Blog Post #3: Synchronous and Asynchronous CMC Tools

 1) Brief descriptions of the tools and links to their websites

    - Synchronous CMC Tool website: http://www.scribblar.com/

      :      Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) allows group of people to speak to  one another in real time over the Internet. This website, Scribbler, provides various functions to both teachers and students. First of all, it gives us some space to use it as a whiteboard and to share with all the group members. On the whiteboard, each one can write letters, draw some pictures, put some graphs or grids, and even store the whole board in clipboard. Thus, through this fuction, communication of group memebers will be highly increased and improved. Moreover, teacher and students are able to simultaneously chat  altogether on the little chatting room. Since we should type in our own name before we start, everyone can see who they are talking with and anyone can enjoy talking each other. Lastly, it also has an audio function, which allows teachers and students to be able to speak and listen each other.
 
    -Asynchronous CMC Tool website: http://voicethread.com/
       
       :      In synchronous communications, all participants are online at the same time, while asynchronous communications occurs with time constraints such as email. (from Wikipedia)Voicethread provides voice and video recording functions. If we register to the website, then we see three main taps, 'Browse', 'Create', and 'My voice'. With clicking the 'Browse', we can view many other video clips recorded by other users and we can also leave some of our comments or opinion regarding it in the section. To leave comments or opinion on other's records, there are several ways : using phone, webcam, typing and recording. Also, to create a new one, we need to go into 'Create' tap and we can check it up in 'My voice'.

 

 2) Your thoughts about how the Synchronous CMC tool and the Asynchronous CMC tool could support learning and the development of language skills.  Are there any similarities and differences in how they could support language learning?

   -        Scribbler could support language learning in several ways. Firstly, it basically provides a chatting room and an audio function online. So students and a teacher can mutually communicate each other just sitting before their own PCs. In addition, unless they are able to type fast or speak fluently, they can facilitate the whiteboard function to write or draw what they try to speak. Thus, when some who are not be able to spontaneously listen and speak or some who are not really confident of speaking, it offers another place to express their message or ideas in other ways such as drawing or pictures.
            Voicethread would be helpful for language learners to develop their language skills. Especially, after I record my voice or video, I am able to check it up and revise it as many times as I can. Moreover, other participants can leave their own message on my record with drawing or typing at the same time.
            They both should be useful in that we can naturally learn and acquire foreign language in communication mediated by computers, which is quick and convinient. However, in terms of time    constraint, two kinds of tools are somewhat different. While Scribbler is used by participants at the same time, Voice thread allows them to delay or control what they try to convey. So in Voice thread, people can continue to reflect and revise the record after they upload it. 

 

3) Some of your ideas of possible activities and ways that the tools could be used in a language class to supplement in-class content and instruction.

    -        Scribbler could be used for group or class conference in a language class. When a teacher provides some ideas or arguments of a specific topic, they could gather in the room and talk or write down around the topic. For kinesthetic learners, it would be a great tool to scribble what just comes up into their own minds.
             I would use Voicethread for speaking test. A learner can record their own record, and the other members in the room give feedback with recording, typing and writing. Thus, all participants can share which part is good or bad and also give peer-revision to the learner.

Blog Post #2 - Presentation Tools & Screencasting Tools

1.     As a Presentation Tool, I tried to use Prezi.  http://prezi.com/
    There were actually several opportunities for me to use it. One was for the open class in my school, and the other was for a presentation of Teaching Young Learners. Thus, it was not really unfamiliar.


2. Activity         -   https://sites.google.com/site/hyumichelle/activity
        The activity linked above was for my 3rd-grade-students in public middle school. Even though they are in advanced level, they hardly speak English each other. So I first made a short and simple dialogue including two target expressions, "Which one do you think...?" and  "What makes you say(think) so?", to ask other's opinion and the reasons. Students drill and practice the sample dialogue first. Then, I showed them two pictures and some cues so that two students can make sentences and have conversation associated with the expressions and pictures given to them.

    Presentation  -   https://sites.google.com/site/hyumichelle/home/homework
        The other one I linked to here was for the presentation of Teaching Young Learners. Since it was  second time for me to use it, I was able to more deeply learn some other functions more in details. It was about TYL & Literacy, and I was going to explain about how children learn literacy skills, how they process in reading, two kinds of process (Bottom-up and Top-down) and some formal approaches. Thus, I need not only just presenting some information but also clarifying some primary concepts. Especially, I thought it would be greatly helpful if I use the balance background to present  that we have to equally balance two different approaches.


3.     I would recommend prezi to other teachers only when they need to use it for students conceptualizing some complicated information or when they have to present a whole picture or a process. It would be really useful and facilitative to conceptualize or to wholly view, because it has a function of zooming in and out. Also, it has sensible and modernized design.
        However, it also has a weak point for teachers to use it in class. I usually use animation function (of PPT) to make students dynamically get involved in the class. If I delay showing them pictures or information or if I don't show it directly, they seem to be more curious and really want to know what comes after it. It often leads them to be motivated to learn and finally actively participate in the class. Unfortunately, I was not able to find the function, so students got little bit bored and some of them were already given the answer or result without their own trial of thinking

 4.    Prezi could be potential tool in the Korean EFL learning context, because I heard Korean Educational Ministry already tried to teach teachers how to use Prezi. So, some of teachers are trying to learn those skills. However, I noticed that, to use more various uses or functions, we have to pay some amount of money (in dollors) and to carry it as a file, it takes much more time to turn it into file, restore it and open it than PPT. Moreover, if the Internet is disconnected, we cannot open it.
        Finally, being potential tool in the Korean EFL learning context could be limitedly accepted.