(teach) Re: Best sites

[dk-5]

Some of my students are college students and some are managers in companies.

I am going to develop some training for them with Moodle, an online training
program.

The last time I did this I was not very satisfied with the results. It's
very easy to just put up text, audio and or video and put up questions, etc
etc etc. But it is so very easy for this to be boring.

I would like to develop training the students really like. In my previous
attempt, I was able to monitor how much the site was used, how frequently
and by whom and by long. It was disappointing.

The dirty little secret is that online training is notoriously boring. The
completion rate used to be about 10% for training that was not absolutely
required of the students.

That is why I am looking for online training courses that students really
seem to like.

Dave Kees

[Julian Suddaby-2]

Dave Kees wrote:

I would like to develop training the students really like.
That is why I am looking for online training courses that students really seem to like.
>
>

Some business students I had enjoyed a small blog that I set up for them
(posted lesson recaps, listening samples, student work). It meant if
they missed class they didn't fall behind. I suspect the main
pedagogical benefit, however, might simply have been motivational.

Perhaps one way of approaching this problem is to poll your students
about which Chinese websites they regularly visit. Why do they visit
them? What makes them keep coming back? Those are the websites that are
going to be competing with yours for the students' time.

If I was to design something for students now I might try to make it a
springboard into the wider internet. There is a lot of good content out
on the internet -- it is might simply be a case of helping them find it
more easily. I might also try to emphasize tools like wikis for peer
editing and collaborative work. I've yet to put either of these ideas
into practice.

Julian Suddaby

[Tom Robb-2]

Dave Kees wrote:

The dirty little secret is that online training is notoriously boring.
>
>
Moodle or any other Language Management System isn't intrinsically boring.
It's only an empty shell.  It's the content that you pour into it that makes
it or breaks it.

In Dave's case, he states that its use was optional.  Limited use is the
norm with virtually any optional course component, be it an additional book,
a video or a list of online links.  Most students aren't going to access any
of these because they have their own priorities: required school work
including all of their other classes, as well (hopefully their first
priority), part-time work, club activities, and a family/social life.  Even
if they have additional time for study, rather than do "optional"
activities, they would tend to put their effort into work that would
directly enhance their grade  -- studying more for a test, spending more
time on a report, etc.

I'm firmly convinced that the only way to get high access rates is to *
require* access and that is where Moodle or other LMSs shine, because, as
Dave states, you can track accesses.  (Self-access media centers suffer the
same fate.  They are normally only used by the top 5% - motivated students
-- unless instructors require access and have some way to ascertain that the
students have really used the material, via a report, in-class quiz, etc.)

Of course, one purpose of having a variety of material is so that students
can select material that matches their interest, language level or problem
areas.  In such cases a system can be used where a specific number of online
contact hours, as logged by Moodle is required, or some other proof of use
such as screenshots, success on in-class quizzes based on the material, etc.

At my school, we use Moodle with the English majors to view videos that
accompany their textbook, with fill-in-the-blank exercises that they can do
over and over until they get a decent score.  We also have them read graded
readers and take online quizzes that simply assess whether they have read
their books.  Many students actually look forward to these quizzes.  We also
use Moodle as a resource area, to put schedules, copies of handouts, etc.

Cheers,
  Tom Robb, Kyoto, Japan

[Alan Simpson-2]

I teach 2nd year English majors writing. We're given a text book & told to use it plus our own material.

However, we're not consulted on the text book to be used, which is not very user-friendly but also does not have a teacher's book.

All the Chinese teachers when given a text book are also supplied with the teacher's book.

 

Can a good text book be recommended for 2nd year English majors writing (for their 2nd term) that also has a teacher's book. To cover business & thesis writing.

 

Can a good text book also be recommended for teaching business managers for both oral & writing? Their English level is good.

Alan Simpson


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[Graham Paterson]

On Wed, 21/10/09, alan <sningbo@...> wrote:

Can a good text book be recommended for 2nd year English majors writing (for their 2nd term) that also has a teacher's book. To cover business & thesis writing.

Can a good text book also be recommended for teaching business managers for both oral & writing?

Alan Simpson


Hi Alan,
In respect to teaching Business English specifically focusing on Management, the book published last month by Foreign Language Press in Beijing titled "50 Topics on Business Management" is both relevant and up to date.
It contains realistic dialogue which is recorded on a CD that comes with the book and some background reading plus exercises for each topic.
Although primarily designed for Oral training it would be adaptable to writing about Management issues. Apart for that, the topics are based on real life situations and provide some valid insights about tackling Management issues as they might arise.
Regards
Graham  



















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[Terence Egan]

I'm guessing that you're looking for two textbooks ... business AND thesis writing.

Market Leader (1 - 3 or is there a 4?) is about the best I've seen for general business English; and there is a coursebook. The authors have knowledge of business, business practices and realistic business situations. That, unfortunately, is not always the case.

It's a long time since I taught thesis writing, so this title may not be available:
English Paper Writing and Publication, Graduate English Series, HEP.
?I found some useful approaches in that. I focused on the steps of the writing process - a big enough challenge with and for the calibre of PhD candidates back then.

Terence Egan
  
?________________________________

Terence R. Egan
Associate Professor
Business School
Central University of Finance and Economics
Beijing, PR China