We all agreed in the first week of Futurelearn.com’s Understanding Language course, that motivation is a key element in the success or otherwise of students. We have also, on our course talked about how technology can offer various opportunities to enhance learning. In this class we explore what motivation is and reflect on how that may inform decisions on technology use in the classroom. Goals

• To share what was learnt about ‘badges’ (gamification) and assess classmate’s approaches to last week’s task.
• To understand three basic theories of motivation in language learning (to be followed up with more in depth reading).

Extra Reading

• Gardiner’s integrative model of motivation
• Kimberly Noel on Self-determination Theory
• Dörnyei’s L2 self Motivation Theory

 Picture Credit : ” Neuron-network1″,extracted from MCRUSELLS (2013) on http://theonescience.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/neuron-network1.jpg

Goals

• Share experiences and thoughts from the first week of a MOOC
• Explore what gamification in education means
• Learn about one element of ‘Gamification’ in education – badges.

Discussions topics

• Safety online
• Futurelearn.com experience
• Motivation, grading, ‘gaming’

Practical activity

• Find out as much as you can about ‘badges’ in TEL
• Share with the class

Homework Task 1

You have a class of 3rd year high junior high school students studying English in your class. Think how you could introduce badges into your curriculum. What badges would you award for what work?  Create an A4 explanation sheet for your class and be prepared to explain the choices you made next week.

Homework Task 2

Record your reactions to gamification and/or badges on your blog

Reading

• Class reading – Edutopia
• Academic paper on gamification by J. Lee & J. Hammer
• Badges and gamification – Alison Anderson

Image Courtesy of opensourceway under the CC 2.0 SA licence Goals

• to share reflections on the collaboration assignment, assessing the tools used and their usefulness
• to read an introduction to podcasts and discuss potential benefits
• to be able to record, edit, and upload audio and, through a web feed, create a podcast on a blog
• to gain practical skills in using recording devices, Garageband audio editing software, and audiomack (incl. wordpress plugin)
• to start learn about open educational resources

Task Interview and record a teacher on (one of, or combination of):

• Teaching beliefs – especially related to technology in education / PLNs / Specifically on what tech they use in the classroom
• Max = 10 mins
• Edit the audio, upload, embed and post with summary and reaction

Reading

“Consider this definition of open source and watch this TED video of Clay Shirky (from 2 minutes to 11 minutes) to help you understand how open source developments have changed the way we think about building tools.

Open content is about ownership, freedom to use, re-use, re-mix (mash up, derive), and availability. Open educational resources are free and openly licensed resources that can be used for teaching, learning, and research.”

These suggested links are thanks to “What does open mean to you?“ by octel, licensed under 

Goals

• to explore the importance of networks of knowledge
• to share reactions to attending a webinar
• to understand some basic learning theories, including connectivism

And

Reflections on kaizena as a tool for feedback, and a comparison with Jing

Task

• Create a 90-minute lesson plan for an elective English language class – Language and Culture
• Context: 10~15 pre-intermediate to intermediate level students (CEFR B1/B2) – week 3 class
• Class goals: Introduce the ‘minor’ Celtic languages of the UK: students should be aware that English is not the only ‘native language’ of the UK / they should be motivated to learn more about these languages and the traditions of the regions they are spoken / they should be fairly confident explaining what they have learnt to a friend or family member
• Incorporate video and any other technology that will improve the students’ learning
• Use google docs / apps to collaborate

Last week’s webinar recording link