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f we make activities genuine, our students will be much more inclined to participate, acquiring new knowledge in the process.

Posted by Kara Parker on April 17, 2017 in 3 Activities, Interpretive Reading, Reading, Techy Stuff, What's New

Highlighting is one of my top go-to interpretive reading activities. Today I will review an app for Apple devices and Chrome. Let’s see how highlighting can go digital! I blogged about this “Highlight Away” activity before… It was Idea #71 in 2012! If you haven’t read it, take a minute to see where this idea started. Why I love highlighting… It gives a focus while reading It takes away the frustration of “not knowing every word” (adjust the task, not the text) It preps them to summarize It preps them to discuss the reading No comprehension questions needed (low teacher prep) It lets them figure out the meaning and learn new words in context It shows comprehension without translating Here are a few examples of highlighting activities we’ve done in lessons:

s in the Street Art unit. They were reading opinions about graffiti before they gave their opinion. It was awesome seeing how this activity gave them so many solid reasons that support their opinions.

But true authenticity comes from the activities we use during class time, leaving an impact on the communicative skills of our students.

Use the language proficiency site developed by UTexas to gain access to native Spanish speakers talking about a variety of themes. These are conveniently divided into proficiency levels.

nearly a third of American college courses are now taught online.

anguage instructors need to be convinced that online education presents a responsible learning environment for students,

lexibility. S

  38   SOCiaL-NetwOrKiNg SiteS 2001). This difference in ‘lifestyle’ gives educators reason to believe we shouldincorporate SNS usage into our class-related activities, to capture these students’imaginations and t their thought patterns and socializing habits (Godwin-Jones,2008; Winke & Goertler, 2008).However, although technology is an integral part of neomillennial students’lives, they often do not know how to use technology in ways that would benet them in computer-assisted language learning (CALL) (Dieu & Stevens, 2007;Kolaitis, Mahoney, Pomann, & Hubbard, 2006; Winke & Goertler, 2008). Suc - cessful CALL activities, then, often require a substantial training period at theoutset (Jones & Bissoonauth-Bedford, 2008; Kolaitis et al., 2006), and studentsmay be less enthusiastic about a class’s language and culture projects if the formof computer-mediated communication ( CMC) employed is not the type they areaccustomed to using (McBride & Wildner-Bassett, 2008; Thorne, 2003). A usefulresponse may be to craft CALL activities more to the practices that our studentsare familiar with (Winke & Goertler, 2008). SNSs are an obvious possibility to consider, given their tremendous popularity.If we can get our F

we can get our FL students to interact socially on SNSs, then they may beengaged in more authentic social and communicative behavior than typically hap-pens in classrooms, because “instead of merely simulating other modes of interac-tion, technology mediated communication is, in and of itself, the real thing

  40   SOCiaL-NetwOrKiNg SiteS and sites like it, knowing, socially and technically, how to re-use media in thisparticular way has become foundational for communication and creative expres- sion over the Web” (Perkel, 2008, p. 218). We can call this activity of writing/remixing the self through the manipulationof text and media ‘ self-authorship.’ Within the framework of CALL, this term refers to students authoring their own materials which can then serve as the basisfor learning and lessons. Using student-created materials as the center of a lesson ts with a student-centered pedagogy (Dieu, Campbell, & Ammann, 2006). Self-authorship activities can increase interest and time on task, and they put students in a more active role in their own learning process (Kramsch, A’Ness, & Lam,2000; Nikolova, 2002).Students must take an active role in their learning. They cannot simply be handed knowledge from an expert because understanding is the result of a cre- ative process one must work through over time with other people (Bereiter, 2002). Learning

Next, my recent favorite, eduCanon.

Rich Internet Applications project is to create tools that are informed by language acquisition research, and engage language learners in active learning.

Mashups

Rich Internet Applications project is to create tools that are informed by language acquisition research, and engage language learners in active learning.

Creative Activities for Language Learning energizesstudents to think and to use language in new ways.

Vygotskian (x+ 1) perspective, see them as an outgrowth of “Creativity Theory” or “Frame Theory

Creative Activities for Language Learning energizesstudents to think and to use language in new ways.

One “choice” assignment I regularly offer students is letting them engage in a texting conversation in Spanish and send me the screenshots. This assignment seems more like fun than like work. Plus, students are able to use the language in an authentic, realistic way.

Connect students with another class and set up a virtual pen pal program. (Bonus points if you can arrange this with a class in a country in which the target language is spoken.)

Participation typically is demonstrated by the student posting a message, which serves as visual evidence. Posting a message, however, is a limited indicator of student engagement. In and of itself, the act only means that the student struck a few keys on the keyboard. Discussion itself requires a pattern of call and response, with turn-taking and listening being as important as contributing thoughts to the dialogue.

Is it possible that students might engage with the asynchronous discussion by reading, the online equivalent of listening?

(c) to determine whether this non-visible behavior is at all related to high performance.

asks should give the learners the opportunity to create contents,  which motivates them. • Synchronous communication tasks give students the opportunity to develop an audience for authentic communication. • Tasks should be focused on thinking skills. • It provides collaborative learning experience. • Tasks should give students proof of getting their ideas across • Creates a learning environment that goes beyond the classroom. • Vocabulary improvement

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