Syllabus

 

 

1. Title:  Getting the Most out of Web 2.0 for ESP

 

2.       Abstract:  

 

This EVO 2008 ESP session is focused on the understanding and practical application of the new technologies and social software known as Web 2.0, such as blogs, tags, technorati, RSS news feeds, aggregators, flickrblogs, wikis, del.icio.us , and twitter to create new cultures of learning and teaching in ESP courses.

 

ESP and Web 2.0 is suitable for ESP teachers, educators, trainers, and consultants at any level of familiarity with Web 2.0 tools, i.e. it should be a comfortable place for beginners and also for those who are at a more advanced level interested in experimenting and / or sharing their experience with these tools.  

 

3. Objectives:

The first week will cover self-introductions, session overview and orientation, and the last week will be a wrap-up. During each of the four content weeks, the moderators will explain and discuss the concept and purpose of a Web 2.0 tool as used in different ESP classes, including Engineering, Business, Science, Legal, and Medical. Then, Participants will be invited to set up their own virtual ESP learning and teaching spaces using the targeted tool.

There will be an informal live online meeting at the end of each week to discuss more ideas on a Web 2.0 tool for various ESP courses. 

At the end of the session, participants will evaluate their use of Web 2.0 in the context of ESP teaching, potential barriers, and most likely paths to success.

 

4. Target Audience:

 

People, including educators, teachers, trainers, and consultants, who use or are interested in using Web 2.0 tools in any English for Specific Purposes content area.

 

Sponsors: TESOL CALL IS  and  ESP IS

 

5. Week by week Outline:

 

     Week One: Jan. 14 – Jan. 20

 

     Introduction

 

  • Getting to know one another - Self-introductions from the participants
  • Introduction to the session, an overview and orientation
  • What is Web 2.0? - Watch the video on Web 2.0, by Jeff Utecht

     

Week Two: Jan. 21 – Jan. 27

 

Blogs & Tags for collaborative learning and information sharing for ESP / EAP

  • Introduction to blogs – types of blogs and some ways to use them for ESP: watch the video, Blogs in Plain English, by Common Craft.
  • Examples of blogs used in ESP courses. 
  • Start your own ESP blog, using Blogger.
  • Watch the video on Blogger tutorial, by  Chris Abraham.

  • Introduction to Tags / labels - this session tag is: web2foresp08 

  • Technorati, the Internet search engine for searching blog posts by tags

 

    Guest Speaker: Vance Stevens

 

 

Week Three: Jan. 28 – Feb. 3

 

RSS news feeds and Microblogs for ESP

 

  • Introduction to Twitter - Do I really need this tool for my ESP classroom?

    • Using Twitter, the micro-blogging tool for quick networking and immediate learning
    • Using Twitter through Mobile Phones

     

  • Introduction to RSS news feeds and their use in ESP classrooms.

  • RSS's tutorial video - Watch the video, RSS in Plain English, by Common Craft.
  • Tracking favorite ESP blogs through subscription to RSS news feeds readers, like My Yahoo,  Blogline, and BlogBridge

 

 

 

Week Four: Feb. 4 – Feb. 10

 

   wikis for collaborative learning in ESP classrooms

 

 

  • Introduction to Wikis – wiki types and their uses in an ESP classroom.
  • Wiki tutorial video - Watch the video, Wikis in Plain English, by Common Craft.
  • Information about wikis and using pbwiki.com, wikispaces.com, or wikidot.com with examples from ESP classrooms in law, business, and Engineering.
  • Start your own ESP wiki, using pbwiki.com, wikispaces.com, or wikidot.com

 

    Week Five:  Feb. 11 – Feb. 17

 

      Social bookmarking for networked learning experience

 

 

  • Introduction to del.icio.us and why every ESP instructor needs to use it.
  • Del.icio.us's tutorial video - Watch the video, Social Bookmarking in Plain English, by Common Craft.
  • Create your delicious account and start bookmarking, tagging, and sharing.
  • Using recommended or popular del.icio.us shared tags for your ESP students.    

 

 

    Week Six: Feb. 18 – Feb. 24

 

Wrap-Up. Conclusion and evaluation.

 

 

Communication Media:

  

  • Buthaina's vRoom, by Elluminate live! –  http://tinyurl.com/2brks6 (for small group meetings and / or one-on-one meetings for quick questions and answers)

     

 

Moderators

 

Christine Parkhurst is an Associate Professor at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where she has taught for over twenty years. She has also published and presented in the field of English for Medical Purposes.

 

Buthaina Al-Othman is currently an EFL and ESP instructor at the Language Center of Kuwait University. She has been a member of the Webheads in Action community online, since it was founded in 2002. Buthaina is also a member of the TESOL Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) and has been one of the TESOL Electronic Village Online (EVO) coordination team, since 2005. If you'd like to know more about her and her work, please visit her web site at: http://alothman-b.com – Email: buthaina.alothman (at) gmail.com

 

Debra Lee is President of Language4Law, Inc., a non-profit online law and language website. She has also just begun a PhD in Instructional Technology because she is fascinated by Web 2.0 tools and their use in ESP. All of her courses have an associated wiki, blog, or Moodle.  She has been teaching, writing materials, and presenting on legal English for over thirteen years. She is  co-author of American Legal English, and you can see one of her co-created wikis at http://onlinelearning101.pbwiki.com.

 

Jen MacArthur is an English Lecturer at the Language Center of the University of Vaasa on the west coast of Finland. From 2003-2006 she worked in Romania as Senior English Language Fellow, teaching in the Foreign Language and Literature Faculty at the University of Bucharest and working in cooperation with the Romanian Ministry of Education and the United States Embassy Bucharest, providing on-going in-service professional development for teachers of English in rural areas. Prior to her time in Romania, Jen taught English as a Second Language and History in the United States in primary, secondary, and adult education settings.

 


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