Teaching Academic Writing

This is a great blog about teaching academic writing. The author, Dr. Rachael Cayley, Univ of Toronto, is obviously an experienced, well-trained teacher of composition. I'm looking forward to the subsequent issues.

Reverse Outlines

I have tagged this post with reading and mind-mapping, as Reverse Outlining is also a very useful technique for understanding academic papers and how extensive texts are organized. I used this technique frequently during paper conferences to help students see where their organization had gone awry.

Be sure to join the CALL-IS Diigo Virtual Software Library to see more on Academic Writing.

280 Slides

I was directed to 280 slides by Nik Peachey's Ten Teacher Development Tasks for Web2.0 Tools (yes, I am still slogging on with them...) The presentation tool is really fun to use, and here is my exercise task completed. It's for intermediate students, who watch the two videos and make notes using an online dictionary, thesaurus, and/or translator, then write up a description of "My Favorite House."



You can also send the embedded video to Slideshare, or email it to friends.

My writing activity is very similar to Nik's, but I gave it different twist by using pairs at the computer, some online vocabulary resources, and a writing process with note-taking and discussion built-in.

Here is Nik's simpler version: Getting Video Tasks Online

WallWisher

WallWisher is not as useful pedagogically as other social networking tools I can think of.

You can add a picture (from a URL), or video, or audio file, but it doesn't have a way to put a URL into the text (without using up the tiny letter count), so that users can easily go visit the site. If you want to illustrate your sticky, you need another place/server/or knowledge of how to get an image location to stick it in. You can post to Facebook, et al., and link to pictures in Flickr.

The limited number of words/letters on a sticky means you can't say much--this is probably an advantage for young learners, but not necessarily for their education. A blog or wiki would give them the opportunity to be more expansive.


You could have a main sticky and then ask students to respond to it. But there is no way to organize the stickies besides moving them around physically. So this means the teacher/owner of the wall must do the work of organization, or let things happen at random. (See Nik Peachey's wall of teacher tools for social networking.)

So on the whole, I like the idea of a communal blog or wiki better: more opportunity to write expansively, ways to comment, RSS feed, easy ways to include URLs and lots of pictures, and esp. with a wiki, ways to organize pages.

But I can see Wallwisher as a way to make comments on an event or single Web page. You might have students visit a page or view a video (or put one into a head sticky), and then make a short comment on a Wallwisher page. If you have only 15-30 students, they could all read each other's comments (but if they then make more comments, you've quickly got a huge, disorganized mess...) If you use WallWisher the way it was intended, perhaps to wish a class member happy birthday, or to congratulate someone on getting citizenship, or to make a wish list, or to put up reminders for a project, then it's a nifty application.

Google Wave

Google Wave (see The Complete Guide) looks like the re-invention of email, kind of a combination of bulletin board, screencast, and mail. It will definitely be a pleasure to use. This is a nice illustration of the Wave:



There are a number of other things it can do, like embed "attachments," and I imagine it will have some audio/voice capability. You need an invitation to try it, however.

Discussion on Paraphrasing on the TESOL SLW-IS List

I'd greatly appreciate any help with this. I'm in my final semester in a master's program in adult ESL. I'm doing an internship in an intensive college-prep program. I'm preparing a lesson on paraphrasing for a group of low-level students. These students struggle with reading and do not yet know how to write persuasive essays. They're still working on paragraphs, but they need to begin getting the idea of paraphrasing.

Any suggestions for resources or activities would be greatly appreciated--especially ideas for how to scaffold from simpler kinds of paraphrasing to writing about a text.

My plan at this point is to start with asking them to explain the meaning of a basic proverb like, Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

Thanks to all,
Sheri Stein

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I think note-taking is good way to start paraphrasing, and it also encourages students to read more actively.

I would demonstrate how to take notes on a short essay, putting the notes in outline on the board or with an OHP. Then have students make notes for a different short essay and compare their notes with each other.

Infoplease has some good ideas for students, and the second half of this page is about taking notes from texts:
<http://www.infoplease.com/homework/studyskills2.html>

Lifehack's advice on taking notes is a little complex for lower level students, but you could easily extrapolate his list of what is important to make notes of:
<http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/advice-for-students-taking-notes-that-work.html>

Those are just a few sites I pulled from a quick Google search of "taking notes."

Cheers--
--Elizabeth Hanson-Smith
CSUS, emeritus
http://ehansonsmith.blogspot.com

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Another activity I do with lower level students is use our ESL newspapers and have them all read the same article, usually about a high-beginner/low-intermediate level article. Then we work together to summarize/paraphrase the article in one paragraph on the board/OHP using fewer than 5 sentences. This is really challenging for them. I then break them into groups, and they do the same. Next they are assigned various articles and perform the same activity indivitually. It's good to have plenty of these newspapers on hand!

I follow up this activity a couple days later by having them all read an article, then put the article down, and then paraphrase the article without looking at it. This is really a stretch but a great exercise.

Best,

Monique Abbett
Ashland, ELS Language Centers
Southern Oregon University

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One thing I do to scaffold paraphrasing is an activity I call
"backwards paraphrasing," in which I give the "complex" version and
the students have to write the "simple" version. I base it on the
vocabulary we've been studying. For example, if we've had the words
gravity, require, deliberate, I might give the students a sentence
like:

The serious nature of the situation makes it necessary to
think carefully.

The students must replace the underlined phrases
with the correct form of the vocabulary word (if students are still
beginning, I may supply a list of the words in the correct form).
This accomplishes several things: 1) it scaffolds use of new
vocabulary, 2) it demonstrates a form of paraphrasing, and 3) it
leads to a good discussion about why we have to learn all that
vocabulary in the first place (conciseness and precision).

Sheryl Slocum
Alverno College

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Teaching paraphrasing is difficult, and while I see the value of this
suggested activity, it's an approach I avoid with students because some
may see this as plagiarizing the original author's sentence structure
by "plugging in" synonyms.

Instead, I ask students to look at a sentence, identify phrases and
parts of speech, and rearrange the information in "new" sentence
structure.

Thus, taking the original:

The serious nature of the situation makes it necessary to think carefully.

and taking it apart as phrases and parts of speech and how they
function:

the serious nature (noun phrase)
of the situation (prep. phrase), etc.
makes
it
necessary
to think
carefully

and turning it into a different structure:

Thoughtful consideration is necessary because the situation is grave.

This has the potential to teach vocabulary, accurate paraphrasing, and
sentence structure.

Heidi Anderson

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As far as I know and have tried, I asked students to work in pairs on one article or one paragraph. I asked them to identify the idea in the article and discussed between one another. Then students were asked to write one paragraph for themselves by restating on what they have read in their own words. Next, the pairs exchanged the draft to one another. Each student commented on his/her friend's paragraph whether his/her friend had covered the idea stated in the article.

Pisarn Chamcharatsri

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The "pictograph" poster (or page) has been an effective paraphrasing strategy for beginners in my classes (High School/California). I usually start out by brainstorming the word "plagairize." We might discuss the meaning (from the Latin 'to kidnap'), why people plagairize, how it is interpreted in different cultures, the consequences in our society, school policy, etc. Once we've established the importance of paraphrasing (and citing) and quoting, I guide them to analyze the different formats with several hands-on activities that match quotes, paraphrases and summaries with examples from familiar texts. Next, we read and annotate a new text together. (I model the process the first time with a classroom example. Then, I give each group their own article to annotate.) For the pictograph, I supply groups of 3-4 students with posters (and an article or text of some sort per group), chart paper or regular paper. Then, I instruct them to include the following on their posters: the title of the text, the author, 3 bullets of significant facts or details and a drawing that represents a powerful idea or theme from the text. (If you have access to more technology, you could easily use online pictures or clip art.) You could also have them include a key sentence or phrase quote. By encouraging students to reflect and create an icon, picture or "non-linguistic representation" (Marzano) of the reading, beginning students learn to paraphrase and avoid plagiarism.(Note: one way to make sure that everyone participated in the process is to ask that each student select a color marker and use only that color. They can sign their names in the same color.) When the students write their summaries or responses based on their own posters, they can paraphrase:)

Julie Goldman

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This is a very interesting article on plagiarism by Dahlia Syahrani Md. Yusof I found when doing research for a writing class in the MA-TESL program at SPU in Seattle. It is from the Internet TESL Journal, Vol XV, No. 2, February 2009 http://iteslj.org/Articles/Yusof-Plagiarism.html

Dyani R. Bartlett

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Movie Segments to Assess Grammar Goals

...is really something of a misnomer, since it is more a blog where students can practice various grammar and syntax items using questions and exercises set by the teacher, Claudio Azevedo (Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasilia), with the prompt being video clips (professional), rather than a textbook.

The video at Movie Segments is a really nice motivator, and the questions and exercises have a good deal of subtlety, deploying a cognitive approach that engages the student and goes beyond sheer grammar. It is also a nice expression of how a blog can be used instructionally. Frequent updates are promised.

--Thanks to Ronaldo Lima, Jr., on the Webheads' list for the referral

Free Digital Photos

This looks like it might be a useful site to find imagess for a vocabulary exercise or for student projects. Photos are free and copyright free. Of course, there is always the option to add the extra $$ for a print version. Also, student photographers can upload their work and ask for money. Good potential.

Daily English Activities

Nik Peachey's new blog, Daily English Activities, for students and teachers (with teacher lesson plans and support) is developing beautifully. I especially like the way he finds interesting sites, like Yolango (which has video trailers with scripts and subtitles), and creates ready-to-use lesson plans making use of them; or points students to ways to enhance or make regular use of the resource.


Hope he keeps on with this development. It's also an interesting use for a blog.

VUE - Visual Understanding Environment

I have explored VUE, a project of Tufts University, while looking at a variety of mind-mapping or concept-mapping sites and software. VUE is free and has an excellent, visually attractive video explaining its features. It seems to combine the best of mind maps, presentation software, and the flexibility to link across several different concept tracks. It is well worth exploring for advanced student projects, for example, involving research and media, and is a free download and cross-platform (but not for Mac X.3). It looks to be an excellent presentation platform because, unlike PowerPoint, it can combine linear and non-linear approaches to presenting.

Dipity

Dipity has an easy Google-type interface that allows you to create a timeline. This is an example from Michael Coughlan's Life.

Other Webheads have suggested using the interface in a jig-saw activity, where groups of students can add the info they collect as they read or research. You can add info/pix from other sites, such as Twitter and Flickr.

WritingFix

Definitely for advanced learners, WritingFix is targeted toward U.S. high school students and teachers. However, it has a lot of good advice about writing, and is billed as "the home of interactive writing prompts." Various parts of the site will generate random prompts to start writing on a variety of topics and content subjects. It also has general advice about writing essays, e.g., developing voice, organizing, sentence fluency, conventions, etc. In Spring of 2008, the site will have an extensive section of the various parts of the writing process. A good place for EFL/ESL teachers to grab ideas.

E-Portfolios

In a discussion some time ago on the Webheads' list, Sharon Betts (http://www.sharonbetts.org/site/pmwiki.php) gave us a nice list of definitions of tools that might be used for electronic portfolios. I cite her here with her permission:

*Blogs* - Blogs are ongoing individual postings with the ability to take
comments from readers. This is a great way to journal, reflect or get
input.

*WIKIs* - are online editable pages available to anyone given
permission. Usually you can attach files to wiki pages and there is a
comment page connected. This is good for collaboration. It does not
fit the journal model as well as it does a portfolio / archive model.
Of course, it is also great for multiple editors of a single document.

*Forums* - threaded discussions. Can be used for the same as above.
They individualize each posting, but in a threaded manner unlike blogs
which are sequential

*Social networks* - combine all or some of the above with many added
features. If you are ready to launch your students into the cybersphere
of learning, this is the way to go. I like Ning - but it still does not
have a wiki module although the blog and forums are great.

*Course Management Systems* - also combines the above features and adds
the ability to quiz etc. It is an online class. My favorite is Moodle
(at the moment). Students are part of a class and can use the forums,
wikis, as well as complete assignments. I do not like the blogging
feature presently being used.

There are hybrids of all the above - and more appear each day. The key
is to know what your goals are for each project.

• Is it your students first adventure into online learning?
  
• Do you simply want journals?
  
• Do you wish to attach artifacts?
  
• Do you want to actually hold your class online with assessment and all?
  
• Do you want to use these [features] in a more social atmosphere?
  
• Do you have the ability to pay for a service or to host it "in house"?
  

CoPe_it! and other Mind Map Managers

CoPe_it! was recommended by some Webheads looking for Webware to edit mind maps collaborately. This tool appears to have nice visual effects and is directed to

supporting argumentative collaboration and decision making for Communities of Practice.

Other tools mentioned were Gliffy (discussed elsewhere in this blog and something I've used quite a bit for very professional-looking diagrams), Thinkature (real-time collaboration on the Web, allowing the use of your own photos and drawings), and the software, MindManager (for both Mac and Win/DOS), which is not simultaneously collaborative, as I understand it.

Other visual-assist tools include FreeMind, a free, downloadable, Java-based software purportedly faster than MindManager because of one-click "fold/unfold" and "follow link" operations. There is a gallery with some jazzy examples, and you can upload/archive your own there for free, too.

Skrble is an online whiteboard with collaborative features that you can put in your blog as a widget:

Start skrbl & give out your URL; instantly share online. Collaborate with others or, keep skrbl your own private web space.

Bubbl.us looks very cool as a collaborative tool and suggests it might be useful for brainstorming. Love the concept, but like much of Java-based stuff, it tends to be a bit slithery. It will take a little getting used to to use the "bubbles" with facility.

Mindomo is another mind-mapping tool:

Mindomo is a versatile Web-based mind mapping tool, delivering the capabilities of desktop mind mapping software in a Web browser - with no complex software to install or maintain.

Create, edit mind maps, and share them with your colleagues or your friends.

So all of these share some features and would involve a bit of trial-and-error to decide which worked best for your students.

Thanks to Moira Hunter, Carla Arena, and other Webheads for good links!