Edtech Helpers: A Teacher’s Guide

My learners are oriented right from the start, for any class I teach, on what apps and programs I will be using for learning and teaching. They need to know what they are, how they work, and how I will use them during my learning sessions.

My learners need to be familiarized with these apps or programs because I need them to be able to work with them effectively during their face-to-face and online language learning experience.

I send this graphic organizer (below) to all my learners via WhatsApp, Moodle, and email before we start our first class. Our first class is all about the integration of technology into the language learning experience.

Engaging learners through an interactive conversation and walking them through the graphic organizer as a group is a good way to start any class. We talk about what they already know about the apps or software applications, and how they use them. I strategically ask them what suggestions they have for any additional EdTech helpers that we can use in class.

Even though I am a true believer in self-directed learning, it is reverse mentoring, students teaching teachers, that was always the way I learned the “What, Why, and How” of technology in the classroom. My students told me what technology they were using to learn, and they taught me how to integrate it into the classroom. The world of technology has developed tremendously since I started using Yahoo Groups in the 1990s.

As part of any Teacher Training course that I teach on the "integration of Technology into the Classroom", I require teachers to create a similar graphic organizer and to explain it in detail. Teachers should know (and justify) what technology tools they will need to implement their classes using technology effectively. This is part of TPACK - and I think all teachers must be able to answer the question "What's your TPACK?"

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NOTE: PLEASE TAP THE PIC, TURN YOUR PHONE TO LANDSCAPE, AND SEE HOW IT WOULD LOOK TO YOUR LEARNERS. I send the graphic facilitator to them via WhatsApp or our LMS. Sometimes, I will send it via email, but that is too much work.

Here is a short tour through the graphic organizer:

1. Zoom is the place we meet. It is only our meeting room, and they need to know how to use the functions of Zoom to effectively participate in our online learning class.

2. Moodle is a learning management system, aka LMS. This is where I upload news, tasks, share work, and any other information that is related to our online learning experience. Moodle is the platform I will place the overview (syllabus) of the class. In many cases, I negotiate the syllabus with my learners and upload the syllabus in small chunks. Moodle is also the tool I use to collect learner analytics (user behaviour) that can help me get to know my learners better.

3. WhatsApp is what we use for our just-in-time communication platform. There are many times when I need to reach students to inform them of any changes in the schedule or content of our online learning class. WhatsApp also acts as a way for students to interact with one another in real-time. Many students might have questions that other students can answer for them, and this avoids any unnecessary meetings with me that could be settled between the learners themselves.

4. Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com are very important tools for vocabulary building. I always ask students to please download this app to their smartphone, so that during a class, they can look up either the definition of a word or the synonyms and antonyms for a word themselves.

5. Grammarly is a program to use when writing is involved. Learners need to know how to help themselves when doing a writing task and to learn how to check their grammar and spelling. Grammarly fulfils this function very well.

6. Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are multi-purpose social media platforms to use during an online learning experience for the promotion of skills training. I do not require my students to show me their private Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn accounts. There are many fake Twitter, fake Facebook, and fake LinkedIn sites to use where students can go for learning purposes. We use these fake apps for many of the tasks that will take place during the language learning experience.

7. Artificial Intelligence is the new wonder kid on the block and is very useful for language learning. Teaching students how to use Artificial Intelligence is important and should be part of any online learning experience, as well as face-to-face language learning experiences.

8. YouTube is one of the best online teachers to date. And using YouTube for language learning is a fantastic way to integrate listening with visuals to support any topic that's being covered during a language learning experience. YouTube videos are also a terrific way to introduce topics and instructional videos that I prepare for my students.

9. Mentimeter - it is a practical tool to use for taking polls and doing formative assessments at intervals during the language learning experience. I simply create a poll, send the link to the students, and they fill it out. I'm able to quickly determine where my students are in the language learning experience. Their feedback and voice are important to me, and they feel part of the language learning experience.

10. Google Drive is a dummy-proof replacement for an LMS. It is also a terrific way to visualize and document the learning as it is happening. Students should have a Google account, and this is very important to inform them that when using Google Drive, they must be logged into Google first before accessing their Google Drive. When students need to review what was covered in a class, they missed, they can always go to Google Drive and catch up. If they have any further questions, they can always go to WhatsApp and ask the other participants for answers to questions they might have about tasks or assignments.

11. Wikipedia is a site to use for reading and further investigation into a topic that is being covered. Although there are many academics out there who do not like Wikipedia, it is still a very important tool to be used in the language learning experience because of its translation function and the ability to create PDFs from what learners are reading. Many learners like to have something they can write on and mark on to improve their understanding of a topic. Wikipedia fulfils all these learner needs.

12. Deepl is the app to have as an accompaniment to a dictionary or thesaurus. Unlike a dictionary, Deepl goes one step further and works with context. Context is sometimes where learners can get lost, so they need a helper to support them to understand how to use a word or phrase and to see it in their mother language.

13. Voice recorder, which is found on all smartphones, is an important tool for learners to integrate into their language learning experience. They must learn how to use the Voice recorder effectively because it will be needed for many of the tasks that will be assigned during my online classes. It is also great to use a voice recorder in connection with WhatsApp.

14. PowerPoint is a very useful tool for language learning and is an integral part of how I teach and assign tasks. It is very imperative to teach students how to use PowerPoint effectively because it will also be part of how they turn in their assignments and how their final projects will be assessed.

15. Pecha Kucha is a tool I use for all my learners who are at B2+ to C2 language levels. Once they have mastered PowerPoint, it's time to speed up the learning, condense learning, and also challenge my students to work with time management. Pecha Kucha is the perfect tool for all the above-mentioned. Find out what Pecha Kucha is and how to use it by googling the term Pecha Kucha or going to YouTube to see actual Pecha Kucha presentations.

16. Google Translate is a tool I recommend to my learners because it's a quick way of just translating something for a basic understanding of some topics or vocabulary. It is also a very important part of writing essays. I recommend that my students NOT use it for long translations, but it is a helpful tool to use for short or small translations.

17. MIRO is a visual way to conduct interactive dialogues with students, brainstorming, decision-making, problem-solving, and design thinking. It's a great way to interact with students and also to assign tasks where MIRO will be used as a tool for interaction and group work.

You can make your own Edtech Helper graphic facilitator by simply downloading the logos from the apps or programs and using PowerPoint to create the visual you see here in this post.

I simply reflected on what was important to tell my students at the beginning of the class. It took me about one hour to create the visual you see. It has proven to be very helpful and removes many of the questions that students might have, which would interfere with the success they want to have and with achieving their personal learning goals. This is a great way to onboard learners to the language learning experience.

NOTE: This text was created with the use of Microsoft Word's Voice-to-Text function. A skill I teach my learners to use in the language learning experience.