I have very little Internet/web abilities and therefore found almost all the sites fascinating.
I really liked the immediate feedback available when using the computer as an educational tool. The computer promotes self learning which can be motivational as well as self exploratory for students at any level and age.
http://homeworktips.about.com/od/speechclass/a/debate.htm
http://www.learner.org/interactives/spelling/index.html
http://thinktank.4teachers.org/
http://storybird.com/
online interactive printing
Ten Additional Ideas on How to Use Technology to Teach Writingpress.
The first site regarding debates was a wonderful low tech idea. My educational agenda being; to further students abilities to form thoughts in English fulfills itself fully in this method.
I like the idea of team work within strict debate rules and then the chance to proceed with an open class discussion involving all students.
I feel this method will provide the students with; persuasion skills, debating skills, research skills, public speaking and most importantly confidence when expressing themselves in English.
The next tool I chose was Skyp. I think it is a great way to create inter-school debates as well as international relationships between students in different countries. Maybe even tolerance, but I may be taking this a little too far....
I thought the sites that taught spelling were a wonderful way to encourage self learning in the classroom as well as at home. They motivate the student to plow forward by competing against themselves without feeling the pressure of their peers. I will choose not to disclose what level I reached. Ha Ha Ha
I am not sure about the "thinktank" site. I feel it might be too high a level for students of ESL. I don't remember being at that level in grade 12?!
I thought the story maker was "WOW" but do not know how it promotes writing, the process or the ability of the student.
Hi Reena,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what you said about technology promoting self learning. I am also very pro this idea. I think that often students gain more from feeling that they are learning on their own than when we stand in-front of them for 40 minutes blabbing about a topic of no relevance to their lives! This is one of the reasons I enjoy technology and hope to use it more in my classroom.
I agree that the immediate feedback of the internet is great for self esteem and motivation. I also think its great since they compete with themselves and it can create this internal challenge to keep trying till they improve.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteAbout the story maker- there are some story makers who provide the main text and ask only for details such as names to create the story. It provides the students with a story that he created which he can copy or practice reading. It can also involve words he has learned and then is useful to practice to write. Other storymakers such as StoryJumper is an excellent site to promote writing. When using this site for creative writing, it has an option of scenes that can help students who don't have ideas what to write about and other pictures that can encourage creative writing, even in the young ages. I think that writing in these kinds of format give the students the feeling they are doing something worthwhile. it isn't just a page in their notebook, it's much more!
I also agree to the immediate feedback and the advantages of not just standing in front of the class and sounding like the adults in the Charlie Brown cartoons (waa waa waaa waaa). I also liked your idea about using Skype. However, I feel it might not be practical. Unless of course you have a fully functioning computer lab in your school. If that is the case, I'm very jealous. Good luck with that project, I truly hope it works out.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the immediate feedback of the internet is a great education tool. I am always skeptical about the practical application. Most of the time in the computer lab I find my students doing other things.
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteWow! never realized the educational potential in creating a debate! i'll try it in my class!
Hi Reena, nice post! :) I agree with you about the immediate feedback, that's one of the reasons why I really liked the Spelling Bee for example. Also the skype tool can be great in order to have the kids make real conversations with kids from schools abroad which can be an exciting and enriching experience for them!
ReplyDeleteI would like to hear more about the skype- as I didn't see how exactly skype could work in a classroom, your idea seems interesting. I agree with what you said about the debates, it is a good way to get students thinking in english!!!
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea behing the debate website, they do give some ideas for writing activities about variety of topics, however thry seem as too complicated English sites for our students. Important to mention that these sites might assist the Advanced students preparing for their writing part in the Bagrut. The spelling sites as a whole were great! The story maker site do help and ecourage the students to learn some new words, and read the story which they hwlped to create. It motivates them, and does help them improve their writing and reading skills.
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