What's a Web-based lesson?

A Web-based lesson is a set of activities, mostly tasks, that includes a Web site or many Web sites. It can be delivered entirely online or it can be an online component of a F2F lesson generally to complement it. Instructions can be on paper asking students to go to certain websites or in a blog, a wiki, a web site or an open source platform like Moodle. A web site can be used in a lesson for a variety of purposes including research, developing skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking), collaborative work among other things.
 
What's so good about using the web in the language classroom?

1. A wide variety or resources (text, audio, video) can help you not only to plan lessons adapted to your students' needs , but mirror the way your students are learning outside the classroom.
2. It is easier to cater for different learning styles and "intelligences" (Howard Gardner).
3. Interaction (synchronously or asynchronously) is possible through different electronic resources.
4. The collaborative nature of most web tools provide opportunities not only for interaction, but creating and learning locally or internationally.
5. Some activities can be checked over and over (e.g. podcast lectures) or tasks can be reviewed to be improved before publishing the last version (e.g. Writing in wikis). 
6. It may encourage autonomous work.


Warning!:

1. When planning a web-based lesson we cannot lose sight of its pedagogical aims.
2. A web-based lesson does not mean translating F2F activities into online ones.       
3. Instructions should be crystal clear since students will be working most of the time on their own.

Adapted from Developing Web-based lesson plans