WEEK10:TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION, ADVICE AND FAREWELLS

Week 10: Wrap-up

This week is the last one but not the least. We discuss about the integration of technology in teaching.

http://www.k12.wa.us/edtech/techliteracy/techinttiers.aspx

http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix.php

Of course integrating technology in teaching is a plus value and a necessity today. Integrating technology in a given lesson helps increase students’ motivation for learning, enhance their communicative skills, and facilitate higher-order thinking skills…

We also provide future participants with some pieces of advice. I think to summarize the advice that I provide them with that they need a strong will. 

I can’t help myself to congratulate Courtney and all the lovely staff for their patience, their love of what they are doing. Congratulation to us dear participants of the Webskills 2013, for our successful travel. Million thanks to the organizers of this great online course. 

During 10 weeks, I learned tons and tons of new things: creating blog, wiki, Padlet, delicious…, new websites. I am so satisfied and so grateful. I can confess that I feel myself changed; my teaching practices have hugely changed from traditional lecture to learner centeredness and learner autonomy. Now, I have unlimited ways and means to engage students, to motivate them. I discovered lots of techniques to teach my large larges without killing myself and at the same time giving the learners fun to learn. My students impressed and surprised me with their openness to changes. 

The course as a whole was successful and useful, but if I consider my teaching context I may choose learner-centeredness, autonomous learner, effective large classes teaching, one computer classroom as the most successful and useful topics. I am decided to experiment all the tools learned during this online course, not in a single lesson but gradually in different lessons.

I suggest that next time if it is possible to introduce Skype especially how to make a conference through Skype.

Farewell to you all,

Big hug, missing you already.

Bernadette

What Is Your Learning Style? | Edutopia

What Is Your Learning Style? | Edutopia

Week 9: LEARNING STYLES AND TECHNOLOGY

Week 9: LEARNING STYLES AND TECHNOLOGY

Hello everyone!

This week we had a discussion about learning styles and technology. I learned very useful information through the readings. I learned about different styles and strategies. I read about technologies that can match with each learning style.

 

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm

Gardner distinguishes 9 types of intelligences nowadays which are:

1.      Verbal linguistic

2.      Logical

3.      Mathematical

4.      Kinesthetic

5.      Visual

6.      Musical

7.      Interpersonal

8.      Naturalist

9.      Existentialist

Knowing all these intelligences helps the teacher design a course by integrating all of them. Students are different from each other. So, taking into account this difference may help the students. A variety of tools are available to help us or to sustain: PPT, movies, video, photos, blog, social network, puzzles.

Another very important point is to vary the activities in a given lesson. In doing so we are sure to cater for learners with different learning styles.

Http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-learningstyles-quiz. Through this link I learned my own learning style. Here is the link to access to my learning style: http://www.edutopia.org/node/6140/done?sid=3893146 The result shows that I am a naturalist learner, while I was thinking I am a visual learner.

I tried with the help of my peer reader to polish my project report. I have posted the final project report in our class wiki. The project is about how to enhance students speaking skills using technology.

I also fill out a course evaluation form in which I expressed all my gratefulness for this online course. Million thanks to our brave INSTRUCTOR Courtney. Thanks to you all dear colleagues.

Best regards,

Bernadette

Week 8: Project Report Draft

Week 8: PROJECT REPORT

As usual, week 8 started with readings. But let say it was mainly characterized by the project report draft. We’ve done also various tasks such as creating a class site. I created a space for the students to record their voice and post it. 

In my discuss I focus on many online tools very good for learner autonomy. And I chose creating a blog for example to be feasible with my context and the intermediate students. This blog will be useful for out of class activities because, we do not have a computer in the classroom. So, students can go to cyber café, if there are activities. They may also find there their topics.

I learned more about ANVILL, a useful tool for language practice. This material is set by Jeff Magoto, Director of the language Center at UO, our honorable guest this week. I would like to familiar with it because I want to enhance students speaking skills. It has text, voice and video recording that will be useful for the students. I am still thirsty because I did not exploit ANVILL as I wish due to the bad Internet connection.

As for the project report task, this week we were called to write a draft of the report and send it to a peer reader and in return to read and give feedback to a partner’s report.

I posted my first draft and I have given feedback to my peer reader. My project is about how to enhance the intermediate students speaking skills using a technology tool (voxopop). There are many things to add and restructure. 

I do believe that with the collaboration of colleagues I will come up with an acceptable project report.

Bernadette

Week 7: AUTONOMOUS LEARNING

Week 7: AUTONOMOUS LEARNING

Hi friends! Week 7 is about to be closed.

 What an adventure!

A quick one, isn’t it?

This week we were blessed with two main topics: Learner Autonomy and one-computer/mobile devices in the classroom. I focused my discussions on learner autonomy, but I was also interested in one-computer/mobile phone devices.

First of all I read “What is learner autonomy and how can it be fostered? By Dimitrios Thanasoulas: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Autonomy.html .

 In this article I learned definitions of learner autonomy. I read also synonyms of autonomy learning such as independence, self-assessment, and responsibility and so on.  In short learner autonomy is someone who learned by himself, who takes initiative for learning. However, autonomy learning does not clean away the role of the teacher, but he is there playing the role of a facilitator, providing them with scaffoldings. No place for spoon feeding in autonomy learning. As goes the saying: “Teach students how to fish instead of giving them fish.” Autonomous learning is what our world needs today.

 http://www.lburkhart.com/elem/strat.htm

As far as the second reading is concerned I do not have deep experience of using computer in class or mobile phone devices in class. First, we do not have a computer in the classroom; second, mobile phone is forbidden in our school. But I do use my computer as a teacher tool to prepare courses, assessment.

This week is like the cornerstone for me. I was asking myself, when I read the schedule of the course, how to teach a whole classroom with only one-computer.

I learned through these readings, and through colleagues’ posts many ways of using one computer in class. Now I know I can use one computer as teacher’s tool. If I connect the computer with a projector I can use it for the whole class. I can use it to write a story. Thank you all.

I was so happy experiencing Padlet or wall wisher. I did not wait to create my own for the class.

I also found a peer partner , Ahmed HAMZI, to read, and evaluate my final project report.

Thank Courtney! Thank you classmates! For such a rich week.

Let keep on going higher and higher.

 “Sky is the limit”

Thank you week seven!!!

Bernadette

Implement the change

Implement the change

Hi Courtney and dear participants

Here six weeks now that we are launch in this adventure of using technology in teaching/learning. I learned new strategies, experiences etc. It's time I implemented the change. Thank Courtney for your positive feedback that highlights my implementation. 

My concern was to remove shyness and poor expression form within my students of grade 5. They are aged between 15- 18 years old. They are 62, 22 girls and 40 boys. For that reason I implemented the change. I introduced technology in my class to help students improve their speaking skills. I went through bygosh.com, chose a lovely story, download it and and used it in class for a reading comprehension lesson. The students enjoyed the course because I use lots of the methods for large classes such pair work, group work. I also teach them how to use voxopop. Their homework was to summarize the story and record it in voxopop. I first did an example and make them listen to it. It motivated them and they were so excited to try. Some of them succeeded in trying, but they all were interested in it. As Courtney suggested, I helped them with some guiding questions. Some of the students were not able to try the activity because of the lack of condition to do it. I was so sorry! I tried by all means to find another technique of recording off line. Fortunately I discovered Audacity.com a very nice tool to record voice without internet connection. The satisfaction of my students is total. Audacity is in our current use now. And because they are launch, they regularly try the activity alone, outside the classroom. I think my goal is achieved. I give them individual feedback each time they exercise themselves and that motivate them. The contact with me is regular. They also evaluate one another (peer evaluation). They work and discuss with each other. 

This change initiate a new idea which is to create a listening lesson with their recordings. They will listen of course with guiding questions. They will assess, and evaluate their peer recording. Usually I integrate skills in my teaching.

I feel relax and happy. My large class is no more a hindrance, thanks to webs-skill course. I am so grateful. Thank Courtney for your help, we are now moving like the wind. Thanks for providing us with wings. We are now flying with our own wings, how wonderful it is. Yes! knowledge is the real power; I feel now powerful.

Best !

Bernadette

INTERACTIVE WEEK 6

Week 6: teaching large classes effectively

I was very busy this week. I read, I created an interactive PowerPoint, I discussed, I implemented the change...I learned a lot especially about how to integrate technology in classes, mainly in large classes.

First of all in the article teaching large classes effectively in http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/teaching/latgeclasseshtml I read about teaching large classes. The author provides with lots of possibilities to help teach and keeep students engaged in large classes. 

The first aid proposed is " in-class activities" such as pair work, group work, make students act, reflect...

The second is "out of class group assignment", a great technique to solve the problem of grading.

I can make technology work for me. So finding an adequate technology is interesting and fundamental for the large classes. Immediate feedback empowers students. And the fact that they can use technology outside the classroom is a very good thing.

I also read Teaching large classes-Enhancing Learning by engaging students by Rick Finnan and Donna Shaw: http:tep.uoregon.edu/resources/largeclasses/engagingstudents/buldingrelationships.html. Many good methods are mention in this website. It list up some problems with large lecture- style classes such as the lack of interaction with the professors, inadequacy of classroom facilities and environment, lack of frequent testing and grading... My own experience with large classes and all that I read all this week that need to be done for large classes to be taught effectively is so demanding. 

By the grace of this course the problem is losing weight; I feel the change. I implemented the change, and I could not recognize the students. A whole post will be on the change I implemented. A very simple change but so engaging.

I called this week the interactive week because I worked so much on my interactive PowerPoint. I really enjoy doing it. In this PPT that I made, students can learn by themselves.

Bernadette