Brainstorming by Using Wallwisher

http://www.wallwisher.com/

What does wallwisher do?

Wallwisher is a web page where users could post their comments, ideas, thoughts and so on.

Why is this particular technology relevant to language learning? What approaches to language learning underpin the use of this technology?

Teachers could set up a wallwisher wall for their class on a specific topic. For example, they could collect their students' feedback or suggestions for next lecture's content. Secondly, students could post their questions on the wall, where other students could brainstorm. It's not only helpful to sudents' linguistic competence, but also good to connect everyone in the class to foster interdependence. Interaction, negotiation, collaboration, etc., are important things in generating learner autonomy (Little 1994:435).

What limitations can you see with the use of this technology?

First, there is a word amount limit to each poster(160 words at most).

Second, suppose your class' size is big, the posters sticked on the wall could become clustered quickly. Maybe, it would be better to limit up to two ideas that each students could post most within a ten people group.

QuestGarden,where great WebQuests grow

What is a WebQuest?

http://webquest.org/

A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. (Bernie Dodge 1995)

What is QuestGarden?

http://questgarden.com/

As its slogan shouts: it is "where great WebQuests grow"!

The following link provided was a group work undertaken by Daphne and me.

http://questgarden.com/author/create/preview.php?u=138096&l=138090-120127050804&a=&p=introduction&pt=student

 Why is this particular tool or technology relevant to language learning?

In large sized class, implementing learner autonomy by using QuestGarden could greatly motivate every student to participate into a task allocated by teachers.

      The identification and tailoring of activities, tasks, and materials

    toward a student’s preferred learning style in order to promote

self-discovery, self-appropriation, and, thus, satisfaction is

     possible through the adoption of the Learning Style Inventory(Kolb 1999).

At the same time, this website makes the production of a WebQuest more easily and technically practical.

Limitations:

Teachers are supposed to be aware that students are working under the guidance of task requirement. After all, some students could be distracted by the overload information from the Internet.

myBrainshark

http://my.brainshark.com/Home.aspx

What does myBrainshark do?

This tool allows you to upload PowerPoints, documents, videos and pictures. It could even make podcasts for you.The most striking feature of this technology is that users could add their voice recording to the PowerPoints.

Why is this particular tool relevant to language learning? What research to language learning  underpin the use of this technology?

Teachers could not only post their lecture notes' PPTs to their students, but also they could add their voice recording to some specific PPTs which could be problematic to their students. This will be obviously facilitate students to review the lecture content.

Of course, language learners could use this tool to practise their speaking skills. By comparing their previous recording, students could easily know if they have made progress or not. This definitely foster learner autonomy.

“Autonomy is a situation in which the learner is totally responsible for all the decisions concerned with his [or her] learning and the implementation of those decisions” (Dickinson 1987:11).

What limitations can you see with the use of this technology?




Even the free version myBrainshark is powerful enough to let people who are not so keen on technology might feel a little bit complicated. Obviously, you cannot say it's limitation anyway. 

Learner Autonomy----embedding a Youtube video in your blog.