Week 10

Since the course is almost over, I would like to sum up what I have learnt and what I am going to use with my students.

Firstly, I became proficient in keeping my personal blog. This tool is not only interesting but also useful for students to master writing skills, to reflect upon the knowledge they get.

I started using Rubrics to assess my students work. It's the easiest and straightforward way to mark a course. I will definitely use rubrics with my learners.

Nicenet is another excellent opportunity to work over writing competence, to hold a discussions of different issues.

Google sites and Wiki with Wikispaces are platforms for sharing ideas and collaboration. They can introduce students to different assignments and webpages. I am currently working over my Wiki classroom to use it with my students as well.

WebQuest is another excellent opportunity to keep students organized and busy outside the classroom. 

I also learnt how to implement Padlet, Quizlet, Voicethread, ANVILL, Voxopop, Mind Map and other tools into the classroom, to turn them to good account. 

The creation of Jeopardy game was a good experience for me, too. Now I can easily create as many such presentations as possible.

I have come across different articles and resources, like, for example, the last one http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/about/my-best-of-series/, and all of them can be easily saved  and accessed with the help of Delicious.com.  

Every week I explored many interesting resources, programs and articles which would help me to develop my web skills, to make my lessons interesting, diverse and practical.

The only thing I could add, as Nahla suggested, the second part of Building Teching Skills Through the Interactive Web part 2.

I am glad that I knew so many things and found so many friends! Thank you very much for such an excellent opportunity!!!

Sincerely,

Satsita

Week 9

I can’t believe, we have already submitted our final project plans! It’s just the first step. The second step will be to put a plan into operation. The final step will be analysis. Wow, I subconsciously referred to Bloom’s Taxonomy:

This week material is worthy of special mention. As what I have learnt was immediately included into my final plan, not just out of mere interest but it was what helped me to refine my project and to think over the teaching style I used with my students. 

We have learnt learning intelligences. Having read some articles, I understood the importance of defining each learner's  intelligence, moreover, "by understanding a student's strengths and weaknesses in each intelligence, we can help students become more successful" http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic68.htm. The identified by Howard Gardner 9 intelligences can change the way some teachers teach, as they "can better understand the learners in their midst" by Anne Guignon from "Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences:

A Theory for Everyone" and treat accordingly each student, thus, enhancing different language competences.

I have tried ANVILL (A National Virtual Language Lab) software that can be used in various ways. As a teacher, I like the opportunities it offers to listen to the news, watch video clips, submit voice or video-based tasks, prepare quizzes. This is one of the main language learning technologies I am going to use with my students this year.

There are also some websites, which I didn't use but wanted to try with my students. They are:

1) Google sites - I have created one but one thing only is lacking, it's my time to finish it off.

2) VoiceThread - I have only tried recording the voice, but judging by the description, it's far more interesting and diverse, than I think.    

3) I also got acquainted with google documents, and will definitely try them sooner or later with my students.

I have discovered a new world of teaching with Internet, now I want to live in this world every day opening some new lands and cultivating the former. I am anxious for the new academic year to come! 

I would like to congratulate my colleagues on completing this work and thank for support, encouraging comments and interesting ideas. A special thanks should be given to Donna for being so helpful, without the help of our instructor we will not be able to manage our tasks.  This elaborate course is  a good example how teachers should organize their lessons, challenging their students. 

I have one suggestions, what if we continue our interaction together with our dear instructor either synchronously by means of WhatsApp, Skype or asynchronously like now. I know that you are busy and this idea can seem just mere loss of time, but we have been learning from each other and can go on learning just being friends not only colleagues. Anyhow I am really happy that I was a part of this wonderful but short course. 

Week 8

I have recently come across one saying "You can never be overdressed or overeducated" by  Oscar Wilde. Even having the university diploma you seek for knowledge, worwrk like a maniac and never feel satisfied. Being a student you always do the tasks, becoming a teacher you again make long hours enjoying this process. It's already the 8th week I feel that I will never be overeducated, as every new week brings something new) This week also bears fruit:

1. I have explored a good many of new tools which are aimed to promote learner autonomy. 

The first one I tried was  http://eolf.univ-fcomte.fr/index.php?page=technically-interesting-hot-potatoes-pages  - I found many interesting exercises for different levels and aspects of language. I was curious about listening section and found one interesting exercise where students listen to a text simultaneously writing what they hear (dictation sample - http://eolf.univ-fcomte.fr/wp-content/uploads/herethere/20.htm). The novelty of this conventional exercise is that the learner can immediately check the text, open the letter if he/she cannot catch up with speaker. I suppose, it can be used the following way: students write the dictation once, twice or three times, until they succeed in completing of 80-100% of work without looking at the script, then, they write it on the paper in class. 

The second tool was SMILE http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/mimea/smile/v2/index.php. A very interesting page but it does require much time to investigate its resources. I have lingered round conversation program. The peculiarity of this program is that students respond to the questions of teacher or learners by recording videos or audio within a web browser. I will definitely use it with my students discussing non academic issues, so that they are not doing any task and practice their language.

The third tool I tried was http://www.nicenet.org/ICA/class/conf_start.cfm?anID=140817115106. As I see it, Nicenet is a very good site to introduce new topic, to hold debate or simply share the opinion about the issue. I have followed the example of this course: students look through particular websites and then answer the posted question. 

The next website, which I have just explored and still working over its structure is wiki on Wikispaces. It was not difficult to create it, but it requires a lot of energy to go the whole hog. This wiki is going to be a part of my final project. All the steps of the project will be included into the right bar of the main page. Mainly this wiki will work as an organizer, where students read the instructions or homework, communicate with teacher and find useful links to develop the English language.

I have also tried Easy Test Maker  http://www.easytestmaker.com/default.aspx, which is very, very useful as soon as you pay to have full access to various tools. It saves a lot of time creating a test.

We have also shared our first drafts with partners. I think it's a good idea to let someone read your plan, assess it and get a worthwhile feedback. 

I am anxious for the next working week to come! 

Week 7

❝Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.❞

 ‒Sarah Caldwell

To begin with, I started my new week from reading different material about learner autonomy, that is freedom from external control or influence, independence according to New Oxford American Dictionary. 

It's a mistake of almost every teacher to take a total control over the students, it is like "Autonomy was shopped to us. We looked at the price and thought it was absurdly high" Larry Ellison.

I understand how difficult it can be to devolve the reins of government to our students. One might ask the question, "What is the role of the teacher then?". Having found the answer to this question in David Little article" I was not satisfied. Then it came to my mind, that there is a good example from my life experience: when I started cooking with my mother, she was very nervous, she corrected me at every turn and  as a result I became diffident about my cooking skills. Once I became independent (I became a student and had to leave my parents), I started cooking myself without mother's assistance, and my friends paid me enormous compliments. Of course, it's very important that there is somebody, who guides you, sets you on the right track if something goes wrong, but I prefer to phone and ask for advise or just search Internet. It is as Dimitrios Thanasoulas said "learner autonomy does not mean that the teacher becomes redundant, abdicating his/her control over what is transpiring in the language learning process". 

Now, I am thinking about my students how not to turn them into "containers", or just to 'wean [students]--away from teacher dependence'by Dimitrios Thanasoulas, and how not to be too careful myself.

There are some things that I learnt this week and would love to integrate into my classes to increase autonomy:

1) I have set acquainted with Padlet - a wonderful tool for different assignments. I have left two posts on the board about autonomy and using mobiles in the classroom. What I like about the first it's the extensive range of exercises for developing speaking, listening, reading and writing skills (http://reflectiveteachingreflectivelearning.com/learner-autonomy/).

We also discussed with teachers on how we might use Padlet Page with our students. It's a wonderful idea to know what people all over the world can do with Wallwisher.

2) The article of Galina Kavaliauskiene (http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Kavaliauskiene-Autonomy2.html) can be a good basis for working over tasks fostering learner autonomy. 

We have also tried to find the partner for peer-review of our first drafts. I have butterflies in my stomach, since I am not quite sure whether I will be able to logically include everything I've learnt for 7 weeks into my first plan. I will try to do my best. 

I also tried to create google webpage, similar to one we have https://sites.google.com/site/webskillsuo/, but I boggled my first attempt. Fortunately, I have enough time before the start of the semester, so, I will try and try until ti bring everything to perfection.

I have started my blog from Sarah Caldwell quote, as it is exactly about us, teachers, and what we are doing. It reveals the teachers lifestyle. 

I am eagerly waiting for the next week assignments, keeping in mind my first draft))) 

Week 6

From the very beginning of week 6, we were offered to choose one of the discussion topics. I immediately chose Interactive Power Point, since my classes are really small, the maximum number of students is 10. But, as a teacher, I have to be ready to tutor large classes as well, so I had also scanned those resources offered by Donna.

To tell the truth, I enjoyed this week discussion about PowerPoint to increase interaction. I always used PPT in my classes, but only now understand how important to include exercises or tools to increase interactivity. I love the idea of using hidden slides, hyperlinks, some action buttons are also new for me (for example, I couldn't move to a definite slide within the presentation or turn the monitor black, which is my favorite now). These new elements I learnt this week will not only save my time, but also engage learners into the process of language acquisition and stop distracting my students' attention.

I have also tried the alternative way to PowerPoint - SlideRocket. Unfortunately, this try failed and I didn't have enough time to create my interactive PowerPoint. I will try it next time, as my students really like, when I include something new and unfamiliar to them.

This is my first Jeopardy game, I didn't know that I would be able to create it myself! It took 3 days to create this one)))

Having looked through my colleagues interactive PowerPoints, I realized, that I have a lot to learn. I liked the idea of using polls at the end of the presentation and assessment rubrics can just come in handy.

I am eagerly waiting for the next laborious week!

Week Five

Project-based learning & WebGuest
My week, as usually, started from reading a lot of material and exploring new webpages. It's a moment of my professional development, as I read the experience of other teachers, who achieved success in teaching area, thus opened the gates for us, devoted teacher, who are on the way to become better and better. I can't forget to mention the article by Susan Gaer "Less Teaching and More Learning", it really made me think about my lessons and project-based learning, in general. And I have set my mind on writing a class newspaper.

I have also tried my first project using WebQuest. I heard other teachers mentioning it in Nicenet discussion and I even read about it at that moment. Nonetheless, it was Greek to me. Having read the articles of this week and WebQuest examples, I've got the clear picture of it. The creation of my own WebQuest was a crucial point, as I eventually understood its power. I was also surprised, that the project can be one day long. I cannot wait to try it with my students!
  
Rubrics & alternative assessment
At the beginning of our project "Building Teaching Skills Through the Interactive Web", we were offered  to get acquainted with rubrics. I took that idea into account, but it turned out, that we were to create the rubrics for our students ourselves. I love rubrics, and http://rubistar.4teachers.org/. I have also included one into my WebQuest (but I didn't know how to extend the categories of evaluation).

Description of a technology tool solution was time consuming, as I the whole academic year I was thinking about my students, and only now I found the solution to one of the problems my students had. I guess, the lack of time of acquiring English will never be a problem for me and my students.

I want to mention my first discussion on Nicenet about the impact of rubrics, assessment and project-based learning on learners autonomy. Reading the opinions of people of the same professional background and on the same issue, makes a great contribution to my development, as a teacher. I like our discussions and I want to thank those who read my posts and give feedback. A special thanks to dear Donna, who really supported us on the way to become better.

I wait edgily for the next week.

Week 4

Do not be a faint heart, have a go and you will be surprised at your own ability.

I have started exploring this week material from the article of Jarek Krajka "Using the Internet in ESL Writing Instruction”. This work answered to some of the questions that bothered me, since I became a teacher:

2) The issue why we should introduce technologies into the lessons (recency, authenticity, variety, choice and the absence of psychological barriers are brief answers to this question).

1) The role of the teacher in a wired classroom. (the teacher’s role is immense even though the technology plays a very important role, as the learner can “feel lost or overwhelmed by technology”).

I also enjoyed reading the ideas for teaching writing genres, it turned out that e-mail could be used not only for sending and receiving messages, but also for practicing writing skills. The suggested idea of writing formal letter was immediately taken into my teaching baggage.

“The Extensive Reading Activities for ESL/EFL Student Uding E-books” by Mei-Ya Liang was interesting to read and compare to my method of reading outside the classroom. I also suggest 5 books to my students, divide the class into five groups and each group choose one book to prepare the synopsis (a brief summary of the book or film). The following lesson we listen to each group’s presentation of the book and vote for one, which seemed interesting. The chosen book should be read during the semester. But I had a problem before, the problem of choosing those 5 books to read, so the websites containing literature from “Using Internet-Based Children's Literature to Teach EFL” by Larry J. Mikulecky were saved in My Delicious page without hesitation: http://www.magickeys.com/books, http://www.bygosh.com/index.html but the best site seemed http://www.tumblebooks.com/.

I also discovered www.elllo.org, which seemed the best, until I tried www.BreakingEnglishNews.com suggested by Nahla and http://www.english-to-go.com/tolesson.htm described by Kunie. I suppose sites I used before paled into insignificance.

The creation of a technology-enhanced lesson plan took a lot of time, but I enjoyed the process and even redesigned some moments, which didn’t work with my previous class, adding a website for recording the voice https://voicethread.com. 

But I absolutely loved reading the lesson plans of my colleagues. It was valuable exchange.

The last task was to describe the class, which can experience a problem the technology might help with. It was not as difficult as I suggested, since we had described the same class before, but the task made me think about the problem on a large scale. Moreover, I am not unaware of how to incorporate Internet technologies into my classes now.

Each week I learn something new, add a lot of interesting websites, and share my experience of teaching, I can tell with confidence that one can “explore the whole world just by clicking the mouse” by Jarek Krajka.