Technology Seminar Handout

Technology Seminar
Jo & Anita
31st May, 2013

Online learning tools should be primarily used for
homework and self-study.  not only!
• They are great tools for homework and self-study
• BUT! there are several ways you can use the
tools in the classroom or for lesson planning  this
is what we are going to show you today
• you can even use these tools if you haven’t got
access to internet  there are several offline
applications  e.g. youtube downloader, printing
quizlet cards, etc.
Opinion dictation – our opinion

Lessons that use technology require more prep-
time.  at first: maybe, but then: NO! 
• You should have a plan B
• You might need a bit longer time for prep in your
first lessons, but as you do more of it, you can use
the same things over and over again
 won’t be lost like a piece of paper you copy from
a resource book

I feel confident when I use gadgets in the
classroom.  you can! 
• Did you feel 100% confident on your first grammar or
functions lesson?
 this is also just a trick of the trade you can learn,
and it will get easier and easier
• If you have a class of teenagers or tech people, feel
free to ask for their help
 kids will be able to solve whatever problem you
have with pleasure 

I use technology more often for lesson planning
than for actual teaching.
• If you have never used technology for teaching,
lesson planning can be a safe and easy way to
start it  you have ‘unlimited’ time and you can
plan everything

It’s only a good idea to use internet-based
materials with higher levels, lower levels can’t
benefit from them.
• You will be amazed by the amount of material
online!  Enthusiatic teachers all around the world
prepare lesson plans and materials for all levels.
There are many sites where you can find
elementary podcasts for instance.

LISTENING
Podcast vs. Course book recording
1) Which could provide more relevant material for a particular class or student?
Recordings in a textbook are thematically linked to the topic of each unit
But sometimes you want to work with something more relevant to the students
Podcasts:
Offer a variety of topics that can be easily adjusted
They may even come with a written transcript or other additional materials.
2) Which type of text (and task) resembles more real-life situations?
Textbook recordings have quite unrealistic interviews or conversations
sometimes
Podcasts can range from 100% authentic up-to-date radio talk shows, mini
lectures or interviews to more or less authentic ones aimed at language learners
Authenticity can train students to be more ambiguity tolerant
Pay attention to the students' level - a podcast may provide more relevant and
interesting material but if it's too challenging to understand, it may backfire.
Comparing classical and
technology-based tools for teaching

READING
Recent online article vs. Course book article
1) Which could provide more relevant material for a particular class or student?
A course usually has a pre-designed course plan with the accompanying textbook
that comes with its own selection of readings.
If you want something different, online articles can be better because:
they may be more relevant to your chosen topic
they are more recent
2) Apart from the text, what else is there that you can exploit?
The reading sections in course books usually follow a predictable pattern
Online materials can integrate other skills:
writing when they are replying to an article in the comment section
listening if there is an attached video that expands the story
By following embedded links, students can read more on a topic that interests
them
In case of unfamiliar expressions, they can turn to an online dictionary.

VOCABULARY
Handwritten flashcards vs.
Web-based flashcard generator (e.g., Quizlet)
1) What can you do with actual flashcards that you can't do online?
Since most online flashcard generators enable you to print your flashcards, there
is no such thing :)
2) What can you do online that you can't do with actual flashcards?
Web-based flashcard generators will store your sets online
You can search for a particular collection
Self-study is made more enjoyable by playing different games, such as a space
race :)
You can listen to the pronunciation of each item
Or insert a picture instead of a long definition if that works better for you
Keeping track of your progress is easier because the website records the sets
you have completed and the sets you still have ahead of you

WRITING
Handwritten assignment vs. Assignment via email
1)When is one better than the other?
Online:
Readable, searchable
stays there forever (unless you or the student deletes it :)
Handwritten:
can be useful in exam prep courses where the students have to pay
attention to time constraints, legible handwriting, enough pen supplies,
etc.
However, the question arises: how long is the reign of paper-based
exams going to be? :)

WRITING
Handwritten assignment vs. Assignment via email
2) What options are available for marking each text/assignment type?
Handwritten:
underline and correct each mistake, just underline them and ask the student to correct
them on their own, or only focus on content and add your relevant comments
but students hardly ever go through their written assignments after all this hard work :(
Online:
start a chain of emails where you could track their progress with "track changes"
you can give more personalized comments from time to time
it makes written reformulation much easier too because you can just simply copy the
text and rewrite it in your word processor
you can also set up an online portfolio from their written works by the end of the
course
and by using Google Docs you can get students to collaboratively create, peer
evaluate and peer correct texts

One laptop is not enough for a bigger group to use, I
think technology is hard to implement in large classes.
• Use the TVs to have a bigger screen that everyone can see
• you can use videos, games, etc. as an input for pairwork or group speaking
activities
• Divide the class into two or more smaller groups and design the tasks in such
a way that there is always one group that uses the computer and the others
are doing other tasks (follow-ups).
• some services/applications are specifically designed for groupwork and
collaboration (e.g. quizlet, googledocs, etc.)
• Russel’s idea of the living projector: only some students can watch the video
and they have to act it out for the others.
Your problems from the needs
analysis – some possible solutions

My laptop is too heavy, I do not want to carry it around.
• Many times (especially in business courses) students have
laptops that you can borrow and use. When you prepare, you just
have to use GoogleDocs, Dropbox or just email yourself the links
and open them from there. This way, you don’t have to use the
same computer that you used for lesson prep.
• More and more students have smartphones, too - the majority
of the websites can be accessed using those.

The wireless internet is unreliable in the school/the
venue where I teach.
•You can use a lot of offline applications, e.g. Youtube
downloader, printing quizlet cards, saving the article in a pdf/doc
format
•You can ask your students with smartphones to share their
network as a portable hotspot.  Don’t worry if you don’t know
what that means, your students definitely will! 

I’m afraid that using technology takes away from face-
to-face teaching.
• Start with baby steps and see how it can actually add to face-to-
face teaching
• Mix technology-based tasks and classical offline tasks
• Start with assigning homework based on technology, so that
students can familiarize themselves with the technical learning
environment

My students are not open to technical advances.
• This is often the case when the students don’t use technology in
their everyday life and they don’t feel confident about it. It is
advisable to start with very easy services/websites/applications,
that give a student a sense of achievement.
• If they are not open because they think using technology isn’t an
efficient way of learning, show them some everyday examples,
e.g. podcasts, news and demonstrate how you can learn
everyday, real-life English using those.

What is the right approach if some students are
enthusiastic but others aren’t?
•Give the students different tasks. If for example you are making
an online video, some less enthusiastic students can write the
script while more enthusiastic ones can work on the actual
creation of the movie.

http://en.akinator.com/
The web genius - he can find out basically any famous
person you can think of :)
Great for practising question formation
Websites we looked at:
Akinator

http://lyricstraining.com/
A great page for practicising listening and gap fill tasks
with loads of songs.
Tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL-hBYOW0HU
LyricsTraining

http://breakingnewsenglish.com/
A website full of up-to-date news articles and reading tasks
designed for them.
Tutorial:
http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/breakingNewsEnglish/
Since the creation of the tutorial, there has been a lot of new
functions and options added to the site, check them out! :)
Breaking News English

http://moviesegmentstoassessgrammargoals.blogspot.hu/
An amazing collection of grammar areas and movie
segments that can be used to teach/practise them.
Be careful - it's addictive! :)
The creator of the page has another (similarly useful)
page:
http://warmupsfollowups.blogspot.hu/
Movie Segments to Assess
Grammar Goals

https://goo.gl/hZXjO
Feel free to add more webpages of the categories:
READING
LISTENING
GRAMMAR&FUNCTION
VOCABULARY
MISCELLANEOUS
The next step: IH Budapest
Collection of Educational Websites

Thank you for
your attention! 

Technology Seminar Handout

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