Speaking with SOMEBODY in the middle of the night

http://www.reekoscience.com/Games/Ego/

What is this?

Ego the Robot can make a conversation with you anytime online.

How can you use this?

• If you want to speak with somebody in English even after midnight, Ego will be there all the time.
• It means you can practice your English 24 hours a day.

Limitations

• Sometimes unnatural response from the Robot

Useful evaluation sheets

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

What is this?

RubiStar is a tool to help the teacher who wants to use rubrics but does not have the time to develop them from scratch. Choose from topics such as Oral Projects, Research and Writing, Word Skills, Multimedia, Products, Science, Math, Reading, Music, and Art. You also have the ability to view, edit, and analyze a saved rubric. Also, RubiStar now provides a way for you to analyze the performance of your whole class.

Why is the content good for language learning?

• This is totally free.
• This site provides well-oarganized example of evaluation criteria.
• This is easy to make own assessment sheet.
• This is well systematic and easy to follow.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• When the teacher is teaching how to make a presentation, he can use evaluation sheets in order to make students reflect both individually and collaboratively.
• The process of reflection promotes learner autonomy through self-correction.
• It is very important for students to know what aspects will be assessed by the teacher.

here is an example of assessment sheet for oral presentation. 

Limitations

• The teacher should have clear idea of criteria.
• Giving too many assessment makes students demotivated.

Our WebQuest

http://questgarden.com/118/42/5/110204045226/

Podcasting from itunes

http://www.apple.com/itunes/

What is this?

Provides us a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication. Once you click the one of program, you can get a latest episode automatically when you synchronize your iPod, with your PC.

If you have any favorite podcast, why don't you share with us?

Learning by WebQuest

http://www.webquest.org/

What is this?

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.
If you want to know more details about WebQuest, click http://webquest.sdsu.edu/taskonomy.html
It explains what kinds of tasks are available. For example, Retelling task, Mystery task, Design task, and Consensus building task.

Why is the content good for language learning? 

• It is all free so no investment for teaching!
• It contains many tasks which learners can learn English both by individual and by group.
• It contains  different kinds of genres.
• Some contain teacher's instruction how to evaluate students' work.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• Once the teacher sets the goal of the course, she can chose from exsited WebQuest focusing on particular skill such as reading, writing , speaking, and listening.

                                                                   My favarite one

http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webquests/goldenticket/

 This movie 'Chalie and Chocolate factory' is very popular among the student especially at secondary schools, so it is easy to attract and draw them into WebQuest world.

Here is an example question;

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is more than just a story about Oompa Loompas and Everlasting Gobstoppers.  Willy Wonka thought it was important to have a responsible, honest, trustworthy person running his factory.  The characters that Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, created had qualities that you would and would not want in a citizen. The characters that he created over forty years ago can still teach us about the effects of violence, watching too much TV, fame, fortune, and what happens if you become an instant celebrity.  Why is it important to understand the effects of these types of things?  What qualities are important in a good citizen?  Why did Willy Wonka choose Charlie over the other children?

The teacher can get students discuss this question in group and get a feedback from them in a class.

Limitations

• Some studnets cannnot use their background knowledge if they are not interested in motif like the movie 'Chalie and Chocolate factory'.
• Some webquests contain almost only words so it is difficult for visual learners to concentrate on the task.

Get your presentation ideas from others' wonderful works!

http://www.slideshare.net/

What is this?

This contains a tremendous of created presentations about various kinds of topics.

Why is the content good for language learning?

• It contains examples which make learners understand easily
• It contains  different kinds of genres
• It contains easy instructions how to organize the writing
• It gives you ideas of organizing a presentation.

How might you use it in a language teaching context?

• The teacher can show good presentations and bad presentations and get students think how they are different either in a group or in pairs.
• The teacher can make a check list of a good presentation.
• After the discussion of a good presentation, the teacher get students make their own presentation and upload their presentations online.
• Everyone can watch other students' work and vote the best one.
• The teacher can show the best one to students in the class.

Limitations

• The task needs internet access.

How much do you know about technology?

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUdDhWfpqxg

Just watch this! You can tell that the technology has developed every single minute!