ICT in TESOL Katie Webb

WhatsApp. I am ALMOST certain you'll have heard of WhatsApp but did you know it could be used as a learning tool? Well, that's what I am going to talk about this week but first here is the backstory of this post.  Around a week ago I was talking to my partner about this blog and he suddenly said: "I can't believe you haven't dedicated a post to WhatsApp considering that's your Ph.D." This caused a eureka moment and quite a lot of disbelief - I mean HOW I had I not thought of this myself? 😹  WhatsApp and my Ph.D. (If you don't care about this. - skip this part 😆). So, my Ph.D. will look at how online synchronous chat (participants communicating in real-time through digital messaging services e.g. WhatsApp) is being used with teacher- trainees on the CELTA course. For those that don't know anything about the CELTA - it is an ELT teacher training course - a major component of this course is the observed teaching practice sessions t...

This week I am going to be talking about the student engagement platform Nearpod . .. FYI I have never used it as a teacher, BUT I have experienced it as a student and, for me , it really does enhances learning 🙌 What can you do on Nearpod? Well, what can't you do might be an easier question to answer...  Think of it as a platform where you build a lesson - and to do this you can  create slides (similar to those in PowerPoint),  import slides you've already created, add pdfs, pictures and audio. Then to make it interactive you can c reate multiple-choice quizzes,  polls,  a collaboration board, insert gap fills or matching activities among other things⇩  The activities you can utilise on Nearpod To get a feel for it why not take a look at the example lesson I built.    The lesson I have built is to be used synchronously in the classroom  (the slides have been kept real simple but would be expanded on) with teacher trainees...

What is it? Socrative is a FREE online tool that enables teachers to build formative and summative quizzes AND share and import them from other colleagues.   I hear ya -  "but you spoke about Quizlet  a couple of posts ago - why are you showing us another quizzing tool?"  I really believe that these two tools offer different things - I won't go into details here about what makes quizlet great you can read that post but I will tell you all about socrative and I think the easiest way to do that is to show you how it works.  Go on then... After signing up for a free socrative account , the first thing teachers see is the homepage ↓ At the top of the page is your unique room ID. This is the code you'll need to give students to access any material you make - one of the great things about Socrative is that students don't have to sign up for an account or put in their email address.  They just have to open up the student home p...

Padlet No more stickies. Instead, use a living breathing  bulletin board to gather and share your ideas.  Tell me more... Padlet is an online application that can be used on mobile devices, PDAs and Laptops. Typically, users create a Padlet (which is very similar to a bulletin board) to collect ideas and brainstorm. Users can upload links, images, videos, and much more meaning that there is a real creative element to using it aaaaaand you can add to the board whenever you want or remove and edit boards if/when needed 😼 By now I figure you have realised that I am a BIG fan of Padlet. If not, here it is spelled out: I 💗 PADLET Instead of making and embedding a Padlet for this blog, I am (with full permission) embedding one I am actually using for group work at the moment.  As part of one of my core modules for my MA in research, we have to do a group poster on rigor in qualitative research. I heart Padlet so much that I recommended to our gro...

This week's tool is AnswerGarden.  Well, what is it? In a metaphorical sense, the title of the tool hints at it being a garden full of answers. More literally, it is an audience participation tool that can be used in real-time for  online brainstorming and classroom feedback.  Creating an AnswerGarden is really simple and intuitive (I didn't need the instructions but they can be found here  and there is also a demo here ).   Who can use it? Well you have probably worked it out already but Answergarden can be used by anyone wanting to get brief (I'll get to that point later) feedback from a group - so teachers can use it with students, trainers with trainees, students for group work, workshop leaders with course attendees, etc.  How can it be used? I think the tool works really well to review class material or find out what your students/ trainees already know. In the one I have set up below ↓ the idea is to have teacher ...

Flipgrid is a web-based platform, which allows teachers/educators to create 'grids' (topics) for video-based discussion. The idea is to get your class - whoever they may be - to 'reflect upon, discuss and showcase what they have been learning when they leave the classroom 💫 - neat right?  Ok, so how does it work? After signing up through your Gmail account, the first thing you see on Flipgrid is a nifty 'how to get started'... It basically involves three steps ↓ Once you have done this you will have your own classroom and can make your own post, which should look something like this  ↓  - just enter the password  ICTTESOL1 (If the embedded link above doesn't work just click-me) As you can see from my Flipgrid, you can post your topic instructions via text or you can do it in a video. I like that they offer two choices here but I would highly recommend uploading your own video - if you’re asking your students to do it ...

Before I start blogging on about Quizlet, I wanted to say a little bit about what will be coming up over the next few months.  From the title of the blog, you will probably have figured out that this is aimed at those in TESOL interested in ICT - so that's English language teachers, trainers, mentors or educators and pretty much ANYONE interested in using digital tools for learning purposes. Once a week, I'll post a blog about a tool, build some example materials using it and then embed it in the post. I will be designing the materials I make for teacher trainees - as I am particularly interested in teacher education but I'll also offer some suggestions about how the tools can be used in other disciplines or with other learners ✌ Oh and at the end of each post, I will comment on the best / worst thing about the tool I've been discussing.  So, Quizlet For those that have never come across it - Quizlet in its own words aims to help   " students an...