This Session is sponsored by the Teacher Education IS of TESOL

Moderators:

Barbara Dieu, Brazil Aaron P. Campbell, Japan Graham Stanley, Spain Sean Smith, Korea

Target Audience
ESL/EFL teachers, with some experience in using Internet tools in teaching (familiarity with word processors and the basics of Internet navigation), who would like to use blogs with their classes or for reflective practice.


Content Description
A weblog or blog is a an online journal that can be easily and instantly updated. This online session will begin with a short review of the EVO 2004 session on blogs in ESL/EFL - in which participants explored possible uses and learned how to create their own blogs - and proceed to examine a broader scope of the various blogging tools and how they could be put to use with ESL/EFL learners.   Participants will start their own blogs and become familiar with the possibilities that RSS, aggregation software, and various other internet applications have to offer.  Finally, participants will take a look at existing weblogging projects in language teaching and explore ways of cultivating and maintaining interest in a weblog community.  

Weekly chats with guest speakers will be held to discuss different aspects of blogging and offer participants a wider range of options and perspectives. Participants will also have the opportunity to experience different synchronous and asynchronous media.


Week by Week Outline

Week I - Introductions, survey, getting acquainted with blogs

Participants will meet moderators and participants; complete an exploratory survey to pool experience, needs and expectations; and set guidelines and readings for course.  A webquest activity will allow participants to become acquainted with the EVO 2004 session on the use of blogs in ESL/EFL, at the end of which participants will open their own blog accounts.


Week II - Contrast and compare various asynchronous tools, different weblog categories and uses

Participants will discuss webquest results, view different blog tools (free and open source); compare and contrast them to forums, webpages, and wikis; and examine various uses and categories (personal blogs, class blogs, open, closed). 



Week III - Personalisation and RSS

Participants will configure and personalize their blogs, while learning about how RSS and aggregation works.  Participants will make sure there is an RSS feed link on their weblogs and will begin using aggregators to subscribe to relevant links.  Various aggregation software (like Bloglines and Sage), web-based search and tracking services (like Feedster and Technorati), and other useful tools (like Furl, Haloscan, etc.) will be introduced.


Week IV - Images and Sounds: Latest Trends

In this section, participants will discover ways to enrich their blogging activities by incorporating images and sound.  Audblogs, Photoblogs, and  Moblogs will be discussed, along with the various software applications that support working with images and sound.


Week V - Weblogging Projects

Participants will explore ways of using technology in the classroom by examining and discussing several projects currently underway and speak with the teachers and students involved.   Some of the topics to be covered include collaborative projects, blogging communities (like Livejournal), and the use of E-portfolios.



Week VI - Building  a community of practice

Finally, participants will explore how to cultivate and maintain a thriving weblog-based learning community.  Edu-blogs are those that engage people and make them want to come back again and again, not only to read posts, but also to participate. What can we do to encourage this participation and convert our blogs into lively online communities?



Communication Media
- Moodle, collective and personal blogs, wiki, and Yahoo Group
- Synchronous chats with experts (Alado, Tapped In, Learning Times)






To join this group go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/weblogging/
   and click on