Engaging Lower Primary Students through Web 2.0 Tools

In this talk, the presenters, Ozge Karaoglu and Shelly Terrell, will explore the various possibilities of Web 2.0 tools, such as Voicethread, Glogster, Voki, and digital storytelling tools, to engage young language learners. Educators will learn how to effectively collaborate on international classroom projects as the presenters demonstrate the ways their Turkey and Germany lower primary classes connected.

SUMMARY

We incorporated Web 2.0 tools successfully with our lower primary classes and were excited to see very young children motivated to speak and use English through audio and visual Web 2.0 tools. After sharing the same vision to motivate students to connect globally, we collaborated on various Web 2.0 projects in which children from Turkey and Germany used audio devices to speak English to create their digital stories. We faced obstacles, such as different time zones, limited access to technologies, and parental and administration concerns with online technologies. However, we were able to encourage even our four year-old students to participate.

Participants will engage in activities that will teach them how to effectively integrate Web 2.0 tools to:

• provide meaningful reasons for students to practice speaking in English.
• facilitate students into their own learning using a creative outlet.
• involve students in creation and conversation outside of school.
• share videos, photos and podcasts.
• demonstrate to parents what is happening in the classroom.
• empower students to become familiar with technology and different cultures.
• reach a more authentic audience.

After briefly outlining which tools to use, we will demonstrate the points stated above by showing student products.

Please visit our wiki to discover the resources we will share: Technology For Kids Website