Two simple ways of using technology for teaching purposes: virtual libraries and vocabulary or language banks

Since I practically grew up using technology, there are many simple tasks I perform using electronic devices. Most of these things, according to the SAMR model  would belong to the category of substitution: typing handouts, asking students to type compositions, using eBooks instead of printed versions of books, etc.

However, there are other ways of integrating technology in the classroom. In this post, I would like to mention two ways in which I use technology regularly with my students.

1) Virtual libraries. I always set up virtual libraries for my courses, as many of my students prefer reading or using the material on their computers, tablets or mobile phones. I use Google Drive, and I find it useful to create one folder per lesson, with the corresponding date, and handouts, audio files and videos used that day. Within the main folder, I also include a spreadsheet with a course schedule. That way, if students are absent, they can still follow what we have been doing.

I have created an example here with only two folders.

There other sites that you can use to do this, such as MediaFire or Dropbox. However, if you are looking for something similar to a virtual classroom, like Edmodo, these may not be the right options for you. Bear in mind that I only use Google Drive as a virtual library, with very small groups of 4 or 5 students at a language school, but perhaps for larger groups you might want to consider using a virtual classroom, where you can post updates and easily keep track of assignment deadlines, among other things.

2) Language Banks. I got this idea from two colleagues, but I modified it a bit by making it permanently available online for the students to access and edit. The Language Bank is a spreadsheet, and the idea is for the students to fill it in, not for the teacher, and ideally, in class, if they have access to computers and an Internet connection. Us teachers should only check on our students' work and correct any mistakes (since all of the group is going to profit from it).

Here is an example. As you can see, I have added as many columns as I felt necessary, but you could modify it as you like. In my Language Bank, there's also a 'Recurrent mistakes' section, which is usually quite useful.

I usually include the Language Bank in a folder together with the virtual library and the course schedule, and I share it with my students, but as opposed to the rest of the folders and files, students have editing permissions to edit the Language Bank.

According to the SAMR model, which offers an interesting way of analysing technology in the ELT classroom, these two ideas I've mentioned would belong to the category of 'augmentation,' or maybe 'modification,' in the case of the Language Bank.

Using avatars in ELT - updated

Most Internet users have probably used some kind of avatar at some point. To tell you the truth, I've never been fond of 'flashy' avatars. My avatars have always consisted of either my own picture, in more 'professional' contexts, or some gaming-related image, as I really like gaming. Sometimes, I would pick a character from I movie I liked.

Anyway, I tried out some avatar creation websites just for fun, and these were my results:

These avatars were created using the official Monsters University site and the official South Park site. Cool, right?

Using these websites with our students could be an interesting way of introducing vocabulary related to the body, and also to clothes and accessories. It would certainly be a more innovative and memorable way of working with these vocabulary areas, since students will probably remember their own creations and the vocabulary associated with them very well.

Update:

Here are some ideas for activities involving avatars.

• Introduce yourself. Students write a brief description of themselves in digital format, which may or may not include a physical description. They could add an avatar next to it. This activity could be used with students of any level, but it would probably be ideal for beginners.
• Guessing game. Students create their own avatars and then exchange them with their classmates; each student should get one. Nobody should know who the avatars belong to. The idea is to guess who the avatar portrays by speculating, using modals (that is why this should be used from intermediate level onwards) and they will also need to know some vocabulary related to the body and clothes.
• Create an avatar based on a given description. I've thought two versions of this activity. The teacher could provide a written description of a person and students should create an avatar based on it. However, the students themselves could write the descriptions and exchange them with their classmates after getting feedback from the teacher; they would then create an avatar based on the description they got.

I hope you find these ideas useful!

About the blog

Hello!

This blog has been created for the workshop "Técnicas Informáticas Aplicadas a la Enseñanza de la Lengua Extranjera," and its purpose is to reflect upon the different ways in which technology may enrich our teaching practices, and how to go about integrating technology in our lessons.

I will be posting weekly updates with reflections on my findings. Expect new posts soon!

See you around,

Sofía