Week 8- Something for you...

This is a "full" week... I must finish my project draft by midnight Oregon time and I am so worried about the outcome... But...among all this, I've read a very interesting article for teachers which is closely related to what we are doing in this course! I thought that you would like it as well. So, here it is! Enjoy!
http://www.teachhub.com/teacher-reflections

Week 7- Bye-bye

This week has made me really happy as it has shown to me (once more) that teachers cannot be substituted. They are, and always be, responsible for a child's learning. What I WILL definitely remember from this week's readings is the fact that learner autonomy goes hand-in-hand with teacher autonomy. So, we, teachers NEED to change our course of teaching so as to autonomize our learners. It may be hard but it's certainly worth the effort as it will produce the best for us (professional development) and our students (taking on a more active role in their education).
 I, also, enjoyed reading the ideas provided by my colleagues for a one-computer classroom. Since funds are really low in Greece nowadays, I believe I can still work miracles! I, also, "remembered" the idea of "learning stations" (I got familiar with it in another course with UMBC) and I find it a great tool to promote learner autonomy. My only wish: my OWN classroom where I would have my computer, my projector and my learning station...
 Next week will be really difficult as I have to a lot of work with my draft... Let's hope for the best.
I would like to finish my post with a great video about "learning stations" ("literacy centers" here). Feel free to get and implement some of its great suggestions!

Week 7- Autonomy:a student's/teacher's need

This week has been really difficult for me (for personal reasons) that's why I am late in posting my first comment. Anyway! Here I am now, ready to "think" of what I have done so far!

 Week 7 has proved really fruitful in terms of reading, discussions and "homework" (athough mine is not completed yet!). Today I would like to comment on Sheu's article (http://coyote.miyazaki-mu.ac.jp/learnerdev/LLE/8.1/sheuE.html). To begin with, learning autonomy of learner or teacher depends more on the teaching system as a whole rather than on an individual teaching situation in terms of readiness and practicability. I couldn't find better words to describe the existing situation in Greece. The Greek Ministry of Education has provided us teachers of English with coursebooks which have to be finished (at least 80% of them) by the end of the school year, leaving us no "room" to move freely. Sheu, also, refers to the compulsive situation with examinations in order to get a certificate of English which has made every learner of English gasp for breath. Learners see English as something coercive, as a means to an end: a certificate. Teachers, on the other hand, are pressed for good results as this will give them and the institution they work at extra "respect" and prestige, and more and more "clients" will keep coming. This ends in a vicious circle: Nobody sees the "magic" of learning a foreign language, which implies learning a new civilization, listening to a foreign accent etc. Both students and teachers work towards this end... That's why autonomy is desirable and necessary. Learners need to be taught how to work alone, how to do research. They need to be aware of their leaning styles and weaknesses, so as to improve them and learn faster and more efficiently.  However, teachers (including myself) do not fear: "...learner autonomy does not mean that the teacher becomes redundant, abdicating his/her control over what is transpiring in the language learning process" (Thanasoulas, http://iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Autonomy.html).  The teacher's role gains even more importance, as it is s/he who will lead the learner towards autonomy. It is the teacher first who must become autonomous in order to facilitate his/her learners "autonomization". 

 Autonomy is an ongoing process. We are not born with it but rather learn how to achieve it. Teachers have to abdicate the role of the simple instructor and adopt that of the facilitator. This does not mean in any way that they become redundant. On the contrary, their role becomes more important in the learning process. Times change. Why should we stay still??    

Week 6- Time to...breathe!!

I must admit that this week has been really stressful for me in terms of reading (there were so many different websites and each one of them had different "branches" that I was lost on the way!!) and in therms of "homework" as I had never created an interactive PPT before. However, after watching the tutorial video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgPO-agnnMk) and did some reading I managed to create something which I really enjoyed and I guess my students would feel the same!
 As for the dicussion on Nicenet, I couldn't but feel amazed at how often my e-classmates use the PPT to either instruct, or revise or interact with their students. I guess I must start using my knowledge on technological tools a bit more often. My only obstacle: not all schools and classrooms are equipped with even the necessary: a projector and a computer. So, it all boils down to where I will be teaching next year to see what I will be able to use!! I will just go on grabbing any opportunity I have in order to learn, to advance professionally and to improve my teaching!

Week 6- OMG!!!

I still can't fully realize the amount and the wealth of information which exists in this week. I must "delicious" so many interesting and helpful websites... So, Interactive PPTs for this week... Another way to keep your students' eyes and ears on you and your topic. As I've already said in one of my comments to a blog, I don't know whether a class with 25 students (the maximum) can be considered as "large". "Large classes" brings to my mind University lectures... Still, I enjoyed and found particularly useful the Additional resources on teaching large classes, namely the summary of 36 formats (http://www.thiagi.com/interactive-lectures.html) and how to give interactive lectures (http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/interactive/howto.html). Great tips... The second website offers a very good definition of the term "interactive lecture" as well: "Interactive lectures are classes in which the instructor incorporates engagement triggers and breaks the lecture at least once per class to have students participate in an activity that lets them work directly with the material. The engagement triggers capture and maintain student attention and the interactive lecture techniques allow students to apply what they have learned or give them a context for upcoming lecture material". 

Now comes the challenge for me... I've NEVER created an interactive PPT... And that's why I am late in uploading it... I am reading how to do it step by step and I hope I will have mede it by tomorrow... Until then... well, good luck!!!

Week 5- To conclude...

Here's the end of week 5... For me, it was quite stressful as new tools have appeared and explained to us. Creating a rubric was easy after all, but at the beginning I couldn't NOT panic as it was my first one and I didn't really know what to assess.
 As for the Webquest, I must admit that I haven't been a good student as I haven't created one, yet... You see, I want to think of an interesting and motivating topic for my students and since I am on maternity leaveI cannot just got to school and ask them!! Anyway! I am sure I will come up with something really interesting!
I must admit that no matter how "terrified" I am for the coming weeks, I can't wait to see what's next for us!!
  To conclude this weeks' posts, I would like to wish to all mothers of this course....
                 HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!
This video is dedicated to us... It's a funny song, but summarizes a mum's life!! (By the way, I am a proud mother of 3 lovely kids!!!)   Enjoy!!!

Week 5 - It's getting better....

When I first saw what we had to read about and work on in Week 5, I felt like screaming....I thought it was too much to understand and too little time. However, after having done most of my reading, I already started feeling a bit "wiser", a step ahead of the other colleagues of mine who are not doing this course. Soon, I started feeling much better and much more optimistic about the work I had to do...
I must admit I've never used rubrics so far... I've come to realize now, though, their importance as to the students' understanding of what they have to do in order to get the highest mark possible, and to my assessing them in a clearer, more objective way. So, it goes without saying that I consider Rubistar a great helper!! I can't wait to create my first rubric... Very helpful information can be found at: http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm. It may take me some time but I will, eventually, make it!
   Alternative assessment: I have definitely understood the way the alternative assessment works... I must admit that I like it a lot! Still...I am not sure if I am trained and experienced enough to use it properly... To what extent should I use it and starting from which grade at school? Portfolios are a good way to prove to students themselves, to their parents and to us, teachers, that we have managed to help them acquire a piece of knowledge... But how much training do our students need (and we, as well) in order to start and efficiently use the alternative ways of assessment?
   PBL/ WebQuests: I LOVED the original WebQuest page (http://www.webquest.org/index.php) as it contains valuable information for WebQuest beginners! Simple questions such as: "What is a WebQuest"? "How do I create one"? etc. are answered in a straightforward and clear way! I may be feeling a bit stressed, though, as to what kind of a WebQuest I will create but...only time will tell! I, also, had a look at Vicky's WebQuest made on http://www.zunal.com/ and I realised that it is a great tool which allows you to create neat and tidy WebQuests! Needless to say the importance and the benefits of project-based learning (part of which is a WebQuest). In Greece, interest towards projects started 3-4 years ago and a lot of events and online seminars have been organized with the view to training more and more teachers.
   Our work is getting harder and more demanding week after week... But, at the same time, it's becoming more challenging and interesting!!
       "It's darkest before dawn"!!! Heads up, faces lit up by a smile!!

                                             
                                                          

Week 4- Let me introduce you the...

This is,officially, the end of Week 4, which was quite hard for me ( I guess there are more "harsdhips" to come) and, also, fruitful in terms of work, discussions and websites. Just a note: the link which I loved as soons as I read about (www.marlo.com/card.htm) seems to be "out of order". I guess I will have to look for a similar website myself.
 And to finish this week's posts, and since we discussed reading and writing, let me introduce you...the book!!
    Enjoy!!

Week 4- Worries...

A few minutes ago I managed to upload my technology-based lesson plan... I am wondering how I did... Wanting to do something different in my class, I believe that sometimes I go too far and I can't see the actual goal of doing the particular lesson, or that I, at least, have a vague idea... The ABCD objectives is still a hard tool for me to implement... You have to be precise, and to the point. And, at the same time, I can't help feeling jealousy and admiration for my classmates for their exceptional and well-integrated lesson plans..
 Tomorrow, I will have to put in Delicious stacks all my favourite and newly-learnt websites. Well, no matter how hard I work, I firmly believe that this course is worth the effort. 

Week 4- Help them read and write...

Week 4 has started for me with some enlightening articles concerning reading and writing in the FL classroom, skills which I consider hard to make your students like.
Dill's "How to write an Integrated Lesson" was really a good basis in order to start using technology in  my classes. She made it clear that defining the objectives of your lesson each time is extremely important in order to have a clearer picture as to what technological "tools" you will use towards this end. Also, we should bear in mind that teaching the desired language chunk and the the technology objective must be at the same time so as students see how these two are interrelated. I, also, enjoyed reading Constantinescu's aricle on the benefits of online readers compared to conventional books. Being "supplied" with multimedia glosses, the first help students to learn and retain in their memory more words and love reading more than the latter. Constantinescu,also, re-stresses and reminds the importance of teachers' knowledge of the existing of technological tools, as well, as the meed to keep themselves updated with anything new that comes up in education.
However, what was really something different for me, and really useful, was Krajka's article concerning writing teaching tips. The author has suggested a very interesting book for off-line teaching of the writing genres and, also, 2 really handy (for me) sites, www.marlo.com/card.htm (which my students will love because they will find reason to send postcards to each other) and www.eun.org (where I can find key pals -this term I had never heard of before!- transforming in this way the need for writing a student's need indeed, since s/he will want to communicate with his/her new friend!
"Recency" and "immediacy" were 2 terms stressed by all writers as  key elements for students actually wanting to read about something which has happened in the times they live and not in the past. And, again, there are sooooo many interesting sites to choose from in order to help your students read and write more.... There's more to come in my next post....