copyright

Karina already mentioned what I wanted to say, so I won't repeat. For us it does sound too serious, but I think that if we are in a different society and culture and we teach here, we have to take all the rules into consideration and take them seriously.

more about class last week

It was hard to remember the name of the new software we used in our class, so I logged in to d2l and downloaded week 9 agenda;))) As far as I understood, Webinar occurs over the Internet and you don't have to travel in order to participate in one. You can take part in a Webinar from anywhere. Besides, Webinar does not occur in real time, which gives an opportunity to participate when you have the time, which is very convinient. The thing that I didn't like is that only one person can talk at a time, and you have to give a permission to do that. Nevertheless, I think it could be a very useful additional tool for teachnig.

class

The online conference was very informative. I could concentrate better than the last time, becuase I could see a person.
I think that by taking courses online, you're able to decide when you study and for how long. You are also able to schedule your studying around your work or social schedule.
Since you're not bound to a classroom, you may do your work wherever you have access to a computer and the Internet. You'll be able to set your own pace and decide exactly how fast you want to go over the material.
On the other hand, since you're not on campus or in classes, you may lack opportunities to meet other students. You will not have many opportunities to interact face-to-face with your professors, so they may not have a real sense of who you are as a person. It is very hard to tell if online learning is good or bad; it depends on personal preferences.

readings

I agree that students might benefit from writing emails, as well as from key pals. Students have chance to collaborate and work together with other students. Electronic communication might also help in developing and improving language skills, it helps student to create and analyze information and ideas more easily and efficiently, which influences their motivation and confidence. On the other hand, using these types of activities might be time-consuming. Teachers should be aware of technical problems and should be able to fix them (if possible).

last class

I liked Lily Compton's presentation, I've learned a lot about virtual schooling. Besides, I liked that it was in power point, it made it easier to concentrate.
I think that virtual schooling give a student an opportunity to attend a class whenever he/she finds time without leaving his town or stopping his work. It might be very helpful for married men and women. Also, virtual classes provide an opportunity for people of all ages and nationalities to attend classes from anywhere in the world.
Although virtual schooling provides flexibility to students it doesn't mean that it is easier than coming to a traditional classroom. An online student has to be more responsible for his own studies. He/she should be self disciplined, self determined and self motivated. To me a face to face interaction with an instructor is always more helpful than the online discussion.

class

Now I think that podcasts, Audacity are nothing compared to creating a web page. Forget that I said that I was overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed NOW. I'm thinking "What's going to be next?". I think that creating a web page is fun though. It took me a while to change colors on the web page, so I'm not sure how long will it take me to create the WHOLE web page. I was thinking about it after class. I remembered that my brother is a web developer, he creates web pages for MSU. Guess what I had in my mind?;))) I don't think he's going to be very happy about helping me. Besides, I don't think I'll live throught it;))). He is a perfectionist. If I do something he doesn't like, I'll have to change everything;((((( On the other hand, he can teach me a lot of things. Besides, he is very good at explaining things. Hopefully he will help me and won't be very strict.

readings

I was very happy to find out that I did not pay attention to the syllabus last week. I didn't see that Chapter 5 was divided in two parts, so I read the whole Chapter for the previous class;)))))
So, I going to talk about blogs. I've heard about blogs, but I've never used them before CALL class. I think that blogs are valuable in creating and editing any number of personal or classroom learning materials. Blogs can easily be used as a collaborative environment to express themselves and receive feedback from peers and the teacher. They also enable teachers to verify posting dates and access student work. In addition, blogs promote analytical and critical thinking and encourage students to be more aware of the style and content of their writing. I guess, understanding that others are going to read and comment on blogs also increase their motivation.

articles

I think that films are a valuable resource for the EFL classroom. Films enhance students' motivation and provide an enjoyable experience for students and teachers. It is time consuming to view a full-length film. More time needs to be allocated for post-viewing activities,and these activities need to be done on the day of viewing or at least the day after to maximize language output. Nevertheless, film is a great way to bring real world into the classroom.
Using T commercials is also a great idea. They contain authentic content. Besides, TV commercials are created in many different English speaking countries which makes it possible for students to have exposure to a variety of English accents, dialects. It is also a good way to practice listening skills. Moreover, students with low proficiency level will be comfortable watching them as well, because they will be able (if they do not understand something) grasp the main idea from the mimics or gestures.

class

I enjoyed last class more than the previous one. Everything worked pretty well for me. I pretty much understood how to use GCast and Audacity. It was a great idea to combine chapter discussions (answering the questions) with Audacity. We were learning how to use the program and at the same time reflecting on readings. I always have headaches when I work with the computer the whole time, so it was very nice to have a face-to-face discussion.

Chapter 5, 7

Activity 4 from chapter 5 reminded me of what we did back at home. We had pen friends and we were supposed to write letters to them. When I was a kid I really enjoyed this kind of activity, I remember I was so proud to have a non-native friend that I was telling everyone about her. I think that this type of activity is a great chance to practice language skills. Besides, students learn the format of the letter. Moreover, it is very authentic.
In Chapter 7 the author described different project activities. Evaluating the web pages might be helpful for those who are doing research to differentiate authentic from untrustworthy ones. Other project activities mentioned in this Chapter are very interesting.