Learning Technologies in EAP
Course news and updates
It’s all about the apps..
Well, this week we are back to our usual one-week unit, this one on the divisive topic of mobile phones (available Friday 24th November at 10.00 UK time). Most teachers have a bit of a love-hate relationship with these mobile devices. We know that they can be useful in so many ways as there’s so much power packed inside them and so many learning opportunities in the apps you can download, but at the same time they can be incredibly distracting for students during the lessons. We don’t want to skirt this issue. In fact, we address it head on at the start of the unit but then go on to explore how we can exploit these device in and outside the classroom.
Floating into unit 5
We hope you enjoyed our reflective unit on VLEs, but we’re now back in the classroom with another two-week unit on Cloud Documents – available from Friday 10th November at 10.00 (UK time) – and how they can be used to enhance the EAP classroom. Think Microsoft Word on steroids and you’ll get the picture: documents that can be accessed from anywhere and by anyone to create collaborative tasks and projects, and a few other tricks beside. We’re big fans and we hope we can convince you too if you’re new to them or give you some great ideas for using them in the classroom if you’re not.
Course introduction video
Links and tech tips
Website of the week
Teacher Training Videos
Russell Stannard’s Teacher Training Videos website is an excellent resource for tips/ideas for using technology in English teaching.
Tech tip
How to take a photo of your computer screen
This tip explains how to take a photo of your computer screen.
Course forum
Recent forum topics
Unit 6: Discussion – how to use mobile phones in an EAP context
Unit 6: Sharing your experiences (optional)
Unit 6: feedback and comments
Unit 5: Feedback and Comment
Unit 4 Changing your VLE use
Recent forum comments
Reply To: Unit 2 Discussion: Socrative and Quizlet in an EAP context
Reply To: Unit 2 Discussion: Socrative and Quizlet in an EAP context
Reply To: Unit 4 Changing your VLE use
Reply To: Unit 1: Reflections on teaching with Padlet
Reply To: Unit 4 Changing your VLE use
Course guides
A guide to text analysis tools
This is a guide to a series of useful tools for lexical and text analysis.
A guide to Edpuzzle
Table of Contents If you wish to view this guide in a different format , you can download it as a Word Document, PDF Document or view online
A guide to TED ED
Table of Contents If you wish to view this guide in a different format , you can download it as a Word Document, PDF Document or view online
A guide to VideoAnt
Table of Contents If you wish to view this guide in a different format , you can download it as a Word Document, PDF Document or view online
A guide to Quizlet
Quizlet is a tool for creating flashcards and activities around vocabulary lists.
A guide to Socrative
This is a comprehensive guide to the quiz creation tool called Socrative.
A Guide to Padlet
This is a comprehensive guide to the tool Padlet and how to use it with your students.
Frequently asked questions
The course is 10 weeks’ long and the course modules are released on a Friday at 10.00 (UK time)
We estimate around 3-4 hours a week. We understand that you have busy working lives and we don’t want to pile too much on top of that. We also hope that it integrates well with your teaching, so some of those hours are a natural part of what you do anyhow.
To help you organise your life around this course better, here are some of the key dates and tasks that need to be completed. If you are unclear about any of them, don’t hesitate to contact us on: eltc.tel@sheffield.ac.uk.
Friday 24th November: Optional reflective assignment set.
Friday 8th December: Final unit released.
Friday 15th December: Official end of course.
Monday 12th January: deadline for optional reflective assignment.
Friday 19th January: removal of access to course (after this date, all participants who successfully complete the course will be given permanent access to a self-study version with all the guides, tips and tricks, etc.)
Generally, no. The idea behind the course is that you can work through it at times in the week that are suitable for you, whether that’s early morning, evening or weekends. There are only two times during the course where you may need to be online at a specific time. Around three weeks into the course we give you the option of an online one-to-one chat with one of the tutors to discuss progress. Also at the end of the course we run a webinar to sum up the course and share experiences. And both of those are optional anyhow, so it’s really your choice.
You need to complete all the modules and contribute reasonably to the course forums. At the end of the course there is a short final reflective assignment for you to complete but this is completely optional and you only need to do it if you wish. If you do all these things, you will finish the course successfully and qualify for a certificate. There is no assessment/pass mark as such as we view this as a formative and developmental course.
Yes, you will, issued by the ELTC, University of Sheffield. However, there are no credits attached to this course, it’s purely developmental. Please note though that to receive the certificate, you need to complete all the modules and contribute sometimes to the course forums.
In some form, yes. Participants who complete the course and submit the assignment will be given permanent access to a self-study version of the course containing most of the content and will be able to access the course forum via a special group set up.
If you are having any technical issues with the site or working through the course, please contact us on eltc.tel@sheffield.ac.uk and we’ll respond within 24 hours to deal with your problems.
You should be able to access the website on either your phone or tablet just by going to the browser on your device and going to the site link. Most of the content should be visible and should fit well onto a mobile device.
This site stores your name and email address upon registration as well as any comments you make on individual posts or forums. Your personal data is not shared with any other individuals outside of the course tutors. Forum posts are visible only to the course tutors and other participants.
Your data is not shared with any third-party applications or companies.
