Appearances are…

I read at the BBC News:

Internet users make up their minds about the quality of a website in the blink of an eye, a study shows…The researchers also believe that these quickly-formed first impressions last because of what is known to psychologists as the “halo effect”. If people believe a website looks good, then this positive quality will spread to other areas, such as the website’s content. Since people like to be right, they will continue to use the website that made a good first impression, as this will further confirm that their initial decision was a good one.

What a challenge for humble blogs like mine! It means we bloggers should devote as much attention as possible to layout, since we won’t have much chance of showing our content otherwise… Another reason to favour blogs and wikis with really user-friendly interfaces over more “technical” ones, especially when choosing what to recommend to our students…

What is being researched in CALL?

I keep reading Teaching and Researching Computer-assisted Language Learning (Ken Beatty; Pearson Ed. Ltd.2003; click on the picture for details). Shows I’m on holiday, doesn’t it?

From chapter 9, “Current research interests”, here’s what I’ve selected for posting (funny to realise I now read planning to share with a potential audience of readers of my blog in mind )

• the concept of edutainment (”education + entertainment”), and the question “How do learners transfer their computer skills and enthusiasm to disciplines such as CALL?” (p. 177). It reminded me of a case I read some time ago abouta student complaining about CALL on the grounds that it meant an invasion to her “world for fun”… Had never thought teens might reject CALL for the same reasons they’re fond of computers for fun…
• The clever observation that “most studies labelled research are simply literature reviews” (p. 184). He adds that from 145 works published in ERIC analysed, “There are no entries for predicting the future of CALL; many now shy away from committing themselves to the furture of CALL as it has been so difficult to predict in the past”. Don’t count me in for such a difficult task, valuable as it is, I’m more than overwhelmed by trying to make sense of the present of computer-supported teaching, let alone predicting its future!
• 3 of Collins’ (1991) shifts in computer-based learning: “a shift from working with better students to working with weaker ones”; “a shift from assessment based on test performance to assessment based on products, progress, and effort”; and ” a shift form the primacy of verbal thinking to the integration of visual and verbal thinking” (p. 189)
• the remark that very little research has been conducted featuring children (encouraged me to read The Internet and Young Learners next).

That’s all for now!

Share the message: CALL’s got potential!

I keep reading Teaching and Researching Computer-assisted Language Learning (Ken Beatty; Pearson Ed. Ltd.2003; click on the picture for details). From chapter 8, “Theoretical and pedagogical concerns”, I’d like to remember the following quotes:

• “Learners often seem unaware of, or unconcerned with, some of the resources that would help them complete a task” (p. 150; my bolds): I remember reading (and probably posting something somewhere too) about teachers being unaware of the potential of computers as a reason for not integrating them into their lessons. Beatty suggests “better software programs could perhaps be more active in advertising their resources through timed prompts“. At a personal level, I take it as a “duty” to keep advocating for CALL to those “unaware of or unconcerned with” its potential.
• “the environment of traditional schools is not usually or ideally suited to the delivery of CALL or other types of computer-aided learning in a collaborative context… A learning environment built on the traditional library model, with individual carrels isolating each computer and each user with signs urging learners to be quiet, is unlikely to promote collaborative learning … Similarly, if computer access is restricted, either in terms of time (e.g. 15 minutes at the end of a class) or space (e.g. please find the teacher with the key) then CALL will be discouraged.” (p. 154) “it is too often the case that a school willing to spend lavishly on the setting up of a classroom set of computers will not set aside appropriately matching funds for software, training and upkeep. This means, in some cases, computers remain idle” (pp. 170-1): no comments, working for a school that three years ago set up a beautiful “multimedia lab” with 10 computers all logged onto to the Internet, never even discussed its setting with teachers or promoted its use in any way, and then little by little dismantled it by “borrowing” the hardware for clerical positions, until we’ve gotten to the point where all that’s left of that lab is the label at the door. !

Why some online communities work, and others..

Here’s a short but in my view good list of some key points on how to successfully facilitate online interaction: How can effective facilitation strategies help to sustain a Professional Learning Community?

I agree with every point Trena Noval makes, and my favourite two are: