Digital and Interactive StoryTelling

Moderation: Amany Alkhayat

Exploring the potentials of Using Interactive Fiction Games in the ESL Classroom

Recordings (14min): https://youtu.be/rBO6VW9ejcc 

Interactive fiction is a genre of video games that involves a non-linear narrative that can’t be told without the interaction of the player. In interactive Fiction games, textual input is used as a means of communication with the game. This makes interactive fiction games potential tools for employing language tasks all over the gameplay (Perriera, 2018). In this session, the presenter will give examples of Interactive fiction games she created for her students using Quest Engine and how the students interacted with the game and how that also impacted their learning and vocabulary retention. The presenter will also discuss the potentials of integrating Interactive fiction games and the ESL classroom and the possible challenges to ESL students and teachers as well. 

 Amany Alkhayat is a research assistant at the Gizmo EdTech Lab, TC Columbia University, and a Udemy Instructor.  She’s also the CEO of Linguatech Inc. She’s  the Technology Enhanced Language Learning SIG  Founder and  Chair at NYS TESOL, USA. Her research interests are focused on Technology in the classroom, designing technology assisted learning/intervention, using conversational agents/chatbots in the EFL/ESL Classroom, and Intelligent Tutoring systems. Her 2017 book chapter is in the edited volume, Teaching English Reflectively with Technology, by Dr. Hubbard and Dr. Ioannou-Georgiou and entitled Exploring the Effectiveness of Using Chatbots in the EFL Classroom. In 2017, She self-published a Kindle ebook, Become a Tech Savvy Teacher: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Technology and Improving Students’ Scores.

DIGITAL STORYTELLING

Recording (16min): https://youtu.be/RskULrnxu8Q 

This session provides an overview of digital storytelling and how it has been used for a college level course. The pedagogical aspects of walking students through the construction of a digital story will be discussed. Some examples of how students have incorporated multiple modes – texts, visual, audio and video, will be shown to invite responses from participants.  

Suriati Abas is a visiting assistant professor of education at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She has been involved with technology integration in K-12 schools for more than ten years. Her courses are mostly focused on new literacies, and understanding both theoretical and practical aspects of multiliteracies. She has published articles on the use of new technologies in classrooms in several peer-reviewed journals. She also has a book chapter written on digital storytelling. Contact her at abas@hws.edu

Task-based story writing

Recording (24min): https://youtu.be/_mGQ6EqL2pk 

This interactive presentation aims at improving Writing skills through Storytelling using task-based learning. Storytelling is an important element that helps students practice using the new vocabulary and grammar learnt and thus develop their Speaking skill. This can also be used to help students use the newly learnt items to develop their Writing skill as well, thus consolidating the final step of Bloom’s Taxonomy ‘Creating’.

Through this presentation I will engage the teachers in a sequence of tasks for writing a collection of short stories introducing the different elements for doing that using the vocabulary and grammar learnt through Graphic Organizers/App of Graphic Organizers and Thinking Maps. Thus help them become aware of the practical application and benefit of using Task-Based Learning in class.

Maha Hassan is an Educational Consultant, Teacher Trainer and Founder/Ceo of Teaching ESL Hub (formerly Maha ESL Community). She is also the Newsletter Editor for IP & SEN IATEFL SIG. She was nominated for Lead 5050 Women in International Education Award – WIE 2018 for her work as an Academic Director. She has presented at a number of International Conferences including IATEFL, Tesol International Convention-CALL IS EVO 2018, 2019, 2020, IATEFL monthly webinars Dec. 2019, IATEFL YLTSIG Web Conference Oct. 2019, K12 Online Conference, TD SIG IATEFL, Nile Tesol , LIF (Language in Focus), Tesol Arabia, Global Education Online Conference as well as at Reinventing the Classroom, Learning Revolution Online Conferences, MMCV7 & 8, CO18, CO19, CO20 and MMVC18 with Dr. Nellie Deutsche.  She also had a number of papers published on IATEFL Voices, Pilgrims: ‘A New Contribution to Bloom’s Taxonomy’, HEIS International Tesol Newsletter, Nile Tesol Newsletters and Howtolearn.com. She also blogs on: teachingenglishcafe.blogspot.com/