ORTESOL Conference
Portland, Oregon, October 26, 2001
Michael Krauss
ISALC, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon

Finding What You Need and
Using What You Find on the Net!

© 2001- www.arttoday.com

http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/ortesol2001/home.html

Presentation Outline

Finding What You Need on the Net! . . .

Using What You Find on the Net! . . .

Finding What You Need on the Net! . . .

A. Some of my favorite online journals and other periodic resources:

* Choose one of the resources below and explore it for a few minutes. Find one article you'd like to follow up on or one activity you could use in your classroom!

  1. The English Teaching Forum Online - Searchable, online version of quarterly journal for ESL/EFL teachers. Contains primary articles from print version back to 1993.
  2. The Internet TESL Journal for Teachers of English as a Second Language - A monthly Web journal that not only contains articles, but one of the best collections of Web resources for both teachers and students.
  3. Language Learning and Technology - Edited by Mark Warschauer & Dorothy Chun, this refereed journal, which came online in 1997, was created to encourage research on technology in language learning and to make research results easily available to educators around the world.
  4. Teaching English with Technology: A Journal for Teachers of English - Published by IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language). In addition to articles, this bi-monthly journal with international contributors, features sections on lesson plans, Web sites, software and book reviews, Internet for ESP, and more. Very hands-on and practical, you'll find something you can use in class right away.
  5. TESL-EJ - This fully refereed journal, with lead editor Maggie Sokolik, contains articles and reviews indexed by author or title; online since 1994.
  6. Technology Tips - Deborah Healey gives very practical advice on how to use technology with ESL students. There is something here for the novice and for the more experienced CALL practitioner.
  7. Wandering the Web - A regular feature of TESOL Matters (always found on the back page). Christine Meloni highlights uses of the Internet in ESOL teaching.
  8. More Journals on the Web

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B. Some of my favorite professional lists and resources delivered via email:

* Choose one of the resources below and subscribe to it now!

  1. Blue Web'n Updates (weekly) - Selected Web resources (5 or 6), that will be added to the Blue Web'n database, are delivered to you via Email. These sites are not specifically geared toward ESL/EFL students, but are valuable for those involved in content-based instruction.

  2. Classroom Connect - One of the most comprehensive and popular Internet resources for content teachers. After signing up for a free membership, you have access to features such as "Connected Teacher" (includes Connected Calendar, Connected Newsletter, Citing Internet Resources); "Neighborhoods" (discussion groups); "Ask an Expert"; "Find a Teacher" (share with over 30,000 teachers); "Student Gallery" (browse student projects); "Live Events" (includes Discussion/Email Lists) and more.
    "Net Happenings," (daily) - An email list I've found very informative as it provides daily announcements of Internet resources for educators. (Sign up for for "digest" format so you receive only 1-3 emails per day, containing numerous resource announcements).

  3. English-to-Go (weekly) - English-To-Go is subscribed to by teachers in over 100 countries. The Instant Lessons ™ are photocopiable lesson plans based on news stories from Reuters News Agency. A free membership provides you with one instant lesson each week. Fee-based subscriptions are available, and give access to archives of lessons at varying language levels plus additional materials for classroom use.

  4. Kathy Shrock's S.O.S = Site of the School Day (daily) - Sign up to have the S.O.S delivered to your mailbox. Very practical sites, often geared to current events of the day. Guaranteed to provide you with sites/ideas you will use. Here is an archive of all the S.O.S. resources for 2000-2001--quite extensive.

  5. Neteach-L (daily) - (NOTE: You can subscribe to this during this workshop only if you have access to your email). NETEACH-L is a public and unmoderated list open to anyone in the EFL/ESL field who has an interest in using technology to enhance English language instruction. Discussion topics may include, but are not limited to: classroom activities, information on EFL/ESL-related Internet sites, and technical advice on how to utilize various technologies for the purpose of EFL/ESL instruction. I'd suggest subscribing in "digest" form to only receive one message per day (with multiple subparts). N.B. If you are choosing between Neteach-L and TESLCA-L, I would go with the latter as it has wider ranging discussions with more participants than Neteach-L as of late.

  6. Papyrus News (3-5 times weekly) - Not a discussion list, but an e-mail distribution list run by Mark Warschauer -- <markw@uci.edu>. Subscribers receive messages on topics such as the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on literacy and education, the relationship of ICT to social development and equality, and language and identity in the age of information. To subscribe to Papyrus News, send to "listserv@uci.edu" this message: "subscribe papyrus-news <type your name here>". You can leave the subject line blank.

  7. TESLCA-L (daily) (NOTE: You can subscribe to this during this workshop only if you have access to your email) - TESLCA-L is a branch of TESL-L, and is a moderated list. It is the most popular list related to using computers to assist the teaching of ESL/EFL. I'd suggest subscribing in "digest" form to only receive one message per day (with multiple subparts).

  8. Tower Tipsheet (twice weekly) - Specifically geared toward ESL/EFL students, the Tipsheet provides subscribers with a Web site with accompanying activity, twice per week. An archive of past tips has just been begun and will grow rapidly. This is one feature of the Tower of English web site.

  9. More TESL-related lists

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C. Some of my favorite Internet directories:

* Browse directories below looking for a "holiday" resource you can use with your students. Evaluate the resource using the "Preliminary Web Site Inventory Form" in your handout now!

Need more copies of the "Preliminary Web Site Inventory Form" for later use? Click here to download the form to your computer. Open and print using MS Word or another word processing program. Modify as you like.

  1. About.com -ESL Section (formerly "The Mining Company") - Utilizes "guides," who are employed to assemble Web sites covering a myriad of content areas. Each "guide" is responsible for collecting and maintaining sites in her specific area. Try entering "holiday" into the search box.

  2. Britannica.com - Enter a search term and you get rated Web sites, articles from Britannica, and magazine sources. Try a holiday of your choice in the search box.

  3. Blue Web'n - Blue Web'n is a searchable database of outstanding Internet learning sites categorized by subject area, audience, and type (contains lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, and tools). Blue Web'n does not attempt to catalog all educational sites, but only the most useful sites, especially online activities targeted at learners.

  4. E.L. Easton's English Online - A comprehensive set of skill-based and content-based resources for ESL teachers. A very nice section on holidays.

  5. Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Continually updated sites categorized by topic, e.g. arts/lit., business, education, health, history, holidays, humor, math, news, etc. Aimed at K-12 but lots of excellent resources useful for ESL

  6. Kid's Click: Web Search for Kids by Librarians - Created by a group of librarians, Kid's Click was seen as a better alternative to filtering software. Rather than screen out "bad" sites, the librarians wanted to provide kids with "good" sites. Kid's Click is a searchable directory divided into 15 categories. Every entry is rated for reading level and amount of illustration, which is *very* useful for determining use with ESL students with varying language ability. Enter "holiday" in the search box.

  7. LibrarySpot.com - Easy access to the best library and research sources on the Net. Main categories include "Libraries Online," "Reference Desk" and "Reading Room." A very impressive compilation of practical information tools. Be sure to check out the "Reference Desk" on the left sidebar of the page. Click "calendars" then "Holiday and Festival Site".

  8. Marco Polo by WorldCom, Inc. - This is a shining example of an Internet resource that will enhance teaching and learning. A comprehensive site, Marco Polo is multidimensional. There are Web resources and lesson plans, based on national content standards, in the areas of economics, geography, humanities, mathematics, science and the arts (links on right side of page). There is also a flexible search engine (Marco Polo Search) at the top of the page, allowing searches by content and grade level. Try entering "holiday" or a specific holiday for the grade level of your choice.

  9. Multnomah County Homework Center - A librarian reviewed set of resources for K-12 homework/research. Works well for ESL, and has received kudos from many in the education community.

  10. More education information centers and more content-rich Web sites

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D. Some of my favorite search engines and search engine resources:

  1. Google (the best in my opinion)
  2. AltaVista (very comprehensive, though not as easy to use as Google)
    • Seven Steps Towards Better Searching - Mnemonics help teachers and students remember basic rules of searching. Shows very clearly how search operators can limit the number of results returned by Alta Vista.

  3. Dogpile.com - A "meta" search engine, Dogpile compiles results from over 15 of the most popular search engines. Results from four search engines at a time are displayed.

  4. Specialized Search Engines and Directories - The "hidden Web" has billions of pages not found by standard search engines. Specialized search engines help you find special categories of information, e.g. literature in the public domain, primary source articles, images, biographies, maps, country profiles, etc. that may not be easily found with traditional search tools.

  5. Choose the Best Search for Your Information Needs - Once you decide on the purpose of your search, there is a nifty grid to suggest which search engine would best suit your purpose. Want to go through an automated tutorial? Click the "Tutorial" link at the above site. Then just sit back and watch as different search engines are illustrated, depending on the purpose of your search. How about just answering a few simple questions (checking boxes as you go) and then being offered the best search engines to try based on your input? Try it out with NoodleQuest.

  6. Search Engine Watch - This Web site provides information on how to search the Net and the search tools available. Moreover, it gives technical information on how search engines work and how Web authors can help insure that their pages are listed with major search engines.

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E. Hands-on activities to improve your search skills:

* Complete the worksheet, "Searching the World Wide Web Using Google: Holiday Search" in your handout now!
Use Google as your search engine. Complete this activity to learn the basics (and a few advanced tricks too!) of Google. The answers to the activity can be found at the bottom of the search worksheet, located in your handout. (Don't peek yet!)

  1. Would you like to download a copy of the "Holiday Search" worksheet used above, or one a bit more challenging? Or perhaps you'd like a search worksheet with questions on varied subjects, not just holidays? After downloading, you can open these documents in MS Word and modify them to suit your specific needs.

  2. Do you or your students want to try your hand at several different search engines to decide which suits your fancy? Try Scavenger Hunt: Trying Out Internet Search Tools. You can print out the questions or work online (good practice for those new to using an Internet browser, e.g. Netscape or Internet Explorer). Here are the answers so you can easily check yourself. Which search engine did you or your students like best?

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Using What You Find on the Net! . . .

F. Ten Sample activities for ESL/EFL students using Internet resources (holidays theme)

* Explore these activities to find one that would work with your students!

  1. Construct holiday crafts: By following simple written instructions, students can create holiday crafts. They learn about U.S. culture and use their English skills to achieve a concrete outcome: completion of the craft project. EnchantedLearning.com's KinderCrafts provides scores of easy-to-complete crafts projects, language appropriate for even low-level ESL learners, on a wide variety of holiday themes.
    • Take a look at the clear graphics and simple instructions to Build a paper Christmas tree. All the basic information is there for students to write a "process/how to" essay. Students can add an introduction, transitions in the body, and a conclusion, and they're done. Or how about a group of students dictating the steps to other students who assemble the project. Or maybe a strip story, mixing up the steps to have the students reorder. Add your own ideas!

  2. Create a multimedia Web project on a holiday: Students can partner up and make multimedia Web pages (Culture Capsules) explaining, comparing and contrasting holidays in their respective countries. Take a look at Eid-Al-Fiter and Chinese New Year. Or have a look at the complete collection of Culture Capsules.
    • Want to create Culture Capsules with your students. Here's how.

  3. Experience a holiday simulation: If you're "on holiday," why not plan your own trip. Students use the Internet to plan a vacation. They make decisions on travel, money, accommodations and more. Try this "Imagination Voyage to the Grand Canyon."
    • Want to create your own travel simulation? Use Travelocity for your Web resource and design worksheets to go with it.

  4. Explore a holiday sampler: Provide Internet based activities for students, organized around a theme, that tap into different learning styles and interests. Let students pick and choose ("sample") what they like. The end result is to improve students' language skills while they learn about a U.S. holiday. Check out Leslie Opp-Beckman's Thanksgiving Activities: Sites to be Thankful For.
    • Want to create samplers of your own? Here's how.

  5. Go on a holiday treasure hunt: Students, in pairs, browse one specific site, using scanning skills to find the answers to questions. Here's one called "Thanksgiving Hunt". Add a culminating question that gets students to synthesize what they've learned or make comparisons across cultures.
    • Want to create Treasure Hunts of your own? Here's how.

  6. Research holiday celebrations in different cultures: Visit the Kilikinas, guardians of the holidays. Step inside their homes (a different home for each holiday), and learn how these holidays are celebrated around the world. The information could be used in a comparison/contrast essay on a holiday. page not available--anybody able to locate the Kilikinas?

  7. Send a virtual holiday card: Students practice their writing skills in a real-life activity. Here is a collection of seasonal/holiday cards by Blue Mountain. Have students send holiday cards to their teachers, classmates, friends or family. Make it a "free" writing assignment or give the students guidelines for "card writing" language.

  8. Sing along with Karaoke online: Karaoke is familiar to many of our students. Help students improve pronunciation, stress, intonation and phrasing while having a good time with their classmates. Check out the Karaoke QuickTime Songs Jukebox (both "oldies" and "pop tunes"). Or see Karaoke Online with a wide variety of over 70 karaoke songs by well known artists. Does this fit the "holidays" theme? Hmm, there is "Holiday" by Madonna. Does that count?
    Download QuickTime for the Karaoke if you need it. It's free and works on Macs or PC's.

  9. Try holiday quizzes and puzzles: Students (or groups of students) like to compete to see who can answer the most questions. The Internet TESL Journal has a collection of holiday quizzes. Quia also has a selection of holiday quizzes and puzzles in a variety of formats.
    • Want to quickly and easily create Internet-based holiday quizzes (or have your students create them) using Quia? Here's how.

  10. Write an illustrated holiday story using images from the Internet: Not only is a picture worth 1000 words, but sometimes pictures can encourage students to write 1000's (100's??) of words! Motivate students to write a holiday story by letting them find and choose images from the Web. They then incorporate their chosen images into a Word document to make an illustrated essay to be emailed to classmates, teachers, family, etc. This is also an easy way to teach basic Internet, email and word processing skills.
    • Want to try this out? Here are the basic steps on a Mac using Netscape (very similar for P.C.'s and/or using Internet Explorer). 1) Go to Google and click on the "Images" tab. Enter a search term, e.g. "thanksgiving" 2) Find a photo of choice and click on it. Click on "see full-sized image" to make it bigger. 3) Point to the image and click and hold the mouse button down. Choose "Save image as. . ." from the menu and save the image to the desktop or to a disk. 4) Open M.S. Word (other word processors would also work). From the Insert menu, choose "Picture" --> "From file. . .". Locate the image file you downloaded and choose "Insert." The image is now in your Word document. Click on it to select it and size as desired. 5) The student can now write her story based on the photo she has chosen. Students could use several images and intersperse them among paragraphs of a longer essay if they choose. 6) When the essay is done, it can be emailed as an attachment.

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G. Some of my favorite online tools for creating materials:

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H. Some of my favorite training resources for ESL teachers:

  1. Exploring and Exploiting the Internet: Concepts and Practices for Teaching ESOL - this resource, in a Q & A format, poses questions and presents hands-on practices in bringing the Internet into the ESOL classroom.

  2. ICT4LT (Information and Communications Technology for Language Teachers) - Fifteen modules at beginning, intermediate and advanced level, created by international teams of ICT experts.

  3. Integrating the Internet into the Classroom - a three-week, intensive online course designed to give teachers concepts and hands-on skills in using the Internet to enhance teaching.

  4. Internet Tutorials from Albany Libraries - not designed specifically for ESL, but excellent tutorials covering the fundamentals of Internet use.

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*Answer key to online Scavenger Hunt: 1) I think I'm gonna be sad 2) apple pie recipe (your choice of recipe) 3) Volta (shoulda guessed this one, no?) 4) Emil Jannings 5) Mt. Whitney 6) seven bridges
Return to Michael Krauss Home Page.

Created by: krauss@lclark.edu
Updated: 8/12/03