How to create good 21st century language learning tasks
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The document provides guidance on designing good 21st century language learning tasks. It discusses the importance of collaboration in task design, involving learners for feedback, and using technology to maximize interaction and language use. An example process is outlined, including brainstorming ideas, getting feedback, and creating a final version. Several sample tasks are described and analyzed to highlight best practices like promoting interaction over just information sharing. Guidelines emphasize keeping tasks simple with technology and focusing on learner collaboration.
How to create good 21st century language learning tasks
- 1. How to design good 21st century language learning tasks TOM WALTON tomwalton@gmail.com http://blogs.ihes.com/tech-elt/
- 2. What does design involve…? • teamwork • collaborating • brainstorming • ideas • being creative • listening to customers That applies to language learning tasks just as much as it does to other “products”. If you brainstorm and are creative, if you design in a team with your peers, if you listen to your customers (ie. your learners), you “products” will be much better ones…
- 3. What do we mean by 21st century? Source: the excellent Writing Prompts blog http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/
- 4. outline for the session 1. process of designing tasks on courses 2. +how that process can be imitated 3. products of the process (tasks designed) 4. guidelines for task design
- 5. the process This is the process we follow on the technology for language teachers courses that I tutor on. As part of the courses, we get participants to design language learning tasks that they could do with their own language learners. There are essentially four stages: 1. Participants see some EXAMPLES, and do tasks designed for language learners as if they were learners 2. We describe our REQUIREMENTS and provide GUIDELINES 3. The participants then use a Moodle FORUM to present rough ideas for tasks, which –through discussion with tutors and peers – we then attempt to improve as language learning tasks 4. They work to a DEADLINE, by which they have to present a finished version of the task on a blog
- 6. the process (1) EXAMPLES audio story: he | she | how met | what happened tools for recording tools for sharing (etc) See http://blogs.ihes.com/tech-elt/?p=1650 for an explanation
- 7. the process (2) REQUIREMENTS +GUIDELINES It must (1) be a project which involves the learners using technology to (2) create a digital end-product which (3) they share in some form of digital space (blog, Edmodo, Facebook, wiki, etc.) and which will maximize (4) the interaction between the learners and (5) the amount of English being used and learnt. It can be done individually, in a pair or in a group of three In fact, we strongly recommend doing the task with at least one partner: from the ensuing discussion, you learn so much more!
- 8. the process (3) FORUM from both tutors and classmates rough idea feedback draft feedback with ss on forum on shared blog optional posted ASAP discussion comments clarification drafting direction We use this more comments collaborative, process approval amendments approach… one that final version we also highly recommend that your Optional own learners adopt Skype Facebook chat shared Google Docs etc
- 9. the process (4) EXAMPLES GUIDELINES +REQUIREMENTS FORUM rough idea feedback draft feedback with ss DEADLINE
- 10. imitating the process It’s possible to imitate that collaborative process of task design even without ever doing a course, if you find a colleague/colleagues to work with. Your “study buddies” (your fellow “designers”) can be face-to-face in the staffroom or else peers that you only ever meet online (blogs, Twitter…) And you are at a huge advantage over a teacher “only” doing an online course: YOU have learners you can try tasks out on! Learners are experts on “tasks”: they know what works and what doesn’t, what excites them and what doesn’t, and what they do and don’t learn from. Ask your learners! Get feedback from them! They will always improve your original design for you, for next time!
- 11. your process If you do a course If you’re on your own Advantages Advantage! • tutor • learners • classmates • forced to learn the staffroom blogs own blog (private? shared!) a study buddy other tools (G Docs, Skype…)
- 12. your process Google Docs forms are incredibly easy to use, and are an incredibly powerful tool for collecting feedback from learners. Ask them what they think! Ask them how the task could be improved!
- 13. your process Google Docs forms also compile stats for you automatically… But it’s the open-ended questions that often produce the most interesting feedback…
- 14. the products With one exception, the following are examples of tasks designed and presented on courses I have tutored on. The second example (the exception) is one a course participant shared on the course’s social forum, and which lead to a lot of discussion on whether or not it was a good task (a KEY question!) NOTE You’ll find some Spanish here, but you if you follow my notes, you shouldn’t actually need to understand any of it!
- 15. the products (1) Here we had a very full proposal, complete with objectives etc., but the author probably ought to have posted a much rougher idea much earlier…
- 16. the products (1) We have a series of different activities, each using different technologies… (1) a wiki; (2) Google Docs; (3) Audacity or Vocaroo for recording audio…
- 17. the products (1) … (4) Google Docs presentations (which are like PowerPoint); … (5) probably another Google Doc, but still to be finalised
- 18. the products (1) KEY QUESTION Not too much technology, not too many technologies The tutor’s comments (posted on the participant’s blog) draw attention to an error to avoid at the task design stage: don’t overcomplicate things!
- 19. the products (2) “Google Maps + (Web) 2.0 task. Perfect!”, was the title of a post on our social forum. But WAS it really a perfect task, or even actually a good one?
- 20. the products (2) The task involved reading the novel “La sombra del viento” and pinpointing the locations in Barcelona mentioned in it on Google Maps… but very little collaboration or communication between the learners
- 21. the products (2) KEY QUESTION How much interaction is it going to generate? *Zooms: assuming your learners are using Prezi, not PowerPoint (.ppt)
- 22. the products (3) Proposed for Erasmus students in their first week living in Madrid Original idea Looking for a flat in Madrid | Tasks (1) Write an ad for a flat; (2) Read someone else’s ad; (3) Write a letter asking them for more details. Tutor’s suggestion It would “probably be better” to have all read all the ads and then role-play (F2F, no tech.) buying and selling the flats to each other Suggested in presentation | If you’re not teaching learners with those sorts of needs, “selling” pizzas makes a fun task!
- 23. the products (4) Task designed for an Edmodo group, in fact with the course participants actually doing the task as an example
- 24. the products (4) An example of the (rather surreal) result…
- 25. the products (4) In fact because Write the story – each each participant person writes a minimum writes two lines on Probably better… their own, they are of 2 lines as many times not really actually Have learners work together collaborating. as they like. BUT face-to-face, possibly NOT ALWAYS after someone Take advantage of (initially) using technology, face-to-face class else has continued the time! to brainstorm and truly story. collaborate
- 26. the products (5) Proposed as a cross-curricular project, with Art and English teachers working in collaboration Original idea On 5 separate blogs, 5 groups of 5 ESO (secondary school) students write a series of posts describing the characteristics of different art forms Final On a single class blog, as above, but illustrating the posts with their own attempts to imitate the art forms in simple sketches … so they CAN’T just steal the content from Wikipedia and Google Images!
- 27. the products (6) Proposed for adults learning Spanish in Germany… Original On a class wiki, individually, learners describe the places of interest on the stage of the Camino de Santiago they have been assigned Final On a class blog, in groups, learners write the illustrated (but no photos!) diary of a 12th century pilgrim to Santiago, competing to get there first* *The proposal was to have a map board with pieces on it to be advanced according to how good the English was and how creative they were… Alternative: the diaries of Gandalf, Bilbo and the different dwarves
- 28. some guidelines
- 29. some guidelines (1) 1. the learners using technology 2. to create a digital end-product 3. shared in a digital space (blog, Edmodo…) 4. to maximize the interaction between the learners 5. and amount of English being used and learnt
- 30. some guidelines (2) Not too much technology, not too many technologies recipe for success recipe for utter disaster • simple •25 laptops •1 good idea •13 BBs, 12 iPhones •1 Edmodo group •5 Google Docs eg. LIFE FEAST •25 Blogs Learners in different •5 Wikis countries take a •1 mega task with 14-16 photo a week and write a 50 word text separate stages about it •1,250 kilos of teenage hormones
- 31. some guidelines (3) Include an oral presentation stage • short! (90 seconds, max. 3 slides or zooms*) • stop mercilessly (but don't fail) • NO stolen images !!! • pairs, 3s or small groups • reason for listening (peer assessment?) • Q+A session (another 90 seconds) • help with performance (nerves, good .ppts) *Zooms: assuming your learners are using Prezi, not PowerPoint (.ppt)
- 32. some guidelines (4) DON’T let your learners steal text or images from the web DON’T design tasks which can be answered by copying and pasting from Wikipedia (etc). DO have learners produce their own images (artwork and/or photos)
- 33. some guidelines (5) maximise the advantage taken of face-to-face time and stages, for providing language and for interaction
- 34. some guidelines (6) Design tasks that will generate a lot of comments