“Emoji and emoticons have developed to mean much more in language than the faces they represent.”- Lauren Collister (2015)
For the past year, I’ve been studying how learners use emoticons, emoji, and text speak to communicate, read and write. Emojis are part of digital literacy and citizenship. When our learners use emojis in their writings, they are humanizing their digital experience. They are letting others know how they feel, offering feedback, and revealing their tone. Our learners are also translating, decoding, playing with language, creating pictograms, and contributing to an international communication system.
I have developed various emoji activities to engage learners and have been sharing them in my latest keynote, I My ! Teaching the Emoji Generation! Teaching the Emoji Generation. Below, I’ve included a new activity I recently saw posted by my Tia Diane on Facebook. Students can copy and paste this form to any virtual learning environment (Edmodo, Schoology, Moodle, etc.), fill this out on their digital device, or fill out a handout responding to the categories. They can include emojis from an emoji keyboard or copy/paste emojis from Emojipedia. After filling out the form, students can look at their peers’ responses and try to guess the answers. They then discuss the responses and learn about each other. Use this activity as a warm-up, icebreaker, or filler.
Emoji Get to Know You Activity
CAN YOU DO IT? Use only emojis to answer the following:
Current mood:
How many pets:
Favorite color:
Favorite foods:
Favorite season:
Hobbies:
Favorite holiday:
Dream Job:
Favorite emojis:
For more ideas, take a look at the slides to my presentation!
I My ! Teaching the Emoji Generation from Shelly Sanchez Terrell
Challenge: Engage your students with an activity, which gets them to use emojis to express themselves.
Bookmarks
Click to access that resource!
Emoji, by shellyterrell
References
Lo, S. (2008). The Nonverbal Communication Functions of Emoticons in Computer-Mediated Communication. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 11(5): 595-597. doi:10.1089/cpb.2007.0132
Collister, L. (2015, April). Emoticons and symbols aren’t ruining language – they’re revolutionizing it. The Conversation. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/emoticons-and-symbols-arent-ruining-language-theyre-revolutionizing-it-38408
Collister, L. (2015, October). Smile, It’s an Emoji; Another Tool in Our Linguistic Toolbox Used by Clever, Creative Artists. Sunshine Coast Daily (Maroochydore, Australia). Retrieved from https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-430589947/smile-it-s-an-emoji-another-tool-in-our-linguistic
cross posted at teacherrebootcamp.com
Shelly Terrell is an education consultant, technology trainer, and author. Read more at teacherrebootcamp.com.
