THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR ASSESSING LANGUAGE AND GIVING FEEDBACK

María José López Aguirre.

Week 15: How to use technology to provide feedback.
Assessing language using computer technology.

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This week readings presented useful and interesting information about assessing language, feedback and technology. The first reading share information about computer-based language testing. Something that caught my attention was the benefits that this tool offer in order to create more efficient online tests. The software that I like the most was the Discovery School’s Quiz Center. It is a free tool that helps teachers to create their own quizzes. It has amazing options such as randomized items, require true/false, multiple-choice questions, etc. and send actual responses and automated scores to the students and teachers. It is also possible to add multimedia files including audio or video to create tasks that are more relevant to interactive language use. The second article explains how screen capture software offer an innovative way of providing feedback to students on different tasks such as essays, reports, presentations, etc. Something I learned from the article is that, for teachers, it is effective to give specific feedback without a great amount of typing. It also allows students to view actions on a screen where the teacher explains ways to improve the assignments.

To conclude, my impression with screencast for feedback has been meaningful, especially in online classes in which I cannot meet the teacher very often. I really prefer having feedback in screencasts because sometimes when teachers deliver written feedback is confusing to get the idea of the comments, but screen casting can make it very personal by viewing the screen where the teacher is correcting my work; and listening the teacher explaining the points to improve.

CREATING AN INTERACTIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT.

María José López Aguirre

Week 14: 10 Benefits of Getting Students to Participate in Classroom Discussions
Increase Student Interaction with "Think­ Pair­ Shares" and "Circle Chats"

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The articles for this week mentioned the benefits and activities for increasing students’ participation and interaction in EFL classrooms. In the first article, a belief of mine that was confirmed was that teachers shouldn’t be the only person speaking in the entire class while students just listen to them without any interaction. So, having students participating, asking and answering questions, benefits teachers in a way that they can see the extent of their understanding. As a result, teachers can easily provide feedback or promote peer feedback in order to enrich students’ language proficient. Getting students participation is really useful in order to develop speaking skills. Students enhance this communicative skill by practicing and receiving feedback to correct their mistakes. I think it is important to engage students in every class by appealing their interest in the content, so they are more willing to share their thoughts. The second reading explained two activities to increase students’ interaction. The Think-Pair-Share is an effective technique used in order to give students the time to process their ideas with a partner before sharing them. Also, I love the Circle Chat which is another technique that promote student- to- student interaction. Using this activity every student are expose to different opinions and thoughts. Providing specific time they have the chance to speak with a new partner each time bringing new opportunities to interact standing in a circle. To conclude, teachers should encourage students to participate in classroom discussions, and give them the chance to interact with their classmates to enhance their language proficiency.

WORKING WITH PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

María José López Aguirre

Week 12: Maximizing the Benefits of Project Work in Foreign Language Classrooms
Seven Essentials for Project- Based Learning

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This week readings share information about the benefits that project work offers to ESL learning. Project-based learning (PBL) is an effective student-centered approach implemented in language classrooms in order to engage students, increase their motivation and autonomy during the learning process. Students acquire knowledge by working for an extended period of time to gather information, investigate and respond to a real-life issue. Also, students can develop collaboration, communication, critical thinking and the use of technology, which will serve them well in the real world. I really like were the ideas presented for a final outcome of a project. For example, the bulletin board display, written reports, posters, role-plays, multimedia presentations, videos, and podcasts. The second article is focused on some essentials for PBL. Something that caught my attention was that teachers have to consider some elements when making a project. They have to activate students’ need to learn new content by launching a project that engage their interest and initiates questioning. Moreover, students have the opportunity to choose any topic to study in order to design, create and present new projects. The most important element of PBL is that teachers should design projects with the extent of students’ choice that fits their own styles, so it is meaningful for them. Something I learned from this article is that when working on projects students are engaged in compiling, processing, exchanging information in order to produce a successful project outcome. Finally, PBL is a dynamic classroom approach in which students actively explored real life problems and challenges and acquire a deeper knowledge.