Jekyll and Hyde

Ah, dangers in cyberspace. Guess the same old problems exist no matter where you are, online or otherwise.

CALLing to break down barriers

Don't you just love the feeling of winding down at home after a long day's work, free from restrictions and criticisms and just let loose? Don't you just love hanging out with your closest friends and leaving all your inhibitions at the door? Roed (2003) thinks online communication could do just that for otherwise reserved language learners in her study of 13 first and second year students of Danish engaged in an online communicative task in a chat room. From her findings, she concludes that a virtual environment "is a definite advantage to the shy and introvert language student" and that it lowers the level of anxiety of producing the target language as well as increasing participation. Out of the five subjects mentioned, three were real-life introverts who thrived in an online communication setting. It is concluded by Roed that because of the lack of time pressure and interruptions, online chats "deinhibits" students as they serve as a "shield" and let learners talk more freely.

Roed's idea of virtual eloquence is not new as I've experienced first hand the way shy students behave when they are online. My students can babble on and on and produce language not thought possible when they are on MSN, Facebook and other webchat tools. In fact, even teachers "talk" (language is written but register is oral, according to Roed) more when they are in front of a computer. However, whereas Roed believes that online communication serves as a scaffold for students to build up their target language gradually, I actually think it does the opposite as Internet language is everything that's not proper. Also, when doing online tasks, instructors and learners should take into account a few things. First, the virtual world is a microcosm of the real one so problems in reality are likely to exist in cyberspace. Roed mentions one in her article. She says that when in virtualy reality, group identity is so strong online that "it is often a difficult and slow process for newcomers to break in and play a part. Sounds like exclusion and "freeze out" to me. Furthermore, prolonged computer use could help usher in "Cyberhermitism" (okay, it's a new term coined by yours truly for Internet addiction), a condition that strips heavy computer users of their social skills and eventually glues them onto their seat away from any kind of real, tangible human contact. After all, face-to-face interaction is still very important as even Roed doesn't think that a person can communicate entirely by e-mail or in a chat room.

Last but not least, chat room users tend to display Jekyll and Hyde tendencies so teachers and parents must preach Internet safety to prevent this. I'm not saying that online communication is a booby trap for students but as with all things new, we should take it with a grain of salt.

Drama for Dummies

Need a hand with your drama unit? Check this out. It's got everything from devising to performing. It's like Drama for Dummies and then some. Break a leg!

Some useful links

http://www.teach-nology.com/

This site's got worksheets and lesson plans aplenty on various disciplines. Not necessarily IT-drive but nevertheless a (Free!) useful resource site for teachers.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

You fly? Or you phat? Not down with that? Then you better check out Urban Dictionary, THE place to be for definitions of common slang and other interesting sayings. You dig?

Internet for Language Teaching

Warschauer et al provide interested readers with some basic principles of using the Internet for language teaching. In the article (or chapter), the pedagogical principles are divided into learning goals, teaching guidelines and planning tips. Learning goals include different types of learning like collaborative and critical learning that are much more structured and meaningful than just surfing the web aimlessly. Teaching guidelines feature the proposals of Dual immersion and Integration, which answer teachers' concerns about using IT non-intrusively in the classroom. Last but not least, Warschauer and friends offer readers some planning tips on how to run an IT/language lesson smoothly given the complexity of using machines that might not be available to everyone and the many technical difficulties that might plague nervous instructors such as time constraints, monitoring, hardware coordination and the omnipresent slow connection and deadlinks. According to the writers, teachers should plan well ahead and forsee the problems. Also, if caught in a low-tech setting (LIKE MY SCHOOL WITH JURASSIC COMPUTERS!!), focus on simple tools like e-mail or make use of resources outside the classroom. Offline work works, too, and so do simple applications on ancient PCs. Warschauer and company end their article by listing out ten examples of Internet-based projects done by primary, secondary and tertiary institutions.

Although the tips given by the writers are useful, I doubt if English teachers in Hong Kong, especially traditionalists, are willing to buy into the concept of Internet teaching. Besides the very obvious rigid curriculum that still emphasizes on textbooks rather than netbooks, teachers are resistant to change, any change that disrupts their flow of teaching (of exam skills). I can say I'm a pioneer at my school but it's extremely tough to get everyone on board. I can attest to that personally and finding suitable partners for team teaching is equally difficult as most of my colleagues are passive observers. Funding is also a problem as different departments vie for limited subsidies. All in all, it's a lonely battle to be fought. Oh, yeah, back to those Jurassic computers I was talking about. Not only do they kill off the interest of capable students but they also deter them from even attempting web-based activities in the classroom. As for working offline and from home, one's got to be careful as parents might complain about their kids being online all the time. In a nutshell, Warschauer and friends are right in saying that pedagogy and planning, not technology and surfing, are the keys to success in IT teaching.

Assassin's Creed II (Cool as hell!)

Haiti

Don't like French, never have, never will but my heart goes out to the hundreds of thousands of French-speaking Haitians out there. Hang in there. Help is coming. Que votre Dieu soit avec vous!

Foomeister's Big Day

yo, it's the Foomeister's B-day today but I don't think anyone remembers so I've decided to dedicate a song to myself:

Have you ever had a song that you can't get out of your head?

Damn, nothing's gonna stop me from singing "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". Definitely (along with the movie - Mannequin (1986) were you guys even born yet?) one of my guilty pleasures!

Here's a clip from the movie:



And here's the song:

My favorite teams, in no particular order:

My links

Here are some links that constitute my CALL:

http://intranet1.skhlkmss.edu.hk/ (school intranet page 1 with discussion board and e-mail)


http://intranet2.skhlkmss.edu.hk/it-school/ (school intranet page 2 with e-mail and file-sharing functions(small capacity, though))


In addition to the above links, I also do computer-based projects with my students like movie trailers, TV programs and voiceovers, as attested by my Popular Culture classmates from last summer.

I will also show my students movies about computer technology and its ramifications like The Matrix (2001) and Gamer (2009).

I have also approached the British Council recently and may soon sign up with them for Teen Second Life, a virtual reality program where teens get to travel in England through time in avatars. Here is the link:

http://www.britishcouncil.org/hongkong-english-secondlife.htm

Do I "CALL" often?

I wouldn't say I am an IT expert or anything but I do spend up to 6 hours a day on the computer, surfing the Web and instant messaging my friends. My CALL dealings with students mainly revolve around Youtube, Twitter and various blogs as we analyze the different varieties of English (i.e. formal vs. informal) that bloggers and tweeters use. Youtube videos, meanwhile, serve as warm-up activities and lead-ins for textbook units (e.g. Lennon's "Imagine" for the unit, Peace). Sometimes, we'll joke about some phenomena, like "Rickrolling" when we have time.

Allow me to introduce...

yours truly, the Foomeister. I like things hot and spicy and am not afraid to light up the crowd once in a while. Debating and sweet-talking are my forte while working's not. All joke's aside, I am a very dedicated English teacher, believe it or not, and I specialize in counseling, uh, mingling with teens.