-bound that students struggle to make sense out of it.

Provide students access to other materials (websites, dictionaries, etc.) that will help them bridge that gap.

Models of telecollaboration

E-Tandem (European Union) Reciprocity: both learner & expert role. Autonomy: high level of self-discipline and learning skills required.

The Cultura Model (MIT) Stage 1: Questionnaires designed to reveal basic cultural differences(native

language). Results compiled and presented side by side. Stage 2: Analysis of questionnaires in the classroom (target language) with the

teacher's guidance. Stage 3: Exchanges and forums. Students from both groups meet in online

message boards accessible to all participants. (either language as long as they can get their message across).

Stage 4: Analysis of the forums in the classroom and analyze both the language and the content of the exchanges.

Stage 5: Broadening of fields of exploration and analysis. Students are provided with other related target language resources which allow them to better understand the culture of their partners. They later on discuss these new findings and conclusions with their partners online.

Q & A

Before we move on…

Let’s think about all this together…

How do you feel about doing something like this in your classroom?

What are some of the foreseeable challenges of this type of project?

Mention 3 things (don’t cheat, only 3!) that you would need to become more familiar/comfortable with in order to carry out such a project.

Debate

Getting started…

Spend time training yourself in the technological tools you are going to use. Choose tools based not only on your skills, but also on: those of your peer at the other school, the skills of the students, the technological capabilities of both schools and groups of

students.

Do not assume that your students will be able to handle the project just because they are supposed to be “digital natives”. The skills required for language learning are very different from the ones they have developed for social use.

Getting started…

When looking for partner classes, pick a colleague who… …shares your same technical skills …shares your overall objectives for the projects, …is willing to spend time on the project.

Assign enough time for each stage of the project make sure you include time before the interaction to

prepare the students for the project… …and after the telecollaboration itself in order to allow

them to process and reflect on what they have learned.

Getting started…

Decide on how you will assess the project Make sure that you set a minimum number of

interventions for each student in order to promote interaction. For example, if using forums you could establish that

each student has to post three comments and that each comment needs to address another student’s questions as well as posting new questions to keep the conversation going.

Getting started…

If the other group is learning your students’ native language, decide on a method to ensure that both languages are used in the forum. Separating forums is a possibility, but students tend to

participate in their L1 forum most. Another possibility is requesting that 50% of each

message is written in each language, as the E-Tandem Network recommends.

If you’re mostly interested in developing your students’ reading skills, Cultura’s model of only L1 writing might be suitable.

HTTP: / /WWW.EPALS.COM

HTTP: / /FLATCLASSROOM09-3 .FLATCLASSROOMPROJECT.ORG

/

HTTP: / / IEARN.ORG

HTTP: / /IEARN.ORG/PROJECTS/PROJECTBOOK.HTML

HTTP: / /WWW.GLOBALSCHOOLNET.ORG/

Good places to start looking for projects and partners…

While you listen…

Take notes about which of the following websites and projects would be the most useful to you

Take into account the criteria previously mentioned

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and pleeeeeeeeease DO interrupt me with comments and doubts.

Note

taking

HTTP://WWW.DIIGO.COM/LIST/PAMELAARRARAS/VIRTUAL-BACKPACKING

Slideshow of useful sites and projects

PAMELAARRARAS@GMAIL.COMTWITTER: PAMELAARRARAS

IF TIME…

LET’S DESIGN A SMALL WEBSITE WITH THE INFORMATION YOU THINK YOU’LL

NEED THE MOST…

Thanks for coming!!!!!