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Weekly UpdatesThe next chapter, Chapter Six, is devoted to interactive whiteboards, a fairly new and expensive technological addition to many of today's classrooms. Interactive whiteboards are a combination of a computer, electronic projector, and whiteboard. The instructor can project computer programs and files onto the whiteboard and use special pens on the whiteboard to modify the files. "The teacher or [student] can stand at the front of the class and can demonstrate a concept or idea ... harnessing the full power of a computer but without having to actually stand next to it" (Williams & Easingwood, 2004, p. 46). Sharma and Barrett list a few producers of interactive whiteboards, such as SMART and Promethean. As in the other chapters, the authors explain the basic elements of the tool and then discuss potential benefits and disadvantages. The largest drawback is the enormous expense and, thus, the limited availability for smaller institutions. A clear advantage of interactive whiteboards is that, if properly and creatively used, they are engaging and arouse students' curiosity and participation in the lesson. Interactive whiteboards provide an opportunity for just-in-time (Reinking et al., 1998) learning in the classroom and also propmotes group communication among students. The case study in this chapter gives an example of an interactive whiteboard introduced in a language classroom, demonstrating that many second language learners today expect sophisticated technology in their schools but also that many teachers are wary of such advanced pieces of equipment. Sharma and Barett advise readers that a willingness on the part of instructors and administrators to embrace such new technological tools to enhance students' in-class experiences is needed.
Chapter Seven is shorter than most other chapters and focuses on portable devices, such as mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras, and camcorders. Here, the authors emphasize the everyday, not necessarily pedagogical, use of these portable devices and, thus, their familiarity and accessibility to students and teachers. The authors suggest that this familiarity makes these devices practical and user friendly in the language learning classroom. Most of the problems that arise with these devices have to do with the lack of sufficient memory or quality of recordings. The activities for this chapter revolve around pronunciation and presentation skills and demonstrate how portable devices can provide valuable feedback to students on their oral performances. For example, Sharma and Barrett suggest having students use digital audio recorders to record a draft of a presentation for class and then email it to the teacher for feedback. Another suggested activity is using a digital video camera to record presentations and then having the students watch the video and read written feedback at the same time. The case study in this chapter discusses an experiment in a summer school program that involved creating a video "yearbook" for the students to take home with them. On each field trip, different students video-taped each other and were then responsible for editing the footage. Even the most reticent students became involved in class out of interest in using the technology. This case study is an example of how using this particular kind of technology can get students engaged in the classroom but is perhaps not the best example of how the technology can be useful in language instruction.
In Chapter Eight, the authors focus on some older tools that most people are now familiar with: chat rooms, email, online forums, bulletin boards, audio and video conferencing, and virtual learning environments (also known as learning management systems or course management systems), such as Blackboard and Moodle. The authors distinguish between synchronous and asynchronou communication and dedicate the "Opportunities and Issues" section to addressing the positive and negative aspects of each of these forms of communication. For example, a positive element in synchronous communication is that it helps to develop fluency since communication happens in real time. Asynchronous communication, on the other hand, helps develop higher order thinking skills since it allows writers to organize their thoughts before posting(Sharma & Barrett, p.105). However, during synchronous learning, a teacher should be present in order to prevent students from continually making the same language errors. The practical activities in this chapter focus on a range of topics, such as using email to practice correct email format and using a chat room to practice expressing an opinion. The authors stress virtual learning environments as interfaces that encompass many different forms of technology, yet, through password protection, offer more of the privacy protection desired by both students and instructors alike than other, non-protected sites. While not explicitly stated in this book, it is important to note that though password-protected virtual learning environments are more secure than entirely open sites, there is still the opportunity for violation of privacy just as there is in chat rooms, so teachers should still remain careful about protecting their students' work and identities.
The final chapter in the book is geared toward instructors who want to go a step further in using technology in the classroom. Chapter Nine serves as an introduction to creating one's own teaching materials using a variety of tools, such as blogs, podcasts, wikis, and personal websites. While offering brief introductions to each of these elements, the authors note that, should readers want to incorporate these into the classroom, they should consult other, more in depth literature about each specific tool. To that effect, the authors list many helpful reference texts as well as websites, such as www.blogger.com, pbwiki.com, and audacity.sourceforge.net, to get readers started and also offer some interesting activities to incorporate them into the classroom. The authors highlight the effectiveness of blogs, podcasts, wikis, and websites as additional elements to a classroom lesson and focus on their usefulness in homework or follow-up activities. An example of a wiki-based lesson is questioning an dissecting a text, which, according to the authors, promotes critical thinking and group work. Independent learning and student autonomy serve as the theme of this chapter as stand out as the apparent benefits of these types of technology.
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Blended Learning concludes with an afterword by the authors and two appendices to supplement the content of each of the chapters. The afterword stresses how quickly technology has been advancing and how the products introduced in the text will continue to become more widely used and expected in second language classrooms. Appendix 1 contains worksheets and handouts for each of the practical activities mentioned in the various chapters of the book to further facilitate incorporation of the different technological elements into the classroom. The handouts are very basic and would need a lot of adaptation to be truly useful in the classroom. For example, Figure 1 shows the worksheet Sharma and Barrett suggest that teachers use for the word mapping activity in Chapter 4. In this activity, students are supposed to select a word and then find its collocations and various parts of speech. Instructors would need to adapt this worksheet for a lower proficiency level by adding more scaffolding bubbles and perhaps adding some of the collocations or parts of speech to help guide students through this highlighting activity.
Finally, Appendix 2 is a remedial guide for those who are novices to the Internet; this guide reviews the concepts of viruses, browsers, downloading, and installing programs and software. In general, these appendices are probably most beneficial for those with very limited to no experience using communicative lesson plans or the Internet. Those who have spent more time in the field might be more likely to design their own worksheets and lessons.
Summary
In conclusion, Sharma and Barrett approached this book with the goal of giving an introduction into various elements of technology that can be used by language teachers, both in and outside the classroom, to facilitate independent and motivational learning. While most instructors who have been teaching for more than a few years will by now have experience using these kinds of technology, those with limited teaching or technology experience would benefit from Blended Learning. While the book contains some helpful website suggestions, those with more experience in the use of technology probably already have a plethora of websites they employ. Each chapter contains concise and accessible explanations of how to use software programs and the Internet, as well as some practical activities that can easily be adapted to fit other second language proficiency levels.
The worksheets in Appendix 1 provide a good starting point for new teachers. Many of the chapters also contain links to websites that instructors can access to get started. Most of these websites, however, should be considered as springboards to personal exploration of the resources available to each instructor for a specific class or lesson. For example, in chapter 3, Sharma and Barrett offer websites such as www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish, which include ESP vocabulary. A teacher might visit the website and create a communicative lesson plan suited for his/her students based on the information provided.
In Blended Learning, Sharma and Barrett focus on using blended learning techniques in English as a Second Language classrooms; however, the tools that they suggest are applicable to other language classrooms as well. The benefits and pitfalls of each of the suggested lessons and methods of using the technology apply to any classroom, regardless of the target language. In addition, the worksheets Sharma and Barrett include in Appendix 1 could be modified and used in a classroom of any language. Teachers in non-ESL classes would, however, need to find their own Web resources since all of the references in Blended Learning are for ESL and EFL classes.
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