Liam Murray

Beyond the "Wow" Factor--Evaluating Multimedia Language Learning Software from a Pedagogical Viewpoint

Abstract Much computer-assisted language learning (CALL) software engenders a mixture of reactions upon initial exposure. For teachers, this may obscure a more objective view of the benefits to the learner. This article considers ways in which a languages teacher or a languages department might evaluate language learning software on a pedagogical basis. It emphasises that the classroom teacher is already in possession of much of the knowledge to do this successfully. It illustrates what might be considered good practice in various areas. This is done by matching a learning and teaching approach as currently practised within the U.K. secondary school environment against features of various CALL software packages.

CALL and Web training with teacher self-empowerment: a departmental and long-term approach

Abstract This paper examines the benefits of self-empowering, group in-service training (INSET). It incorporates evidence from several case studies. The training involves the teaching and practising of relevant skills, as a departmental group, in the evaluation, selection and use of various computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and Web materials. Prior assessment of the needs of individual teachers and those of the department as a whole inform subsequent targeting of the training content. These needs range from a self-confessed paucity of awareness of CALL materials among modern foreign language teachers to the effective use of multi-media authoring materials across the whole ability range. There is a description of a typical training session which reveals that there must be at least two facilitators offering expertise on the CALL materials being presented and practical teacher-training experience of the challenges teachers face within the classroom. The benefits of a model which supports team work and an educative process, and which holds a balance between theoretical issues and practical hands-on experience, is shown to be effective. The paper concludes with an evaluation of this form of INSET and proposes recommendations for further development and dissemination.

Netskills and the current state of beliefs and practices in student learning: an assessment and recommendations

This article analyses data from over 1000 student questionnaires dealing with how students currently use the web to support their learning. It discusses student understanding, needs, and expectations of the web and the overwhelming perception that the web now forms an integral part of their study and research practices. However, these practices require greater definition and refinement for and by the student. Evidence from some teaching staff is compared with that from students for validation purposes and has also revealed striking differences in perception and attitudes between the two groups. We identify specific needs on the part of most students in our survey who require greater guidance and study skills when using the web. These“Netskills” are described and recommendations are made concerning their acquisition and future development by students who are demanding that such skills become part of their own learning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the Emerging Generic Features of the Blog Writing Task across Three Discrete Learner Groups at a Higher Education Institution

Because of the recent revolutionary developments brought about by Web 2.0, the emergence and popularity of blogs as learning tools represent an important area of consideration by the higher education sector. Indeed, while many researchers have acknowledged the advantages of using blogs in this environment, it is clear that more investigation is required in order to expand and develop our understanding of their potential uses for academic purposes. As such, this paper will outline and describe the emerging features of a generic blog writing task recently implemented at an Irish higher education level institution. Using an action research methodological approach (McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J., (Eds.). (2002). Action research: Principles and practice. London: RoutledgeFalmer), the blog writing task is integrated into three separate undergraduate degree modules, allowing us to compare and contrast student reactions to using this medium for academic purposes. Looking at the emerging content, we shall subsequently reflect upon particular contextual and specific pedagogical factors in order to propose a generic methodology for future cross‐disciplinary teaching activities. Untersuchung der sich abzeichnenden spezifischen Möglichkeiten der Blogs nutzenden Aufgabe zwischen drei getrennten Lerngruppen einer höheren Schule Aufgrund der neuen revolutionären Entwicklungen durch das Web 2.0 zeigen das Bekanntwerden und die Popularität von Blogs als Lernhilfe ein wichtiges Gebiet von Überlegungen durch den Bereich der Höheren Bildung an. Während schon viele Forscher die Vorteile erkannt haben, die durch die Nutzung von Blogs in diesem Umfeld möglich sind, wird klar, dass mehr Forschung nachgefragt werden wird, um unser Wissen und Verständnis über ihre Möglichkeiten im akademischen Bereich zu erweitern. So soll dieser Beitrag die aufregenden Möglichkeiten der Verwendung eines generischen Schreib‐Blogs umreißen und beschreiben, der kürzlich an einer irischen Hochschule eingerichtet wurde. Benutzt wurde ein aktionsmethodologischer Ansatz (McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. (Eds.). (2002). Action research: Principles and practice. London, RoutledgeFalmer), wobei die Blog‐verfassende‐Aufgabe in drei getrennte Anfängermodule integriert war, was uns erlaubte die Reaktionen der Studenten bei der Verwendung dieses Mediums für wissenschaftliche Zwecke zu vergleichen und sie gegenüber zu stellen. Was den entstehenden Inhalt angeht, so werden wir später bestimmte kontextuelle und spezifisch pädagogische Faktoren überprüfen, um eine generische Methodologie für zukünftige fachübergreifende Lehraktivitäten zu entwickeln. A la recherche des caractéristiques propres qui apparaissent dans les activités d’écriture de blogs, le cas de trois groupes d’étudiants séparés dans un établissement d’enseignement supérieur Du fait des développements révolutionnaires récents qu’apporte le Web 2.0, l’apparition et la popularité des blogs comme outils d’apprentissage représentent un champ d’études important pour le secteur de l’enseignement supérieur. En fait, bien que de nombreux chercheurs aient reconnu les avantages que présente l’usage des blogs dans ce cadre, il est clair que l’on a besoin de recherches supplémentaires pour étendre et développer la compréhension que nous avons des usages que l’on pourrait en faire à des fins universitaires. C’est ainsi que le présent article va esquisser et décrire les caractéristiques qui se dégagent d’une tâche d’écriture de blog récemment mise en place dans un établissement d’enseignement supérieur irlandais. En suivant une approche méthodologique basée sur la recherche‐action, (McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. (Eds.). (2002). Action research: Principles and practice. London, RoutledgeFalmer) la tâche d’écriture du blog est intégrée dans trois modules de premier cycle distincts, ce qui nous permet de comparer et faire contraster les réactions des étudiants face à l’emploi de ce medium à des fins universitaires. Ensuite, en examinant les contenus qui apparaissent, nous réfléchirons sur les facteurs contextuels et spécifiques dans le but de proposer une méthodologie générique pour les activités transdisciplinaires futures. Una búsqueda de las características genéricas que surgen en las actividades de escritura de blogs en tres grupos separados de estudiantes en una Institución de Enseñanza Superior A consecuencia de los recientes y revolucionarios desarrollos producidos por la Web 2.0, la emergencia y popularidad de los blogs como herramientas de aprendizaje constituyen un terreno de investigación importante para la Enseñanza Superior. La verdad es que aunque muchos investigadores han reconocido las ventajas del uso de blogs en este entorno, la realidad es que hacen falta los estudios adicionales para extender y desarrollar nuestra comprensión de sus usos potenciales para fines académicos. Dentro de esa perspectiva en el presente artículo, presentaremos los grandes rasgos y la descripción de las características emergentes de una tarea genérica de escritura de blogs que fue aplicada hace poco en una institución irlandesa de enseñanza superior. Utilizando un abordaje metodológico de tipo investigación/acción (McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. (Eds.). (2002). Action research: Principles and practice. London, RoutledgeFalmer), la actividad de escritura del blog fue incorporada dentro de tres módulos distintos del exámen de pregrado lo que nos permitió comparar y contrastar las reacciones de los estudiantes al uso de este medio para fines académicos. Mirando los contenidos que surgen, podremos en la siguiente etapa reflexionar sobre los factores contextuales y pedagógicos específicos para proponer una metodología genérica para la enseñanza trasdisciplinaria del futuro.

A corpus‐based analysis of online synchronous and asynchronous modes of communication within language teacher education

Current technologies are affording more varied types of communication and collaboration than has ever before been possible, and many disciplines are beginning to exploit these technologies, with language teacher education (LTE) being one such discipline. Several researchers have explored synchronous and asynchronous online communication and their uses and benefits within different pedagogical contexts. Adding to this field of work, this paper provides a corpus‐based analysis of virtual synchronous and asynchronous student teacher and peer mentor interactions, highlighting the pertinent issues of interactivity and reflection. Variation and similarities between both modes are considered and compared against larger spoken and written corpora to investigate if either mode appears more akin to the spoken or written media. The paper closes with a discussion of the pedagogical implications of such research findings for the teacher education arena.

Sharing and collaborating between an online community of novice teachers: CMC in language teacher education

New and emerging technologies have transformed the classroom (Mishra and Koehler, 2006) and continue to do so, and it has been reported that teachers and teacher educators now work in ever evolving environments (Elliott, 2009). Research indicates that varied forms of CMC can be implemented to foster collaborative and social learning (Arnold and Ducate, 2006), and the formation of communities of practice (CoPs) (Arnold et al., 2005). Therefore, this paper investigates the implementation of online and face-to-face (F2F) communication in an English Language Teaching (ELT) teacher education programme, with the aim of illuminating the potential such modes have for sharing and collaborating, for providing a space for situated learning and open communication. Results are analysed using a corpus-based methodology, drawing on three aspects of community membership, namely a joint enterprise, mutual engagement and a shared repertoire (Wenger, 1998). This paper closes with a discussion of the implications of such data for Language Teacher Education (LTE) in a technologically-oriented world.

Reflexion, Analysis and Language Practice: From Individual Critical Thinking to Collaborative Learning Using Blogs in a Literature Class

In modern times, blended learners may easily access a high variety of media to express and share their thoughts and opinions with others. These may include typical blog websites such as WordPress.com or blogger.com or indeed Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as SnapChat, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, all of which continue to encourage self-expression on the part of the users, which is known as User Generated Content (Levina N, Arriaga M Information Systems Research 25:468–488, 2014). Furthermore, the employment of such tools for practising writing and analysis skills in a literature class requires further investigation by the CALL community, most notably for investigating the potential for raising critical thinking from an individual to a collaborative basis. This chapter aims to add to this ongoing debate and will describe the pedagogical impact, effectiveness and viability of using blogs to enhance both student learning and peer collaboration in a literature class with final year learners of French.

A gamification–motivation design framework for educational software developers

Gamification is the use of game design elements in nongame contexts and has been shown to be effective in motivating behavior change. By seeing game elements as “motivational affordances,” and formalizing the relationship between these elements and motivational affordances, it is the position of this article that gamification can be effectively applied to improve software systems across many different application domains. The research reported here aims to formalize the relationship between game elements and motivation, toward making gamification’s use more systematic. The focus is on the development of a framework linking commonly occurring game elements with the components of a psychological motivational model known as the self-determination theory, coupled with a proposed framework of commonly occurring game elements. The goal is to inform system designers who would like to leverage gamification of the game elements they would need to employ as motivational affordances.

New literacies in language learning and teaching: Selected papers from EUROCALL 2003

Contained within this issue is a selection of papers presented at the 2003 annual EUROCALL Conference, hosted during September in Limerick, Ireland. This was the second time that Ireland had the privilege of welcoming EUROCALLers, the first being the conference at Dublin City University in 1997 organised by Francoise Blin. The theme of EUROCALL 2003, “New literacies in language learning and teaching”, aimed to focus attention on the changing concepts and practices concerning literacy brought about by technological developments, particularly in relation to language learning and teaching. Sub-themes focused on the changes in practices involving literacy brought about by the World Wide Web; the need to re-interpret current teaching paradigms; the relationship between the more “traditional” language skills and the “new literacies”; interactivity, learner interaction, and feedback; and spoken and written corpora in language teaching and learning. This last theme re-introduced to EUROCALL an important research area which had been well represented in the early days of the association, and has led directly to the creation of a new SIG within the association in March 2004.

Developing the Pedagogical Information and Communications Technology Competence of Modern Foreign Languages Teacher Trainees. Situation: all change andplus ça change

Abstract This article explores the implications of the information and communications technology (ICT) requirements for initial teacher training in England and Wales from the viewpoint of modern foreign languages, as outlined in the Governments Circular 4/98. The authors highlight a number of issues surrounding the interpretation of the Circular and emphasise the need to develop critical evaluation skills in trainees. The importance of a departmental approach to ICT and to training is also discussed and the subject-specific content of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education course at one university is outlined. The authors conclude that whilst the directives of the Circular are far-reaching and comprehensive, appropriate pedagogical choices from the full range of resources remain the driving force in effective teaching and learning. ICT will take its place in the repertoire of the critical professional.