\nHigher Colleges of Technology, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
\n<danielamjcoelho
![\"atmark\"](\"http:\/\/www.tesl-ej.org\/atmark.png\")
gmail.com><\/p>\nAngelica Galante<\/strong> Ana Lu\u00edsa Pires<\/strong> Since the global emergence of the Internet in the late 80s, the world has changed. Communication, business, relationships, work and ways of socializing have been greatly influenced by this change and so has education (Kongchan, 2013). Twenty-first century students have been referred to as digital natives (Prensky, 2001; Warschauer, 2011), as they were born to a world where the Internet and its associated technological tools are abundant, sometimes almost taken for granted, and regarded as commonplace. Prensky (2001) suggested that these learners are seen as \u201cnative speakers\u201d of the digital language of computers, video games, and the Internet. For this reason, these learners acquire knowledge in ways which cannot be compared with the non-digital era learning styles. Therefore, there is an urgent need for educators to adapt their teaching approaches and resources to the new digital natives (Guth & Helm, 2010). <\/p>\n Digital tools and collaborative projects have been widely used in language learning contexts, particularly in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs (Cummins & Early, 2010; Darvin & Norton, 2014; Galante, 2014; Lotherington & Jenson, 2011; Toohey, Dageneis & Schulze, 2012). In a study conducted by the British Council, 69% of learners all over the world seem to believe that they learn better when \u201csocializing informally\u201d (Kongchan, 2013, p. 2). Given that digital tools offer extensive opportunities for social interactions, as well as relationships between people (Jones & Hafner, 2012), integrating digital tools in a language learning environment has great potential to facilitate language development, as well as address digital natives\u2019 needs. In addition, considering the crucial role of language in social interactions (Guth & Helm, 2010), digital tools seem to provide ESL learners an opportunity to explore linguistic and cultural diversity by interacting with ESL students in other geographical locations using English as the language for communication. <\/p>\n In this article, we explain the rationale for choosing Edmodo for our international online collaboration project. We also describe how it aligns well with sociocultural theory (henceforth SCT) to promote language learning through social interactions. We then outline three practical steps to implement the project. Examples of the role of the teacher and students as well as samples of interactions are also provided. <\/p>\n Each of the authors teaches English in a university in a different geographical location \u2014 the United Arab Emirates, Canada, and Portugal \u2014 so we were particularly interested in using digital tools to facilitate authentic social interactions among our diversified language learners. Our aim was to promote both English language practice and intercultural awareness. Given that online collaborative learning can be used as an educational approach that fosters interaction and promotes authentic language practice (Guth & Helm, 2010), as well as develops learners\u2019 intercultural communicative competence (Byram, 1997), we decided to experiment with it.<\/p>\n Several free collaborative online platforms \u2014 VoiceThread, Facebook, GoogleDrive, Vimeo, YouTube, among others \u2014 are available, and selecting a suitable one can be challenging. Prior to choosing a platform, we discussed the following shared needs: the platform should 1) be sheltered, that is, available to our students only due to privacy reasons; 2) offer different types of literacy for collaboration which include text, visual and sounds; 3) be user-friendly; and 4) be suitable for an academic setting in higher education. After experimenting with several tools, we decided the Edmodo platform would best suit our needs. <\/p>\n In broad terms, collaborative learning means learning with others. It stems from Vygotskyian SCT, which, in general terms, suggests that a person learns better by interacting and cooperating with others (Bruner, 1983; Choi, 2008; Vygotsky, 1991). In an educational setting, for instance, teachers who use collaborative learning are likely to create a learning environment which generates interactional and cooperative synergies that require the students\u2019 constant exchange of ideas as well as involvement in helping their peers learn from one another. SCT includes key dimensions that are integral to language learning: collaborative dialogue, and social interaction, as well as the interrelation of cognition and emotion (Swain, Kinnear & Steinman, 2015). It is through the process of mediation that learners develop language by participating in interaction and social activities that require active engagement and critical inquiry (Lantolf, Thorne, & Poeher, 2015). In other words, the value of SCT resides in its potential to enhance language learning and development via active social participation. In this sense, online collaborative learning includes ample opportunities to develop the dimensions integral to SCT, with an advantage of conveniently taking place online. <\/p>\n There are many online resources, tools, websites and Internet uses that can promote collaborative learning, one of them being social networking. Social networking is probably the pinnacle of modern-day interaction, especially for digital natives. In language education, the interaction that social networking provides enables the use of the target language in a meaningful way, allowing learners to express themselves in an authentic context and interact with each other for a real-life purpose. This can be highly motivational (Chartrand, 2012), particularly if done online (Figure 1).<\/p>\n Chartrand (2012) states that \u201cit is the emphasis on using the target language as a resource for building interpersonal relationships that differentiates it from traditional approaches to language learning pedagogy and provides an opportunity for success.\u201d (p. 97), and social networking tools seem to provide a suitable venue for this.<\/p>\n Among the many online tools for social networking in learning communities, Edmodo has been gaining popularity. In fact, in only seven years, Edmodo was able to gather 50 million users worldwide, offering to provide \u201cstudents a safe, protected educational experience, a place to safely practice the digital-age social networking and learning skills they will need in their increasingly connected personal, academic, and later professional lives\u201d (Carlson & Raphael, 2015, p. 6). <\/p>\n As previously stated, given that we needed a tool with educational features which would suit our learners\u2019 needs, we chose Edmodo to set up our online collaboration. In the next sections, we explain how to use Edmodo to implement an online collaborative project with English language learners, based on our experience as moderators of an online collaborative learning project which included students from three different countries.<\/p>\n Edmodo was first created in 2008 as a global educational platform (Kongchan, 2013; Mohamed, 2015). It is accessible at www.edmodo.com<\/a> and is completely free for any user. It has been extensively compared to Facebook –often called \u201cFacebook for schools\u201d (Carlson & Raphael, 2015; Kongchan, 2013)–but it is considered to have more educational features than the world\u2019s largest social network. <\/p>\n One main goal of Edmodo is to bring learning communities together in a secure and protected educational platform that connects students and teachers online (Kongchan, 2013). In the field of language education, it can become a powerful social networking tool to promote collaborative learning through meaningful interactions for language learners. <\/p>\n For teachers<\/strong><\/p>\n The following are some of the main features of Edmodo for teachers.<\/p>\n For students<\/strong><\/p>\n Edmodo also has great features for students. These include:<\/p>\n Prior to setting up an online collaborative project, important considerations need to be taken into account. The instructors involved need to:<\/p>\n Although it can be challenging to find instructors whose goals and interests are similar, the considerations above will contribute to the success of the project. In our case, even though this was our first joint project, we already knew that our motivations and interests as English language teachers were similar, which made things easier in terms of planning and commitment.<\/p>\n In addition, Edmodo itself can be very helpful in finding instructors for collaborative projects. All you have to do is look for a \u201ccommunity\u201d that matches your interests (Figure 7) and publish a post showing your desire to work with other teachers around the world (Figure 8).<\/p>\n Clear and realistic goals need to be set before the project is introduced to the students. All the teachers involved should agree on a common topic or set of topics as well as activities to be carried out by the students. Given that online collaborative projects may involve students from different countries \u2014 as it was in our case \u2014 both topics and activities must be appropriate for the student participants\u2019 cultural background and age. Furthermore, the activities planned should be conceived so as to enable students to attain the goals of the project. For instance, considering that one of the main goals of our collaborative project was to promote intercultural dialogues and develop students\u2019 English language skills through social interaction and peer collaboration, we created monthly tasks that would encourage the students to use the English language in its many forms: speaking, writing, reading and listening. Examples of activities in our project included a reflection on what college life is like in different countries, namely the ones involved in the project, and a description of their own college life, routines and challenges.<\/p>\n Prior to setting up a group on Edmodo, teachers need to consider the number of participants in a group. In our experience, we divided students from five classes into two Edmodo groups, with approximately 35 participants in each group. However, we found some students felt overwhelmed by the number of posts and chose to engage in conversation with few participants. In an international collaborative project such as the one we describe here, a relatively small number of participants can be more effective. For example, if there are three teachers involved with a class of 15 students each, then we suggest creating three different groups on Edmodo with a random selection of 5 students from each class. This way, there will be 5 participants from each class, with a group having a total of 15 participants. This has the potential of maximizing interactions with all participants in the group.<\/p>\n When creating an online collaborative project for English learners, ideally, teachers should try to set up the project with colleagues working in different countries \u2014 or at least different cities \u2014 as this will allow a more enriching experience for the students to get in touch with different cultural, social, and even educational contexts. As previously noted, the fact that they will use the target language as a resource to communicate and socialize might become quite motivating (Chartrand, 2012). Being able to share their experiences with an audience that is interested in learning about them is also really important. In our case, despite being in three different continents, the students were all learning English. It may be possible, however, to carry out a similar project with students who use English as their first language. Finally, although most students can be motivated to work collaboratively, it is crucial that they have a fair command of English and digital literacies, and are highly motivated to learn from others and to work outside the classroom hours. <\/p>\n In our project, the teachers worked mostly as facilitators and moderators. We explained the project to the students and motivated them to participate by engaging them in discussions in the platform. It was also part of our role to produce our own video and audio files so we could contribute to the topics proposed for discussion. On certain occasions, the videos recorded by the teachers eventually triggered interesting discussions and inspired students to produce their own videos. <\/p>\n The teachers were also responsible for proposing a set of tasks that would, somehow, prompt intercultural dialogues among students. Having students write on discussion boards, speak in recorded audios and videos, read other students\u2019 texts, or listen to other students\u2019 audio files, were crucial tasks for the development of both English language skills and intercultural awareness.<\/p>\n Students play the most important role in projects like these. As producers of content, it was required that they had good command of the language and digital literacies, as well as the ability to reflect on intercultural aspects. In our project in particular, students also had to resort to self-reflection and analyze what changes college life had brought to their personal contexts, as in the case of the video and audio files about their lives as college students.<\/p>\n As previously stated, students involved in online projects of this kind will certainly benefit from the chance to use language intensively in the constant exchange of ideas that derive from the tasks promoted by the teachers and the students themselves. In addition, they will develop awareness of how \u201cpublic\u201d their discussions are, which might contribute to a tendency to try their best to impress and represent well their institution.<\/p>\n One main goal of our project was to allow our students to learn about each other’s cultural understandings through online collaborations. The three groups of students involved in the project were studying English in different countries which naturally contributed to the multicultural nature of our project. All of the students were locals with respect to their countries, with the exception of Canada, where all the students were from China. Many students also had extensive travel experience in other countries, which contributed to cultural awareness among participants. In our project, students shared cultural information related to their countries of origin, countries they had been to or lived in, and differences and similarities among cities, among others. <\/p>\n This collaboration required students to:<\/p>\n Although these were the minimum steps to be followed, we noticed that certain students had extended collaborations. For example, they would reply to each other several times to explain and provide further information about the topic discussed. Interestingly, some students continued to use Edmodo even after the end of the project. <\/p>\n As previously noted, Edmodo can be used in many types of online collaborative projects. It is important that the teachers involved in the collaboration decide whether they wish to simply facilitate the interactions among students or be active members of the discussions. In our case, we chose to be active members of the community. Considering that our project intended to develop English through online social interactions, we tried to motivate students to expand on some of the topics of conversation proposed by them so they could maximize English use. Figures 12 and 13 below show samples of these interactions.<\/p>\n Bearing in mind the complexities of today\u2019s world communication, online collaborative projects such as the one we have described in this article have great potential to respond to the needs of digitally-oriented language learners, as such projects promote the development of essential language skills through authentic social interactions, as well as cultural awareness (Guth & Helm, 2010). Following SCT, digital tools such as Edmodo can be used to mediate social interactions among learners and enhance language learning. Furthermore, considering the remarkable presence of technologies in today\u2019s schools, it would be expected that an increasing number of teachers start using them as a powerful educational tool. They are easy to use, inexpensive, and allow users to readily utilize a myriad of social networking educational tools (Chartrand, 2012).<\/p>\n Online collaborative projects can offer great benefits to the learning environment, but setting clear goals as well as finding topics and tasks that are attractive for students are important elements for consideration. Besides being digitally literate, many digital natives are also quite aware of their needs and learning styles. For this reason, teachers may wish to discuss with their students what they would like to explore in a collaborative project so as to maximize their participation.<\/p>\n All in all, in this paper we have supported the notion that online collaboration in language learning can be beneficial for today\u2019s learners and we therefore recommend that English language teachers experiment with online collaboration. As Chartrand (2012) states, \u201cmotivational, pedagogical, and affective factors are persuasive arguments for making an effort to experiment with this technology, and ESOL teachers can contribute significantly to their learners\u2019 progress in learning English.\u201d (p. 101). Ultimately, although online collaborative projects can be time-consuming, the rewards for both students and teachers outweigh the challenges.<\/p>\n Bruner, J. S. (1983). Child\u2019s talk: Learning to use language<\/em>. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence<\/em>. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.<\/p>\n Carlson, G., & Raphael, R. (2015). Let\u2019s get social: The educator\u2019s guide to Edmodo<\/em>. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education. <\/p>\n Chartrand, R. (2012). Social networking for language learners: Creating meaningful output with Web 2.0 tools. Knowledge Management & E-Learning: An International Journal, 4<\/em>(1), 97-101. <\/p>\n Choi, J. W. (2008). The role of online collaboration in promoting ESL writing. English Language Teaching, 1<\/em>(1), 34-49.<\/p>\n Cummins, J., & Early, M. (2010). Identity texts: The collaborative creation of power in multilingual schools<\/em>. Stoke-on-Trent, UK: Trentham Books.<\/p>\n Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2014). Transnational identity and migrant language learners: The promise of digital storytelling. Education Matters, 2<\/em>(1), 55-66.<\/p>\n Galante, A. (2014). Developing EAL learners\u2019 intercultural sensitivity through a digital literacy project. TESL Canada Journal, 32<\/em>(1), 53-66.<\/p>\n Guth, S., & Helm, F. (Eds). (2010). Telecollaboration 2.0: Language, literacies and lntercultural learning in the 21st century<\/em>. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.<\/p>\n Jones, R. H., & Hafner, C. A. (2012). Understanding digital literacies: A practical introduction<\/em>. New York, NY: Routledge.<\/p>\n Kongchan, C. (2013). How Edmodo and Google Docs can change traditional classrooms. The European Conference on Language Learning. Official Conference Proceedings<\/em>. Retrieved from http:\/\/iafor.org\/archives\/offprints\/ecll2013-offprints\/ECLL2013_0442.pdf<\/a> <\/p>\n Lantolf, J. P., Thorne, S. L., & Poehner, M. E. (2015). Sociocultural theory and second language development. In B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction (2nd ed.)<\/em> (pp. 207\u2014226). New York, NY: Routledge.<\/p>\n Lotherington, H., & Jenson, J. (2011). Teaching multimodal and digital literacy in L2 settings: New literacies, new basics, new pedagogies. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31<\/em>, 226-246.<\/p>\n Mohamed, Y. (2015). Edmodians: A world where digital relationships speak up. Perspectives: TESOL Arabia Journal, 23<\/em>(3), 32-33.<\/p>\n Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon, 9<\/em>(5), 1-6. Retrieved from http:\/\/www.marcprensky.com\/writing\/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n Swain, M., Kinnear, P., & Steinman, L. (2015). Sociocultural theory in second language education: An introduction through narratives (2nd ed.)<\/em>. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.<\/p>\n Toohey, K., Dagenais, D., & Schulze, E. (2012). Second language learners making video in three contexts. Language and Literacy, 14<\/em>(2), 75-96.<\/p>\n Vygotsky, L. S. (1991). Pensamento e linguagem<\/em>. S\u00e3o Paulo, Brasil: Martins Fontes.<\/p>\n Warschauer, M. (2011). Learning in the Cloud: How (and why) to transform schools with digital media<\/em>. New York, NY: Teacher College Press. <\/p>\n \n
\nOISE-University of Toronto, Canada
\n<angelica.galantemail.utoronto.com><\/p>\n
\nPolytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal
\n<ana.piresipleiria.pt><\/p>\nIntroduction<\/h3>\n
Suitable tool for our learning contexts<\/h3>\n
SCT and Social networking for online collaboration<\/h3>\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image1.png\")
\nFigure 1. Components of online collaborative learning for language learners<\/strong><\/p>\nImplementation of an international online collaborative project with Edmodo<\/h3>\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image2.jpg\")
\nFigure 2. Edmodo\u2019s logo<\/strong><\/p>\nEdmodo\u2019s main features<\/h4>\n
\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image3.png\")
\nFigure 3. Examples of student groups on Edmodo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image4.png\")
\nFigure 4. Different types of activities available on Edmodo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image5.png\")
\nFigure 5. Screenshot of sample progress page on Edmodo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image6.png\")
\nFigure 6. Screenshot of sample planner\/calendar on Edmodo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
Steps to the implementation of a collaborative project with Edmodo<\/h3>\n
Step 1 – Find instructors for collaboration<\/h4>\n
\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image7.png\")
\nFigure 7. Screenshot of possible communities related to language education<\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image8.png\")
\nFigure 8. Screenshot of posts where teachers arrange potential collaborative projects<\/strong><\/p>\nStep 2 – Set clear goals and select tasks<\/h4>\n
Step 3 – Selection of students<\/h4>\n
Teachers\u2019 roles<\/h4>\n
Students\u2019 roles<\/h4>\n
Main goal of our project: Cultural awareness<\/h3>\n
\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image9.png\")
\n![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image10.png\")
\nFigure 9. Screenshot of a video post<\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image11.png\")
\nFigure 10. Screenshot of a written comment<\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image12.png\")
\nFigure 11. Screenshot of a reply to a comment<\/strong><\/p>\nSamples of interactions<\/h3>\n
![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image13.png\")
\nFigure 12. Screenshot of interactions between students<\/strong><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/tesl-ej.org\/ej76\/intpix\/image14.png\")
\nFigure 13. Screenshot of interactions facilitated by the teachers.<\/strong><\/p>\nConclusion<\/h3>\n
References<\/h3>\n
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\n \n© Copyright rests with authors. Please cite TESL-EJ appropriately.<\/p>\n