WEEK 8

Dear all,

Spectacular weeK!!!

I have enjoyed this week a lot!!! The most I liked was to “create an online course site or exercise” I experienced with Easy TestMaker and Nicenet.

Easy TestMaker was really useful, there you can design objective tests quickly with some tasks such as multiple-choice, true or false options, matching and short answers, all of these activities in one.
I consider it could help us optimize the time, furthermore in Easy TestMaker we can design classworks or extra homework with the format of the test. In my opinion USEFUL!!

Next NICENET It was really rewarding, my students enjoyed it a lot, a student told me “It was cool, now we could use more than our notebooks for writing our opinions”

It was not difficult to create the site, we have to go to Nicenet with our passwords, then click in “Create “next the system gives us a code for our students join to the class and it is done.

I feel very happy that my students use Nicenet, it is great for sharing insights, actually the name of the site is INSIGHTS.

ANVILL has been a new world full of helpful tools, the most that caught my attention was TCAST because you can record short audios or share videos in your lessons, unfortunately I cannot run the program, but I asked Jeff for some instructions I hope I can do it later. I really would like to use it.

Sharing the first draft of our Project Reports has been a nice experience because we are practicing peer-assessment, furthermore, we have to put into practice we are learning and it is good to report what we are doing and what happens to this.

I enjoyed a lot reading my partner’s project because I realized each teacher is a world worries about solving students problems, what is more worries about students learning and loving English.

Great week, isn´t it?

Ale

WEEK 7

Dear all,

Technology, pathway to new knowledge!!!

Firstly, I loved to read about autonomous learning because I realized that technology offer us many tools to improve students’ autonomy and independence, but also I understood that a teacher must organize different activities and assign homework that will push students to explore, investigate and analyze new ways of learning. As English teacher is our task teach our students inside the classroom and show them how to learn outside as it is indispensable students take learning by themselves.

Secondly, using a computer in class is really helpful because we can create many fun and interesting activities for students, having an English lab is great, but only one computer can be benefit too so as to make sure every student is paying attention to the proposed task what is more with a good lesson plan it would work really well enhancing the communicative skills.

Finally looking for a partner for sharing my project was interesting because I consider it is extremely important to hear other opinion on how to use all the new tools I am learning to benefit the educational community.

The end is near and I really appreciate what I have been learning.

Week 8… here I go!!!

Ale

WEEK 6

Dear teachers,

Marvelous week!!!

Engaging students, Power Point and Interactive classes, Meeting FORUM Editors, Creating Interactive Power Point…. Interesting, wasn’t it?

Well, the activity I enjoyed the most was Creating Interactive Power Point, I have used it but never interactive, I shared my IPP with my students on Friday and they were really motivated and excited what is more it was fun.

PP is a fantastic tool which helps teachers to create a different environment where students can learn by themselves only following some easy instructions.

Collaborative and cooperative learning, Think pair share, Types of groups was an enriching information, because it lets me realize I am not doing wrong at all and take into account what the best way of organizing my students could be now.

I like a lot to work in groups as human beings are social elements, they need to communicate each others, this communication is knowledge and knowledge is better if shared.

Finally, it is important to know that there are interesting materials as FORUM which can support our work as teachers.

Here I go week 7!!!

Ale

Begin to implement the change

Dear all,

As I had been described my principal concerns about my students are they don't know much about general culture, they do not like to read and sometimes they feel afraid of speaking, so that to strengthen these weaknesses I have considered using some web sites with interesting readings and extra exercises that will have to be sent to my mail in order to assign a grade, in this way they will work in class and at home.

We have been started with http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ , my strategy was divide the students in two groups to more productive activity. Last Friday, one group had to read "Royal wedding likely to hurt UK economy" and the other "Limits On Non-White Kids In French Football". I sent them to do three exercises which were sent to my mail. We shared our comments on monday at the end of the class. (Cooperative learning) It was a fruitful and rewarding activity because I could appreciate that they used new vocabulary learnt reading the news and I listened some interesting points of view.

This week I introduce a variation during the lab hour, within these two groups students are working in pairs (Think pair share) for reading new topics “Nissan to make future New York Taxis” and” Bin Laden photo to be release”

In their lab hour they had the opportunity to read, listen and comment the news, this weekend they have to complete their three exercises and on Monday we are going to share ideas again, but there will be other variation, I am going to choose one interesting comment and send to their mails in the afternoon so as to promote a discussion.
In this new week I would like to try other recommended web site so as to change the activities.

Ale

WEEK 5

...life is not a multiple choice test, it's an open-book essay exam.
-- Alan Blinder (Princeton)


Dear teacher,

Week full of reflections!!!!!!

Alternative assessment and PBL ..What great ways of assessing!!! I really enjoyed every single task I did, but the most I liked was to read about these ones.

As teacher in this new age, we have to promote students’ independence or autonomy and cooperative learning. These new ways of assessing doubtless will help to develop these abilities in our students furthermore we will realize what they know and how they could use it in their daily lives, what is more in realistic and communicative situations.

Meeting Carl was really nice and challenging because of his questions, I really appreciate how he made me reflect about assessment, grades, memorization and other important topics, and I discovered that using Rubrics in Alternative Assessment could be the solution for the endless problem of scores.

Taking about solutions to my concerns using Technology helped me to think how to use my new knowledge so as to introduce my students in a new world full of extraordinary experiences and extremely useful tools which can enrich not only their culture but also their understanding about the current world.

I was speechless when I browsed Web Quests. It was my first time I have seen such a fantastic learning assistants !!! I was experimenting through this tool and for sure I am going to use it.

What can I say?… I love to be here!!!

Ale