Week 1 "A great starting"

This is a photo of my high school students. I appreciate them a lot.

I am really happy about this week, it has been extremely productive for me, and the most important thing is I am enjoying the online course so much because I am learning how to use Technology for motivating myself and my students in the wonderful learning process.

I want to share with you something special that is happening to me every night since I started the course. Well, I go bed and I am thinking and visualizing, listening and feeling the topics I studied and read during the day, suddenly I am dreaming and in my dreams I am talking to the, teachers, about our different points of view. It was strange for me in the beginning, but now it is natural and I like it because I guess this is the way how my brain processes and stores the new information. What is your opinion about this fact? I would like to read your comments.

This week I enjoyed reading my colleagues’ introductions and I realized they are smart and creative teachers. Good for their students!!! In my classes when I start a level I use to create a friendly environment making my students using positive qualities in their introductions. I think it works because it had given me good results.

It was interesting to learn how setting rules in the classroom obeys to some cultural backgrounds, anyway, everywhere the teachers have to establish clear instructions since the beginning for avoiding future problems, so let’s go teachers we have to continue being patient and understanding with our students: children, teens or adults.

The most exciting thing for me during this week was creating a blog. Now I am using it for reflecting purposes, lovely!!! I can not deny I had few problems when I tried to attach the video but clicking here and there I got it. I am going to use blogs with my students in the University for grading writing skills. I want them to create something like a week journal. I am sure it will be fun, motivating and interesting for them.

It was fantastic to learn about goggle maps as an extra tool in projects, I am going to use it with my students in high school because next unit they have to learn about countries and cultures around the world, so I think it will make the class more vivid. I know they are going to use it for looking for their houses, but I will give them extra minutes at the end of the class for enjoying the new tool. I can see their faces!!! Full of exhilaration!!!

One important new resource was Nicenet, doubtless, It lets people share their experiences and different opinions about a topic. It is an attractive tool for students, in my high school in the English lab there is a similar option that lets them share information during the class, so I have to continue using it, obviously this activity needs a lot monitoring, but it is worth doing.

To sum up, this week was fruitful and dynamic. I hope that everybody had enjoyed the new knowledge.

Ready for Week 2!!!

Ale