Connecting Theory to Practice. Building upon the underpinning pedagogies of Presentation tools. Part 2

Facilitating Pre-cognitive and Meta-cognitive evaluation through the use of NearPod and Padlet.

Part 2

Presenting Padlet 

    Padlet (formerly known as Wallwisher) is a free application (although I should mention that there is also a premium version which is not free) which can be used as a digital cork board. Setting up an account is super easy and after that you can either: 

1. Embed it in a classroom blog to share it with your students - like my Professor Jo did in the ICT in ELT module as an ice breaker or 

Created with Padlet

2. Use it as a presentation tool, lesson plan or some short of a WebQuest/ whole activity - like I did in one of my presentations in a joined session with colleagues from other core modules at Warwick University or even

Created with Padlet

3. Use it to elicit ideas and feedback from your students and peers - again like I did (with little success this time, I might add).

Created with Padlet

Padlets's advantages. Underpinning theory and pedagogical values:

    

    Padlet can be used for just about anything. It can display all sorts of information on any topic. It supports images, videos, embeddings, text etc. Added features are the "Padlet add-on" on your browser that allows you to instantly add the page you are browsing to your Padlet wall or to any Padlet wall you are contributing to. Advanced privacy settings allow for full, private or moderated access to your padlets and contributions from students can be subject to approval before being published.
    Padlet is indeed a BYOD tool because it prompts users to do exactly that in order to collaborate successfully (in other words to Bring their own Devices in the Classroom). One of Padlets clear advantages is that it promotes collaborative work on collecting ideas and brainstorming with a "Non-attributable way" or in other words anonymous. This can prove to be a valuable asset when dealing with timid students or if the brainstorming topic belongs to the category that can potentially cause considerable debate.
    Promoting good Netiquette practices is also attributed as a real advantage as students learn how to respect each others work and avoid vandalism or trolling. However, if that fails, Padlet incorporates the option of making the settings "private" thus blocking content alterations on a later stage - when outside of the classroom.
    And now for the most interesting part. On exactly the opposite site (of private-closed settings) Padlets can be used as a WebQuest bookmarking tool. This comes in direct alignment with the new reloaded, interface of WebQuests in a Web 2.0 environment. More specifically, students that navigate their way in QuestGarden can copy/paste links, classify them, rank them, share them and assess them with their peers at their own space, time and convenience.
    An "open wall" policy allows for a wealth of contributions, comments, eliciting ideas, feedback and constructive dialogue on real life scenarios thus providing the building blocks for HOTS. This is probably why, there is considerable debate amongst educators on where exactly to place Padlet on the SAMR model. My opinion is truly divided as I believe that Padlet allows for considerable Augmentation but at the same time - and especially in the instance of the "open wall" policy - it allows for substantial Modification and even Redefinition in the sense that this tool allows for the creation of new tasks previously inconceivable. (I know that this is a strong statement, however, take a look at my 2nd Padlet Project Based lesson plan and then feel free to leave me some feedback). The more authentic, challenging and dubious the subject is, the more Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition we are likely to elicit using this simple but amazing tool.
    Colour coding and classification of data, can also assist in bypassing problems that derive from heterogeneous classes. More specifically, a "red-zone" level of questions can be marked as accessible by the most capable users or on a "voluntary basis", leaving the necessary "space-buffer zone-comfort zone" for the less able students.


Padlets's limitations:


    Unfortunately, the Padlet embedded viewer is very small- as you can see from my embeddings, however, users can scroll the image in both directions to get a decent overview of the project. So ideally, this is a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) tool that requires a OHP (Over Head Projector). Another disadvantage is that it requires an email login which might frustrate some less confident users of technology. And in an attempt to be fair, I know many of my students that don't possess an e-mail account or they have forgotten the password mainly because they never use it.

Conclusion:


    Padlet is brilliant in its simplicity. It is a web-based collaborative BYOD tool that really boosts interactivity, scaffolding and peer-assisted teaching to the next level. It doesn't necessarily require any elaborate technology and even a smartphone or tablet with a web connection will suffice for it to yield its considerable pedagogical added value.
     These are 32 Interesting ways to Use Padlet in the Classroom. (this is one of the free links available on the internet with many resources and ideas on how to use this amazing tool).

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Popplet: Beyond Mind Mapping.

Inter-subjectivity, linear and non linear representation of ideas, concepts and projects.

    Popplet is basically a mind mapping tool that teachers can use to effectively implement a Task-Based Approach into second language acquisition. The novelty however is that teachers can embed a plethora of materials that range from simple images, links and drawings to videos from YouTube and Vimeo. And provided that you are content with producing 5 Popplets a month it is completely free. 

    A few more of the features that make Popplet stand out from other mind mapping tools are that:

1. You can insert images directly from your Google Drive account.
2. It has an amazing user-friendly interface that allows for real time manipulation of data, images and drawings with all of this achieved through the use of a mouse with no added technical skills required.
3. It has a simple but effective tutorial which in reality allowed me to rapidly go through all of the functions which at no point seemed to be overwhelming. In fact, I was able to reach a final mind-mapping activity in less than 3 minutes.

    But perhaps the real added value that makes this tool extremely relevant to my teaching context can be located in the following:

1. Learners can proceed in synchronous and asynchronous editing. This can be easily achieved through the push of a button located in the upper right corner as I will demonstrate later on. This procedure resembles the way Google docs are shared and/or manipulated. In practice, this collaborative tool can be used to activate schemata or in any stage of the lesson (pre-lesson, during a lesson or post lesson activity) but even more importantly it can easily follow a Tricider activity. More specifically, Popplet can complement Triciders' inability to place arguments in a more coherent order and assist learners in either of the following:

a. Produce a full written text by following the mind mapping activity which can better illustrate the gravity or origin of each advantage or disadvantage
b. Assist learners to make a transition from a "bullet-point" presentation and "positive-negative" classification to a more coherent, seamless production of speech and/or written patterns that follows a logical order.  This function moves well beyond Triciders' "drop-down menu" approach which only manages to identify and classify positive and negative argumentative speech in an admittedly initial "raw" display of data.

    However, the synchronous and asynchronous nature of Popplet is complemented by the sharing function that it incorporates. A closer look reveals that this tool has a built-in function that allows easy sharing via embedding the link into a blog, web site, wiki, Facebook account or other educational platforms such as Moodle, Edmondo etc.

    For the purpose of illustrating all of the aforementioned advantages that Popplet has, I devised a complete task which can be seen in the following image. This is an IELTS writing task 2 assignment and the question used is:"There is a growing number of people who think that animals should have the same rights as humans do while an equally large number believe that animals exist to serve human needs. To what extent to you agree or disagree with these statements.Give examples" 

 


    As discussed above, in a "flipped classroom", a Tricider link (or "tricision") containing an initial brainstorming activity would have been already send to all of the students. Ideally then, this initial brainstorming product would allow the teacher to bypass the traditional bottom-up approach and move towards a top-down approach where he would enable learners to negotiate the content of the given task, initially in pairs and later in groups. This pre-lesson activity would allow for considerable more student involvement but even more so it would provide the "ground" for the following Popplet activity.
    This scaffolding activity is perhaps one of the very best ways to teach learners how to avoid "jumping in" to writing  an essay without having done any brainstorming and data classification activities first. According to my experience the absence of such skills often result in "dead locks" with students typically under performing in the IELTS writing part due to lack of time. More specifically, learners that neglect to brainstorm, classify and transform their data into basic arguments, almost always, find themselves in a position where they have to multi-task. In other words, these students, in their effort to save time, end up having to do the following things at the same time with often very poor results:
1.think of ideas-arguments (brainstorm),
2.evaluate their relevance and validity.
3.provide a basic taxonomy (classify them as positive or negative)
4.provide evidence of understanding or provide real-life examples.
5.provide evidence that they can achieve a balance of arguments which demonstrates ability to approach a subject "spherically" and finally
6.state their opinions based on those facts.
    If we take into serious consideration that learners have around 25 minutes to produce a full 250 word essay, then we can easily reach the conclusion that the aforementioned preparatory steps must be over in less than 5 minutes. Popplet can assist learners develop these "good practices"  especially in my teaching context where learners have 2 to 3 months to prepare to sit their IELTS exams. However, by defocusing from IELTS and honing in Young Learners and Second Language Acquisition, I was able to clearly see that Popplet can be classified as a collaborative tool for scaffold learning that really gives meaning to Vygotsky's theory of Zone of Proximal Development.      
    To sum up, the added value that Popplet has is located in the fact that it can effectively assist learners place into a logical order, raw data that either comes from a text, a listening activity, a group activity, the teacher or ideally themselves. The result is that it empowers learners to easily sharpen their logical, critical reasoning and sequencing skills by better understanding the value of steps, processes and procedures. It is my firm belief that this tool manages to effectively promote rapport and give learner feedback promoting better teacher evaluation processes through visually linking student learning outcomes to the outlined objectives and ultimately means improved Continuous Professional Development  and Action Research attempts for my teaching practice.

    Use this embedded material to produce a final essay on the subject matter 

Creating Virtual Classrooms

Duolingo's launch makes Virtual Classrooms a Real Possibility for all EFL Teachers.

    With a much more simplified procedure, Duolingo makes Virtual Classrooms a reality even for teachers that don't posses an ICT background. In just a few clicks, any teacher can create his own e-classroom, send links and invitations to his students and post materials and comments in his own personal e-class blog. And all that is completely FREE.

    Duolingo isn't new, although its new version the "Duolingo For Schools" was launched yesterday. And if the aforementioned hasn't caught your attention yet, I really think that even the most sceptic teachers need to experience this new feature and give their students the chance to experience what looks to be for many the future of learning. 

    Drawing from my personal experience, I can honestly say that such tools have proven to be invaluable in the lifelong learning sector and especially now when Continuous Professional Development often results in increased teacher mobility. More specifically, my decision to further my career by undertaking a full time MA in ELT with a specialism in ICT at The University of Warwick, meant that I would have to move from my country of origin, Greece to the UK, for at least a year. And although I had made sure that all of my students had either successfully sat through their exams or found a substitute teacher, I still received many requests for further support.   

    In this exact respect, I really think that Duolingo's efficacy is mainly located in its nature as an additional tool or solution rather than a new way of teaching. Possibilities are endless, especially in countries such as mine where heavy winters make English Language Acquisition extremely difficult especially in remote islands and mountainous regions.    

    Below I will illustrate how easy it is for anyone to set up an account and create his own virtual classroom(s).

7 easy steps to create your own e-classroom.

1. Visit https://www.duolingo.com/
2. Register an account.
3. Visit https://schools.duolingo.com/

4. After registration, a link appears and you just forward it to your students.

5. After your students have clicked on the link it then directs them to the "registration" template.

6. Once students have signed up they are then re-directed to a main screen where your name and class appear.

7. All that students have to do now is to click on "Save Changes" and that's it. 

    Learners progress can be monitored through the teacher's dashboard.

    It all looks pretty straightforward and I can't wait to try it out with some of my old students that have decided to further their education at numerous reputable English Institutes of Higher Education in the UK and need some support with their Academic English, so please stay tuned for my feedback.