Week 10 Reflection

Week 10 marks the end of the Building Teacher Skills Through the Interactive Web course. Saying goodbye to this online course is not easy for me but it means having achieved a new learning objective in my professional development process.

Looking back, now I can see the progress we have made together! 



I feel relaxed and satisfied since we have created a learning community. I hope we can continue learning from one another. It is like a dream come true and I do believe in dreams.
In the near future, I would like to take another course with all the online classmates I've had. Wouldn't that be nice? 

There is so much room for innovation! This course has made me think of lesson planning from a different point of view, taking the ABCD Model of Lesson Plan. It has helped me analyze my students' needs and evaluate their learning processes in a deeper way, thinking of objectives, outcomes and indicators.

Exploring and creating digital tools have been extremely useful for me. I think I will continue using Delicious, My Google class site, Blogger, Webquests, Rubrics, Skype video calls and Interactive Power Point Templates. They worked in my classes! 

Doing the Project has been very challenging for me since it has been the first time I had designed one according to a schedule. I have learned so much in the Nicenet Discussions, the peer reviews and the blogs comments! Thank you so much!

Week 9 Reflections

Reading about Learning Styles and Technology Connections has been very clarifying for me. I think we should take into consideration our students' learning styles when planning a lesson with technology in order to cater for diversity and facilitate their learning processes.

I believe this week discussion on Nicenet has activated my prior knowledge in reference to learning styles. It reminded me of Peter Skehan's dichotomies on the issue. 

My peers have been extremely helpful in my project draft by reviewing it and providing me with refreshing feedback. They have guided me in the project writing process. I had to rewrite and edit it. This week I feel I have made some significant progress! Finally, I have the final version written down and posted in Janine's wiki. 

I enjoyed incorporating technology in my classes and I can see students have benefited from this innovative change. They are more motivated and engaged in class while using one computer. They loved to create their own Power Point Interactive Templates and they used them when speaking publicly. They also loved to interact with native speakers by means of a Skype video call. 

Thank you so much!

Week 8 Reflection

Creating a class website? No way! I have no idea of what an html code really is!


Well, for those who have a limited knowledge on website creation, there is Google site!
As a matter of fact, this week I have edited my own class site. I just can't believe it!
Here you can have a look at it: https://sites.google.com/site/englishclass4u2/home
I believe it is very useful to have a site for teachers to administer and share information, write reminders, have a class calendar, set homework, share links and write some pieces of news.


Besides, I was able to create my first online Test on Mass Media at Easy Test Maker and I have created a printable word search at http://www.toolsforeducators.com/ Not bad at all!


Sharing my First Project Report Draft has been extremely challenging. I have read my peer's draft and found them very good!


How was your week?

Week 7 Reflection

Week 7 has been very challenging and rewarding for me.
Thinking of creating a one-computer lesson or activity was out of the question for me! I have always thought that the lesson would end up being teacher-centered and boring. Fortunately, I was wrong since I have read about it and I have implemented a one-computer lesson plan myself on the Risks of Social Networks! 

Thanks for sharing your wonderful experiences! I have learned so much from you!


I feel that using the computer as a multi-media chalk board has many pluses since it is an easy way to record information from a group brainstorming session or for simultaneous live access to a selected Internet site to enhance discussion or illustrate a point.


As a minus, a one-computer classroom to have students use the computer as a tool for individual input can be time-consuming for very large classes. However, a good facilitator can do wonders and having students volunteer to work can make the class move smoothly.


How was your week?

Week 6 Reflections

Week 6 has been extremely motivating for me! 


I had never thought that dull conventional PowerPoint Presentations could become so interactive and motivating provided they include good techniques and design. I think hyperlinks can make a difference together with think-peer-share, quizzes, jeopardy games and quickwrite techniques.

I have shared my PowerPoint presentation Google on the News in the wiki and I've seen many interesting works there. I think my online colleagues are doing a great job! The material has been insightful and Janine's feedback is essential for our learning process. I am glad I am taking part in this webskills course!


We keep on making progress!

Week 5 Reflections

Oh, what a week! lol I have been exploring webquests and for the first time I can see what they are about. I thought they were mere websearches but now I can see they are well-designed lesson plans which can be enhanced by webquest creators. I have had the pleasure of creating one at Questgarden http://questgarden.com/144/50/9/120512151402/ 


Indeed, webquests have the potential to integrate skills, including language skills, webskills and critical thinking skills. I believe they can make a difference in education. Now I can see that the technological change can and will include them as part of a possible solution. They can include rubrics, which makes them even better! I am thinking of evaluating different aspects I had never taken into consideration before! Rubistar is a very good tool for creating rubrics as well.


I feel this week has been crucial for a better understanding of technological innovations and the conference in Nicenet has helped us share our viewpoints and show our progress!

Week 4 Reflections

This week has been very demanding with many insightful materials to reflect and think ahead. 


The conferencing topics have been very interesting.
Describing some issues has helped me reflect on the problems my students are experiencing in reference to language use, motivation and the difficulties I have to face when teaching in my context.


Indeed, the Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan has been a clarifier for me. It has help me see the way creative teachers  planned and implemented their teaching practice in an integrative process using technology to teach language. One of my favorites is Giants of the Century because it portrays great famous persons.


It's been great to know there are so many good websites to enhance the teaching of reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary! 


I think we are creating a learning community in which we can continue sharing knowledge and information by participating in conferences in Nicenet and using Delicious.

Sharing our experiences leads to reflection. Thinking of the problems we are facing and of possible solutions is crucial for our learning process in this course. I see some of us have similar problems but we have a different context and we may come up with different solutions according to our teaching styles and frames of mind. This course is enriching us as professional teachers.





What do you think about it?

Week 3 Reflections

This week has been great! The materials we read and the tasks we had to do were very motivating for me.


Aural and speaking skills are essential for communication. In the past, education did not take them into consideration. Traditional education involved learning how to read and write and we still have some influence of it in our educational model at secondary schools in Uruguay. In general, students are not taught how to listen and how to speak in public in their mother tongue. In general, their class participation is limited to words or phrases when answering a question made by a teacher. I have experienced it myself both as a student and as a visiting teacher.


I have found useful websites for building listening and speaking skills with interesting material. From my point of view, BBC Learning English is a good educational website with adequate material for intermediate and advanced students, especially for exam preparations 


When it comes to practicality, Randall´s Lab is my number one choice since it comprises pre-listening, listening and post-listening activities and the material is well-organized according to level of difficulty with different topics.


By using Delicious, I have learned how to bookmark the material I have selected as a way to access links and share them easily with my colleagues and students anytime anyplace on line. Tagging is a good way to organize links by content, purpose or author. Creating stacks help you categorize and group links in a personal unique way. The fact that you can follow a user and be followed by users makes it work as a social network, connecting people and information in noodles. Indeed, it makes the difference! You can easily integrate reading, listening and writing by means of Delicious.

Reading a final project made me realize the importance of identifying a problem or defining an issue when writing it down. I think the project for Teens by Camelia Pagila from Romania  is down-to-earth and relevant since it takes into consideration students´needs, learning styles and the context in which it takes place. It also fosters integration of skills. The fact that it is a Teen project called my attention and made me select it. What seems to be self-evident is not necessarily so when planning: students learn differently according to their learning syles and those differences should be taken into consideration when teaching and using technology.


How was your week?

Week 2 Reflections

Hi everybody!

Week 2 has been very challenging and extremely rewarding as well.
I have learned about different search engines, which has changed the way I see websearches and webquests.

Exploring Twurdy Search Engine has been fun and very interactive. I learned how to search for texts according to their readability level just by searching for the novel "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens! I had never imagined a search engine like that! It is free, visual-friendly and easy to use but unfortunately, it has some annoying ads which have nothing to do with education.

Indeed, NoodleTools is the best website with a list of Search Engines! Just by clicking on NoodleTools you can see how well the information is organized. It has helped me accomplish the first learning task on Nicenet: Discussion on Search Engines. Thinking of search engines as a whole with no distinction whatsoever, is not very practical or pedagogical. Choosing the best search engines takes critical thinking skills and informed decision-making.

Describing one of my group was simple, at first glance. However, in a detailed analysis, simplicity shows its complexity. Even though I know my students pretty well, when I had to go into a deeper analysis taking into account the general background and experiences, the knowledge factors and other factors it was a horse of a different color!

Planning for Instruction by using the ABCD Model has been difficult for me. I never use this model to plan my classes but I have to admit it is very useful and inspiring. Taking into consideration Bloom´s Taxonomy has been essential for me to visualize the cognitive domain and the corresponding verbs that go with each level: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. Both the psychomotor and the affective domain are also necessary to do with students´learning styles and preferences in education.

All in all, I believe I have made some significant progress this week, thanks to Janine and to all my colleagues.
I really appreciate your comments and suggestions. Your questions have help me improve my work.
Thanks again.

Roxana

Week 1 Reflections

While creating a reflective blog I have learned how blogs can be used with a metacognitive purpose.


So far, I have learned how to personalize blogs, with different backgrounds, fonts and layouts. I think there are useful gadgets we can add such as blog lists and labels.
It is a great idea to have a list of the blogs we have recently visited so that we can keep in touch.
Please, feel free to make comments and share your viewpoints with me.


I have already used a blog, an English class blog with students' work and blog lists for a teaching purpose. Therefore, I already have a google account and I just had to create a new blog. 


This is the first time I use Nicenet. I had not even heard of it before but I think it is a good 2.0 tool for communication. Thank you for this opportunity.

A Brand New Course

Building Teacher Skills Through the Interactive Web: a brand new course! 


Nowadays, webskills are essential for any English teacher and student. I believe they can make a difference when it comes to the integration of skills in the digital era. There is so much to explore and discover! I feel like Alice in Wonderland, eager to explore and discover a brand new land. There are many doors to open and many paths to walk in ten weeks.

I would like to share knowledge and experiences with my partners and tutors by interacting in group discussions and making comments in the blogs. Indeed, the readings and resources will be the essential food for thought and this blog will help me add ideas to be adapted to my local setting in a technology-enhanced project.
In this course, I expect to learn how to use and improve my webskills and reflect on my learning process in this blog. To me, it is a new beginning in this never-ending learning process.
Feel free to make comments and suggestions. They are valuable contributions.
Thank you for this great learning opportunity!