End this presention and resume next at ELToc SLIDE 01 - Index / << back / forward >> / Jump to slide: - 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 Webheads in Action: Community formation online and its role in language learning A presentation at the 1st ELT Online Conference November 11, 2001, 13:00-13:50 GMT by Vance Stevens, Michael Coghlan, and John Steele

This presentation will take you on a tour of the Webheads virtual community.

There are two ways you can enjoy this presentation: Passively and Actively

PASSIVE participation - sit back and relax and stay on the tour bus.

ACTIVE participation (recommended!)

This presentation is taking place during the actual weekly class time of the live online Writing for Webheads class. Therefore you can, in addition to sitting back and relaxing and taking the tour, join Webheads students and teachers in their normal online hang-outs.

At present, there are Webheads waiting for you at:

• Tapped In - http://www.tappedin.org (we're in Reception)
  Instructions are here: http://www.geocities.com/vance_stevens/findbuds.htm#tappedin
• Yahoo! Messenger - add vance_stevens to your contacts list and join us for voice chat / view our web cams
• On this occasion, Michael Coghlan, John Steele, and other Webheads, are in the ELToc Conference chat

Find more instructions on joining our chat areas here: http://sites.hsprofessional.com/vstevens/files/efi/software.htm

Some points to keep in mind during this presentation ...

• This presentaion introduces you to a community. It's not a lecture. It's more an open house.
• Feel free to browse about as we talk..There are some links at the bottom of each page. (try not to get lost!)
• Remember, this talk is right now being attended by a live online class that meets every Sunday noon GMT, to about 2 p.m GMT, so feel free to visit them during this presentation in the places mentioned above. Some will likely be with us in the conference chat.
• My two co-presenters, Michael and John, are in the conference chat. Michael is an expert in e-moderation and will be demonstrating his skills during this presentation.
• During the presentation, I'll try to interact a bit with the chat discourse. Webheads in the chat room will likely answer your questions while I talk, so you can ask questions at any time.
• I will try to leave time at the end for questions. I'll probably just stop talking at some point and let the audience guide the discussion.
• QUESTION! If you're asking a question in chat, shout it! Or HEY VANCE if it's for me.

So much for e-moderation. Let's get started ...

(1) Who are the Webheads? - a history and overview

Webheads started around 1998 when three online 'tutors': Vance Stevens, Michael Coghlan, and Margaret Doty started meeting coincidentally at about the same time in regular online "3-D" chat class sessions. In January of 1999 we formed an 'egroup' in order to allow members to self-regulate whether to participate or not, and to keep a record of our group's interaction (n.b. in Oct 2001 that record was lost by YahooGroups and has not been 'found' yet, though they say they are working on restoring our data).

• John Steele joined us about a year ago and through genuine and consistent interest in our group was welcomed as an additional tutor.
• We also list Ying Lan as a tutor because she also has shown genuine and consistent interest through 3 years of almost weekly online participation, because her English has improved so remarkably in that time, and because of her willingness to share with the group, as evidenced on her Webheads web pages.
• We have around 50-60 subscribed members, many of whom are students of ESL/EFL, but increasingly many of whom are also native and non-native speakers and teachers of English, and other education professionals interested in online learning.

Many students were originally steered our way by Dave Winet, coordinator of English for Internet at http://www.study.com. However, we have met many students and teachers online who like being with us, and we have formed bonds among participants.

We started using Tapped In as a meeting place in 2001, and after participating in an online event held there that summer, we were welcomed officially into the Tapped In community and put on their calendar as a regular event each Sunday noon GMT.

After 3 years a community has formed that meets regularly, supports each other's goals and agendas, and makes and keeps commitments to one another.

Vance Stevens Michael Coghlan John Steele

Webheads - Main Page | Join us | Welcome | Students | Virtual Community | Online class | Chat Logs | Reports and Studies | Grammar | Tutorials | Games | Teaching for Webheads Time conversions - http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/full.html and more Chats – Homestead text chat or leave a message | GroupBoard text chat, whiteboard, and guestbook | Tapped In - /join VanceS in Office N2201, North Wing, 22nd Floor or /join JohnSte | Palaces – avatar text chat at plantation.chatserve.com and mycorner.xsia.com, both on port 9998 | Active Worlds – animated avatar 3D text chat Discussion forums – voice: Wimba voice discussion board | text: Delphi Forum Instant Messengers – ICQ | Yahoo! Messenger | MSN Messenger Service Comments and suggestions on this page to Vance Stevens Last updated: November 11, 2001 in Hot Metal Pro 6.0