A couple of weeks ago, I was seeing some lively discussions on a forum that I frequent about virtual classrooms (VCs) and the use of them by language teachers. Some had specific features they wanted to have and others just said they only use Skype. So, I thought it would be interesting to survey different people who teach languages on the internet and see what the preferred virtual classroom really is. When I set up the survey, there were three questions that I wanted answered, which were:
1) What VCs do live online language teachers actually use?
2) What VCs are live online language teachers familiar with?
3) Is using Skype alone effective language teaching?
Although I only received about 45 responses, I found the responses quite fascinating. I've decided to present the results in a series of blog postings instead of just one as I originally planned since I did get so much information. I thought I would start with a review of each of the virtual classrooms on the survey starting with the most popular to the least popular. In each posting I will discuss the tools and limitations of the particular VC. Later on, I will then discuss the open-ended responses about the effectiveness of using just Skype in language teaching. There were many differing opinions and it will be interesting to sort through and to share. So, come on back and give your opinion as I systematically report the results.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Why do you tweet? Isn't it another time waster like Facebook?
A few years ago, shortly after I started on facebook, a friend sent me an invitation to try out twitter. I signed up and immediately did not understand it. I set the privacy so high that only my friend could see my tweets and I faithfully tweeted what I was doing 'teaching an engineer today', 'going to the hospital, high school and paper company today to teach', etc. It wasn't until I saw a presentation at an online conference presented by someone (the details completely escape me) that I finally 'got' it and so I opened up my tweets and started following people, Retweeting (I'm the queen of that) and dialoguing with educators. My whole life just expanded and I have learned so much from the network of people I have met through twitter. When I had the good fortune of attending the BESIG conference in Poland last November, I even got to meet and talk with several of my favorite twitter friends, which was great! If you are an educator and are interested in networking with like-minded teachers and receiving links of blog postings you would never find, I would highly suggest joining twitter.
Now to answer the question above--is it a time waster like facebook? My answer is that is can be if you don't discipline yourself, but it is so full of information that it might actually save you time. One good thing about twitter is that you can ask a question and eventually someone will come up with an answer. So, if you want to know what a good tool is for podcasting and tweet the question, you will get several answers and places to turn to from real live people as opposed to googling everything, which is what I tended to do before twitter (and still do at times). So, I would call twitter another avenue towards professional development if you use it right. (BTW, I love Facebook and used in moderation is a great way to network with friends...) Below, you will see a mosaic of many of my twitter friends!
Now to answer the question above--is it a time waster like facebook? My answer is that is can be if you don't discipline yourself, but it is so full of information that it might actually save you time. One good thing about twitter is that you can ask a question and eventually someone will come up with an answer. So, if you want to know what a good tool is for podcasting and tweet the question, you will get several answers and places to turn to from real live people as opposed to googling everything, which is what I tended to do before twitter (and still do at times). So, I would call twitter another avenue towards professional development if you use it right. (BTW, I love Facebook and used in moderation is a great way to network with friends...) Below, you will see a mosaic of many of my twitter friends!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Certification--is it really necessary?
A couple months ago I had a discussion with a Director of Studies of a new live online language school and he mentioned that it didn´t matter to him if the trainers he hires has any sort of certification in teaching English let alone live online--what mattered to him was whether the teacher could teach and whether he/she had experience in the industry that the student was working. In fact, work experience as a banker was more important to him than teaching experience if the students were bankers. I thought to myself and possibly even said it--the same old debate about whether qualifications makes someone a good teacher and I inwardly groaned.
To understand my reaction, one should probably understand how I got into teaching. I was working at a multi-national company in sales and was bored out of my mind--every month I doubled my sales quota and really needed a new challenge. I started looking and saw an ad in the newspaper: "Teach in Korea--no experience necessary" In fact, the ad said that all the teachers needed was a BA in anything. So, I applied for the job and two months later I left for Pusan, S. Korea. I was told that I would have a couple days of orientation before I entered the classroom and I was fine with that--didn´t know what I was doing, but I was on an adventure... Anyway, I arrived in Pusan at about 10 PM on a Sunday night and the next day the boss picked me and my roommates up and I was given a textbook and told to teach. I remember that I looked at them and said, 'but what do I do?' I had gone from the corporate world to a classroom of 14 university students and had no training or even induction. The head teacher told me to go in and introduce myself and then have them introduce themselves and you should be okay. So, I started teaching with absolutely NO training, induction, etc. My training was on the job and my colleagues and I just shared ideas and I learned a lot from the people who had gotten their four-week tefl and/or esl endorsement. I actually stayed in Korea for just under two years and fell in love with teaching.
When I went on and got an MA TESOL, I already had two years teaching experience and was already successful as a teacher. Did I need certification? Was I just wasting my time? After I finally got training, I realized that I still started all the classes the same way I did on that day in S. Korea when I didn´t have a clue what I was doing. Did I need to spend two years in graduate school to continue with the same routine? I then realized that because I was teachable in graduate school, I learned new techniques and was already a good teacher, but the two years in grad school made me an even better teacher.
So, the debate between certified and uncertified teachers surfaces every once in a while and I inwardly groan and think to myself--I started with no training, didn't change the way I start a class, but boy did I learn a lot when I was jumping through the hoops to get certified. So, my conclusion is that if a person who is already a good teacher seeks certification and is teachable, they actually become better teachers. The key is to be teachable!
Of course, I hear the teacher (usually ones who has never bothered to jump through the hoops to get qualified) say that the worst teachers are the ones who are the most qualified. I have to admit that many PhDs and teachers with MAs are bad teachers, but is that really a reason for a person who is a good teacher to balk at the idea of getting certified and learn more about their profession? I guess in my mind, it is professional development and in every other ´professions´people have to get qualifications--why would language teaching being any different?
How about you--should you get qualified? Is a CELTA or TEFL enough to teach live online? Probably. Should you hone your skills as you move into live online language teaching? By all means. Should the live online teacher really get certified or is a certificate concentrating on face-to-face teaching enough?
To understand my reaction, one should probably understand how I got into teaching. I was working at a multi-national company in sales and was bored out of my mind--every month I doubled my sales quota and really needed a new challenge. I started looking and saw an ad in the newspaper: "Teach in Korea--no experience necessary" In fact, the ad said that all the teachers needed was a BA in anything. So, I applied for the job and two months later I left for Pusan, S. Korea. I was told that I would have a couple days of orientation before I entered the classroom and I was fine with that--didn´t know what I was doing, but I was on an adventure... Anyway, I arrived in Pusan at about 10 PM on a Sunday night and the next day the boss picked me and my roommates up and I was given a textbook and told to teach. I remember that I looked at them and said, 'but what do I do?' I had gone from the corporate world to a classroom of 14 university students and had no training or even induction. The head teacher told me to go in and introduce myself and then have them introduce themselves and you should be okay. So, I started teaching with absolutely NO training, induction, etc. My training was on the job and my colleagues and I just shared ideas and I learned a lot from the people who had gotten their four-week tefl and/or esl endorsement. I actually stayed in Korea for just under two years and fell in love with teaching.
When I went on and got an MA TESOL, I already had two years teaching experience and was already successful as a teacher. Did I need certification? Was I just wasting my time? After I finally got training, I realized that I still started all the classes the same way I did on that day in S. Korea when I didn´t have a clue what I was doing. Did I need to spend two years in graduate school to continue with the same routine? I then realized that because I was teachable in graduate school, I learned new techniques and was already a good teacher, but the two years in grad school made me an even better teacher.
So, the debate between certified and uncertified teachers surfaces every once in a while and I inwardly groan and think to myself--I started with no training, didn't change the way I start a class, but boy did I learn a lot when I was jumping through the hoops to get certified. So, my conclusion is that if a person who is already a good teacher seeks certification and is teachable, they actually become better teachers. The key is to be teachable!
Of course, I hear the teacher (usually ones who has never bothered to jump through the hoops to get qualified) say that the worst teachers are the ones who are the most qualified. I have to admit that many PhDs and teachers with MAs are bad teachers, but is that really a reason for a person who is a good teacher to balk at the idea of getting certified and learn more about their profession? I guess in my mind, it is professional development and in every other ´professions´people have to get qualifications--why would language teaching being any different?
How about you--should you get qualified? Is a CELTA or TEFL enough to teach live online? Probably. Should you hone your skills as you move into live online language teaching? By all means. Should the live online teacher really get certified or is a certificate concentrating on face-to-face teaching enough?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Are you coming! The program is out...
About the Virtual Round Table
The Virtual Round Table conference is a 2-day live online conference which takes place on Thu/ Fri 12-13 November 2009. It is all about "language learning with technology" and is a completely 'green' conference since no-one has to travel to attend.
We are looking forward to more than 20 sessions, 5 panel discussions, more than 35 guest speakers and especially look forward to meeting delegates from more than 50 countries who have already signed up on the Virtual Round Table Conference site.
The sessions take place in two different virtual classrooms (Adobe and Elluminate) and in Second Life and we are also looking forward to lively virtual round table panel discusssions, workshops, product presentations, tours in Second Life, language classes live online and much more.
As a highlight, there are a total of 5 panel discussion.
Opening Panel Thu 12 November 2009, 1pm GMT
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it.“-Theodore Hook
with panelists who have been instrumental in inventing the very future of language learning with technology. Dr. Gary Motteram of the University of Manchester, Shiv Rajetan of LanguageLab and Stefan Booy of Myngle. Moderation: Valentina Dodge
Panel Thu 12 November 2009, 7pm GMT
"Technology will not replace teachers but teachers who use technology will probably replace teachers who do not“-Ray Clifford with panelists who are seasoned teacher trainers of ICT and language learning: Pete Sharma of Te4Be, Shaun Wilden of International House, Gavin Dudeney of The Consultants-E and Heike Philp of LANCELOT School GmbH. Moderation: Marina Petrovic.
Panel Fri 13 November 2009, 7am GMT
"„Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner“-Chinese Proverb with Twitterers Graham Stanley of British Council, Karenne Sylvester of Kalinago English, Shelly Terrell, Burcu Akyol and Peter Travis of Floe-Jo. Moderation: Holly Longstroth
Panel Fri 13 November 2009, 1pm GMT
"Imagination is more important than knowledge“-Albert Einstein with panelists who have successful used their imagination to build an online teaching business: Monica Thomas of Ad_Lib, Lukas Palecek of WebSchool and Stephen Jones of Jones-English.
Closing Panel Fri 13 November 2009, 7pm GMT
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it“-George Santayana with panelists who have a combined total of more than a century of language learning with technology experience: Graham Davies of Camsoftpartners, Vance Stevens, Duane Sider of Rosetta Stone and Ton Koenraad of the University of Utrecht.
How to participate
The sessions take place in virtual classrooms (Adobe Connect Pro or Elluminate) and Second Life. The Second Life events will also be screenshared in a virtual classroom. For more information on how to attend, please sign up on the Virtual Round Table Conference site
http://virtual-round-table.ning.com.
Program
For a complete program see the following link. http://virtual-round-table.ning.com/events . All times mentioned are in GMT
Sponsorship
If you wish to be a sponsor for this conference please send an email to heike.philp [at] lancelotschool.com.
For a list to all sponsors, click here
Are you blogging or tweeting?
Please us the tag vrt09 or the hashtag #vrt09 for the conference.
The Virtual Round Table conference is a 2-day live online conference which takes place on Thu/ Fri 12-13 November 2009. It is all about "language learning with technology" and is a completely 'green' conference since no-one has to travel to attend.
We are looking forward to more than 20 sessions, 5 panel discussions, more than 35 guest speakers and especially look forward to meeting delegates from more than 50 countries who have already signed up on the Virtual Round Table Conference site.
The sessions take place in two different virtual classrooms (Adobe and Elluminate) and in Second Life and we are also looking forward to lively virtual round table panel discusssions, workshops, product presentations, tours in Second Life, language classes live online and much more.
As a highlight, there are a total of 5 panel discussion.
Opening Panel Thu 12 November 2009, 1pm GMT
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it.“-Theodore Hook
with panelists who have been instrumental in inventing the very future of language learning with technology. Dr. Gary Motteram of the University of Manchester, Shiv Rajetan of LanguageLab and Stefan Booy of Myngle. Moderation: Valentina Dodge
Panel Thu 12 November 2009, 7pm GMT
"Technology will not replace teachers but teachers who use technology will probably replace teachers who do not“-Ray Clifford with panelists who are seasoned teacher trainers of ICT and language learning: Pete Sharma of Te4Be, Shaun Wilden of International House, Gavin Dudeney of The Consultants-E and Heike Philp of LANCELOT School GmbH. Moderation: Marina Petrovic.
Panel Fri 13 November 2009, 7am GMT
"„Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner“-Chinese Proverb with Twitterers Graham Stanley of British Council, Karenne Sylvester of Kalinago English, Shelly Terrell, Burcu Akyol and Peter Travis of Floe-Jo. Moderation: Holly Longstroth
Panel Fri 13 November 2009, 1pm GMT
"Imagination is more important than knowledge“-Albert Einstein with panelists who have successful used their imagination to build an online teaching business: Monica Thomas of Ad_Lib, Lukas Palecek of WebSchool and Stephen Jones of Jones-English.
Closing Panel Fri 13 November 2009, 7pm GMT
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it“-George Santayana with panelists who have a combined total of more than a century of language learning with technology experience: Graham Davies of Camsoftpartners, Vance Stevens, Duane Sider of Rosetta Stone and Ton Koenraad of the University of Utrecht.
How to participate
The sessions take place in virtual classrooms (Adobe Connect Pro or Elluminate) and Second Life. The Second Life events will also be screenshared in a virtual classroom. For more information on how to attend, please sign up on the Virtual Round Table Conference site
http://virtual-round-table.ning.com.
Program
For a complete program see the following link. http://virtual-round-table.ning.com/events . All times mentioned are in GMT
Sponsorship
If you wish to be a sponsor for this conference please send an email to heike.philp [at] lancelotschool.com.
For a list to all sponsors, click here
Are you blogging or tweeting?
Please us the tag vrt09 or the hashtag #vrt09 for the conference.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
First Virtual Round Table Conference
About the Virtual Round Table
The Virtual Round Table conference is a live online conference dedicated to language learning with technology. It is aimed at educators and language teaching professionals in language schools, institutes or other language related organisations.
It purposes to introduce to its participants a number of tools and best practises on how to use these tools in class for the benefit of our language learners.
With so many tools around, often the very decision on ‘how to use which tool’ for creating blended learning experiences or for selecting digital teaching and learning material and also for building a web-presence and using tools for online marketing are difficult and time-consuming and pales the efforts of learning the tools into insignificance.
During this conference these issues will openly be discussed by small groups of experts in certain fields of technology so that the participants will be equipped with solid information so as to be able to make informed decisions.
Who is the conference for?
The conference is for all those interested in language specific ….
· web-based or software based applications
· digital teaching and learning material
· electronic or digital tools
· mobile learning applications
· digital classroom management
· live online environments, virtual classrooms and virtual worlds
· and all other aspects of language learning with technology
This includes language trainers educators and mangement of language schools or institutes, freelancers and any other language teaching professionals.
Venues
Virtual classrooms (Adobe Connect Pro) and Second Life.
Conference themes
Theme 1: Best practises
Theme 2: Trendsetting
Theme 3: Online Marketing and Networking
Theme 4: Classroom management, administration and training
BONUS theme 5: On demand guest speaker
Event Schedule
October 31, 2009 deadline for submissions
November 5-6, 2009 presenter rehearsals
November 12-13, 2009 conference (Thu, Fri)
Conference Structure
The conference will be held on Thursday or Friday, 12-13 November with 4 main panel discussions (virtual round table discussions) of 90min each scheduled at different times to meet the main time zones: Europea, America, Asia.
The sessions in between those virtual round tables will be workshops or product presentations or individual presentations and there will also be plenty of breaks between the sessions.
The formats of the sessions will be
- 90min virtual round table discussions with 2 or 3 experts, each presenting a brief pecha kucha* or PRESTO** presentation followed by a learning conversation
- 60min hands-on workshops or showcases delivered by individuals
- virtual exhibition in Second Life with poster sessions (throughout) with exhibition tours planned
- ‘external links’ collection wiki for research and development in the field of language learning with technnology
For more information on the conference please click here. The program will be announced also on this NING site shortly.
Registration
To register for the conference please sign-up on our ning site and as soon as the schedule is announced we may ask you to sign up at each individual session you wish to attend. http://virtual-round-table.ning.com website.
Sponsorship
If you wish to be a sponsor for this conference please send an email to heike.philp [at] lancelotschool.com.
For a list to all sponsors, click here
Contact Information
Please contact Holly Longstroth or Heike Philp at LANCELOT School GmbH, holly.longstroth [at] lancelotschool.com and heike.philp [at] lancelotschool.com.
Are you blogging or tweeting?
Please us the tag vrt09 or the hashtag #vrt09 for the conference.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Which Virtual Classroom?
Today on twitter someone asked me which virtual classroom (VC) I used and I had a list for him/her as I use several. I even confessed that I truly haven't decided on a favorite as they all have their pros and cons based on the students and platform that I am using. At LANCELOT School, we try to familiarize the trainees with at least five virtual classroom solutions so that when faced with a client they can choose the one that is the most appropriate for their needs or if they go into a client's VC they can usually adapt to the new solution quite quickly. Here is a list of the ones that I use:
Free VCs I use:
Adobe Connect Now
This is free for three people. Screensharing is great. Annotation tools can be used with screensharing (the only room). All cameras can be seen at the same time.
Digital Samba
This is free for three people. All cameras can be used at the same time. One of the few VCs that allows word documents to be uploaded.
DimDim
This is free for up to 20 people. Only the host can share the web camera. Web touring and Screen sharing is really quite good. One drawback is that you can't upload jpegs.
Elluminate
This is free for three people. This is the best for low-bandwidth. Has web-touring, clock, and break-out rooms, which is awesome. The whiteboard tools are also really great. I especially like the ability to use the clock, which no other VC has. All three cameras can be seen at the same time and up to six cameras can be used with the professional version.
Spreed
This is free for up to three people. All cameras can be seen at the same time. One of the few that allows word documents to be uploaded. As far as I know the only VC with a mindmap tool, which is really cool. Like most flash-based systems, it is best with high band-width.
Webtrain
This is free for two people. Good for low-bandwidth, web touring, wonderful whiteboard tools, remote control, only one camera can be seen at a time.
Paid VCs I use:
Adobe Connect Pro
One of the more expensive VCs on the market and I jump at the chance to use it. Like most flash based solutions it is best for high bandwidth. It has polls, breakout rooms, whiteboarding, screensharing, filesharing and all participants can be seen on camera if everyone has one.
Instant Presenter
I have found this VC to be the easiest for people with low technical skills to enter and to navigate. Six people can be on the camera and VOIP at the same time. Screensharing, polls and whiteboarding are quite easy to use. It is a very basic VC, but quite good.
Free VCs I use:
Adobe Connect Now
This is free for three people. Screensharing is great. Annotation tools can be used with screensharing (the only room). All cameras can be seen at the same time.
Digital Samba
This is free for three people. All cameras can be used at the same time. One of the few VCs that allows word documents to be uploaded.
DimDim
This is free for up to 20 people. Only the host can share the web camera. Web touring and Screen sharing is really quite good. One drawback is that you can't upload jpegs.
Elluminate
This is free for three people. This is the best for low-bandwidth. Has web-touring, clock, and break-out rooms, which is awesome. The whiteboard tools are also really great. I especially like the ability to use the clock, which no other VC has. All three cameras can be seen at the same time and up to six cameras can be used with the professional version.
Spreed
This is free for up to three people. All cameras can be seen at the same time. One of the few that allows word documents to be uploaded. As far as I know the only VC with a mindmap tool, which is really cool. Like most flash-based systems, it is best with high band-width.
Webtrain
This is free for two people. Good for low-bandwidth, web touring, wonderful whiteboard tools, remote control, only one camera can be seen at a time.
Paid VCs I use:
Adobe Connect Pro
One of the more expensive VCs on the market and I jump at the chance to use it. Like most flash based solutions it is best for high bandwidth. It has polls, breakout rooms, whiteboarding, screensharing, filesharing and all participants can be seen on camera if everyone has one.
Instant Presenter
I have found this VC to be the easiest for people with low technical skills to enter and to navigate. Six people can be on the camera and VOIP at the same time. Screensharing, polls and whiteboarding are quite easy to use. It is a very basic VC, but quite good.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Who would you like to have a learning conversation with?
Today, LANCELOT School had another really good Virtual Round Table on Demand. The idea for these virtual round tables is to invite famous authors, teachers or professors into a virtual classroom and to have a learning conversation with him/her. We started with Noam Chomsky back in February and then Scott Thornbury later in the spring. When I was asked who my favorite textbook author was it was a no-brainer: Vicki Hollett. We found her quite easily thanks to web 2.0 and Linked-in. I had the privilege of inviting people to this event and also talking to Vicki before the event--it was a great honor. I've now become a fan of her blog, which is something I totally identify with--she is British and living in the states and comparing the language. Her blog is called Learning to speak 'merican and I think it is one of my favorite blogs so far. Anyway, today we had a Virtual Round Table for teachers who teach Aviation English. I've been involved in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) for quite a while and this is one area I have never taught. I went because I was helping with the audio and found it fascinating anyway. Personally, I'm looking forward to more Virtual Round Table on Demands. I've put in another request for an author. How about you? Who would you like to have a learning conversation with? There is a forum discussion on the ning site that you can put in your request.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Advantages of Live Online!
After 11 years in Finland, I have decided to return to the USA! This actually came as a shock to many people and several have asked if I have a job there or what will I do when I get there. This has kind of surprised me as I have been teaching live online and working with LANCELOT School for quite some time... Anyway, the advantages of teaching live online is that I will be taking my students with me! Right now, I have some students in Germany at 8:30 PM Finnish time on Wednesday and Thursdays. I will continue teaching them, but will now be teaching them at 11:30 AM mountain standard time. I'm quite excited about this move and especially to see just what will happen in the future regarding this live online teaching-->is it going to take off or is it going to fizzle? My plan is for it to become popular, but only time will tell. So, anyway, I am moving back to the states, but my professional teaching life is going to continue growing live online--the advantages of teaching live online: I can be anywhere in the world with internet connection!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Sir LANCELOT and the mists of AVALON
Check out this SlideShare Presentation--if you like it--go here to vote: http://tinyurl.com/llpx2t
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