Ideas for Using Virtual Learning Environments

From APEC HRDWG Wiki

Blending courses are becoming more and more popular in the ESL world. Including a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in your curriculum is a great way to get students involved in their learning outside of the classroom. Also, with the rise of blogs, wikis, and other Internet outlets, authentic learning opportunities are everywhere.

From e-mail exchanges, computer conferencing, blogs, and more recently wikis, a variety of user-friendly interactive environments have emerged that enable students to communicate directly with other learners and native English speakers in a range of authentic contexts that cross national boundaries. Such transnational collaboration had the potential to build not only English language communication skills but also the intercultural awareness and curiosity increasingly required in our modern, interconnected world, (Lawrence, Compton, Young, & Owen, 2009).

To make sure the 21st century student is ready for the digital world, it is important for teachers to allow students access to these resources. Having a VLE running throughout your term or semester is a great way to keep students on a digital track while still taking the time to improve their English.

Content Objectives

• To manage a variety of Web-based instructional tools to improve the classroom learning environment.
• To create unity in the classroom and with families and community.
  

Language Objectives

• To utilize the proper language skill (reading, writing, speaking, or listening) for the online resource available.
• To differentiate between occasions for using formal or informal English language.

Tips

• Class Blog: Have students post papers and/or assignments on a class blog. Allow parents to access and comment on the class's activities.

• Class Facebook Page: Students can comment on homework and ask each other questions about class. Also, the extra tabs at the top can be very useful; videos, discussions, photos, and events can all be listed as tabs, and all be geared toward your class.

• Wikis: Wikis can be a great place to plan events. They can be used to:
  • Prepare a meeting’s agenda when several people have a role in the meeting.
    
  • Plan a presentation, outlining who’s going to do what.
    
  • Create class projects. (What’s great about this is that Wikis keep track of who’s edited what. They help keep track of students who don’t like to contribute to group work.)

• Google Docs: A great place to keep lists, such as:
  • New vocabulary words
    
  • Useful Web sites
    
  • Great reading materials
    
  • Student information sheets
    

• Yahoo Groups: A class list-serve that is kept online.

• E-mail is always good for Pen Pals.

• Moodle, Blackboard, Coggno are several online platforms available to manage classrooms.

When student information goes virtual, students acquire more autonomy in their learning: Students can be required to post a minimum number of times on a site, reply a minimum number of times to classmate posts, and support each other online.

Also, online communities can encourage families to take a part in their students’ learning: “In addition these [blogs] show that families interacted with students’ texts in ways that expanded the role literacy and computer-mediated communication can play in building connections between school, home and the community” (Shin, Gebhard, & Seger, 2010).

Materials

A computer with access to the Internet.

Category

Cross-cultural Communication Skills: Virtual learning environments; blogs & wikis

Learning Theme

Learning to do; problem solving

Resources

Lawrence, G., Compton, T., Young, C. & Owen, H. (2009). Using wikis for collaborative writing and intercultural learning. In S. Rilling & M. Dantas-Whitney (Eds.), Authenticity in the language classroom and beyond: Adult learners (pp. 199–211). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL).

Shin, D., Gebhard, M., & Seger, W. (2010). Weblogs and academic literacy development: Expanding audiences and linguistic repertories. In M. Dantas-Whitney & S. Rilling (Eds.), Authenticity in the language classroom and beyond: Children and adolescent learners (pp. 99–111). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL).

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