Feel the pulse of today’s world
Times have changed, teachers have evolved, and we now have a new breed of learning technologists.
Technology is changing our world. Routine knowledge and skills are being automated, digitised and outsourced. (Cambridge)
You are either into technology or you are in the way and had better start looking for a new job.’
Feel the pulse of today’s world
Teachers who spent their lives managing with a textbook, a tape recorder and a blackboard are now adept at using PowerPoint to present grammar, playing podcasts to practice listening skills, pulling texts off the world wide web to introduce reading skills and perhaps most ground-breaking of all – empowering students by giving them access to a wide range of web-based tools that allow them to publish work and engage with live audiences in real contexts.
Innovations in learning technologies for English language teaching Edited by Gary Motteram
Researcher-Reviewer- Resourceful-Respectful
Readiness
Observer-Aware about each and everything
Researcher-Investigating –Exploring and Latest trend in language teaching and learning
Reviewer- SWOT-Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
Resourceful-Materials for self and learners
Respectful-Respectful to the learners
Learning English through mobile devices gains credibility every day and the increasing popularity and rapidly diminishing cost of tablet devices reinforce this by providing a format that really is capable of delivering courseware. Factor in the growing interest in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), providing large-scale (and free) learning interventions, and it is clear that technology still has much to offer ELT.
Martin Peacock Head of English Product Development, British Council
In this early part of the 21st century the range of technologies available for use in language learning and teaching has become very diverse and the ways that they are being used in classrooms all over the world. (Gary Motteram)
Technology continues to be used for all sorts of specific language learning activities, such as oral practice and reading and writing skills development.
Types of online teaching tools for teachers
To start, these tools fall into 5 categories:
Free software tools for running your online classes
Free resources to boost engagement
Free tools to stay organized and productive
Best online assessment tools
Best apps for designing and creating content
| Audio recording and editing | Vocaroo(link is external) https://vocaroo.com/ | an online tool for recording and sharing audio messages |
| Audacity(link is external) https://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/ | software for recording and editing audio (requires installation) | |
| Photo editing | Pixlr- https://pixlr.com/ Canva- https://www.canva.com/ Unsplash –https://unsplash.com/ Animaker- https://www.animaker.com/ | an online tool for editing photos- Canva makes it easy to create images for all sorts of purposes- Unsplash is a big library of royalty free, high-quality stock imagery- Get creative and make your own animations with Animaker- |
| Multimedia projects | Alternatives to CLEAR’s Rich Internet Applications(link is external) http://clear.msu.edu/featured/ria-alternatives/ | set of online tools for creating multimedia-enhanced language learning materials, activities, and assessment. |
| Lingt(link is external) https://www.lingt.com/ | a tool for creating online spoken assignments (using images and videos) and providing feedback to students |
| Presentation | VoiceThread(link is external) https://voicethread.com/ | an online presentation and collaboration tool that allows for creating multimedia slideshows and commenting using voice, text, audio file, or video. Free version limited to five VoiceThreads, which can’t be deleted once they are created. |
| Prezi(link is external) https://prezi.com/ | an online tool for creating zooming and multimedia-rich presentations | |
| Video conferencing | Skype https://www.skype.com/en/ | software for text chatting, instant messaging, and video calling (requires installation) |
| Zoom–https://zoom.us/ Google Meet https://apps.google.com/meet/ | popular web & video conferencing service | |
| Dictionaries and vocabulary learning | Wordreference(link is external) https://www.wordreference.com/ | online dictionaries for various languages |
| Lingro(link is external) http://lingro.com/ | an online tool for converting any website into an interactive audio-enhanced dictionary; also allows for creating flash cards | |
| Video production and editing | Amara(link is external) https://amara.org/en/ | an online tool for captioning and translating videos |
| Animoto(link is external) https://animoto.com/ Flipgrid https://info.flipgrid.com/ | an easy-to-use online tool for creating videos- Flipgrid-Make learning fun. Flipgrid connects millions of PreK to PhD educators, learners and families through short video. Made free by Microsoft. | |
| Websites and e-portfolios* | Weebly(link is external) https://www.weebly.com/in Blogger.com – https://www.blogger.com | a platform for creating websites, blogs, and e-portfolios using the “drag-and-drop” method |
| WordPress https://wordpress.com/ |
| Open Culture(link is external) | “the best free cultural and educational media on the web,” including free language lessons, movies, audio books, etc. | https://www.openculture.com/ |
| Newseum(link is external) | front pages from over 800 newspapers worldwide | https://www.freedomforum.org/todaysfrontpages/#1 |
| Directory of Learning and Performance Tools(link is external) | a list of over 2,000 tools for educational purposes | https://c4lpt.co.uk/directory-of-learning-performance-tools/ |
Kahoot
Kahoot is a learning platform centred around games. You can create your own quizzes and your students can play along using their smartphone. For educators a basic plan is free, with more features available from £3 a month.
Memrise
A great aid for vocabulary learning. Memrise uses flashcards and memory techniques to help language learning.
Evernote
Looking for an organisational tool? Evernote allows you to keep track of everything and is conveniently synced across devices.
Vocab Victor
This is a fun app for students, allowing them to play word games teaching intermediate-level vocabulary. If you’re looking for something different from flashcards this can be a great option to introduce.
LearnEnglish Grammar
The British Council’s LearnEnglish Grammar app allows students to practice their English with thousands of free questions available.
| Virtual classrooms | Virtual classrooms |
| Google Classroom | |
| Edmodo-Edmodo is like a social network for teachers and their students. It’s a great way to share resources, hand out assignments and more. | https://new.edmodo.com/ |
| WizIQ-Looking to create your own online courses for students to follow? As well as being a virtual classroom, WizIQ gives teachers the ability to create their own professional online courses, which can be marketed and sold. | https://www.wiziq.com/ |
| LearnCube LearnCube is a user-friendly virtual classroom boasting lots of useful features for language teachers to take advantage of. | https://www.learncube.com/ |
| Learning Video | Learning Video |
| YouTube | |
| ESL Brains ESL Brains (formerly Ted4ESL) publish worksheets based around various videos, including many TED talks. | https://eslbrains.com/ |
| ESLVideo.com This website takes engaging video content and creates quizzes related to them for language learners. A great way to bring pop culture into your lessons. | https://eslvideo.com/ |
| engVID Students can use this website directly and teachers can source inspiration and tips by watching the videos hosted on engVID. Over 1,500 videos recorded by experienced EFL teachers. | https://www.engvid.com/ |
| EnglishMediaLab | Free English Exercises Online – ESL Interactive Learning | https://www.englishmedialab.com |
| British Council Learn English | https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/ | |
| Flo-Joe | Vocabulary, grammar, skills development and practice tests for the Cambridge English exams | https://www.flo-joe.co.uk/ |
| English Interactive | English assistance at any level | https://www.englishinteractive.net/ |
| BBC Learning English | https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/ | |
| American English | https://learningenglish.voanews.com/ | |
| Busuu | Study a new language online with Busuu’s award-winning courses. Learn together with native speakers in Busuu’s community. | https://www.busuu.com |
| 5 Minute English | 5 Minute English gives you short and easy explanations and exercises. | http://www.5minuteenglish.com/ |
| Speechyard | blends entertainment and education -allows you to learn English by watching movies. | https://speechyard.com/ |
| Using English | collection of tools & resources for students, teachers, learners and academics-ESL, EFL, ESOL, and EAP subject areas | https://www.usingenglish.com/ |
| Moodle | Moodle is a learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a secure and integrated system to create personalised learning environments. | https://moodle.org/ |
| Tools for school-family communication | ||
| Bloomz | Bloomz is a free app that facilitates teacher-parent communications and creates a supportive classroom community-Bloomz makes it easy for teachers to securely share photos, classroom updates and reach parents instantly through messaging, as well as to coordinate events. With Bloomz, parents can read posts in their preferred language with one-click translations (80 languages available), as well as communicating with other parents for play dates, carpooling and more. | https://www.bloomz.com/ |
| ClassDojo | ClassDojo is a free app that connects teachers with students and parents to build classroom communities. It supports more than 20 languages. Teachers can bring parents into the classroom experience by sharing photos, videos, announcements and instant message with parents. ClassDojo is used in the Colégio Monte Flor primary school from Portugal, featured in the UNESCO-Fazheng case study series. | https://classdojo.com/ |
| Resources on school-wide mobile learning | https://en.unesco.org/themes/ict-education/mobile-learning/fazheng/resources | |
| E-school frameworks European Framework for Digitally Competent Educational Organisations (DigCompOrg)(link is external) | Developed by: European Commission | Scope: Europe | Launched in 2015 | The DigCompOrg framework provides a comprehensive and generic conceptual framework that reflects all aspects of the process of systematically integrating digital learning in educational organisations from all education sectors. The DigCompOrg framework has seven key elements and 15 sub-elements that are common to all education sectors. |
| Future Ready Schools Framework, USA(link is external) | Developed by: Alliance for Excellent Education | Scope: USA | Launched in 2014 | Future Ready Schools Framework provides a structure for digital learning visioning, planning, and implementation. The framework focuses on seven key areas: curriculum, instruction, and assessment; data and privacy; robust infrastructure; use of space and time; personalized professional learning; budget, and resources and community partnerships, with student learning kept at the heart of all decision-making process. |
Facebook groups
Teach with Tech
This group focuses on how to incorporate tech into your lessons.
Learning English with Cambrdige
ELT expertise @ Hayward Training Community
Share resources and network with other EFL teachers.
Resources for EFL/ESL teachers
As the name suggests, this is a Facebook group where English language teachers can share resources with each other.
English Worksheets & – TEFL, TESOL, ESL, EFL
Another handy one for EFL teachers looking to gather resources.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC)
https://www.britishcouncil.me/en/english/mooc
Courses Like-
LE-21st Century Language Educator
Success in the 21st century
Collaboration-Learning how to work effectively and respectfully with other people
Responsibility-Responsibility is about encouraging children to make a difference to the world in which they live
Critical thinking-having logical reasons and evidence for your conclusions
Creativity-the process of playing with ideas and being open to new possibilities
Problem-solving-think in both analytical and creative ways-develop resilience – the ability to handle a challenge, deal with pressure and persist until a problem is resolved
Initiative and self-direction-having the motivation to achieve and the discipline to complete tasks to a deadline
Professional competence
Genuine Relationships with Students
Understand the Individual Needs of Students
Understand A Student’s Cultural Background
Create healthy and productive environment
Involvement Outside the Classroom
Willingness to Connect with Communities
21st century students should be taught the 21st century skills preparing them for successful learning, life, and work
Personal Traits
Highly effective and influential
Warmth, Affectionate
Mutual respect and rapport
Care and compassion
Positive attitude creates a conducive learning atmosphere that motivates the learners to achieve higher proficiency in the target language.
“ are friendly, develop interpersonal relationships, share personal life experiences, care about students, are patient, listen to students, have a positive attitude in general, have charisma, understand the students educational background, understand the different student levels, & have a sense of humour” (Barnes (2010).
References
www.rajeevelt.com
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/blog/12-tips-for-teaching-an-online-english-class/
https://cls.yale.edu/faculty/resources/online-teaching-tools-and-resources