English CED Blog

Your TV Blog-Journal

2007-09-29T15:44:00.000-04:00

This session's major blogging project will be to post your assignments for your TV Journal. The goal of this project is to help you improve your listening comprehension, improve your vocabulary, reinforce the grammar we learn in class and develop your writing skills.

You are to choose a 30-minute (or longer) TV program that has the same cast of characters every week (not a documentary, a talk show or a star-search show). You can watch the show "live" or recorded. Most students find it is easier to watch a recorded program on DVD because you can watch it when it is convenient for you and you can read the English subtitles to help you understand the dialogues and learn new vocabulary. If you have the time, watch the same episode first with subtitles, then again without the subtitles.

Some of the assignments will include descriptions of the show and the main characters, sometimes I will ask you to explain what happened during the show and sometimes I will ask you to read your classmates blog entries and ask them questions or leave comments....So choose a program you will enjoy watching because you will be spending quite a bit of time with your new small-screen friends!

Welcome to the Fall 2006 Edition

2006-08-21T21:33:00.000-04:00

Welcome Future Bloggers!
Welcome to a new session and a new season of blogging. Technology is changing so quickly that now it is possible for ordinary people like us to create blogs, add pictures, voice and even videos. I hope you will feel free to be creative. Before you start looking at blogs, I would like you to click here to answer my survey. When you have finished, click "Done" and then click "Back (Précedent)" (in the top left-hand corner)

Now, let's take a look at some blogs from around the world. Click here to find a blog I created with teachers from different countries. You can find their blogs by clicking on any of the names in the right sidebar. When you finish looking at one, click "Back (Précedent)" and then click on another one.

Now look at some blogs that students have created by clicking on some of the names in the right sidebar of this blog.

To create your own blog, click here to read the Tutorial I wrote. In order to edit a post that you created in the past, click here for my instructions.

Survey Report Assignment

2006-04-06T13:27:00.000-04:00

Before you begin writing your report, review this information in your textbook (Prospect: English Skills for Academic and Professional Purposes):

Look at the questionnaire on pp. 2-4
Study Section 5.2 about Writing Reports (pp. 131-132)
Read the Survey Report on Students' Career Choices (pp. 133-134)

Your report must include:

A Presentation Page with the title of your survey, your name, the date, your English course and group number
An Introduction in which you describe the purpose of the study and what you hoped to learn from it.
A description of the Methodology: the number of questions, types of questions, number of respondents and how the data was collected.
The Results of the data. Most of your results should be interpreted in text form, but you may include a chart or two. To analyze your data go to Survey Monkey and log in. (Remember that your Username is usually an email address for this site). Click on "My Surveys" then click "Analyze." If you want to know how each respondent answered your survey, click on "View Detail." You will see the message: "Displaying 1 of ___" and arrows so that you can go to the next respondent. This can be interesting if you want to know more about an individual respondent.
An Analysis in which you analyze and interpret the data. Make connections between the answers to different questions. If there were problems with some of the questions then explain this. If people from different parts of the world, or different age groups seemed to interpret your questions differently, explain this.
Your Conclusion in which you explain whether or not the survey allowed you to reach your goals. What did you learn from the survey? Were there surprises? What would you change?
An Appendix that includes all of your questions and the results (you can just print these pages from Survey Monkey)

Your report must be printed and stapled together or put into a folder. You should also post your results on your blog--your respondents want to see the results!

Creating Your Survey

2006-03-03T12:46:00.000-05:00

Today you are going to create an online survey. Before you begin, you must decide the topic of your survey and have a list of 10 questions. Your questions can have different types of answers: multiple choice, true and false, short answer or even an essay. However, it is very difficult to compile results from essay questions, so you should not use this more than once.

Click here to open the site for SurveyMonkey. You will need to create a new account, so click Signup Now on the upper right side. Type in your email address--this will be your Username. Now type in a password (one that you will remember--you can use the same one you used for your blog). You can fill in the optional information (Name and phone number) but this is not necessary. Now click Submit. You will be sent to a page that has a Sample Survey--it is a good idea to answer these six questions to see the types of questions that are possible. When you click Done you will be sent back to the home page.

Since you are already logged in, you can click New Survey on the upper left part of the page (just below the word Survey). Since this is a brand new survey, click From Scratch, then click Next (on the right side). You can choose the colour of your survey where it says Theme--choose the color you like the best.
Give your survey a title by clicking Edit Title. Enter the title of your survey and then click Update--don't change any of the other settings.
Write the purpose of your survey by clicking Edit Page next to Untitled Page. Replace Untitled Page with Purpose of This Survey. In the box write your short description of your survey. Click Update

Now you are ready to start adding your questions: Click Add Question
You will have a choice of question types. Most of your questions will probably be Choice - Multiple Answers (Vertical), but you should experiment with different types of questions.
Write in your question and indicate that an answer is required, then type in the choice of answers. Do NOT write a. b. c. and so on, because the program will include these automatically.
If you want to allow respondents to write in an answer, click Other (you can change other to something else, for example, Please write the name of your country. Decide whether you want the answer to be very short (single line) or longer (text box). Click Add.

Now continue adding questions until you have all 10. When you have finished your survey, click Back and then Done which will take you back to the Home Page.

Now click on My Surveys. In order for people to be able to answer your survey, it must be Open. Click the box and it should open.
To make a link to your blog, click under Collect. You will see three choices. Click Create a link for an email message. This will give you a web address (url). Highlight the address and click Control C (or Edition--Copier)

Now, open your blog to add a New Post (Créer un nouveau message). Write in the text box: Click here to complete my survey about __________. Highlight this sentence, then click on the icon for links, delete the http: that is written and click Control V (or Edition--Coller) and the address for your survey should appear. Click OK. Now you can write a bit more about your survey in the text box for your blog--you can write the purpose of your survey and what you hope to learn from it. Be sure to give it a title.

Publish your post, republish it and then view it and try the link to make sure everything is working. Voilà--you have just created a survey that the whole world can fill out!

Creating Your Blog

2006-02-18T01:15:00.000-05:00

Here we go Future Bloggers.... First go to the Blogger site. Click on the orange arrow to create your blog now
Username: this is not as easy as it looks because you must select a unique name that no other blogger is using. You may have to try a few times before it is accepted. When it is accepted, write it down immediately because you will probably forget next week.
Password: please choose a password that you don't mind sharing with me (I don't want to know any of your secrets). After the first few weeks you can change your password, but in the beginning it is helpful if I can get into your account when you are having difficulty.
Display Name: (nom à afficher) This is the name that shows up when you leave a comment. Most people use their first name, but you can decide for yourself.
Email address: This is important to verify your account Once your username and password have been accepted, you will need to name your blog and give it an address. You will also be asked to type in some letters--this is to assure that you are a human being and not a computer. Click the orange arrow to continue.
Now you will need to choose a template (modèle). There are not many choices here, but once your blog is created you will have more choices and you can change it. Click the orange arrow and then click the tab that says Template (Modèle) and then Sélectionner--now there are many choices of templates. Choose the one you like and then SAVE the changes. You will also need to Republish your blog. Every time you make a change in your blog you must save and republish the changes.
To avoid spammers from leaving comments on your blog do this: Click on Comments (Commentaires) and then scroll down to where it asks about word verification (Afficher la vérification des mots pour les commentairs?). Click YES. Now, only human beings can leave comments and not computer-generated spammers. Remember to SAVE this before moving to another page.
Now you are ready to make your first post..........click Post (Envoi). Write in the title of today's post. Type in your information in the big box. You can make links by clicking the icon of a link over a green earth. Upload pictures by clicking on the little square picture. Explore the tools and be creative.........you are now a blogger!

Welcome to the Winter 2006 Edition!

2006-02-02T22:25:00.000-05:00

Hello future bloggers!
Welcome to a new session and a new season of blogging. To get started, I want you to see some of the blogs that have been created by teachers around the world. Click on my new blog here and then visit countries around the world by clicking on the blogs in the sidebar. Bon Voyage!

Please answer the survey about your Study Plans. Longueuil students click here. ENA students click here.

Information for Students and Teachers looking for an exchange: The college students in this course live near Montreal, Quebec and are in a low-intermediate level of English. French is the mother tongue for most students and all of their content courses are in French. Most students range in age from 18 to 24 although there are a few who are older. The course meets once a week for 15 weeks (this session runs from January to the end of May). Links to student blogs are in the right sidebar. The url for this blog is www.englishcefblog.blogspot.com

TV Journal Assignment #5

2005-11-06T15:51:00.000-05:00

This assignment is the same as the last one, except you need to choose a different character. It would be interesting if you choose a character who is often in conflict with the character you chose last week. Be sure to tell your readers which character you have chosen this time.

Write a short summary of what happened in the last episode of your TV program from your character's point of view (again, "I" = the character). Your summary should be about 100 words.

In another paragraph explain how "you" (the character) felt by what happened. If it is logical for your program, explain how "you" feel about the character you chose last week. (100 words)

TV Journal Assignment #4

2005-10-23T13:10:00.000-04:00

For this assignment, imagine that you are one of the characters in your show and tell the story from that character's point of view.

* First tell us which character you have chosen.
* Then write a 100-word paragraph in the first person ("I" = your character) in which you describe "the facts" of what happened.
* Now write a 100-word paragraph in which you describe how "you" (your character) feel about the situation.

TV Journal Assignment #3

2005-09-24T01:38:00.000-04:00

After your watch your TV show this week, write 5 Information Questions in the Past Tense about what happened and write answers to your questions. Ask interesting questions and provide good, descriptive answers that demonstrate your understanding of the program.

TV Journal Assignment #2

2005-09-06T01:23:00.000-04:00

Describe what happened in the TV program you watched this week. This time your text is in the PAST tenses: Simple Past and Past Continuous. Again, your summary should be between 100 and 150 words. Don't forget to include the name of your program and your word count.

Your TV Journal

2005-08-25T23:32:00.000-04:00

Watch a 30-minute (or 1-hour) English TV program each week. Your program should be a current show with the same characters in each episode. (Examples: Desperate Housewives, Malcolm in the Middle, The Gilmore Girls, That 70's Show, Joan of Arcadia, House MD, Corner Gas, etc). You may NOT choose a documentary, a movie, a news show, a talk show, a star-search show or a reality show. Of course, you can record your show and watch it at a time that is convenient for you. In fact, this is highly recommended as it will allow you to review any parts you did not understand the first time.
Each time you write about your show, include the following information:
Title of Program / Day and Time of Program / Date you watched it / Channel
Also include the Word Count for each entry.

Try adding pictures and links to your blog and don't forget to look at your classmates' blogs to find out what they are watching--leave a comment!

Week 1 Assignment: Write a 100 to 150-word text describing the TV program you plan to watch. Describe the main characters and give a basic description of what the program is about. Write your text in the PRESENT tenses: simple present and present continuous. Don't forget the word count. DUE Week 2.

Welcome to the World of Blogging

2005-08-25T21:36:00.000-04:00

Welcome to a new year, new tools and new technology. In this course you will be introduced to the world of Weblogs, or Blogs. Blogs are on-line journals that allow not just your teacher to read what you have written, but also your classmates, students in other classes you have never even met and people who may live on the other side of the world!

To begin, take a look at some blogs students in Venezuela who are studying Architecture and Urban Planning made by clicking here. Many of them wrote about Montreal, a city that is far away for them. You might also want to see what some of your colleagues did a little closer to home by clicking here.