Have Fun with English! A blog or a plog?

Have Fun with English!A blog or a plog? Teresa Almeida d'Eça 19th APPI Conference Creativity: A Password to Success Lisbon, 21 April 2005

Meet the Webheads in Action online! Susanne (Denmark) Elizabeth (CA, USA) Hala (Sudan) Aiden (Taiwan) James Benenson (France)

What is Have Fun with English?1 • for me, it's a teacher-student blog • however, some consider it a cross between a Web page and a blog • then... should it be called "a plog"?!

What is Have Fun with English?2 • Buth: When Tere created her T-S blog, blog providers were not as advanced as now, in the sense that the comment feature was not developed! Therefore, a blog is not the same as a webpage, at present, as it used to be, earlier; it has become a useful, pedagogical tool that helps students and teachers to communicate and interact with one another outside the classroom in an easy, fast, and simple way. This is why they are great tools to integrate in EFL courses, based on blended teaching and learning. • Bee3: I agree with you totally Buth...and think that it was difficult at the time to make the small kids open a blog by themselves and keep it...so Tere's idea was fantastic. It was a transition between the webpage and the blog as we know it now. They sent her mails which were pasted on a webpage she opened for this purpose and formatted as a blog. She even included sound. Blogger did not have a comment area or sound at the beginning either. So Tere is a precursor of the blog in EFL :-) A true webhead. (Comments taken from Webcollaborator project 114, in preparation for the co-presentation Bee, Buth and I did on Blogs and Blogging for the Belnate Conference in Minsk, Belarus, 4Nov2004)

How did it all start? • Aaron Campbell'sWeblogs for Use with ESL Classes • gave way toLet's Blog! (7th grade: 3rd-year EFLers), my first experiment in blogging • real challenge:Have Fun with English! (5th grade) • would I able to spark motivation in absolute EFL beginners? • would I be able to keep the flame on?

Why a blog for absolute beginners?1 • generate a two-way communication tool in the target language outside of class: T  St • stimulate practice of the language learned in class 'anytime, anywhere' BUT class • have a place to give students a voice of their own, to speak about their own interests, etc • create an open door to an authentic and broad audience that can comment and suggest

Blog provider or custom-made? • a custom-made blog meant • more layout flexibility (we are talking about Mar 2003: things have changed quite a bit) • more control over content (young learners) • fewer problems for me (I controlled home pages, but not blogs!) • I chose 'custom-made' in spite of the additional workload!

What sort of layout? • simple (a 3-column layout) • colorful (different color fonts) • attractive and lively (images & icons)

What type of content? • anything • that is of interest to the students • in English! • the only 'obvious' imposition on my part

The first page • my first posting(28Nov03) • announcement of the blog • invitation to send messages • interactive exercises (Hot Potatoes) • the first message from a student(6Dec03)

Unexpected but welcome add-ons!

Photos • birds made with fruit(Dec03) • Tommy in the snow(Feb04) • Wojtek and sister in the snow(Mar04) • a Portuguese class(Mar04)

from João Vasco(9Mar04) the Homework page Drawings

A European exchange • a Portuguese-Polishexchange(10Feb04) • bringing young people together online • linking them to the global village • started during the EVOBaW2004 teacher training workshop • the Polish side replies in voice emails (accompanied by the corresponding text)

Voice mail 1 • how 'voice mail' began for us • HandyBits: a very easy-to-use voice mail program introduced by Agata, the Polish colleague • 'download & play'! • two versions standardkids • Horizon-Wimba(EduVoice demo) has also been used by me (25Dec04 & 7Feb05)

the first messagefrom Poland fromTommy(10Feb04) Hello, friends! My name is Tommy Warcholak. I am 7 years old. I like computer games. I am from Przemysl, Poland. Bye! Tommy the first messagefrom Poland from Wojtek(11Feb04) Hello! How are you? Thanks for your email! I'm Wojtek. I live in Przemysl, Poland. I'm 9. I like computer games and sports. I like football and basketball. Bye, friends! Wojtek Voice mail 2

the first messagefrom Portugal from 5F(1Mar04) Hello friends! Thank you for your messages. How are you? We (half of 5F) are fine. Please send more photos! What are your favorite computer games? Good bye friends! Have a nice week. the first messagefrom Portugal from 5G(1Mar04) Hi, friends! How are you? This little group of 5G is very well. Is there Carnival in Poland? In Portugal it's very fun: people with costumes in the streets. We like rabbits, but we are afraid of snakes. See you!!! :-) Voice mail 3

Voice mail4 • Student Teacher (Feb05) • Rodrigo to me • me to Rodrigo • João Vasco to me • My colleagues My students(Feb-Mar05) • Leanne • Dafne • 6F to teachers • Easter poem (Tommy & Agata)

Voice mail5 • SitePal: the latest innovation • voice mail with animated avatars / images • demo version • choose you avatar • record your voice message • listen to your avatar saying it • save it • send it by email Rodrigo Pedro L. Aiden Joana

e-Cards (+ singing) • Happy birthday! • to Wojtek(9Mar04) • to Tommy(6Jan05) • singing 'happy birthday' to go with the cards • to Wojtek(9Mar04) • to Tommy(6Jan05) • Easter • from Susana & Ana Luisa(Mar05)

Photo story • a family holiday: Piodão, North of Portugal(6Feb05) • created withPhoto Story 3 • no examples from students yet!

Interactive map • students post the names of the teachers who send them messages and see where they are in the world • created at Bravenet • variation: some students and teachers have entered their own names

Mystery Guest • finding out information from a message • person's country of birth • country the person moved to • next step • an Internet Treasure Hunt to find out where my friend Sharon lives

CALL lessons • a separate activity, though often closely related to the blog • extra practice for all, in class, with diversified activities • last year = 10 extra English lessons (during Estudo Acompanhado) • this year = same number of lessons (once a week during the 3rd term)

Final curiosity: the need for flexibility • a compromise between high and low tech (to allow all students the chance to send messages and see them answered online) • handouts of an email template (low tech) • the next best thing to the real email (high tech) • the students loved the idea • it caught on!

Conclusion • a simple experiment in writing to practice the target language has taken on different dimensions in a year's time • all of them have contributed to added motivation and learning, and the opening of new horizons • the unexpected has become reality and has gone beyond my 'wildest dreams'!!! Thank you!

Teacher-created blogs • BLOGS • Bee Online: A meeting place for students to share opinions and chat (Barbara/Bee Dieu) • Blog for Internet Class: Comments on projects and assignments students are working on (Chris Jones) • Supelec NetClass: All the interesting things engineering students have been doing (James Benenson) • Sus Nyrop's K-Log (Susanne Nyrop) • Taiwanbuzz: Listening to News and Current Events (Aiden Yeh) • PHOTO BLOGS • Cake Baking (Leanne Mackenzie) • Fabulous trips (Rita Zeinstejer) • Webheads (Teresa Almeida d'Eça) • AUDIO BLOGS • Adelaide, Education and Life (Michael Coghlan)

References • My Website http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/ • Have Fun with English! (the current blog) http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/fun-with-english5.htm • Let's Blog! (the precursor) http://64.71.48.37/teresadeca/school/blog7.htm

Have Fun with English! A blog or a plog?