Must-have Tool for Learning and Instruction: Podcasting

Podcasting (Personal On Demand + Broadcasting) is a must-have tool for English language and Instruction in this digital age. As Lee LeFever said in his video Podcasting in Plain English, using podcasting you can capture a new show on TV and listen to or watch it later whenever and wherever you want. Podcasting has distinctive three features as follows: (1) Anyone can do it without special technical devices; (2) you can subscribe the new show which will be created and watch it anywhere anytime as much as you can; (3) you can use all sources of devices such as a computer, I-pad, mp3 player, and any other portable devices.

[www.commoncraft.com]

I reviewed several podcast episodes on Podcast Awards, among which I will use the Public Speaker in my future classroom for Korean EFL/ESL undergraduate students. In this world overflowing with storytellers, communication and presentation skills are considered crucial to get a chance or attention at school and at work. Taking account of this need, 7 Trends in Public Speaking and Presentations (Part 1) and (Part2) will guide my future students in preparation for their public speaking or presentations more effectively and efficiently. 

 [www.quickanddirtytips.com]

In addition, I reviewed 'Absolutely Intercultural!' and I will make use of the following episode: absolutely intercultural 163 +++ internationalize yourself at home +++ simulations in teaching +++ social barriers +++ culture shock +++ BARNGA. 

[www.absolutely-intercultural.com]

 
In this episode, you can listen to several students' interviews about their study and internship abroad. Considering anyone goes through culture shock when they go abroad for study or work, the students' tips or suggestions to overcome culture shock will provide my future students with a good opportunity to make a well-prepared plan for studying or doing an internship abroad someday.

ePals is a good educational community where teachers, learners, parents, and school administrators across the globe can experience quality digital content and collaborative learning.

[www.epals.com] 

ePals provides a wide range of projects including Criket, Cobblestone,ToolsforSchool, In2books, and SchoolMails365. Criket and Cobblestone are a library of America's favorite children's stories, poems, games, and other digital media, which encourage students to learn at home with fun and ease. In2books is a good program, but it has a weakpoint of being only available for the U.S. schools. SchoolMail365 is a useful program which facilitates the school management and student monitoring by school administrators.

[www.toolsforschool.com]

I as a teacher will be able to make the best use of the good features of ToolsforSchool program which provides classroom resources tested and approved by teachers from around the world, especially rich in K-12 language learning materials. I think I will refer to those resources when designing my curriculum and lession plan in the future.     

  

Chirp Chirp! Share a Story with Storybird!

I wrote my first fairy tale, Doolydoo in the Underground Wonderland, for my future adult L2 students on the Storybird. It is a weird but compelling story that Doolydoo goes through in the underground wonderland! It was a fun experience that makes me feel like I am a real writer. However, I did not complete the whole story because I wanted to give my students a chance to finish the story the way they want as a kind of storytelling activity. I am looking forward to a wide range of interesting endings my future students will make.

Storybird is full of resources. Classroom management tools, the ability to issue assignments and a library of creative story for students are all at my fingertips here. I as a teacher can use Storybird for the longitudinal examination of student progress in the classroom via the student portfolio application. Storybird will also offer aspiring writers a communal hub for expressing their creativity and gaining valuable feedback from a cyber audience. In addition, Storybird can be used for homework, book reports, and research projects. It could bridge any distance gap through the use of distance learning tools. It is cool, isn't it?! 

Happiness in the hand of Windows Movie Maker!

I made an approximately 4-minute video by Windows Movie Maker for my future students to see it when they feel gloomy.

Throughout making this short video, I was thinking about feasibility in an actual classroom setting and educational benefits which can contribute to L2 learning and instruction. I came to a conclusion that making a storytelling video would be a quite challenging but instructive task for the students. 

Using Window Movie Maker, the students will import and edit photos, videos, and music easily the way they want. They can print captions with which they deliver what they want to say. When their work is done, they can save the final work for computer, YouTube, and other social networking sites with just one click. It is very easy and simple. 

I as a teacher believe that I will be able to employ this digital storytelling activity in a real L2 classroom lesson, which will have a positive effect on the students' language learning and development. More than that, this task of making their own movie may have advantages of helping students create more sophisticated presentation and showcase it online with the worldwide academic community. In addition, videos made by a teacher would be great supplement materials full of high-tech visual aids and music, which enrich the lesson. Consequently, it could foster student creativity and collaboration.  

Why not become a Digital Storyteller?

We all make our own stories every moment, and they have as many shapes as our different faces. It is quite exciting to share them with many others out there. Sophisticated 'Digital Storytelling' could lead us to the world of creative communication.

[http://www.socialbrite.org]

What is Digital Storytelling? 

Digital Storytelling is "the practice of combining narrative with digital content, including images, sound, and video, to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional component(quoted from 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling)." 

In the process of creating a digital story,as mentioned in 7 Things You Should Know About Digital Storytelling, people/learners can develop a wide array of skills including choosing appropriate topics, reflecting on their experiences and lives, expressing themselves with their own words or in their own voices,and increasing their digital technology and media literacy.

[http://edudemic.com]

In this regard, Digital Storytelling provides people/learners with educational benefits as well as with excitement.

How to use Digital Storytelling for L2 Teaching?

According to The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, today "in the field of education, teachers and their students, from early childhood classrooms through graduate school, are using digital storytelling in many different content areas and across a wide range of grade levels." 

Given its popularity, Digital Storytelling is considered an efficient and effective tool to keep EFL/ESL learners engaged in language learning tasks. At this point, the most important thing is how to teach L2 learners using Digital Storytelling.  

In accordance with the following lesson objectives, I will encourage my future students to create their own stories using digital technology in my future classroom.

Students will be able to 

1. create their own stories anytime anywhere. Without limitation of time and space, they will access the digital storytelling online site. It will help them work on at a more secure and relaxed atmosphere. 
2. write their own scripts freely. They will be free from a writing format and the number of pages required. This will make them more creative and expressive storytellers.
3. increase integrated language skills (i.e. reading, listening, writing, and speaking) simultaneously. They will be asked to read articles, listen to audio materials, or watch video clips related to the topics they choose, and then write their own scripts before telling their stories. Through these activities, they will develop all language skills of their reading, listening, writing, and speaking. 

[http://www.anecdote.com]

In conclusion, I believe that Digital Storytelling will be a great tool or strategy to improve L2 learners in language learning contexts if I encourage students to deploy it appropriately in line with their level of language ability and the topics they choose.