How to improve "READY-STUDY-GO-AHEAD!"

Learning management systems are software applications for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of e-learning education courses or training programs. They offer educational institutions an opportunity to save time and money by letting them manage training and teaching easily. This is done by offering web-based environments with accessibility from any place and at any moment.

The use of this kind of systems can be beneficial for many websites that aim to encourage foreign language learning. That is the case of READY-STUDY-GO-Ahead!, a European project that focuses on the design of Specialized Language-training materials. They have been specifically created for vocational students that intend to go abroad for an on-the-job learning internship. Their main aim is to foster work-force mobility in the European countries.

However, their website is quite simple and it does not use any LMS. Using one would immediately increase their usefulness and efficiency for many reasons. Let us analyse the main ones:

• LMS offer advanced reporting and tracking features, such as course reports, user reports, group reports & compliance reports, as well as learner statistics. Those tools would allow students to easily track their progress.
• It allows interaction between and among students, such as instant messaging, email, and discussion forums. That would be an excellent way to keep ongoing communication between teachers and students, who will feel that their progress is being supervised.
• It allows the authors to have some control over the access and set up class groupings according to geography, level, objectives, etc.
• The content can be customizable. Developing custom content would increase the effectiveness of the training. Besides, the use of innovative courses – from video to webcasts to quizzes – would allow the authors to develop a comprehensive and compelling learning programme.
• Finally, LMS make it easy to schedule courses for a mobile set of students. These systems make it easy to offer courses 24/7, so that all students have a chance to view the information and learn no matter their schedule.

As we have seen, the creators of READY-STUDY-GO-Ahead! should consider the use of some kind of learning management system in order to make their method more attractive, useful and effective for student all over the world. 

Comparing Content Management Systems

As I said in my previous post, Joomla is not the only content management system that we can use to build Web sites and online applications. There are many others such as Drupal, WordPress, PHP-Nuke, SPIP, Zikula, Mestre a Casa or VLE.

After having a look at different sites created using those systems, I can say that there are not many differences between the ones created with Drupal, WordPress or Joomla. Although some of them, such as Salesianos Alicante, look more attractive, I think that is part of a personal decision from the authors.

In general, they all show a clear structure, with easily accessible modules or sections, and allow interaction with the viewers.

Maybe the least appealing ones are those created using SPIP, such as  Nuestra Sra de los Dolores’ site, and Zikula, such as IES Sant Just Desvern’ site.

Those created using Mestre a Casa – IES La Canyada – or FPA Beniassent, have got the same structure, as it is something already set by Conselleria.

As a conclusion, I can say that any of those systems can be good to build excellent sites. It is our own choice to give them the most appropriate look for our viewers.  

Here you have some of my favourite sites:

Content Management Systems: JOOMLA

 

Picture taken from codeboxr

A content management system is a computer program that allows publishing, editing and modifying content as well as maintenance from a central interface. The two most popular ones which are currently available are WordPress and Joomla.

We will focus now on Joomla. If you want to create a community or a network which includes a membership area, forums, cooperation from external authors etc., then Joomla is a wonderful choice.  Creating a navigation structure is quite easy, once you understand how it works – it may take you some time –  and it doesn’t require much knowledge of html.

Some of the advantages that I see are the fact that you can set access control to modules, as well as to components; it has got a Multilanguage site generator, which allows you to choose your native language during the installation process; and finally, that it has got hundreds of extensions to be added to your page.

Some of them can be quite useful for ESL teachers.

JAMultilingual allows you to translate the whole site including menu items in one go.

j!LanguageEditor lets the administrator edit the language files of different languages used for client side.

Finally, with GoogleDictionary you can let your visitor type words or sentences and convert them into many different languages.

Genki English newsletter

A few years ago I found a fantastic ESL instructor and his wonderful site, Genki English and I decided to subscribe to its newsletter.

It offers update to all new resources and comments for ESL teachers, including games, tips, songs, pictures, activities, etc. It is a good teaching resource for all English teachers. Even teachers who have to use specific textbooks and thus have less freedom to use other activities or materials, can still benefit by adopting games related to the content of their textbooks.

The main page consists of eight sections, and six of them are relevant for language learning and teaching: Lesson of the Day, Songs, Games, New Stuff, For the Kids, and Advice.

Even though many of the songs and handouts are available only by purchasing CDs, some are available to download for free on the website. The subscription is also free and it allows you to receive lots of useful tips, resources and suggestions for your classroom.

Best applications and resources for ESL

Among all the apps and resources that I have mentioned in my previous post, the following are the most interesting ones:

- Busuu: it is an app which helps you learn English through conversational examples that include pictures, thus making learning very simple and easy for beginners. It covers 150 different topics and situations, as well as an extensive vocabulary containing more than 300 words and key phrases. It also includes writing and reading exercises, interactive exams, and a video chat.

It does not need an Internet connection. Once you download it, you can access all the tutorials and interactive tests in it. You can also create a profile where you can track your learning progress and even ask for help from native speakers from the busuu community.

- Airport vocabulary (printable lesson plan). I really like this lesson plan because it includes all the necessary elements to use it in the classroom: the teacher's guide, some worksheets with the answers and even extension activities. Besides, the topic is quite useful for students who travel quite frequently. 

- At school (lesson plan for interactive whiteboard). This plan is excellent for beginning learners. Just as the previous ones, it includes teacher’s notes and lesson notes to facilitate its use. The activities are classified into introductory, comprehension and practice. They are all very colourful and motivating for young students. The topic is a must for that stage. 

- Intercultural language use and language learning (e-book). It is a compilation of talks from different language experts. It provides a wide insight on the concept of intercultural communicative competence. ESL teachers can get lots of useful ideas from the different authors. 

Apps and resources for ESL teachers and students

The use of interactive resources and useful applications is essential if we want to keep our students motivated.

In order to show some wonderful apps for tablets and computers, as well as some free lesson plans and e-books, I have created a presentation using the tool Lino. Here is the link to my presentation. 

Cloud applications: advantages and disadvantages

The cloud or cloud computing is a general term for hardware and software services from a provider on the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service. The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that is often used to represent the Internet inflowcharts and diagrams.

There are multiple advantages and disadvantages in the use of could applications. Different websites have been analysed but I have finally taken the ones suggested by Examiner.com:

1. Convenience. Wecan access our data anywhere. We just need a connection to the Internet.
2. Security. Most companies use industrial level security software and practices and that makes it harder for hackers to access to our data. 
3. Backups. We have a backup of our data in case our local computer crashes.
4. Collaboration. With our permission, others can access, view, and modify our documents.
5. Environmentally friendly. It takes fewer resources to cloud compute, thus saving energy. Some businesses take it a step further and incorporate cloud computing into their telecommuting strategies.

As for the main disadvantages, we can highlight the following ones:

1. Security breaches. Remote server security makes it harder, but not impossible, for hackers to reach our data. If there is a compromise of the server where our data is stored, our personal information may be exposed to the world. 
2. Outages. Imagine if we needed a document for an important business meeting or presentation and our storage provider’s site is down. This is something not very unlikely to happen.
3. Storage limits. While our local hard drive may be able to hold 500GB or more of data, a remote server may only allow to freely store about 5GB. If we want more room, we will have to pay for it. However, even with a paid account, there may be a limit on the size of the data that can be stored.
4. Slow speeds. Uploading and downloading of large documents may take a long time.
5. Limited features. If we use remote software provided by the storage service to manipulate and modify our data, it usually lacks the features of a program running locally.

Many companies offer cloud computing services. However, the most used applications are Dropbox, Google Drive and SkyDrive.

 from Software mirror

Having seen the main advantages of this kind of tools, let us focus on the possible aplications in the classroom. Why would students need cloud-based workplace collaboration software? There are many reasons, such as sharing documents and resources among each other during group projects; being able to meet with the teacher and carry out revisions remotely; or do revision tracking. The potential for cloud computing in the classroom is considered limitless.

To end up this entry, here is a short video about Cloud Computing in education from Microsoft.