Let's get down to e-business! - case study of a telecollaborative project

One of the assignments in the “Telecollaboration in Language Learning” module of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching (MA in DTLT) asks students to study closely the what’s and how’s of real-world telecollaborative projects.


The eTwinning project "Let's get down to e-business!" co-organised by Eva Toth, an English teacher at a technical and vocational school in Hungary, was selected as a case study for its innovative and close to real life activities.
Karina Pearl Thorne, student of the MA in DTLT, who examined this project in her paper reported that: "The potential for digital technology to enhance and extend learning beyond the walls of the classroom is no more evident than in the project Let's get down to e-business!".

Students and tutors of the MA in DTLT would like to thank Eva Toth for her time and contribution to the TLL module.

Let's Write a Story - case study of a telecollaborative project

One of the assignments in the “Telecollaboration in Language Learning” module of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching (MA in DTLT) asks students to study closely the what’s and how’s of real-world telecollaborative projects.
The eTwinning project "Let's Write a Story" with partners from 23 schools across Europe was selected as a case study for its creative writing activities and use of storytelling Web 2.0 tools. Robert Martínez, student of the MA in DTLT, who examined the "Let's Write a Story" project in his paper acknowledged that: "Investigating and interviewing an experienced telecollaborator has translated into a deeper understanding of what telecollaboration entails by adding flesh to the bones".

Students and tutors of the MA in DTLT would like to thank Loredana Popa, teacher partner in this project, for her time and contribution to the TLL module.

Students of the MA in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching write for Wikipedia

One of the assignments of the Telecollaboration in Language Learning module of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching engaged students in contributing significant new material to the Tangem Language Learning on Wikipedia. Our students extended the history of Tandem Language Learning up to the present day, enhanced the overall structure of the text, added several new sections about telecollaboration, corrected language errors, and added extra references and links.

You may see how the article was before (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tandem_language_learning&oldid=670181788) and after (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tandem_language_learning&oldid=685208568) our students’ contribution.

Editing Wikipedia as part of an assignment

This week students of the "Telecollaboration in Language Learning" module of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching edit the Tandem language learning Wikipedia page as part of their assignment to study the origins of telecollaboration.

Call for teachers who run online intercultural projects

Language teachers who run or have implemented online intercultural projects (also known as telecollaborative projects, such as eTwinning, ePals, Flat Stanley Project, etc.) are requested to send a short description (about 100 words) of their project to the digitaltechnologies4lt@gmail.com.

Those who answer to this call will be contacted by our students and asked questions regarding their experience of developing and running a telecollaborative project.

Finally, participants will receive a certificate of appreciation while selected telecollaborative projects will be published on the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/UoN.MA.DTLT) of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching.

Welcome to the MA in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching!

Tutors and students of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching send a video welcome message to the new cohort.

Watch their short clips here: http://flipgrid.com/#1f5c466d

Dr. Goria awarded with the Lord Dearing Award

Dr. Goria was chosen as one of the winners of this year's Lord Dearing Awards

Dr. Cecilia Goria, Director of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching, was awarded with the Lord Dearing Award*.

In her proposal emphasised the way that informed use of digital technologies facilitate her efforts to innovate and excel. As she wrote in her abstract: "My contribution to teaching and learning is special, because I make informed use of the latest technologies, emphasising student-led learning and autonomy. Characterised by the ongoing commitment to innovation, a broad variety of methods and the development of best practice my teaching combines Face-to-Face (F2F) with Distance Learning (DL) pedagogies."


* The Lord Dearing Awards acknowledge the outstanding achievements of University of Nottingham staff in enhancing the student learning experience.

For more information about this year's Lord Dearing Awards winners: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/tld/awards/dearingawards/lda2015abstracts.aspx

Jane Basnett: What the MA in DTLT has done for me so far and my thoughts on what I am discovering now

Jane Basnett - second year student currently writing her dissertation - reflects on her experience studying for the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching.

Read Jane's post: http://janeebasnett.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-ma-project.html

Only for students of the MA in DTLT: Dissertation Show on Thursday 23 July

Poster for the Dissertation Show created by one of our students, Chryso Pelekani

Students of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching are invited to the online Dissertation Show on Thursday, 23 July at 11 a.m. (UK time).

The Dissertation Show is an excellent opportunity for students working on their dissertations to present what they have done so far and their plans for completion and get feedback from their peers and tutors. It aims also to provide ideas and tips for future research on the broad area of language teaching and learning with digital technologies to students who will undertake their dissertation during the next semester.


For more information about the Dissertation Show, please contact the MA in DTLT programme director Dr. Cecilia Goria (cecilia.goria@nottingham.ac.uk).

Lesson Plans submitted to the Competition are now available online!

The social media promotion team of the MA in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching hosted a lesson plan competition for all teachers worldwide. The contest attracted the interest of many educators and we had some great lesson plans submitted.
What is more important, contestants gave their permission to share publicly their lesson plans so everyone could benefit from them. 

We created a special board on our Pinterest account where you can find a collection of the lesson plans submitted in the competition: https://www.pinterest.com/dt4lt/language-learning-lesson-plan-competition/

Student experiences of studying for the MA in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching

We asked our students to share their thoughts about their experience of studying for the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching. Our students talked about several issues including the distance delivery method and teaching methods, support given by the tutors, and learning gains.

This video is a synthesis of their videos - we hope you find it interesting and informative!

Jane Basnett - Studying for the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching

Jane Basnett, 2nd year student of the MA in DTLT, feels a little bit disappointed that the course is coming to an end!

Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University Conference - 19 June 2015

The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies at The University of Nottingham is hosting the 5th annual conference in the "Innovative Language Teaching and Learning at University" series. Following great success in Newcastle (2011), Bristol (2012), Manchester (2013) and Leeds (2014), in 2015 the conference will focus on 'Enhancing Participation and Collaboration'.


The #InnoConf15 is taking place at the University of Nottingham (University Park Campus) on 19 June 2015. Confirmed keynote speakers are Jan Hardman (University of York) and Zoltán Dörnyei (University of Nottingham).

A volume with selected papers from the conference, edited by Cecilia Goria, Oranna Speicher and Sascha Stollhans, will be published with research-publishing.net in 2016.

For further information, please see the conference website: http://innoconf2015.weebly.com/

Update
Read the conference report: http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/clas/2015/07/14/innovative-language-teaching-and-learning-at-university-enhancing-participation-and-collaboration/

Survey about attitudes to postgraduate study - Lucky draw winner announcement

The social media promotion team of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching of the University of Nottingham held a survey about attitudes towards postgraduate study from 30 March to 15 June 2015. We would like to thank all people for taking the time to participate in our online survey. Your input is valuable to us and it will help us determine the best way to improve the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching programme.

People who responded in our survey had the opportunity to enter a draw for a SanakoStudy Solo license (http://www.sanako.com/products/study-1200/study-solo/). The draw was held on 16 June 2015 and the winner was selected at random. The lucky winner is Alena Widows.

Survey about attitudes to postgraduate study - Few days left to participate!

The social media promotion team of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching of the University of Nottingham is running a survey about attitudes towards postgraduate study. 

Your participation in the survey will be greatly appreciated and will help us deliver better services to our future students. Also, respondents in the survey will have a chance to win a SanakoStudy Solo license. The drawing will be conducted on 15 June 2015 and the lucky winner will be announced on the Facebook page of the MA in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching and will be contacted via email.

The survey consists of 23 questions and will take approximately 5-7 minutes to answer.

To answer the survey click the link below:
http://goo.gl/forms/nkyBsw6uSV

Survey about attitudes to postgraduate study - chance to win a free SanakoStudy Solo License

The social media promotion team of the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching of the University of Nottingham is running a survey about attitudes towards postgraduate study. 

Your participation in the survey will be greatly appreciated and will help us deliver better services to our future students. Also, respondents in the survey will have a chance to win a SanakoStudy Solo license. The drawing will be conducted on 15 June 2015 and the lucky winner will be announced on the Facebook page of the MA in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching and will be contacted via email.

The survey consists of 23 questions and will take approximately 5-7 minutes to answer.

To answer the survey click the link below:
http://goo.gl/forms/nkyBsw6uSV

Reminder - The Q&A session is today!

The second Questions & Answers session on Twitter for the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching of the University of Nottingham is today! The session will run for one hour from 3-4 pm (UK time) (check your time zone). Follow the Twitter account of the programme (@dt4lt), use ‪#‎dt4lt‬ and get ready to voice your questions!

Don't miss the chance to discuss your questions about studying online with us and get answers from tutors and students of the programme!

Looking forward to e-see you!

Next Q&A session on Thursday 4th June

We hope that you enjoyed today's Q&A session on Twitter as much as we do. There were several interesting questions about studying for the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies and our students (special thanks for their participation) gave insightful and helpful answers based on their personal experience.
The next Q&A session will happen on Thursday 4th June 2015, from 3-4 pm (UK time) (check your time zone). The Q&A session is a great opportunity to voice your questions about studying online for the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching of the University of Nottingham and get answers from a team of tutors and students. So, make sure that you don't miss it!


We also prepared a Facebook event for people who do not have a Twitter account, so they can post their questions there.

Looking forward to e-see you!

Reminder - The Q&A Twitter session is today!

The first Questions & Answers session on Twitter for the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching of the University of Nottingham is today! The session will run for one hour from 11-12 a.m. (countdown to the event). Don't miss the chance to discuss your questions about studying online with us and get answers from tutors and students of the programme!

Looking forward to e-see you!

Only a few days left before our Q&A session on Twitter! - Monday 1st June

Only a few days left before the first Q&A session on Twitter happening on Monday 1st June 2015, 11-12 am! The Q&A session is a great opportunity to post your questions about studying online for the Master of Arts in Digital Technologies for Language Teaching of the University of Nottingham and get answers from a team of tutors and students. So, make sure that you don't miss it!

Don't forget to use the #dt4lt, follow the @dt4lt Twitter account and we will follow you back.

We also prepared a Facebook event so you won't forget about the Q&A session! Join the Facebook event to receive updates and info!

Looking forward to e-see you!