Subscriptions to Professional Online Resources
            Choose TWO of the following free online sources of ESL/EFL materials and subscribe to them.  Send me an email confirming your subscription or put cbauer-ramazani at smcvt.edu in the cc line.

Options (all FREE of charge):
1.  subscriptions for K-12 teachers: click http://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/gsl520_online/eCollege_files/subscriptions_K12.htm.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
2.  Professional discussion groups and listservs -- click Subscribing to Professional Organizations.
3.  Webheads in Action -- a Yahoo!Group started in 2002 by Vance Stevens as an EV ONLINE session; strong participation and support by members; lots of good technology in the classroom information; must become a Yahoo! member first; click JOIN.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
4.  Mid-January only: One of the 6-week sessions offered by the Electronic Village Online -- Click the most recent one and follow the directions to subscribe to one of the sessions in YahooGroups.
5.  techLEARNING: The Resource for Education Technology Leaders -- includes Technology & Learning Magazine and free Webinars.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
6.  The Internet TESL Journal.   Send a confirmation to the instructor.
           - includes Articles, Research Papers, Lessons Plans, Classroom Handouts, Teaching ideas & Links).  This is a monthly web journal, so make a bookmark.
7.  TESL-EJ - To subscribe, click here.  Send a confirmation to the instructor. (Includes an article by the instructor!)
8.  T.H.E. Journal -- To subscribe to the free paper version, complete the subscription page.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
9.  TESLCA-L -- http://www.lsoft.com/SCRIPTS/WL.EXE?SL1=TESLCA-L&H=CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
NETEACH-L (a discussion list with good discussions and tips, mainly for CALL teachers; not much participation).  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
10.  Language Learning and Technology (journal).  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
11.  The Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.10.  Kairosnews: A Weblog for Discussing Rhetoric, Technology and Pedagogy.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
12.  Stephen's Web - discussion community, articles, publications, etc.  Send a confirmation to the instructor. 
13.  One of the Learning Times communities -- excellent for technology in the classroom; includes access to audioboards and online conferences.  Send a confirmation to the instructor. 
14.  CALL-EJ Online.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
15.  Teaching English with Technology (IATEFL Poland Special Interest Group).  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
           - includes Articles, Lesson Plans, Software, Word from Techie, Previous Issues
16.  TESOL Connections (must be a TESOL member) -- important announcements and news about the field from all over the world
17.  International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
18.  Any other free online journal -- see the list at http://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/Links/professional_online_call_journal.htm.  Send a confirmation to the instructor.
 

1.  INTERACTION with the class (48%):  Interaction is the lifeblood of any online course, or of any course for that matter, whether online or face-to-face, but it is even more critical in online courses.  In order for you and for the course to be successful, all participants need to feel that they are constantly involved in the course through an ongoing dialogue.  This is UNLIKE the once-a-week face-to-face course where your presence is only necessary that one time a week.  In order for us/you to feel like a class/community, you need to be in DAILY communication with each other and me, contributing to the dialogue by posting responses in the various discussion forums (Reading Discussion and Sharing what you learned) for each week.  These postings will be in response to prompts in your weekly Assignments but should also be in response to other participants' postings.  In other words, YOU are expected to carry on a dialogue with the other course members and me.  I may not respond to all individual postings but interject comments as necessary and summarize trends and observations.   Your grade for this portion of the course will depend on the number and quality of your responses and on your postings as discussion moderator (see specifics for each Discussion forum).  I have also created a Virtual Cafe for informal interaction among the course participants (for Questions and answers from classmates, Shooting the breeze).  In addition, there will be opportunities for class meeting chats and office-hour chats, as described on the Getting Started page.  Research into online courses has found that participants who fall behind in their daily/several times-a-week interaction with the group lose interest and will eventually drop out.  For this reason I have included penalties for late postings and/or late assignments (please review the Policies and Procedures section, also reproduced at the bottom of this page.). 

Guidelines for writing a summary/reaction: To identify the article you are summarizing and reacting to, use a heading for the posting that indicates the chapter and title of the article, e.g. B-P/W, Ch. 3.  Keep in mind--summary/reactions are much more informal (and shorter!) than a paper.  Briefly summarize the author's (or authors') point(s) of view, state your own position, and provide some arguments to support your position.  Personal experience, especially as it relates to the classroom,  makes a great supportive argument!  In your reaction, tell us, for example,  what "grabbed" you; tell us what you thought of the arguments; point out their strengths and possible limitations or weaknesses--either in the theory or in the practical application (i.e. the classroom)--and discuss  influences or crossovers that you see coming from other theories or disciplines.  As most of the articles are of a very practical nature, your reaction should include some possibilities for using the ideas in the typical classroom.   Please try to stay within the 2-paragraph range for your summary/reaction, as longer postings are more difficult (and more intimidating) for your classmates to react to.  (Due: during the week that these articles are assigned).    

4.  A short-term Multimedia WebQuest (a lesson for collaborative web exploration): (18%):  Course participants will be asked to develop teachable course material.  For the WebQuest, you need to sign up in Week 1 with a partner to develop a lesson for a particular topic/theme of web exploration.  The lesson should be conceived of as collaborative student project for the duration of one-three class periods (see the definition at http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596/about_webquests.html. The lesson should be conceived to last one to three class periods.  This project will consist of two parts--1. a CALL Lesson for a WebQuest in the form of a PowerPoint slide show (6%) and 2. a WebQuest on the Web in the form of predesigned templates (12%). 

Part I: The PowerPoint CALL Lesson for a WebQuest (6%)
You should imagine how you would present your lesson to a class of real students, including objectives, all the stages of preparation, presentation, practice, follow-up work, performance evaluation, anticipated problems and solutions (more details to follow in Week 1, Assignments); technical equipment specifications must be included.  The lesson will be created as an animated slide show in MS-PowerPoint first and the information will then be transferred to web templates and published as a web page.  To demonstrate technology competence, you will need to include reference to various technology tools (multimedia) and resources in your lesson (e-mail, handouts in the form of Word documents, links to the Internet, a scanner, digital camera, sound, etc.) and give specific instructions to the students in how to use them.  This portion of your project is due on FEBRUARY 19.

Part 2: The WebQuest (12%)
Your WebQuest will need to incorporate much (but not all) of the information from your PowerPoint CALL Lesson, which you can transfer to WebQuest templates.  It must include the specific components of a WebQuest: Introduction, Teacher's Page, The Task (Quest), The Process and Resources--including General background for the whole class/group and role assignments for teams of students, debating, discussing, reaching consensus, Real World Feedback--and a conclusion.  The address (URL) of the WebQuest must be published in the Webliography of the course site.  You may request feedback from your classmates and make any necessary revisions. The final WebQuest is due on the web site by April 30. 

Interaction with the class:    48% 

• Posting of reactions to articles:   (15%) – 15 articles, 1 summary reaction per week; 1 point per week; extra credit for more than 15 summary reactions
• Sharing what you learned:          (15%) – 15 weeks; 3 responses total per week; 1 point per week
• Moderating a discussion:           (  6%) – 3 times required, including Reading Forum and Sharing forum – 2 points per turn as moderator for a total of 6 points
• Interactive Tasks--peer reviews of classmates' projects (10%)  -- 5 tasks; 2 points each
• Posting of newly found links:  (2%) -- 8 links min.; 1/4 point per link

Hands-on projects:    18% -- 6 projects; 3 points per project

Three Reviews:  16%

• Web Site Review:      (8%) – 8 points for completion
• Short Software Review #1 and 2: (8%) – 4 points each

Multimedia WebQuest:  18%