Week 7: The Bane or ...Boon

One -Computer Classroom has been one of the issues we discussed this week.I think many of our classes is typical of that technology.It used to create a difficulty and a challenge for some of us .after reading the different articles I come to discover that such a class is no longer the bane....it could be a boon,depending on why and how you will make use of it.





Another significant issue during this week,which has generated a great deal of discussion, is Learner Autonomy.The so informative articles have shed light on the contributing factors that relate to this 'term',from the variety of definitions allocated to this phrase,going through the philosophies of learning , learning styles and strategies and how such learning can be promoted.Read here amazing article about Learner Autonomy.

The more knowledge I gain from this course,the more ideas I get regarding my project,the one I intend to run with my ICT students.The variety of resources,articles and amazing tools and websites I have been introduced to contributed a lot to the designing of my project.I've stared to gain insight what I'm doing and what to be done in order to write the draft which would e reviewed with my peers (Yuliya-Nur),another thing I did during this week.

Week 6 ; Dynamic and full of Magic

During this fantastic week we have gone through variety of tools and experiences.Reading the so informative articles I come to realize a lot about creating a more lively and dynamic classes using many techniques and strategies.Among these is The (THINK-PAIR-SHARE) technique which would create a collaborative environment for my students.Another example is the called Just in Time Teaching(JITT) which I will be trying with my students as well.

The use of Powerpoint,as many of my classmates has mentioned ,might not be new to most of us,but what is really new are the ways and methods that I can use to create an interactive lecture with it.The amazing sites provided,I believe would enrich our language class .I tried to use them to create PPT,however I failed due to some technical difficulties(I created a prezi,but couldn't be saved.I almost cried).I succeded to do with Google Document ,another great tool.

WRITING POWERPOINT

View more PowerPoint from Andrew Schwartz

The project I would like to initiate with my ICT students,who have some writing problems,in addition to the insufficient time in class,is creating a blog,to help investigate and devise certain strategies to overcome this problem.The ways I have come across during this week would definitely help me engage my students in the process of learning without which I think teaching wouldn't be effective.The blog would help as a platform for my students to post their writings,reviweing their peers' comments .As a teacher I would be given a greater opportunity to trace my students writings and provide the instant feedback to help them pinpoint their deficiency and let them remedy their mistakes.

I would encourage my students to keep a kind of e- journal or diary for their reflections on what they have done,what didn't really work for them and what they intend to to do during the course.This would help me diagnose more closely the cause of the problem and let them find out the good/bad habits of writing they developed ,whether consciously or subconsciously.

Week 5: The Hunt

It's been a really amazing,challenging week.I have gone through different learning experiences,starting with the most fantastic experience,which is WEBQUESTS( I'd like to call WEBHUNT),pursuing knowledge through a magnificent ,and fun search tool,exposing our students to new worlds .
Another learning experience has been PBL,a kind of projects which will enforce and enhance our students,critical thinking skills like problem -solving,collaboration,evaluation.....etc.One of the international kind of such projects is e-pal and Tandem Learning.Here I found a great slide about PBL:

Project Based Learning

View more PowerPoint from Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach

Week 4: A Real Treasure

It's true to say that we have come to the end of Week 4 ,but it's also true that it's just the beginning of a new ,amazing travel around the world. a virtual one that makes everything as much closer as I've never dreamed of.The knowledge I gained so far is really beyond words and the flow of links seems to be non-stop.I will always be thankful to this great opportunity.

I have been exposed to different reading/writing websites during this magnificent week.To be honest I know very few of them,but most of them I wasn't aware that they exist.So I'm grateful to my tutors and classmates as well.

I'd like,here to share more sites for creative writing,hoping that you all enjoy using them.One of these is Five Card Flickr: http://5card.cogdogblog.com/index.php

Another one is Writeboard (collaborative): http://writeboard.com/