Teaching English with Technology – does it work? Part 2
This post continues to address the question posed in Part 1: Do digital technologies actually help students learn English? I pose two more statements and consider some related research for each. Both Part 1 and this post are based on a 30-minute talk that I gave at...
Teaching English with Technology – does it work? Part 1
If you’ve had any contact with youngsters over the last few years, you’ll have noticed that they seem to spend a significant amount of their time glued to a range of digital devices. Partly because of this, English language teachers are often told that they should be using digital technologies to enhance their teaching and to increase their students’ motivation.
But the essential question – Do digital technologies actually help students learn English? – is not always asked. Let’s ask that question.
The 2-minute guide to lurking
Who lurks? Danger, strangers, criminals, and horrors all lurk (according to one concordance). And, of course, so do people in online groups. People, that is, who read others’ postings in online discussion groups or other social spaces, but don’t contribute. This,...
Videoconferencing platforms for teaching online – a short video guide
Teaching live online classes is becoming an increasingly attractive option for teachers who would like to work for themselves, from home and in their own time. However, it's easier said than done. To be an effective online teacher, and to build up a large and loyal...
Copyright, Creative Commons and ‘fair use’ – a short video guide
Gavin Dudeney has created a rather snazzy video version of my last blog post, the 1-minute guide to to Internet copyright, Creative Commons, and ‘fair use’. It's the first in a new series of 5-minute video guides on topics related to education and technology, which we...
The 1-minute guide to Internet copyright, Creative Commons, and ‘fair use’
This 1-minute guide (briefly) explores the areas of Internet copyright, Creative Commons, and 'fair use' for teachers. It follows on from my previous post - The 1-minute guide to plagiarism. Copyright and the Internet Contrary to what many of us may think – and the...
The 1-minute guide to plagiarism
My latest 1-minute guide (in deference to our ever-shortening attention spans) takes a quick look at plagiarism. Not how to do it, but how to avoid our students doing it.
The 1-minute guide to the digital divide
After a 9-month break – the gestation period for my latest book (Focus on Learning Technologies, Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2016) – I’m blogging again. And in deference to our ever shortening attention spans, my ‘1-minute guide’ series is back. Here’s a 1-minute guide to the digital divide (mainly for English language teachers).
Going Mobile: Follow me!
To celebrate the recent publication of our new book Going Mobile (co-authored with Gavin Dudeney), we’re sharing a number of activities you can try out with your students, to get them using mobile devices as part of the their language learning. The first activity we...
Going Mobile: Raffle to celebrate the ELTONs
My co-author Gavin Dudeney and I are delighted to be shortlisted for a 2015 British Council Innovation Award (ELTON), for our latest book Going Mobile. To celebrate, we are running a raffle! To win a copy of the book, simply answer (correctly!) the four questions on...