New Online Course Nomination from Yakut TESOL

Yakut TESOL nominated Alexandra Popova (Yakutsk Pedagogical College #1) to participate in this online course. If you have any other names to nominate for next online courses, please, share their names by submitting your comments.

Larissa Olesova

Below is a message from David Fay, Officer of English Language Office in Moscow

Dear Teachers’ Associations,
Beginning October 27, the English Language Office will be sponsoring 14 Teacher Association representatives to take part in a new 3-week Michael Krauss course, “Exploring Web 2.0”. The goal of this course is to familiarize the participants with the new interactive Web 2.0 resources, such as blogs, wikis and social sites (Facebook, Flickr, etc.) so that they can build a new site or enhance an existing site for the association. Ultimately, we want teacher associations to have sites where members play key roles in adding and sharing information with other members and with other associations. (See course overview below for more details.)
Participants do not have to be graduates of Michael Krauss’ earlier course, “Integrating the Internet into the Classroom.” However, they should be familiar with the basics of the web (browsers and search engines). They should also:
· Have consistent access to a computer with a good Internet connection.
· Have consistent access to a computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista, MacOS v10.3 or above, or a recent version of Linux.
· Have the capability of recording voice either via an internal microphone (most laptops have this) or by way of an external microphone.
· Have a set of headphones. (Instructor will provide suggestions for purchase of microphones and/or headsets for those who need them.)
· Be able to dedicate one to two hours per weekday to cover tasks
· Commit to helping the teachers’ association build a website
If you are interested in having a member of your association participate in the course, please nominate the member by providing:
1. Name, Institution, Title
2. Contact information (mailing address, email, phone)
3. Brief explanation of why you think this person is right for the course (maximum 50 words)
4. Brief description of what the TA representative will do after completing the course (maximum 100 words)
The deadline for applying is Friday, October 17. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to write to me at faydg@state.gov. Natalia Fomenko will be coordinating this class from Moscow. You can also write to her at fomenkonv@state.gov.
We will choose the participants for the course on a competitive basis by Tuesday, October 21.
Many of you are familiar with the high quality of Michael Krauss’ work. This is an excellent opportunity for professional growth, both for the participant and for the association.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
David Fay
English Language Officer
U.S. Embassy Moscow
Bolshoi Devyantinsky Pereulok #8
121099 Moscow, Russian Federation
Tel: 7 (495) 728 5000 (ext. 5861)
Fax: 7 (495) 728 5262
Email: FayDG@state.gov
Course Overview:
In recent years, there has been a major paradigm shift in the design and implementation of Web-based resources. This shift is complex and multi-dimensional. In an attempt to explain the evolution that is occurring, the terms Web 1.0 and 2.0 have been coined and, for better or worse, have become a fixture, both in the media and the academic literature. In a nutshell, Web 1.0 is characterized by a focus on the one-way dissemination of information. Web 2.0, on the other hand, is all about the creation and sharing of content, with collaboration being the centerpiece, and user input being the engine that drives the evolution and improvement of what is often referred to as "social software." Students make extensive use of social software outside the classroom (e.g. Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, etc.) and will be motivated to use similar tools in educational contexts.
The first stage of this online course will be to introduce participants to a range of Web 2.0 tools and to evaluate their potential for educational use. However, what distinguishes this course from many is that teachers will be "getting their hands dirty," using the Web 2.0 tools in a collaborative, supportive, online environment as they complete the course requirements. Participants will create blogs, wikis, and podcasts to share their insights; they will use social bookmarking ,coupled with tagging, and real simple syndication tools to engage in group research; they will explore creative new forms of copyright; they will build collaborative Web-based activities and Web sites, which will serve as models to use with their students in the classroom or with fellow teachers for professional development.