EFL Classroom 2.0

     Among all of the suggested websites on Mod4, I like EFL Classroom 2.0 the most. Unlike the Virtual Worlds website, EFL Classroom 2.0 is more pragmatic and requires less computer skills. In fact, this blog is filled with teaching resource which not only accessible to EFL or ESL teachers but second language learners. For instance, there is a tag named teacher’s toolbox at the top of the blog in which viewers could find worksheets of pronunciation or activities of vocabulary. Most importantly, EFL Classroom 2.0 resembles a virtual library encompassing abundant up-to-date information. As a English teacher-to-be, I would enjoy logging to this blog once in a while to discover novel ways to teach English more efficiently and effectively. The lesson plans found on this blog is fairly useful to me as an inexperienced teacher. It provides lots of insights into the fundamentals of teaching English.

One day you are in, the next day you are out.

 “One day you are in, the next day you are out.” It’s a familiar quote from Heidi Klum , the host of American reality TV show “Project Runway,” which focus on fashion design. In this TV series, many aspiring fashion designers compete with each other in the hope of becoming the next Karl Lagerfeldt, the world-renowned fashion guru. 

After watching the video of The Network is the Learning and The Changing Nature of Knowledge, I feel this quote fits perfectly in not just the fashion industry, but also the rapidly changing digital era. It is commonly known that a fashion designer can claim his/her fame in fifteen-minutes as well as the information on the internet might become out-of-date overnight. In a sense, a learner today is just like an aspiring fashion designer competes with other contestants in the TV show.” To have a strong emphasis on which knowledge is rapidly involving, it is not just what we know today is important but it is our ability to stay current as knowledge changes.” As a result, no matter how gifted a fashion designer is; she needs to accumulate her knowledge constantly in creating innovation for the next competition as well as a learner needs to build up her know-how in keeping herself updated to survive in the shifting world.

By the same token, Siemens (2005) states that “Our ability to learn what we need for tomorrow is more important than what we know today. A real challenge for any learning theory is to actuate known knowledge at the point of application. When knowledge, however, is needed, but not known, the ability to plug into sources to meet the requirements becomes a vital skill. As knowledge continues to grow and evolve, access to what is needed is more important than what the learner currently possesses.” In other words, learners in the digital world today should be able to synthesize acquired knowledge to incorporate into newly received information.

Mod3-Social Media Revolution2

 The video, “Social Media Revolution2” is very intriguing and well-designed. In the beginning, the video starts off with a question, “Is social media a fad?” Personally, I will think it is only a craze that spans a short period of time. But there is plenty of evidence of the inevitable power enabling social media a never-ending process. For example, Facebook has already added over 200 million users in a fairly fast speed. 80% of companies use social media for recruitment. Instead of email accounts, some universities replace them with iPads. Undoubtedly, social media has become part of our lives.

There are also a lot of fun facts about social media, such as people found the love of their lives through Facebook or face to face instruction might not be the best way to educate students as compared to online teaching. Franking speaking, I have never thought about social media could have such an immense influence in the way people communicate until this video. Even though I do know Facebook or twitter is  beyond well-known and necessary to the young generations, their effect on promoting new brands and selling products is something unthinkable.

In today’s world, students can avail themselves of the advanced technology to not only accumulate knowledge but also to be connected to the outside world. Technically, now we can do every thing on the Internet. Paperless textbooks or bills would soon take over the traditional ways of exchanging information in the near future.

It is no doubt that social media has created convenience for people, but a lot of problems related to the usage of Internet has generated as well. Unfortunately, having a blog might increase the risk of exposing your personal information to the stranger and your speech and images on Facebook are no longer your privacy. While embracing the arrival of social media, Internet users should learn how to correctly surf the internet and protect themselves in making the most out of it.

Safe Tips for Blogging

Before referencing to a certain web blog, always check the name and the background of the author by using Google search engine and find out if there's other links pertinent to the author.



Check the ratings and read through the articles and comments of the author’s blog for credibility and legitimacy.


School and parents are responsible for teaching students dos and dons on their blog. For example, personal address and telephone number should not be appeared on their blog.


The amount of freedom for students to blog should be at parents and teacher’s discretion.

Students’ entries on their blogs are supposed to be discreet and prudent. The judgments and decisions they made on the blog of some body else are supposed to sensible and careful.


School and libraries should be under the surveillance of the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA).

How I Could Use Blogs in My Class

     I barely have teaching experience, so it is difficult for me to think of how to incorporate blogs in my own class. Fortunately, now I have a bunch of ideas after reading the first and second chapter of textbook. In the past, I have seen a couple of good blogs relevant to English teaching . As a teacher-to-be, I would tweak some of the ways of incorporating blogs in teaching and turn into my own teaching method.


     First, what I am intended to do is slightly similar to class portal. By posting a list of keywords singled out from an article, I could do pre-reading activity right on blog for my students. In this case, students would have some head-ups before the class. In addition to the definition to those keywords, I could expand the usage of the words by adding related common phrases or links.


     Second, blog could also function as a forum for students to communicate with each other. For example, students can discuss the fun parts and twists about the novel they are reading as an assignment. Since students who are assigned with the same novel may not have the same thoughts about it, it is interesting to see how the same novel can actually inspire students respectively. In addition, teacher can design some questions like, "What do you like about the book so far?” to get the process of discussion going well. By doing so, blogs not only create initiatives for students to read English novels in ameliorating their reading abilities, but also provide a channel for reticent students to express their ideas.


    Last but not least, blogs can really broaden student’s horizon by connecting students around the world. I have seen many people meet their foreign friends via personal journal sites like MySpace and Facebook. This is not to say that making acquaintance on those sites is imprudent, but it does have risks. One of my professors in my university used to bring her students from Texas A&M University and students from some of the Taiwanese Universities together to work on the same project. The purpose of connecting students who are from different countries is not just to help non-native speakers of English improve their English, but to introduce them the American culture. In my opinion, blogs that are set up by school teachers are the best place to make friends from around the world.