Using Technology to Gain Academic Knowledge and Understanding

There are lots of tools available to help teachers support their students' learning. One of my favorite tools is "Moodle." Moodle is a class management system where teachers can store online exercises and quizzes that students can do on the computer at school or if they have an internet connection, at home. Two of the courses I teach use Moodle. I teach adults and I thought my students would like the moodle because they could study from home and would find this to be a more convenient way of learning. However, when I surveyed my students about the Moodle, what I learned was that rather than finding the Mooodle to be convenient, they actually felt that it was a better way to learn. They liked the fact that they could study at their own pace and that they could repeat exercises if needed. They also found it to be a more effective way to learn because they could focus on the exercises that addressed their academic weaknesses rather than just following the agenda of the teacher. In addition, they found the exercises to be more stimulating and engaging than reading a book or looking at words on a piece of paper because of the graphics often incorporated into the online exercises.

Another tool I use when teaching is the Smartboard. The Smartboard enhances learning by allowing me to use colors, zoom, and black out features to emphasize concepts and help the students to focus on what I am teaching.

What You Need to Know Before You Surf

Before surfing the web, students need to be aware that anyone can put anything on the web - accurate or not. Therefore it is necessary to teach students how they can evaluate sites to determine whether or not the sites are credible. By looking at the copywrite date, students can determine if the site has current information. If the site has won awards or is a link from a site that has established credibility, the students can be more confident about the material presented in that site. If the site gives information, it should cite the source of that information. If they detect a bias when reading the material, they should investigate the sponsor of the site. Finally students should always verify the information with information from other sites.

Personal safety and security is always an issue when surfing the web or visiting social networks. One should always be careful about providing personal information over the web and never give out financial information unless they are sure the site is reputable and has the lock icon at the top of the page.

Using Technology for ESL Listening Exercises

Using audio/video files from situation comedies can make listening exercises fun for adult ESL students. You must choose an excerpt that is mostly conversation and not action related otherwise the students can get the gist of the story just from watching the pictures. I like to use humor when I teach so I often choose comedies that they may not be familiar with like this one from the television show Frasier. You can make a list of questions for the students to answer after they watch the video. To make the lesson a little easier, give the questions to the students before watching the video. Because Daphne's accent may be a little difficult to understand, I made questions related to what Frazier, Niles and Martin said. The video shuld not be too long - 2 to 5 minutes is perfect.