This paper considers current assessment practice, looks at the impact of the Internet on today’s learners, explores ways of modernising assessment to narrow the gap between the everyday lives of students and the assessment practices that we impose on them.
This article explores the role that Web 2.0 technologies can play in enhancing languagelearning development in a blended world. It will argue that technologies are not enough ontheir own to make a difference, but that teachers bring a particular understanding of languageand the needs of their learners to the creation of suitable activities. It will show that the use oftechnologies is also changing our understanding of the profession of language education andthat sociocultural theory can help us understand why this is occurring. Blended learning as atype of classroom activity will be explored showing how different definitions may beinterpreted in the classroom context. The types of blended activities that can be used areillustrated through three vignettes.
Second Life is a online 3D virtual world. Users assume an online identity - an "avatar" - to represent themselves within the Second Life community. The avatar can walk, run and fly in the virtual world, and can also communicate with other avatars using chat and instant messaging. The recent addition of high-quality audio offers clear benefits for the language learner. What differentiates Second Life from earlier virtual worlds is the lifelike rendering, which makes for a more richly immersive experience. The high-quality graphics, endlessly customizable avatars, together with real-life background noise (birds, wind, crashing waves) accentuate one's sense of telepresence.