No6

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES PERSONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES PERSONAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

By

Robert Godwin-Jones Virginia Commonwealth University

Introduction to this article gives us a quick idea of how the amazing capabilities of today's students are characterized in the field of advanced technology.

Many of these students have an excellent familiarity with social networking sites and use them on a regular basis for the management of their lives. The E-mail is play the greatest role in this area.

The Learning environment has become very flexible and creative, thanks to the ability of teachers which has provided it, in addition to the free services available on the Internet.

INTEGRATION TOOLS

It has become possible to construct some personal pages on the Internet and teachers have benefited fully from that. They constructed their own sites on the net to help them teach their students. There some services provided by Google, my yahoo, my.msn.com and Windows Life.

For example iGoogle has facilitated the establishment of electronic pages in less than thirty seconds and the page is characterized by endless services. Laowai Chinese also has characteristics that are similar to features of iGoogle.

Some of these tools in the internet are: Chat, news feed. Personal Population Tools, Social book Marketing, Writing tool, Media Player, File storage/ Distribution and Quizzing/ Polling.

We use these tools usually when needed and not necessarily use them all at the same time. There are websites using languages other than English. There are networks such as Face book/ MySpace

WIDGETS AND STANDARDS

There are new sites and programs that provide a great service for students and teachers alike and raise the expected level of success across the globe. For example, iGoogle, Netvibes, Widgetbox, Clearspring, Text to speech engine, HowStuffWorks.

Some of these programs devices, serving about 80 languages. Some of these sites would prefer the applications, such as flashcards and some support the process of translation and multilingual text.

In fact in this part of the article there is a lot of pure specialized information, but it is worth the read.

INTERFACING WITH LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LMS)

(Ning) offers services in web programs which have been designed specifically for use of education. (Ellg) is designed to serve mobile phones and facilitate the issue of customization.

Lams provides tools that help their integration, such as Moodle, Blackboard, and other services there Sakai been useful services such as (Pageflakes) to the traditional LMS. There are other sites such as Wikis, Skype, and Blogs with very great interest to the educational process.

Yousif Bilal

http://llt.msu.edu/vol13num2/emerging.pdf

Language, Learning & Technology

Language, Learning & Technology

Emerging technologies focusing on form: tools and strategies.(intelligent language tutors)

By Godwin-Jones, Robert

Focus

The article focuses on the need to use the latest Technologies with the Internet age. It seemed to focus more on new capabilities to a computer-mediated communication and focus on the components of language learning via the Internet.

Comparison

Article compares the traditional method used previously in the teaching of grammar and the broad area varied through the use of technology and tends toward modern style in education.

Feedback

Feedback to students must be accompanied by rich information of a clear contexts, and provide facilitation for the students to pay attention and push them to expand their knowledge of the language by using the technology.

Integrating Grammar Into Task-Based Activities.

In today's world you find that teaching is about important undertaken by the learners Whether it is individually or collectively. Tasks lead students to communicate within the framework of a realistic and concrete in order to reach their goals.

The Process on the Computer

The planning process begins the computer; this process is based on the idea of using the vocabulary for the exchange of ideas around it.

Posting

The idea of student work can be extended from individual effort to the complete the classroom, and to focus on the task, but there is an important condition has to be created as level of comfort for students. Also the subject is familiar to some extent.

The Most Challenging Tasks for Software

Whether the task has been processed by the computer or a professor, Essential role of the students should be recognized. The writer says "This is one of the most challenging tasks for software, even if some form of artificial intelligence is used. It is easy to check for expected and typical responses; dealing with creativity is much harder".

Post-task Activities

After the end of the activities, it can be combined to focus on the common goal After the completion of the task activities, students should be allowed and given the opportunity to expand what the have studied. It also goes through encouraging them to retain the significant results they obtained and it is better for them to use that information to determine next steps for each student.

Follow-up

To follow up the study of students can be in the form of a contest or an entertaining game to be a type of fun for the lesson.

Yousif Bilal

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-197364061/emerging-technologies-focusing-form.html

Music and Language Learning

Dear Colleagues this is my review to an article that match with many ways I have tried for my teaching technique.

Music and Language Learning

By Bob Lake

Introduction

Bob Lake is a teacher using music as a tool for learning languages (ESL) and his students mostly are emigrants. He says that "Music is three dimensional".

Music helps student to think critically

Children

When the baby needs something it does not speak but it uses uttering words reflect the needs. Mother understands that and meets those needs.
This is one of the evidence that the child can understand and learn a second language.

The researcher used ( Krashen's Hyposesis) theory (A theorist that I will post a blog about in this semester) to answer his research question. He came to understanding that the most three valuable components are the affective filter, the monitor model and natural input.

Relaxation versus Anxiety

Students need to be relaxed. According to the situation that they are away form their motherland's culture that might give them some anxiety.

And the wondrous magic of music and can overcome the fear and the anxiety of the students. The researcher says that when he was teaching some of these students who suffer from loneliness and distance from home as well as cultural difference, after one of the students played the accordion, all the emotions came together listening and dancing. Music is really international.

Level of Understanding

According to the researcher language learners should be exposed to a higher level and music is very helpful in that.
This type of theory called (1+one formula) Created by Krashen. The writer believes that the chorus is easy than the verse in the songs so students can pick it up quickly and gave some examples for that. The researcher explained the usages of natural input and the role of the brain in that matter.

Cultural Differences

Cultural differences between the various ethnic groups play an important role in the learning process of speaking a language other than English. Some of the learners who have their brain on the right they deal well with drawings. On the other hand those who have their brain to the left are thinkers and analytic students.

In addition to Krashen's theory, there is a personal experience of the researcher where his career started as a teacher volunteers. The experiment started with the children and also young people.

The District Administrator Comment

At the end of the year the District Administrator commented on substantial improvement of pronunciation by singing.

He also added that the music helped stroke patients and those who had incidents and whose ability to speak was weakened by that.

Conclusion

The researcher expressed assertion about the attraction of people to speak, accompanied by propaganda and said it quick access to the brains of listeners. Also Rhythm and melody and all the rehearsals go to long-term memory. The researcher says that the difficulties in finding an appropriate material for his students made him create his own curriculum.

He concluded by saying that research already shown the power of music to connect the language to students, even if it is difficult.

http://www.dtae.org/adultlit/connections/music.html

Yousif Bilal (Elmosley)

Music and Language Learning

ESL Through Music

ESL Through Music

I have found this website and I have read it carefully because it belong to my musical career.

The website is bringing to the table some sources and articles to support his view of thr powerful music in term of teaching languages.

Her is the first one.

Teaching English with Songs and Music

The researcher says that there are many ways to fill the blanks. He gives the student an opportunity to listen to a song and then fill in the blanks in the second time. This activity is twenty minutes long. Filling the blanks can be very useful when teaching verbs like the past simple.

Strips of The Paper

Diving the students into two groups and dividing the lyrics between them in order to make some competition is second idea.

Relaxation

The writer admits that when he brings instrumental music or classical music with very low sound the students feel very relax.

Guided Fantasy

There is another way of helping students to expand their imagination and their expressive use of popular music.

The teacher prepares a text relate and then the students closed their eyes and leaves them the opportunity to imagine.

The Students’ Proficiency Level and The Type of Lyrics Used.

In term of filling the blanks a few words would be given to the beginning class. On the other hand more words would be given to the advance class.

In term of the lyrics they are simple and repetitive words.

http://www.eslgames.com/edutainment/songs.htm

http://www.caslt.org/resources/english-sl/classroom-resource-links-music_en.php