
Synchronous and asynchronous communication tools : text , audio , video

Welcome !

Guest Speaker : Michael Coghlan

Objectives
By the end of this week you will have:
- chatted with moderators and participants through different synchronous media
- explored powerful features of these media
- explored voice chat and webcam-enhanced chat applications
- attended the live presentation on the topic of the week
- commented on the presentation of the week
- answered the questions of the week
- read and commented on the Week 2 readings
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Activities
1. Download and install Yahoo Messenger (YM) and Skype, (concerning skype, if you already have it, you might consider going to Skype and see what's new for the latest version) if you haven't done so yet; then,
- create a Friend (buddy) List (YM) / Contacts (Skype) using the participants' Yahoo and Skype IDs available at our Participants page; or in our Yahoo Group Database (write your ID's in the database so you can be contacted by other participants);
- explore these tools and their features, including voice chat, by joining any of the moderators and other participants for chats or conferences (group chats), and reflect on their potential in TEFL/TESL;
2. Join the live session of the week
3. Add your comments about these live presentations to your wiki/blog, and share the link to the page on the BAW YG.
Questions of the week
*How do you start a conference and invite guests at Yahoo Messenger?
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*How do you save your chatlogs to your hard drive at YM?
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*How do you start a conference and invite guests at Skype?
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Post your answers to our YG list. Let’s see who can answer these questions! :-)
Suggested readings
Click here for a brief overview of each suggestion. |
- Almeida d'Eça, T. (2004).Online Tools that Promote Language Learning and Foster Professional Development. Polifonia, 2004 pdf. 187Kb.
- Lai,C. & Zhao,Y. (2006). Noticing and Text-Based Chat. Language Learning and Technology, Sep. 2006 pdf. 488Kb.
- Gonzalez, D. & Esteves, L. (2006). Enhancing Collaboration Through Chat in ESP: A Conversation Analysis. IATEFL Poland Computer SIG Journal,May 2006].
- Gonzalez, D. (2003). Teaching and Learning Through Chat. A Taxanomy of Educational Chat for EFL/ESL. IATEFL Poland Computer SIG Journal, Oct. 2003.
- Chat as a Teaching Tool. Pointers & Clickers (1999).
1. While exploring these synchronous communication tools, you are encouraged to:
- share experiences and reflections at all times, and
- think about and discuss the potential of text and voice chat for the EFL/ESL teaching and learning process (how can it be used? for what purpose? at what level?) and send your comments to the group mail list.
2. Add your reflections about the weekly readings to your wiki/blog, and share the link to the page on the BaW YG.
Advice: Do not forget to open a Becoming a Webhead (BaW) folder with any number of subfolders in your Bookmarks or Favorites in order to keep relevant and useful links for quick reference. Well-organized bookmarks are extremely helpful and save a lot of time!
Remember that you can also register for free to del.icio.us, or Diigo where you can save your favorite pages with a click, and classify them with tags. You can retrieve your pages from any computer connected to Internet. |
Comments (2)
Maria Bossa said
at 9:25 pm on Jan 23, 2011
Thanks for the nice "voice" welcome!!! Smiles, Maria :)
Aurelio Araujo said
at 4:14 am on Jan 25, 2011
I have been using Skype to teach some of my students and also to prepare them for the Cambridge ESOL oral exams. This idea was given by one of my students who would sit the Cambridge PET without attending the preparatory course for such exam. In the beginning I found that those online preparatory sessions would not be efficient enough to help him and three of his friends who would also sit the test.
Fortunately, those sessions were really productive and these four students of mine succeeded in the oral exams. One of them sent me an e-mail thanking me for those sessions which, according to him were really helpful and provided them with chances to express their opinions while they were at home.
On receiving such message from him, I changed my mind in regards to online learning and I eventually found out that Skype is more than just letting people phone each other whenever they need. I now use Skype to help those who want to improve their speaking/communicative skills in order to sit an oral examination or to help them build up their self-confidence so as to speak more spontaneously on a daily basis.
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