Using FormSpring in the Classroom for the first time

I used FormSpring today in one of my lessons, for the first time. The lesson was in Action 5, C1 (Yes/No questions) and I used it to replace one of the activities in the book (Act. 6, practice). The exercise suggested that students used prompts to form questions from a pile of slips (Resources Pack). As a matter of fact, this is a recycling lesson, and it also contributed to my choosing this lesson to have a go with FS. Since the "fun" of the thing was in the unpredictability of the questions, i.e., the element of surprise, and FormSpring is all about surprising someone by asking something, I decided to try.

I started at home, by creating 4 different profiles in FormSpring (St01, St02, St03 and St04) for my students to use in groups (there are only 4 computers in the MMC, that's why I created 4 profiles). We went to the MMC and each group had to "poke" their peers by asking them questions online. They got very enthusiastic about the site, and were emotionaly very involved with the task. Also, they seemed to be very comfortable with the computer, and it was clearly noticeable that their behaviour changed - they got jumpy, excited I'd say, as they got involved with the possibility of using the web and actually having control over the activity: they could ask ANYTHING they wanted.

Most of the questions they came up with were in the Simple Present Tense, and the vocabulary was rather poor. They were experimenting with FormSpring for the first time. Some of the questions were meant to provoke their mates: "Have you ever eaten bananas?" was one of them. The other was "did you like the class today?" They were, actually, having their first trial.

This whole experience made me wonder:

• How different will it be if I ever decide to use it with the same group again (and I will...)? 
• Will they behave differently since they already know the tool? 
• Does it mean that it wouldn't be ok to use a new tool when students are being presented to language for the first time (BTW, this was a recycling lesson, and even though nothing was new, they resorted to very elementary vocab)? 
• How to make them come up with relevant language for their level? 
• Is it possible to use edtech tools when working on guided practice? Or they would be more suitable for freer practice/recycling?
• Does excitement somehow affect production (in a negative way)? 
• And how can that help the teacher assess their students?
• Can their production on an online tool such as FormSpring reflect what has actually been consolidated so far? Was their potential for using more sophisticated language hindered by the novelty in FormSpring?
• What should we, as teachers, cater for when preparing lessons that bring technology about?

We carried out some on the spot and delayed correction later on, though I had to cope with some embarrassment for letting everybody see the questions on the e-B, after they went back to the classroom. They were all somehow tantalizing and/or heady.

I have assigned some FormSpring for homework as well, and I'll let you know if anything in my perspective changes. I'm eager to use it again and see how it goes...