Chapter 7

Blogs, wikis and podcasts

Social software

Blogs, wikis, and podcasts are all examples of social software, computer tools which allow people to connect, to communicate and to collaborate online.

o Blog is essentially a web page with regular diary or journal entries.

o Wiki is a collaborative web space, consisting of a number of pages that can be edited by any user.

o Podcast is an audio and /or video file that that is broadcast via the Internet and can be downloaded to a computer or mobile device such as an MP3 player for listening/viewing.

Blogs in language teaching

Blogs used in education is known as edublogs. Edublogs cover a wide range of topics related to education, from musings on educational policy and developments to learner composition.

An edublog can be set up by a teacher, by individual learners or by a class. A teacher may decide to use a blog to provide their learners with news and comments on issues, extra reading practice or homework, online links, a summary of a class for learners who were unable to attend, study tips and so on.

A blog set up and maintained by a teacher is known as a tutor blog. The teacher may decide to allow their learners to write comments in the blog.

A teacher may encourage their learners to each set up and maintain their own individual blog. These are known as student blogs. Learners can be ask to to post to their blogs, once or twice a week, or however the teacher judges convenient, and content can range from comment on current affair to description of daily activities.

How to start using blogs with learners

Step 1. Setting up a sample blog

Step 2. Setting up a student blogs

Step 3. Posting to and visiting blogs

Step 4. Follow up

Wikis in language teaching

A wiki is like a public website, or public web page, started by one person, but which subsequent visitor can add to, delete or change as they wish. A wiki lends itself especially well to collaborative writing. The mechanic of using a wiki are relatively simple: learners can add new pages to a wiki, as well as edit to a previous pages.

How to start using a wiki with learners

Step 1. Preparation before lesson

Step 2. In famous people: description

Step 3. In famous people: corrections

Podcasts in language teaching

There are two main uses of podcasts in teaching. Firstly learner can listen to podcasts made by other hand, secondly, they can produce their own podcasts.

How to create learner podcasts

Step 1. Setting up a podcast page

Step 2. Creating learner podcasts

Step 3. Listening to learner podcasts

Step 4. Follow up

Chapter 6

How to use chat

Chat in language teaching

Chat is a tool that allows for synchronous, e. real-time, communication over internet. Chat has enormous potential to link student around the world, in real time. It is possible to use a chat in the classroom because many learners will often be familiar with this technology and will use in their social lives.

There are advantages to use a chat in learning process either in or outside the classroom, like:

o Using chat in the classroom can be hugely motivating to learners because by using it teacher is bringing current technology into the language learning process.

o Teachers can link up classes and groups in different locations.

o Learners in the same class can chat together in outside the classroom to improve their English as part of their homework or self-study activities.

o Teacher need to have a clear purpose for using a chat in the classroom.

Types of chat

1. Text chat

2. Audio or voice chat

3. Public chat

4. Private chat

There are several different types of educational chat that teacher can set up with learners.

1. Free topic chats

2. Collaborative, task-oriented chats

3. Informative or academic chats

4. Practice chats

How to start using text or voice chat with learners?

Step 1. Install and learn to use the software

Step 2. A practice chat class

Step 3. Contact with another class

Chapter 5

How to use email

Email is one of the most used and useful information and communication technology (ICT) tools around today.

The benefit of email

Ø Email allows teacher to keep in touch with other teachers around the world via mailing list and discussion groups, thus helping in teacher’s professional development.

Ø Email allows teacher to communicate with the learners outside the classroom.

Ø Email can be used in outside class time

Ø Reading and writing emails either in or outside class time give a learner more exposure to the target language, and interaction is real in the sense that learners are writing to real people using a real medium.

Ø Email is the technology that is relatively simple to use and most of the learners are familiar with it.

Basic email skills

§ Communicative skills

It is good idea to remind learners that there are levels of formality in email writing. These are rules for effective online communication:

ü Not using only capital letters, which is perceived as shouting online.

ü Being sure to respect others’ opinion

ü Avoiding flaming

ü Make sure that files sent as email attachments are not too large, as the person receiving the email may not be able to download them.

§ Technical skills

ü Apart from basic word processing and typing skill, learners will need to have an email account. Many learners will already have a personal or work email account that they will be willing to use for their language classwork, but others may need help with setting up new email account.

ü Once learners have their email accounts, they need to be able to send and receive email, and to attach and open documents in email.

ü It is also useful for learners to have basic skills, such as knowledge about viruses sent by email, and spam or unsolicited junk email and how to protect themselves from them.

Chapter 4

Internet-based Project Work

There are many compelling reasons for using Internet-based projects in the classroom :

1. They are structured way for teachers to begin to incorporate the Internet into the language classroom, on both a short-term and a long basis.

2. No specialists technical knowledge either to produce or to use Internet-based projects.

3. The use of projects encourages cooperative learning, and therefore stimulates expression.

4. They can be used simply for language learning purposes, but can also be interdisciplinary, allowing for cross-over into other departments and subjects.

5. They encourage critical thinking skill.

The way how to prepare for using Internet-based project work:

· Choose the project topic

· Make the task clear

· Find the resources

· Decide on the outcome.

Internet-based stimulation

Internet-based stimulation bring real-life context to the classroom, helping the learners to deal with situations that they may come across during foreign travel or in encounters with other speaker of English.

- A business English stimulation

The benefit of this kind stimulation is that it uses real websites, and a potentially real situation, to further the learners reading, information processing, planning and communication skill that are useful in this professional context.

- A general English stimulation

Stimulation need to address potential real-life situations in order to appeal to the learner. This might be presented as an award given to the students, with a limited budget, making the actual logistics more challenging, but more real.

Webquests

Webquests are mini projects in which a large percentage of the Input and material is supplied from the Internet. Webquests can be teacher-made or learner-made, depending on the learning activity that the teacher decides on.

The types of Webquests:

o Short-term webquests

o Longer-term webquests

Webquest creation

Creating a webquest does not require much detailed technical knowledge. The skillshet for producing a webquests is very similar in planning Internet-based lessons, and might be define as:

o Research skills

o Analytical skills

o Word processing skills

Early Modern Literature

On My First Son
by Ben Jonson

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy ;
My sin was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy.
Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
Oh, could I lose all father now ! For why
Will man lament the state he should envy?
To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's rage,
And if no other misery, yet age !
Rest in soft peace, and, asked, say, Here doth lie
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry.
For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such
As what he loves may never like too much.

Summary:

This poem tells about a father who need to take a rest because he was too tired in his life. He realized that his sin was too much. He wanted to leave this such live and his son. He did not want to have other misery because he thought that lament and envy were useful.

Reflection

Reflection

Title : Oedipus

Author : Sophocles

Year : 430 BC

Adopted by : John Dryden and Nathaniel Lee

Period : Restoration

Published : 1679

Summary :

Oedipus was the son of The King Thebes Laius and Queen Jocasta. When he was born, his parents threw him away because he was prophesied that he would murder his father and marry his mother. Luckily he was found by a peasant who took him to his master The King of Corinth Polybus and adopted him as his own son. Many years later Oedipus heard from an oracle about that prediction. He was frightened and decided to flee from home to Thebes. On his way, he met a chariot on the crossroad. A dispute arose between them that caused Oedipus killed his unrecognized father. Then Oedipus married the widow Queen Jocasta because he had defeated the Sphinx by solving mysterious riddle. Soon after, a plague struck the city of Thebes. Then he discovered the truth, that he had killed his own father Laius and married his own mother Jocasta. At his realization, Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus blinded himself.

Comment :

Since the first time I read this story, I think that it is full with mystery. It recounts about sadness, love, slaying and tragedy. It also provides a psychological conflict among the character. This story teaches me about life that I cannot avoid my fate. Because how much I am trying to avoid it, it will become true.

Experience :

After reading the story of Oedipus, it reminds me with other stories that I have ever read. One of them is Electra. Although there is not relation between the story of Electra and Oedipus on their plot or their author, but psychology they have similarity in their behavior deviation. Both of them killed their unrecognized parents. Nevertheless, they have different aim. Electra killed her own mother Clytemnestra to revenge his father death King Agamemnon. Oedipus killed his own father Laius to protect himself.

Oedipus also reminds me with the story of Zeus. Same with Oedipus, Zeus also was prophesied that he would murder his own father Cronus for taking his throne. Cronus (Zeus’ father) and Laius (Oedipus’ father) were afraid if the prophecy become true. So they avoided the calamity by throwing their sons away. Moreover, their own sons killed both of them.

In Oedipus story, there is the incestuous marriage between Oedipus and Jocasta. That thing reminds me with the other story that has similarity. It is Sangkuriang. Sangkuriang is one of the popular stories of Sundanese. Same with Oedipus, Sangkuriang also loved his own mother Dayang Sumbi but Sangkuriang failed to marry her since Dayang Sumbi realized that Sangkuriang was her own son.

Restoration Period

Oedipus the King

Oedipus was the son of the King Thebes Laius and Queen Jocasta. When he was a baby, his parents threw him away because he was predicted would murder his own father and married his mother. Luckily, he was found by a crosier. Then he was given to the King of Corinthian Polybus. When he was adult, his foster father told him about himself, that he was a son of King Thebes. He also told that his father was his enemy. He asked Oedipus to kill his father to avenge him. After knowing all about himself, he denied it and got away. He decided to be a nomad.

On his way, he met with a cavalcade from Thebes. Unfortunately, the King of Thebes also was there. Because of the incident, he had to kill the king without knowing that the king was his own father. Then he came to Thebes. He succeeded to kill the spinx monster that disturbed that country. Because of his bravery, he married Queen Jocasta. They lived happily. But one day, they knew about the truth that Oedipus had married his own mother. Jocasta was very sad and committed to suicide. Whereas Oedipus blinded and exile himself.

Reflection

Title : Hamlet

Author : William Shakespeare

Summary :

It recounts about prince Hamlet who exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King Hamlet, and then taken the throne and married Hamlet's mother. King Claudius kills his father by pouring poison in his ear. He avenges his father by feigning madness.

Comment :

I think this story is full with tragedy and controversy. The story vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

Experience :

As a human being, I think it is normal if we have desire to revenge to someone who had lacerated or disturb our life. I myself have ever experienced it. I ever have feeling to revenge someone who has lacerated my mom. But as human who have God, we have to believe on our destiny. Everything has been controlled by God and we just have to undergo this life and of course with our effort to make this life better. We have to think that vengeance just can make our life miserable.

CHAPTER 3

Using Websites

Using Websites can be done by teachers for introducing the internet to the learners. It is one of the easiest and least stressful ways of getting started with technology in the classroom. There are many things that teachers can do in using it like finding teaching materials, finding images for illustrating the teaching materials, searching online videos like music videos and other multimedia classes for demonstrating materials in a more lively way, etc. But before using it, teachers have to evaluate how useful and appropriate it is for the classroom. They also have to think of the aims and objectives of their lesson. They can evaluate it by thinking of accuracy, currency, content and functionality. The important thing is by using it, both teachers and learners can improve their skill and knowledge in learning process and make the learning process more attractive.