” The role of WebQuests in learning a foreign/second language?”

WebQuest is an assignment which asks students to use WWW to learn about and synthesis their knowldge of a specific topic.

Critical thinking skills are utilized in a WebQuest to interpret, analyze, evaluate, and draw inferences from the information obtained from Internet resources. By thinking critically during a WebQuest, students are able to:

• Identify the similarities and differences among Internet resources as well as the bias, purpose, and point of view of different web sites.
• Assess the credibility of the information collected, decide what to believe about an issue, and evaluate the beliefs of others.
• Interpret the significance of the information collected and synthesize the information to generate hypotheses, form conclusions, and complete a specific task.

Webquests tend to be student-oriented and collaborative, with students engaged in constructivist activities resulting in shared learning experiences and new knowledge based on enquiry-oriented language use and Web research skills. 

Cooperative learning is another essential aspect of WebQuests since WebQuests encourage students to take ownership of their learning and use a collaborative process of discovery to facilitate the learning that is taking place. Cooperative learning fosters a communal learning environment, allowing for constant comprehension checks and ample opportunities for exchange of ideas.

Project-based learning (PBL),is one of the enduring approaches to education that supports the use of webquests, is focused on the learner constructing meaning and knowledge from an assigned activity.

When it is used fully, WebQuests can promote reflection, collaboration, cooperation, open minded thinking, multiculturalism, critical thinking, problem solving and an interdisciplinary approach.

Wordle for EDU 401

Reflection on the three weeks

      In these three weeks I have learned so many things. Before I mention what the advantages of this course I want to express my feeling toward the course. In fact, I felt at the beginning that the course is boring, but after few days I felt not. I loved this course may be because I love using computer. One of the advantages of this course is encouraging cooperative work. For example, when you asked us to introduce ourselves and replay to each other in the yahoo group. The course is interesting but there is an obstacle which is there is no access to the internet in the lab. As a result of this problem, we waste our time and your time. So, we need to find a solution because we need to practice what we study practically. Finally, I benefit from the course in different ways. I became a part from the common websites such as blogger, delicious, and wikispaces. By the way, we need more practice on how we use wiki account because of the final project. In this course, I have noticed that you give us too much assignments. Of course, they are interesting but as you know that we have other subjects that have assignments as well and this is difficult for us. My teacher I have a suggestion about the midterm. I would like the exam to be practical, so there is no need to the normalisation and digital articles.

How would I use blogs, wikis and delicious with my EFL students?

 How would I use blogs, wikis and delicious with my EFL students?

In my opinion, using technology in education is a good idea to improve the students' knowledge. Blogs, wikis and delicious are examples of technology which I would use with my EFL students. Of course, I will use these technologies when I am sure that the students have an idea about them.

BLOGS:

I would use blogs with my EFL students in different means. I will ask students to read other blogs and to respond to posts on my own blog. Also, I will ask each student to start blogging and correct others' mistakes. In this way they will improve their writing skills. I will use blogs to share ideas for teaching activities or language games to use in the classroom. Also, I will explain a lesson by using pictures in the posts and add links that will help them to learn more and more.

WIKIS:

I believe that the main purpose of using wikis is to enable collaboration. So, I will use wikis to design a collaborative project. For example, I will ask the students to work in pairs and to make a project that relates to English language such as designing a grammar lesson.

 DELICIOUS:

 Delicious is a social bookmarking in which I save my links. I would use delicious with my students by giving them important links that improve them. I will ask them to save links of games, teaching websites, others English teachers' blogs , and tutorial clips so they have to check them to improve themselves.  

"Application of Bax Normilasation in Saudi Arabia: The how!"

Stephan Bax argues that, "Our aim should be to attain a state of `normalisation' in which the technology is invisible and truly integrated"

Bax's article calls to normalisation in which we use technology in our daily life. In this article, Bax suggested changes and proposed means of achieving normalizations. He suggested that changes must be done to size, shape ,and position of the classroom computer. Also, he suggested that teachers' and learners' attitudes ,approach, and practice have to be changed. Finally, he said that syllabuses need to be changed.

Bax proposed means of achieving normalization, such as focusing on the need to more ethnographic studies of the teachers' and learners' environment to show the factors that limit the process of normalisation. Also, he focused on the need of recognizing the obstacles to normalisation and the ways of overcoming these obstacles.

My country,KSA, is one of the developed countries. I believe in our abilities to achieve normalisation in our Saudi context. In fact, the Saudi education depends on the traditional way of teaching, but there are schools which use technology in daily life. Normalisation can be achieved if the teachers improve themselves in learning technology. Also, teachers as well as students have to use computers throughout the lesson. For example, teachers need to explain the lesson in a modern way such as using PowerPoint. So, students and teachers have to be encouraged to use technology and the result will be amazing. They will use technology as a normal and usual thing. As a result, normalisation in which the technology is invisible and truly integrated will be achieved. In conclusion,normalisation could be applied to our Saudi context.

"Hello World"

Hi everyone,

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