Wednesday, February 28th 2018.

WEEK: 7

RANK: 4

Based on the article: “Using Internet in ESL Writing Instruction”

Computer’s Role in Writing Skills Development.

After reading this article I realized the importance of internet when teaching writing skills. I have never thought about how using email can improve the way students write. I would highlight different aspects that are mentioned in the article. First, the issues teacher might face when using internet to create a lesson. There are important things you need to take into account. If you want to create or use technology when teaching a lesson, you should have access to a computer lab with internet access, but it should be “a relatively fast internet connection” and a networked printer.  The article mentions that this could be a problem in large schools where labs are occupied all day by other classes. Besides, the speed of the connection can cause problems because teachers might want to use different websites but because of the internet connection they are not able to develop the lesson successfully. Another aspect is: the role of the teacher in this process. It is extremely important that educators are well prepared for the lesson. They need to know what the sites are about, if the language that is being used is appropriate or not for their students. During the on-line lesson, teachers should pay attention to students. Are they really developing the activity or not? Learners may get distracted when doing different activities using internet. That is another issue teachers might face using on-line lessons. 

On the other hand, this on – line lessons should be used with intermediate and advanced level because teachers cannot control the information that is online, and sometimes this information is an English high level. Also, students should know about technology and how to use it. Something that I really liked about the article is that it is mentioned that not all students are equal. Some of them know a lot, and some of them may have questions when using this tool. In this case, “teacher could create mixed-ability groups to give everyone the chance to participate in the lesson(p.5)”  anyways, if students have questions, that is why teachers should always be prepared for this on-line lessons. In my opinion, I would like to use technology when teaching writing because we are still using the same activities to teach it. We should change, and yes we might find different issues but we will find ways to get along with them.