I am prompted to dig deep into a few social networking sites. I will describe and evaluate them for their potential in promoting reading and writing skills.
Today, learning English involves much more
than studying a textbook, doing tests, and putting dictums into practice. With
the advent of the Internet and its attendant technology, hosts of options exist
for the improvement of English skills. These options involve interacting with
others online via social networks - communicating in order to learn about other
cultures, having fun, and above all, in order to learn English.
Social sites provide the immediacy and
convenience of engaging in discourse any time, any place, anywhere. Do these
sites improve the users’ English?
Twitter
Twitter is a social networking site that
demands precision of expression - each post or "Tweet” is limited to 140
characters, encouraging conciseness in messaging. Words need to be chosen
carefully in order to convey the message clearly with conciseness,
Twitter encourages the sending of short trite
Tweets to Friends or Followers. It also encourages following and reading other
people’s Tweets - improving English reading skills. By reading a variety of
short messages on a myriad of subjects, new words, turns of phrase, and jargon,
are learnt building the user’s English vocabulary.
Face book
Face
book is a web portal for keeping in touch with others. The user chooses whom to
allow access their Face book pages. The user can post text, pictures, images, video, and
music on their Face book page or use a
"Wall", which other members can use in order to text each other
messages. Messages can also contain photos, videos, music and links to other
websites.
Face
book builds the users’ English skills by providing them with the experience
of composing and elaborating various messages.
The site builds the users’ reading skills by enabling them to read an assortment
of messages from those allowed into the pages. This diversity of messages means
that the users can learn new words from people all over the world, depending on
their list of friends.
The elaborately written messages give the
user the opportunity to study other people’s way with words, as well as their
word choice. Face book exposes the user to a significant selection of writing (text)
in which to build their English skills.
Skype
Skype is a computer software application
that allows users to make voice calls over the Internet. Skype improves the
use’s speaking and listening skills. Through speaking the user builds up their
vocabulary. Listening enables
learning new words and phrases from others.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social networking site for
professionals. The user can build their business English skills through writing
their profiles, and keeping them updated. Business English
skills are further developed through sending messages to others, reading
their responses, and replying in kind.
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website where
users upload, share and view videos. Learning English via YouTube involves
listening to the language via the videos viewed. Users learn through reading
the comments posted in English, situated below each video or through text
presentations in a slide show provided.
Can a teacher use
social media in the classroom?
I will give an example of my favourite
platform- the blog and Face book :
Blogs create great opportunities for students to write and display their
writing on a larger scale. Students reflect on lessons, document research for a
larger project; or review movies, books, or audio recordings and illustrate
their thoughts with photos or videos.
By students reading each other’s blog posts, they create
a stronger community with one another, discovering shared experiences and
reactions. Because their work becomes part of the greater World Wide Web,
students have increased motivation to carefully consider their language,
spelling, and grammar usage as well as how they draw in outside information. In
this vein, blogging can provide an
excellent segues into a discussion on plagiarism, voice, and writing style.
And …Face book:
A Face book group creates a space for
students to ask and answer questions. While working on their homework,
students can post a question to the
group’s wall that either the teacher or a classmate can answer. Since students
often learn from others, having students share their questions, insights, or
experiences with a topic can expand learning for other students. In short, it
extends the classroom discussion beyond the classroom.
Creating a Comic
Strip
The comic strip: John Martin and I had never tried to create a
comic strip. It was an interesting challenge. We put the limitation that the
comic strip should have no more than four panes, which quickly become a guiding
issue - how would we
tell an effective story in only four scenes?
We were challenged by the need to distill
an idea down to a few frames while retaining some sort of storyline or
interesting point. However, the process was relatively easy and they generally
enjoyed working with the program itself. There was a great deal of sharing of
ideas and techniques between John and I
promoting a sense of camaraderie. I will certainly teach my little girl this
simple interesting and engaging task!
Comics in the
classroom?
Andrew Smith (2006): states that: “Visual
communication is rich, evocative, and immediate, and transcends barriers that
language sometimes raises. When pictures and words are used together to
communicate, the result can be much greater than either alone could produce.” Comics
is one of the prominent mediums which combine static images – whether they
are sectioned into panels or free of
restriction – and a story, which is
often, though not always, conveyed through text.
With the combination of text and
illustration, comics are powerful aids for students who excel at visual
learning or who have short attention spans.
Comics prompt the development of powerful
imaginations - providing an excellent practical scaffolding resource at many
levels. The text, which is often the heart of the story, is reinforced through the
illustrations, allowing students to visualize the story and the characters.
Finally,Comics are a powerful work of
literature. They raise and shed light on important issues of life, prompting
critical thought and reflection.
I have curated a few sites which I will use
to help develop my interest in creating comics from now on:
And now: the story in pictures
