Week 10: Farewell ...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Finally, we are at the end of our online thread. This great experience is impressively sealed in my memory. This course convinces me that the Internet accessing definitely motivates our students to be autonomous learners. However, this should be under teacher guides.   From the starting point to the end of this course, I have learned many things useful for my educational career and I’m ready to transfer them to students and teachers.

I consider all of what I have learned from this course meaningful source for teachers of English. Therefore, if teachers applied the source to their teaching, I believe, students would pay more attention to language learning.

By the way, can I leave some suggestion for newcomers? Firstly, you have to be determined or set your goal and try to be there. You might encounter difficult issues which you have to spend more time on reading or difficult technical problems. Ask for helps from your instructor or classmates.  Don’t be hesitated because they will obstruct you to move on other steps. Secondly, you have to manage your time. Don’t forget that you not only have the online course but also regular work. We have to balance both of the things so you need to prioritize your tasks. Definitely, you have to increase your working time at home and take less sleeping time. Lastly, tell people around you what you are doing. This is for better understanding between you and them. Sometimes, you need private corner to study and cannot socialize with your colleague.

Without Oregon university support, I would have been a teacher with traditional teaching and would not have realized how technology encourages language teaching. I would like to thank Robert, our supervisor for your understanding various distant learners and hard work; Jeff Magoto and Deborah, our guest moderators, for sharing ideas and encouraging comments on our posts; and my classmates for great sharing and accompanying me to stand at this point. If possible, I would like all of teachers of English in my country experience such valuable experience.  

All of my best to you all,

Moo

Week 9: Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles and learning Strategies

All of us might have similar feeling as I do that it seems incredible that we are at this time: week 9 of my great experience of online course, nearly the end of our online thread… Unlike the assignment from previous weeks, this week assignment focuses on the educational psychology. Not only did I spend time over reading the articles assigned, for more understanding I have watched video clips concerning the topics of multiple intelligences, learning styles, and learning strategies.

The articles we have read do not directly deal with technologies but what we have learned this week i.e. multiple intelligences, learning styles, learning strategies, and 5Cs learning strategies are indispensible components affecting effective language learning. This inspires me to give more attention to each individual student.  Montgomery and Groat (Student learning styles and their implications for learnings) told many reasons of using learning styles for their teaching. One of them is that they might get equal satisfaction from attempting to consider student learning styles as researchers take great pride from launching substantive innovations in their fields. I do agree that pride is a valuable reward and I would like to touch such a pride.  

Many learning strategies are provided in the Sailing the 5 Cs with Learning Strategies by National Capital Language Resource Center:  Center for Applied Linguistics of The George Washington University and Georgetown University. Even though the strategies are provided for secondary school students but I think teachers at other levels can exploit them. Unfortunately, I cannot remember all but it is there and I regard it as a great source for implementing the strategies for our teaching.

I cannot say more but would like to say in short that to meet the ultimate goal of language learning, teachers and students should cooperate in learning process, basically, with teacher understanding their students.

Best,

Moo

Week 8: Teacher Resources Online

This week, I extremely appreciate the overwhelming websites suggested.  I would like to express my great thank to our guest moderator this week, Jeff Magoto, director of the University of Oregon's Yamada Language Center who introduces ANVILL (https://anvill.uoregon.edu/anvill2/) which broadens my language perspectives including assessment tool, voiceboard. I have never experienced such the program. I spent many hours surveying and could not help comparing the centre to that at my university. ANVILL is indeed virtual language self-access center. Students there are very lucky having opportunities to use well-designed programs. Apart from the astonishment, I also gain much more benefits such as making exercises to use online or offline on a computer or to print out; making exercises online to use online; or how to create Nicenet and Blog class. Besides, I could make bingo and board games, matching from http://www.toolsforeducators.com/, the website we can make exercises online to print out.

This semester, I also teach the 5^th year student majoring English in Education faculty. They had a teaching apprenticeship last semester. When I asked them to access the site mentioned above, they said if possible they would like to come back to the schools they had been the apprentice.

http://www.easytestmaker.com/default.aspx is very useful and practical for teachers. I like the way I can make ‘filling blanks’ test without leaving space for filling. I just place [  ] around the words to be left. The result was found like we manually left the words ourselves. It is very convenient.

In relation to making exercises online to use online, I could make a poster from http://wizard.4teachers.org/ . I have learned this by trial and error. At last, I could do it. I have learned how to insert a picture in the poster. It will be found when you access http://poster.4teachers.org/view/poster.php?poster_id=399577.

With this regard, I have an idea to ask my students to produce posters on purpose. Moreover, their peers can give comments on the poster in Nicenet class.

Shortly, if websites suggested this week were disseminated to teachers of English, I believe, not only would students give more attention to language learning, teachers would be proud that they could produce their instructional material which serve lessons they teach and student needs.

Best,

Moo

Week 7: Learner Autonomy and the One-computer Classroom

This week our focal issues fall on ‘Learner Autonomy and the One-computer Classroom’  which have been discussed widely  among our group. The issues assigned every week are definitely valuable for us, teachers of English or those who teach other languages. Our students should be encouraged to be autonomous learners because our world has been changing with information technologies. They should be exposed to the information themselves under their teacher guidance.

Thanasoulas’ article provided me deliberated detailed information concerning ‘Learner Autonomy’ even though he states that there are some pieces involved missing.

With regard to the definition of ‘Learner Autonomy’, as Thanasoulas (http://iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Autonomy.html) stated, the relevant literature is riddled with innumerable definitions of autonomy, I do agree with Holec’s definition (1981, 1983, cited in Thanasoulas) that 'the ability to take charge of one's learning' and ‘the learner's willingness and capacity to control or oversee her own learning’. If I were asked to define the term I might do it shortly as ‘learning to learn’. This is in line with Holec’ s suggestion in that autonomy is a process, not a product. Whit this regard, I think it should be ongoing or lifelong process.

Some part of the article provides me with new perspective ,that is, constructivism view positing that knowledge cannot be taught but only learned because knowledge is something 'built up by the learner' (Candy, 1991, cited in Thanasoulas) . Therefore, to encourage our students gain more knowledge or experience, learner autonomy must be promoted.

One-computer Classroom is the other interesting and practical issue. Strategies and applications for the One-computer Classroom are suggested. Tons of activities are demonstrated when I access the websites suggested by Robert. For instance, ESL Activities for the One Computer Classroom (S.Gaer): Word-Processing Ideas (http://www.susangaer.com/sgaer/onecomputer/wordprocessing.html ) and Internet ideas (http://www.susangaer.com/sgaer/onecomputer/internet.html)

The sites give me a thrill to see hundreds of activities which can be done via Word-Processor or adapted from accessing the Internet. Without any doubt, we can regard a computer as a great teacher assistant  in a classroom.

Apart from the two main issues I have learned this week, I also get the answer I have tried to find for a couple months since my computer was installed Office Word 2007. Where is the Auto Summarize tab on the menu bar? Technology Tip of the Month: Microsoft Word and PowerPoint in the Classroom by Deborah Healey reveals the answer to me. It is about ‘Auto Summarize’. If I had not downloaded PDF that explains how to have the tool available on the quick access toolbar, I would have been stuck on the question. Thank you Deborah for your tip making my job easier…

Best,

Moo

Week 6: Creating Student-centered Classes and Interactive PowerPoint

This week assignment makes me realize how technology is important in large classes. We are introduced two topics- Creating Student-centered Classes and Interactive PowerPoint (PPT) and have Donna Shaw as our guest. I do like her constructive comment on our PPT. According to Felder’s article: Beating the Numbers Game: Effective Teaching in Large Classes (http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/Largeclasses.htm), I have learned many things such as in-class exercise techniques, how to form a group for out-of-class assignments, and miscellaneous ideas useful for teaching practice. 

Regarding PPT, I have never used it in my teaching so I can gain applicable benefits from this week task through Top 10 Slide Tips - basic information about making a better presentation (http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html), YouTube video showing how to create interactive PowerPoint: Making a Jeopardy game and Using PowerPoint to Make an Interactive Story (http://www.microsoft.com/education/story.mspx). Having practiced creating PPT, I have found out that PPT is easier and more efficient to prepare instructional materials than is word processor. This week I have created two power point documents for my students and tried out using three techniques-concept test, blank slide, and rapid reflection.  It was found that they could help the students remember vocabulary and I could check their understanding more conveniently and rapidly. Apart from this, it seemed that the students were more willing to choose the correct answer from the screen. Can I claim that PPT increases the students’ attention in learning process?

Best,

Moo

Week 5: Wonderful Web Quests

Hi all,

The more I learn the more I realize the benefit of making use of technology for instruction. I have talked with my colleagues about Web Quests and Rubrics. No one knows about the former but some know some of the latter. However they do not know that we can create the rubrics through websites contributing assistance in doing so. Since I am very new to Web Quests, video clips pertaining Web Quests help me a lot to understand what it is, what 6 common attributes of it are and why we should use it. In my context, I think using Web Quests searched through the Internet is suitable for the time being because it takes time to create our own. However, this could be our project in the future.

I, accidentally, met a secondary school teacher talking with him about using technology for language teaching and I told him what I have learned from this course and what technology I am using now. He has been interested and would like me to introduce it to his friends in English program. Next week, on Thursday evening, I will informally visit the secondary school for a couple of hours and hopefully I have something to share with you. Even though I am not a technology expert, I feel happy to share what I know with others.

Last week, the second week of semester 2, was my starting step using technology in classes. The problem I encountered deals with equipments provided in the teaching rooms. The computers have been used for many years when they were connected to the Internet, they processed very slowly. I solved the problem by taking my own computer to class but it was not compatible with the projector so next week I plan to borrow one from the university computer center.

In my freshman classes, through the projector, I demonstrated how to use CD dictionary to my students, showed them how to access a website concerning computer tutorial. They were enjoying the lesson because they could listen to native speakers and read subscript. In addition, they could interact with the lesson if they access the Internet themselves. To follow up the class activity, I had them extract 20 sentences from the subscript they read and translate into Thai. 

For the senior students in Education program, I encouraged them to use technology for their future career by forwarding my favorite websites collected on delicious resource and suggested them to register delicious.com for their own website collection. One thing I have learned from this class is that many of them are better at technology than me. In other words, we learn from each other. Can this be called cooperative learning?

Best,

Moo

Week 4: Technology Enhanced Lesson Plans

Hi everyone, 

How have you been? This week we have read articles mostly dealing with benefits of using technology for instruction. The most important is we have to write a technology-enhanced lesson plan. Let me honestly tell you that we have never written lesson plans at our university; I learned how to write lesson plans when I was a university student. Actually, we do have lesson plans but they are the intrinsic ones, in our mind and we do not need to submit the plans to the university academic section. We know what we are going to do in a class because we have relied on course descriptions which we have to set contents accordingly. Mostly, we are encouraged to produce instructional materials by ourselves. Personally, the material quality cannot be compared to commercial ones but ours suit the students. 

The lesson plan model of the University of Tennessee directs me to be more professional in my career. My technology-enhanced lesson plan proposed in nicenet might not be best because I have never used the Internet for my teaching. However, it is my first step for further plans. I do agree that planning the instruction is much more difficult than delivering the instruction as mentioned in "Lesson plans" from the Innovative Technology Center at the University of Tennessee http://edtech.tennessee.edu/~bobannon/lesson_plan.html

I think the new generation of teacher of English should take technology-enhanced lesson plan into consideration since they are surrounded with technologies. Perhaps they can easily apply them to language instruction. What do you think?

Best,

Moo

Week 3: Delicious !!!

Dear all,

It is very nice to share my reflection of what we have learned in week III with all of you again. I do realize that we as language teachers in the era of technology have to inevitably rely on CALL. This week, I learn a lot from the websites suggested by Robert and my classmates. I can be able to create my own Delicious site: delicious.com/panidatasee to keep my favorite webs, learned about new perspective in teaching pronunciation, and known how computers are used to improve language learners’ four skill. 

Following the instruction of creating Delicious site is not difficult. However, I missed  one point. That is, I used a space bar when naming tags. Consequently, I had separated tags so I had to go backward to combine the words into one; I always learn from my mistakes! To me, the Delicious site is now like the big door of a house leading to other rooms.

Regarding sharing bookmarks among group members or social bookmarking, you all have numerous interesting and useful bookmarks.  After having surveyed some of your Delicious sites, I tried some and found that they fascinate me to go further to other topics in the same site. However, using Delicious site helps me store my online finds and I am able to access the desired sites more rapidly. In addition, my students and my colleagues can share their favourite websites with me. I think this could promote learning atmosphere and rapport between teachers and students.

One more point I would like to share with you is that I am concerning with my students’ computer use. In class, we can set things for them to follow but we cannot do that when they are out of class. I am afraid that they might be virtual Internet surfer and might lose their studying track. At my university, some students failed in their studying because they exceeded the Internet games. With this respect, teachers play an important role.

Best,

Moo

Students Blog ^0^

Charbel www.charbeltadros.blogspot.com
Andhika www.andhikakurniawati.blogspot.com
Rahmat http://ryedutech.blogspot.com
Shakhnoza http://webskillshahnoza.blogspot.com/
Nada http://nadaelsoufi.blogspot.com/
Carol http://carolina-ortiz-ruffinelli.blogspot.com/
Irina http://irina-rumyantseva.blogspot.com/
Hassan http://hassanrahmeh.blogspot.com/
Eugenie http://eugeniewebskillcourses.blogspot.com/
Cecilia http://arriagada-cecilia2010.blogspot.com/
Moo http://arjaanmoo.blogspot.com/
Yudi http://milleniasetia.blogspot.com/
Perizat www.perizat-astana.blogspot.com
Nourit http://englishworldwidenet.blogspot.com/
Francis    http://francismbatia.blogspot.com
Maria S. http://maryhelentheteacher.blogspot.com/
Andrea http://lookinginsideforabetteroutside.blogspot.com/
Tony http://www.vaialabeachside.blogonize.com/
Hala http://technoenglishusers.blogspot.com/
Ola  http://olasabagh.edublogs.org
Georg http://gjacquelinuo2010.blogspot.com
Margarita http://margaritawebskills2010.blogspot.com/

Week II: Reflection

What I have learned and could be applied to my students are as follows:
Before teaching, it would be great if a teacher and students can set agreements together. This can direct them to the same destination.

Telling students to read instruction or direction carefully before doing tasks or else they may redo them and this would waste time. Don’t jump into conclusion because when we missed some steps of the instruction, our work will not be like as expected.

Suggesting students to relax themselves in case they get obstacles. After taking some time to finish assignments and you still cannot do it, stop doing for a while and come back to it later. Sometimes helps from other people are needed.

Having reviewed Bloom’s Taxonomy, I gain more confidence in creating my learning plan for the next semester. In my department, we have never seriously discussed about how to write the learning objectives. What we do is just following the previous ones produced by other teachers which need further improvement for my instruction and students’ efficient learning. I will start by proposing the topic of writing objectives to my colleagues as one of my department meeting issues. It is more likely that they would be enthusiastic especially teachers with less teaching experience.

According to the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, verbs suggested to use for writing learning objected, it appears that some words can be used for two levels, i.e. ‘summarize’ and ‘conclude’. The former is suggested to use for the level of understanding while the latter for applying and evaluating levels. Personally, both of the written verbs suggested have the same meaning and they should be used for the level of applying because students have to implement the information they learned for a new work. As noted on objective writing, affective objectives are difficult to write and assess; however, they are essential in my context because the affective domain is emphasized when students study general courses. We would like them to learn happily and be good citizen. Therefore, if there are some written verbs illustrated, it would be helpful.

Best,

Moo