13
Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Blogging in the language classroom

Doris Devilly

German Department, NUIG

1

Page 2: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Why a Blog?

• Module on creative writing – why not collaborative writing?

• Training and support facilitated by CELT• Enthusiastic response from students• Pilot project – students and lecturer learn from

each other – lone learner vs. team learner• Blog as a source of information for other

students of German

2

Page 3: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Aims and Objectives

• introduce students to the concept of writing blogs• familiarize students with techniques and skills

necessary to format, write, post and add to blogs• encourage students to read German blogs written by

fellow students, lecturers and other authors• assist students to research German websites,

podcasts, wikis and additional materials which can be used for the class blog

• encourage students to add regular posts to the blog

3

Page 4: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Aims and Objectives

• encourage teamwork and open discussion on the subject of validity of blogs, students’ own posts and other authors’ blogs

• support language learning through collaborative writing, peer review, analysis of lexical and grammatical difficulties, comparing own work with fellow students work

• complete a class blog which can be read by other students and the wider net community

4

Page 5: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Learning outcomes

After this seminar students should be able to

• open a blog account and set up their personal blog• use a variety of techniques and skills to manage a blog• edit and post their own and other students blog entries• add images, audio files, podcasts and websites to their blog• write suitable blog entries in German• read and analyze other authors’ blogs in German• delegate responsibilities, manage sub-groups and work within a

team• present their blog to a peer group and the lecturer

5

Page 6: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

The Blogging Team

4th year

Commerce/German

6

Page 7: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

7

Page 8: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Commerce/German Class Blog

8

http://www.bwl08.blogspot.com/

Page 9: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Pitfalls & Stumbling Blocks

• Digital Natives vs. Digital Alien

• Facilities, equipment and technical hiccups

• Organization and time management

• Encouragement and motivation

• Assessment9

Page 10: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

The sunny side…..(students’ feedback)

• surprised with their own achievement• improved group dynamics• increased self-confidence

• great sense of achievement• practicing language skills whilst having fun

• sense of great accomplishment• closer bond to peers and lecturer

• acquired additional skills

10

Page 11: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Room for improvement…..?

• Use blogging facilities in Blackboard• Allocate more time for editorial and sub-group

meetings• Widen the group of peer reviewers• Revise the assessment structure

• Organise an official launch of the class blog• Use social networks like NING for managing

groups and discussions

http://galwayde.ning.com

11

Page 12: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

12

Page 13: Blogging in the language classroom Doris Devilly German Department, NUIG 1

Happy Blogging!

13