Korean Job Discussion Forums

[winterwawa]

I am curious if there are many people who use the internet as a teaching tool in the classroom. If so, what sites do you use? How do you use them? If you don't use the internet, why not? What do you see as advantages or disadvantages to using the internet as a teaching tool?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

[bewolff]

I followed the plan of someone who set up a class "blog" through Ning.com. They have easy to use templates and it is all free.

I did it my first term here, but it was a royal pain getting the students to participate. I envisioned having weekly blog questions or forum posts, that students would go online and give an answer to.

Ning is nice. It allows you to have photos, uploaded videos and upload music to your player.

Probably 25 percent of my students, after great amounts of pressure, even set up their account and fewer when through the steps to personalize their own page. For the 10 percent that did something, I feel that had a valuable experience.

Making it work with MS students about killed me. They just are too low level. In a University setting it could be workable, for sure.

Maybe the easier thing for younger students would be to set up a page of your own. Then you post a weekly question, which student's should go to the page and answer. There needs to be some reward attached, or you just won't get many students to do it. Some system of points is a good way to reward them, with some big reward at the end for students with high participation rates.

[Underwaterbob]

The Internet is great for getting discussions started, and for annihilating an entire class achieving nothing. You can lose your entire class's attention in the time it takes a website to load. I use it very sparingly.

[ddeubel]

beowolff,

You are bang on in suggesting that teachers have to make it "mandatory" or part of the curriculum. It can't be just voluntary and "let's go there and participate". Most often this entails having administration onboard and making it part of the course assessment.

Others might use the Dave bot I modified recently. He needs to be kept warm Just click the questions or replies below to talk. No typing needed unless you want to ask some crazy stuff....
http://eflclassroom.com/bot.html

DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

[jvalmer]

I like using the computer. But there is one huge, massive problem. A good percentage of the time, the computer doesn't work.

[winterwawa]

Thanks for your replies. The reason I posted the question, is because, (I know this is going to sound like a commercial, but it isn't) I had a programmer build a script that let's teachers generate a personal class webpage. In the user admin section, teachers can make 10 different activities, add links to other favorite websites, and link to activities that I have created. Then the students can go to the teacher's site and work the activities. The problem, that noone is signing up. I use it as a way to get my students to practice on-line and give them extra participation points for using the site. It works great for me, so I can't understand why noone is using it but me. BTW, my site is ranked in the top 20 for many key words, so it's not like noone knows about my website.

[ddeubel]

winterwawa,

I'll give you some free ad space, no problem. The teachers on our site are for the most part, early adopters and the sparkplugs around the TEFL universe vis a vis the use of technology. The kind you want spreading the news.

I know that if I even listed your site on my diigo, you'd get loads of people interested.

So what is the site url? Further, what is your SEO secret?

DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com

[crossmr]

I use it in language exchange. PSP + PSPTube (youtube access) + sesame street is a great listening level for many koreans in a beginner/intermediate level. It exposes them to new vocabulary and different voice styles.

Even adults find it hilarious.

[winterwawa]

[ddeubel]

Winterwawa,

I just took a quick glance but will spend more time looking at the site this weekend. I'll be transforming the ad box on EFL Classroom and using it to highlight member sites of note in the New Year. You can also leave a classified in the meantime to let others know about the site.

I'd like to spend some time and register, see what is valuable for teachers. It is a good idea but there is steep competition out there also. But simple is good if sign up, set up are easy to do and functionality is intuitive/quick.

Yeah, history counts a lot with SEO LOL. It is kind of good and kind of bad. You get some sites that are dinosaurs ranking sooooo high though. I see that as problematic. But on the other hand, a site that's been running for years warrants attention also.

I'm really one for a "non - protective" future. Too many in education, hide and lock their knowledge/sites/material but I say, "the more the merrier". It is all about getting it out there and letting others go where they find something that suits their needs. Hard core Adam Smith in education. Aggregation is the future of the net.

More later, thanks,

DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com