Friday, January 28, 2011

Internet safety

Here are some safety tips that specially written for students:

I will never give out personal details that would identify who I am, such as my name, address, phone number, school or photographs.
I will tell a parent or teacher if I see any bad language or pictures on the Internet, or if anyone writes me anything I don’t like.
I will not reply to any messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive, obscene, aggressive, or distressing.
I will not use bad language online, neither will I take part in arguments or fights online.
I will not accept any offers of money or presents, even free offers.
I will never order anything online or give out credit card details.
I will not enter chat rooms and websites that I have agreed with my parents are off-limits.
I will not arrange any face-to-face meetings with anyone I have met on the Internet unless my parents consent and they accompany me.

Here is the link you can view more information:
cybersafety

Use blogs in classroom

 Right now we are living in the world of technology. Classroom is not the exception.
There are lots of ways to use blogs in classroom, but I would like to use them with these ways.
 First, I want to give assingments through blog, especially regarding writing. Each student can post homework and have a chance to look at other students work at the same time. While sharing our thoughts, I want students to edit their works to get better results. After finishing their homeworks, they can see how different the results can be from the first one.
 To enhance student's listening or speaking skills, I can add many useful links that they can visit and use at home. For example, I can use the site which includes video clips how to pronounce certain sounds. Non-native speakers have weakness in speaking certain sounds because they do not have that sounds in their mother tongue. In this case, learners can hear certain sounds as many times until they can produce similar or same sound. Or they can record their own voice and can hear how their sound is different from that of native speaker. Doing this practice, they can enhance their listening and speaking skills. Sometime students can find more great sites that I do not know yet, then they can add such sites, too.
 Lastly, I want to promote each student's potential using blogs. By encouraging students to make blogs according to their interests, they can get a chance to find their hidden capabilities in areas like photograph, art, cooking, craft and so on. In my country, there are tendencies that focusing on study until students are gaduated from highschool. It means that students usually use their leisure time only doing study related works.
 I think using blogs in classroom can help both teachers and students to achieve their goals as long as it is used in guided direction.

I used the standards in TESOL; Usage of Four Language Domains.
Listening
Listening is an active skill. By highlighting an assortment of listening tasks across standards, the need to involve students in active listening and purposeful listening skills development becomes clear.
Speaking
English language learners engage in oral communication in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes and in a wide spectrum of settings. As part of oral communication, students are constantly using language in meaningful interaction with others.
Reading
English language learners process, interpret, and evaluate written language, symbols, and text with understanding and fluency. Learning to read in a second language may be enhanced or hindered by students’ level of literacy in their native language. Students who have a strong foundation in reading in their first language bring with them skills that can be readily transferred in the process of learning to read in English.
Writing
English language learners use written communication for a variety of purposes and audiences. Writing can be used to express meaning through drawing, symbols, or text. English language learners may come with writing styles influenced by their home cultures.