English Study Skills and the Internet

Module 1: Introduction/Getting Acquainted

Links

This module will help you find out more about the course, your classmates and the instructor. To begin with, you should read through the syllabus, schedule and evaluation so you know what is expected of you. Then, you can briefly look through the other modules to get an idea of what else we will be doing.

E-Lecture
As stated in the course description, the goals of this course include

(1) promoting learner autonomy,
(2) helping you develop all four language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking), and
(3) building your confidence in using the target language to communicate and pursue further studies.

We are going to learn some ways to do this using websites and other resources on the Internet. You should know before we start though that the Internet is not magic. Learning English requires practice, and this sometimes involves hard work. Still, I believe learning English with Internet resources can be challenging and fun.

To get us started, we need to learn about the tools we will be using in this course. Hopefully, you now know how to get around the ELSSI website.

As you may have noticed, each of the modules begins with an E-lecture. This section includes both an overview and some background notes. Please note that I have tried to keep this short and to the point.

The next section (Activities) includes instructions for trying out online resources for specific skills. Naturally, work on one skill can involve other skills. For example, when working on listening activities you may also need to do some reading to answer questions.

The Assignments section explains what you need to do and the due date. Each module requires you to participate in an online discussion forum and post to a weblog (blog). We will use MSN Groups for online discussions and each learner will set up a blog at Blogger.com.

Finally, the Links section includes other online resources that might be useful or of interest.

Please let me know if you find any dead links. You can report these to me at bjones_jp@yahoo.com.

Feel free to contact me if you have any problems with the activities or assignments.

Have fun!

Activities
(1) Sign up for a Microsoft .NET Passport at MSN Groups.
(2) Take a look around the MSN Groups website. Take notes on some of the groups you might be interested in joining in the future.
(3) Find the ELSSI Forum at MSN Groups, post your self introduction and read the other postings (Your name and e-mail address will need to be added before you can join).
(4) Click TAKE A QUICK TOUR in the upper right-hand corner at Blogger.com.
(5) Create an account and set up a blog at Blogger.com. Include me (bjones_jp) in the members area under settings. When you have set up your blog, post your thoughts, ideas and questions about the ELSSI course.

Assignments
(1) Read my welcome letter, write a response letter and e-mail it to me at bjones_jp@yahoo.com. This is due by October 4 (Monday).
(2) Participate in the ELSSI class discussion forum at MSN Groups (This includes your introduction letter and responses to your classmates). Initial posting is due by 11/4 (Mon). Responses due by 11/11 (Mon).
(3) Create a blog at blogger.com (directions will be e-mailed to you), write you impressions of module 1 and the course so far, then send me the URL and password for your blog so I can read and comment. This is due by 11/11 (Monday).

Links
Adam's Smile Zone - Everything you wanted to know about blogging.
National Directory - More information on blogs and blogging.
E-mail Netiquette - Includes useful advice for e-mail and online communication

- Evaluation
Grading rubric for evaluating learner performance and survey to evaluate the course.

Glossary
Learner autonomy - this means students learn to work by themselves
Instructions - how to do something
Blog - web page where you can publish your thoughts, etc.

Acknowledgments
This course was designed and developed as a requirement for the L630 Course Development for Online Educators course through the Education Department at Indiana University. The work of both Karen Hallett and Eileen Cotton provided inspiration for the content and organization of this course. This page was created using Netscape Navigator Gold.

English Language Study Skills and the Internet (ELSSI)