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Paul Beaufait

ESP for Busy College Students: Is the Blend of In-Class, Online & Mobile Learning the A... - 4 views

  • Neumeier (2005) more broadly defines a hybrid learning environment as “a combination of face-to-face (FtF) and computer assisted learning” used in a single course delivery context (p. 164).
  • hybrid language learning courses are “only going to foster successful language learning if they are carefully designed on the basis of an analysis of the participants’ needs and abilities” (p. 176).
  • Learning English for Special Purposes requires a high degree of interaction with peers, teachers, and content. Effective interaction with content was built into the instructional design, however increased levels of communication with peers and teachers are essential and these can be achieved only through the Internet.
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  • writing practice and communication were conducted mainly through the computer not the mobile devices
  • students were in agreement that the blend of in-class, online and mobile delivery was an optimal solution for internationally trained immigrants learning English in a post-secondary context. They found the combination of 1) speaking taught primarily face-to-face, 2) listening taught on the mobile devices and 3) writing taught mainly online to be an effective approach.
  • the in-class component seemed to maintain the integrity of the hybrid course overall as it fostered a sense of community amongst the learners. As noted by participants, it was the design of the materials and the way in which they were presented, not the technology used, that impacted the effectiveness of the course the most.
  • The traditional classroom meetings though, were found most beneficial in promoting face-to-face interaction, ad-hoc speaking, pronunciation practice and the development of other communication competencies supported by visual cues.
  • the findings indicate that students’ progress was enabled by effective instructional design integrating goals and content relevant to the specific group of learners, together with the appropriate methods and media which enabled and enhanced interaction within the content.
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    Palalas, Agnieszka. (2010). ESP for busy college students: It the blend of in-class, online & mobile learning the answer? IALLT Journal, 41(1). Retrieved November 22, 2011, from http://www.iallt.org/iallt_journal/esp_for_busy_college_students_is_the_blend_of_in_class_online_mobile_learning_the_answ
Paul Beaufait

Half an Hour: The Future of Online Learning: Ten Years On - 0 views

  • While we want to provide personalized attention, especially to submitted work, testing and grading, learning is still heavily dependent on the teacher. But because the teacher in turn is responsible for assembling, and often presenting, the materials to be learned, customization and personalization have not been practical. So we have adopted a model where small groups of people form a cohort, thus allowing the teacher to present the same material to more than one person at a time, while offering individualized interaction and assessment.
  • Though networks have always existed, modern communications technologies highlight their existence and given them a new robustness. Networks are distinct from groups in that they preserve individual autonomy and promote diversity of belief, purpose and methodology. In a network, however, people do not act as disassociated individuals, but rather, cooperate in a series of exchanges that can produce, not merely individual goods, but also social goods.
  • In the case of informal learning, however, the structure is much looser. People pursue their own objectives in their own way, while at the same time initiating and sustaining an ongoing dialogue with others pursuing similar objectives. Learning and discussion is not structured, but rather, is determined by the needs and interests of the participants.
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  • it is not clear that an outcomes driven system is what students require; many valuable skills and aptitudes – art appreciation, for example – are not identifiable as an outcome. This becomes evident when we consider how learning is to be measured. In traditional learning, success is achieved not merely by passing the test but in some way being recognized as having achieved expertise. A test-only system is a coarse system of measurement for a complex achievement.
  • The products of our conversations are as concrete as test scores and grades. (Ryan, 2007) But, as the result of a complex and interactive process, they are much more complex, allowing not only for the measurement of learning, but also for the recognition of learning. As it becomes easier to simply see what a student can accomplish, the idea of a coarse-grained proxy, such as grades, will fade to the background.
  • Most educators, and most educational institutions, have not yet embraced the idea of flow and syndication in learning. They will – reluctantly – because it provides the learner with the means to manage and control his or her learning. They can keep unwanted content to a minimum (and this includes unwanted content from an institution). And they can manage many more sources – or content streams – using feed reader technology.RSS and related specifications will be one of the primary ways Personal Learning Environments connect with remote systems. To use a PLE will be essentially to immerse oneself in the flow of communications that constitutes a community of practice in some discipline or domain on the internet.
  • In the end, what will be evaluated is a complex portfolio of a student’s online activities. (Syverson & Slatin, 2006)
  • place independence means that real learning will occur in real environments, with the contributions of the students not being some artifice designed strictly for practice, but an actual contribution to the business or enterprise in question.
  • As it becomes more and more possible to teach oneself online, and even to demonstrate one’s achievement through productive membership in a community of practice, there will be greater demand for a formalized system of recognition, a way for people to demonstrate their competence in an area without having to go through a formal program of study in the area.
  • the major shift in instructional technology will be from systems centered on the educational institution to systems centered on the individual learner.
  • rather than the employment of a single system to accomplish all educational tasks, both instructors and learners will use a variety of different tools in combination with each other.
  • Automation allows us to more easily create and present content, to more easily form groups and collaborate, to more easily give tests and take surveys. This frees instructors to perform tasks that have been traditionally more difficult and time consuming – to relate to students on a personal basis, to offer coaching and moral support, to learn about and analyze a student’s inclinations and understandings.
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    Thanks for all of your inspiration!
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    "an epic, must-read article" according to Brian Lamb (A social layer for DSpace? 2008.11.19 http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/brian/archives/049355.php)
Paul Beaufait

Teaching Topics: Jack C. Richards - EFL CLASSROOM 2.0 - 5 views

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    This page features a compilation of over twenty videos (YouTube) and related materials (PDFs) on language learning and teaching produced by Jack C. Richards.
puzznbuzzus

Is English Language So Popular because of the USA? - 1 views

Americans might tend to inflate the influence of the United States in the history of the spread of English. Before the World Wars, particularly WWII, the US was a bit player on the world stage. The...

english quiz online

started by puzznbuzzus on 17 Feb 17 no follow-up yet
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