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
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