Working with Evernote 

On this page, you'll discover a lesson plan designed in alignment with the "Warmer, Web, What's Next" framework introduced by Dudeney and Hockly (2007). This lesson plan has been enriched through the integration of technology, with a specific focus on its benefits for Special Education Needs (SEN) students. The websites selected were Evernote and Bubbl.us. You can explore the theory that validates this approach at the bottom of the page.

LESSON PLAN

UNIT OF WORK: How to communicate effectively in the workplace

This course is aimed at 18-year-old students who attend a bilingual school in Palermo. They have an Upper-Intermediate (B2) level of English. To prepare students for future jobs after finishing school, they will work on effective communication in the workplace and soft skills.

WARMER

The teacher will show students the following pictures to engage students in discussion. They will be asked to compare and contrast both pictures. Then, they will mention which one they believe that effective communication is taking place. 

WEB

Among all the tasks people do at work, an important one that requires effective communication is to give and receive feedback

1) Listen for gist:

Students will watch a video to make a brief summary of the tools and steps it suggests to give feedback properly. They will write down the summary on Evernote. (tutorial here)

2) Listen for specific information:

Students will watch the video for a second time. This time, they are expected to extract/write down useful phrases to use at work when they communicate with peers.

3) Students will share their notes orally and mention some of the useful phrases to give feedback effectively. To sum up, they will put together all the information in a mindmap created in bubble.us (tutorial here)

WHAT’S NEXT

Students will engage in a role-playing exercise where they will simulate a scenario involving both giving and receiving feedback, working in pairs. They will have to incorporate the information in the mindmap. They can use it as a visual aid as they speak.

Scenarios:

1 Your colleague was preparing some information that you need for a presentation that you are delivering  tomorrow. You were expecting this information yesterday and you still haven't received it.

2 Every day your colleague is a few minutes late in the morning and then leaves the office a few minutes early in the evening. He says this is because of the trains timetable.

3 Your colleague came to an important meeting with a client, dressed in sportswear. Then he took a call on his mobile during the meeting, keeping the client waiting for five minutes.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

Sneed (2020) explains that Bloom's Taxonomy was developed as a framework to categorize the desired learning outcomes that educators aim to achieve through instructional methods. It classifies learning into three domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Within this framework, comprehension levels range from lower-order thinking skills (LOTS) to higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), and technology and digital resources play a pivotal role in supporting the learning process. Furthermore, collaboration is recognized as a means to enrich the learning experience and spark students' curiosity.

In this lesson plan, students engage with various stages found within Bloom's Taxonomy:

Remembering Stage: Students retrieve their prior knowledge of effective communication during the warm-up phase.

Understanding Stage: Students are tasked with annotating, summarizing, and paraphrasing their comprehension of a video sourced from an authentic reference.

Analyzing and Evaluating Stage: Students make decisions regarding the use of specific phrases for providing and receiving feedback.

Creating Stage: Students construct a mind map and generate a conversation based on the information gathered from the preceding stages.

EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK FOR THE DIGITAL COMPETENCE OF EDUCATORS

The European Framework for Educators' Digital Competence pertains to the specific digital skills required by educators to adapt and innovate in today's educational landscape. Teachers play a crucial role in empowering learners by ensuring access to learning resources, using digital technologies to address diverse learning needs, promoting active and creative student engagement, nurturing cross-cutting skills, critical thinking, and creative expression, and integrating real-life contexts that involve hands-on activities (Redecker, 2017).

In this lesson plan, learners were supposed to work with information in digital settings, analyze and interpret the content, adapt and reorganise the information in different digital tools, and convey their ideas using a mindmap done online and collaboratively. 

SEN STUDENTS

According to Delaney (2016), students have special educational needs if they have significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of students of the same age and special educational provision has to be made for them. The main categories of SEN are students with:

-cognition and learning needs

-communication and interaction difficulties

-social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

-sensory impairments

-medical conditions.

How can Evernote become beneficial to SEN students?

Students with dysgraphia often struggle with handwriting, resulting in distorted writing. Evernote's handwriting recognition feature can assist these students by enabling them to write by hand and then convert their handwritten notes into typed text, making it easier to read and share their notes. However, if writing by hand becomes challenging, Evernote allows users to record their voices, enabling them to express their ideas by simply pressing the "play" button. Furthermore, students with dyspraxia or any other physical and coordination difficulties may also find this functionality in Evernote highly beneficial.

How can Bubbl.us benefit SEN students?

SEN students often encounter challenges when organizing their thoughts and sequencing ideas. This is where Bubbl.us comes into play. Graphic organizers can make a significant difference in various writing and learning tasks. They are particularly appealing to visual learners, as they break down information and ideas into smaller, more manageable steps. These tools can be used to structure writing, and mind maps, in particular, are ideal for holistic thinkers as they provide an overview or "big picture" of the subject. Bubbl.us is also a perfect fit for visual learners, as it helps students organize information neatly, making it easier to process and remember.

References:

Delaney, M. (2016) Special Educational Needs. Chapter 6: Assistive Technology. Oxford: OUP

Vuorikari, R., Kluzer, S., & Punie, Y. (2022) DigComp 2.2. The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens. With new examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Retrieved from: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC128415

Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy Verbs For 21st Century Students (2016) https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/blooms-digital-taxonomy-verbs-21st-century-students/