Conclusion (Overall reflection)

On April 7th, I started my blog and wrote two posts about me and my blog. During the past 13 weeks, I have posted 22 posts, and most of them were about different ways and approaches when adopting technology into language classes.

As the name of this course suggests, I think I fully understand 'Technology Enhanced Language Learning'(TELL): What is a definition of TELL, what are the examples of TELL, strengths and limitations of each TELL methods, what kind of class activities can be used and teacher's role of using a specific technology. In my case, I made use of 7 tools: Blog(Wix), Google Forms, Voki, Storybook, Duolingo, Pixton(Comic Strip), and Quizlet.

7 Tools (technology) I used this semester for Language teaching

* Blog(Wix)

* Google Forms

* Voki

* Storybook

* Duolingo

* Pixton

* Quizlet

In addition, I learned 12 different academic frameworks listed in the textbook(Technology Enhanced Language Learning: Connecting theory and practice)

12 Academic Frameworks I've learned

* CALL to TELL

* Communication

* Listening and speaking skills

* Reading skills

* Writing skills

* Multimodal literacies

* Study skills and EAP

* Young learners

*Assessment

* Teachers using Technology

* Choosing and using materials

* Technology in society, Techn-ecology

Based on Hampel&Stickler's Skills pyramid model(2005) and Wang's Four stages(2010), I will self-evaluate myself comparing before and after 13 weeks of taking this course.

Before taking this course, I had (1) basic skills in using networked computers. For instance, I knew how to handle the keyboard, mouse, word process, and use the internet. Basic ICT competence will vary since the list of 'basic skills' has expanded. I have been using the internet almost entire my life, so I am very used to it. Not only limited to basic ICT skills, but I was also able to use (2) specific skills for particular software applications. Kahn Academy, Snowboard(Learning Management System), Duolingo, Quizlet were all the applications I already knew of before taking this course. I was also able to make visual studying materials through Photoshop and Premier Pro, a video editing program. Taking Wang's 4 stages into consideration, originally I was in the first stage; wow- this is exciting. I was in the 'user' position only, and did not view it in a language teacher's position, so everything seemed great and super easy.

What I have learned during the course is that I knew how to (3) spot the constraints and possibilities of each learning tool. Since I did not have proper academic frameworks before, I did not know how to evaluate the technology for educational purposes. Thanks to Hubbard's and Bower's evaluation criteria suggested in the textbook, I was able to analyze the strengths and limitations of studying apps. Plus, I learned how to enable language learners to develop their communicative competence in a language by interacting with other language learners. By (4) creating online societies, now I found some ways to facilitate learners by setting rules of procedure and behavior, and encourage them to interact with each other. Most of the study apps today have 'social media' function, which allows teachers and students to communicate online. For example, Voki, an avatar-making study app allows students to meet in the virtual space and have conversations together. Storybook making site or comic strip making site(Pixton) also provide functions to like/share/comment on each other's post. After setting an online learning community, it is necessary for language teachers to help interaction through (5) good task design and tutor intervention. This is what I have been exactly doing for the past 13 weeks. I have been thinking and thinking about ways I can bring all of these study apps into the classroom, while considering if they fit learning objectives and student profiles.

Now that I know how to evaluate the studying apps, spotting the pros and cons, creating online societies, and make proper language tasks, I can finally take these into consideration and choose, alter, or create the most appropriate digital learning materials for a particular group at a particular time. By evaluating, analyzing, and using 7 different study tools and 12 academic frameworks, now I can start (6) creatively choose the right tools and design study plans. Having my own teaching style is a different matter, though. In order to have a specific (7) 'teaching style', I need to implement my class design in real life and actually communicate with learners. For this semester, I did a teaching practicum for two weeks, and I had a great chance to give lessons to first-grader. Since I have only done one time, I need more time and experience in order to develop my own teaching style. Taking Wang's four stages into consideration, I would say now I am in the third stage, which is an 'anxiety' stage. When I finally met students online and started to give lectures using technology (recording videos, using PPT slides), I had to go through a lot of difficulties and troubles. Therefore, I had to record it again and again. I needed to see if my voice was clear and loud enough, if all the Softwares were working well, and had to make sure if my lecture was entertaining enough not to bore students. Delivering a lecture only through voice was a hard thing.