The Language Works Lounge

Organization has always been the bane of educators. From lesson plans to classroom materials, there has to be a method within the madness of putting it all together. Now that we have computers at our disposal, the task is definitely easier to manage. The outlook is good.

The immediate need is to develop. But how? One good answer is online materials using flash files. The flash file format seems to have the most potential for universal application. They can be generated from scratch using Adobe flash file creation tools, or they can be converted from Microsoft PowerPoint presentations using any number of conversion tools.

The next question is: What to develop? We need curricula and we need quality software and useful websites: organized, effective, user-friendly and engaging resources. Technology is just the vehicle– a tremendous amount of brainwork and effort will be necessary to produce these on and offline materials. The sky is really the limit in terms of materials development.

On the other hand, there must be some perspective on this seemingly limitless potential. There must be a happy medium that exists between the flash and bang of multi-media “events” and the droll and hypnotizing computer-game-style exercises that have become ubiquitous across the web. An online curriculum must utilize the highest quality and most effective resources from all non-CALL curricula and transform it into electronic media that serves to optimize the effectiveness of the content to be learned. It must be practical (without redundancy) engaging (minus the bells and whistles) and effective (organized, clear and concise).

Not only are we talking about a new form of lesson content, we are also demanding eclecticism of current curricular materials. Every ESL/EFL teacher (and student) knows the extraordinary selection of textbooks, workbooks, storybooks and cassette tapes available in bookshops. The mundane aspects of these materials must be replaced with more stream-lined resources suitable for online curricula. The increased quality of resource elements (illustrations, animations, photos and other visual material) and the means to present them (fast, reliable hardware and optimal bandwidth) matched by clear, concise organization and higher quality lesson content will boost the level of learning potential by degrees. Classrooms adapting to the new online curricula will certainly be the classrooms of the future.

Reference: Timothy Brockley, The Language Works Articles, Call and English, Online Curricula— Classrooms of the future, 2-22-2007.

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