Assignments and Reflections

Kinds of Computer Aided Language Learning

Prior to this, our knowledge of the actual approach to computer aided language learning went as far as what the computer could do for us. We were by and large concerned with using them as electronic workbooks and exercise dispensers, which could then mark exercises for us. Until then, we had not realizes that popular computer mediated communication techniques, such as emails, forums, online chats and even podcasts, sound-files and online videos could and were used to aid the learning experience of new language learners. It opens up a world of newer, more enhanced learning techniques, and brings the stoic academic feel of the learning experience closer and more intimate with our daily lives. If we can do all this learning from the things we already consider forms of leisure and entertainment, studying need not be a one-sided drudgery. It can be a stimulating, holistic experience indistinguishable from our entertainment and leisure.

Lesson Plans

We always wondered how a lecturer comes up with what he or she is supposed to tech it and how she is supposed to do so. Our assumptions were that most tutors and lecturers simply know enough about what they teach to teach what they can according to a course outline, which is more of a rough schedule. Now we know that at the very least, the average lecturer plans out his or her lessons as if it were a cognitive blueprint, possibly well ahead in advance, and does so with the intention of using a structure to the lesson that simplifies the experience enough for the student not to become confused in the potential tidal wave of information that befalls them every class. Makes us wonder about what else we should be planning for; if there are other activities in life that can benefit from a well thought out plan.

The Blog Assignment

Although many of us have blogs, and some of us make a habit of updating it, we don't think we ever had to put much thought into how the blog was designed or for who the blog we wrote on was supposed to appeal to. Things such as intuitive layouts, thematic consistency, neat orderly arrangements of media, and most of all having some idea of what people might want out of a blog, aren't just academic exercises disjointed from the rest of our lives. If we do have blogs, and we like keeping blogs, and if we ever intend of making a living with or keeping a popular blog, these suddenly become quite pertinent. Its the thing that one would probably be taught in a communication's course, but as English Majors we aren't necessarily exposed to practical media and communication application principles. So this helps us with our blogging skills, which might be part of our academic or professional repertoire in the future. Which is nice.

The Journal Literature Review

Literature reviews are difficult, especially academic journals on socially complex phenomena like asynchronous computer media communication. They are very long and complicated, and due to the sheer complexity of the variables present in the research, studies like the ones we reviewed produced quite a lot of data for the size of the study done. Making concise sense of something like this is not easy, getting our heads around the hypotheses of these studies can be a daunting task. But that is exactly the point. The distillation of knowledge from extremely complex forms to one of brevity and accuracy does not just land us with a convenient summary to the thing researched. By taking an active part in the simplification, we teach ourselves to think in more efficient terms. We learn to condense our thoughts down to their most relevant points, and we acquire a bird's eye view of the problem at hand as well as its solution. We learn to simplify our thoughts without being simplistic, and that is an important distinction to be made.

Online Forum Discussion Participation

The forum is an old concept. Mostly known in antiquity as the hallmark of Greco-Roman forum, back then it was a place where people discussed and debated issues of state and of philosophical importance. Today's internet forum is essentially an electronic graphically interfaced bulletin board, a kind of asynchronous computer media communication (asynchronous because it isn't, in layman's terms, "live"). It still holds, however, the same attribute of being a lively place for voicing out opinions and thoughts, and debating stances and claims made by its members. It stands as very little wonder why the online forum would be used as a teaching tool in academic situations, since the earliest pedagogical intellectual paradigm is the Socratic method, that calls for debates and discussions.

The good thing about online discussions is the distance, in terms of time and place. Students don't have to be face to face with each other and fear ridicule or judgment, and can take as much time as they need and do so in the most preferred time of the day to give the forum their very best responses. Contrast this with the stifling awkwardness of a real class. Hardly anyone speaks up in class, because at the same time, those of us raised in more traditional high-context cultures aren't encouraged to speak up. This is an interesting opportunity to those that want to, and gives comfortable distance to those who are hesitant to.