Welcome and workshop outline

WELL Workshop

Level 1

Welcome

• Why is this field of interest?
• Who is the workshop for?
• What does the workshop cover?
• What will I learn?
• How do I use the materials?
• Can the materials be re-used?

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Why is this field of interest?

The use of telematic resources such as the World Wide Web and email offers an increasing range of possibilities for teaching and learning languages. There are three compelling reasons to investigate the new possibilities to see what resources and tools can be used for teaching and learning, and how.
• a huge and growing resource base of accessible, multilingual, multimedia materials
• interactive resources which enable learners to do exercises on-line
• communication tools which allow low-cost authentic environments to be set up to enable various permutations of contact between learners, teachers and native speakers.

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Who is the workshop for?

This is a practical workshop for language academics who have little or no experience of using telematic resources for teaching and learning. It has been prepared with the needs of the HE sector in mind; however, HE provision is diverse and much is directly relevant to other sectors.
You do not need any prior experience of the Web. It is important to have basic computer skills such as using a mouse and keyboard. If you have a basic knowledge of Microsoft Word, this would be useful for the part of the workshop which looks at using macros with Word 6.0 to create exercises.

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What does the workshop cover?

The workshop aims to provide an introduction to two areas:
• examples of the various types of resources and activities relevant to language learning
• some tools and techniques for embedding use of them in the curriculum
Topics covered are:
• Introduction to language resources on the Internet. This is a slide presentation.
• Consolidating web navigation skills
• Categories of resources: looking at examples of major categories of resources, and examples of interactivity and multimedia
• Exploitation of resources and tools: how to make use of the Web for teaching; searching
• Examples of good practice: modules, courses, Language Departments on-line
• Discussion: Ideas generated for use in your own teaching

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What will I learn?

By the end of the workshop, you will
• navigate confidently around the Web
• be aware of the different categories of resources and tools available
• have seen some examples of good practice in teaching and learning languages
• have developed ideas for use in your own institution
• be able to search the Internet for resources
• be able to create a variety of text manipulation exercises using Word 6.0 macros
• know how to generate interactive exercises
• be aware of the wider issues around Web use in your work

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How do I use the materials?

You can work through these in linear fashion, or by selecting the areas of most interest. The ordering has been structured with the inexperienced user in mind, so if you are new to the Web, it is a good idea to start at the beginning and work through. If you already have some experience, you might wish to select another path.
Whatever your level, it is unlikely that you will have time to explore all the sites in depth. It is a good idea to visit as many as possible to identify the features for which they have been included.

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Can the materials be re-used?

The materials used for the presentation and to provide hand-outs are all freely downloadable from the web, so they may be used in your own institution for staff development or for students as long as reference to the WELL source is mentioned. Materials may not be used for commercial purposes such as paying courses without permission from the WELL Project.

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