Abstract
Cloud-based projects have drawn the attention of many researchers in recent years. This current project is designed to assist students to acquire specific knowledge and expressions in English for Tourism through cloud-based collaborative courses. The study explores synchronous collaboration, using free software Google Documents to support project-based learning (PBL). Students participate in group discussions as they prepare to use English to introduce their hometown’s tourist attractions. Approximately 60 sophomores from 2 classes participated in this project at a technological university. The experimental group applies Google Documents as the learning platform, while the control group uses the e-learning platform offered by the university. The different characteristics of the two collaboration formats are examined, and the challenges of carrying out such activities through the two formats are discussed in terms of how a synchronous collaborative group project has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of learning in English for Tourism classes. Data is analyzed from pre- and post-tests, students’ editing of group projects, brochures, and questionnaires. In summary, it is hoped this project will be helpful for English teachers interested in computer-assisted language learning who would like to take advantage of free online resources Google Documents to foster student collaboration and VoiceTube for English learning.
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Liu, Y. (2017). Synchronous Collaboration in English for Tourism Classes. In: Huang, TC., Lau, R., Huang, YM., Spaniol, M., Yuen, CH. (eds) Emerging Technologies for Education. SETE 2017. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 10676. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71084-6_54
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71084-6_54
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