I love to teach language learners how to write, from grammar and sentence structure to unity, clarity, and cohesion. As they advance, I ask them to check for rhythm and pacing, delete redundancies, and charge their writing with words that pop from the page into their readers’ imaginations. I show them how to carefully craft their sentences to persuade their audiences. Nothing makes me happier than to see these elements emerge in my students’ papers.
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In September 2015 I posted a TESL Ontario blog about revisiting WebQuests. Since then WebQuest founder Bernie Dodge closed his WebQuest site as well as its sister WebQuest archive resource QuestGarden. As well, Zunal.com has closed. As WebQuests have been such an established and relevant activity for language teachers and learners, digital alternatives must be found or developed to fill this void.
This post offers five alternatives to traditional WebQuest editors. Links to WebQuests created with these tools are also shared. These tools may take more effort to produce WebQuests, but they use contemporary productive technologies and work well on most device types.
WebQuests are inquiry-based learning activities in which students use information from the web to complete tasks or solve teacher defined problems on issues related to module topics. They typically involve students exploring specific resources provided by the teacher, often in a structured format to encourage deeper understanding and critical thinking on a given topic. To summarize, WebQuests support student learning through problem solving or knowledge building activities.
WebQuests promote:
Authors of WebQuests guide their learners to create a final project. This is done in the task section of the WebQuest. These may include:
The most common format promoted by Bernie Dodge has been the HTML IFrames format. This is a three parts webpage.
Many contemporary WebQuests do not follow this format. Some are simple web pages or linear documents while others are slide presentations.
The WebQuest structure is generally consistent.
Here are five ways that you can create WebQuests to provide relevant and engaging. Choose the tool that matches your technical skillset. There are more digital tools out there that you can use to create WebQuests. If you are aware of these, consider contributing a comment below to enrich our teaching and learning community.
Alternate tools for creating WebQuests for student use have been offered with examples. Due to the WebQuests guided assignment format, many digital tools can be used to create WebQuests. You can choose the tool is best for your learners. A good practice is to create your web quest on a word-processed document and then transfer the information to another technology such as H5P.
Want to learn more about creating WebQuests?
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The hype pinnacle was NotebookLM’s podcasts, termed “audio overview,” that created deep dive AI generated podcasts. The AI hosts present realistic human voices to simulate engaging audio discussions based on the content of input documents. Beyond the appealing podcast generation feature, can this tool offer educators potential ways to transform the way they design and deliver language instruction? Continue reading
Technology is so embedded in our daily lives that we hardly notice, even take for granted, that we can’t get through our day without our phones, the internet, automated check-outs, Zoom. Yet, when it comes to using computers in the classroom, most teachers are reactionary in their response.
The school where I work will be using Avenue as the main delivery platform for all levels starting in September. This decision, when it was announced last year, did not, and indeed, has not, gone over well with the teachers, to put it mildly.
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Literacy teachers emphasize reading and writing because those are the only two skills assessed at the literacy level. However, when does the attention given to those two skills become excessive? And, by devoting the bulk of class time to those two skills, do we do so at the expense of a holistic approach to teaching?
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Most of us are aware of the importance of the issues around digital accessibility through our own disabilities and supporting our students in virtual and blended classrooms. Some organizations offer accessibility training for educators and learners. Due to accessibility legislation and policies, software vendors build accessibility features into their wares. This opportunity allows us to make our documents more accessible. This post suggests some features available in the Microsoft Word app that instructors may leverage to make their digital documents more accessible. Please be aware that this is not a comprehensive accessibility resource, but an introduction for interested educators. Continue reading
At first glance, smartphones may seem like the ultimate language roadblock for ESL learners. The alluring prospect of effortlessly translating any text with a simple tap can lead to a habit of overreliance, hindering genuine language absorption. However, it’s not all doom and gloom. When approached with a strategic mindset, smartphones can indeed become “smart” tools in the ESL learning arsenal, especially for those who find themselves grappling with the complexities of English at a foundational level.
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The past decade has seen a game-changing impact on English as a Second Language (ESL) education, thanks to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Notably, AI has made students more independent in their learning, helping them secure jobs even with lower English levels. Additionally, direct translation of messages and emails has become seamless, enhancing communication.
AI in ESL education has shifted the focus to personalized learning, allowing students to learn at their own pace. This independence builds confidence and self-reliance as learners navigate language acquisition with tailored support.
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In my last blog post, I mentioned the hours I had spent examining students’ work for suspected AI use. Now, a couple of months later, I am more exhausted from the process than ever. We educators are still muddling our way through without clear policies or reliable detection tools, and are literally left “up to our own devices.”
But what if we change tack? What if we encourage students to use AI? Until now, I have balked at exploring its use in class, worried about introducing it to students who had never heard of it. After all, what kind of teacher would show students how to cheat? But I am no longer under such delusions. Unless they have been hiding under a rock, most students know exactly how to use AI tools.
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September is here! The past eight months of warnings of artificial intelligence- or AI- generative chat calamities were heeded by some and ignored by others. Hopefully, you are one of the fortunate ones who work in an institution where AI policies, guidelines, just-in-time support and plagiarism teaching-learning plan statements are ready and accessible to supervisors, instructors and learners. If this is not your situation, this post is for you. Read on to quickly pick up some tips to cope with AI generative chat technologies while your institution works towards comprehensive strategies.