MOTIVATING 21 st CENTURY LEARNERS:
WEB TOOLS AND WIKI ACTIVITIES FOR THE EFL CLASS
Usoa Sol
APAC ELT Convention, 27th February 2011
A wiki is a collaborative website which can easily be created, edited and used without any
previous knowledge of technical computing language. It’s a great tool for several users to share
and jointly edit information without using email. In EFL class, a wiki holds great potential as it can
prove extremely useful for displaying students’ work (for other students and for their parents to
see). In addition, it provides an opportunity for students to look at their classmates’ work and give
feedback on it (in English, of course!). The wiki can also be used as a repository of extra resources
for students to practise their listening and reading skills. Finally, it is also a place where students
can contribute their ideas in English and use their English in a purposeful way and for a real
audience. This also gives them a sense of ownership and a reason for using English, which makes
language learning more meaningful and therefore motivating.
I’ve been using a wiki with my ESO and Batxillerat students for three years now, and it’s been a
roaring success to date. Students are very proud of their English wiki and are really eager to
contribute to it. I also find that it’s made them more autonomous as learners, as well as more
aware of the fact that together they can achieve a great deal more than when just working on their
own. What’s more, it’s made them really examine their classmates’ work and critique it (as well as
their own!). Finally, having real people out there who could potentially look at their wiki has boosted
their performance and made them really work hard! If you want to check it out, here’s the address:
www.santgregorienglish.pbworks.com
This is a screenshot of Sant Gregori School’s English wiki Front Page.
In order to set up the wiki we use in the English Department, I chose PBworks, but you can
also choose to create your own with Wikispaces (www.wikispaces.com) or Wetpaint
(www.webpaint.com).
A wiki offers endless possibilities, as you can create tables, insert links, embed documentsand
media and make comments. All of this is just a mouse-click away! The other good thing about a
wiki is that the teacher is always “in control”. As the administrator, you choose what is posted on
the wiki and what isn’t. You can decide which users (i.e. students) you would like to invite and you
can keep track of who’s done what, and at exactly what time, as an email is sent to you everytime
the wiki is modified. This works to your advantage as students know that they’re being monitored at
all times (thereby preventing misuse of the wiki). When it comes to editing a wiki, it is extremely
simple as it’s just like working on a Word document. You basically need to use the Edit button to
add material or make changes and the Save button to save the changes you have made.
Here are five activities I’ve done with my teenage students in ESO which have worked really
well. These activities can obviously also be done without using a wiki, but the wiki element adds a
further step where the students have to read each other’s work and comment on it. That way,
students realise they’re writing for a real audience (namely, their classmates), which increases the
pressure on them to perform better.
1. VOKI AVATARS
The first activity is perfect for describing people. It’s done using Voki (www.voki.com) and I did
it with my ESO 2 students as a way of “spicing up” the typical famous people description. After
having done a few introductory tasks and having worked on the language required to describe
people’s appearance, students were asked to write a description of a famous person of their
choice. The only condition was they had to keep the person’s identity a secret, as they would
otherwise spoil the whole purpose of the exercise. Once the descriptions had been corrected (first
by me using a correction code and then rewritten by the students), I asked them to memorise their
text (which was about 8 sentences long). Then, using a hand-held voice recorder, students left the
class to record their texts one by one. (They’d done this before, so I could trust them!). Finally, we
had two sessions in the computer room. In the first session, the students had to create a Voki
avatar to accompany their description. They could choose to have any avatar they wished and
accessorise it whichever way they liked. As you can see on the wiki page below, my students
chose to “be” dogs, cats, Obama, skeletons or Gingerbread men. I didn’t have anything to say
about that provided the avatar was not offensive.
These are the screenshots of some of the Voki avatars my ESO 2 students created for this activity.
Click here http://santgregorienglish.pbworks.com/w/page/35676834/Unit%203%20ESO%202%20Vokis to
actually listen to the students’ Vokis.
By the second session, I had already embedded the voice recording in each of the students’
avatars. (With this particular group, I chose to embed the recordings myself, but in ESO 3, for
example, I taught students how to embed the voice recordings and they did it themselves!). The
students’ main task was to listen to each of the avatars and find out (a) who was speaking and (b)
which famous person was being described. In order to make the task easier, I created a chart
which the students had to complete. I also asked them to leave a comment on the wiki giving their
opinion on the three Vokis they liked best and why. (This is another example of how the wiki can be
used collaboratively).
This is an actual example of the chart I asked students to fill in.
After the second computer session, those students who hadn’t finished completing their chart
did it for homework for the following class. (Amazingly enough, they all had done their homework
that day!). The next class, we went over the chart and finally announced who had recorded each of
the Vokis to see if the students had guessed correctly.
Important tips for this activity:
1. Create an account for each class, so all the “ESO 2” students, for example, have the same
username and password. This way, you’ll be able to monitor who does what and to make any
changes you feel are necessary.
2. Give students limited time to create their avatar. Otherwise, they’ll spend longer looking for
the best accessories than actually listening to their classmates’ texts!
3. Provide some feedback once the activity has been completed. This works as a wrap-up slot
for students to see what’s been accomplished and how successful the whole activity has been. In
this case, for example, providing points for the correct guesses is an easy way of giving another
reason to complete the task correctly.
The fact that the Vokis are online makes them appealing for students. Furthermore, they’re
technically very easy to create, so students can work quite autonomously except when embedding
the recordings, which is a bit trickier the first time you do it. (However, the recording is optional, as
Voki has an option to use a robot-like voice for your avatar). The whole point of keeping the
celebrity’s name secret is for students to have a reason to write their text and to listen to their
classmates. The fact that the avatars are posted on the wiki encourages students to do their best
and create something which will be approved of not only by their teacher but also, most
importantly, by their classmates.
2. DVOLVER FILMS
For this second activity, I used a software tool called Dvolver (available on www.dvolver.com).
This is a movie-making website which allows you to create your own short film in no time. Dvolver
is easy to use and free, but it doesn’t offer the possibility of recording dialogues for the film. The
only sound that you can add to your film is background music. Having said that, Dvolver is perfect
for making dialogues come alive in a fun way. I did this activity with my ESO 1 students to
consolidate the use of be going to and will, as well as of the First Conditional. After having worked
on a sample film I had made myself (which is called Alien Invasion! and which you can watch at
www.dvolver.com/live/movies-252329), students were asked to create their own film in pairs.
The topic of the film was open, but the only condition was they had to use one example of be going
to, one of will, and one First Conditional structure.
So as to avoid “cold writing”, students were provided with some questions to brainstorm ideas
about their film:
Complete the following sentences with the correct form of “be going to” and the verbs in brackets.
Then answer the questions about your Dvolver film.
1. What title _____________________________ (your film / have)?
2. What _________________________________ (the story / be) about?
3. How many scenes ________________________________ (your film / have): one, two or
three?
4. How many characters ________________________________ (you / choose): one or two?
5. How many lines of dialogue ______________________________ (you / write): two, four
or six?
Then we went to the computer room and the students started creating their online film in
groups. First, they chose the characters they wanted, the type of story (the four options were a
rendez-vous, a pick-up, a chase or a soliloquy) and they wrote a draft of the dialogue in their film
(which I corrected on the spot). The result was really rewarding (both for the teacher and for the
students!) and it was definitely an enjoyable activity with lots of language practice, but also with lots
of laughs!
These are some screenshots from the film The Perfect Couple created by two of my ESO 1 students.
Click here http://santgregorienglish.pbworks.com/w/page/26103510/Unit%206%20ESO%201 to
see all the films my ESO 1 students created.
One advantage of this activity is that it’s technically very simple, so students can work
autonomously. What’s more, it caters for different levels and allows for creativity, as you have the
option of making a film with one, two or three scenes and to have two, four or six lines of dialogue
in each scene, writing as little as one word and as many as 100 words per line of dialogue.
Students were very motivated to create their films, as the activity was very manageable (the text
they had to write was very short) and also appealing (it didn’t feel like a writing task). As a followup, I asked my students to watch their classmates’ films and leave a comment on the wiki justifying
their opinions.
This is an actual example of the comments the students wrote about their classmates’ films.
I also asked them to award a mark to each of the films (except their own!). The film awarded
the highest mark was given a diploma and was shown in class. This last step of the activity gave
students the chance to be the teacher for once, which the students really enjoyed (and showed
themselves to be the toughest judges of their peers’ work!).
3. GLOGSTER POSTERS
The third activity was probably the most successful of all five! For this one, I used Glogster (an
online poster-making website available at www.glogster.com). I did the exercise with my ESO 2
group (a low pre-intermediate level), although you can also use it with older students (a fellow
teacher got some ESO 4 students to make a Glogster poster too). The function I wanted to work on
was talking about oneself (character, likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc.) and the language area
covered in the oral presentation was verbs of like and dislike and also, personality adjectives.
To arouse student’s interest, I started the activity by giving them a text about me with three
options. They had to guess the correct option, at this stage, without asking any questions. Then I
showed them my Glogster poster to give them some extra hints. Finally, I presented my poster
orally and students had to listen and check how many of their answers were correct.
After this introductory stage, I asked students to adapt the text I had given them initially and
change the chunks in bold to make them true about themselves (but also giving three options).
This is the text that Maria Garcia (one of my students in ESO 2) wrote following the model:
Now I’m going to tell you a bit about me:
I’m 13 / 16 / 18 years old and I’m a Gemini / Aquarius / Libra.
My birthday is in June / July / October.
I haven’t got any / have got one / have got two brothers and one / two / three sisters.
I love listening to music / watching TV / reading books and dancing / running / painting.
Black-eyed Peas / Estopa / El canto del loco is one of the bands I like most, but one of my
favorite songs is Bad Romance / Loca Loca / Waka Waka because it's very energetic / relaxing
/ energising.
I also like travelling and Greece / Italy / Australia is a country where I’d like to go to in the future
because it’s really interesting / exotic / exciting.
I hate people who are unpleasant / who are too serious / who are untidy and having to get up
early /having to go to school / having to do my homework is the thing that annoys me the most.
I think I’m cheerful and friendly / untidy and impatient / tidy and shy and I enjoy meeting new
people /meeting my friends / going to the cinema.
I love eating pizza / cheese / vegetables.
My friends say I’m very quiet / talkative / untidy and I spend hours reading / watching films /
sending text messages. I’m also interested in music / art / sport and I find sportsmen like Turé
and Bojan / singers like Shakira / painters like Picaso and Dalí fascinating.
Next, we went to the computer lab and students designed a Glogster poster to illustrate the text
they had written.
This is the Glogster poster the same student designed to illustrate the text she had written.
You can see the full-size version online at http://englisheso.edu.glogster.com/mariasglog/
Click here http://englisheso.edu.glogster.com/dashboard/ to see all the Glogster posters created by
last year’s (and this year’s!) ESO 2 students. (In order to access the posters you need to log
in as englisheso; password: ilovenglish).
After a week, students had to present their posters in front of the class and their classmates
were given the corresponding text with three options so that their reason for listening was finding
the correct answer. The poster was used as a visual aid and it livened up the presentation. As a
follow-up task, I asked students to write two questions for each of their classmates on the wiki
(which the person that was being asked would then have to reply to on the wiki). As well as that,
the students were asked to leave a comment discussing which poster they liked best and why. This
gave them another reason to look at their classmates’ work and analyse it. This is an example of
what Maria's classmates wrote:
Overall, the activity was very successful and the students immediately asked to do it again! It’s
really eye-catching and appealing to students, as it enables them to be as creative as they can, but
without daunting them (because it’s technically very intuitive to use). In addition, it’s especially
suitable for visual and kinaesthetic learners and it caters for all levels, as it doesn’t require much
English. In this case, since I knew I wanted my students to present their poster orally I only allowed
them to write keywords on it, not whole chunks of text. (However, you can also use it for students
to write whole paragraphs). These posters proved to be a really good starting point for oral work
and it gave the audience something to look at (and to gossip about!).
4. MYSTUDIYO SURVEYS AND QUIZZES
The fourth activity was quite simple, yet also very successful. It was done using Mystudiyo (at
www.mystudiyo.com), which I had previously signed up for with a username and a password. It’s
worth mentioning that I created a private account for me to experiment with and a public account
for students to use. What I mean is that the username and the password for the latter were not my
own personal ones, but public ones for all the students to have in order to be able to edit the
survey both in class and from home.
After having done a survey on love and friendship in class, I asked students to write their own
survey in groups. Once again, there were no restrictions on the topic, as long as the surveys were
interesting and meaningful (not only for them!). After having corrected the draft, I took students to
the computer room and they typed out the final version of their surveys using Mystudiyo. They also
wrote a short text explaining the meaning of the points obtained.
This is one of the questions the students wrote in their “What kind of music defines you?” survey.
Click here
http://santgregorienglish.pbworks.com/w/page/31209749/ESO%203%20surveys%20Ms%20Sol%27s%20group
to see some of the surveys last year’s ESO 3 students uploaded on the wiki.
These are the actual results I got when I took the survey myself.
The next step was for all the students to take their classmates’ surveys and leave a comment on
the wiki giving their opinion on which one they found the most interesting (and why), as well as
discussing the results obtained and saying to what extent they agreed with them.
These are the actual comments that some of the students wrote about their classmates’ surveys.
The advantage of this activity is that it’s student-generated and personalised, so it’s bound to
be relevant for your students and therefore successful. Also, it’s technically simple to use and
manageable, which means students can focus on writing correct English rather that on which
button to click on. The final step of the activity (feedback-giving) provides a solid reason to create a
really interesting survey (as their classmates are going to take it and give their opinion on it!).
Another activity I did with my students using Mystudiyo was designing a general knowledge
quiz. After having done one in class, students got into groups and wrote a set of 9 questions about
any subject they liked (topics included history, geography, sports and science). The students first
drafted them and after having corrected them, they typed them out in the computer lab using
Mystudiyo.
This is an example of a Science quiz some ESO 3 students wrote. I was very pleasantly surprised
to see that they had thought of questions related to materials they were studying in other
subjects, in this case, biology. (The biology teacher definitely appreciated it!)
Click here
http://santgregorienglish.pbworks.com/w/page/31210048/ESO%203%20Trivial%20Pursuit%20quizzes
%20Ms%20Sol%27s%20group
for last year ESO 3 students’ Trivial Pursuit quizzes.
The next step was for their classmates to take the Trivial Pursuit-style quizzes and also leave
a comment discussing the results they had got and how difficult and interesting they thought each
of the quizzes was. This gave rise to some good group discussion on the wiki.
These were some of the comments students wrote about the Science quiz. (Notice “the Serrarols
teacher” [meaning Mr.Serrarols] refers to the Biology teacher).
One of the main positive aspects of this last activity is that it can incorporate an element of
CLIL (since it can cover different areas and therefore other subjects are dealt with through
English). In addition, it has an element of game and competition that really appeals to teenage
learners (“see how many answers I get correct”). This also gives students a reason to take the
quizzes as it provides a challenge and an opportunity to be better than their classmates.This
competitiveness also contributes to improving students’ work, because since they know their
classmates are going to be taking the quizzes, they come up with tricky questions which are both
challenging and interesting.
5. WALLWISHER
The last activity was carried out using Wallwisher (www.wallwisher.com), which is basically a
website that enables you to create an online post-it wall where students can write their post-it notes
just by double-clicking on the wall. In order to use it, you need to register with a username and
password. You can then embed the wall on a wiki and students can easily edit it without having to
register.
Wallwisher is easy to use and monitor and it’s especially useful for summaries, to get students
to give their opinion and to brainstorm ideas. It’s got an appealing format and from the students’
point of view it doesn’t feel like writing, as texts are typed and can be enhanced with images and
links. Finally, there’s the element of collaboration, because every student contributes to the final
product (i.e. the wall).
This is a screenshot of a Wallwisher wall that I created with my ESO 3 students to summarise the
content of the reader Australia and New Zealand. After having read it in class, each student wrote
a list with the main ideas for the chapter they had been assigned and wrote a short text as a post-it
note on the wall. (Notice again the collaborative element of this activity). In the end, all the chapters
had been summarised and enhanced with images and video.
To
see
the
actual
Wallwisher
wall,
click
on
this
link:
http://santgregorienglish.pbworks.com/w/page/35582819/Australia%20and%20New%20Zealand%20reader
As the administrator of the wall, you have the option of approving posts before they are actually
posted. By doing so, you can monitor what the students write and make any corrections you find
necessary. This also puts you in control, which results in students taking the activity more seriously
and really thinking about what they write.
This is a screenshot of a post that is awaiting approval. As an administrator, you have to approve
each of the posts before they can actually be posted. You also have the option of editing them
before approving them.
This is another Wallwisher wall that I created with my ESO 3 students to discuss the advantages
and disadvantages of using ICT in class. Students could post their opinions freely, as long as they
justified them using the expressions we had previously learnt in class.
To
see
the
actual
Wallwisher
wall,
click
on
this
link:
http://santgregorienglish.pbworks.com/w/page/35770777/ICT%20post-it%20wall%20ESO%203
Finally, these are some of the comments my students made about the use of ICT in the EFL
classroom:
So, as a conclusion, how can wikis and web tools help our students with English?
 Encouraging them to read/listen to each other and to give each other feedback.
 Motivating them to contribute and giving them a sense of ownership (“this is our English wiki”).
 Showcasing their work (both to classmates and to parents).
 Providing them with a real audience.
 Giving them a reason to write/speak in English.
 Bringing their world into the classroom (everyday use of technology), providing variety and
making tasks appealing.
 Developing language skills and competence; making them more autonomous as learners
by asking them to make decisions about their own learning.
But, of course, having said that, it’s also important to bear in mind that ICT should be used as a
tool to supplement and enhance teaching, but not the ultimate goal in itself. What’s more, since
technical problems might arise unexpectedly, having a plan B at hand (and loads of patience!) is
paramount.
As a conclusion, I would definitely encourage all of you to just go for it and give wikis a try! You
basically learn through experimenting and discovering how it works because they’re actually
technically very simple and intuitive to use. It’s also really useful to have a look at other people’s
wikis, because that’s where you can get a great deal of inspiration for your own. All in all, having
your own wiki is all about not feeling overwhelmed and being willing to spend some time working
on it! (It gets really addictive, actually!) Your students will definitely love you for it and all your work
and efforts will undoubtedly pay off!
For any queries, comments or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at
usoasol@gmail.com. All the activities and tutorials on how to use the web tools mentioned are
posted on www.yourearealkeener.pbworks.com under Teacher Training seminars.