The Role of Web Quests in Learning a Foreign/Second Language

http://webquest.org/

      A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. The model was developed by Bernie Dodge at San Diego State University in February, 1995 with early input from SDSU/Pacific Bell Fellow Tom March, the Educational Technology staff at San Diego Unified School District, and waves of participants each summer at the Teach the Teachers Consortium.

- Web Quests  help students meet standards focused on critical-thinking and analysis skills, and may be particularly useful for social studies and science. 

-It  also help with multiple intelligence work. 

- It can be used to develop critical thinking skills among students to learn foreign language. 

- It can promote critical thinking because it requires each member of the group to carry out a specific, meaningful role, and then pool their respective research findings to formulate a response to a complex, open-ended problem.

- It can be multiple solutions to the problem in a Webquest.

- A good Webquest focuses on an issue that has multiple viewpoints, such as social, political, environmental, or health-related.

- It also requires more than information gathering; students must process the information in order to form their opinions.

- Help develop higher cognitive thinking by requiring students to sift through extensive information from the Web until they can construct an understanding that not only connects to their schema, but also builds new knowledge .

Web Site Evaluation

Dave's ESL Café

We have decided choosing a website for EFL/ESL learners and teachers. Website is  http://www.eslcafe.com  

Dave’s ESL Café is maintained by Dave Sperling. He has a B.A in Psychology from Pepperdine University, and an MA in Applied Linguistics from California State University, Northridge. He had spent nearly a decade teaching EFL in Japan and Thailand .Therefore we sure he is the expertise in his field especially teaching English as second language. This website basically “teaches” English as second language through different kind of approaches such as

 grammar lessons-giving notes about idioms- pronunciation-tutorial-forums – quizzes- World Culture –Writing- topics like geography.

You can know more information…

In general…

Dave's ESL Cafe is a Web site aimed at a general audience of ESL/EFL teachers and students. The purpose of the site is to provide English language resources and discussion forums for ESL/EFL students as well as job announcements, professional development opportunities, instructional strategies, and discussion forums for ESL/EFL teachers.

Dave’s ESL Café, which mainly relies on interaction, is made up of 3 sections. Stuff for teachers, stuff for students, stuff for everyone – the fourth section, Jobs. Stuff for students features a help Centre, which is actually a forum where learners can post language related questions of any kind. Dave Sterling himself, or some other learner, will answer them. There are also subsections on Idioms, Slang, Quizzes on different topics, and a wide set of student Forums, ranging from Computers and Sports to Science, Learning English and even The Strange and Mysterious. Stuff for everyone, on the other hand, contains a Chat Central, to which learners can register if they wish to experience a chat in English in a protected environment, a section on Podcasting and a wide collection of EFL links.

Suggestion…

The website is very use able for the teachers and also the students. 

The content of the website can also be improved by adding more options like listening and speaking activities. Currently, it only focuses on grammar, idioms and verbs. If possible, it is better if the Pronunciation Power can be access by everyone without the need to pay for it. Other than that I am quite satisfied with this website.

I would recommend this website to the English teachers as one of the references for their teaching plan and also for students to improve their English language.

I would positively use this application in my future work. As a future teacher I definitely will need some help in planning for my lessons in class. This website gives opportunity for me to exchange information about teaching with other people around the world. It also provides notes, ideas for activities, and other material that I can always make use in my class. I would also recommend my future students to access this website.

Interactive Language Learning on the Web

I’m sure that most of us are aware of the revolution that has been going on in schools around the world. 

 Online language tutorials, exercises, and tests are available to anyone who has access to the Web. This accessibility makes Web-based language learning activities quite attractive to both instructors and learners.

For teachers, they can create their own interactive language learning activities on the Web.

For students, there are  tutorials, exercises, and tests are available to anyone who has access to the Web, SO  it help  both instructors and learners.

 There are many advantages to creating your own interactive language learning activities for the Web. These advantages include accessibility, renewability, and adaptability.

- Accessibility:By putting course material on the Web, teachers provide students with 24-hour, independent access to course information, and updates to Web pages and new assignments are immediately available to students.

- Renewability: Once created, materials can be updated easily and often.

- Adaptability:Web-based activities can easily be modified to support students at different proficiency levels or with special needs.

Challenges in Creating Web-Based Activities

-  There are challenges in creating Web-based language learning activities is that teachers do not have the technical skill and knowledge to do so.

- Creating simple Web-based activities requires no more than basic HTML skills, many teachers lack even this.

- Most teachers do not have any time to devote to gaining these new skills.

- The variability of students' access to computers.

-  The need to design Web pages that meet accessibility guidelines for individuals with disabilities so that students with special needs are not left out.

We can teach using web...

- Vocabulary practice, grammar lessons, comprehension exercises.

- Reading and writing tasks.

- Pronunciation exercises,

- Online discussion boards are a good way to hold class discussions and create reading and writing activities for students. 

 -For writing, to create online writing assignments or discussions is through a Weblog, or "blog."

- Games and exercises designed to help students learn new vocabulary are easily put on the Web.

- Any online form used for interactive activities such as quizzes and vocabulary and grammar exercises will require either a CGI script or JavaScript

- JavaScript is an information collection and feedback tool that is used to make Web pages interactive. 

- Listening comprehension exercises, such as fill-in-the-gap exercises done while listening to audio, transfer nicely to the Web.

- Online exercises that use JavaScript are limited in their interactivity in that they can only provide a way for students to check their own answers.

SO

made an interactive in a variety of ways.

I am now quite hopeful that before too long our children’s (or grandchildren’s) classrooms will no longer resemble the ones we were in and that the materials that students use will be able to teach critical thinking, advance knowledge, and entertain simultaneously.

The digital train has left the station, and that’s a good thing.

What is the role of the teacher in todays world?

Marc Prensky

 

(Watch Prensky's  answer)

How can blogs, wikis and delicious be used in the Saudi EFL context

Blogs, Wikis and Delicious in Saudi EFL context

Blogs 

 Blogs provide a communication space that teachers can utilise with students whenever there is a curriculum need to develop writing, share ideas and reflect on work being undertaken in the classroom. For example, students can reflecting about anything they take it in classroom. In this case  writing skill will improve. We as a future teachers we have to use all the things that will help students or interact them.

Wikis

  Wikis are a great tool to help a school enrich instruction .It helpful to  provide unlimited storage for digital materials including video, screencasts, presentations, pdfs, etc. SO, wikis will help students to  share docs, media, and PDF files on your classroom wiki,

 If I were a teacher, I will  using the discussion feature in Wikis, it will help me to connect with my students and give them extra help, and Wikis will help me to share presentations with my students. In general Wikis can also use for professional development and to connect with other educators from other places to discuss, share and learn from each other.

Delicious

delicious is very helpful on the use of Saudi EFL context. For example, if the student  learned about a site from a conference or from a particular individual, she can tag the site with a word to help her to remember it. students can also look at what others are finding for a tag, and can also “subscribe” to others links under subscriptions (subs.) she can subscribe by tag or narrow and add user name. If I were a teacher, I will ask my students to create their own account to starting sharing activities and helpful websites.

We as a future teachers we have to use all the things that will help students or interact them, Delicious, Blogs, and Wikis are one of these interactive ways. If i were teacher one day i would like to prove how technology become helpful, and how education developing by technology.

Watch this video ....

A Vision of K-12 Students Today