In-Class Resources, Collective Viewing  

By Bernard Moro

                            

One very little implemented use of IT in Language Learning is collective viewing, ie, the setup which consists in having a workstation similar to the one shown here left, with a video-projector, a PC and Internet access, all available for the teacher at any given moment of the lesson.

The following resources are all active at the same time: Word, an electronic encyclopaedia, an Internet browser, eg, IE5, language aids, etc., for all students to tap from at any time.

Depending on what the needs of his students are, the teacher displays wide and large —in a normal classroom the screen may be as big as 10ft x 7ft— whatever is required.

Writing exercises may be conducted collectively using the extraordinary facilities offered by Word. Web-based articles can be read and analyzed together, language aids provided at a click of the mouse. Basically this turns the PC into an electronic whiteboard, with all the power of a variety of databases, just a click away for the teacher.

In this traditional —but tremendously IT-enhanced— environment, the teacher creates the bases for his students' autonomy.  

 

Let us focus for a moment on the little-known resources of Word. In red, the teacher using the software. In blue, a student taking over. When the group enters class, the teacher opens the file saved at the end of the previous session under the name of the group. The history of what has happened with this group from the beginning of the year until now simply unfolds for everyone to see.

Suppose there is a CNN report input on schedule. The teacher proposes some lexis that may be of help to understand certain parts of the document. Then he may retain a few sentences typed under dictation by some students, introducing the theme of the document.

In the next phase, as the footage is being run, the teacher will type what he can, note-taking speed, showing how this can be done. Then a student will sit at the the keyboard and try out the technique.

The next session —date 2— will be devoted to bringing order to the note-taking, using Word's outline mode facility. First the teacher will operate, again to show how it works, then a student, instructed by the group as to what to put where and why. This outlining operation is certainly one of the least taught in language learning. And yet it is a crucial skill.

The final session —date 3— will allow for composition from the outline previously obtained. This time the student invited to take the keyboard will be shown how to use the grammar, thesaurus and spellcheck help in Word. We keep requiring our students to try and increase their lexical competence. Is there any better tool than the thesaurus facility, just a click away, to become aware of the versatility of the English language?

At any level, the time machine facility is of great didactic help as well, allowing the group to go back upstream through all the writing process, and resume it downstream in accelerated mode.  

After each operation the file is saved, ensuring that in case of absence, any student will be able to retrieve at least the framework of the lesson they have missed.

As you have realized, we have moved here from teacher-based to learner-centered activities.