Bringing Wikis, Blogs and Podcasting to Your

Classroom

Lina Lee University of New Hampshire

NECTFL – New York

March 27, 2010

“I never teach my pupils; I

only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”

--Albert Einstein

21st Century Learning

Transform your classroom into a creative learning space and provide the opportunity for students to collaborate.

Welcome to 21st Century

Learning

Web 2.0 for Social Networking

Sharing Ideasvia Voice

Collaborative Writing

Personal Journals

Social Networking …

Connect YOU with people from …

Share information via texts, images, audios, videos ….

Collaborative learning Build community

No HTML knowledge required

FREE

Part 1: Wikis

How the wiki got its name?

“Wiki-wiki to the beach.” - Elvis Presley in the movie Blue Hawaii (1961). The line was said with a snap of the fingers.

Wikis …

Sand Box Collaborative writing tool

Work divided by several people Add and edit content together Final product displayed in one common place

Hyperlinks, photos, audios and videos Support the content

Why Wikis?

Collaborative writing anytime and anywhere Collection of ideas to make it better Learner-driven content Multiple ownership Community building Accountability FUN!

Wikipedia/Español/Cine

Wikipedia/Francais/Musique

Free Wiki Hosts

Wikispaces http://www.wikispaces.com/Wetpaint http://www.wetpaint.com/PB Wiki http://pbwiki.com/Wikidot http://www.wikidot.com/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

Wiki Space (Web page)

French 2

Grammar Group Writing Cultural Projects

Present Past Future

An ideal weekend Halloween 2009 Plans for Christmas

Quebec France Niger Congo Central Africa

homepage

Collaborative Writing

Five Basic Features

(1) Main page: home page(2) Navigation: list of pages (links)(3) History: tracking changes

Green - text added Red - text deleted

(4) Discussion: providing feedback/suggestions (5) Edit page: making changes

Wikispaces for Educadors

Make it protected

Manage Space Page

Main Page with Navigation

Navigation

Main Page with Edit

Edit - Save

Edit - Save Page

Compose ideas Make and save changes

Discussion Page

Discussion Page

History Page

History Page

Wiki Essays at UNH Spanish 402 (second semester) taught by TAs

Three essays outside of class One in-class essay at the end of the semester

Wiki essays in Spring 2008 (15% of course grade) Writing as “process” not “immediate product” Replace three traditional essays Groups of 4-5 students Each essay @ three weeks

Wikis Essays (continued)

Topics with linguistic focuses “Erase una vez …” (Once upon a time …) “Viajamos a ….” (Traveling to …) “Una carta a Abby” (A letter to Dear Abby)

Instructor’s role Create groups in Provide guidelines, grading criteria and feedback Monitor discussion page

 

Wiki Guidelines/Grading Criteria

Lee, L. (2010). Exploring wiki-mediatedcollaborative writing: A case study in anelementary Spanish course. CALICOJournal 27(2), 260-276.

Linguistic Issue (discussion page)

S1: However, I had a question in the last paragraph. Should it be “Me molesta

que Alejandro fume tanto” instead of “fuma tanto”?

S2: Is it one of the WEIRDO verbs that we have learned in class?

S3: I think it is like “no me gusta” –one of the emotional verbs but I’m not

really sure.

S2: Yeah… I think you guys are right. I see Michael’s note that we should use

the subjunctive here, expressing wishes, hopes and emotions (p. 365+).

Let’s change the verb. Anything else?

S3: Now I see that we also need to change --espero que Ud. ‘puede’ to ‘pueda’ -

the subjunctive. What do you guys think?

S1: I agree. I’ll finish some final edits. Now it's even kinda' funny and flows

a bit better than our last one.

Pragmatic Issue

S1: Hey guys. Do you think this "letter" should be written in

tu form or usted?

S2: I'd say usted because we’re talking to someone who we

don't know but I'm not sure.

S3: Yeah i would think it would be usted. We don't know him,

and he is also a Dr?

S4: Yeah, I agree, we don't know him and he is a doctor –a

doctor of love hahah - but a doctor none the less.

Quantity of Edits (Revision Rates)

Affective Support

“Sarah, I liked your part of the essay, it was pretty funny. I think we kind of have a pattern here of growing up with movies and a nice connection with Grandma and other loved ones.”

“Hey guys this looks pretty good. This is a really creative story with a great plot.”

“Bev, your questions are very good ones. I will try to do my best to clean up some of the "yo"s etc as well as accent marks.

Pros and Cons

Pros Collaboration, team work, creativity Writing as process, tracking changes, more

transparent, accountability Learner-driven, pride of authorship Broader audience, not just for teacher

Cons Overriding someone’s work without permission No single ownership but multi-authored product Discomfort feelings or aggressive attitude

Ideas for Using Wikis

Collaborative Writing

Wikis for Collaborative Writing

Recipe book Story telling Travel guide School newspaper Summary of a

reading/lesson A movie review

An ideal trip to … Showcase of class

project Birthday party plans Culture projects

Part 2: Blogs

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI&feature=user

Blogs …

Weblog Collection of postings like an online journal Postings in a reverse chronological order Sharing common interests Reading others’ posts and making comments Promoting critical thinking

Hyperlinks, images, music and video

Wikis vs. Blogs

Wikis Multiple authors Topic-based Evolving and

expanding content Collective feedback Knowledge sharing

Blogs Individual author Reverse chronological

order Historical record; rarely

changes Feedback via comments Reflective thoughts

Free Blog HostsBlogger http://www.blogger.comWordpress http://www.wordpress.comEdublogs http://www.edublogs.comLiveJournal http://www.livejournal.com

Blogger: How to start a blog?

Dashboard

Posting

Permissions

Types of Personal blogs

Autobiographical writing Personal interest: favorite artist/painter/musician

Group/class blogs Discussions about readings Cultural projects

Intercultural exchange blogs Ethnographic interviews

Part 3: Podcasting

iPod + Broadcast= Podcast

Podcasting

A web-based audio or video broadcast MP3 vs. MP4

Download to MP3 player or iPod Distributed over the Internet using

syndication feeds (RSS--Real Simple Syndication)

RSS

Why Podcasting? Listening to authentic materials

Talk show, cooking, music, news, stories; poems and more …

Videos from YouTube Practicing speaking and enhancing

pronunciation by producing your own podcasts

Spanish Podcasting Sites Notes in Spanish http://www.notesinspanish.com/ Voices en Españolhttp://spanish-podcast.com/ Viajero del Mundo http://www.viajerodelmundo.com/ ChilePodcast http://www.chilepodcast.cl/ Español Podcast http://www.spanishpodcast.org/

French Podcasting Sites LeMonde.fr from Paris http://podcast.blog.lemonde.fr/ Learn French by Podcast (all levels) http://www.learnfrenchbypodcast.com/index.php Daily Frenchpod (all levels) http://www.dailyfrenchpod.com/ Learn French in Boston http://learnfrenchinboston.com/

You Will Need … Fair amount of memory Good microphone (built-in mic) Software program to record your voice

Audacity + LAME to make MP3 files A place to host your podcasts

Your own website via Internet services Third-party site: avMypodcast (75 MB--small)

Free Software to Make Podcasts

Download software from Google (Mac and PC)

GarageBand (for Mac only)

iMovie (Mac) and Movie Maker (PC)

Places to Host Your Podcasts

Save them to MP3 files Publish them using free hosting services

iTunes Odeo Podomatic MyPodcast avMyPodcast

1. Intercultural Exchange Project (Spring 2008) - Graduate Seminar

2. Reflective Writing Blogs (Spring 2009) -Advanced Composition & Conversation

Examples of Using Combined Web 2.0 Tools

León - NH Online Exchange Cross-cultural exchange (Spring of 2008) Participants

10 graduate students from UNH, USA 23 undergraduate students from University of León, Spain

Three major tasks with combined tools Bloggers for group blogs iMovie or Audacity for podcasts Message board for ethnographic interviews, feedback and

comments

Intercultural Exchange Blogs

UNH blogshttp://tecnolodos.blogspot.com/http://pekepeki.blogspot.com/http://kaneycourtney.blogspot.com/http://sebrenes.blogspot.com/León blogs http://leononfocus.blogspot.com/http://7legion.blogspot.com/http://castanaspilongas.blogspot.com/http://penwizards.blogspot.com/

Task #1: Group Blogs Topics Chosen by American Students

Topics Chosen by Spanish Students

Blog #1: University Life; Stereotypes; Global Warming

Blog #1: A City Tour of León; University of León and Technology

Blog #2: Super Bowl; Crossword Puzzles; Cyberlanguage

Blog #2: Night Life in León University Life; Brief Guide to Spanish Music

Blog #3: Political Figures-Obama and Romney; Economics in USA

Blog #3: Spanish Films; A Famous Place in León; Spanish Music

Blog #4: University Life in USA; Presidential Debates

Blog #4: University Festivals; Smoking; Interviews with University Professors

Task #2: Podcasting

Controversial issues Global warming Euthanasia Same sex parents Capital punishment Drug related issues Immigration

Task #3: Ethnographic Interviews Topics Chosen by American Students

Topics Chosen by Spanish Students

Flattering Capital Punishment

Educational System in Spain Cinema

University Student Life Free Time

Politics in Spain Life in New Hampshire

Student Exchange and Travel Weapons in the USA

Farewell to Students from León Iraq War

Super Bowl from NH

Blog - UNH

Road to Presidency from UH

Blog - UNH

About Old Part of León

Blog – León

Blog - León

Interviews with León Students Blog - León

Vodcast in Blog from UNH

Podcasts in Moodle from León

Ethnographic Interview: Questions from León

Responses from UNH

Vodcast: Capital Punishment

Post-Task: Peer Feedback Read blogs and listen to podcasts Linguistic feedback by

Written comments or voice recordings Focus-on-form

Lexical and morphosyntactic errors Use of both English and Spanish

Feedback in Message Board

For more information …

Lee, L. (2009). Promoting Intercultural

Exchanges with Blogs and Podcasting: A Study

of Spanish-American Telecollaboration.

Computer Assisted Language Learning, 22(5)

425-443.

Reflective Writing Blogs Personal blogs over a 14 week period Participants

17 undergraduate students in a fifth-semester advanced language course

A four-skill integrated approach to task-based activities Two 150-200 word entries per week Read and comment on others’ blogs

Web 2.0 technology Blogger, Podcasting and iMovie

Four-Skill-Integrative Approach

Assigned readings from Revista textbook Free topics Listening to podcasts

Notes in Spanish: http://www.notesinspanish.com Cody’s cuentos: http://www.codyscuentos.com/

3-4 minute oral recordings for “Tertulia” Ideal personality, imagination, globalization

Assigned Readings “Another circle” “Four scientific formulas for happiness” “ TV garbage” “I was my own path” “Ten minutes”  

Free Topics Women’s rights Red Sox in Boston Country music Swine influenza A (H1N1) in Mexico Mayan culture

Listening to Podcastings Energy saving Facebook Eating out and fast food Adoption Smuggling

 

iMovie: Oral Recordings Ideal personality Imagination Immigration Euthanasia Globalization

Topics For Each Type of Task

Comments on Facebook “Your point was interesting. I have never

thought about the parents. My mom has a facebook but she only uses it to post family pictures. I agree that facebook is a wonderful tool for us to connect with people. However, I think people spend too much time online. Also there is not much privacy. I actually prefer e-mail.”

Affective Support

“I really enjoyed reading your entry about having New York City go dark for Earth Hour. I did not know about this and I think it is a great idea to shut off the lights for an hour to save energy. I wish people would turn off the light when they leave the room. We waste too much energy in this country. Well-done! Matt.”

Students’ Reactions …

“Writing has become easier for me. I’m now more confident in expressing myself after having posted more than 20 entries. Not only did I improve my writing skills but also gained different perspectives that I had never thought

about before.”

Preterit vs. Imperfect “El año pasado mi familia hizo un viaje a europa.

Este fue mi primer viaje afuera de los estados unidos y mi primera vez en un avión. Estuve muy emocionada y tuve miedo también. Cuando llegamos en Barcelona, fueron casi las once de la tarde. Nos quedamos en Barcelona tres días y veíamos muchas cosas como Montserrat …. Al final, era muy contenta

con la experiencia.” (Third Week)

Preterit vs. Imperfect

“Me gustaban estos podcasts mucho. Recientemente empecé a mirar la tele española y a veces, es muy difícil comprender. La historia que Mariana y Ben hablaron era muy interesante. Un hombre robó muchos bancos y la policía no pudo cogerlo por 15 años. El hombre llevaba una peluca y tenía armas. La polícia descubrió que robó casi 600,000 euros

y mató dos guardias civiles.” (Eighth Week)

Comments on Task Design

“I liked how teacher-assigned topics required us to critically think about the readings and free topics allowed us to incorporate personal interests and write about world issues that concerned us the most.”

Comments on Task Types

“In my view, using various types of tasks that required the use of certain language skills was the most beneficial aspect of this blog project. I enjoyed most the native-speaker podcasts because it helped me improve my listening comprehension.”

For More Information …

Lee, L. (2010). Fostering Reflective Writing and Interactive Exchange through Blogging in an Advanced Language Course. ReCALL 22(2), 212-227.

Contact Information

Lina Leellee@unh.edu

PowerPoint http://www.slideshare.net/leelina/nec-2010-3516401