For my final blog associated with the course, Using Technology to Enhance Adult Learning, I will consider three technologies that I discovered as a result of reading the blogs of my class colleagues.  These technologies relate to netiquette, ethics, and digital citizenship.  In my comments, I will explain why I selected these technologies and provide two examples of how I might integrate them into my future practice as an educator of adult ESL learners.

 

Linda Komara shared via her blog the Netiquette: An exercise and e-guides on social interaction and communicating electronically Website found at http://www.studygs.net/netiquette.htm.  This page is part of a site titled Study Guides and Strategies, and has been created and maintained for more than a decade by Joe Landsberger as an open education public service.  It contains various study guides for adult learners to advance their learning skills.  One of the study guides is on netiquette.  This particular web page covers all aspects of communicating via email and includes guides regarding Writing for the Internet, Copyright Basics, and Citation (Landsberger, n.d.).  This website is a valuable tool because email is one of the main communication tools in the workplace.  Students must be familiar with the proper ways to use email in order to be successful in handling it in the workplace.  They must understand that there is a difference between emailing and texting or using social media.  Moreover, many of them will need to know how to use email effectively in a global context.  I might use this website with my more advanced adult ESL learners in a unit that deals with using English writing skills in the email format.  I would review the information on the Website thoroughly with my students, giving them plenty of time for discussion and questions.  Then, I would divide the students into pairs and assign them to email each other back and forth over a week’s time sharing information about their hobbies or future vocational aspirations.  I might also have my ESL class connect with another ESL class at another university overseas.  I would assign my students to exchange emails with the students in that class and have them share with them some of the Internet technologies they have found engaging and helpful in improving their English literacy skills.  In both of these examples, my ESL students would gain valuable experience in communicating with the proper netiquette via email as well as effective practice in writing English.

Reference

Komara, L. (2013, April 18). Welcome to Linda K's Blog: April 2013 [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://komaralk8.blogspot.com/2013_04_01_archive.html

Landsberger, J. (n.d.). Netiquette: an exercise and e-guides on social interaction and communicating electronically. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://www.studygs.net/netiquette.htm

 

Carolyn Bell shared information about Turnitin via her blog. Turnitin is a publishing tool that assists educators and students in checking their essays and papers for originality (Bell, 2013).  It integrates with over 50 Course Management Systems, uses three databases to match content, is positioned in over 126 countries, and is used by over 69% of the top 100 universities/colleges in the U.S. (Turnitin—Our Company, 2013).  “Ethics is an inherent part of the discussion surrounding plagiarism as educational institutions struggle to produce high-quality students with ethical standards” (Brown & Rubin, 2011, p. 33).  Many students believe that digital information is open and available for all to use (Dye, 2007; as cited in Brown & Rubin, 2011).  Because students “use this free content daily, their perceptions of plagiarism differ from their teachers” (Ma, Wan, & Lu, 2008; as cited in Brown & Rubin, 2011, p. 29), and unfortunately, teaching and counseling them about avoiding plagiarizing has proven to do little to deter them from copying others’ works (p. 29).  Turnitin is a valuable technological tool because it can be used to help students learn to “value their own voices and to appreciate what others have created (Calvin, 2007; as cited in Brown & Rubin, 2011, p. 30).  I would use it with my more advanced ESL adult learners by first explaining what it is and how it works, and then asking them to submit some of their essays and papers through Turnitin.  I would not ask that all essays be turned in to it as I would not want to breach the trust element between the educator and student.  Another way I might use Turnitin with my ESL students is to review a few essays with them that were plagiarized and then ask them to make suggestions based on the portions cited by Turnitin that need proper citation or paraphrasing of the content.  I believe that Turnitin serves as a deterrent to plagiarism when learners realize it will hold them accountable for originality and proper citation of others’ works. 

References

Bell, C. (2013, April 18). carolynbell02 « A topnotch WordPress.com site [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://carolynbell02.wordpress.com/

Brown, V. & Rubin, N. (2011). The ethics of Turnitin from a faculty’s perspective. National Teacher Education Journal, 4(2), p. 29-34.

Turnitin - Our Company. (2013). Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://turnitin.com/en_us/about-us/our-company

 

Carolyn Hesher shared information from her blog about the Website, Digital Citizenship, http://ecitizenship.csla.net/.  This is a site sponsored by the California School Library Association and California State University Long Beach.  The site describes digital citizenship as “the ability to use technology safely, responsibly, critically, and pro-actively to contribute to society” (Digital Citizenship, 2011).  The site offers six modules about digital citizenship that individually address:  definition, standards, student engagement, tools, teaching, and resources.  Complete and thorough lesson plans are provided with each module.  This is a valuable tool for adult learners because it helps them learn how to use emerging technologies properly and responsibly.  I might use the first module with my adult ESL students to help them learn the basics about digital citizenship.  Module 1 is available in different grade levels from K-12, which would be helpful in teaching beginning ESL students, so, I could make it as basic as needed.  I might also use Module 3 to teach more advanced ESL students how to use technology in order to participate in the digital world.  I would assign them to read about getting civically engaged through the use of technology, explain what this means, and ask them to suggest a “digital service project” which we would discuss together as a class (Digital Citizenship, 2011).  In the workforce, students will be expected to know the effective and appropriate ways to use technology.  It is imperative that we, as educators, teach them these skills along with the subjects we are teaching.      

References

Digital Citizenship [Web log post]. (2011, February 1). Retrieved from http://ecitizenship.csla.net/

Hesher, C. (2013, April 18). Carolyn Hesher | This WordPress.com site is about exploring how technology can enhance adult education [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://carolynhesher.wordpress.com/

As I continue my exploration of educational technologies, this week I will investigate one technology related to digital citizenship and one related to netiquette.  I will also explain how I will use these technologies to enhance learning with adult ESL students.

Digital citizenship has been described as “norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use” (Ribble, 2012).  To further explain the definition of digital citizenship, Ribble and Bailey (2007; as cited in Ribble, 2012, p. 150) created a framework of nine elements to categorize the topics associated with it:

1.      Digital Access

2.      Digital Commerce

3.      Digital Communication

4.      Digital Literacy

5.      Digital Etiquette

6.      Digital Law

7.      Digital Rights and Responsibilities

8.      Digital Health and Wellness

9.      Digital Security (self-protection)

Digital citizenship is important to learners because the world is becoming more digitally focused, and they will be expected to know how to use technology and how to use it wisely in the workplace. 

The technology related to digital citizenship that I explored this week was Digital Citizenship and Creative Content (http://digitalcitizenshiped.com/).  This is a free product, ready for immediate use, whose “goal is to create an awareness of the rights connected with creative content.  Because only through education can students gain an understanding of the relevance and a personal respect for creative rights and grow to become good digital citizens” (Digital Citizenship Education, 2011).  This site offers educators a curriculum comprised of four units.  “Each unit consists of a set of standalone yet complementary lesson plans centered on and playing off of a creative rights-related scenario presented through a case study” (Digital Citizenship Education, 2011).  Each lesson plan includes guiding questions, baseline and follow-up assessments to evaluate learning, and suggested ways to modify or extend learning regarding the topic.  The four units are titled:  Creative What?; By Rule of Law; Calling All Digital Citizens; and Protect Your Work, Respect Your Work (Digital Citizenship Education, 2011).  Ultimately, the goals of the curriculum “are to instill in students an appreciation of the value that creative content has for the creator, and to establish a personal respect for creative rights in a way that changes their behaviors and perceptions about digitally delivered content” (Digital Citizenship Education, 2011).  One way I might incorporate this technology into my professional practice would be to follow the lesson plans of the  first unit, Creative What?,  with my more advanced ESL learners where they will learn about what creative content and intellectual property are, why they are important, and how they are protected by copyright law.  I might also follow the lesson plans of the fourth unit, Protect Your Work, Respect Your Work, where learners will look at the works they have created, and learn how to share them legally, protect them, and legally use the works of other people.  I believe that this Creative Content Curriculum will incite significant and motivating learning about digital citizenship for my future ESL students as well as give them additional opportunities to use their English literacy and critical thinking skills.    

References

Digital Citizenship Education. (2011). Retrieved April 18, 2013, from http://digitalcitizenshiped.com/

Ribble, M. (2012, Oct.-Dec.). Digital citizenship for educational change. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 48(4), p. 148-151.

 

The word “netiquette” refers to the “principles of good electronic communication through computer conferencing” (Bradley, 2009, p. 154).  Guidelines for netiquette are constantly evolving just as communicating online constantly evolves; therefore, students need to learn about proper netiquette.  In addition, how these rules are established and interpreted depends on the online community that develops them.  “Online communities develop rules for communications based on the purpose of the community’s existence—professional, educational, or entertainment” (Aranda, 2007, p. 11).  Cultural diversity also plays a role in netiquette because of the diverse populations worldwide who are using the Internet.  Netiquette is learned by copying the behavior of other users in the community, being presented with negative responses to behaviors that are conveyed, and by formally teaching the behavior that is expected (Preece, 2004; Johnson, 1997; Levinson, 2007; as cited in Aranda, 2007).  Educators “hold a special role as they are many times the first formal presenters of online communication rules” (Aranda, 2007, p. 13). 

The technology related to netiquette that I explored this week was “Netiquette 101: Being Civilized and Safe Online (http://www.uni.illinois.edu/library/computerlit/netiquette.php). This website reviews five topics related to netiquette:

1.      The no-brainer stranger-danger stuff

2.      21^st century life online, or “how do so many people/companies know so much about me?”

3.      A bit about physical safety, or yes, computers can hurt you

4.      Communication and getting along

5.      Having a Life (Netiquette 101, 2012)

 With upper level ESL students, I would use the information from this website for a short study on netiquette.  I might incorporate this into my professional practice by first reviewing the information contained within the site with my class as a whole, and then dividing my students into five different collaborative groups.  Then, I would assign one of the five topics above to each group and ask them to research it further.  These groups would then be requested to create a 10 minute role play to present to the class that would present a scenario related to their topic.  These role plays would be staged one per day during a week of class.  Another way I might use this site would be to ask students to blog about two ways netiquette affects their use of technology.  These engaging activities would help students use and improve their reading, listening, speaking, and writing English skills, their critical thinking, and expand their knowledge of proper netiquette guidelines.

References

Aranda, J. F. (2007, Fall). Netiquette and online communication. Journal of Instruction Delivery Systems, 21(4), p. 11-14.

Bradley, S. (2009). The impact of netiquette on online group work: A study of UK Open University students. In O. Kallioinen (Ed.), Learning by developing—New ways to learn 2009 conference proceedings (p. 152-167). Espoo, Finland: Laurea University of Applied Sciences.

Netiquette 101. (2012, August 20). Retrieved April 18, 2013, from http://www.uni.illinois.edu/library/computerlit/netiquette.php

As I continue my exploration of educational technologies, this week I will look at one example each of open education and distance education that have the potential to enhance ESL adult education.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) celebrated the tenth anniversary of its open education, OpenCourseWare (OCW), project in April 2011.  This project helped start the OCW movement. 

 

Nowadays…there is a huge demand for high quality educational resources that are available online both freely and openly.  Moreover, the lifelong personal evolution in the knowledge and information society is thoroughly supported by the opportunity that anyone have access to such resources from anywhere at any time via the Internet.  Seeing the world’s knowledge as a public asset that can be accessed, shared, used and reused, etc. mediated by technology…is a powerful idea that may have an influential impact on teaching and learning within our society (Vladoiu, 2011, p. 290).

Open education helps meet the learning needs of life-long learners, individually as well as collaboratively, and supports them and the communities in which they live as they pursue the acquisition of knowledge (Vladiou, 2011, p. 291).  MIT offers four free courses online for learners taking English as a Second Language (ESL).    One of those courses is Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation (http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-223-listening-speaking-and-pronunciation-fall-2004/).   Listening, speaking, and pronunciation skills are essential and challenging components of ESL learning.   Created for high-intermediate ESL learners, the focus of the course is on speaking English that is intelligible and accurate, helping students feel more secure in listening to English spoken rapidly, and “learning common expressions, gambits, and idioms used in both formal and informal contexts” (Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation | Foreign Languages and Literatures |MIT OpenCourseWare, 2012).  I might incorporate this technology into my future ESL practice by using its instructional resources to support my curriculum design.  I would assign my students to watch some of the video lectures and audio visual materials associated with it.  Then, I would ask them to keep a journal of what they learned from each resource.  I would also download some of the course materials from this website and use them as additional resources to enhance student learning.

References

 

Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation | Foreign Languages and Literatures | MIT OpenCourseWare. (2012). Retrieved April 9, 2013, from http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-223-listening-speaking-and-pronunciation-fall-2004/

Vladoiu, M. (2011, April). State-of-the-art in open courseware initiatives worldwide. Informatics in Education, 10(2), 271-294, © 2011 Vilnius University.

 

The distance education I will look at this week is sponsored by Indiana University (IU) and offers two certificate programs of professional development for ESL and EFL teachers.  Information about it can be found at http://portal.education.indiana.edu/epde/Welcome.aspx . This program is affiliated with IUs Master’s degree in Literacy, Culture and Language Education.  Designed for educators who are new or experienced at teaching English as a second language, it will assist them in developing and enhancing their expertise in this subject.  This program was created to speak to the present need for teachers who are knowledgeable and qualified to teach English.  The demand abroad has increased over 300% for such educators since 2002.  In addition, in the U.S., there are presently “5.1 million learners requiring help with English as a second language” and not enough certified teachers to meet this great need (EFL/ESL Program via Distance Education, 2013).  I might use this technology in my professional practice as an educator by enrolling in this distance education program to get my certification to teach EFL/ESL when I am finished with my Master’s degree.  I might also recommend it to my colleagues who are also interested in teaching EFL/ESL and need certification in it.  The learning I impart to my future ESL students will be enhanced because I will have more expertise in English learning and will be able to be more proficient in my ESL educational practices.

Reference

EFL/ESL Program via Distance Education | Welcome from the Director | Indiana University. (2013). Retrieved from http://portal.education.indiana.edu/epde/Welcome.aspx

As I continue my exploration of educational technologies, this week I will look at a virtual Second Life (SL) environment and a website offering ESL games.  I will also discuss how they both can be used with adult ESL learners.

In 2010, Lingnan University, located in Hong Kong, approved the creation of an educational resource to be used as part of global language-learning endeavor that became a component of one of the institution’s ESL courses.  A collaborative effort was then established in the same year between the Lingnan ESL class and students studying to Teach English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) at Texas A&M University.  “This partnership between ESL and TESOL courses offers a natural synergy for both sides, where both the native English tutors and the English-learning students can benefit from the natural-language interactions enabled by the SL technology to converse in a fully immersive virtual environment” (Knutzen & Kennedy, 2012, p. 91).  The collaborative virtual environment (CVE) that was created for this partnership was located on the Lingnan University Island and featured a sizeable facility for language-learning called the Caddy Shack.  It looked like an American, 1950s diner “with a large bar and restaurant seating area, rotating dance floor, and 12 classic convertible Cadillac cars” (p. 91).  The cars were redesigned to serve as booths seating up to 4 avatars and were fitted with TV displays that could show videos from the Internet, art, music, etc. that would stimulate conversation and interaction, all controlled by the human-like avatars.  The booths were “designed to support voice conversations using the voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology built into SL, which works in a fashion similar to Skype” (p. 93).  The area on the University Island outside of the diner was also developed with additional features for students to explore with their conversational colleagues such as a beach environment, a meadow for riding horses, jet skis for island touring, a carousel, and campfires placed along the coastline.  This global laboratory involved a sequence of hands-on, two-hour experiences “two or three times a week at language computer labs” (p. 93).  Students participating in the global classroom from both institutions originated a SL avatar account (free) and received training in navigating and interacting in the CVE.  They also learned how to document their activities in this language-learning world (Knutzen & Kennedy, 2012).  Comments from students about what they found enjoyable and interesting about using the CVE included:  developing international friendships, sharing of interests and feelings, talking to different people, speaking the English language with native speakers, and experiencing the VoIP features and the SL virtual environment.  This “immersive virtual environment…[offered] a very good simulation of face-to-face interaction, with its fast-paced small talk and informal language style” (p. 99).  I chose to review this Second Life multi-user virtual environment because research has indicated that it has value to the ESL adult learner.  Ho (2006; as cited in Knutzen & Kennedy, 2012, p. 90) expressed “a desire for teaching environments where a lot more attention is paid to active and engaging teacher-student and student-student interactive behavior.”  In addition, Mishan (2007; as cited in Knutzen & Kennedy, 2012) noted that chatting online offers exposure for ESL learners to informal, conversational language. 

If, as an ESL educator, I had the availability of a Second Life CVE, I would ask my students to form a collaborative partnership with a native English speaker on the environment, simulate various social actions there, and carry-on conversations regarding the activities they participate in together.  A second activity I might ask them to do is to visit other places on the Island and tell their partner about something they saw or experienced.  After each activity, I would ask students to document their “language-learning activities on discussion forums” and upload them for assessment purposes (p. 94).  Knutzen and Kennedy (2012) included multiple pictures of the various locations available to visit on this global SL classroom in their article.  It was a fascinating article to read.

Reference

Knutzen, B. and Kennedy, D. (2012). The global classroom project: Learning a second language in a virtual environment. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 10(1), p. 90-106.

The second educational technology I am reviewing this week is the website, ESL Games (http://www.eslgamesworld.com/), which offers free, fun, and interactive games for ESL leaners of all ages to work on English vocabulary and grammar.  This site offers assistance to teachers by providing ESL games that are fun for use in classrooms, computer games that are interactive, PowerPoint templates and games, board games, and grammar, reading, and vocabulary games (Free ESL Fun Games, Interactive Grammar & Vocabulary Games for Classrooms, n.d.).  I might incorporate this website into my future ESL practice by asking learners to play the various Jeopardy Quiz Show ESL Games either individually or in groups of up to four players.  I might also ask learners to play the various Billionaire ESL Games in the same way.  These games will expose students to English words, sentences, and grammar and help them reinforce the literacy skills they have been learning.  These computer games are offered at different levels and keep students more engaged than having them only work out of textbooks or workbooks.  This website can also be used by students outside of the classroom and offers the opportunity to focus on some specific ESL skill sets.

Reference

Free ESL Fun Games, Interactive Grammar & Vocabulary Games for Classrooms. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eslgamesworld.com/