Web 2.0 technologies to engage and support the professional development of ESL teachers in India (original) (raw)

Using Web 2.0 tools for teacher professional development: a case study

This paper reports a case study of an online teacher development programme that focused on familiarizing a heterogeneous group of ESL teachers with Web 2.0 tools for language teaching purposes. The study tries to find out how teachers respond to Web 2.0-based professional development programmes and the impact the use of these tools has on the programme. The findings suggest that individual motivation of teachers plays a major role in how they respond to the programme and the employment of web tools contributes to the effect of the programme. The most important pedagogical implication of the study is that Web 2.0-enabled online teacher education holds great potential in ESL contexts like India, but it should be inducted carefully and in consultation with teachers. There should be more research to gauge the effectiveness of such programmes

Conceptualising teachers' professional learning with Web 2.0

Purpose – This paper seeks to identify and develop an exploratory framework for conceptualising how teachers might use the affordances of Web 2.0 technologies to support their own professional learning. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a large corpus of literature and recent research evidence to identify the principal elements and features of professional learning and the underlying affordances of Web 2.0 technologies and applications. It generates an exploratory conceptual framework based on the emerging findings from this review using a socio-cultural theoretical perspective. The framework is explored through three individual illustrations which are drawn from a much larger case study which the author is undertaking within a newly established Academy in the North of England. Findings – The findings indicate that there is potential value in exploring professional learning with Web 2.0 technologies in the ways described. The framework offers an exploratory instrument to examine how professional learning for teachers could be supported with Web 2.0 technologies in ways that might have significant benefits over traditional methods of continuing professional development (CPD). Originality/value – The potential value and affordances of Web 2.0 technologies for teachers' professional learning are largely unexplored and under-theorised, and this work seeks to establish a framework for further discussion and empirical exploration.

Teachers Web 2.0 skills for professional development and education in the 21st century

2015

The evolution of society and technology sustains the globalization of today’s society and demands new literacies from citizens. Education in the learning and knowledge society is not dissociable from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), both as a mediating and potentiating element of teaching and learning process. It is crucial that teachers understand ICT and social networking as a powerful way to restructure the teaching and learning environment, as well as to rethink how schools need to work in 21st century. Data retrieved from two distinct doctoral studies revealed that teachers in non-higher education use Web 2.0 tools, including social networking, online office applications and blogs, for professional purposes. Teachers, in general, recognize the educational potential of these Web 2.0 tools and services. Our research showed that teachers are not frequent users of networks and that they prefer the generic ones to those of a more professional nature. Aware of the ri...

The Use of Educational Technology for Professional Development of ESL Teachers

This chapter reports the effect of using educational technology, particularly Web 2.0 tools, on the professional development of in-service teachers. As the demands for an interface between educational technology and classroom teaching gathers momentum, teachers in India are expected to use at least Web 2.0 technology to optimize learning achievements. Greater emphasis is, therefore, placed on preparing teachers to use technology for instructional purposes and to assign learning activities that require use of Web 2.0 devices. It has been assumed that while teachers use educational technology, an important corollary will be teachers" enduring professional development. Data collected from training 32 in-service teachers in Web 2.0 use for ESL teaching provides evidence that teachers willingly take to technology use for instructional purposes as they realize the benefit of such use that enhances their strategies, facilitates them to engage better with learners and colleagues and keeps them informed to remain up-to-date professionally. The absence of mentoring, limited availability of infrastructure and no curriculum readiness for technology use have been noted as serious hindrances to overcome.

Are blogs paving the way for collaborative professional development of English teachers in India?

Literary Quest, 2015

The most crucial requirement in effective teaching of English is the English teacher, but the teaching competency of English language teachers in several schools of India is inadequate. Consequently, professional development is one major area which needs significant changes if quality English teachers are to become available in India. This paper presents the qualitative findings of a two-year research study at RMIT University, to investigate a blog-based collaborative model of ICT professional development, with 32 English teachers from three private English-medium schools in the Mumbai region of India. The study was conducted to examine whether this model could facilitate ICT professional development of English teachers in Mumbai through Web 2.0-based social learning.

Using the web 2.0 to enhance the teaching and learning experience in the ESL classroom

Revista Educação, Cultura e Sociedade, 2015

The use of technology in the classroom setting has been used successfully throughout the years. Plenty of English as Second Language (ESL) students had benefitted from this in order to achieve fluency. Nowadays, ESL instructors are integrating the Web 2.0 in to the classroom setting. According to O'Reilly (2005), this type of technology empowers the end user. Based on this, educators use the Web 2.0 and it's core based on blogs, wikis and podcasts with plenty of opportunities for the learner. The Web 2.0 offers the learner with a variety of activities that enhance his learning and at the same time motivates him. Power tools are common in the Web 2.0 and enable the learning process because provide alternatives to the ESL learners to work with technology they know.

Web 2.0 in Teacher Education: Two Imperatives for Action

Computers in the Schools, 2008

Web 2.0 represents a more participative and potentially paradigm-changing environment for building and sharing knowledge. Some educators have begun to apply the tools in classrooms but, as its use in society expands, there will be expectations for its wider application in schools. Teacher education faces the dual challenges of applying Web 2.0 tools to enhance teacher preparation and preparing teachers for whom the application of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom will be authentic practice. One path forward is to use Web 2.0 tools to develop learning communities for teacher preparation around e-portfolios in ways that encourage increased professional engagement by teachers while providing experiences that will support use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom as authentic practice. Web 2.0 in Teacher Education 3

Using the web 2.0 to enhance teaching english and learning experience in classrooms

Общество и инновации, 2021

The successful technology has been successfully applied for many years. Many ESL students have taken advantage of this to learn to speak fluently. ESL educators are now integrating Web 2.0 into classrooms. According to O'Reilly (2005), this type of technology improves end-user interaction. Therefore, teachers use Web 2.0 and an "engine" based on blogs, wikis and podcasts, with many opportunities for students. Web 2.0 offers students various activities that improve their learning and at the same time motivate them. Power tools are ubiquitous in Web 2.0 and complement the learning process by providing ESL students with an alternative to working with technologies they are familiar with. Classroom technology has been successfully applied for many years. Many ESL students have benefited from this in order to achieve fluency. ESL educators are now integrating Web 2.0 into classrooms. According to O'Reilly (2005), this type of technology enhances the end-user experience....

1 Towards Web 2.0 Schools: Rethinking the Teachers Professional Development

2015

This paper aims at analyzing the Web 2.0 based distance education in the K-12 schools as an emerging phenomenon that catalyzes a new educational reform all over the world. Some pre-Web 2.0 best practice examples are analyzed in order to draw the main findings in the paper. The teacher’s professional qualification designed to meet the new challenges is considered as a key problem for a successful penetration of this phenomenon in the schools. It is emphasized on the importance of designing a life-long teacher training strategy adapted to the new achievements in the technology enhanced learning research and the new learning theories. Building social skills and competencies appropriate to work in a Web 2.0 based learning environment and other global ‘social software ’ is recommended to be included both in the school curricula and the corresponding teacher development curricula. Such skills and competencies should penetrate the curricula of any life-long learning initiative dedicated to...