Resume buku "how to teach english with technology" chapter 3

3. Using Websites

Using websites in the classroom

Using websites is one of the easiest and least stressful ways of getting started with technology in the classroom. There is a large and constantly expanding collection of resourches on the web, at a variety of levels and covering an amazing array of topics. You can choose from authentic source or ELT-specific sites, minilingual or multilingual sites, sites in multimedia, or just simple text, for those on slower connection.

The web is a source of content which can be used as a window on their wider world outside your class, and is – of course – a readily available collection of authentic material. As such, it is a much larger repository of content than would previously have been readily available to you and your students.

ELT websites or authentic websites?

There are plenty of ELT websites which provide content that your learners can use, for example language practice activities they can do on their own. They provide valuable opportunities for more controlled language work and are often a great helpto learners who need to brush up on certain aspect on language or to prepare for an examp. Such sites are often ideal for homework, access to the internet permitting.

Authentic sites, on the other hand, can be choosen to fit your learners’s interest. This is a key factor in keeping motivation high in your classroom. When evaluating authentic sites for possible incorporation into your teaching, try to find ones which have an easy stucture and navigation, and with smaller chuncks of text per page. These will be more approachable and understandable. Design your tasks to make them achieveable, and show your learners how they can use onlice dictionary sites to help them – if they need them.

How to find useful websites

For teachers, having good search skills means finding useful resources quickly, speeding up lesson planing and facilitating web use in the class. For learners, it means being able to quickly accomplish web-based tasks, thus ensuring that the technology enhances the learning experience rather than implemeding it. It makes sense, then, both to acquire these skills, and to spend some time sharing them with your learners.

To making serches more targeted and efficient, you can use variety of search engines, peharps the most well-known is Google (www.google.com), which currently indexes bilion web pages.

Yahoo! Derives its description of subject guide from the fact it devides its content into subject areas, and subdivisions of those areah. Instead of a keyword search from main page, users browse the section which best reflect their interest, and then seaarch.

How to evaluate websites

There are various standard criteria for judging websites which can serve as a starting point for your evaluation:

1. Accuracy

Who wrote the page? Is this person an expert in the subject matter.

Check qualifications, experience – look for an ‘about me’ link.

·          

      Is the page content page reliable and factually correct?

Cross – refference with other similiar websites and encyclopedias.

2. Currency

·         Is the content up-to-date?

Check factual information against other reliable source

·       

          When was the page last updated?

Check for information at the bottom/top of the page

3. Content

·       Is the site interesting and stimulating?

Consider the content from your learners’ poit of view.

·         

      Is it attractive and easy to navigate?

Check the colour combinations, the logic of the links and visual structure.

4. Functionality

·       Does the site work well? Are there any broken links?

Be sure to check all pages, and follow links to all pages you intend to use.

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          Does it use a lot of large files or alternative technologies (e.g. Flash)?

Check how quickly it loads for learners; check sound, video and animation work.