DIGITAL LIBRARY
A DESIGN OF A GOOGLE SITE AS A LEARNING TOOL TO AID THE COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN PRIMARY EDUCATION
Universitat de Lleida (SPAIN)
About this paper:
Appears in: INTED2013 Proceedings
Publication year: 2013
Pages: 3946-3951
ISBN: 978-84-616-2661-8
ISSN: 2340-1079
Conference name: 7th International Technology, Education and Development Conference
Dates: 4-5 March, 2013
Location: Valencia, Spain
Abstract:
This research aims to propose the use of a Web 2.0 tool, a Google site, to aid the competence of English teaching in primary education. The site has been designed according to the current needs of the classroom and the curriculum. In taking advantage of the range of possibilities offered by the resource, one can observe that the teacher will have at their disposal a specific tool for their own organization and interaction with students. This will contribute greatly to the acquisition of communication skills by primary students that are learning English.
It is important to contextualise the reasons behind the creation of such sites for learning English in the Primary School. Working in a recently built school where we try to approach language learning through the corner methodology, there was a need to create a website, namely that in this project. The corner methodology aims to approach language learning through dividing children into four different corners of the classroom and in one of these corners the students use interactive means to improve their English language learning. Therefore in order to fulfil the objectives of the corner methodology in the Parc del Saladar School, there was a need to create this Web 2.0 tool.
In order to create this website it was necessary to have access to a tool, with which one can group and organize different Web 2.0 resources that are currently on the network and that are useful in the day-to-day running of the classroom. Furthermore it was important to use a method that would allow the incorporation of differing formats, files and resources. This was crucial to the functionality of the tool and its ability to cater for diversity, whilst responding to the different types of intelligence in the classroom as claimed by Gardner (1989).
From my previous experience as a teacher using Information and Communications Technology every day, I considered it very important to design a dynamic site where one can quickly access the various sections and resources that are available. I believe it is essential in today’s classrooms to have the ability to adapt the available resources to the individual needs and characteristics of each student.
Keywords:
English language, primary education, web 2.0, google sites, learning tool.