Technology in testing: the present and the future

Using computer-based language tests sound very convenient to language teachers. However, I think there are quite a lot of problems. It is quite difficult to include a variety of questions in the tests. We are sometimes quite restricted to the technology. Sometimes, we may have better ideas in testing the students but, our IT knowledge or software may stop us from doing so. Also, it is hard to get a good setting for tests, if we ask students to do it at home, they may cheat. If we ask them to do it in the MMLC, we may come across technical problems. If we want to assess students' writing skills, it would be difficult as well. Since there are different functions of proofreading, spell check and etc to assist the students. Spelling and grammar use are definitely items we must assess in students' writing. With the help of technology, how can they show us their "true colour"? Furthermore, it is very difficult for us to mark the writing on screen, we may need to print it out and type our feedback afterward. That's why a lot of teachers don't want to mark the CE and A-Level exam papers.

Learning Management Systems: The wrong place to start learning

The author of the article said certain things about the weaknesses of an LMS, e.g., it may cause confusion for many learners, it may dictate the nature of interaction, it is still developing and also the instructor may not be able to achieve what he /she wants due to the limitations of WebCT. I do believe that nothing in the world is perfect. The use of Blackboard and WebCT can surely enlarge and widen the channel for learning and teaching. But to a certain extent, I think WebCT will be more useful for students with good motivation in learning. Not to mention distractions found on the net, how amny students will like to access blogs of others for academic purpose? Even my Form 7 students who take IT as one of the subjects in the AS-Level wouldn't be so sincere in learning through IT. Isn't it ironic and satiring? If students are not forced to exchange ideas or submit on their blogs, they will simply use it to gossip, tease or even scold others. Is it the real aim of using a blog?

Jellyfish

Learner Autonomy and Tandem Learning

The writer defined the 3 approaches of learner autonomy in his research, the individual-cognitive, the social-interactive and the experimental-participatory perspectives. These 3 approaches related to the learner oneself, the peers and the choice of tools respectively. Then he mentioned the tandem learning which is to search a L2 learner of our mother tongue to teach us his/her L1 and at the same time, we teach him/her our L1. I think this is interesting but there are a lot of difficulties. First, to find someone who has the need to learn our L1 is not easy. At the same time, he/she needs to have similar interests, age and maybe background as ourselves will be very challenging. Not to mention to do it by oneself, even with the help of the school, this is not an easy match. I remember years ago, the school I worked before tried to match the junior students with foreigners so ao to form something like a pen-pal scheme through email. Of course, at the beginning students were very responsive at sending email to their foreign pen friend. However, weeks later, their responsive manner became lukewarm. As it is really difficult to share anything for long if our cultures are different. To foreigners, they may not be interested in your piles of tests and tons of homework. Also, some students treated the pen friend as a "dictionary" or an "answer-telling machine". Once they had problems in their homework, particularly English, they sent their pen friend an email. In such case, how can they learn better English? Technology is improving but under sharp differences of culture, to learn form a westerner is not so easy through technology.