WiAOC2007: Carla, Erika, & Ronaldo: Blogging with Students: Ideas to Enhance Communication

Carla Arena, Erika Cruvinel, and Ronaldo Lima
Blogging with Students: Ideas to Enhance Communication

Welcome
CarlaA : erika, can you?
Aladoadmin : I'm recording it, Daf
Dennis-Phoenix : Hi, Jeff.
DafneG : ok
Aladoadmin : hi Jeff
ErikaC : I will record it and maybe Ronaldo can record it too just in case.
DafneG : hello, Jeff
Aladoadmin : great
CarlaA : thanks, andy
ErikaC : Thanks Jeff!
DafneG : let me know when you are ready
Ronaldo : ok, I'll do it Erika
DafneG : lol
Dennis-Phoenix :
Ronaldo : good evening!
Aladoadmin : recording started
Dennis-Phoenix : Boa tarde!
CarlaA : you ARE very nice!
CarlaA : havaianas!
Aladoadmin : very nice sandles
NinaLiakos : Hi, everybody!
CarlaA : hi, nina
Dennis-Phoenix : The The Havaianas?
CarlaA : oh, yes, Dafne!
NinaLiakos : Back for the final 2 hours.
Dennis-Phoenix : Hi, Nina.
CarlaA : great to have you here, nina
NinaLiakos : It was good to have a break.
Doug Symington : hi all, sorry I'm late
NinaLiakos : Hi, Doug.
Dennis-Phoenix : Hi, Doug.
CarlaA : hi, doug. no. we're starting.
Dennis-Phoenix : Hi, Cathy.
NinaLiakos : I have no sound
Dennis-Phoenix : Hi, John.
NinaLiakos : unless nobody is talking
Doug Symington : ok sound here
NinaLiakos : Can someone say something please
ErikaC : Thanks Daf!
Dennis-Phoenix : They're talking.
CathyE : hello all
Dennis-Phoenix : And there's sound.
Doug Symington : hey Cathy
ErikaC : got it
NinaLiakos : What should I do???
DafneG : yes
Doug Symington : yes we hear you
Doug Symington : and see slides
NinaLiakos : duh
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes.
NinaLiakos : I had my speaker disconnected
Aladoadmin : Nina, nothing just sit back and relax and listen
NinaLiakos : lol
Dennis-Phoenix : Nina: He he he. (Sounds like something I would do!
NinaLiakos : I've been switching back and forth between headset and speakers all day
NinaLiakos : I forgot what was connected!
Dennis-Phoenix : No.
ErikaC : press f2
DafneG : not yet
Chris M. : no
Doug Symington : no movement yet
Aladoadmin : got it
NinaLiakos : ok
michaelshade : yes
Doug Symington : there it is
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes.
Aladoadmin : yes
DafneG : ys
CathyE : yes
ErikaC : ok
Aladoadmin : we have it
GrahamS : yes
Chris M. : ok
CarlaA : thomas.org.br
Dennis-Phoenix : It's a wonderful website.
NinaLiakos : 10,000 a year?????
ErikaC : yes Nina in 5 different branches
CarlaA : 10,000 always, nina!!!
NinaLiakos : Incredible
NinaLiakos : (We are happy if we have 60
DafneG : what a crowd!
Dennis-Phoenix : Isn't it, though!
NinaLiakos : All those blogging Brazilians!
michaelshade : sound?
CarlaA : Ronaldo, we lost you
DafneG : lost sound
Aladoadmin : and are the students all over Brazil
Dennis-Phoenix : Can't hear you, Ronaldo!
ErikaC : ok
Dennis-Phoenix : Now you're back.
Aladoadmin : we lost sound with Ronaldo, packet loss
Doug Symington : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes.
ErikaC : yes
DafneG : yes
Aladoadmin : we hear you now
Chris M. : yes
mizmercer : sound is back
Aladoadmin : do the students also come to classes
Aladoadmin : or is it all online
Ronaldo : they come to class!
ElizabethHS : It's nice to have a team
Aladoadmin : great
Dennis-Phoenix : Isn't it, though, Elizabeth!
mizmercer : sound gone
DafneG : motivation!
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes.
Aladoadmin : we still hear you
Doug Symington : still ok here with sound
NinaLiakos : Agreed, sometimes I think I shouldn't bother ordering a textbook at all
NinaLiakos : Yes, an all-text blog is kind of boring
Doug Symington : a post-textual world, in terms of possibilities for expressing one's self with media on the web
Dennis-Phoenix : Definitely boring!
ErikaC : Jeff, do you want to speak?
DafneG : seems Jeff wants to speak
NinaLiakos : English as a medium to connect with the world!
ElizabethHS : Using where the students are and moving forward with their language development from there
ErikaC : Not sure Daf.
Dennis-Phoenix : establishing a meaningful context for real communication
NinaLiakos : That's the cool thing about English: there are more non-native speakers than native speakers
DafneG : right Nina
NinaLiakos : People around the world use it to communicate with other nonnative speakers
Dennis-Phoenix : or with both native and nonnative speakers
NinaLiakos : yes, naturally
DafneG : absolutely, Dennis
NinaLiakos : but we are not the only goal
Dennis-Phoenix : Not at all!
DafneG : world Englishes
NinaLiakos : yep
Dennis-Phoenix : Hear, hear!
NinaLiakos : It provides them with a space for self-expression.
Ronaldo :
DafneG : establishing on online presence
Aladoadmin :
DafneG : an
NinaLiakos : Carlerikaronaldo
Ronaldo : now I know why they invited me
ErikaC : yes Nina
NinaLiakos : :-)
Dennis-Phoenix : And Ronaldo has done some very creative things.
ElizabethHS : Self-expression is highly underrated in many language programs, and yet lang. is the chief way we create ourselves
CarlaA : Ronaldo
Dennis-Phoenix : Hear, hear, Elizabeth.
Aladoadmin : Ronaldo press Control key to talk or click on the mic icon
Aladoadmin : at the bottom right
Aladoadmin : bottom left sorry
NinaLiakos : yes
CarlaA : yes
ErikaC : yes
Aladoadmin : yes
ElizabethHS : yes
Doug Symington : have you now
Aladoadmin : go ahead
Aladoadmin : we hear you
ElizabethHS : Speaking to the void
NinaLiakos : Yes! BaW2007!
Dennis-Phoenix : I wonder why self-expression is so often underrated?
DafneG : lol
ElizabethHS : Students have told me (after a poetry unit) that they never knew English could be used to say important things!
ErikaC : Can you see the slide Euthanasia?
ElizabethHS : e.g., feelings
NinaLiakos : yes
ElizabethHS : yes
DafneG : yes
Aladoadmin : yes
mizmercer : yes
Aladoadmin : we see it
DafneG : right, Elizabeth
Dennis-Phoenix : Tragic, Elizabeth--but revealing!
NinaLiakos : Nice approach
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, we see it.
Doug Symington : "save the blog"
mizmercer : Write or the blog gets it!
NinaLiakos : lol
CarlaA : yes, I loved the euthanasia idea!
ElizabethHS : Of course, students are learning English for mainly instrumental reasons--to study engineering or computer science, or some other subject.
NinaLiakos : Right, it gets really lovely if you never get comments.
NinaLiakos : lonely, I meant
CarlaA : lonely, yes, nina
NinaLiakos : (my experience this semester)
mizmercer : People talk about how students love it, but sometimes you do have to work to get participation.
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes. In many cases, English study is just an obstacle to their "real life" (studying computer science or biotechnology or whatever).
Aladoadmin : yes
CarlaA : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, Erika.
Ronaldo : yes
DafneG : like an empty building soon become ruins
Doug Symington : yes Erika, we hear you
Aladoadmin : we hear you clearly
NinaLiakos : Yes, same at UMd, Dennis
Doug Symington : Nina, same for grad students at OISE/UT
Dennis-Phoenix : I think that's the case in many (a lot? most?) pre-university IEPs.
mizmercer : I require students to comment, and comment on each others.
ElizabethHS : Yet I think of a blog as more a journal, so the interactive part is not as necessary for me (as a teacher, not as a student)
Aladoadmin : yes
Ronaldo : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes,
Doug Symington : yes
suzanne : yes
Chris M. : yes
Aladoadmin : we see that slide
mizmercer : I'm just starting to get my students commenting consistently and to comment on each other.
Dennis-Phoenix : The first blogs were almost entirely journals, as I remember. I didn't like them very much. It seemed to me that I was intruding on someone's private thoughts.
CarlaA : it's there
Dennis-Phoenix : A great project!
Doug Symington : Dennis, that was a recurring theme in the courses I was in
mizmercer : And language learning is a lot of work; not always fun...
Doug Symington : many were uncomfortable with the public/private
Dennis-Phoenix : So it wasn't just me, then.
mizmercer : When you don't "have to"
Dennis-Phoenix : I started blogs years ago but abandoned the whole idea for a long time.
Aladoadmin : and they speak Italian Spanish
DafneG :
mizmercer : good idea having ELLs with different languages work together.
Aladoadmin : yes
mizmercer : You can do that in a lot of U.S. classes. I have about 5 or so home languages in my class.
Patricia : Ronaldo, i loved your metaphor: "blog was dying"
MaryH : great scrapbook pages!
Patricia : FANTASTIC!
CarlaA : they were fantastic, mayr
ElizabethHS : I think blogs work best when a specific topic is assigned--as I did with paper journals.
CarlaA : this was Erika's page
DafneG : hard work!
CarlaA : lots of work, but rewarding
Dennis-Phoenix : Mizmercer: I've often had 15 different native languages in my classes!
Dennis-Phoenix : Wow! What a wonderful graphic!
Patricia : i love the pictures
mizmercer : Yeah, Dennis
ElizabethHS : I used them for free writing, and eventually for vocabulary building--something where they could choose the vocabulary they wanted/needed to learn for other classes.
CarlaA : no
Ronaldo : not yet
Dennis-Phoenix : Really.
NinaLiakos : I still have the Brazilian scrapbook page
DafneG : you are lucky, not to mention that when your students leave the classroom they are surrounded by English
Aladoadmin : put on Follow me under Administration
NinaLiakos : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, I've been lucky and so have my students--but they haven't always seen it that way!
Ronaldo : yes!
Patricia : yes, Daf. but my students even though they are surrounded by ENglish, don't want to speak it
Doug Symington : have blog now
Aladoadmin : we have it
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes!
ElizabethHS : It's interesting, Daf, that many live in communities of native speakers, so they don't get all that much English unless they seek it out.
Aladoadmin : yes
Doug Symington : I love the slideshow
Dennis-Phoenix : Me, too.
Aladoadmin : we see the students in blogspot
ElizabethHS : There are Spanish or Chinese grocery stores, TV stations, etc., for example
Patricia : exactly, elizabeth!
ElizabethHS : They speak a mix of L1 and L2 with their friends.
Patricia : my students live in an english speaking world but often tend to seek others from their own ethnic group
Patricia : lower anxiety
NinaLiakos : Yes, mine also
Dennis-Phoenix : Exactly. When I lived in Portland, I knew people who had lived there for 50 years and never learned any more English than "Hi" and "Bye" and "Thank you" and "No speak English." (They were Ukrainian, by the way.)
Patricia : very common here too, dennis
Aladoadmin : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : Content and Guidance, no?
Aladoadmin : slide 11
ElizabethHS : These ae such nice uses of blogs--and blogs have developed so well.
Dennis-Phoenix : I'm sure it is, Pat.
Patricia : ;(
Patricia :
ElizabethHS : That is so important--and it doesn't just happen, as you say.
Dennis-Phoenix : Ah, well. If they always have first-language support and can survive and have meaningful lives in an ethnic enclave, I guess there's no practical reason to venture outside what's safe and secure.
Dennis-Phoenix : Sounds familiar, Carlinha!
Patricia : "kill the blog"
NinaLiakos : or just put it out of its misery
ElizabethHS : Dennis--unless they want a better job or higher ed
Patricia : i love these metaphors!
Dennis-Phoenix : Ah--my glamor shot!
ElizabethHS : There's Dennis!
Patricia : fantastic, dennis!
ErikaC : He IS a great partner.
Dennis-Phoenix : Stop it! I'm blushing!
Doug Symington : lol
Aladoadmin : bask in the glow, Dennis
Dennis-Phoenix : OK--I'm basking, not blushing.
ElizabethHS :
Dennis-Phoenix :
NinaLiakos : Right, both teachers need to be committed equally
ErikaC : My partner in Argentina is great too!
ElizabethHS :
Dennis-Phoenix :
Dennis-Phoenix : Emerson shy? What a surprise!
ErikaC : giving feedback and quick response to students is a must
ElizabethHS : You really put in some time on this, Dennis.
Dennis-Phoenix : Not that I remember.
Dennis-Phoenix : It was time very, very well spent, Elizabeth.
Patricia : this looks really great!
ElizabethHS : In a Spanish class my brother took, the teacher sent them to the Spanish-speaking area each week with an assignment to talk to a local person. Now we can do it with blogs.
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes!
Patricia : "sorry about my silence"
Patricia : he says
Dennis-Phoenix : And Dennis felt compelled, too--but it was the best kind of compulsion.
NinaLiakos : Why are Dennis' responses posted by ctjadvanced?
Dennis-Phoenix : And that strategy worked brilliantly!
ElizabethHS : So this was a class blog
NinaLiakos : but Emerson's responses read "Emerson said..."
Dennis-Phoenix : A multi-class blog.
DafneG : that's Dennis username, maybe
DafneG : that's what I meant
NinaLiakos : I am sorry I asked! Just ignore me.
ErikaC : but they would sign their names
NinaLiakos : I see
Dennis-Phoenix : It took long enough just to get our students familiar with the blog.
ErikaC : some of my students have blogger accounts, some don't.
NinaLiakos : It should always be the means, not the end.
Laine : you send the message of the value of something by using it effectively without necessarily focusing on it per se
ElizabethHS : May not have a mic?
NinaLiakos : Dennis tongue-tied?
DafneG : Dennis is shy ;-)
NinaLiakos : no way!
Dennis-Phoenix : No. My mic button doesn't seem to be working anyway.
ErikaC : slide 18 Carla
Dennis-Phoenix : No, I'm not shy and I'm seldom tongue-tied!
DafneG : :-)
ErikaC : sorry 13
Dennis-Phoenix : (Au contraire, as a matter of fact--and that's not always good.)
ElizabethHS : Over how long a period did you write to them, Dennis?
Dennis-Phoenix : A year and a half or more.
ElizabethHS : Oh neat
Dennis-Phoenix : I love that photo of Sara and her family. (They're Eritrean.)
Dennis-Phoenix : And I love the familiar faces of those CTJ students!
ErikaC : CTJ stands for Casa Thomas Jefferson
Dennis-Phoenix : Obrigado, Erika!
Doug Symington : making the connection!
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, definitely!
ElizabethHS : Was it middle School or H.S.?
ErikaC : among teachers
ErikaC : it's a private language institute
ElizabethHS : Sounds like the Orillias project updated
DafneG : well, it seems that snail mail works in your country ;-)
ErikaC : students go there just to learn English. It's not a regular school. We teach only English.
ElizabethHS :
Ronaldo :
Dennis-Phoenix : It worked better from Brasil to the U.S. than from the U.S. to Brasil!
NinaLiakos : Yes, all those different modalities enrich the connection
DafneG : it does not work here
Patricia : also, it's so intercultural
Patricia : great point, carla
DafneG : very enriching
Patricia : yes!
ElizabethHS : The cross-cultural connectiveness is so important
ElizabethHS : people-to-people
ErikaC : that's my favorite use of blogs -international collaboration
NinaLiakos : English is the way to the Global Village
Aladoadmin : Brazilian music and jazz
NinaLiakos : samba
ElizabethHS : A provocative question or thought-provoking question is always good to get discussion going.
NinaLiakos : Grand Canyon
Patricia : hot and dry
ErikaC : desert
DafneG : caipirinha
Dennis-Phoenix : Feijoada and Macumba and Caixasa!
NinaLiakos : capoeira
ErikaC : cachaça Dennis!
NinaLiakos : Carlerika
ElizabethHS : the beach
Dennis-Phoenix : Sorry!
ErikaC : funny Nina
Dennis-Phoenix : Muito obrigado!
NinaLiakos :
NinaLiakos : Did you guys post a different picture on each post?
ErikaC : not always Nina, but we try to vary our posts with different tools and strategies. We will talk more about it.
Dennis-Phoenix : My students in that particular class were both former ESL and native-English-speaking.
Dennis-Phoenix : Lucy and Jana are from my college.
ErikaC : the digital art contest was fantastic!
ErikaC : Students loved it!
Dennis-Phoenix : I'm sure they did!
ErikaC : they had to potograph things that represented their countries.
NinaLiakos : lol
ErikaC : tricky grammar point for students
NinaLiakos : sneaky grammar
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes--the untranslatable "do"!
ErikaC : the scary auxiliary verbs...
ElizabethHS : I like that expression, Nina!
Dennis-Phoenix : Definitely!
NinaLiakos : :-)
ElizabethHS : These are the kinds of topics that really can work with an international class/audience
Patricia : FANTASTIC examples, carla! very inspiring
ElizabethHS : This is such a great presentation--I've gotten so many ideas!
MaryH : yes, really interesting
CarlaA : you all inspire us!
Dennis-Phoenix : Carlinha and Erikinha and Ronaldo are FONTS of creativity!
NinaLiakos : Can you embed Chinswing directly on the blog?
Dennis-Phoenix : Ah, I remember that one, Ronaldo!
Doug Symington : another great concept Ronaldo
DafneG : don't think so, Nina
DafneG : you can post the link
NinaLiakos : Just the link, then
CarlaA : and we've been doing that using the tools that we learn from you
ErikaC : I don't think so nina, but you can add the link and ask the students to listen to it, record
Dennis-Phoenix : I love that page!
Dennis-Phoenix : And that one, too!
MaryH : sorry, what was that comic site again?
NinaLiakos : That's a very funny picture!
Dennis-Phoenix : Note the embedded console.
Aladoadmin : I think what we are also seeing with the growth of the Webhead, Tapped In and SL communities of practice, in addtion to the tradional Tesol type of communities is a quantum leap in professionalism from our international colleagues. They are creating the new wave of online teachers at a faster rate that the US education professionals.
Ronaldo : Erika...
DafneG : I see Berta's photo :-)
Dennis-Phoenix : Hear, hear, Andy!
Dennis-Phoenix : Me, too!
DafneG : no sound
NinaLiakos : soung?
Doug Symington : can't hear Erika here
Dennis-Phoenix : Such a sunny smile!
NinaLiakos : d
Ronaldo : Erika, no sound...
Aladoadmin : Press control again Erika
Dennis-Phoenix : Where's the sound?
DafneG : double click on the mic
Aladoadmin : nada
CarlaA : let me try, erika
CarlaA : try again, erika
ErikaC : can you see the emu?
Aladoadmin : Carla you should speak
Doug Symington : see the emu
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes, the bird is visible.
DafneG : hear you now
Aladoadmin : Ronaldo go ahead
Laine : there is a perfect match between the needs of the International TESOL community and Web 2.0 tools - so a sense of grabbing onto it has developed more than for US based folks, no?
DafneG : cute imagine :-)
DafneG : image
ErikaC : how is the audio for you guys?
Dennis-Phoenix : You're cutting in and out, Ronaldo.
michaelshade : sound breaking up
CarlaA : it's chopped, ronaldo, your audio
DafneG : choppy
Aladoadmin : Ronaldo are you on wireless
Dennis-Phoenix : Better. OK now, I think.
Aladoadmin : or a wired connection
Aladoadmin : yes
NinaLiakos : keep talking
ErikaC : a little better
Aladoadmin : but are you on wireless
CarlaA : go ont
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes.
NinaLiakos : okay now
NinaLiakos : clever!
Patricia : i like the dictionary on the side
Aladoadmin : yes
NinaLiakos : loud & clear
CarlaA : yes
Dennis-Phoenix : It's fine, Erika.
Ronaldo : the dictionary is a widget from cambridge website
Chris M. : ok
Patricia : great idea, ronaldo - very useful for the students
Dennis-Phoenix : Ah, yes. I remember this one.
ElizabethHS : Hey, theres Cheryl's post
CarlaA : she was a great contributor!
Dennis-Phoenix : Yes!
CarlaA : students have never heard "foster"
ElizabethHS : points up cultural differences, perhaps
MaryH : cute pet pictures
CarlaA : they were beginner students
Patricia : that's a great example of incidental langauge learning
CarlaA : it was funny!
Dennis-Phoenix : Very engaging idea!
ElizabethHS : Once you get the "hook" of interest in, the writing begins to flow.
CarlaA : the teens loved it
NinaLiakos : Cute
NinaLiakos : suspension of disbelief
Laine : so very cool - took away anxiety and hesitancy
Doug Symington : indeed re hook Elizabeth--the intrinsic motivation
Dennis-Phoenix : I love that photo!
DafneG : how romantic :-)
ElizabethHS : I have to go my presentation/meeting at Tapped In during the next hour, so join me anyone who wishes.
ElizabethHS : We are going to do a general discussion of WiaOC
ErikaC : students love to know about things you don't tell them in the classroom!
NinaLiakos : Be there later, ELiz
Aladoadmin : so you were or you still are the Hippie,
DafneG : I will go there soon, Eliz
Dennis-Phoenix : I may be late for your presentation, Elizabeth. I have to go pick up a prescription.
Dennis-Phoenix : But I'll be there.
ElizabethHS : Thanks, D
ErikaC : building a blog is simple, but comgin up with ways to keep students interacting is challenging
Dennis-Phoenix :
Ronaldo : Thanks for coming, Elizabeth
ElizabethHS : Bye all for now! Thanks for a great presentation.
DafneG : the future pilot
Dennis-Phoenix : What was his name? Rodrigo?
DafneG : yes, Dennis
Aladoadmin : The archive will be available on www.alado.net/webheads website, Elizabeth
ErikaC : Bye Elizabeth, thanks for coming!
Dennis-Phoenix : Thanks, DAfne.
NinaLiakos : Eliz where will you be at TI

Dennis-Phoenix : Later, Elizabeth!
Doug Symington : bye Elizabeth
NinaLiakos : Reception?
DafneG : no, nina
NinaLiakos : Do you know where?
DafneG : just a sec
DafneG : AALPD group at Tapped

NinaLiakos : I think she's in AALPD Group but I am not a member
NinaLiakos : I can't go there
DafneG : but we will meet at reception
NinaLiakos : OK
DafneG : we might stay at recept
ErikaC : he wrote riddles
ErikaC : students had to ask him questions to find out all the info about him
ErikaC : to solve the riddles
NinaLiakos : This has been fabulous
Dennis-Phoenix : What a wonderful presentation, Ronaldo and Erika and Carla:!
DafneG : wonderful presentation!
Dennis-Phoenix : Parabens!
Patricia : i agree, fantastic!
Aladoadmin : which you can do, if you do not want to go to the next wrap up session
MaryH : very good presentation! i'm going to work on my class blog by using some of these ideas!!
DafneG : I have to be there, but Andy can close up the session, right Andy?
ErikaC : join communities of practice to find partners and get ideas from other people
Doug Symington : yes, thank you for a wonderful presentation -- great stuff!
Aladoadmin : this room will remain open for anyone wanting to continue interacting after this session is over.
Patricia : will the slides be available somewhere?
Aladoadmin : yes, Dafne I'll close up this session for you
MaryH : thank you for the presentation! i've got to go to class now...
ElizabethHS : Nina--the session is in the AALPD_Grp room. I think you can just type "/join ElizabethH"
Aladoadmin : www.alado.net/webheads
Patricia : great, thanks!
NinaLiakos : I am not a member there ELizabeth
NinaLiakos : I tried to go there just now and was locked out
Dennis-Phoenix : Once again, Erika and Carla and Ronaldo, an excellent presentation!
Dennis-Phoenix : Parabens!
Aladoadmin : the entire session will be archived at www.alado.net/webheads
NinaLiakos : I will try again
ElizabethHS : It will just take a moment to join the group
CarlaA : thanks!
DafneG : we can stay at the recept, Eliz