Welcome to the English Via Computer

Class Web Page

English 487 at Jeddah Teachers' College

            The syllabus this year attempts to follow the syllabus set by the Ministry of Higher Education, since the Saudi Teachers' Colleges have now become part of the Ministry of Higher Education; whereas before the Teachers' Colleges were simply part of the Ministry of Education.

            We will post the readings from the Ministry of Higher Education CALL syllabus here on this web page. The Ministry of Higher Education CALL Syllabus is posted here for information purposes only.   (click here: HTML   PDF to see the Ministry of Higher Education suggested syllabus).  But we will attempt to actually use some CALL software in the classroom, in the lab, or on our home computers if necessary, during the weekly class meetings, rather than spend an inordinate amount of time reading theoretical stuff about CALL.

        After each class, there will be a quiz on the content of the class, and the quiz will be posted here, as a Hot Potatoes interactive quiz.

        The classes will be as follows, more or less following the Ministry syllabus, but adding more practical things:

1. Introduction to the Ministry of Higher Education CALL syllabus

2.History of Technology applied to teaching and "using the computer for behaviorist CALL"--making a poster, recording to cassette from the internet, teaching touch typing. Quiz Lecture notes

3.Knowledge and the Net, Programmes 1, 2 and 4 (click here to hear BBC Radio series) and "How to do an Internet 'interactive CALL' lesson without being connected to the Internet."    Quiz (to be posted here Sunday 21Safar)Lecture (notes from my  2004 class to review "2.History of Technology applied to teaching" and introduce this class, "3.Knowledge and the Net")

4. Communicative computer-based activities.  E-Mail Activities in the ESL Writing Class. (Please read.  A paper photocopy of Belisle's "E-Mail Activities in the ESL Writing Class" will be handed out for those who do not have internet access)  After meeting in Room 146B, we will move to the Language Lab to see how Rosie Gerard Wright's Internet lesson was done, but here, with computers not connected to the internet. HTML Magic! Quiz (posted Monday 29 Safar, 1428) Lecture

5. A comparison between using transparencies and Microsoft PowerPoint. Please read, "From using transparencies to using Powerpoint slides in the classroom," by Belinda Ho, City University of Hong Kong.  It will be handed out in class. Quiz (posted Monday 7 Rabia 1) Lecture

6. How Writers Use Computers and Homework assignment to get your web space on geocities. Lecture Quiz1 Quiz2Examples of English Exercises will be given out on a CD in this class for your preparation for future classes. downloadable from the Internet.

7. Hypercard. By the way, if you are having difficulty understanding HTML, you can find an explantion in Arabic here, at birzeit.edu

8. Strategies for the one-computer classroom:  Lecture will summarize School and Office programs from Hardisty and Windeatt's book, CALL(read quotation here) There will be a quiz on the summary I give next week, Sunday 29 April-12 Rabi2. Word:  "Christopher"  Quiz

9. Power Point. PowerPoint Slide-Show Project due in class or at the Hot Potatoes Sunday 19 Rabi2.

10. Interaction and Computer-mediated learning:  Hot Potatoes

11. Concordancing with ConcApp

12. Midterm.

13. Networking;  a visit to the NEW computerized Language Lab at Jeddah Teachers'  College.

13. Student and Class Web Pages and Newsletters; continued work with Hot Potatoes.

14. Examples of Hot Potatoes on the Web.  Introducing recorded sound on one's web page or classroom.

15. Grand Review and survey of available CALL software and Language Pedagogy on the Internet.

16.  Final Exam.  The final exam will be part multiple choice, and partly writing a multiple choice test that could be used to teach Grammar.

 

 

 

 

Links to the work of previous English 487, English Via Computer Web Pages:

http://www.geocities.com/englishviacomputer/  Jeddah Teachers' College Hot Potatoes Home Page

http://www.angelfire.com/art2/englishviacomputer/  Winter-Spring 2004 Student pages)

http://www.angelfire.com/art2/englishviacomputer/syllabus.htm  (Winter-Spring 2004 syllabus)

http://www.angelfire.com/art2/englishwithcomputer/   (Fall 2004 Student Pages)

http://www.angelfire.com/art3/englishviacomputer/  (Winter 2005 and Spring 2005 Student Pages--with Trip to Najran and trip to Scotland)

This is a personal home page link, and does not represent the official views of Jeddah Teachers' College, The Saudi Ministry of Higher Education, or the University of Michigan. The links to the Ministry of Higher Education suggested syllabus is made without authorization from either the Ministry or Professor Nayef. I have provided them merely as an aid to my students this semester who may wish to do further reading in CALL. They will be removed from the web page at the end of the course in June 2007.

Last update:  Friday, April 6, 2007 / Friday 19/3(Rabi1)/1428 H