Online teaching and learning communities: materials and beyond

Eric BaberEducational Technologisteric@ericbaber.com

Overview

• Introduction• Community tools• Types of online materials• Online communities, resources and

providers• Challenges

Community tools

• Email discussion lists• Web-based discussion forums• Blogs• Wikis

Types of online materials

• Text (Word, .pdf)• Audio (streaming, podcasts)• Video (streaming, vodcasts)• Activities

Text

• Lesson plans• Worksheets (grammar, vocabulary,

skills-based…)• Webquests• Role plays• … anything you can find in printed

form

Audio & Video

• Interviews• Discussions• Debates• News• Topic-based programmes• Teaching/learning tips• Adverts• YouTube/Google videos

Activities

• Quizzes• Matching activitie

s• Jumbled words• Cloze activities

Online communities, resources and providers

• Quia.com• BBC Learning English• British Council Teaching English• english360.com• Cambridge University Press

Quia.com

• www.quia.com• Hundreds of activities to choose from –

mostly online-only• Authoring tools that allow you to create

your own activities• Student tracking facilities• No social networking facilities though

BBC Learning English

• For learners and teachers• www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish • www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/tea

chingenglish

• Lesson plans, quizzes, peer-to-peer discussions, blogs

• The Flatmates soap-opera. Audio files, text, worksheets for use in class

British Council Teaching English

• http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk• Methodology articles• Lesson plans• Activities• Moderated comments and Questions

& Answers

english360.com

• Platform for teachers to produce materials for use with learners

• Teachers can put together “projects” (learning paths) for their learners

• Teachers can use each others’ materials for their own students. Materials authors receive payment

english360.com

• Can incorporate text, images, audio, video, quizzes & range of activities

• Courses can be public or private• Courses currently available include

Sales & Negotiation and Business Presentations in English

• Range of social networking tools (internal e-mail, forums, blogs…)

Cambridge University Press

• www.cambridge.org/elt/resources• Good range of worksheets, infoquests,

articles, podcasts, wordlists and activities• Largely materials that supplement

coursebooks, but can be used on their own• New website specifically for professional

English: www.cambridge.org/elt/pro

Other providers and sites

• www.tes.co.uk/resources (cross-discipline)

• www.teachingideas.co.uk (Primary)• www.eleaston.com (index of websites

dealing with ELT)

Challenges

• Finding good quality materials• Finding materials for your teaching

situation• Balance between bottom-up/free-for-all

and moderated content (example)

Challenges

• Finding good quality materials• Finding materials for your teaching

situation• Balance between bottom-up/free-for-all

and moderated content (example)• Finding one site that does it all: social

networking, professional materials, materials-sharing…

Thank you for attending!

Eric Baber

www.cambridge.org/elt/prowww.cambridge.org/elt/resources