CALL on the cheap
Using services freely
available on the
Internet
Types of service available
E-mail
WWW
Bulletin boards
E-mail groups
E-mail
Exchange letters with
individual students
Good way to submit
assignments
Becomes unmanageable with
large numbers of students
WWW 1
Post lesson or course outline:
students can view before or
after lesson.
Extends possible scope of
lectures: with student
preparation, even difficult
lectures may be
comprehensible.
WWW 2
Requires technical proficiency
Can be very time-consuming:
may need to keep updating
site
Static
Non-interactive
Bulletin Boards
ezBoard
Post information about lectures
Students ask questions or make
comments
Other students can read all
postings
True interaction: group-based
learning
Bulletin Boards 2
No notification of new
messages
Long topics/forums with
many topics can be
confusing.
E-mail groups/mailing list
Yahoo Groups (was eGroups)
Mail automatically delivered to
all members: no need to
check for new messages
Owner can choose whether to
allow members to send
messages
E-mail groups 2
Interface not as attractive as
ezBoard
Psychological difference:
“receiving” e-mail; and
“participating in” a discussion
ezBoard details
http://www.ezBoard.com/
Press CREATE button on
homepage and fill in details
as prompted.
Board top page for students
Yahoo Group details
http://groups.yahoo.com/
Press CLICK HERE TO
REGISTER and follow
instructions
Don’t give students the “subscribe” email
address because they won’t be able to
join from a communal computer;
Use web or invitation methods!
Website details
Homepage:
introduction to course goals, etc;
list of topics
1 page per topic or per lecture:
questions;
links to more information
Preparation
Give students list of addresses:
website,
ezBoard,
and Yahoo Group
Before each lecture...
Make webpage in advance
Create new forum on ezBoard
Send message using Yahoo Groups:
brief mention of topic;
links to webpage and ezBoard
forum
Ongoing
Visit the board regularly
and post replies to
maintain student interest.