Hi, everybody
We are at the end of this course, and I would like to let you know what I actually learned from the course. I wouldn’t be able to tell you everything I learned, but I can tell you I learned a lot of great things in the 10-week period.
First, I learned some social skills like interacting with other people, the type of language I should use in the interactions, developing team spirit through discussion threads. This course made me realize that I belong to a community, and that community is all the participants in this course, in particular and all the teachers in general. In addition, the assignments helped me refine my thinking skills.
Second, the course helped me become familiar with web search engines and web searches and I was able to make a list of useful URLs related to education and teaching. I learned how to create a blog, a delicious site, a PowerPoint presentation, and exercises on line with exercise generators, with a view to promoting teaching and learning. In a nutshell, I learned how to use online tools for enhancing teaching and learning.
Third, I learned that my teaching should aim at developing learner autonomy. For that I should engage my students in active, interactive activities inside and/or outside of the class through class projects. For the implementation of such projects I should train my students to use the computer and the Internet in order to gather relevant information and materials. And the information and materials for performing the tasks should fit the students’ needs and interests.
Fourth, this course helped me develop my sense of punctuality and my ability to keep deadlines.
All in all, this course made me a new teacher with innovative teaching ideas, methods and tools.
Sincerely,
Bruno
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Reflections on what I did and learned in week 9
Dear facilitators and classmates:
This week I went through some exercise generators and created my first online exercise at http://poster.4teachers.org/worksheet/view.php?id=145783 .
I learned through these exercise generators that there are so many interesting exercises that a teacher can create easily to be used online and offline. The possibility of using the exercises online makes the exercises available and practical in the way the students can access them anytime and everywhere there is Internet connectivity. Once the exercises are generated and the URLs to access them, the students can work independently of the teacher and with less anxiety from the classroom atmosphere, which is not always conducive to good learning.
In addition to learning to create online and offline exercises through exercise generators, I learn how online tools can positively affect teaching and learning. Accepting to use these tools is tantamount to accepting a redistribution of teacher’s and students’ roles in and out of the classroom. This redistribution of roles grants more autonomy to the students while requiring of the teacher more guiding, management, and planning skills.
I put the final touches to my project report taking into account the comments provided by my peer reviewer, Raphaël.
Yours,
Bruno
This week I went through some exercise generators and created my first online exercise at http://poster.4teachers.org/worksheet/view.php?id=145783 .
I learned through these exercise generators that there are so many interesting exercises that a teacher can create easily to be used online and offline. The possibility of using the exercises online makes the exercises available and practical in the way the students can access them anytime and everywhere there is Internet connectivity. Once the exercises are generated and the URLs to access them, the students can work independently of the teacher and with less anxiety from the classroom atmosphere, which is not always conducive to good learning.
In addition to learning to create online and offline exercises through exercise generators, I learn how online tools can positively affect teaching and learning. Accepting to use these tools is tantamount to accepting a redistribution of teacher’s and students’ roles in and out of the classroom. This redistribution of roles grants more autonomy to the students while requiring of the teacher more guiding, management, and planning skills.
I put the final touches to my project report taking into account the comments provided by my peer reviewer, Raphaël.
Yours,
Bruno
Friday, March 5, 2010
Comment on this week's readings
Hi, Sandra, Deborah, Jeff and Classmates
This week, I learned new things I could use in class with and for my students to promote my students’ learning. Those things are learner autonomy and one-computer classroom.
All the articles on learner autonomy stress the necessity from reshaping teacher and student roles. Students should be taught to take more responsibility for their learning. Samuel Sheu lets us know that learner autonomy is dependent on teacher autonomy. How can a teacher give some autonomy or independence to his or students if they, themselves, do not have that autonomy? Sometimes the teacher’s goodwill may run up against the in-depth established education system. He notes some constraints to learner autonomy are the education policy through its standards, curricula, textbooks and the examination-dominated system and some school administrators. All these factors do no allow any autonomy both from the teacher and the learner. Based on the literature I read I can say that if change has to occur it can but come from some teachers who would accept to pioneer
I learner from Dimitrios Thanasoulas quoting Holec that learner autonomy is ‘the ability to take charge of one’s learning.’ Learner autonomy supposes the teacher is aware of that necessity and has the ability and the will to help his/her students develop autonomously. Learner autonomy shouldn’t be seen as an end to itself, that is a product; rather, it should be seen as a process. According to Thanasoulas learner autonomy must be build on helping students learn more about their learning, cognitive, metacognitive strategies and on learner’s attitudes, motivation and self-esteem. This is a challenge teachers should take: training to train their students to become autonomous. Thanasoulas suggests three strategies we could apply to promote learner autonomy through self-reports, diaries and evaluation sheets and persuasive communication as a means of altering learner beliefs and attitudes. Richard Smith takes a different approach to promoting learner autonomy through action research.
As for the one-computer classroom, I learned some uses and tips about computers from the article ‘Strategies and Applications for the One-computer Classroom’ by Linda J. Burkhart. The uses of the technology concern both the teacher and the students. For example, the teacher could use the computer as a tool keeping records, manipulating information, creating charts, student lists and name tags, communicating with other professionals and subject experts via email. I could also use the computer for demonstrating concepts, demonstrating writing and editing skills, for having live access to a selected Internet site to retrieve relevant data. As for the students, the computer could be used for finding relevant information for their project-based work, for finding sites for writing when they want to develop their writing skills (how to write an essay, how to write a paragraph, how to use connectors in sentences, how to write good sentences, etc). Another way of developing reading and writing is through blogs, email. The computer could also be used to promote cooperative learning through student projects. For example working on a project of how to raise community awareness of the cutting down of trees in the country, my students will to find appropriate pictures or images from the Internet that show the bad effects of deforestation to convince the community.
The article suggests useful tips that teachers and students could use with the computers to enhance teaching and promote learner autonomy.
Wishes,
Bruno
This week, I learned new things I could use in class with and for my students to promote my students’ learning. Those things are learner autonomy and one-computer classroom.
All the articles on learner autonomy stress the necessity from reshaping teacher and student roles. Students should be taught to take more responsibility for their learning. Samuel Sheu lets us know that learner autonomy is dependent on teacher autonomy. How can a teacher give some autonomy or independence to his or students if they, themselves, do not have that autonomy? Sometimes the teacher’s goodwill may run up against the in-depth established education system. He notes some constraints to learner autonomy are the education policy through its standards, curricula, textbooks and the examination-dominated system and some school administrators. All these factors do no allow any autonomy both from the teacher and the learner. Based on the literature I read I can say that if change has to occur it can but come from some teachers who would accept to pioneer
I learner from Dimitrios Thanasoulas quoting Holec that learner autonomy is ‘the ability to take charge of one’s learning.’ Learner autonomy supposes the teacher is aware of that necessity and has the ability and the will to help his/her students develop autonomously. Learner autonomy shouldn’t be seen as an end to itself, that is a product; rather, it should be seen as a process. According to Thanasoulas learner autonomy must be build on helping students learn more about their learning, cognitive, metacognitive strategies and on learner’s attitudes, motivation and self-esteem. This is a challenge teachers should take: training to train their students to become autonomous. Thanasoulas suggests three strategies we could apply to promote learner autonomy through self-reports, diaries and evaluation sheets and persuasive communication as a means of altering learner beliefs and attitudes. Richard Smith takes a different approach to promoting learner autonomy through action research.
As for the one-computer classroom, I learned some uses and tips about computers from the article ‘Strategies and Applications for the One-computer Classroom’ by Linda J. Burkhart. The uses of the technology concern both the teacher and the students. For example, the teacher could use the computer as a tool keeping records, manipulating information, creating charts, student lists and name tags, communicating with other professionals and subject experts via email. I could also use the computer for demonstrating concepts, demonstrating writing and editing skills, for having live access to a selected Internet site to retrieve relevant data. As for the students, the computer could be used for finding relevant information for their project-based work, for finding sites for writing when they want to develop their writing skills (how to write an essay, how to write a paragraph, how to use connectors in sentences, how to write good sentences, etc). Another way of developing reading and writing is through blogs, email. The computer could also be used to promote cooperative learning through student projects. For example working on a project of how to raise community awareness of the cutting down of trees in the country, my students will to find appropriate pictures or images from the Internet that show the bad effects of deforestation to convince the community.
The article suggests useful tips that teachers and students could use with the computers to enhance teaching and promote learner autonomy.
Wishes,
Bruno
Friday, February 26, 2010
This week's Readings
Hi, stakeholders
This week, too, I have read a lot about large classes and PowerPoint and learned how to use PowerPoint interactively in class through 10 basic steps. What I find so interesting about PowerPoint presentations is that they allow making learning vivid, and making learners become more interested, responsible, autonomous, inquisitive and critical thinkers.
One way of using PowerPoint presentations interactively in my class that crosses my mind is the teaching of some vocabulary items – using photographs and hyperlinks to Web links. So, instead of losing my time defining some words, I will allow them to see the real-to-life pictures of the new vocabulary items. More often than not, definitions and explanation seem to of little help. For example, the Internet links could provide with a variety of vegetables if my students and I decide to study vegetables. For this lesson, I think there is no better way than using visuals with PowerPoint. It is obvious that learning will take place easily and in a relaxed way.
In addition to learning how to use PowerPoint presentations interactively, I learned from the readings some practical and efficient ways of dealing with larges. You know, in my educational setting, small classes are the ones that have at most 40 to 50 students, and knowing strategies could only benefit my students. Some of the strategies I retained from the readings include personalization. Personalization is a good method for meeting all the students’ needs and styles in a very discreet way. For example, Next time I want to find a topic or an issue for discussion, I will devise open-ended questions for my students to answer before deciding a final topic or issue.
The readings this week have definitely given me new interesting ways of bringing positive changes in my classroom for the benefit of my students.
Best regards,
Bruno
This week, too, I have read a lot about large classes and PowerPoint and learned how to use PowerPoint interactively in class through 10 basic steps. What I find so interesting about PowerPoint presentations is that they allow making learning vivid, and making learners become more interested, responsible, autonomous, inquisitive and critical thinkers.
One way of using PowerPoint presentations interactively in my class that crosses my mind is the teaching of some vocabulary items – using photographs and hyperlinks to Web links. So, instead of losing my time defining some words, I will allow them to see the real-to-life pictures of the new vocabulary items. More often than not, definitions and explanation seem to of little help. For example, the Internet links could provide with a variety of vegetables if my students and I decide to study vegetables. For this lesson, I think there is no better way than using visuals with PowerPoint. It is obvious that learning will take place easily and in a relaxed way.
In addition to learning how to use PowerPoint presentations interactively, I learned from the readings some practical and efficient ways of dealing with larges. You know, in my educational setting, small classes are the ones that have at most 40 to 50 students, and knowing strategies could only benefit my students. Some of the strategies I retained from the readings include personalization. Personalization is a good method for meeting all the students’ needs and styles in a very discreet way. For example, Next time I want to find a topic or an issue for discussion, I will devise open-ended questions for my students to answer before deciding a final topic or issue.
The readings this week have definitely given me new interesting ways of bringing positive changes in my classroom for the benefit of my students.
Best regards,
Bruno
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Comment on Rubrics, Alternative Assessments and Learning Styles
Hi, Deborah, Rick, Sandra and classmates
In addition to the multiple intelligences I mentioned in the previous blog, I learned about alternative assessments and rubric creation. Alternative assessment is a way of monitoring students’ language progress and performance that is different from the conventional ways. Alternative assessment is, according to Charles R. Hancock, “an ongoing process involving the student and the teacher in making judgments about the student’s progress in language using non-conventional strategies.” On the other hand, the article “Creating a Rubric: Tutorial” defines the rubric as a tool designed by instructors to assess the students’ performances. It is specifically used for subjective assignments like writing, discussion, presentations…
These articles have helped me gain a deep insight into planning and assessing subjective assignments. In the past when I gave my students a writing assignment, I used the holistic approach to assessing their performances, which consists in giving a global grade for all the student’s performances. I did not know that for subjective assignments creating rubrics was important for assessing performances and tasks.
As a matter in fact, rubrics are very important in that they help the teacher assess in an objective way the subjective assignment. “Rubrics also show students how to meet the instructor’s expectations, i.e. what they need to do to be successful.” For example, next time I have to assess a piece of writing I will specify to the students the elements that will make a performance or task poor, average, or good. Now I will take into account the effect of context on performance and provide adequate contexts in which I will assess competence. In these contexts I will get the students involved in monitoring their own progress and performances. Both my students and I will be involved in the assessment progress. That will be possible because the students will have already been well acquainted with my expectations through the rubrics.
I realize that using rubrics and alternative assessments is a practical way of meeting students’ different learning styles.
Alternative Assessment and Second Language Study: What and Why? by Charles R. Hancock http://ww.cql.org/resources/digest/hancoc01/html
Creating a Rubric: Tutorial at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm
Best wishes,
Bruno
In addition to the multiple intelligences I mentioned in the previous blog, I learned about alternative assessments and rubric creation. Alternative assessment is a way of monitoring students’ language progress and performance that is different from the conventional ways. Alternative assessment is, according to Charles R. Hancock, “an ongoing process involving the student and the teacher in making judgments about the student’s progress in language using non-conventional strategies.” On the other hand, the article “Creating a Rubric: Tutorial” defines the rubric as a tool designed by instructors to assess the students’ performances. It is specifically used for subjective assignments like writing, discussion, presentations…
These articles have helped me gain a deep insight into planning and assessing subjective assignments. In the past when I gave my students a writing assignment, I used the holistic approach to assessing their performances, which consists in giving a global grade for all the student’s performances. I did not know that for subjective assignments creating rubrics was important for assessing performances and tasks.
As a matter in fact, rubrics are very important in that they help the teacher assess in an objective way the subjective assignment. “Rubrics also show students how to meet the instructor’s expectations, i.e. what they need to do to be successful.” For example, next time I have to assess a piece of writing I will specify to the students the elements that will make a performance or task poor, average, or good. Now I will take into account the effect of context on performance and provide adequate contexts in which I will assess competence. In these contexts I will get the students involved in monitoring their own progress and performances. Both my students and I will be involved in the assessment progress. That will be possible because the students will have already been well acquainted with my expectations through the rubrics.
I realize that using rubrics and alternative assessments is a practical way of meeting students’ different learning styles.
Alternative Assessment and Second Language Study: What and Why? by Charles R. Hancock http://ww.cql.org/resources/digest/hancoc01/html
Creating a Rubric: Tutorial at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm
Best wishes,
Bruno
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Comment on Week 6 Multiple Intelligences and Technology
Dear mentors and colleagues:
This week I have read the sites recommended for reading and learned a lot about learning styles and multiple intelligences, and how multimedia could positively affect teaching and learning. In the past I taught my students in a given way as if they were all learning the same way. Reading about Gardner’s theory I realize now that I failed to meet all my students learning styles. Gardner has shown us that people learn differently; he has come up with a theory of eight learning styles. Based on to Gardner’s theory, teachers could devise class activities or tasks to meet every student’s learning style. These activities must engage learners in ‘fostering knowledge transfer to new situations, higher-level thinking, attitude change, and motivation for further learning’ (Rick Finnan and Donna Shaw quoting James L. Cooper and Pamela Robinson) in “Enhancing Learning by Engaging Students”.
Now a new problem arises from the ‘multiplicity of our students’ learning styles: How can teachers cope with such a situation? I think that being aware of the differences that exist between our students is already a good start for solving the problem. For schools which have scarce teaching and learning materials, technology seems to offer various possibilities to meet our students’ different needs and interests. The idea of introducing technology is well perceived in “Multiple Intelligences and Technology” at hht://www.cascanada.com/multech.html: “Multiple Intelligences can be enhanced with the use of technology.” The article goes further to give a specific example of the use of word processing softwares to help teach language aspects - like writing, editing, and rewriting - that could be designed to meet, for example, the linguistic learner style.
Other applications of technology can be used to meet our students’ learning styles, but what matters is how judiciously the teacher chooses the most appropriate and available materials for his specific students. As my students’ language need is writing, the project with my students will be on ‘Writing an Invitation Letter.’’ As far as I am concerned and for the time being, my students and I limit ourselves to the simplest uses of the computer and the Internet like logging in and out, sending and receiving mail and web searching. Anyway, my students and I have already gotten on the technology ‘bandwaggon’ to stop right now.
Yours,
Bruno
This week I have read the sites recommended for reading and learned a lot about learning styles and multiple intelligences, and how multimedia could positively affect teaching and learning. In the past I taught my students in a given way as if they were all learning the same way. Reading about Gardner’s theory I realize now that I failed to meet all my students learning styles. Gardner has shown us that people learn differently; he has come up with a theory of eight learning styles. Based on to Gardner’s theory, teachers could devise class activities or tasks to meet every student’s learning style. These activities must engage learners in ‘fostering knowledge transfer to new situations, higher-level thinking, attitude change, and motivation for further learning’ (Rick Finnan and Donna Shaw quoting James L. Cooper and Pamela Robinson) in “Enhancing Learning by Engaging Students”.
Now a new problem arises from the ‘multiplicity of our students’ learning styles: How can teachers cope with such a situation? I think that being aware of the differences that exist between our students is already a good start for solving the problem. For schools which have scarce teaching and learning materials, technology seems to offer various possibilities to meet our students’ different needs and interests. The idea of introducing technology is well perceived in “Multiple Intelligences and Technology” at hht://www.cascanada.com/multech.html: “Multiple Intelligences can be enhanced with the use of technology.” The article goes further to give a specific example of the use of word processing softwares to help teach language aspects - like writing, editing, and rewriting - that could be designed to meet, for example, the linguistic learner style.
Other applications of technology can be used to meet our students’ learning styles, but what matters is how judiciously the teacher chooses the most appropriate and available materials for his specific students. As my students’ language need is writing, the project with my students will be on ‘Writing an Invitation Letter.’’ As far as I am concerned and for the time being, my students and I limit ourselves to the simplest uses of the computer and the Internet like logging in and out, sending and receiving mail and web searching. Anyway, my students and I have already gotten on the technology ‘bandwaggon’ to stop right now.
Yours,
Bruno
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Reflection on what I learned this week about PBL and WebQuests
Dear stakeholder:
This week, I learned about two new methods of teaching language in the classroom: the Problem-Based Learning and WebQuests. What I retain from the two methods is they use a different new methodology for teaching in the classroom. They advocate the involvement of students in meaningful and interesting activities in which they will have to work as a community to perform a common task.
In her article “Less Teaching and More Learning” Susan Gaer at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385 shows how efficient PBL is because she successfully reached her goals using PBL.
Bernie Dogde in "Some Thoughts About WebQuests" at http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html defines WebWuest as “an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing”.
WebQuests seem to be an alternative to teaching language in the classroom. Yet, in some educational environment it will not be possible to take advantage of this new teaching technology because the use of computers and the Internet is still at a nascent stage. So, the option remaining for the teachers will be PBL. I do not say that PBL is better than Webquests, I simply mean that PBL is more like to have success in some countries for the reasons mentioned above.
As far as I am concerned, PBL is definitely the method I will choose between the two methods because my students and won’t need any equipment for realizing the project.
What do you think?
Wishes,
Bruno
This week, I learned about two new methods of teaching language in the classroom: the Problem-Based Learning and WebQuests. What I retain from the two methods is they use a different new methodology for teaching in the classroom. They advocate the involvement of students in meaningful and interesting activities in which they will have to work as a community to perform a common task.
In her article “Less Teaching and More Learning” Susan Gaer at http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385 shows how efficient PBL is because she successfully reached her goals using PBL.
Bernie Dogde in "Some Thoughts About WebQuests" at http://webquest.sdsu.edu/about_webquests.html defines WebWuest as “an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing”.
WebQuests seem to be an alternative to teaching language in the classroom. Yet, in some educational environment it will not be possible to take advantage of this new teaching technology because the use of computers and the Internet is still at a nascent stage. So, the option remaining for the teachers will be PBL. I do not say that PBL is better than Webquests, I simply mean that PBL is more like to have success in some countries for the reasons mentioned above.
As far as I am concerned, PBL is definitely the method I will choose between the two methods because my students and won’t need any equipment for realizing the project.
What do you think?
Wishes,
Bruno
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