Article+Review

INDEPENDENT PROJECT OUTLINE

NAME: __Kelsey Stewart__

CONTENT AREA: __Spanish__

TOPIC: __Online classes__

JOURNAL ARTICLE BIBLIOGRPAHICAL INFORMATION:

//The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language// September 2010—Volume 1 4, Number 2 Listening Plus: A Social Approach to Learning English Outline Carla Arena Casa Thomas Jefferson Binational Center, Brazil

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF IDEA PRESENTED IN THE JOURNAL ARTICLE (BULLETS)

· Using WEB 2.0 tools can help create a more interactive online classroom · Using listening and speaking online tools can make learning a language online more 3-dimensional, and more interesting for students · By diversifying online classes—and avoiding the traditional input/output information system—student learning will be more permanent · Ss should be able to interact with one another, and add personal connections to the learning in order to create a sense of online community—this is a way to create a classroom culture of connectedness.

PROPOSED ACTIVITY TO BE DEVELOPED THAT COINCIDES WITH JOURNAL ARTICLE CONTENT

I’ll be teaching a Spanish online class this semester at Simon Gratz High School. Originally, I was going to be leading the class through the online learning system APEX (which my students use for history, math and science). After reading the article, I am going to use APEX as a //component// for the online Spanish class. I’ll also be utilizing a class blog, and projects. I’ll be using WEB 2.0 tools mentioned in the article. _ Kelsey Stewart May 2, 2011 Article Review In this article Arena suggests that by incorporating WEB 2.0 tools, teachers and professors are able to make learning a second language more accessible to students. Including activities in which students are able to interact with each other, and with the language, makes the subject more permanent. The author is writing this article for educators—people (like me) who are interested in improving their classroom technique. By sharing her experience, one is able to apply similar tactics, and avoid making some of the same techniques. This is important for me because as technology in the classroom has become more prominent, the pressure to use technology has also grown in importance. Additionally, this article in particular focuses on foreign language instruction which is my area of concentration. In her article, while Arena did not use any graphs or charts, she did include screenshots, and images of the WEB 2.0 tools that she mentions. By including these images, readers are able to familiarize themselves with the instruments she suggests. These images also help the reader connect with her students—we get to see exactly what they were using for their class. Arena’s main goal and suggestion for online classes is that students should be able to interact with one another, and add personal connections to the learning in order to create a sense of online community—this is a way to create a classroom culture of connectedness. She witnesssed these interactions on class blogs, and forums. By allowing studenst to not only interact with the professor, but also receive feedback from one another, a group feel is created. It is no longer a robotic interaction, but rather a supportive one. I would recommend studying how to engage students in the online learning process. These tools can be very effective if they are embraced, but how do you convince students to get involved?