The role of WebQuests in learning a foreign/second language

WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented activity that uses resources on the World Wide Web. WebQuests pull together the most effective instructional practices into one integrated student activity. WebQuests are interesting and motivating to teachers and students. An effective WebQuest develops critical thinking skills and often includes a cooperative learning component. WebQuest is “an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all of the information that learners work with comes from the Web”.

By using WebQuest students will engage in higher-order thinking and develop authentic learning products and problem solving skill that they can share with the real world. WebQuests can help students meet standards focused on critical-thinking and analysis skills, and may be particularly useful for social studies and science. By using multimedia, WebQuests also help with multiple intelligence work. Alternative kinds of assessment can be used to judge the results of WebQuest projects. And, obviously, WebQuests are one way to use the Internet in education. WebQuests are promoted as meaningful because they allow higher-order thinking skills to be applied to real world tasks. WebQuest enhanced problem-solving skills, higher order thinking, motivation, creativity, critical thinking, active learning, connection to authentic contexts and assisted in bridging the theory to practice gap.

Webquest tend to be student-oriented and collaborative, with students engaged in constructivist activities resulting in shared learning experiences and new knowledge based on enquiry oriented language use and Web research skills.

WebQuests also incorporate cooperative and collaborative learning, since students work on projects in groups. These concepts can play a role in teaching with WebQuests. WebQuests can also help students meet standards focused on critical-thinking and analysis skills, and may be particularly useful for social studies and science. By using multimedia, WebQuests also help with multiple intelligence work. Alternative kinds of assessment can be used to judge the results of WebQuest projects. And, obviously, WebQuests are one way to use the Internet in education. WebQuests are tools, not educational theories, so they can be used in virtually any classroom with appropriate computer access.

WebQuest and Project-based Learning: Project Based Learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. These tasks are designed to: answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom. It engages students in learning essential knowledge through an extended, student-influenced inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.

Wordle for EDU401

"Reflection on the three weeks"

During the previous three weeks in EDU401, I have learned so many benift things that I didn't know how to use these things before.

At the beginning, I felt this course is very difficult for me but now I think it's very interesting and enjoyable course that I have taken. 

First thing, I learned how to use yahoo groups, blogs, wikis, delicious and google reader. These websites are important and helpful to the students and their teachers. It's playing important roles because they can communicate with each others and can improve students' knowledge and their information. I learned how can I create an account in social networks such as yahoo, gmail, blogs, delicious,  wikispeaces and twitter.  I joined as a member in yahoo groups and I learned how to write something on these websites. For example, I write a paragraph about myself and I post it on the yahoo groups then I write a comment about others introduction. Also, I create my album to put my  photos there. This website helps the students to improve their reading and writing. Also, it's help them to increase their vocabulary and knowledge by using the file area and links in yahoo groups and read the topics that the teacher is uploaded on it. 

Second thing, I learned how to create blog post and how I designed  my blog page by putting some picture and background and how can I change it and how I put a hyperlink to my post. This website help me and other students to develop or improve writing skills as well as reading skills.

Finally, I learned to use delicious by creating account on it and I put some links that benifit for me in english but in wikispeace I introduce myself and I put picture. These two websites helps the students to collaborate and to communicate with each others and make group discussion if they have any problems or when the teacher uploaded the assignment or some topics.

I love the idea of using these websites to teach language.

How would I use blogs, wikis and delicious with my EFL students?

Technology becomes an important thing in our daily life especially in teaching and learning. There are many websites such as blogs, wikis, delicious and yahoo group which can help the students to improve their knowledge and their English language skills ( reading, writing, speaking and listening). I would likely to use blogs, wikis and delicious with my EFL students through the lesson. The using of these websites in teaching can be a powerful and effective technology tool for students and teachers.

Using blog:

Blog is an excellent website for self expression if you want your students to convey their feeling and opinions use a blog. It's allows people to write their ideas, thoughts, reflections and they can write whatever they want then share it with each others. Blog is a great way to improve a student's writing skills. For example, if I were a teacher I will ask my EFL students to write a paragraph about introducing themselves to let me and others friends to know more about them or maybe they can describe their experiences in their life on a pargraph to measure their ability in writing and other students can comment on others friends' post. Also, I ask them to put a photo in their blogs and asks them to describe it. I would require students to read an artical and I ask them to give their opinion or they would summarize it and put it on their private or personal blogs. So, they have an opporrtunity to discuss and comment in defferent topics with defferent blogger or maybe I will set a competition between the students and choose the best posts. It helps students to improve their skills in writing, reading and increase their vocabulary. 

Using Wikis:

Wikis are excellent website for collaboration. It's help the students to communicate and collborate with each others. Students use a wiki to collaborate on a group, collect data or share the results of their research. I can use wiki, for example, in teaching grammar and vocabulary. Also I put the assignments and the handouts on wiki. Also I put the assignments and the handouts on wiki. If I use wiki with my students, I would divide the class into groups; each group will have their wiki. I’ll post some topics related to our course, each group will select a topic and collect and search information about it then post it in their group wiki and discus it with their classmates. Also, I help them if they have any problems. They can ask me questions that related to the course, exams, assignments or even general questions. Also, I post different questions or thoughts which I want them to respond to or maybe I post lesson or activities and I ask them to respond.

Using Delicious:

Delicious is a social bookmarking site where we can save links to all of our favorite websites. In delicious the students can store and share with others by put the links that they need it in their courses. It is important for both teachers and students to communication.

Delicious is great for keeping lists of websites that you wanted to explore or enjoy. By using delicious, maybe I give the students some links to visit and also add these links to their accounts if they find it important to develop their language and also to share with other some links that useful for the class work. For example, I give the students a website that offers activities that help them in learning vocabulary such as giving them multiple choices with sentences to choose the correct word. Also, I would ask my students to make their own Delicious and for each lesson they have to bookmark an article or a website that they find it useful and beneficial to our lesson, and share it with their classmates. It's a useful and enjoyable way to share links and URLs that will help them in developing their English language.

These websites can improve the teaching quality and the students' achievement. Technology really help developing and enhancing the learning process.

"Application of Bax Normilasation in Saudi Arabia: The how!"

Stephan Bax argues that, "Our aim should be to attain a state of `normalisation' in which the technology is invisible and truly integrated".

  This artical offers a critical examination and reassessment of the history of CALL. Warschauer and Healey famously identifies three phases of CALL which he terms ‘‘Behaviouristic’’, ‘‘Communicative’’ and ‘‘Integrative’’. Then Stephan Bax suggested three new CALLS that replaced the old one which are restricted, open and integrated CALL. Because he found some weakness in these old stages.

The three stages do not fall into neatly contained timelines.As each new stage has emerged, previous stages continue. The teacher use the computer in the language classroom that correspond to all three stages. He want to make these three stages more realistic and accurate. He changed the first approach "Behaviouristic" to "Restricted CALL" and the second approach "Communicative" to "Open CALL" and the third approach " Integrative" to " Integrated CALL".

  Stephan Bax argued that we are not reached and achieving the normaisation stage. He mentioned the concept of ‘normalisation’ which is relevant to any kind of technological innovation and refers to the stage when the technology becomes invisible, embedded in everyday practice and hence ‘normalised’.  For examples, books,  a wristwatch, a pen, shoes, writing and all of these technologies which have become normalised to the extent that we hardly even recognise them as technologies.

Most importantly, CALL will be normalised when computers are treated as always secondary to learning itself, when the needs of learners will be carefully analysed first of all, and then the computer used to serve those needs. He suggests three ways to achieve this normalization: the first is, we must identify the criteria factors which normalization requires. The second one is, we must review the practice of each teaching context in the light of criteria. Finally, we must encourage the normalization by adjusting the existing practices.

In conclusion, we have identified a possible future agenda for CALL. Our aim can be the normalisation in which CALL finally becomes invisible, serving the needs of learners and integrated into every teacher's everyday practice. This will almost certainly require changes in technology, in the size, shape and position of the classroom computer. It will require change in attitudes, in approach and practice amongst teachers and learners; it will require fuller integration into administrative procedures and syllabuses. Secondly, we have identified the means of achieving this goal and we need more in-depth ethnographic studies of individual environments to elucidate the relationship between the factors just mentioned. We also need action research in individual environments to identify barriers to normalisation and ways of overcoming them.

I think it is a wonderful way to use the normalization or technology in Saudi Arabia schools. Before years ago, it's impossible to use this technological way in Saudi schools because it's not suitable in schools. So, the teacher explaind the lesson to her students by usig the traditional material such as books, board, worksheet, chalks and pens and this making them not interesting to the lesson. But recently the is begin to be use gradually in Saudi schools (clasroom) and education. The teacher can use her computer by using power point or presentation to explain the lesson or what she wants from the students to be learnet. The teacher can send the assignment or extra activity which related in the subject through email or on any online web. All of these help students to use the technology in the right way. So, the teacher should be use the technology to make their students motivited to learn more and attractive to what be taught to them and making the teaching process mor interesting. It can encourage them to achieve their goals and to learn from each others and with their teacher in order to communicate. We must use the technology to improve our education in Saudi Arabia and making it advanced society because The technology is important in our life.....

Hello World !!! .... ^_*

Hi everyone ......

Welcome to my blog and have a nice day .... ^_*