“EdTech” is a column of Language Teaching Lab where we highlight the use of educational technology in the world language class
by Vicky Masson
Wonder.me is the next Zoom/Teams?
I had the opportunity to attend the #HPTeachingFellow Summer Convening where I experienced Wonder.me first hand. I loved how I could easily navigate this site, forever changing the way I saw online meetings. I am looking forward to using Wonder.me in my language classes.
What is Wonder.me?
Wonder.me is a platform to connect with other people. This connection can take the form of virtual networking, virtual gatherings, and virtual spaces.This platform is simple to navigate and it gives you the freedom to move from one space to another by moving your avatar to another area or circle. Does it sound complicated? Watch this short video to see how Wonder.me works and what it looks like
How does it differ from Zoom/Teams?
Zoom and Teams are great and they have their own purpose. I have used both of them when teaching, and depending on what I am planning to do I would choose one or the other. My premise is to choose the best edtech tool for my students to thrive, and Wonder.me gives me another option to connect my students among themselves and to the world.
What do you need to do?
To use Wonder.me in a language class, you need to create an account with Wonder.me, which is free, and you need to become a host – you can also have co-hosts. That way you can invite guests to join your students and you to Wonder.me.
As a host, you set up different areas, decide the content for each area, and plan how students will interact. You decide how much autonomy you want to give your students and you also have the option of talking to all the groups/circles/areas by making announcements when needed. You can decide what background to choose depending on the unit of study. As a host you can include a question that everybody has to answer to join your Wonder.me space and much more!
This 5 minute video gives you an idea of what a host can do and how it is done.
When can Wonder.me be used in language teaching and learning?
Wonder.me’s mission, “to give the world a space where groups can meet and talk” goes hand in hand with the nature of a language class: to have students think in another language and communicate their ideas orally and in writing with others –the chat feature works great for this.
As you can see, there are many possibilities to be explored in a language class using Wonder.me. Here are two examples of how I would use Wonder.me in a language class:
Book circles:
This applies when reading books in your own class or with a classroom partner
- When reading the same novel, have students choose or assign students to join different circles for each character in a book
- When reading different books, each circle hosts students that are reading the same book
Collaboration Spaces:
This applies to groups in your own class or with groups between your class and a classroom partner. Students navigate to a circle in order to…
- discuss topics
- solve a problem
- provide definitions of their own
- create a story
- analyze an image using a PZ Thinking Routine
- investigate and research
- prepare for an interview
- Interview other students
One of the features that I like the most about Wonder.me is that you can see where every student is at any given time. That, to me, is precious!.
Do you have a favorite edtech tool to use in your language classes?