Welcome!

INTRODUCTION

Technology is here to stay and as educators, the use of 2.0 Web tools is transforming our work. The aim of this blog is to share the benefits of using these tools applied to English language teaching, to present how to use them and to suggest some activities that can be done with these tools. These are just samples as possibilities are endless.

What are 2.0 web tools?

Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of the World Wide Web that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users. Blogs and wikis are seen as components of Web 2.0.

The potential of blogs in the classroom

Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is an online journal or diary. It consists of a chronological list of entries, or posts. These entries can contain text, photographs and links to other web pages.

There are different reasons why you should use blogs as part of your lessons:

ü The most relevant feature in the application of blogs can be said to be students’ participation.

ü They can be set up and used by teachers and/or learners.

ü They can be used to connect learners to other communities of learners, for example to a class in another country.

ü The ideas and content can be generated by teachers and/or learners.

ü They promote collaborative work. Readers can add comments and contribute with ideas.

ü They allow people to communicate and interact online.

ü They provide a “real-world” tool for learners as students can practise writing.

ü It is a good opportunity to extend class work and a way of communicating with students outside class time.

ü They enable socialisation, collaboration, creativity, authenticity and sharing.

ü They promote the learner’s autonomy as students can work on their own.

ü Blogs have the potential to address the needs of language learners at a number of different levels. The multi-medial nature of blogs exposes language learners to reading, writing, listening and speaking: text-based blogs supply learners with reading resources, audio-blogs with listening material, while photo-blogs and video-blogs provide additional insights into cultural aspects of the target language country.

References

Sharma, Pete, and Barney Barrett. "Creating and Using Your Own Resources." Blended Learning. Using Technology in and beyond the Language Classroom. Macmillan, 2007

Dudeney, Gavin and Hockly, Nicky. "Blogs, Wikis and Podcasts.”  How to Teach English with Technology. Pearson Longman, 2007

Peachey, N. Webs 2.0 Tools for Teachers

 Thomas, M. (2009). A Context-Based Approach to Web 2.0 and Language Education. In Web 2.0 and Second Language Education. Information Science Reference

Ledesma, P. (2010). WWW.Teach:Employing Web 2.0 Techniques for Fostering  Students' Creative Use of the Language in ESL and EFL Classrooms.