Chapter 5 Using Information and Communications Technologies
33 Helping learners to get started with e-mail
34 Setting up computer conferencing
35 Choosing computer-aided packages
36 Designing computer-delivered assessment elements
37 Giving learners feedback using e-mail
What are ‘information and communications technologies’? Everything from
computers, computer conferences, electronic mail (e-mail, or simply email) can
be classified under this broad heading. In this chapter, we offer some suggestions
that are central to your likely starting position regarding information and
communications technologies. If this is a major area of your work, much more
detail (in the same format and in the same series of books) is available in 500
Computing Tips for Teachers and Lecturers (Phil Race and Steve McDowell,
1996) and 500 Computing Tips for Trainers (Steve McDowell and Phil Race,
1998).
Information and communications technologies may be available to learners in
their classroom, in a self-access laboratory situation or, indeed, in their homes.
The nature and extent of their access will be an important factor in your
decisions on how best to use information technologies with them. Perhaps a
majority of our tips in this chapter assume at least a degree of out-of-class
access.
We begin with some suggestions about getting learners started with e-mail.
We assume that you are already using e-mail yourself—if you’re not, then
perhaps reading this set of tips will encourage you to get started. We then look at
computer conferencing: for language learners, computer conferencing can be a
powerful way of developing spontaneous written communication skills, in an
environment where they can receive a great deal of useful feedback from each
other, in the comfort and privacy of a seat at a computer terminal.
The range of computer-aided language learning packages is growing rapidly,
and much may be available which would help your students to interact with