Weekly Reflection N°10

From week 1 to week 10 all are very invaluable things and unforgettable experiences, all are very important for our teaching future.

All questions asked for this week I have to summarize week by week.

On week 1, I created a blog for a weekly reflection. It is a very useful online tool for communication.

On Week 2, I learned to stablish a correct ABCD Learning Objectives Framework and browsed many valuable search engines.

On Week 3, I studied how to apply Skill-building Websites for Oral/Aural Skills and save Bookmarks with Delicious, this link is very important for bookmarking many online references.
On Week 4, I studied more about Skill-building Websites for Reading/Writing Skills and Technology-enhanced Lesson Plans. I also learned how to make a lesson plan enhanced with technology.
On week 5, I did many things in relation to Project-based Learning, WebQuests, and rubrics. I learned more about Project-based Learning (PBL).
On week 6, I learned more about Creating Student-centered Classes and Interactive PowerPoint. I also made interactive PowerPoint slides for my grammar classes.
On week 7, I learned about Learner Autonomy, the One-computer Classroom, and Mobile Devices. This section was very invaluable for me to improve students' autonomous learning, applying one-computer classroom, and using mobile devices for enhancing teaching and learning process in or out the classroom with technology.
On Week 8, I did many things in relation to Teacher Resources Online that could be applied and practiced for online teaching and learning process and activities. On this week 8 I created a class Padlet site

On week 9, I completed my final project that describes what I planned and did for and during the Webskills program.

Final on week 10. This is the week that makes me sad because I will leave a very patient, smart instructor of Webskills program, I want to say thank you for all lovely friends from many countries and thank you, thank you to my instructor, University of Oregon, and Department of Education under the United States Embassy.

Warmest regards

Edith (Peru)

Week 9

 Just at the end

Thank you all of you for this wonderful experience, arriving to the end,  I learned this week a very interesting topic, so after reading Learning Styles and Strategies by Richard M. Felder, I have explored the learning theory and shown examples of how technology and multiple intelligences can have a great impact on student success. Multiple intelligences can open up many avenues in the process of learning that can be explored. Also, this week was interesting because I used my partner's comments in order to improve my draft, so I wrote the final version of my project plan.
At the end I haven’t filled out a course evaluation yet. I hope to do it tomorrow, I want to say Donna Thank you for all the information and motivation that is giving us in this very, very interesting course, I know my students is going to be the first whom I will share this great experience.

Edith

Week 8

Such a busy week, but very rewarding because the product that we have to obtain. After exploring different sites I decided to create a Padlet because I found this site very easy and useful to use because it’s like a piece of paper, but on the Web.

My students are on a holiday that is why I am not teaching so I prepared my draft plan, thanks’ to Yuliya I have to improve it in order to make my final plan, also I gave my partner feedback it was interesting and I noticed a lot of work done.

I also thank you for the opportunity to learn and enrich my knowledge , I am very happy to be part of this.

Week 7

Interesting topics this week.

First we covered learning autonomy. Learner autonomy consists in becoming aware of, and identifying, one's strategies, needs, and goals as a learner, and having the opportunity to reconsider and refashion approaches and procedures for optimal learning (Candy, 1991).

I encourage my students to do their learning autonomy by facilitating them with technology, for examples, asking them to read some article through internet, answer the questions or do some exercises, and search some other online references.

One-computer classroom helps teachers manage lesson materials, lesson plans, teaching media, handouts, test items, etc, also students' applications. You can read more in http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic84.htm.

We really know that all those mobile devices are very important nowadays in our modern school era. Today's mobiles technologies can be employed for language learning purposes.

We were introduced to a wonderful tool which promotes autonomous learning. Padlet works as a virtual display bulletin board. It can be used by the teacher to post assignments, notices, homework, articles, videos, etc. for the class to see. The students can use the platform to post their project work, submit assigments, upload their homework. It is so simple to use.

Weekly Reflection # 6

Weekly Reflection

After to read Interactive PowerPoint: Not Your Usual Approach by Deborah Healey I understood that it is not only by using buttons and hyperlinks, but by involving the students throughout the lesson. An effective PowerPoint should activate their background knowledge schema through using interesting questions and their attention. The learners could be integrated by sharing the lesson’s objectives with them. Also Techniques to promote interactivity proposed in the PPt are very interesting, special Blank slide technique; finally power point is easy to move among websites, open office documents, play audio and video from the web or the computer. After to build my own interactive power point I could also be engaging, and I could include student-centered interactivity.

About my plan, unfortunately I am not teaching this term but I will continue to refine my project plans. As I told before we know how important grammar is for any language and English grammar for my students is frustrating. Using grammar correctly is challenging for those who learn English as a second language. My question is how one can improve their English grammar skill with the advancement in technology?, I checked a number of tools that might help my students improve their grammar using web sites and I decided to work with: http://www.roadtogrammar.com, where my students can access to quizzes, linked to a note, games and they can download PDF files in order to practice offline too, also http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl, it covers all the grammar rules on punctuation, word choice, and more, also http://www.polishmywriting.com/, It is a tool to scan and detect spelling errors, grammar faults, and styles and finally http://public.wsu.edu, Common Errors in English Usage and others. Another technology that I will use is apps because most of my students have smartphones with internet access so they can download apps in order to practice grammar outside the class, because we know that mobile devices and apps are changing the way students learn English. For my plan I will put in practice apps specifically for practicing and improving grammar like (my grammar lab free app, English test grammar app, English grammar handbook app, English grammar test, English grammar ELT soft and so on).

Thank you for reading my posts and leaving a comment.

  Regards

Edith (Peru)

Weekly Reflection # 5

After to read the articles I have to say that PBL makes a fundamental shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning. Also it increase motivation for life long learning; likewise PBL improves student´s learning and skills as they deal with authentic problems.Wabquest is highly versatil, it increases student´s motivation, they face an authentic task given real resources to work with, and Webquest forces students to transform information into something else. In order to engage students in higher level cognition, Webquest use scaffolding.

In this week I knew how PBL could affect student motivation and behavior in class, Students can work on their own space, I knew to apply Project based Learning by preparing Webquest on http://zunal.com. Also I took into consideration the previous project step I described a technology-related change that I will implement to address the problem.What most caught my attention was Rubistar. Is very interesting to know about the technology solutions, if you want to evaluate you just enter the things and the website creates the rubric automatically with the specifications you previously gave.

Thanks

Weekly Reflection

I really enjoy reading web sites article about how to use a computer in class as a helpful aid, I understand that CALL not only introduces the students to technology , also it brings positive effects into our students’ motivation. Therefore, the teachers need to consider the use of CALL to develop student’s skill in their process of learning.

After reading about technology-enhanced lesson plans, I created one, I have to admit it was difficult for me, so to read Baltimore County Public Schools Office of Instructional Technology gave me some ideas how to integrate technology, and the example lesson plan also guided me.

For my project task, I consider working with my pre service teachers, because one of the weaknesses of them who have intermediate and advanced level is the grammar accuracy when they are producing the language in oral and written way, so my experience has convinced me that students believe learning grammar is boring, I try to make my students use it in a practical way and show them how useful it can be in listening, reading, speaking and writing exercises, so I feel that using technology is a very good way to teach grammar.  

Some people think that a benefit of structuralism is that it treats each language as unique and deals with grammar based on the language itself. I see this is a negative because all human languages have certain characteristics in common. There is a universal grammar that governs all languages. (Noam Chomsky)