Research Paper Technology

Running Head: DIGITAL TOOLS FOR COLLABORATING IN THE ESL CLASSROOM
Digital Tools for Collaborating in the ESL Classroom
Kansas State University
EDCI 718 Learning Technologies
Ximena Naranjo
July 28, 2014

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Introduction:
School and classroom collaboration promotes community members to construct new
knowledge. Collaboration is one of the concepts encouraged by the Ecuadorian Government in
the slogan for education. “Educación un compromiso de todos para cambiar la historia”
“EDUCATION is everybody´s commitment for changing history”. Collaboration is mentioned in
all of the Ecuadorian legal documents starting from the National Constitution.
All of the Ministries have campaigns to persuade Ecuadorians into a more participative work.
Therefore, it is increasingly important to collaborate in this modern world as we become more
globalized.
Teachers and authorities are also encouraged to participate in this process of change not
only personally but also using the technological tools that enable communities to collaborate
effectively. This new social characteristic has prompted the need of professional development,
new methodologies, adapted strategies and appropriate assessments. Hence, a more inclusive
education comes with a careful process of collaboration engaged with technology.
Language teachers are also required to know, understand, and use evidence-based practices for
instruction. Additionally, they are encouraged to integrate technology into the classroom
choosing and adapting appropriate resources for the students´ benefit. The third domain of
Ecuadorian English language teachers requires from educators the use of technological resources
like internet, software, computers, and related devices to enhance language and content-area
instruction for second language students.
Additionally, the fifth domain embodies the matter regarding “Professionalism and
Ethical commitment” Teachers and students have to engage in collaborative teaching in general

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education, content-area, special education, and gifted classrooms. So too, instructors have to
advocate for students’ access to academic classes, resources, and instructional technologies for
supporting students’ families (Ecuadorian English Language Standards, 2012).
In sum, collaborative work and technology use are imminent requirements in the
educational community today. Teachers have to see instruction beyond pencil and paper,
combining and using electronic collaborative strategies to help them develop in their students the
language skills in a more engaging way. This inclusion in the instruction process can help the
Ecuadorian second language students to achieve the B2 level as it is stated in the Students
English Language Standards.
Literature Review
Today´s education presents instructors several challenges. One of the most important is to
teach the Net Generation. Johnson (2011) calls students in this way because they are better
scrutinizers. Students pick apart and fact-check the information that is presented easily. This net
generation students are fun seekers and integrity models. They expect the world to be truthful and
transparent. Besides, they are speed chasers in the classroom. They expect what they want and
need it quickly. These characteristics can be clearly seen either if the students are working with
paper, computers, iPads, or avatars. Teachers from the past taught students how to read, speak
and write effectively, now teachers have to add to that list the skill of digital fluency to complete
the today students´ education (Johnson S. , 2011).
Collaboration Definition

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Collaboration is important in education because it promotes mutual construction of
knowledge. “Collaboration is an educational approach to teaching and learning. It involves
groups of learners working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product”
(Johnson & Johnson, 2000, p. 1). Barkley, Cross, and Major (2005) also mention that
“Collaborative learning occurs when students and faculty work together to create knowledge
pedagogically” (p. 6). It is considered that people make meaning together and that this process
enriches and enlarges the participants. Another definition states that knowledge is socially
produced by consensus among knowledgeable peers through agreement (Barkley, et al., 2005).
Therefore, as Tomei (2005) states, students are natural socializers. They enjoy talking better than
listening. Consequently, he encourages teachers to facilitate collaboration, taking advantage of
the new e- tools that enable an engaging instruction (Tomei, 2005).
However, collaborative learning and cooperative learning can be confounded.
Cooperative learning means working together in coordination with the participants. It is to
provide mutual support finding solutions to the learning problems. Collaborative learning is to
promote independently coherent thinking people. The same authors suggest the use of
cooperative learning for elementary education whereas collaborative education for upper levels
(Barkley, et al., 2005).
Cooperative learning is defined by a set of well structured, psychologically and
sociologically based techniques that lead to obtain a learning goal (Zarei, 2011).
Collaborative instruction is encouraged in both face-to-face and online classes because it
reassures the development of higher thinking skills. Moreover, co-creation of knowledge and
meaning, reflection, and transformative learning can be developed with the use of collaborative
techniques (Palloff & Pratt, 2005). It follows then, the increasingly importance of technology

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collaboration, which is defined as “the ability to employ technology for effective interpersonal
interaction” (Tomei, 2005, p. 126).
The taxonomy for the technology domain gives educators an idea of the steps through
which teachers should work in order to achieve the goals of collaboration using technological
resources. Furthermore, literacy teachers and students need to understand the use of technology
as a harmonious effect in the language learning process. So too, technology collaboration is
sharing ideas and abilities using tools for interpersonal interaction. It is related to solving
problems and decision making. It encourages teachers and students to analyze, assess, and judge
the use of technology in new learning contexts. So, teachers have to combine second language
learning with technology, which means identify and choose appropriate technological tools for
benefitting the English language learners (Tomei, 2005).
Collaboration and Constructivism
Collaboration is also based on the constructivist theory attributed to Piaget and Vygotsky
that promotes learning through social interaction. It prompts initiative, creativity, critical thinking
skills, and dialogue on the parts of the learners (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).
Chuang, Chiang, Yang and Tsai (2012), in their study about social networks-based adaptive
pairing strategies for cooperative learning pointed out that learning is not the behavior of an
individual but the results of interacting with surrounding people. The authors proposed work
based on social networks and pairing strategies which gave these researchers good results
(Chuang et al., 2012).
Therefore, online collaboration develops deeper levels of knowledge generation,
promotes, initiative, creativity and critical thinking, allowing students to create a shared goal for

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learning and forms the foundation of a learning community. It also addresses all learning styles
and cultures (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).
Lee (2006), in her study where she applied instruction based on technological uses
combined with constructivist pedagogy for language learners, got outstanding results. The author
considers that educational technologies must to be combined with the constructivist pedagogy to
be effective and help ESL students think, create and visually demonstrate their learnings. The use
of computers or other types of technology in class is very beneficial for collaboration, but also to
work independently as part of a personal contribution. The idea of seeing students´ classmates as
resources not as competitors is fundamental in this practice of collaboration. Students who
struggle in the process can be motivated to ask for assistance in multiple ways. For instance,
students can get feedback from teachers or peers immediately after their ideas are posted on
message boards or websites. Teachers guide new learning outcomes, but also feel encouraged to
adapt practical hands on activities based on technological resources as additional elements to the
class (Lee, 2006). For example, instructors can adapt the use of blogs, wikies, or messages
boards for ESL learning.
There are several elements that instructors have to consider at the time of collaborating
online, for example Palloff and Pratt (2005) suggest teachers to plan small-group assignments,
and research assignments for presenting additional resource material. Teachers can also organize
group work on case studies, simulations, shared facilitations, homework forums, asynchronous
discussion of readings and discussion questions or paper posted on the course site with mutual
feedback provided (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).

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Duarte and Snyder cited by Palloff and Pratt (2005) describe some critical competencies
that teachers have to consider at the time of managing virtual teams. These skills help instructors
have an organized virtual community in order to achieve the instructional goals. Instructors have
to coach and manage individual accountability according to the students and their instructional
needs. Besides, instructors have to be cross-cultural managers promoting culture sensitivity
among participants. Teachers also have to ensure career development and transition of team
members placing and adapting students who have special needs or require more facilities to
succeed working in the groups. So too, virtual instructors have to build performance
competences, integrity, and concern for the well-being of others. Alternatively, instructors must
create an atmosphere of trust and confidence in the virtual collaboration process. As well,
networking, promotes community formation while planning, implementing and assessing
collaborative classes. In the end, a well-managed virtual classroom develops and adapts team
practices and provides students with effective frameworks for learning. It develops and adapts
collaborative strategies (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).
Palloff and Pratt (2005) suggest instructors the use of technology and online groups for
problem solving, managing conflicts, developing norms, processing information collaboratively,
and to communicate with common members. Individually, the authors consider that the
combination of both technology and constructivist activities help students develop a sense of
accomplishment, quality outcomes, satisfaction with the processes, ability to work at their own
pace, and sense of self- expression. As a group, students build up collaborative skills, teamwork,
and sense of well-being, support, and reflection. As facilitator, the use of technology to
communicate clearly and in a balanced way helps teachers to deal with a reasonable degree of
learning processing conflicts. Collaboration creates a safe atmosphere for the group. Indeed, it

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nurtures the development of relationships and promotes self-organization and empowerment
(Palloff & Pratt, 2005).
Piaget introduced the first concept for constructivism identifying the stages that affect the
learning process. A second view of social constructivism was stated by Vygotsky and Bandura
who considered learning a result of collaboration with the goal of building up knowledge (Duffy,
MacDonald, and Mizell, 2005). At present, Constructivism is the most influential force of
contemporary education (Duffy et al., 2005). Students have to be able to manipulate
technological tools to create meaningful products demonstrating that they master the content.
Indeed, this creation incorporates higher thinking skills like problem solving, justified decisions,
or time management to finish the assigned tasks (Johnson S. , 2011).
The Stages of Online Collaboration
Instructors have to pay attention to the process of collaboration carefully. They have to
plan and coordinate strategies in order to carry out successful on line activities. The first step into
collaboration is setting the stages of the procedure. Besides, this is made by explaining the
students the importance of working as a team. Teachers have to provide students strong
guidelines for this process of partnership. Moreover, the rubrics have to be clear and self-explanatory.
Teachers must create an appropriate environment; it means that teachers need to
plan a virtual space where the participants can meet. Indeed, it is very important to model guide,
and evaluate the collaborative process (Tomei, 2005).
Additionally, teachers have to develop tools and techniques for effective collaboration.
They must explain the terms, exemplify the models of communication and share students´

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responsibilities. It is very useful to set guidelines and expectations in clearly and understandable
words. Besides, clarifying the importance of collaborative group work among the class gives
students meaning to the activities. Moreover, the uses of heterogeneous groups allow participants
to interact and connect with new members. Strategies like ice-breakers are well recommended in
collaborative activities. Instructors have to set goals, supervise progress, design evaluation and
provide a place for the team to share. Finally, it is very important to make agreements
benchmarks and deadlines for the completion and submission of collaborative work (Palloff &
Pratt, 2005).
Electronic Collaboration for Supporting Second Language Learners
It is a pedagogical approach where language learning takes place. It usually uses social
interaction trough technological equipment or the internet. This kind of learning is characterized
by the sharing and construction of knowledge using technology as their primary means of
communication or as a common resource among participants. Collaboration can be implemented
in online and classroom learning environments enhanced with technology synchronously or
asynchronously depending on the students’ needs (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).
Wang (2005) describes the use of web based activities for improving writing skills. This
technique can improve the writing quality of low-ability English as foreign language (EFL)
students. The use of Web-based lessons as a supplement to traditional in-class writing instruction
is described as more effective than teaching based on textbooks. Students have to post their own
threads, short paragraphs, stories and poems on a discussion boards. This allows students to
communicate freely. It is very beneficial because students use their own space and time without
stress (Wang, 2005).

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Hertel (2003) also describes an intercultural e-mail exchange at the college level where
U.S. students in a beginning Spanish class and Mexican students in intermediate English as a
Second Language class corresponded weekly for one semester. Survey results revealed that this
student-centered approach had the potential to change cultural attitudes, increase, knowledge, and
build awareness of other cultures. Moreover, teachers can foster language acquisition, as well as
boost students´ interest and motivation in language and culture (Hertel, 2003).
Additionally, Wang (2009) in her study- teaching demonstrated the shift from a
behavioral to a constructivist learning approach. The author stated that the use of new
technologies was a characteristic of this new century, so language instruction was also modified
by technological factors. Instead of writing essays or reading magazines, instructors have to
encourage students to write e- mails, and conduct on line researches to make language more
communicative allowing people express their thoughts. Therefore, language is considered a living
thing. Teachers must develop languages in interactive and authentic environments (Wang, 2009).
Li, Dong, and Huang (2009) demonstrated that speaking can be improved as part of the inclusion
of technology into the language instruction. For instance, forums allow learners share
information, exchange ideas, address problems, and discuss specific themes in open workspaces.
Response-freeness motivates and facilitates active collaborative learning. However, some
teachers could find forums infective and incoherent when the structure is loosely-tied to the
learning objectives (Li et al., 2009).
Ivers (2009) says that there are special programs designed for ELL named Computer
Assisted Language Learning (CALL), which help students develop their language skills. For
example, the Rosetta Stone designed for K-12 suggests a good number of resources like online
experts, and webs sites for children. They can be used for enhancing language learners into the

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process of effective communication. ABC Toon Center is based on commercial cartoon
characters. This site includes games, puzzles, and animated stories that can be used to motivate
the language learning process. Electronic On- line discussions promote students collaboration,
critical thinking and development of writing. Teachers have to make sure the groups are
organized and the members play their roles appropriately (Wise, Saghafian, & Padmanabhan,
2011). Electronic on-line discussions motivate participants to contribute to the process. This
interaction gives direction to the conversation, providing new thoughts and ground to the
discussion (Wise, et al., 2011).
The Process of On-line Collaboration
Mason and Rennie (2008) cited by Chuang, Chiang, Yang, and Tsai (2012) consider that
the best practice for cooperative learning includes many factors like learning achievements, the
depth of teaching materials, personal traits, and good relationships. Consequently, learning
behaviors combined in the instruction give good results to the learning process (Chuang et al.,
2012).
Johnson and Holubec (1994) cited by Soh OR KAN (2011) proposed five essential
elements of cooperative learning: Positive interdependence, promoted interaction, individual
accountability, interpersonal and small-group skills, group processing. These elements help
participants be aware of the responsibility of their own and their classmates’ success. They have
to exchange resources, challenge conclusions, and provide feedback. In sum, encourage students
to strive for mutual benefits. The analysis of the members’ contributions enable students
communicate effectively and solve differences constructively (Li et al., 2009).

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Proponents of collaborative learning claim that students in cooperative teams achieve
higher levels of performance and retain information longer than learners who work individually.
Asynchronous discussion forum plays an important role in supporting collaborative learning,
allowing participants to communicate at large scale. Hence, learners ask questions, articulate
thoughts, explain and justify opinions, and share ideas and resources, with collaborative
contribution (Li et al., 1995).
Strategies
Blogs. They were created by Jorn Barger in 1997. The name came out by combining
“Web” and “Log” to “Weblog” they are used to describe journals with thoughts feelings an ideas.
Today, blogs have many uses for posting in real time sites. Users can insert ideas into mass
community inviting people to comment or discuss. The most popular choices for blogs are
(www.blogger.com, www.worpress.com, www.livejournal.com, www.edublogs.org. These sites
are easy to manage and moderate after the new users set up an account (Johnson, 2011; Bonk &
Zhang, 2008).
Uses in the ESL Classroom. Blogs are excellent ways of communication for parents,
students and co-workers. Teachers can use them for research or for public and private
communication. This idea is very beneficial for engaging students into collaborative activities.
Johnson (1994) considers that blogs encourage writing and reflection and it is a must among the
twenty-first century classroom resources. Blogs can be used for reflective writing about any
topic. Strategies like questioning about readings, reports about authors´ facts, reports about books
or readings, observations, digital displays for students´ projects, posting pictures, debates, current

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events, point of views and historical events can be used to develop language skills (Johnson,
2011).
Digital Story Telling. It is a digital tool that integrates technology with collaborative
activities for speaking. This tool enables the users include photographs, drawings, information,
videos, and record voice and music. The stories can have different themes for example
biographies of a person, student written creative pieces, or series of images representing poems.
The first step for story telling is to find out the right software. For example: Microsoft photo
story, windows movie maker, or iMovie are some well used support software. Teachers have to
plan the topics and down load the pictures for the story. Later they have to sequence the issues
before dividing the pictures into the story telling software to let the students create something
unique according to their styles. Then, students have to import pictures, insert texts, describe the
content, add music, customize production, add transitions, effects, and publish the story as a
movie in School Tube or Youtube (Johnson, 2011; Bonk & Zhang, 2008).
Uses in the ESL Classroom. Story telling helps students present stories in digital ways. It
can bring topics to life engaging students with the content. The teachers have to get a concept
from a reading or story to create a movie individually or in collaborative groups. The creation of
biographical narratives illustrating what they have learned in class also helps develop language
skills. Students can represent poems through images representing every line with pictures.
Another ideas is to ask students to create instructional videos on how to perform experiments by
uploading pictures. The use of animal adaptations, the creation of information movies can give
students options to develop meaningful learning as they adapt the learning to new settings.
(Johnson, 2011)

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Ning. It is a tool that lets users create a social network for instruction; it is similar to face
book and my space. The users have to register to have a customized space for themselves. Ning is
an advantageous tool for school use. Students must have an e-mail account in order to create their
Ning free account using www.about.ning.com/pearsonsponsorship. The teacher has to determine
the purpose of the site. There are other places like: www.eduplnning.com and classroom 2.0
www.classroom20.com that enable new users set up free accounts (Johnson, 2011).
Uses in the ESL Classroom. Students can use Ning to post book reports as blogs, start
discussion forums, and talk about novels or books, or texts or to post persuasive arguments
(Johnson, 2011). These strategies help learners connect language development with technology in
an engaging way.
Second Life. It is a free downloadable program that lets users create an avatar to enter in
the virtual world. Second life lets users connect with other second life users creating an
interactive virtual world. In this way, students can explore buildings, create information about
topics, create objects, buy land, or trade for goods. There can be found on-line universities,
conferences, dance parties, band demos and many more things like in a normal city. There is an
entire economy based on virtual money (Linden Dollars), which was named after the company
that created the program. The first step for using it is to go to www.secondlife.com , download
the program, join to register using basic information, and choose a name to create the avatar.
Uses in the ESL classroom. Students can create a no-fiction character giving physical
appearance which later can be used for descriptions. Second life users can attend author readings
within other second life characters. Students can interact and trade in foreign language creating
dialogs for different purposes (Johnson, 2011; Bonk & Zhang, 2008).

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Todays meet. It is an online tool to create a functional chat environment. It helps to
generate free no registration movements in the classrooms. This can also be used for conferences,
and professional development sessions with the design of backchannel. The backchannel is a
place where participants chat with their peers about what is being presented in class like if they
were at the back of the room. Todaysmeet creates a space for conversations in real time. This site
www.todaysmeet.com is the door to enter into a classroom and sit at the back. Students can start
commenting in a 140-character limit in length message (Johnson, 2011).
Uses in the classroom. Students can discuss ideas thoughts and concepts from class
creating a better and more responsive learning environment. Teachers can create rooms for
developing language aspects like student´s logs, collaborative story writing. Todaysmeet is also
good for a chat room, book chats, novels and vocabulary races. Teachers can also elicit quick
responses, analyze movies, and recreate debates (Johnson, 2011).
Website Creators. This is a tool to create web sites in an easy way. The site:
www.weebly.com is the best and easy classroom tool. It is interactive and professional. To start
teachers can use www.weebly.com, or www.eucation.weebly.com to register and to fill up
information about school. Then, the group or class has to have a name. The teacher has to decide
if the group will be public or private. The teacher can customize and create accounts for the
students generating their user names importing a spreadsheet file.
Use in the ESL classroom. Students can collaborate in groups to publish a site about any
topic. They can use any topic to interact with friends, families and other students around the
world. This is a good site for organizing digital portfolios. Students can create a page based on

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novels or reading passages including plots, setting, characters, and descriptions. Students can
also create a vocabulary page according to the students’ needs (Johnson, 2011).
Wikis. Ward Cunningham was the first person who applied this internet function. It is a
web site where users can log into and access and edit information. The main browsers for editing
wikis are Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari. This site lets users add content, delete, background
and alter fonts, remove pictures working collaboratively (Johnson, 2011; Ivers, 2003) Johnson
2011 considers that when a person signs for wiki and invites a friend, he literally handles the
control over the content (Bonk & Zhang, 2008).
The most popular and easy to use wikies are www.pbworks.com and www.wikispaces.com. The
user has to register and set up the wiki account. Along the same line, Ivers, 2003 suggested the
use of pb wicki http://pbwiki.com/eduction.wiki , Wetpaint http://www.wetpaint.com/
www.wickispaces.com as other support sites. For the purpose of collaboration the teacher has to
create a group of pages with instructions for each group (Johnson, 2011).
Uses in the ESL Classroom. Language instructors can write down a sentence and ask
students to revise it and make it more descriptive. Students can also build stories starting with
one sentence. Wikies can be used as spaces for recommending books, and set up templates,
Teachers can assign groups to different places to solve mystery problems, ask students to create
their own wiki to demonstrate what they know about a certain topic or create pages for
vocabulary (Johnson, 2011).
Word clouds. This is a tool for creating visual representations of texts. The user can
generate cloud shaped pictures according to the number of words used in the text. This tools was

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launched by photo-sharing Flickr www.flickr.com. To start word clouds first the user has to set
up an account for Wordle www.wordle.net. There are options for customizing fonts, colors,
shapes, layouts. If there is a need of using it for other documents, the person needs to select the
image and paste it (Johnson, 2011).
Uses in the ESL classroom. This is an excellent tool for English language learners as
they can think critically about texts. It encourages analysis of passages in a direct visual format to
help students connect with information. For collaborative activities, students can compare and
contrast speeches, analyze texts or writings. The basic idea is to create cloud from passages of
different authors to show similarities and differences in tone and types of use. Teachers can copy
and paste students writing samples to work collaboratively revising the overused words. Build
word clouds of the definitions of vocabulary words that students are working on to identify the
main concept (Johnson, 2011).
Assessment of Collaborative Work
There are multiple ways to assess digital products, the use of rubrics, checklists,
observation, students self-assessment, graded essays, standardized tests or quizzes can be some of
them. Peer and outside commenters are the most powerful assessment tools for the students while
using social network (Johnson, 2011).
Palloff & Pratt (2005) considers that “collaborative work should be assessed
collaboratively” (p. 53). Assessment must align with learning objectives and collaborative
activities. Students should identify, incorporate and engage the audience, it means that the first
criteria should be how well the target audience was addressed and reacted in front of the work.

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The audience can interact and talk back and give feedback to projects posted on the internet.
Students must understand the content and deliver it to the world in a creative way. Additionally,
it is important to assess the product and the process, not only the technological tool. However,
students need to justify their choices (Johnson, 2011).
Electronic Cooperative Quizzes. These types of assessment can be web-based like
Netscape which runs in a Macintosh or a PC. Netscape was used in a research made by Jensen,
Moore, and Hatch, (2002) (URL: http// www2gen.umn.edu/Jensen/ecq/demo.asp) which
demonstrated that electronic cooperative quizzes can be implemented via World Wide Web and
can greatly affect the degree of cooperation between students as well as their scores. However
these activities have to be well planned with a score rubric to facilitate positive interdependence
(Jensen et al., 2002).
Rubrics and Matrixes. Instructors have to make rubrics or other tools in order to provide
clear guidelines for assessment and explain the learning objectives easily. The use or rubrics for
example, help teachers make assessment easy. In sum, rubrics help to align the learning
objectives, the collaborative activities and the assessment of the learning process to benefit the
instruction (Palloff & Pratt, 2005). Rubrics are helpful at the time of explaining to the students
what is expected of them and helps instructors organize the assessment criteria making the
grading process more efficient and less subjective. The site http://rubistar.4teachers.org/. is a
good tool for teachers to help build rubrics based on different categories. These authors advise
educators to use objective terminology to avoid confusing students with what is expected from
them (Manning & Johnson, 2011).

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Edmodo for Supporting ESL Collaboration. It is a social learning platform for
educators and learners like teachers, students, and parents. It is similar to Facebook. Edmodo
provides teachers, students, and parents a secure place to connect, collaborate and share content.
Edmodo can use Web, iphoe, iPad, Android phone. The first step into the process for
collaboration in this website is to register at Edmodo page, after the person has an account, the
students and teachers can start collaborating. Teachers can assign homework, projects and
classwork directly from Edmodo https://www.edmodo.com/ .
Students can upload files, reply to other's comments and share useful information. Participants
can ask questions and interact easily there. Edmodo is also a solution for the lack of
communication between parents and teachers because both are looking for some kind of
interaction for better education of their students. Holland & Muilenburg (2011) in their study
state that collaborative work encourages knowledge construction. The authors consider that
Edmodo promotes educational networking. Teachers can monitor the information that students
post and provide useful feedback to support healthy student communication skills. It helps to
differentiate instruction by creating sub groups. (Holland & Muilenburg, 2011).
Edmodo gives teachers the opportunity to use reciprocal teaching strategies prompting student
initiative. This website supports the role of the teacher as a mediator or moderator as well as
students´ participation and engagement. However, complexity of discussion and the effectiveness
of Edmodo discussion boards as a tool are still discussed by these authors (Holland &
Muilenburg, 2011).
Uses for the ESL Classroom. There are very many benefits from using Edmodo in the
classroom: Students can share digital media such as blogs, links, videos, documents, notes,

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presentations. It is a great tool for participating in on-line discussions. It is a countless means of
interaction between the participants generating connections with other students from different
schools, states and cultures.
Davies, (2013) describes how the use of Edmodo helped her students become more
engaged in the learning process. The author used Edmodo for posting questions, answers, links
for reading articles, videos with comprehension questions, and giving feedback. Edmodo helps
teachers to make instruction fresher, creative, and relevant (Davies, 2013).
Problems and Limitations
The use of technology in the classroom can certainly present teachers and students
problems. However, being aware of the multiple technological needs in the classroom can ease
the process of implementation of this educational support. Palloff & Pratt (2005) state that
effective planning is a key factor for collaboration. However, there is always the need of extra
attention or additional backing during the development of the course. As a matter of fact,
technical difficulties sometimes affect the smoothness of the process if there was not enough
training for teachers and guidance for students. Not to mention, that sometimes there is over or
under participation, cases when teachers have to intervene (Palloff & Pratt, 2005).
Capdeferro, and Romero ( 2012) described their frustration as a primary reaction to their
technological problems. The students who participated in on-line collaborative activities faced
frustration and high level of anxiety due to the lack of shared goals and the imbalanced
commitment to the quality of the work involved in online projects. Let alone, the delay in the

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feedback from the teacher or peer work participants that also challenge the process (Capdeferro
& Romero, 2012).
Li, Dong, and Huang (2009) also described the messages arbitrarily structured and the
content generated through multiple learners’ inputs, and interactions as challenging for the
participants. Furthermore, the annotations demanded more time from learners while they went
through nonlinear messages for locating useful information. In fact, the authors reported that
some messages were incoherent and disordered without semantic association. So, learners could
not search for the specific topics by retrieving discussion transcripts in separation. Lastly,
learners usually felt isolated and tended to become disengaged and inactive when they are outside
of the social context of the classroom. Conversely, technology is very beneficial for language
development; however, if it is loosely organized it does not lead to in-depth communication and
collaboration (Li et al., 2009).
Even though, the institution where I work doesn´t have a virtual platform it doesn´t limit
me with the idea of using online activities as an innovative way to prompt my students into
meaningful communication and collaboration. Admittedly, the use of e-mails would challenge
the teacher´s control of the discussions. So too, there might be certain students who may not have
access to technology, if that is the case, I would plan online discussions at a convenient time
suggesting students the use of school resources like the computing labs or school library. I am
also thinking of using the city library as a good resource as this institution provides students and
citizens with technological facilities.
Practical Applications

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Online and off line tools enable teachers and learners engage into a more meaningful and
interactive process of language learning. For instance, forums in Edmodo, blogs, nigng,
todaysmeet, and wikies help the participants discuss problems concerning to real topics. The first
step into the application of technological tools is to find out the students´ interest. Students have
more motivation and enthusiasm when they are involved in deeper communication and exchange
of ideas. Besides, teachers engage students in the learning process when new knowledge is the
presented in motivating ways (Li et al., 2009).
As a final point, the conditions that support content, technology and language learning
need to be carefully analyzed by the instructor. For example, teachers have to promote social
interaction using e-mails, tele -collaborative projects, online discussion groups, or chats. The
instruction based on authentic audience can be developed by using Web-pages, presentations.
Authentic tasks can be supported by word processing or different spreadsheets. Technology also
gives the opportunities for exposure and production with the help of multimedia. Even formative
and summative assessments can be adapted with technological equipment and on-line and off-line
activities (WebQuests) (Bonk & Zhang, 2008).
I concede that these and other technological strategies can help students engage into the
learning process. Indeed, engaging my students in online discussions would definitely help my
ESL class to lower the affective filters at the time of interacting. Besides, social networking
activities through Edmodo or other sites can give my students a sense of collaboration and
additional time to think about their own responses. Consequently, these activities help teachers
develop language and metacognitive skills in ESL students based on collaborative activities.

23
Conclusion
Successful collaboration depends of many factors: The instructor´s guidance, the tools,
and the learning community. Therefore, the teacher´s planning has to consider these basic aspects
and others when enhancing technology collaboration with ESL instruction. Teachers also have to
be aware that well organized collaboration increases the opportunities to practice content and
language skills at the students own pace and time. Additionally, teachers can choose activities
according to the students learning styles interests, and intelligences. There are several
technological tools for developing the four language skills with the goal of helping students
achieve fluent communication. Assessment of the activities should include specific parameters
explained in clear rubrics. Formative and summative assessment should reflect what the students
learnt from doing the projects, the skills the learners developed, and the visible creativity and
effort the learner put into the project.
To conclude I will say that technological developments make it is possible to build up
ESL community collaboration successfully through the use of updated tools and strategies.
Indeed, technology helps teachers, students, and parents collaborate actively while educating this
net generation today.

24
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26
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