This week is the time for mid-term test of Language Teaching Technology class. We are supposed to answer all the questions by providing some references to support our answer. These are the questions and answer of my mid-term test.
1. Why do language teachers need to apply products of technology (ICT) in their classroom?
Teachers need to apply technology in their class because as the development of technology there are so many opportunities in improving the way we do something especially in education. Blanskat, Blamire, kefala (2006) stated that "ICT
has positive impact on students’ performances in primary schools
particularly in English language and less in science. Schools with
higher level of e-maturity show a rapid increase in performances
in scores compared to those with lower level."
Beside, ICT enhances composing in English by allowing students to:
- plan, draft, revise and edit their own and others’ writing using a word processor and other desktop publishing packages
- share and collaborate in the writing process
- use hypermedia to write up, lay out and present their work for publication on the Internet
- transform different media into one text
- email for a range of communication purposes
- design websites using informative/ persuasive texts
- publish writing in a variety of forms
- use video editing programs and programs such as Photo Story , Movie maker and animation software packages
- integrate digital photography and video into their texts
- integrate different media into one text
- communicate
with a wider group of people in a range of forums (e.g. via e-mail,
newsgroups, online conferencing raps) and hence promote collaborative
learning .
Read more:
http://www.englishteacher.com.au/AboutUs/OfficialStatements/ICTsinEnglish.aspx
http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/959-advantages-of-using-ict-in-learning-teaching-processes
2. Mention some products of technology that support English language teaching!
Some products of technology that support English language teaching
1. Camera
Beautiful pictures, natural sceneries and scenes that
captivate the mind when the students are taken to the field trip or educational
tour can be captured by using camera. Teacher can make the students speak about their personal experience
by using them. Enthusiastically they involve themselves in the activity and
express their feelings and experience in their own language. This will
definitely develop their English language skill. Images thus captured can be
used for making albums, project works etc. it can also be used as a flash card
for teaching new words.
2. Voice Recorder
It
facilitates one to record speech sounds. One can record the
conversation and replay it. It is a very useful tool that a teacher can use
inside the classroom. Of the four skills of English language, listening is the
basic skill. Only heard sounds are produced, those unheard are never produced.
Hence, it is mandatory to give listening practice to learners of a foreign
language.
3. Mobile Dictionary
It
is very useful for the learners of second language in learning English
for translating any materials, utterances or exercises given by the
teacher. Students are easy to use it in anytime and anywhere without
having any difficulties in looking up the words in traditional
dictionary.
4. Tablet
Tablet
is the simple form of computer. It has some of computer function; such
as, typing document, making presentation, recording sound, etc. By using
this device students are able to go anywhere and learning English
without carrying any heavy devices because it already compiles
computer's functions.
5. PDA
A personal digital assistant (PDA), also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant,
is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager.
PDAs are largely considered obsolete with the widespread adoption of
smartphones.
Source :
https://sites.google.com/site/journaloftechnologyforelt/archive/october---december-2012/6-mobile-phone-a-useful-tool-for-english-language-teaching-and-assessment
3. Mention some computer hardware used for teaching and learning activities and explain one by one!
Some computer hardware used for teaching and learning activities
1.LCD Projector
In
the past, a teacher who wanted to display information for a classroom full of
students had only a few options at his disposal: writing everything out on the
chalkboard manually or projecting it onto a screen using a transparency
projector. Today, the liquid crystal display (LCD) technology becoming common
in homes has also made its way into the classroom. If you're an educator who
teaches in a school equipped with LCD screens, you can incorporate this
technology into your lessons in several ways.
Source:
http://www.ehow.com/how_7509722_use-lcd-projectors-education.html
2. Speaker
Computer
speakers, or multimedia speakers, are speakers external to a computer,
that disable the lower fidelity built-in speaker. They often have a
low-power internal amplifier.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_speaker
The
speaker or loud speaker can be used in teaching and learning process.
It is often used as the media to conduct any kind of listening exercise
of to the material that provides visual aid; for example, video that
needs a loudspeaker to produce the sound loudly for the audience.
3. Headphones
Headphones (or "head-phones" in the early days of
telephony and radio) are a pair of small loudspeaker
that are designed to be held in place close to a user's ears. They are also
known as earspeakers, earphones
or, colloquially,
cans.
The alternate in-ear versions are known as earbuds or earphones.
In the context of telecommunication, a headset
is a combination of headphone and microphone.
Headphones either have wires for connection to a signal source such as an audio
amplifier,
radio,
CD player,
portable media player, mobile phone,
electronic musical instrument, or have a wireless
device, which is used to pick up signal without using a cable.
The
function of this device is almost similar with the speaker or
loudspeaker, but if the speaker can't reach the audience who takes a
seat at the back row, this device is able to reach all the audiences by
delivering its sound directly through audience's ears so that it will produce the sound clearer than speaker.
4. Personal Computer
Personal computers allow us to write papers, create spreadsheets, track
our finances, play games, and do many other things. If a PC is
connected to the Internet, it can be used to browse the Web, check
e-mail, communicate with friends via instant messaging programs, and download files. PCs have become such an integral part of our lives that it can be difficult to imagine life without them!
4.What computer software do you need for teaching English in the classroom?
These are some software needed for teaching English in the classroom
1. Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash (formerly called "Macromedia
Flash") is a multimedia and software platform used for creating vector
graphics, animation, games and rich Internet applications (RIAs) that can
be viewed, played and executed in Adobe Flash Player. Flash is frequently used to
add streamed video or audio players, advertisement and
interactive
multimedia content to web pages, although usage of Flash on websites is declining.
Flash manipulates vector
and raster graphics to provide animation of text,
drawings, and still images. It allows bidirectional streaming of audio and
video, and it can capture user input via mouse, keyboard, microphone and
camera. Flash applications and animations can be programmed
using the object-oriented language called ActionScript.
Adobe Flash Professional is the most
popular and user-friendly authoring tool for creating the Flash content, which
also allows automation via the JavaScript Flash language (JSFL).
Adobe Flash Player makes the
Flash content accessible on various computer systems and devices and is available free of charge
for common web browsers (as a plug-in) under a few of the major operating
systems, some smartphones and tablets,
and a few other electronic devices using Flash Lite.
By
using this software, the teacher is able to make a kind of innovative
and creative game for the students. Since it is simple to learn, there
are many teachers use it nowadays.
2. Microsoft Power Point
PowerPoint
presentations consist of a number of individual pages or "slides".
The "slide" analogy is a reference to the slide
projector. A better analogy would be the "foils" (or
transparencies/plastic sheets) that are shown with an overhead projector, although they are in
decline now. Slides may contain text, graphics, sound, movies, and other
objects, which may be arranged freely. The presentation can be printed,
displayed live on a computer, or navigated through at the command of the
presenter. For larger audiences the computer display is often projected using a
video
projector. Slides can also form the basis of webcasts.
PowerPoint
provides three types of movements:
- Entrance,
emphasis, and exit of elements on a slide itself are controlled by what
PowerPoint calls Custom Animations.
- Transitions,
on the other hand, are movements between slides. These can be animated in
a variety of ways.
- Custom
animation can be used to create small story boards by animating pictures
to enter, exit or move.
PowerPoint
provides numerous features that offer flexibility and the ability to create a
professional presentation. One of the features provides the ability to create a
presentation that includes music which plays throughout the entire presentation
or sound effects for particular slides. In addition to the ability to add sound
files, the presentation can be designed to run, like a movie, on its own.
PowerPoint allows the user to record the slide show with narration and laser
pointer. The user may customize slide shows to show the slides in a different
order than originally designed and to have slides appear multiple times.
Microsoft also offers the ability to broadcast the presentation to specific
users via a link and Windows Live.
This
is one of the software which comes bundle with the microsoft office
package. Many people already use it for teaching and others
presentation.
3. Prezi
Prezi is used at Oregon State University
as well as at the Dwight School and elsewhere
in primary education and higher education. It can be used
by teachers and students to collaborate on presentations with multiple users
having access and the ability to edit the same presentation,
and to allow students to construct and present their knowledge in different
learning styles. The product is
also being used in e-learning and edutainment.
However note that Prezi is considered by Web2Access to be an 'inaccessible
service'. Educators have
been advised that Prezi is not ADA/508 compliant and that an accessible
PowerPoint version of the presentation should be provided online for students
where a Prezi has been used.
This
is also one of presentation software. Maybe some of you haven't seen it
used during the presentation, but this software may give you another
view or appearance of presentation software since maybe some of the
teacher often use the power point for their presentation. You can try it
for another enjoyment in giving lesson.
4. Audacity
Audacity
is a free open source digital audio editor and recording computer
software application, available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and other
operating systems. In addition to recording audio from multiple sources,
Audacity can be used for post-processing of all types of audio,
including podcasts by adding effects such as normalization, trimming,
and fading in and out.
Audacity has also been used to record and mix entire albums.
Read more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audacity_%28audio_editor%29
5. What do you know about CALL and MALL?
a. CALL
Based on the
communicative approach, communicative
CALL focuses more on using forms rather than on the forms themselves. The
communicative CALL programmes provide skill practice in a non-drill format,
through language games, reading and text reconstruction. This approach still
uses the computer as a tutor,
although it gives students choices, control and interaction. Another CALL model
used for communicative activities involves the computer as stimulus, as in programmes that stimulate writing or
discussions, and which may not be specifically designed for language
learners. Finally, communicative
CALL also uses the computer as a tool,
in programmes that do not provide language material, but enable the learner
to understand and use the language, such as word processors, desk–top
publishing, spelling and grammar checks programmes, as used for instance in
process writing.
http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/CALL.html
b. MALL
Mobile learning is undergoing rapid evolution. Mobile phones can support many kinds of learning, including language learning. Mobile technologies offer numerous practical uses in language learning. A computer is better than a mobile phone for handling various types of information such as visual, sound, and textual information, but mobile phone is superior to a computer in portability. They can be just as easily utilized outside of the classroom as they can in it;learners can study or practice manageable chunks of information
in any place on their own time, thereby taking advantage of their convenience.
Source:
- Journal of Technology for ELT – Vol II. No. 2 (April 2011)
- https://sites.google.com/site/journaloftechnologyforelt/archive/april2011/mobileassistedlanguagelearning
