Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Role of Webquest for Learning English As A Foreign


 
Since the Internet become popular and technology become part of the  education . A new tool has recently appeared to make teaching very interesting and challenging , this tool has changed the idea of teaching from traditional  to online teaching,  from doing homework on paper to facing the computer doing some searching and analyzing, from receptive learner to more productive and creative learner.   It’s a web quest

What a Web quest?

It was defined by Bernie Dodge as " An inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing.”. In simple word, it assign students for gathering information about certain topic, web quest usually a group of activity with a end  goal of creating a document or summarized the information you collected. It takes different form of writing a report, giving a presentation, fill out a questionnaire or creating a web site. The  web quest structured into component:

Introduction
Task
Process
Evaluation
Conclusion

Web quest engage student into the activity in very smooth and interesting way. It let them finish the task with challenged and competent feeling. It gives student very good opportunity to work with group and comes with very helpful learning experience.
In Saudi, they miss this effective way of teaching, I hope to use it with my student in future, because it is good way to provide information  that long lasting in students' mind

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Website Evaluation


This is a report about a4esl.org/.  It a  helpful website which  gives exercise, activities and quizzes for teachers and gives  students good opportunity for  learning and practice English language . This website in one side  has some privileges, and  in other side has some lose of feature and low quality in displaying . The content of the website has well stated and clear purpose is carried out throughout.  The content accuracy is doubtable; the information provided by many teachers  so we cannot  assume the accuracy of the information.  The website has a usable layout, but may appear busy or boring. The navigation and links are dearly  labeled, consistently placed ,allow the reader to easily move from a page to another.  We found the background suitable and does not detract from readability, but the color choices was awful it is hard to read and distract the reader.  In addition, The font is clear and east to read; the site differentiates between headings and subheadings by using different fonts. Also, the sounds are clear and the students can understand easily to what they're listening,  to The website does not have any graphics and images which would make the website more useless in some points  and boring. There are  no error in spelling, punctuation or grammar in the final draft of the web site.  Copyright mentioned have  of teachers. In conclude, we rate this website as a good one but need some improving. The most important is  the content which is provided a  very useful information for each level of student, and a guideline activities for teacher

  Finally from our point of view, the website is very good, but need  some improvement. So we suggest that the website needed to add

1-some images and graphics for more illustration

2change the annoying  colors into conformable colors
3 Integrate some video for further explanation