USING WEB 2.0 TOOLS IN THE CLASSROOM

Many EFL/ESL teachers look for creative ways to encourage and motivate their students to learn language effectively. However, language in real life is not confined to textbooks and paper-based assignments. In order to practice language, one needs a creative and an interactive environment to produce unrehearsed utterances and sentences. Hence, the importance of introducing web 2.0 applications in the classroom. The purpose of this presentation is to show how Technology speaks in and beyond the classroom. In this workshop the researcher will present the idea of using web 2.0 tools to enhance learning. Web 2.0 refers to websites that give the user the chance to participate, create, interact and share information online (Gooding, 2007) In this presentation the researcher will introduce web tools such as blogs, wikis, movie-maker, online cartoons, Moodle, Blackboard and the 3D virtual worlds such as Alice and Second life and how EFL/ESL teachers can use these applications in teaching English. The presenter will show that some of these applications can be used in the classroom to conduct classroom discussions related to a certain task, assignment or a language input. In addition, there are other applications that can be used outside the classroom for projects and research ( Craig, 2007). Teachers will be given supplementary materials and instructions on how to sign up in these websites.