ChangeChange your English your English classroom classroom withwith VkontakteVkontakte

Anna LosevaE-merging Forum 3

February 28th, 2013British Council Russia

We want to We want to connectconnect and and reconnectreconnect WHY

do we like social

networks?

We need We need communitycommunity

We desire to make our We desire to make our voices heardvoices heard

We strive to be part of We strive to be part of something something biggerbigger

We crave We crave communicationcommunication

What do our students do in social networks (VK)?

o listen to music

owatch videos, series, films

o share photos, pictures, documents

oread news related to their studies and interests

o communicate and chat

ocollaborate in study groups (school and university)

INFORM

MANAGE

ENGAGE IN DISCUSSION

ASSIGN TASKS

KEEP TRACK

Wall shares: polls, maps, graffiti, videos, links to

web 2.0 tasks

Credit file points

Video & audioDocuments

Links

Grammar

Photo albums

Comment on …

Discussion topics

Sample task Sample task #1#1Complete a sentence

•…understand all the things teachers tell me…it’d be very useful for me. (A.M.)

•…sing as well as Freddy Mercury because I wanna rock! (A.Z.)

•…swim faster because I like shark fishing. (S.B.)

•…be with my relatives and Orenburg friends….I miss them. (A.T.)

•…I could fly because it would be easier to move between different locations in Moscow. (K.K.)

•…get from home to the university faster because I spend 3 hours commuting every day. (I.G.)

Sample task Sample task #2#2Watch the video and…

Other tasksOther tasks

• Write a story in a corresponding discussion topic

• Upload a photo and write a description (thematic)

• Record and share an audio

• Share a link to… (a word cloud, a mind map, a glog, a prezi, etc)

• Create a photo album devoted to…

• Follow a link and do interactive exercises

… and many more!

Typical Typical teachers’ teachers’ reasons reasons AGAINSTAGAINST

quick, easy, accessible 24/7, mobile, free

raises responsibility

promotes learner autonomy

personalises learning process

fosters engagement (T-S, S-S, S-T)

learning tasks blend into students’ daily routine

convenient for both students and a teacher

ready-made resources of public groups

Students’ feedback

Hi-tech involvement in teaching is a brilliant way to

take down the wall that borders "studying" and

"living". As for me I used to consider homework to be

something compulsory and boring but now social networks are used in studying a lot, so the

comfortable environment of working improves the

process.

We get news from the group, there is a list of tasks for the credit file,

so if I don't remember if I have done some of them or not I can check it in the group. Also you post interesting links with

news, videos and some other interesting things, which help us

to learn English and make learning fun, not job.

I like our group. Because if a home task is to add a comment or

something like this, it is hard to forget - I enter vk, see our group and remember it. And I can also

read my group mates' comments, and answer them - so we chat as

always, but in English. It's interesting and helpful.

Thank you!Thank you!

@AnnLosevaEnglish language teacher iTDi Associate

http://itdi.prohttp://annloseva.posterous.com