Blog Assisted Language Learning (BALL) English Focus Group ITE Section Education Bureau

The Introduction Part

The learning community What is a learning community? A learning community is a group of people who share common values and beliefs, are actively engaged in learning together from each other.

IT in Education Section, EDB Re-deployment of COE Teachers in 2006 Key Learning Areas （ 5 working groups ）  Chinese Language  English Language  Mathematics  Science  Arts and Physical Education Technology （ 4 working groups ）  WebQuest  Campus TV and Video-Conferencing  Mobile learning platforms  New Technology 9 Focus Working Groups

Ju Ching Chu Secondary School (Tuen Mun) CCC Kei Wa Primary School (Kowloon Tong) Core Members of the English Focus Working Group in 2006

We are pondering at 2 levels… How to build English learning communities in our own school? How to build English learning communities in Hong Kong? September 2006 – December 2006

A lesson learnt from Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 The Rising Web 2.0 Blog, Youtube, Wiki

online learning community An online learning community is a common place on the Internet that addresses the learning needs of its members through proactive and collaborative partnerships. Blogs blend personal journaling with social networking to create environoments rich with opportunities for reflection.

1. The Teachers ’ Weekly□ 2. The Students ’ Bulletin Board 3. F.1 Chinese Teacher and Student Blogs□ 4. F.2 English Teacher and Student Blogs □ 5. F.3 Civics Ed Teacher and Student Blogs 6. The Olympics Blog□ 7. The Library Blog 8. The Form-Teacher ’ s Blog

The Teachers’ Weekly ( 教師週記 )

Our recommendation to ITE Section, EDB 1. Joining force with the Chinese Focus Working Group to promote BALL 2. Training the language teachers to master b logging 3. Dissemination of good practices through publication of good cases, workshops, public media, etc. 4. Creating a secured HKEDcity platform 5. Launching the Teacher Blog Promotion Scheme Strategies

We are pleased to see that …. So many good practices of BALL activities have emerged!

End of the Introduction Part