Hello readers, welcome back to another ICT tools reviews, for this week, the one I bring is the same one as I'm using right now, Blogger (blogger.com). Blogger is a free online website which allows its users to create blogs using a custom domain (the address of your website that people type in the browser to visit this one). For the creation of these blogs, Blogger offers tools such as text management, images, videos and embedded resources. As always, below I post an image of what a blog would look like, in this instance, this same blog.
(One of the blog's entries)
As you saw in the pictures, it's a very simple and attractive way to display text with images, and you can do it using the different designs of themes available for use in your blogs.
From my concern regarding language teaching, and having in my mind that I have some experience using Blogger, I can assure that this tool may be of relevance in language learning, more concretely, English. Why? because Blogger can be of good use for teachers to foster writing skills in their students, both primary and high schoolers. In this same matter, to make this improvement of the skill, teachers could make use of some approaches such as a product based approach, which would focus on students imitating a model of a piece of writing providing by teacher, this would be the final product. The other approach I could find and consider worth mentioning regarding this skill is a process based approach. This one take the writing process itself as a focus, allowing students to improve their writing skills by going backwards or forward with what they are writing. If you're wondering, the four main processes in writing are: planning, drafting, revising and editing.
Now, what are the limitations or disadvantages of Blogger for language learning? Well, from all my experience using the website, I've found only advantages, however, one limitation I can mention is the lack of customization. It really need more options for its users, in this instance, students or teachers to use on their blogs. Text designs, editing of images and videos and some changes in the text processor regarding the format, as sometimes it's format gets messed when you try to paste text or other resources from other websites. This lack of customization might not be crucial in the impact of language learning, but it would sure limit some students creativity at the moment of creating these blogs.
Finally, to summarize, Blogger is a free website with the purpose of allowing its users to create blogs with text, images, videos and other resources. In this entry I stated it's relevance for the writing skill in language learning, mentioning that can be of good use in fostering this skill. The website possess numerous advantages, including its ease to usage and the big amount of blogs you are allowed to create (which by the time I write this the limit is 100 per account), however I did mention one disadvantage regarding customization. Aside from that, I consider Blogger a practical tool to include in language learning, it will let the creativity of students flow and at the same time it will improve their writing skills. Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more reviews.
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