WebQuests

This week’s post will be about WebQuests!

WebQuests are a tool where students work collaboratively in a series of activities to complete a task by making use of information provided to them from the web. By doing this, students practise their language, critical thinking and collaboration skills.

WebQuests seem to be linked to the notion of Task Based Learning which is a method developed from the social constructivist theory of language learning where language is believed to be better learned through social interactions and collaboration.

A good example of what WebQuests are can be found in the original website at http://questgarden.com/. The design does not look very modern but unlike most current online teaching tools, it does not contain a lot of unnecessary information that can sometimes distract users. It is simple and easy to navigate, and I find this particularly practical for contexts where students – and teachers – are beginners in the use of technology. See the image below for an illustration.

 

QuestGarden home page

 

•  How it works: task design

1. It follows the general principles of teaching, where planning is the first step. Here, the teacher will define all aspects that would be included in a common lesson plan, such as defining the topic, objectives, considering students’ profile, materials and resources available, time, etc. Special attention should be paid to assess the availability of the resources needed and students’ literacy skills as the tool requires browsing the web for specific information. The teacher also needs to make sure the task can fit into the design/format of WebQuests.
2. Think of a real word context where students would need to use language for and to find information to complete a specific task. It must be realistic and something your students will relate to.
3. Design the task and the process. Set the goal of the task, the kind of information needed and where it is to be found, the roles students need to take to find the information in an efficient way and what they have to do with the information they find.
4. Decide on how students will present (orally or written) their final product.
5. Design an evaluation sheet with clear criteria that will be used in marking.

 

• How it works: using the tool

You need to create an account on QuestGarden where you will get more information about WebQuests and learn how to create one. At this link you will find a sample WebQuest task, entitled Oh, the Possibilities!: Choosing an English Language Course Abroad.

 In this task students are asked to plan a trip for an immersion English course abroad, by completing a series of activities:

• Decide on which city to travel to;
• Assign roles and look for information accordingly (flights, accommodation, costs involved, etc);
• Write a proposal including a detailed plan of activities and budgeting;
• Present the proposal to the class and convince the audience to approve the plan.

I like the simple design of the site, with clear instructions on the left-hand side column where you can navigate through and get more details. I particularly like the Process part because it better illustrates how process shaped and collaborative WebQuests are.

  

Oh, the Possibilities WebQuest

 

The site has both Student and Teacher Page. However, apart from the Introduction, there is no information at all on the Teachers page.

 

Oh, the Possibilities WebQuest Teacher Page

 

Another aspect that does not sit well with me is the Introduction in the students page that looks more appropriate, in my opinion, to teachers. In fact, the same information is available on the Teachers’ page, as you can see in the previous picture, and I think a more student directed message should be added on the students page.

Oh, the Possibilities WebsQuest Student’s page

 

It seems that both users can access each other’s page. This is different from what we see in most learning platform today, where teachers have access to the students’ version and the opposite is not the case. I am not very sure whether this is good or bad, but I wonder if there is a specific reason for this and I would be interested to know what it is.

Another part I found interesting is the Evaluation section. Here we see information about how students will be evaluated in the task, and we can see that not only language skills per se are evaluated but other skills involved in accomplishing the task. I think it is an acknowledgement of the fact that language use is not only about using the right words and applying rules correctly, that there are others skills and it makes all the sense that those aspects are included in the assessment.

 

 

Oh, the Possibilities! WebQuest Evaluation Criteria

I hope you will agree with me that WebQuests are worth a try. They are not a new thing, but I find them very rich in the possibilities they offer to cater form different aspects of language learning and other skills associated to the process.

The advantages of WebQuests can be summed up as follows:  

• User friendly
• Process design
• Explores higher order skills
• Promotes collaboration
• There is integration of skills

Some aspects - that I would not call drawbacks - that you should bear in mind are:

• Web searching can mean internet costs.
• One has to have a paid account to make the most of the website’s functionalities, which can be an issue in context where schools are low resourced, and teachers have low income.  

Thank you for reading and let us know what you think in the comments.

 

See you next week,

 Cândida

Nearpod

Last week a had a lecture in my Professional Practice module and my teacher used a tool that I found so practical and useful that I thought I could share with you: Nearpod.

Nearpod Home page

It is a virtual classroom type of website that offers functionalities that try to replicate – and optimize – a physical classroom, so conceptually it is similar to other tools of the like.  It allows you to teach virtually both synchronously and asynchronously, with sessions, resources, and activities sections, and at the end of every session you can download the report - which I found pedagogically rich because it gives you students’ performance data.

As common as it looks, some aspects of the platform caught my attention and made me decide to try it in my teaching.

The first thing I loved about the tool is that it requires no signing up from the student: just a link and a joining code. This is particularly useful because I have been to sessions where a considerable amount of time is spent in participants trying to join, especially when it is a new tool. In addition, at least to me, there is something tiresome about having to create accounts for every online tool you use.

Another very important feature to me is that you can share slides in real time, where students have access and follow through from their own devices (you can also make them available for students to scroll down at their own pace). This means that with Nearpod you can go without a projector, a life saver in contexts like mine where classrooms do not have projectors and you have share one with other 40 teachers!

The free version of this tool would be particularly useful for more adult and advanced learners although I believe that in other contexts where students, even if at a younger age, are familiar with technology and where resources are available it could also be used. Personally, I would use it as a teaching aid in a speaking task integrated with writing to elicit discussions by sharing maybe a picture or a quote, where after group discussions students would feed back with their answers in the open-ended question fields. This is just an example and I believe other ways are possible.

Under ‘activities’ the teachers can add slides, pictures and questions and students’ answers can be shared in real time, with the option of hiding names of students which preserves their privacy.

The site also lets you add and share files and links at a click and it has some features that allow for collaboration.  In fact, the tool may be used not only for lessons, but also for presentations in staff meetings and in professional development activities and meetings with colleagues, as it replaces projectors.

Overall, the website is interesting, and I will definitely use it when I go back to Mozambique. I wonder if it would work in other contexts. Below I share some aspects that I think you should consider if you decide to try it out.

Needed resources:

• Internet
• Computer, tablet, or smart phone

Age and level for English lessons

• Adult learners
• Advanced learners

Useful for:

• Virtual classrooms;
• Collaborative sessions;
• Meetings Presentations

Be aware of the following:

• The website looks to me more of a teaching aid and not necessarily a teaching  material per se;
• The website seems very heavy, and uploading content might take some time and I guess, data costly;
• When adding activities, you cannot automatically preview how your material will look to the student, only after sharing will you be able to switch to student view;
• I tried the silver (free) plan, I believe that more functions are available in the paid plans.

In this post I have highlighted the aspects that I found particularly interesting as an English teacher and also having my individual teaching context in mind - one with limited financial and technological resources. But there is a lot more about this tool that would be useful in other contexts too. See this short video on what you can do with Nearpod (you can also find the video by scrolling down through the homepage) and learn how it actually works here.

Have a try and let us know in the comments what other ways you think Nearpod could be useful, and maybe why it would not. You are free to comment on the post too.😊

Thank you for reading and see you next week,

 Cândida

ELT Technology Blogs

Blogs are an interesting source of information and ideas in teaching because they have a personal, real 'teacher-to-teacher' talk touch that you can easily relate to. 

In this first post I would like to invite you to visit Nik's Learning Technology Blog. It is a teacher targeted blog on technology tools that can be used for English teaching, found at https://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/

It is simple, easy to navigate with no unnecessary distractions. The background is simple, although I am not sure if I like the fact that it is black - and mind you, black is one of my favourite colours. I wish posts were accessible through the menu bar too, so the reader would not have to scroll down to find the list. You can tell what the blog is about from the title, but I would have loved to see an introductory 'about' section. I think it helps engage the reader.

I like how rich in content the blog is, and the fact that when you read the posts you notice from the details presented, how much attention and time to research has been devoted to bring the content. The blogger not only presents a step to step explanation on how to use the tools, they also illustrate how it could actually be used in the classroom in addition to presenting the strengths and weaknesses of it.

It is apparent that the author has solid professional background. You can see some of their publications, 'products' (mobile applications) and the fact that the blog has certification. This could explain why posting on blog has not been so regular in the last years compared to the first years following its creation. In addition, other than the information about other blogs by the author, it is sad that there is no more information on the 'about me' page because it would be assuring to have more information about the person behind the posts. 

Nik's blog is about teaching tools, but it is also an inspiration on how much a teacher can do to contribute to the ELT field through blogging, writing materials for example. By showing the pros and cons, it invites the teacher to reflect on the tools and see how they could make adaptations to their own context. It is definitely professional development material, very worth visiting.

Have a look at the blog and share what you think. Also, what other blogs would you recommend? Let us know in the comments.

Stay well and see you next week.

Cândida