Wiki What?

This week in our course, we learned all about Wikis!

• What is a wiki?

Wikis are sites similar to blogs. What makes them different is anyone can edit the information on a wiki entry. Like blogs, you can create a wiki page based on whatever you want. Do you want to talk about your favorite book or TV show? Chances are there is already an existing page that you can read AND edit!

You can go to the wiki entry I created for one of my favorite books, A Darker Shade of Magic by clicking here

photo taken from: here

cover photo taken from: here

Listen To Your First Podcast Today!

Today I will talk about podcasting and my first experiences while creating one. Podcasts are very similar to radio shows; you can have a guest on your podcast and talk about whatever you want! Anything can be the topic of a podcast, which I found very cool. Comedy, education, motivational speeches, language learning, therapy... My favorite type of podcasts are motivational speeches like TED Talks Daily.

Another great thing about podcasts is that you can listen to them on any device as long as you have internet connection. You can listen to them on your phone right now! Podcast are also there for you as an alternative when you don’t feel like listening to music while running, walking, cleaning…So I invite you to listen to your first podcast today! As I mentioned before, podcasts about language learning can also be very helpful for learners and a fun way to develop listening skills. 

What about my own experience as a podcast creator?

As a part of our Instructional Technology and Material Design course, me and my friend created a podcast together. I personally didn’t like the recording part of the process. I was very stressed at first, but I feel like if I ever do another one, I’ll be much more confident.

One difficulty I faced was editing our audio. We had to add special sound effects to add to the mood of our story. The app we used for this step was Audacity and it was hard to figure out how to crop and add the sounds. Finding the sound effects, on the other hand was very easy. We used freesound.org to find them.

Lastly I want to talk about using the podcast with my students in the future, which I would definitely do! Even though it was not easy, listening to the final project was so much fun. Sharing my podcast on this website where everyone can find and listen is also very stressful but gave me confidence.

I created this podcast with my friend Sare, you can check out her blog here: Sarah Typing...

photo taken from: here 

Teaching with Technology: Good or Bad?

We are living in a century where almost every day a new technology is being invented. With today’s technology, scientists are always discovering new things about our universe!

Thanks to technology, we can achieve what the older generations could only imagine.

What I want to talk about today is how do we teach with technology? Is technology something we can use while teaching? And my answer is YES, it is. I think being able to teach with technology is a must have skill for every 21st century teacher. The important thing is to know that while there are so many advantages of teaching with technology, there are also some disadvantages. Therefore, how we integrate technology into our teaching is very important.

For instance, students can use technological devices/softwares to practice their pronunciation or translation skills. These are just two examples of its benefits. On the other hand, allowing our students to have access to technology in the classroom can quickly become a distraction for them. It is our duty, as teachers, to make sure our students know how to benefit from it.

In my previous experiences with technology as an English learner, I can’t say that any of my English teachers integrated technology to help our learning; they either struggled to use it themselves, or used it to teach old things with new ways, like using the smart board to show PowerPoint slides instead of writing the information on the white board. Yes it saves times. But it doesn’t provide any help to the learners; which is what it should be focused on in the first place.

As an English Language Teacher candidate in the 21^st century, I am planning to integrate technology into my teaching. I think if we are confident that we can help our students with whatever tool we can find, we should try it. A good teacher must develop him/herself according to today’s sources and find the best way to integrate it into his/her teaching.

What is YOUR opinion on this topic? Do you agree/disagree with me? Please comment your ideas and let's have a conversation! 

photo sources: click here , and here

A Brief History of CALL

Introducing: Computer Assisted Language Learning, aka CALL!

You read it right! In 21st century, computers are a big part of the language learning process. 

Let's have a look at how CALL was developed and shaped into what is today!

• 1960s and 1970s: A Behaviorist model of language learning based on habit formation.
• 1970s: Communicative approaches based on meaning-focused language use.
• 1980s: The emergence of increasingly powerful microcomputers.
• Early 1990s: The computer was used as a stimulus.
• Mid 1990s and Today: Integrative CALL. The development of desktop computers that support rapid use of the internet.

Below is a timeline I created that explains the development of CALL in more detail:

source: click here

What You Should Know About 21st Century Learning

In today's world, technology is a huge part of daily life. So, it is no surprise to see how much technology is being used in language teaching.

When you think about 21st century learning, 4C comes to mind. What is 4C? It is critical-thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity which make up learning and innovation skills every student in 21st century must have. These skills prepare students for today's complex life and work environments.

There are also some 21st century subjects that students should be taught:

• Global Awareness
• Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy
• Civic Literacy 
• Health Literacy
• Environmental Literacy

These key subjects expand students' approaches to situations and help strengthen their critical thinking. 

Other skills a student must have in 21^st century include:

• Life and Career Skills
• Information, Media and Technology Skills

If you are interested in this topic you can: click here to watch a video on YouTube for further information on this topic.

Hello There, Reader!

Hello everyone, it's very nice to have you stumble upon my blog!

A little bit about myself: My name is Saliha and I am a sophomore student in the ELT departmant at Marmara University. This year we have a course called "Instructional Technologies and Material Design" which is why I created this blog; to share my experiences and findings in our course, with you!

I am very excited to be on this platform! Hope you stick around with me for what's to come! In the meantime:

source : click here