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Developing Digital Literacies in English
A colleague asked me about digital resources for teaching English so she could support one of her exchange groups. They were looking for resources with low impact on workload but positive impact on learners. I thought I’d reformulate my reply into a blog but then decided that sharing my email reply would be just as authentic and play with the traditional lines of a blog post. I hope you find some or all of it useful 😊 ~ Chloë
Hi Punam,
Oh goodness – where to begin 😃. I’ll be as brief but as informative as possible:
PDNorth Youtube
Please recommend our screencasts via our PDNorth Youtube account. There are lots more to be added from an English & Maths PoV over the coming months too, from the OTLA Digital folks. Our screencasts have an element of practical ‘how to’ but most importantly they include pedagogical uses (and limitations) from real life experience in the FE classroom/training room/library!
I would fully recommend the Padlet* screencast which focusses on approaches and strategies as I detail a range of uses from personal experience in ESOL, English, Food Safety and Digital training contexts. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa3XL5tqV6TwbirjbXbRM5Q?view_as=subscriber
One of the latest blogs on PDNorth is about Screencasting* and that again includes my experience of using it for ESOL/English with some practical examples and suggestions. Read it here: https://pdnorth.org.uk/pd-north-blog/
Shaping Success Courses
Perhaps signpost practitioners to the digital approaches / multimedia webinars we have via Shaping Success (£25 per person or free if they fit one of the freebie criterion)? These webinars speak about specific websites / apps and how they can be used to teach English &/or Maths but these require a little play time to explore. We also encourage people to think critically about using digital in the classroom (ie not just for sparkles!). More info:
https://ccpathways.co.uk/shaping-success
Just…websites!
Average bog standard websites can be really useful for English teaching to explore comprehension and navigation whilst using websites they may already use (or need help being able to use). These days job applications are all online / shopping online is more convenient / accessing transport timetables etc so embedding personal digital skills and digital literacies with everyday websites is
paramount.
An example of one ESOL lesson I did (at an FE college in a computer room): Students accessed an Excel spreadsheet (quick one I made) on a Padlet and downloaded it. It had a ‘shopping list’ of 15 items on it for which they had to find and price up at Asda / Tesco / Sainsburys online. Then they worked out the total etc to see which one was the cheapest. At the end they uploaded their document to the Padlet so I had a record of their work (also useful for RARPA). Okay, I’m using Padlet, Excel and 3 websites there but they also wanted to know how to use Excel and upload/download/add an attachment so I incorporated that into the session too. It took me minutes to make the Excel document and add it to a Padlet so it wasn’t a burden on my time (I know this is a real concern with digi stuff) and I reused the document / Padlet with other classes. However, you could just do a paper version of the Excel Sheet and learners could access the supermarkets on their phone (if they have access to one).
Blogs
I highly recommend using a blogging website when teaching English. Particularly reading. The one I used originally a few years ago was Blogger* but issues with that included needing a Google Account/Email address which was a barrier to many of my learners. I ended up turning to Edmodo* as that ticked lots of boxes and has a familiar interface (it looks like Facebook with similar functionality). I’ve gauged from colleagues though that Edmodo hits it off with ESOL learners
better than English.
Phone Apps
Specifically ones that come with the phone and don’t rely on learners downloading things/using their space. For example: voice recorder is great for recording themselves before writing an essay. Or recording a convo and transcribing it. Also good for practicing pronunciation (ESOL).
Pre-made resources
However, I wonder from your email if you mean very specific resources that have already been created…? If so, I recommend: The British Council / British Council
NEXUS (ESOL), One Stop English (ESOL), Film English (ESOL + ELT), English My Way (v low level ESOL), BBC Skillswise and of course: the Excellence Gateway!
I know it’s easier said than done, but I truly believe in the importance of sharing with colleagues who you work with. Many departments/organisations don’t do this (especially if tutors are 0hrs or don’t work together physically etc) but it really does help to lighten everyone’s load if everyone shares something. Infact this reminds me of a quote (by George Bernard Shaw) that Sue shared with us which I think helps to sum up the purpose of PDNorth tbh:
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples, then you and I will still each have one apple.
But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”
Hope this helps – let me know 😊
Chloë
* If you would like to use platforms like these, I’d recommend introducing them at the beginning of the year and using them regularly in order to increase user experience and recognition. Don’t waste time introducing a ‘flavour of the week’ because most of your lessons will be taken up with the initial ‘getting to know you’ stage of a new platform. This will frustrate your learners, increase your workload and decrease the teaching/learning time significantly. With any digital elements of your TLA ask: Could I get the same result easier without the tech aspect? What (if anything) does the tech aspect add to the learning?
Summer Reading
by Lou Mycroft (PDNorth Digital Lead & Dancing Princess)
I’m only a year out of teaching in a college and I think it will take a lot longer than that to forget the brief elation then abject exhaustion I used to feel at the end of the academic year. I worked in a specialist college which basically offered community learning, so we ran the year round but there’s still that point at which you can take a breath and head off to the beach, the garden, the airport…wherever.
And before the new academic year starts to loom large, there’s usually a little bit of time for reading. I love a good thriller as much as the next Scandi obsessed person, but I usually have a few ‘work books’ on the go, too, year round. I’m studying in a very roundabout way for an education doctorate and there’s an expectation of this but I’ve come to really love it. I celebrate my ADHD ‘label’ for the energy and creativity it brings to my life, but despite my occasional drift into hyperfocus, I do find it hard to knuckle down to ‘difficult’ reading. The rewards, in terms of my self-belief and professional self-confidence, are immense. I’ve come a long way from the person who used to say to a close colleague, ‘Read this for me and tell me what it says…’!
Here are some guidelines I’ve come to adopt, which might interest you. At the end of the blog is a snapshot of what I’m reading this summer.
Diversify. A few years ago I realised I was only reading books by middle-class white people; most of them men. Of course, there’s a whole argument that ‘the canon’ was established at a time when only white men got published (have a look at Kay Sidebottom’s occasional blog Seeking Lost Women to find out how central Helen Parkhurst was to the work we think of as John Dewey’s). Things are different now, and there are some excitingly diverse writers out there. If you’ve a passion for teaching and you’ve not yet found bell hooks, you’ll love her!
Read two or three books at once, a chapter a day in rotation. Yes it takes ages to finish them all, but what happens is that you draw unexpected connections between them. I got this idea from Peter Shukie, one of the most creative and erudite educators I know. It also means I take time to reflect and process what I’m reading.
Mix up your media. ‘Reading’ doesn’t just mean books or journals. Watch a Ted Talk on YouTube or rest your eyes completely with a podcast. I love the Philosophy Bites series. You can even play them in the car on long journeys if the kids are asleep and you fancy a change from Peppa Pig.
Make notes. Whilst I’ll read a thriller on Kindle, or listen via the Audible app, I love a proper book when it comes to stuff I don’t find so easy to absorb. I use a nice set of coloured pens (really helps me focus) and I’ve learned to be quite sparing with what I highlight. I write notes in the margins too, and I always date when I got the book – and where. It’s lovely to pick it up again and remember being on a beach in Norfolk, or wherever.
Read with others. This doesn’t have to be a formal book club (though it could be). You could start a Twitter thread, or set up a googledoc or Padlet where a few of you could make notes and get into a dialogue. I always see deeper meaning diffracted through others’ perspectives.
Above all, enjoy it. It took me years to get into a reading mindset (apart from those Scandi thrillers) and it’s brought a new dimension to my life and work. I definitely tune more into the world around me and I have loads more new ideas. It makes me feel good about myself, to challenge and refine my thinking. It’s food for the soul.
Have a lovely rest, and I’ll look forward to hearing what you’re reading – please do tag me in on Twitter @PDNorth1720 I’m always up for hearing about great new thrillers too!
What’s in the pile for me this summer:
