5. Using Technology for Brainstorming in a Writing Class: An Innovative Approach

Introduction

Writing is a higher order of skills in second language acquisition. It is also a creative and productive skill. However, learners consider it as a daunting task. Most of them have inadequate ideas during the writing process. The methods that are generally practiced are ineffective for teaching writing skills. Only when it comes to assessment, written skills has much weightage. The way written skills are initiated in classrooms needs a relook. As Nunan David observes, “Learning to write with clarity is the most difficult of four macro skills for all language users regardless of whether the language in question is a first, second or a foreign language” (2005)

How to enable the learners write with clarity? To achieve clarity they should be intrinsically motivated and encouraged to think clearly. Clarity of thinking precedes clarity of writing. The first step is to help the learners’ generate ideas to write using brainstorming. Technology can be effectively used to enhance learners’ written skills particularly, for generating content. If technology is integrated for pre-writing tasks, especially for brainstorming sessions the process will be interactive.

What brainstorming techniques will work in a writing classroom?

A facilitator should think about ways to generate innovative ideas in brainstorming sessions, and consider how these techniques might be executed using technology. They should ensure that their visual aids, whether images, videos, or provocative questions, are presented appealingly to help them trigger their ideas. The following techniques could be practiced as pre-writing activities.

• • Send visuals or three dimensional images using community sites such as facebook, my space etc.

  • Exchange tweets (using twitter) pertaining to the topic.

  • Use technological mind mapping tools or down load mind mapping templates and edit content to initiate discussion.

  • Send provocative questions through group mail.

  • Trigger ideas by sending U- tube or teacher’s tube video link.

For brainstorming through videos, some of best resourceful video tools that offer a great wealth of information are

• 1. viddix

  2. goggle videos

  3. teachers tube

  4. youtube

  5. vuvox

  6. school tube in education

  7. voki and

  8. vusafe

These tools provide a wealth of resources for learners of all levels. For a more exhaustive list, English language teachers can refer to (http:// educational tech-med.blogspot.com/p/video-tools.html)

How can we involve all participants?

• • Encourage the students by displaying the best tweets on a periodical basis in the classroom.

  • Award one best video download for every topic.

  • Invest extra time with late bloomers who need assistance in accomplishing the task.

  • For desired outcome, spend up to 80% of your time and energy in the design and planning of a task and 20% in the delivery.

Mind mapping using technology

Mind Mapping is an effective and simple way of using diagrams to display information. Mind Mapping enables the learners to understand and remember information. Mind mapping is a wonderful tool for brainstorming. It facilitates the writing process especially in the pre-writing stages. The act of writing should begin well before the writing process. Just like a speaker who prepares mentally before delivering a speech, students should be mentally prepared before the

writing process. Above all, writing should be an interactive activity. One way to mentally prepare the learners and help them interact is to brainstorm using mind maps. There are a lot of mind mapping soft wares. However, the challenge lies in choosing the right one. Chapelle states, “As new technological tools continue to emerge and impact foreign language learning, language teachers and researchers are facing the question of how to best utilize the vast array of technological tools in the language classroom”. (2001)

Eddraw is a free soft ware that can be optimally utilized for mind mapping. It is easy for a new user and it comes with range of templates. To understand the efficacy of the soft ware and overcome technological glitches one should have hands on experience. Eddraw comes with an inbuilt tutorial and hence it is user friendly. One can go for an online tutorial as well. It takes only ten minutes to prepare a mind map. Hundreds of mind mapping software are available on (http://www.mind-mapping.org)

During the brainstorming session, different type of templates could be prepared for brainstorming using ed-draw. I present one sample mind map below.

Fig. 1: Mind Map on "Catastrophe in Japan"

The topic is report writing on a contemporary topic “catastrophe in Japan” With animation effects and three-dimensional projections,the mind maps gives a visual appeal.

According to Nunan David, Teachers need to be empowered to create material specifically designed for their immediate teaching. He further states that four principles are essential before choosing materials. They are, (1) Materials should be authentic (2) Materials should stimulate interaction (3) Materials should allow learners to focus on the formal aspects of the language (4) Materials should encourage learners to apply their skills to the world beyond the classroom. (2005) Adhering to the principles advocated by Nunan the teachers should choose and present materials.

Using Shock wave flash presentation

The same topic can also be brainstormed using SWF presentations. Visuals of earthquake and tsunami can be extracted from Bing or Google images and incorporated in to power point slides. Multiple representations of information and multimedia elements such as text, graphics, three-dimensional images and flash animations can be used. The mp3 extract of CNN news depicting the catastrophe can be downloaded and embedded in the PowerPoint slides. Finally, the PPT can be converted in to Shock wave flash format and streamlined. The flash presentation should be followed by group brainstorming.

Research has shown that students in ESL classrooms have different levels of motivation, which could in turn affect how a teacher approaches these contexts. Hence, technological approach will have a positive effect in the writing process and cater to all levels.

Conclusion

Hyland remarks, “Technology will only accommodate and not dictate our teaching desires” 2002). Through this study, it is concluded that, technology should be balanced judiciously in the pre-writing stages. Conventional methods cannot be totally ignored as it has its own advantages. A good teacher should balance and blend the methods. In the contemporary scenario, it is necessary to have access to a variety of technological assistance to foster an interactive classroom atmosphere and achieve our educational goals.