Presentations

2003-11-21T13:11:00.000+11:00

Hello Suzanne and Margaret!
I'm happy to see you managed to make your postings with your presentations on this blog!
Maria

2003-10-28T23:44:00.000+11:00

DICTOGLOSS

Presentation by Suzanne Capell

Source: Wajnryb, R. ‘Grammar Dictation’ Oxford: Oxford University Press 1990

Definition:
“Dictogloss is a task-based procedure designed to help language-learning students towards a better understanding of how grammar works on a text basis. It is designed to expose where their language-learner shortcomings (and needs) are, so that teaching can be directed more precisely towards these areas”Page 6

Aims:
· To provide an opportunity for learners to use their productive grammar in the task of text creation.
· To encourage learners to find out what they do and do not know about English.
· To upgrade and refine the learners’ use of the language through a comprehensive analysis of language options in the correction of the learners’ approximate texts.

Target group: Suitable for Pre Intermediate and upwards

Organisation: Groups of four students

Procedure:

There are four stages:

1. Preparation

Prepare learners for the subject matter to make them more receptive to the listening in the next stage
Prepare learners for the vocabulary of the text
Ensure learners know what they are expected to do at each stage of the procedure
Organise learners into groups before the dictation begins

2. Dictation

Dictate the passage twice at normal speed, reading a whole sentence before pausing briefly then reading the next whole sentence. The first time, learners should not write, but listen to get the general gist of the whole passage. The second time they should take notes down. Encourage students to write down content or information words that will serve as memory triggers later.

3. Reconstruction

When the dictation is finished, ask the learners in their groups to share their notes and work on their version of the text. It is a good idea to have a ‘scribe’ in each group who writes down the group’s text on flip chart paper as it emerges from the group discussion. When complete, ask the group to check the text for grammar, textual cohesion and logical sense.

4 Analysis and correction

Stick each group’s sheet(s) of flip chart paper on the wall side by side.
Do the analysis on a sentence-by-sentence basis, that is, examine sentence 1 of each group before moving on to sentence 2 of each group, and so on
Encourage the students to compare the various versions and discuss the language choices made. In this way, errors are exposed and discussed. Use a different coloured felt pen to write corrections/options on the students’ flip chart paper. At the same time, work done well can be praised.
Place an overhead transparency of the original text on the overhead projector. Display one sentence at a time from the original text after the students’ versions have been examined.

Some advantages:
· The issue of grammar is approached contextually
· Grammar correction is done in response to visible needs
· It integrates the functions of testing and teaching
· It motivates learners through cooperative learning

Duration of activity: One hour (or longer if it is the students’ first exposure)

Materials:
· The passage to be dictated
· Sheets of flip chart paper, felt pens and masking tape
· An overhead projector
· An overhead transparency of the original text

2003-10-28T08:07:00.000+11:00

The Queue

Source: Hadfield, J. (1990) Intermediate Communication Games, Thomas Nelson and Sons.

Objective: Listening and speaking.
Asking about the past
Arranging in numerical order

Target Group: Intermediate learners but the language could be modified to suit either a more elementary or a more advanced class

Class Size: This game may be played with 8 – 30 students. If you have more than 30 students, invent a few more cards or play in two groups.

Aims: To practice past simple
To practice yes/no questions
To cover everyday activities
To practice past and infinitive forms of verbs – talk, share, catch, eat, have, listen, save, ask, make, have to , smoke, buy, quarrel, drink, read, drop, break, sing, play, be, tell, write, discuss, offer, whistle

Materials: Set of cards with information on them. Need a card for each student in the class i.e. if 20 students then use the first 20 cards. If you have fewer than 30 students in the class you will need to amend the last card in your queue.

Organisation:
· Create a set of cards. You will need one card for each student in the class. It is essential to use the cards in the order in which they are printed i.e. if you have 20 students, use the first 20 cards.
· If you have fewer than 30 students you will need to amend the last card in your queue to delete the section about the person behind you and write instead You were the last person in the queue. When you got to the ticket office, all the tickets were sold out.
· Shuffle the cards and give them out randomly to the students
· Tell the class – Yesterday you were all queuing for tickets for Linkin Park for next Sunday. You can remember who was in front of you and who was behind you in the queue, but not exactly where you were in the queue.
· The object of the game is to reconstruct the queue as it was.
· Students will need to move around the class asking each other questions about what they did in the queue yesterday, in order to find out who was in front of them and behind them and eventually reconstruct the queue by lining up in order. Give the group some examples of the questions that they can ask without specifically identifying who they are. The questions should require a yes or no answer.
· You will need enough space for the students to form a long line and it assists to designate a point to act as the box office where the queue begins.

Additional Ideas: Use the activity to teach the use of ordinal and cardinal numbers eg counting from 1 to 30 or being first, second and so on.
Use the activity to extend to writing about their experience eg frustrations, asking questions (writing out the questions they asked).

You whistled to yourself while you waited. The person in front of your was very impatient and kept looking at their watch. You were the last person in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out. You had a train to catch and kept looking at your watch. The queue moved very slowly. The person in front of you ate a hamburger. You were the last person in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out.
You were hungry so you bought a hamburger and ate it standing in the queue. The people in front of you offered everyone some sweets. You were the last person in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out. You and your friend had a bag of sweets and offered them round. The person in front of you played the guitar. You were the last persons in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out.
You played the guitar to pass the time while you waited. The person in front of you wrote several postcards. You were the last person in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out. You wrote postcards to pass the time. The person in front of you had a very heavy suitcase. You were the last person in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out.
You had just come from the airport and had a very heavy suitcase. The people in front of you got on your nerves: they sang songs all the time. You were the last person in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out. The person in front of you helped pick up vegetables from a shopping bag that broke. You and your friend sang songs to stop yourselves getting bored. You were the last person in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out.
You and your friend had a bag of sweets and offered them round. The person in front of you played the guitar. You were the last persons in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out. The person in front of you helped pick up vegetables from a shopping bag that broke. You and your friend sang songs to stop yourselves getting bored. You were the last persons in the queue and when you got to the box office, the tickets were sold out.

2003-10-22T12:32:00.000+10:00

Hi,

This is a test to see if I can load my presentation.

Margaret Weyl-Willett

2003-10-18T17:16:00.000+10:00

Hello my dear TESOL colleagues,

I want to share with you all this invitation to join an online discussion regarding our wonderful profession as English teachers and how we can best contribute to the betterment of it thrhough combining different resources by sharing our knowledge and opinions with one another.

Maria Elena Rendon G. monina37au@yahoo.com

1. THIS INVITATION is to the ESL community, worldwide for purposes of
joining a a discussion on methods likely to substantially increase
the "productivity", affordability and accessibility of English
language instruction. It will delve into the COMBINATION of: Use of
ordinary radio, tape recorders, print, c.d.,Internet and computer
technologies in COMBINATION with novel methods to use a COMBINATION
of "untrained" native English "teachers"; ESL trained native English
teachers; ESL trained non-native teachers; and non-English speaking
native teachers.

2. THE GOAL is to have a wide ranging open ended discussion of a kind
which will lead to a comprehensive "White Paper" authored by
contributions which should come from those who participate. The
"White Paper" is likely to be a collection of submissions -- to
include whether this kind of (worldwide) format was worth the time
spent?

3. BLOGGING comments are particularly encouraged. The blog site will
be reached from here:

NOTE: Those who submit comments in ESL list servs or in "ordinary"
e-mail exchanges should be advised that some of these are likely to
be "cut and pasted" into the Franklin blog.

NOTE:Those new to blogging are likely to be surprised about how
friendly is this communication method. And why, very often, the most
serious comments of all are found on blogging sites.

4. REAL TIME DISCUSSION: A good deal of this subject will be
addressed on 16 November 2003, by the WebHeads Group, within the
forum of Global Learn Day VII. . That
discussion will be lead by Vance Stevens, well known to thousands in
the ESL world. (More about Vance here:
.

As many as two dozen panelists are likely to join Vance in our
(combination) Net audio/telephone and text chat platform. (wee plug -
these platforms are all VERY, VERY friendly and already helpful ESL
teachers)

5. WHO? - I am sending blind copies of this e-mail to those I know to
be very ambitious, very competent ESL teachers around the world.

6. RADIO - I am also sending invitations to people involved in
"radio". Is radio the Sleeping Giant for increasing the "delivery" of
ESL to the developing world? They will bring their "radio"
experiences to the table. There are 85,000 community radio stations
in existence. What role do they have in ESL?

7. THREADS - LIST SERV - While I am hopeful that the most serious
discussions will be at http://www.bfranklin.edu/blog, it might be
that we should set up a new list serv devoted entirely to this
discussion? Let's see where it goes.

FINAL COMMENT: Here are the my personal premises and personal
convictions: (1) The Movers and Shakers of tomorrow are found in ESL
classrooms. (2) ESL teachers are among the most extraordinary people
on the planet - they are also underpaid and under appreciated. One
outcome, I hope, will be to improve their lot. They deserve better.
Especially those to whom this e-mail is sent.

Please forward.

--
John W. Hibbs
http://www.bfranklin.edu

2003-10-17T03:32:00.000+10:00

Hello Lise,
I forgot to thank you for the link on ELS Glossary. I looked at it and it's really helpful...and believe me it's not just you, we all get confused sometimes with the ELS jargon :)
Maria.

2003-10-17T02:59:00.000+10:00

Hello Alex!

I'm happy to see you finally made your way here! I knew you could make it.

I will check SOCS for information on the edition of the TESL electronic jounal regarding learning strategies

Maria.

2003-10-10T11:12:00.000+10:00

I have finally been able to access the blog, thanks to Maria. However, I am using my PC at Monash, not the Macintosh at Melbourne. Not even Maria could make that work, but I am pleased that the problem was not with me!
I was very interested to read Lise's explanations of "raspberries" and "Bronx cheers".
By the way, if you are interested in learning strategies the new edition of the TESL electronic journal will interest you. I have posted information on how to access it on SOCS.

Alex

2003-09-17T14:42:00.000+10:00

Re: Raspberries and Bronx cheers!

This is what I found out on the Web:

RASPBERRY:
short for raspberry tart, rhyming slang for fart :
a sound of contempt made by protruding the tongue between the lips and expelling air forcibly to produce a vibration;
broadly : an expression of disapproval or contempt
(source: www.merriam-webster.com)

BRONX CHEER:
In United States slang, the Bronx cheer is a noise made to signify derision,
made by sticking out the tongue between the lips and and blowing
to make a sound reminiscent of flatulence. It is also sometimes known as The Raspberry.
(source: www.wikipedia.org)

So there you go, same thing really!

2003-09-17T12:01:00.000+10:00

Hi everybody,
The School World Internet Education Projects link that Jennie refered to below is working properly. Have a look at it.
By the way, thanks for those links Jennie. I'm glad you put them on the blog, cause I missed your presentation and the Flat Stanley Project interests me. :)
Maria E. R.

2003-09-17T11:53:00.000+10:00

That's a very useful resource, Lise. Thank you. Maria E. R.

2003-09-12T17:08:00.000+10:00

Here's a useful site i found today, especially for those of us who get confused by all the ESL lingo (or maybe that's just me :).
It's called ESL Glossary

2003-09-12T16:14:00.000+10:00

Just re our brief discussion of the meaning of "Moomba" in class on Wednesday!

" Moomba is touted as meaning "Let's get together and have fun". It is widely understood that when the original organisers wanted to name the festival they visited an old Aboriginal elder and asked him what they should call their festival. His reply was Moomba! We are now told that this actually translates as something very similar to "Up
your bum!"

Editor's note: Moomba indeed creates some confusion among the linguists. The word moom, mum, means also "bottom" in
some Victorian Aboriginal languages, eg. in Wemba Wemba. Ba is a suffix meaning "at" or "in".

This was from www.bbc.co.uk

Also see this page under "Aboriginal Words in Use Today"

as well as this page from the Linguistics dep at Australian National University.

2003-09-09T17:28:00.000+10:00

Presentation Week 7
Maree Nicol

Discussion of controversial statements
All levels

Aims
Communicative Competence (coco)
Functional: analysing controversial statements
forming opinions
Coming to a consensus
Participating in spoken communication
Discourse
Features: coherence using connectives/conjunctives
Syntactic
Features: use of phrases and clauses in point form
Lexical
Features: collocation; make up your mind; come to a consensus; form an opinion etc.

Phonological
Features: spoken pronunciation in report to group: elision

Other: Features all domains: listening, speaking, reading and writing

Possible topics
Primary: Canteens should only sell healthy food.
Beauty is only a matter of taste.
Cats are much better pets than dogs.
Punishment never does any good.
Teachers should be called by their first names.

Secondary: Students should not have to wear uniforms.
Students should have more say in the running of their schools.
Love means never having to say you are sorry.
We should try to cure criminals not punish them.
Pop singers, film stars and sportspeople don’t deserve all the money
they earn.

Adults It is impossible to have a successful career and a successful family life.
The Women’s Liberation Movement has caused as many problems as it has solved.
The most important thing about a job is the money you earn.
Getting married and having children is more important for a woman than a man.
Asylum seekers should be kept in detention centres.

Resources: adapted from
Ur, Penny & Wright, Andrew. 1992. Five Minute Tasks. A resource book of short activities. Cambridge University Press.
P. Watcyn Ed. 2000. Instant Lessons Advanced. Penguin.

Procedure

· Write statements on board.
· Hand out a What do you think? sheet (1-10 -1 disagree – 10 agree (at this point you could explain here about black and white and shades of grey) Ask them to fill them out before beginning group work.
· Do first statement as a class/group.
· Write up for and against on board.
· Come to a consenus

· Divide into pairs or small groups and give each group a different statement
· Each student should have a ‘job’ to do eg. Write up for and against, report to class, discuss how the group went: did they agree, disagree, argue.

· Each group reports back to class – one writing on the board, one speaking to class and if you have a third student, they discuss group’s dynamics.
· At this point the class can add points for and against
· As a class come to a consensus.
The group of students pick the next group to report to class

at the end you could ask if any of the students changed their mind about any of the statements.

When I posted it looked a little strange, so I hope you can all understand it!

2003-09-02T13:19:00.000+10:00

Sorry this is so brief but it won't accept my graphics so I'm only including the links to the websites...

The Flat Stanley Project
http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca/

School World Internet Education Projects
http://www.schoolworld.asn.au/projects.html

Oddly, as I am trying to access to access the School World projects, I am getting an error message. Hopefully it will not do the same tomorrow when I present.

The projects are not designed specifically for ESL learners, but I believe many could be easily used with ESL learners as well. I may add more to this post later if I can't log on to the School World site on Wednesday.

More information will be provided in the presentation.

Jennie

2003-08-28T23:17:00.000+10:00

An example of communicative games:
PROVE IT!

Type of activity: group work, information search
Function practiced: asking for and giving personal information.
Features: grammar-structure based or content based.
The object of the game is to prove or disprove the statement which is given to each student.
How to use the game:
Students sit in a group of 5 or 6. (If the number of students is small, the whole class can be in one group and students can move around the class). They ask students in the group suitable questions until they have enough information to prove or disprove the statements. When they finish, teacher brings the whole class together and asks some individuals to prove their statements.
Depending on their level, students may need a little help in making up the questions.
The game may easily be adapted to provide practice in particular structures or functions. Some sample statements are provided to show how this may be done with, for example:
The present perfect
Most people have visited at least one other foreign country.
Everyone has read War and Peace.
At least half the class has seen The Sound of Music.
Someone in the class has kissed an Englishman.
There is someone in the class who has never smoked.
Only one person has been to France.
Likes and dislikes
People prefer cats to dogs.
Most people like strawberry-flavoured ice-cream.
The most popular sport is football.
Everyone enjoys dancing.
Most men like beer.
Most women hate ironing.
Habits
No one walks to school or work.
Most people smoke more than ten cigarettes a day.
Most people watch tv more than three times a week.
There is someone in the class who always does exercises before breakfast.
Most people go dancing quite often.
More men than women read a newspaper everyday.
Opinions
Most people think that
People should be limited to two children per family.
Women should be paid for housework.
There is too much violence on television.
Tobacco should be banned.
Modern art is rubbish.
Men and women should have an equal part in child care.

2003-08-21T10:56:00.000+10:00

AN ONLINE RESOURCE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS: english-to-go.com
By Sanghyo Daniel Koo

1. What is 'english-to-go'?
The world's leading provider of English language educational resources
55,000 teachers and 1,000,000 students in the world use
Established in 1998 by professional teachers for teachers and students
Address: http://www.english-to-go.com
2. Language level
From Elementary to Advanced
3. Feature
a. Integrated approach to language teaching
b. Topic based
c. Authentic texts
d. Simply print and teach
e. No stress lesson preparation
f. Not free; register and pay
4. Resources
a. Instants Lesson:samples
b. Anna Grammar:Expert advice on difficult grammar issuessamples
c. Weekly Warmer: Shorts activitiessamples
d. Max Vocab: Interesting information on wordsamples

2003-08-13T07:08:00.000+10:00

PRESENTATION OF AN ONLINE RESOURCE
By María Elena Rendón G.
………………………………………………………………………………………

Name: Blogs
Age group: All
Language level: From beginner to advanced
Requirements: A computer with access to the Internet

………………………………………………………………………………………
Aim of presentation
Present this new tool for web publishing and draw attention to the potential of its use in the ESL classroom, especially in reading and writing practice.

Content
1. Definition(s)
2. Uses of blogs
3. Examples of activities for the EFL class
4. Examples of blogs
5. Creation of a blog
6. More information about blogs
7. Conclusion
………………………………………………………………………………………

1. DEFININTIONS

1. Blogs (short for web logs) are diaries on the Internet. They have interesting links, thoughts, commentaries, ideas, pictures. Anybody can create one by just generating a password that gives access to a personal account. People write about anything on blogs, so they do not usually contain formal language, but depending on its purpose (personal, academic, etc) this can vary.

Some characteristics of blogs:
- No need to know HTLM or programming language
- Design is simple. Based on already made templates
- Text can be easily edited
- Images can be added
- Are free! (but can also be paid)

2. From Graham Stanley's EFL blog http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/

"The concept is simple enough. Create a Web page. Update it regularly with brief personal reflections or witty commentary, sprinkled with links to other pages. Put new entries at the top of the page, pushing older ones down. Voilà, you've got yourself a Web log. - David F. Gallagher"

3. From Wblog-Ed: http://www.weblogg-ed.com/stories/storyReader$414#what3
Web logs are easily created, easily updated Web pages or Web sites that can be accessed and edited from the Web browser of any Internet-connected computer. Think of them as digital paper.

2. USES OF BLOGS

- For pair/group editing
- For individual writing
- To create a community of readers and writers (share information and ask for ideas, suggestions)
- Course management tool
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=2011
From a site about Weblogs in education:
http://www.weblogg-ed.com/stories/storyReader$414#what3
The uses of blogs are many:
- Online student portfolios
- Filing cabinets where assignments and projects are stored.
- Class portals where teachers keep homework assignments, links, handouts, syllabi, etc.
- Collaborative writing spaces where students read and give feedback to one another.
- Reader's guides for literature study, as newspapers, and as project sites where students create and contribute all content.

‘Could the blog be used as a tool to transfer knowledge between groups of students, and even across terms? Would it be useful to make student work available for review to parties “outside” the course, such as parents or practitioner “reviewers?” ’
http://www.utm.edu/~johnston/papers/Johnston3-aelj.doc

In a classification of blogs by Aaron Campbell, an ESL practitioner and researcher, I found also different uses of blogs for each type of blog he describes:

“Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes”
By Aaron Patric Campbell
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html

From that paper:

Three Types of Weblogs for Use in ESL Classrooms

1. Tutor Blog

- Created by the tutor
- Gives daily reading practice
- Entries are short and geared towards learners' interests
- Entries are linked to related online sources;
Vocabulary can be recycled this way, using links
- Tutor uses casual, natural language style
- Promotes exploration of English websites.
Ss overcome aversion to readnig English online
- Questions, riddles, etc encourage ss to comment
- A space for class or syllabus information.
Reminders, upcoming topics, etc
- Follow up on difficult work in the class
- Resource of links for self-study.
Links to online quizzes, news, key-pal networks, audio, video files
Example: http://thenewtanuki.blogspot.com/

2. Learner Blog

- Created by the students (Individual or group)
- Useful in a reading and writing class
- Reading assignments can be followed by comments on the blog
- Can be used as journal, as diary, for personal self-expression
- Creating the blog encourages netsurfing in English for links
- Ss get experience with practical, legal and ethical issues
of creating a hypertext document
- Exchange of ideas among bloggers is promoted
(using the comment feature of the software)
Example: http://labousp.blogspot.com/

3. Class Blog

- Collaborative blog of the entire class
- In conversation based classes, can be a bulletin board for
messages, images, links related to topics discussed in class
- A place for thoughts on a common theme assigned
- Project-based learning: create an online resource for others
- A space for an international language exchange
Example: http://beeonline.blogspot.com/

3. EXAMPLES OF ACTIVITIES

1. Collective study notes
1. Divide up the keywords or study questions associated with a textbook chapter or a story among class members.
2. Each student posts the “answers”.
This enables each student to make a key contribution toward the combined class “study notes,” which are posted online and available to all.

2. The mystery guest
1. Invite some one to contribute a posting to the class blog
2. Students make guesses as to who the guest can be from his/her posting
3. The winner can have an online prize (an online card or a virtual chocolate!)

4. EXAMPLES OF BLOGS

1. EFL Teachers and their students:

1.1 Aaron Campbell: “The New Tanuki”
http://thenewtanuki.blogspot.com/
1.2 Barbara Dieu: “Bee Online”
http://beeonline.blogspot.com/
1.3 Teresa d'Eca: “Let’s Blog”
http://www.malhatlantica.pt/teresadeca/school/blog7.htm

2. An elementary student reflections on using blog for a journalism class:
http://anvil.gsu.edu/Brianna/

3. Weblogg-ed. Using Weblogs in Education http://www.weblogg-ed.com/

4. Curriculum Planning http://www.schoolblogs.com/planning/

5. Merlot http://www.learningtimes.org (Needs log in password. Log in is free)

5. CREATION OF A BLOG

5.1 See Our blog created with Blog-city. Comments from anyone are possible.
5.2 Create someone’s blog with Blogger.com. Comments and editable entries from
members of the blog only.

6. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BLOGS

For creating blogs
http://www.blogger.com
http://ww.blog-city.com

Blogs about EFL/ESL and education
http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/
http://www.mariajordano.com/my_suggested_blogs/otherblogs.htm
http://www.schoolblogs.com/

More about how to use blogs in the EFL classroom:
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html by Aaron Campbell

A compendium about everything related to blogs
http://www.lights.com/weblogs/index.html

A directory of blogs in the compendium webpage
http://www.lights.com/weblogs/directories.html

Many useful links about Blogs
http://www.malhatlantica.pt/teresadeca/webheads/online-learning-environments.htm#Blogs
There has even been a conference on the blog phenomenon! Held in Viena, Austria in May 2003
http://www.blogtalk.net/
“BlogTalk - A European Conference On Weblogs: Web-based publishing, communication and collaboration tools for professional and private use.”

A must for CALL-eages
Jim Duber on CALL: "This is an interactive journal where I post my bits and pieces and invite readers to discuss issues and trends in the field of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). Jim Duber."
http://www.duber.com/oncall/

Articles in referred journals

“Emerging Technologies: Blogs and Wikis: Environments for On-line Collaboration”
http://llt.msu.edu/vol7num2/emerging/default.html

“Weblogs for Use with ESL Classes”
An article by an ESL teacher in Japan (Aaron Campbell ‘The New Tanuki’)
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Campbell-Weblogs.html

Organization for Educators using Blog technology: eBN

“What is the eBN?
The Educational Bloggers Network is a collaborative of teachers and organizations using weblogs in education. Its purpose is to help its members kindergarten through university, to access and use Web log technology for the teaching of writing and reading across the disciplines. The network provides a forum for educational professionals who use Web logs, an array of opportunities for teachers to continue their professional growth, and a framework for cooperation to deal with issues that affect the integration of Web log and other digital technologies into teaching and learning.”
From Weblogg-Ed http://www.weblogg-ed.com/stories/storyReader$414

Comments about blogs

While only a few months into his blogging experiment, Richardson sees some impact on the way students are approaching their writing. "My kids are more aware of what they're writing and of the potential audience they're writing for," he says. http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2003/02/blogs.html
(A Hunterdon Central Regional High School English teacher from Flemington, N.J., Will Richardson is among the few educators starting to explore Web logs in the writing classroom. He’s the author of Weblogg-Ed.com a virtual goldmine of blogging resources, including best practices, educator blogs, and technology recommendations for choosing content management tools.)

“The individual student pages show a variety of personal styles - it is obvious that these students have had a lot of fun playing with the design of their blogs, which is important: if the students are approaching the weblog project as a fun activity, then they will be far more inclined to write.”
http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/

“Weblog writers tend to find themselves and their reasons for publishing endlessly fascinating. Blame it on our rampant egotism. But the Weblog Phenomenon is not merely one of writing--it's also one of reading. All of the reasons for the phenomenon cited above focus on people learning about themselves, transforming themselves, etc…
There's something more than simply self-expression happening here… maybe it's that other people want to read 'truth,' honesty, the unfiltered thoughts of others. Or maybe it really is simply about self-expression, and the Web has just made the barrier to entry for reading others' self-expression really really low...”
http://peterme.com/archives/00000128.html

“We have in the weblog an unprecedented tool with which to share ideas and understand other worldviews.”
http://www.rebeccablood.net/talks/waging_peace.html

7. CONCLUSION

In the same line of Aaron Campbel’s article conclusion, I hope that by presenting blogs, the software necessary, the various types of use that can have and the ease of its use I have drawn my TESOL classmates attention to an online resource that can support their classroom-based practice and that likewise they encourage its use among their students. Let’s all blog to TESOLUnimelb, our blog!

http://tesolunimelb.blog-city.com/