Daniel
R. Bailey
Instructors should understand how to
motivate students in a web-enhanced class. Research shows that the most
successful learners use a wider variety of learning strategies and use them
more often than less successful ones (Oxford, 1990). Knowing this, we should
try to maximize learning opportunities for our students by having them use
in-class learning strategies during class time and technology enhanced ones at
home. Integrating learning managements systems (LMS) like Moodle and Schoology.com
are terrific for getting students motivated to use a wide array of learning
strategies both inside and outside the classroom.
One thing an LMS allows is
comparing learning accomplishments and grades between classmates. This is possible
through online writing assignments (i.e. forums, wikis, and blogs) viewable
among class members or private groups. Learning management systems like Moodle allow
instructors to privately show student scores and rankings for individual
assignments.
Students might feel stressed because
others can see their grade, but stress at much more manageable levels since the
grade is for a single assignment opposed, for example, to an unwarrantedly heavy
weighted item (i.e. end of semester presentation worth 10% or more of their
final grade). I suggest grade comparison composing of multiple assignments that
carry minimal weight on the final grade could be beneficial for motivating
students who fear unwarrantedly (and possibly unethically) heavy weighted grade
items. I feel this is a form of affective strategy training. Training which is accomplished
through administering multiple assignments, with manageable increments of
weight deviation, opposed to debatably unethically heavy weighted tasks. This
allows students opportunities to face their fear of using English in public or
online environments without the burden of bombing their course if, by chance,
they fail such heavily weighted assignments (e.g. 10% plus tasks like
end-of-course presentations).
Moving Forward
I have had success with grade
comparison when administering assignments through forums, wikis, and blogs. These
platforms allow students to compare their work in groups or with the entire
class. The instructor sets up the online assignment in an LMS, the students do
the writing, and the instructor rates it. In addition to these steps, the LMS
also allows me to correct crucial grammar mistake so students can give clear presentations
in class. Presenting this material in class is another opportunity for students
to compare their work with one another which hopefully motivates them to excel.
Instructors can use platforms like
forums to quickly review and edit writing assignments. Forums can be graded
quicker than individual essays because a group of students are working on the
same forum thread. This means the instructor doesn’t need to scroll between different
pages for each student, but review and edit a group of students at the same
time. I find this to be great for grading, providing corrective feedback, and correcting
grammar mistakes. In addition, forum assignments familiarize the student with
using forums for purely social online discussions in a second language. My
personal hope is eventually students reply back and forth with one another in
English without grade incentive to do so, perhaps on a social network site like
Face book or Twitter.
In addition to forums, wikis can be
used to deliver writing assignments. Wikis allow the instructor to correct the
students’ writing through the first draft up until the due date. The instructor
can directly correct grammar mistakes and provide comments. The original
writing contributions from the student are stored in the wiki database so
writing quality and grammatical errors can accurately be assessed and tracked
after corrections have been made. Students are able able to review their
mistakes by comparing the wiki page history.
Like
forums, wikis can also be used as platforms for writing assignments.
Traditionally wikis have a group of people working on one project, but this is
not the only way to use them. Instructors may also have a group of students independently
work on their own writing within the same wiki page. As with forums, this
promotes motivation through comparison and competition. Grading is made faster
because the instructor doesn’t have to navigate between different pages to see
each assignment.
Blogs
are a third option instructors can use for giving writing assignments which can
be compared between students. Blogs are assigned to each student and span the
entire semester. Blogs are structured and edited by the student. The instructor
can give corrective feedback, and classmates can leave comments. Unlike forums
and wikis, blogs are not group activities. Students completing their writing
tasks through blogs can have access to all class blogs which hopefully promotes
motivation through comparison.
Forums, wikis, and blogs differ in
presentation. Blogs are web-pages that the student contributes to during the
entire course. This means that each writing task will be stored in his/her blog
in chronological order throughout the course. Forums and wikis on the other
hand are group activities assigned to specific writing tasks. Therefore, writing
assignments are delivered through a series of forums, a series of wikis, or just
one blog. Each of these platforms can be edited by the teacher, commented on by
others, and easily copied into learning portfolios which is why I find them all
ideal learning tools.
From personal experience I find students are
overwhelmed if I use multiple platforms to deliver writing assignments during
the same semester. Instead, I recommend using one platform for the majority of
writing assignments; preferably whichever one suits your teaching style.
Each of the three platforms described above can
contribute to learning portfolios. Barret (2007)
defines learning portfolios as the cumulative collection of work learners have
done from the start of the semester to the end. They can transform and enhance
curriculum. They also have a potential to display to learners and educators the
interactions between their learning and assessment. Students are given a
continual repository for their academic achievements which they can store and
take with them into the workforce. Portfolios are something tangible students
can be proud of, not just a letter grade or number.
Teachers help students become
self-regulated learners through developing and managing portfolios. Students
reflect on past writing achievements and witness how their language proficiency
has grown. The assessment of portfolios is a continuous act which does not
evaluate students with a test but rather a constructivist approach to project
completion (Johnson, 1996). Students set goals for their learning and then
begin to monitor, regulate, and control their cognition, motivation, and
behavior as guided by their objectives. Highly self-regulated learners approach
the learning tasks in a mindful and confident manner and develop strategies to
accomplish objectives (Alexioua & Fotini, 2010).
In addition to motivation through
writing assignments, I use my LMS to award students digital badges for meeting
assignment criteria or displaying role model behavior. Teachers can use digital
badges for anything as trivial as electronic stickers to something as complex as
a course certificate of completion. Digital badges can also add an element of
entertainment to the classroom. Entertainment in education is often about
smiling and having a good time with students as well as providing opportunities
for them to compete together in activities. Teachers can award badges for completing
class activities or showing exceptional communication skills. Giving students a
symbol of their achievement, however big or small, provides a source of pride
and motivation.
Flipping classes is a concept
growing in popularity and made possible with learning managements systems. A
flipped class might refer to a teacher who provides take-home video lectures and
spends class time doing other activities like homework-style assignments or
student presentations. Through LMS delivered writing assignments, students get
started on learning objectives in the classroom and complete their assignment
at home. For example, students begin a first draft in class and finish it at
home through a forum, wiki, blog or essay. Online instructor feedback allows
instructors to spend class time doing activities like student presentations
since writing assignments can be guided to fruition through the LMS. This is
only one example of how an LMS can flip a language learning classroom.
Language acquisition is a long term
goal which doesn’t have to be accomplished in class alone. The time teachers
spend with their students in oversized classrooms falls pitifully short of
meeting the requirements of mastering English. As teachers, we should provide
more opportunities for students to learn outside the classroom, and we must get
them motivated to do so. If done correctly, student-centered curriculum design
using an LMS motivates and provides extra opportunity to study. Sure, both
students and teachers will feel stressed at first when learning how to navigate
LMS assisted assignments, but hardly an unreasonable amount and arguably much
needed.
References
Alexiou,
A., and Fotini, P. (2010). Enhancing self-regulated learning skills through the
implementation of an e-portfolio tool. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences,
2(2), 3048-3054.
Anderson,
T. and Miyazoe, T. (2010). Learning outcomes and students’ perceptions of
online writing: Simultaneous implementation of a forum, blog and wiki in an EFL
blended learning setting. System, 38(3), 185-199.
Barrett, H.C. (2007). Researching
Electronic Portfolios and Learner Engagement: The REFLECT Initiative. Journal
of Adolecent & Adult Literacy, 50(6), 436-449
Johnson, K. (1996). The Role of
Theory in L2 Teacher Education. Tesol Quarterly, 30(4), 765-771.
Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning
Strategies: What Every Teacher Should. New York. Boston; Heinle and Heinle.
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