Week 10

The tasks assigned are simple and let the learners have more time to relax.

The goal allowed here can be redefined in another way.  Hence, however much compatible they are can be discussed being in different positions. However, the technology integration can be happen in different ways and one cannot say that this is the model.

The task which enabled the students to give comments and  guidelines to the future students. This task in a way respects the present students and also it leads to get a fair insight into the problem.

Blogging is always fun and this note on week ten would be the final on the Webskills course. It has been great from every aspect and now does  not feel like giving up. The colleagues were ambitious, courageous and what not? More than anything else we got a so wonderful instructor to refer and consult whenever possible or readily available. Thank you very much for everything. Last but not least I would give my heartiest thanks to my colleague Angel from Paraguay who helped me to make my project a success and also for being such a nice friend. Finally, its the US state department that helped us should also get my salute and please accept it and open your arms to people like us in the future as well.

Week 9

This week we did not have much work when compared to the weeks we passed. I am so happy that this being my first online learning experience ever, I learned a lot from it. This week we had the discussion as usual.

• Discussion - Learning Styles - It was such a great opportunity to discuss about this in Nicenet. Though the learning styles differ, the teachers can address to this issue with the help of a fine tool. There are so many technology tools which a teacher can use. A technology tool both facilitates the teacher as well as the student and makes the teaching-learning process a stress free easy one. For a learner who likes to work with mathematics and logic, a jeopardy tool would be apt for sure. Also it is understood that a teacher cannot use several technology tools but one or two in the class. Yet, it is doubtful whether the teacher would be able to address all learners with different learning styles. A more suitable technology tool was introduced as ANVILL (A National Virtual Language Lab) by Jeff Magoto and it really is a very useful technology tool. This tool can readily help different students who have different learning styles. Thanks to this course, I got many different and new  knowledge.
  
  
• Final Project Report - I noted the mistakes highlighted by my colleague Angel and finalized the project report. Not like the initial stage of my introducing the technology tools, now the students claim that the tool is so much useful to them. I realized everything takes some time to settle in one's mind and takes time to change the behavior or the mind set. However, I feel that I have taken a fair step forward to make them feel happy about their learning practical phonology.

Though the week is almost over I feel that we are about to reach the end of the course. In a way it is little sad to feel it. I need to save all the important documents and save the links in delicious as suggested.

Week 8

When I started to update the blog I could not believe that we have passed 8 weeks! I really enjoyed every minute of the course work though the work load due for us increased little by little. This week has been some what different from a usual week with the project drafting. The work due for this week included:

• Discussion: Online Exercises/Technology Tools - The discussion for this week was based on online exercises/technology tools. We discussed how the use of such tools could change both the teaching and the learning process. It is obvious that any tool would get the attention of the learners very easily. Yet, it is the teacher's duty to make the tool or online exercise more attractive as well as to make it more effective enabling the learner to explore and learn. Then the learners will learn independently and will become autonomous learners. 
  
  
• Task: The task due for this week made us to create a tool. I selected Padlet a site which I think more user friendly. I managed to get good comments from my friends and even my students managed to do class presentations on articulatory system and on sounds. I enjoyed this work.
  
  
• Project Task - Drafting the project gave me a new experience. Though I have done so many projects, action researches and even researches this is the first time that I had a proper scholar to go through and give comment. It was so nice to do it. I really appreciate my friend Angel's observations they help me alot t Hence, this project based work is extremely went and still going ahead well.
  
   Thus, when considering the work due for this week seem to be quite a lot. Yet, I do all with a very happy mood.

Week 7

It is the end of the seventh week of the course work! Though it was simple in terms of work and input, the course is well designed to give the knowledge from simple to complex , known to unknown and from local to global. The week's work included the following.

•  Discussion #1 – Learner Autonomy 
• Discussion #2 – The One-Computer Classroom
•  Task – Padlet
  
• Week 7 Project Task #6 – Find a Partner 
• Blog reflection

Discussion

As usual the the discussion topics were optional and had the liberty to select any topic. I selected "Learner Autonomy", an area which I like to discuss mostly. Learner autonomy foster learning and the classroom becomes learner friendly as well. On the other hand, this will make the students to get the concepts through practical work (i.e. learn by doing). I read several articles related to this and joined the discussion. Needless to mention that I learned some other facts by reading the work done by the colleagues. When learners are left to be independent, they also will have to engage in self reflection.

Task

The task due for this week was simple but have a great value. I was inspired a lot and also I applied this method for my students to enable them to learn from different sources. The whole notion of Padlet is "simple" but  "amazing"

Find a partner

This was not difficult and  whoever the colleague would be is not a valid argument. I responded to a friend whom I see as a very good teacher and as one who can analyze things being balanced.


However, the biggest task is ahead. That is to come out with the project work. No matter how difficult the task is I enjoy every minute of the course work and look forward to step on to the eighth week.

Week 6

The week began giving me a very positive impression. It is to learn more about Power Point presentations. I wanted to know more about it and also was glad to join the discussion on how Power Point helps in interactive learning.

Discussion: Interactive Power Point

It is so obvious that the teacher can minimize his or her talking in the language class and maximize the student talking time when some kind of a learning material is used effectively. The use of Power Point is also can be used effectively to make sure that the learners get more independent in learning and would interact with the tool used. With this the teacher on one hand activates the schemata and on the other hand secure learner autonomy. I learned the importance of making a slide simple and focal (to the point). I felt the importance of making a slide have only the necessary facts/figures/details etc. but long paragraphs. By reading the articles I got new knowledge.

Task : Creating an Interactive Power Point Presentation

I did this task very happily since I know how my students react to PowerPoint presentations. In this task I changed my usual pattern of creating the presentation and tried to make it more interactive. I started off by giving opportunity to my learners to recall what they did under "be" verbs and then gave them an activity to do. I would add that this kind of tasks given by this course paves the way to enhance the professional development of the teachers who engage themselves in this course.

Begin to implement technology

I chose my technology tool that I felt would rightly fit the needs of my students to steer clear their doubts on practical phonology. I selected the blogging as a tool and have already started my work. As it is in the initial stage, only some students contribute and get the benefit. Yet, I hope that the rest would also react to me positively.



As usual, I enjoy reflecting my own work I did during the week and maintaining this blog is like maintaining a journal or a diary. Hence, it is really important to do so. I look forward to go ahead with the rest of the course work.

Week 5

It is almost the end of the fifth week of the course. I enjoyed and learned from different tasks and discussions due for this week as well. The week at a glance included the discussion, three tasks and blog reflection.

   

      Project-Based Learning and WebQuests

 Although the whole concept of Project-Based Learning is not new for me as it is in the common practice in the education system in my country, the concept of WebQuests is totally new to me. The use of Project-Based Learning was refreshed after reading the prescribed article by Susan Gaer and with the ideas shared by the colleagues I happened to get different insights to the same. The idea of  WebQuests as I mentioned above was a new idea. With all the guidance given I believe I managed to do fair work in this connection. It is methodical and directs both the learner and the teacher to a better learning setup.  

The life of a teacher becomes easy when the technology is used wisely. Without no hesitation I would recommend http://rubistar.4teachers.org for any teacher for it makes the task of creating rubrics easy. I did my own one for an oral assessment and the rubrics can be found in http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?ts=1399834341 .

Project task 4  

 I had to reconsider my solution for the problem I found out in my learners since I get exposed to different kinds of web based learning methods. Yet, as I have decided before I thought of sticking myself to the idea of blog as a solution to enhance my learners’ enthusiasm in practical phonology based work.

Extra Credit Task  

This task dragged my whole attention as it was that much interesting. I managed to create my WebQuest and honestly I feel great about that.

With all the exciting work for this week I was inspired and arranged an experience sharing session for the next teacher training workshop. The whole work due for this week was extremely important for me. I always appreciate the comments, suggestions and ideas given by Donna and my Colleagues and I look forward to get more exciting work in the coming week. 

 

Week 4

At the end of the forth week I feel that it has now become a habit to check email regularly, check feedback and the comments made on the task/activity related to this course. Further,  exploring different websites has given me many opportunities to find better resources for my pedagogical application. I think I am doing the justice to my students by updating my knowledge with the help of this kind of courses. The course work for this week included Reading, Writing and Vocabulary Skills, Problem or issue in my class, and the creation of a technology-enhaced lesson plan.

Reading, Writing, and Vocabulary Skills: I read Mei-Ya Liang's article which included Three Extensive Reading Activities for ESL/EFL Students Using E-books.  It shows how reading skill can be focused using the internet. The activities which encourage online reading/ebook reading make the learner and the teacher a good experience with an added variety to normal pedagogy. I found that the method used here can be employed in my class to encourage my students read as well. Moreover, I explored different websites and some of them were added to my delicious. Out of the websites I explored, I found out that www.manything.com is useful. I even tried out some of the activities to different age groups. This leaves room for me to recommend the website to any teacher. After writing the ABCD objective this time I feel very confident in writing them.

Problem or Issue: I figured out a problem that I face in one of the classes I handle. That group of students is not confident in using the practical phonology related tasks. Then I thought of a solution and I planned to open a blog discussion. I hope there would be some more technology solutions for me. Also, I hope that my solution would help me in making my pupils more interactive and confident in using phonetics.

Technology-enhaced lesson plan: As Robert Elliott highlights in his article on writing a technology enhanced lesson plan, the use of technology in lessons has risks and should have a Plan B. I used to have a plan B but have never included that plan to my lesson plan. This idea of including Plan B to my lesson plan will give me more confidence.

 
Though this week was little busy I tried to find my time to the best of my ability. The biggest asset we have in front of us is our company; the colleagues who always engaged in giving valuable comments. It helps one another. All in all I really enjoyed this week as well.

Week 3

It is amazing to see the progression of the course work. With the beginning of the third week I felt that I have become a teacher thinking in different lines; more web based, technology based learning and teaching. This week objectives included;

• Discussion - Aural/Oral Skill-Building Websites
• Task - Using Delicious.com to Store Useful Links
• Project Task 2 and finally the Blog reflection.

Aural/Oral Skill-Building Websites
This week discussion based on Aural/Oral skill building gave me an insight to the two major skills. I read interesting articles and one such was based on  "New perspectives in Teaching Pronunciation" by Maria Grazia Busa` amply discusses about the applied linguistic aspects of pronunciation, how it entered the classroom with the Audio Lingual Method. There is a high demand for these two skills in my country and besides I am personally engaged in a special program launched eying on improving these two skills. Hence, I have a fair idea about onestopenglish website and was happy to join the discussion making a special reference to the very website. I read the comments made by my colleagues which enabled me to think about some other options as well. As always our course instructor Donna  facilitated us further with a new website called Voxopop.

Project Task 2
There were some sample project reports for us to follow and comment. Out of the project reports I got inspired by the project report of Nicolici Nadina Carmen which gave me an idea of what we ought to do for the project work. That work inspired me a lot. Interestingly she has discussed the concept Teacher Talking Time (TTT). Nicolici has used a blog to make her students engage themselves in reading. When reading I felt that I should consider the syllabus, the goals of the syllabus, my objectives the class strengths and weaknesses etc. All in all it gave me a good parallel learning opportunity.

Using Delicious.com to Store Useful Links
First I created a delicious account and saved very useful websites here. Until then I used to save all my links in different folders on bookmarks. Now I have the Add to delicious option as well. This in a way lead us to follow links of others and get more options. Hence, I do follow some of my colleagues and some do follow me. It is really an exciting experience.  I bookmarked some websites and out of them there are some of my favorites. The task we did for this week gave me a new experience and is something useful as well.

The work we did up to now had inspired me a lot to use more web-related teaching and learning work and I inspired my students to follow different websites as well. Still I read the first and the second week comments and I find them useful for me. Maintaining this blog is like maintaining a diary and as always I feel that it is good to reflect what we do. Week 3 gave me a novel experience and I look forward to get the work for the week ahead.
 

Week 2

I was happy to step into the second week though there were several tasks assigned to do. At first I wondered as to how I could manage my time to complete all.  Yet, managed to complete them as the necessary guidance was there. Further, I really appreciate the way the friends of this group contribute. It will always pave the way for all of us to be on the right track.

The discussion, assigned to us this week, made me to learn more about different search engines and did some reading as well. The Noodletool is a good site which was introduced and can use it where necessary in our pedagogical application. I believe I contributed to web searching discussion in a fair manner.

The ABCD objective writing was different from our way of writing. I had to read my objective several times before posting but had made a mistake. With the guidance of Donna I managed to correct it. I read other friends' objectives. Honestly, I learn a lot from peers. Luckily, the Yellow group members always contribute a lot.

It is good to commence the project work early. For the class description (the first step of the project), I selected one class where technology is used comparatively better than the other classes. I was commended for my work and it is always great and encouraging to get a feedback from Donna and all other friends. Finally, maintaining the  blog helps me to recollect the things I did during the week. I look forward to welcome week 3. 

Esala Erangi Malawithanthri - Sri Lanka

Joined  Building Teacher Skills Through the Interactive Web course on 07/04/2014.

"Nothing is impossible"

Building Teacher Skills Through the Interactive Web - Week 1

The course started on Building Teacher Skills Through the Interactive Web  on 7th April 2014 exposed me to experience learning in a different way. Though this is not my first experience in learning online, from the outset I felt that this is has a smooth flow which is very good for any learner.

Since the course commenced with a self introduction every learner got the opportunity to get to know each other. I got a fair idea about my group colleagues.  It is always good to say "Hello" to different corners of the world. Yet, it is worth mentioning that it was not a mere "Hello" but a description about oneself which enabled the members to feel how important to deal with others in this kind of a learning program.


In any learning situation discussions carried out by the learners are important. Following the very thing the course led me to join a serious discussion. I selected the things I should mention there. Further, I read comments made by the group friends too. Honestly, I felt that I am in a round table discussion. The different practices of different countries/institutions/schools etc. and the opinions, stand points of  friends encourage learning from peers. The very task made me read the ground rules and rubrics. This of course is a important part of this week topics.

Final task for 1st week which is to create a Blog is something that made me happy. I personally believe in self reflection on any act. Thus, this Blog is one such to reflect on what we did during the course of each week. Though this is not my first blog, I got a sense of responsibility in maintaining this blog.


 It is very pleasant to get comments from Donna; the course instructor with continuous course work  given step by step. I enjoy this e-learning program and feel that this would expose myself to new knowledge.