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1. INTRODUCTION
This article considers the possible implications in which blended learning (a mix of online
and face-to-face instruction) is more effective than traditional learning in foreign
language classrooms. It presents arguments for considering why web 2.0 tools enhance
writing, reading listening and oral skills to students that are learning a foreign language
and how these rich learning experiences can be incorporated into the curriculum.
The main aim of this article is to stimulate debate and provoke thinking about why
foreign language teachers should shift from traditional learning environments to blended
learning approaches. The broad use of Web 2.0 by adolescents has created new digital
scenarios for learning and future schooling where networking technologies are shaping
new social landscapes in which education is part of it. Being more effective by using web
2.0 tools while learning a language provides the central argument of this article. The
main motivation is to convince teachers and educators that the use of technology in the
classroom is not only beneficial for the students but it also leads to better pedagogical
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results. Learning becomes then more attractive, compelling and it matches the new
challenges of the 21st century.
In order to
Whereas Web 1.0 websites were static tools where interaction was not at its core, web
2.0 has become the central headquarter for creativity and social networking. Youtube,
Facebook, blogs, wikis or google docs are just some examples of user generated
content where collaboration and a constant activity of expression are shared without
boundaries. In this way, foreign language teachers should take profit of these new tools
by constructing brand new learning scenarios in a ‘post- print’ world (Warschauer
2007) in order to foster true education ‘ through the stimulation of the child’s powers by
the demands of the social situations in which he finds himself’ (Dewey 1897, p. 77) in a
model that embraces the vision of learning as a “collective intelligence” (Seragan, 2007),
Ubiquitous computing, cloud-computing, social software and web mash-ups have
changed both the way we consume information and create and consume information
(Mason & Rennie, 2007).
Learning a foreign language includes a set of competencies that have to be tackled.
That is to say, grammar learning, vocabulary, listening, writing, talking, and reading.
During the 60s and until the beginning of the 80s learning a foreign language meant
following a behavioral approach. Audiovisual and audio-lingual course books in routine
pattern practice flowed the market, the classrooms and all the spectrum of teaching and
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learning a language. Language Laboratories in individual booths and systems of tapes
and slides was a trend followed by teachers and researchers. In this way, it was
assumed that all human and animal behaviors were determined not only by learning but
also by reinforcement and repetition in which responses were reduced to associations.
The book by B. F. Skinner, Verbal Behavior in 1957, stressed the fact that the controlling
variables of language were subject to the same controlling variables as any other
operant human behaviors. This was of great influence in the way teachers and students
started to learn a language. However, Skinner’s method was heavily criticized by Noam
Chomsky when he published his critique of Verbal Behaviour in 1959. According to
Chomsky, Skinner had only limited himself to study of observables, i.e., input-output
relations. In this way, at the end of the 1980s, a more interactive and transactional
methodology started to flourish in which an increasing amount of foreign language
spoken in the classroom was being used. Colorful teaching materials full of realia,
photos, images, maps and games, flashcards, videos, tapes, CD-roms, schemes of
work, computer back-ups and multi-modular text books were now part of the teaching
materials of the students although teacher centered instruction continued to be the main
trend. After the transition from the analogical age to the digital age we have witnessed
how technology has changed the social, cultural and educational scenarios. Now, with
the increasing use of collaborative web 2.0 tools the whole philosophy of language
learning has gradually changed towards a more constructive approach. Students, with
the right blended approach, are able to discover and create their own knowledge in a
creative way using non-expensive digital tools that can put into practice all the areas
required to learn a language. Films with subtitles, podcasts, comics, educational games
or online writing contests are just a few examples of the digital content created by users.
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In this way, blended language learning versus traditional learning would follow the three
P´s of pedagogy for the networked society: personalization, participation, and
productivity (McLoughlin and Lee, 2008).
1.1 Main Objectives and methodology
The main objective of our study is to let educators and teachers know the advantages of
learning a foreign language through a technological approach. The methodology used is
qualitative focused mainly on interviews with international teachers within an heuristic
approach and questions related to their view of how a blended learning environment can
boost the expectations and goals of the learnes.
Our study focuses on international schools and its online foreign language moodle
platform. Moodle, an acronym that stands for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic
Learning Environments, is a courseware package and learning system that allows many
institutions to conduct online courses. It can be used in both e-learning and blended
learning course formats and has activity modules such as databases, forums and wikis
that allow administrators to build full collaborative communities of learning. Moreover,
teachers can also deliver content to students and assess learning processes using
quizzes or assignments. Iskoodle, the name given to the moodle platform, is used by
all international schools around the world so that it is available to all teachers who are
members of ICS. The Council of International Schools (CIS) is a non-for-profit
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organization of International Education comprising over 650 member schools and 450
colleges/universities. Its main aim is to deliver the highest standards in International
Education in order to improve the learning skills of students. In order to do that, a
program of evaluation has been created , the International Accreditation Service, to
demonstrate the quality of their schools, their resources, administration, teachers and
international practices where technology is a key element for the enrichment of all
subjects throughout the curriculum. On Iskoodle teachers can share discussions,
thoughts, files, course materials, conference information and speaker notes. It breaks
down into the different subjects taught at International Schools. The Foreign Language
Committee has decided to boost the site in 2011 by creating useful content for all
those foreign language teachers around the world that want to improve their blended
learning approaches in the classrooms. Technological advances are a must in an
interconnected world and blended earning is becoming a trend in all international
schools. This implicates a change of approach both academically and pedagogically and
a vision towards future possibilities where web 2.0 tools and their practice have to be
considered. The main aim is to re-examine and reconceptualise the question of
language teaching through the help of new educational practices where technology
takes a major role. This second generation web-based services give students the
opportunity to for exchange and debate views, share ideas and make global connections
(Lamb and Johnson 2006). Collaboration, extrapolation, analysis, projection
demonstration and interaction are some of the skills needed in order to meet the 21st
century educational needs of the students (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2009),
opening a new window to the whole world, often foreseen not only but authorities but
also by teachers and parents who are not willing to implement a radical systemic
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educational change in the classroom. In this way, our educational culture does not yet
fully align learning to the realities of the 21st Century’ (Lemke and Coughlin 2009, 5).
The foreign language teacher has an immense opportunity to show their students the
language they are learning by using multimedia platforms where video, text and sounds
are constantly shared and uploaded. Knowledge production and innovation in
ubiquitous technologies permit adolescents to express themselves in a variety of ways
where learner control is key for their own learning success since it affects outcomes
(Lepper, 1985) . Language teachers have to develop strategies for exploiting the fluid
nature of web 2.0 in order to generate innovative learning opportunities for adolescents
who are constantly operating (most of the time informally) in an online world.
‘…only through communication can human life hold meaning. The teacher’s thinking is
authenticated only by the authenticity of the students’ thinking. The teacher cannot think
for her students, nor can she impose her thought on them. Authentic thinking, thinking
that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in
communication’. (Freire 1970).
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Open educational materials have endless possibilities for educators with exiting new
possibilities. The idea of learning environments to anyone, anyplace, anytime has been
proved to be an innovative approach for delivering interactive, well-designed, learner-
centered, interactive and flexible learning environments (Khan, 2001, p. 3).
Educational innovation within institutions in the 21st century requires a vision of change,
teamwork, resources and time (Zucker, 2009) since it can be beneficial for their
development ((Fiedler & Kieslinger, 2006) . This vision of change has to be
communicated effectively to a school board, parents, teachers and students through
meetings, websites, blogs and official school documents. In this way, the strategies for
digital integration in the language classrooms can range from delivering a single
technology course, offering mini-workshops, integrating technology in all courses to
education faculty of how to infuse technology throughout the school with specific
learning goals.
The use of ICTs to foster new forms of learning through enabling new learning
relationships is indeed a challenge for many teachers who are comfortable using
conventional e-learning and teaching approaches within the learning management
system platform. In such learning environments content continues to be decided by the
teachers and control is therefore still largely in their hands. In adopting the more recent
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Web 2.0 technologies, decisions related to content and control are largely in the hands
of the learners blurring the boundaries between expert or teacher and learner
( O’Sullivan, )
This cannot be though done without an improving student and teacher access to
software and hardware together with pedagogical goals given to teachers in order to
avoid concerns about the implementation and classroom management of the usefulness
of for example web 2.0 games in education (Doering et al., 2003). International Schools
such as the one in Düsseldorf, repeated exposure to digital content in primary has been
implemented with clear pedagogical goals and constant information to parents, teachers
and the board of the school. Building content knowledge, enhancing problem solving
and experimentation are areas in which all the educators of the school have to take
part of in order to meet the pedagogical aims of blended learning.
As far as Iskoodle is concerned, teachers have to be aware of the theoretical
implications behind its philosophy. Constructivism is the main theoretical source for
blended learning and Iskoodle is the platform that permits it to evolve. In technology
enriched lessons, teachers have to be dynamic and fully networked. They should strive
to be creators, facilitators and supervisors in order to let students build their own
learning styles and preferences with the aid of computer-mediated educational tools.
According to The good language learner (Naiman et al., 1978), good language learners
have to be active, they need to develop the language as a system, they have to have the
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technical know-how and finally, they have to practice and use the language in an active
way. Being self-evaluative, sociable and constantly looking for meaning are other key
characteristics that could also be applied to 21st Century Learners. Students learn by
doing and not by only facing a static-centered classroom teacher. They have to be active
in class, independent , self-reliant and share their knowledge with their classmates.
They are, by nature, able to adapt fast to new forms of communication in a mash-up
culture. In this way, language teachers should provide them with a wide access to
worldwide information to nurture and expand connections through different learning
resources in a society where up-to-date competencies and skills are a must. This
change from lecture- to student-centered instruction is, however, not only a matter of
technology, but also of being convinced about its intrinsic value in which the teacher
plays the most important part. In the particular case of second language acquisition, a
myriad of diverse hybrid working strategies such as online comics, podcasts or
customized motivational posters are just some of the enormous possibilities web 2.0 can
offer without any additional costs. Teachers and students become then constructors of
knowledge within authentic learning experiences in digital-age communication. For
students, this is a challenge that enhances entrepreneurship, participation and critical
thinking and enables them to be more prepared in an economy that is in constant
change and needs creativity and flexibility.
The road ahead is not a wasted land though. Schools and teachers around the world are
working towards the use and expansion of blended learning. IT teachers have now the
responsibility to offer the necessary tools the school needs in order to train their
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colleagues in a fully technological environment. To do that, it is not only necessary the
time and the skills to convince those who are not willing to take the leap towards
multisensorial learning environments but also the implementation of a good training in
teaching making use of the technologies around us. The academic universe of mixed
learning needs to be conveyed to the teachers of the future so Iskoole is aimed at filling
this gap. It has to be actively used by international foreign language teachers in order
to implement blended learning in their classrooms and spread the message of good
practices. Similar experiences in digital environments have shown that computer-
mediated communication (CMC) with language learning facilitates social interaction
between the teacher and the students as well as among students (Caado, 2010; De
Smet, Van Keer, De Wever, & Valcke, 2010). Apart from a constant active
communication, computer mediated communication is a motivational pool that engage
learners in meaningful communication in the target language, leading to effective
language learning (Sun, 2009, p. 88). Meanings on misunderstanding during the
process of learning a language are also solved anytime anywhere with the teacher in an
active and effective way (Kessler & Bikowski, 2010). Moreover, in CMC, the role of the
teacher changes towards guidance with less control over how students behave in the
online learning environment giving them freedom in order to construct their own
knowledge and enhance their creativity (Fu, Wu, & Ho, 2009). On the other hand, the
mass of resources on the web also enables language learners to practice the language
in real communication with people who are beyond their reach such as fellow learners
or native speakers (Warschauer, 1995). Comprehension through interaction is then
better than without any interactions (Gonzales-Lloret, 2003) so a platform like Iskoodle
can help teachers to be able to participate in a community of practice when using its
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resources in a proper way. The inclusion of tools and resources to create activities or
materials for learners such as quizzes, online materials presentations, assignments, and
tasks with question databases, feedback, scoring and tracking of students’ progress are
some of the characteristics offered by Iskoodle. Multiple choice, short answer, true/false,
matching, or cloze exercises including multimedia files (audio and video) are some of
many activities chosen in order to boost blended learning in the classrooms. Some
successful examples of moodle platforms integrated in the classroom practice can be
seen in the studies of Zeng and Takatsuka (2009) when using Moodle in a course
management system, to engage EFL students in synchronous text-based dialogues.
The students, in a fully collaborative way, assisted each other in attending language
forms through dialogues ,which consequently increased and improved their language
use in writing.
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3. WEB 2.0 TOOLS
But what are the main web 2.0 tools that allow students acquire competences and
develop them in a blended learning environment? The main areas that should be tackled
are reading, writing, listening and grammar. In order to practice them in a mixed
environment the teacher has to be aware of the constructive approach needed so that
students can learn by doing, sharing their own knowledge with their school mates.
Reading, writing, listening, oral skills and grammar can be revised and practiced by
using various online programs. Most of them may include some of these areas and,
when they are not explicitly in the programs, the role of the teacher and his or her own
creativity making use of blended language learning goals can help to explore and
practice those skills that have not been tackled by the program itself.
Xtranormal is a text to movie platform that allows students to create 3D films in a very
easy way. In a blended learning environment, Xtranormal can be used with students
who have previously created an original script with dialogues between various
characters (Xtranormal only accepts two). The teacher can introduce the characters to
the students in the foreign language studied in class, talk about their characteristics and
give some adjectives regarding their personality and physical appearance. The teacher
can also give a topic to the students such as ¨superheroes in danger¨ or ¨The prince
without a reign¨ although he can also focus the topic on the vocabulary and grammar
studied in class such as ¨Daily routine (of a superhero)” or describing a past experience.
With Xtranormal students can then edit their own film, embed sounds and music and
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work on their sentences. The final result can be posted online and presented to the
students and the teacher. It can then be linked to the blog of the teacher or posted on a
facebook page in order to go viral. The outcome of the exercise is not only to write and
use all the relevant words studied in class but also to give a voice to the characters in
order to be creative and imaginative. After the presentation of the film, the students can
vote for the best one, talk in the language learned in class about its pros and its cons
and give advice of how to improve it. Structures such as “ What I liked about the film is”
or “ What could be improved is ” are just some examples of how to give an opinion. The
oral skills of the students are also then covered in a mixed environment and, at the same
time, students can listen in the language they are learning to all the dialogues created
online.
Blogs are also excellent tools to use in a blended learning environment. The teacher can
set a task such as “curiosities” or the recollections and experiences of a fieldtrip. It is
important to stress out the idea that students have to use their own words when writing
the text and, if possible, upload their own photos (especially if the blog is about their own
experience such as in the case of the fieldtrip). Videos and even audio snippets are also
welcomed in order to enrich the dynamism of the blog. Students then have to present it
in the language learned in class with an auto-evaluation about the strengths and
witnesses when creating the blog (Image 1 and 2)
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Image 1: Project ¨El Fracaso Escolar¨ on a blog by a native Spanish year 9 student from the International School of Bremen. 2010.
Image 2: Project ¨Fieldtrip to Granada¨ created with wordpress by a year 12 student from the International School of Bremen. 2010.
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Powerpoint, keynote or Prezi presentations are also good ways of practising a language.
Students have to work not only on the grammar and vocabulary skills but also on their
oral skills. With a presentation in electronic format sounds and videos can be embedded
so the tasks and potentialities are endless. Creating an online poem for example (Image
3) following the rhythm of a song, a musical video with images and its lyrics (Image 4)
or presenting a field trip or a task following a particular idea and grammar structure such
as ¨What would you do to change the world?” or ¨The House of the Future¨ (Image 5)
are excellent exercises that can be done by students to practice and work with the
language in different formats. Other constructive tasks are creating presentations about
various regions of the country of the target language or the States with their cultural,
linguistic, geographical and social aspects. The best presentations can then be shared
online with free programs like slideshare so that students can share their knowledge and
create quality content that can be used and practised by other students around the
world. On the other hand, with Prezi, the presentations are done online and published
directly on their own platform (Image 6).
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Image 3: Project ¨Create a Poem with Powerpoint¨. Example of a slide created by a year 10 student from a German state school in 2008.
Image 4: Project ¨Ground Control to Major Tom¨ created and posted on slideshare by a year 6 student from the International School of Bremen. 2009.
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Image 5: Project ¨Mi casa del Futuro¨ created and posted by a year 9 student from the International School of Bremen. 2010.
Image 6: Project ¨Mi Presentación¨ created with Prezi by a year 9 student from the International School of Bremen. 2010.
Bighugelabs is another free web tool that allows students to practice their written skills.
They can create posters for films (Image 7) , books or concerts (Image 8) ,
advertisements or leaflets with the vocabulary studied in the classroom and then post
them on the blog. Coloseum Apocolypse for example is a project in which the student
had to invent the name of a film, add the relevant credits, a sentence about the film and
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post a picture he had made. The picture chosen is from the Colliseum in Rome when he
went on holiday with his parents.
Image 7: Project ¨Mi Película¨ created with Bighugelabs by a year 8 student from the International School of Bremen. 2010.
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Image 8: Project ¨Mi Grupo musical favorito¨ created with Bighugelabs by a year 10 student from the International School of Bremen. 2009.
Working with online comic creators (Image 9) is also a rich experience for students and
teachers. Online comic platforms like stripcreator, give a set of tools in order to create
comics with a great variety of well-known characters. Students can write the dialogues
previously with the help of the teacher and then construct their own comic that can be
printed off, sent by email to parents and friends and published on a blog. This idea of “
letting the world know what I am doing” is an incentive for students to build up their
confidence and artistic skills. Their work is in fact published for the whole world to see,
something that it was literally impossible before the digital age.
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Image 9: Project ¨My Comic¨ by a year 6 student from the International School of Bremen. 2009.
These examples have in common the fact that both students and teachers can work in a
collaborative way and spread their message throughout the world. In traditional
classroom environments students are constrained into non flexible pedagogical tools
leaving them isolated from the rest of the world, a hindrance that can always be avoided
by an active and participative use of technology.
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4. HOW ISKOODLE IS ORGANIZED
In order to build up a useful online platform for teachers to use it, we have to respond to
most of the needs that different teachers, students and learning contexts require.
Web 2.0 services generate a great amount of data and services that have to be
controlled and aimed at a pedagogical useful level. Interaction and collaborative digital
exercises have to meet the needs of the learners so all the activities have to be carefully
chosen to support all the areas of language learning. Writing, reading, listening and
some interactive oral activities should appear in most of the websites chosen on
Iskoodle within well-designed, learner-centered practices. The amount of vocabulary,
grammar scope and activities have to be not only attractive for both teachers and
students but also cover a wide range of grammatical points within an interactive
environment. Moreover, collaboration and independence have to be taken into account
in open, flexible and distributed learning environments. Students have to construct and
expand their own knowledge in a blended language lesson with the help of the teacher
so the chosen websites should be used in a creative way in the classroom. All resources
have to be stored and clearly centralized on the Iskoodle platform so that they are easy
to find and use. In order to do that, a clear separation between languages has been
stated (Spanish, French, German), (Image 10 and 11).
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Image 10: Iskoodle logo
Image 11: Iskoodle external structure
On a second level, each website has a short description of its content so that the
language teacher can have some information about the website, a short description of
what teachers and students are going to find, the audience and the type of resources.
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(Image 12)
Image 12: Iskoodle internal structure
Iskoodle will also include some other links on the platform such as Digital Advanced
Resources with websites that can be used by all language teachers such as comic
creators or platforms with interesting pictures, audiovisual materials and podcasts. It will
also have a link with some presentations made by students for the different languages,
another one with the presentations made by the members of the Foreign Language
Committee and links to the official Foreign Language Committee Blog.
The websites have been chosen from various sources. On one hand, there has been a
pedagogical research done by various teachers on other platforms such as Edu365 for
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Spanish. Edu 365 is a repository from the Departament de la Generalitat de Catalunya
where students and teachers can find dynamic resources for various subjects. In this
case, Spanish language learning has been carefully adapted for the different levels of
international foreign language learners according to the activities and the level of the
vocabulary. It has been stated that the content has to be attractive for both primary and
secondary students. The interactivity has to include videos, audio files and programs in
flash so that it creates a truly flexible experience for both students and teachers. They
have to be easy to use and cover the pedagogical content of a certain topic (food,
hobbies, verb tenses, idioms or specific exams for International schools such as the
ones for the International Baccaleuareat). In principle, it is not recommended to use
websites that lead students and teachers to new links. The content has to stem from the
website itself so that it has a directed and focused pedagogical purpose. Avoiding pdf.
and doc. documents is also an objective when looking for a good foreign language
platform. In blended learning students have to use actively their computers in the
classroom or be able to follow the teachers’ lessons on an electronic digital whiteboard.
Iskoodle .is also a central platform to gain visibility. The Foreign Language Committee is
trying to extend its influence within resource repositories. Youtube, Flickr, SlideShare or
Scribd are free platforms that can be connected to create and expand content within for
teachers and students. It is also important to boost the relationships within the Foreign
Language Iskoodle website amongst teachers to spread the message and promote
blended learning environments. Contacts and groups of international teachers is key to
increase the expansion of Iskoodle. In order to do that, all teachers can take part of the
website by posting their picture, giving some information about their professional
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background and stating their interests. The challenge is to make explicit the activities,
presentations and all the useful digital tools to all the international community. Getting
users connected and managing learning resources can only be done by boosting social
web 2.0 tools.
What activities can the teacher find on the resources from Iskoodle? And what are the
competences foreign language learners acquire in a blended learning environment? The
BBC has a website with an interactive video drama in 22 different episodes called Mi
Vida Loca to learn Spanish (Image 13). The activity includes the full details of the
program, a user guide, the syllabus, the print outs and a comprehensive teacher’s guide
with all the relevant details. Students can complete Mi Vida Loca in twelve weeks with or
without the help of the teacher and it is recommended for beginners. The videos take the
student on an intrigue mystery adventure to Madrid so that they are curious about what
is going to happen next and why. The creators of My Vida Loca make use of the
cliffhanger resource so that there is a mixture of TV entertainment taken from the idea of
the sitcoms and language learning activities. Students learn the vocabulary and
grammar in each episode at their own pace, they can repeat the videos, listen to the
dialogues again and complete the activities for practice.
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Image 13: ¨Mi Vida Loca¨ online exercises.
Students can choose their gender since they can interact with the videos at any point
and the videos are focused on the pronunciation and the translation of words and
sentences with a very clear and user friendly interface (Image 14).
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Image 14: Video exercise ¨Mi Vida Loca¨.
Within each episode the action is stopped with an explanation of all the new words that
have been used by the main characters. The students are then able to listen to them
again in Spanish, listen to the translation in English and see how they are written. The
reading and listening skills are practised step by step in a very detailed way so that the
student has a thorough understanding of the text, the environment and plot behind the
story. Since it happens in Madrid, there is a window to the streets of the capital city of
Spain, their people and the places, architecture and objects of the country such as
restaurants or taxis (Image 15) . The teacher can introduce areas of the Spanish society
to the students so that they are aware of the differences and similarities with their own
countries. The vocabulary can also be introduced and then practised with the program
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and then, individually or in groups, prepare a presentation about some characteristics of
a Spanish city, the food or the architecture. The videos can also be a good starting point
to prepare similar scenes for a video that can be filmed in class and the presented to
other students so that the vocabulary, intonation and pronunciation is actively practised
in a constructive way.
Image 15: ¨Mi Vida Loca¨ Video
Mi Vida Loca uses in most videos the voice of the narrator translating every single
word and expression in English. This can be regarded as negative when learning a
foreign language since the students are not impregnated by it.
On the other hand, El Instituto Cervantes offers a free program in flash to learn Spanish
called Mi Mundo en Palabras. Mi Mundo en Palabras is constructed entirely in Spanish
in order to improve the intonation, the pronunciation and the vocabulary of the foreign
language learners. It is based on the life of Carlos, his family, hobbies and everyday life,
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introducing new structures and vocabulary that have to be practised by the students
through interactive exercises where writing, reading and oral skills are a must. The
words are written and pronounced mostly by Carlos and the student can repeat them as
many times as he or she wants in order to imitate the pronunciation ( Image 16).
Image 16: ¨Una foto de mi familia¨ exercise.
Students can also record their own voice by answering directly the questions posed by
Carlos and his friend on the videos. This helps them pronounce and use the Spanish in
an active way (Image 17).
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Image 17: ¨Mi Familia¨ oral exercise.
Other exercises include explaining the ending of a story, summarizing a certain idea,
recognizing the structure of a text and describing landscapes and characters with a wide
use of adjectives.
Escrilandia is a similar program to ¨Mi Mundo en Palabras¨ in a way that it uses a flash
program with colorful characters and clear text. Its focus this time is on writing so that
students can practice a variety of reading and writing activities that can be done online.
The website has a complete detailed guide and a didactic guide with numerous
examples and activities (Image 18).
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Image 18: ¨Escrilandia. El Mundo de los Escritores¨.
Whereas the introductory character on ¨Mi Mundo en Palabras¨ was Carlos here it is ¨La
Cigüeña¨ or the storch. It is followed by four sections with many activities that can be
printed off and used in the classroom. The students can modify online a character using
most parts of the body according to a given description in the original language or write
about its common characteristics. In a blended learning environment the teacher can set
a task to the students by creating the character of their choice and then present it to the
rest of the classroom.
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Apart from character descriptions “Escrilandia” , students can also follow the instructions
written in Spanish to construct a landscape with rivers, mountains, lakes, shapes and
colors. The vocabulary can be previously introduced in the classroom by the teacher so
that the students are familiarized with the pronunciation and the meaning. In
“Escrilandia” students can also write in a constructive way their own story illustrating it
with the images given by the program. The final result can be very attractive and
compelling and it can be sent as a gift to parents, friends of even the classmates. An
oline postcard (Image 19 and 20), similar to the one in “ Mi Mundo en Palabras” is
offered by the program with the particularity that the student can travel online to a certain
place and describe it. It can be sent online or printed off and the students can use it as a
reference for future writing exercises.
Image 19: ¨Aprende a escribir una postal¨.
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Image 20: ¨Instrucciones aprende a escribir una postal¨.
In order to practise the listening comprehension students can use online story telling
websites. Clic Clic Clic Cuentos Interactivos offers stories in Spanish with a the
peculiarity that the voice of the narrator is combined with the text of the plot that
appears on captions and bubbles as he speaks. The vocabulary is simple enough to be
understood by average Spanish learners and the grammar combines the simple past
and the present perfect with dialogues between the characters in simple present.
Although it is aimed at children who are native speakers in order to enhance their
reading and writing skills, Clic Clic Clic Cuentos Interactivos is a good tool to be used
with non-native Spanish learners in a blended learning classroom when the teacher has
previously introduced some of the most complicated vocabulary and when the students
are familiarized with simple past and present perfect structures. Clic Clic Clic Cuentos
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Interactivos has no exercises, grammar games or a bank of vocabulary. The teacher can
then generate content by creating activities based on the stories in order to practise the
words and structures learned from the website (Image 21)
Fig 21: Clic clic clic cuentos interactivos.
Online foreign language games are also a good tool for the students and teachers to use
in a blended learning environment. Edu 365 has created a great number of games to
improve the spelling and grammar of Spanish students. They are based on particular
objectives such as getting into the pool if the complete an exercise with success or
having a digital watch in order to see how much time the students need to finish an
exercise (Image 22 and 23). Although it is aimed to improve the spelling skills of the
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students, in a foreign language classroom new words from the program can be
introduced so that the vocabulary can be enlarged and practised to a great extent.
Fig 22: Online exercise. Palabras con mb y mp
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Fig 23: Online exercise. Palabras y significados.
The possibilities are endless but it is important for the teacher to be familiarized with the
programs on Iskoodle. A structured pedagogical plan before using the websites with its
objectives within the lesson are important for the success of the international learning
platform.
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5. THE HEURISTICS APPROACH OF ISKOODLE
In order to validate the usability of the resources on Iskoodle we are going to follow
Jakob Nielsen’s ten principles for used interface design called heuristics. Two foreign
language teachers have been using a blended learning approach in their language
lessons throughout 2011 with students from grade 8 and 9. Their experience and
practice with the students coincide in both cases and the resultant feedback has been
positive. The shift from a traditional foreign language learning approach to a more
blended and constructivist goal has helped to improve not only the performance of the
students when using Spanish (reading, writing, speaking and listening) but also the
confidence of the teachers and their creativity. The students have changed their
passivity in a centered teacher classroom into an active role where the construction of
knowledge has been manifested by the constant production of activities done by the
students with web 2.0 tools and the digital world. Taking into account Jacob Nielsen
heuristic approach, we will comment on each of the points he tackles from the point of
view of the two foreign language teachers.
1. Visibility of system status: Is Iskoodle keeping users informed through
appropriate feedback within reasonable time?
According to the teachers interviewed, Iskoodle sends feedback from all the messages
posted by foreign language teachers. The updated websites are not known by the users.
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They have to log on in order to see what’s new on the Foreign Language Section. In
order to keep teachers and students informed the Foreign Language Committee has
decided to launch a blog with all the new websites, presentations and articles posted on
Iskoodle. The blog will be linked on a facebook fan page of the Foreign Language
Committee.
2. Match between system and the real world: Is the system speaking the
users’ language with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user?
Does the information appear in a natural and logical order?
Both teachers have agreed that the information given is simple and direct. The words
and expressions used are functional. The division website, description, audience, type of
resources is clear enough for international teachers an no more is needed in order to
browse the websites.
3. User control and freedom:
Users have control and freedom throughout the platform so they have the chance
to leave those places that are considered unwanted states
4. Consistency and standards:
According to both teachers interviewed the consistency and standards throughout
Iskoodle are present so that all users know beforehand what they will expect. The
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layout and the amount of information is sufficiently clear to be followed within the
same platform conventions.
5. Error prevention:
Although all the links and the information posted on the Iskoodle platform work, the
teachers have not found an error prevention structure when a URL doesn’t work. This
should be improved from the moodle platform.
6. Recognition rather than recall:
Objects, actions and options are all perceived as clearly visible by the user. All
the chosen activities and instructions are also easily retrievable.
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use:
The teachers have not seen any use of accelerators on Iskoodle in order to speed
up the interaction for the experienced user. One of the teachers commented that
the layout was simple enough for both inexperienced and expert users to use
fast.
8. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
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The Iskoodle design is seen as minimalist and aesthetic by both teachers although one
argues that the combination of the colors are too plain. The units of information are
simple enough to find,
10. Help and documentation
The teachers have not found any help or documentation. Both should be developed on
Iskoodle in order to provide more information about the pedagogical goals of the links
provided.
The overall impression of Iskoodle is positive. Teachers have commented they are
willing to use the platform although there are still many things it needs to be done. Both
of them discussed the fact that there should be an extra section with detailed
explanations of how to use the online activities. Guidance with a constructive approach
can help teachers to prepare and set goals to the activities presented on Iskoodle.
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As far as traditional learning versus blended learning is concerned, both teachers agree
there has to be a steady change towards blending. In order to do that, software and
hardware have work well in the schools with good technological advisors and
pedagogical councelors. Without their support, the support of the parents and the heads
of the schools teachers can face difficulties that would hindrance the development of
blended learning in the schools. Another important point tackled is training. Both
teachers stated that a good pedagogical training aimed at the subjects they are teaching
is a must. A good software/hardware environment is not enough when teachers don’t
know how to create blended language activities with specific learning objectives in the
classrooms.
Last but not least, discovering a new world of teacher creativity through technology is an
advantage posted by both teachers. This does not mean that the figure of the educator
is left behind, on the contrary, blending means having control of the technological
devices that allow students get connected to the outside world in order to learn a
language more effectively. Avoiding the chaos of the net by following certain patterns of
order within a constructive approach can only lead to success in the process of
language learning.
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6. CONCLUSION
Blended learning is more effective than traditional learning in classrooms where foreign
language is taught when teachers are aware of the implications and the constructivist
theory behind it. With the amount of web 2.0 tools available to be used for free form the
online world, reading, writing, listening and the oral skills of the students can be
improved when they take active part in the construction of their main knowledge. Brand
new learning generated scenarios have appeared with user generated content where
the spread of collaboration and a constant activity of expression have led to a more
democratic and interconnected worlds of users. Innovative approaches towards
education in flexible learning environments requires a vision of change, time, resources,
teamwork and a lot of supports from parents, teachers, the heads of the schools and the
whole educational community. Hardware and software, together with concrete
pedagogical goals and a good training for teachers and education are components that
cannot be left behind in order to lead the blended learning approach to a successful
terrain. This vision of the future responds to the need to a new marketplace where
workers have to be able to multitask and do their jobs in different environments and
situations including the digital world.
Iskoodle wants to be the online link for all teachers from international schools, a place
where discussions, thoughts, files, course materials, conference information and
speaker notes can be shared on its moodle platform. A fully networked teacher will be
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able to use the platform in order to facilitate knowledge to the students and help them
find their own learning styles with interaction in a community of practice. The
philosophical approach behind it is constructivism so a dynamic teacher will play the role
of supervisor letting students have control of their own knowledge. In this way,
worldwide information has to be shared and used in the classroom for both students and
teachers. A blended learning approach also permits teachers to find new information to
enhance a myriad of diverse hybrid working strategies, an approach that cannot be
done in a traditional learning environment. Up-to-date competencies are also key for the
success and development of 21st century learners in the new economies so the digital
world has to impregnate every pore of the classroom, Web 2.0 tools permit learners
practise their listening, reading, writing and oral skills by being in constant contact with
students and teachers all over the world. With programs like Xtranormal students not
only create an online film but they also have the chance to listen to the characters’
speech, a feat that could not have been done by drawing the comic on a piece of paper.
Sharing their work make students more confident because they see that the result of
their creativity can be seen by anyone boosting their confidence and interest. We have
also seen how powerpoint, keynote or prezi presentations can be used in a variety of
ways (like creating a poem or a presentation about a given country) in which all
students can benefit from them. Bighugelabs can be very helpful to create professional
like posters of a film, a book or a certain event. All of them can be analyzed and shared
by teachers and students building up a truly bank of resources that can always be used
by teachers around the world.
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The organization of Iskoodle is mainly focused on how international teachers work with
content for primary and secondary students. All areas of language learning are tackled
in a creative and interactive way with videos, text, flash animations and sounds so that
educators can use the resources within a fully blended learning environment. The
division between Spanish, French and Germany has been enlarged by adding other
links such as Digital Advanced Resources or the Foreign Language Committee blog
together with connections to Youtube, Flickr and Slideshare.
The resources on Iskoodle exploit actively all types of activities with videos that can be
reviewed a practised over and over again such as in La Vida Loca or the possibility of
recording students´ own voices such as in Mi Mundo en Palabras where users can listen
and compare their own pronunciation with the native pronunciation of the native
speakers. Revision and comparison using all formats outside the walls of the classroom
is possible with a good internet connection at home so that students are able to go back
to their lessons and work with their vocabulary and grammar tackling all the relevant
points of grammar, listening and writing. As stated before, publishing a good piece of
writing has never been so attractive as before. With Escrilandia for example the creation
of a digital postcard can be very appealing to both parents and students since it gives
them a tool that can be digitally manipulated and then sent to anyone in a matter of
seconds. Blended learning is not only more pedagogically rich but it also makes
students and teachers aware that with the new technologies they can be creators,
producers and distributors of their own knowledge. The use of language games or digital
stories amongst other digital activities open the doors to dynamism, entrepreneurship
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and a truly architecture of participation. It is multitasking critical thinking and constant
adaptation in mixed environments, a road that has to be taken by the teachers of the
21st century.
The performance of the use of the language inside and outside the classroom is
enhanced with the new technologies. We have seen how, from Jacob Nielsen´s
heuristics point of view, Iskoodle matches its system with the real world with the
information arranged in a natural and logical order with simple language and short
sentences. The user has control over all the information with the necessary freedom and
flexibility to roam about its platform in an efficient way. Consistency and standards are
also met with no errors found and objects actions and options have been perceived as
clearly visible with retrievable activities. It is important to stress out the aesthetics of
Iskoodle with its simple design, sometimes regarded as plain, since it helps its users to
easily find the units of information and understand at every level what they have to do
and how they have to do it. Help and documentation is still an area that should be
developed so that teachers can make use of extra pedagogical resources for the
development of their lessons.
Traditional learning versus blended learning. At the beginning of this article we stressed
out the importance of the vision of change. 21st century teachers should gradually move
towards technological centered classrooms presented the information in multifaceted
ways. . Communication in ICT-enhanced lessons permits to take the leap from static
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text books to the fluidity of web 2.0 boosting students confidence through constant
updating, self-development and participation in society (Gonzalez, 2010). Expanding
connections through different learning resources in a society that demands up-to-date
competencies is a key element for the success of the students. Blended language
learning, with sturdy pedagogical goals behind it, is the answer for students’
performance both inside and outside the classroom.
Blended language learning is a fascinating field to be discovered. Experimenting with
new activities, from the constructive approach, can be regarded as a leap towards the
improvement of good pedagogical practices. More research should be done in order to
compare, contrast and show real teaching experiences to the educative community. The
road ahead looks, by all means, fascinating.
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