Week 8 - tired........experts :)

We hardly realize what a great part of our brain this course has occupied. Whatever I do, working on it comes first on the list. And now that I see......6 days till the project, I wonder what will occupy the niche. One thing on the agenda is a three-day crash course on this course for my colleagues:) They feel envious (in the good sense) and want to have at least part of it. The other thing I have set my heart to learn is the interactive PP - I want to master it as well as all of you! Hot Potatoes (thanks to Alex) is another thing on the list. And also the other fun-creating engines - tools for educators, and so forth.

But this week's magic is the Voiceboard in ANVILL! This is what has been missing in our distance learning and would be a great tool for all the kids living far from enthusiastic teachers. 

But anyway, at first glance ANVILL is over my head  and have to show it and discuss it with "the Master of Disasters"- our school's admin. It is really amazing how far technology can take us teachers. Yet, there are some who wouldn't even bother to learn how to enter a pasword, or attach a file. We will be literally thrown overboard if we don't keep up. My students needed three seconds to see how zunal or quia work, and the next moment they were using them for the project. 

The Project! We are working hard on it. The first quest is under way and on Monday there will be a presentation and the assessment. There is some agitation, but maybe triggered by extrinsic motivation (end-of-year grades). 

As they say, changes don't happen overnight!

Week 7 - Autonomy, Freedom, Independence, Dreams :)

This week is seemingly more relaxed - we  have less to read and less to discuss, possibly with a view to the coming project deadline. However, the issue at the core of our discussion is Learner Autonomy - can it be fostered? Is it a bird in the hand, or a bird in the sky above?And what can we do about it? I found some support here

Effective learning can take place and independence fostered when there is "... warm-hearted interaction between teachers and learners, as well as among learners themselves." Learners become independent in an atmosphere:

1. ... which encourages people to be active;
2. ... that facilitates the individual's discovery of the personal meaning of ideas;
3. ... that emphasises the uniquely personal and subjective nature of learning;
4. ... in which difference is good and desirable;
5. ... that consistently recognises the right to make mistakes;
6. ... that tolerates ambiguity;
7. ... in which evaluation is a co-operative process with emphasis on self-evaluation;
8. ... which encourages openness of self rather than concealment of self;
9. ... in which people are encouraged to trust in themselves as well as in external sources;
10. ... in which people feel they are respected;
11. ... in which people feel they are accepted;
12. ... which permits confrontation.
13. ... in which the teacher creates conditions by which he loses the teaching function.
14. ... in which instruction is carefully personalised in an attempt to meet the individual needs, interests, and abilities of students.

 

The treatise was possibly written before the advent of technologies in the classroom otherwise it would have mentioned that  in  implementing the ideas especially under items 13 and 14 a teacher has a new set of tools, i.e. the computer and specifically Internet. 

We had a very fruitful discussions on autonomy, and the use of one computer in the classroom. It is amazing to see how teachers from all parts of the world share the same concerns, students enjoy the same pranks and

suffer from the same lack of organization and willingness to  "walk the extra mile".

We are likely to be busy with our projects a lot during the following weeks. There is some agitation among the students. Not as much as I expected, but it is again a week off school and besides they have a lot of final tests to do. It is slavish work, inevitable but necessary. Compared to it, the webquests might be seen as a breath of freshness. Hopefully!!!

Extrinsic Motivation

Week six - Power Point grumbles

As soon as Donna send us the tasks, the "monster" of Power Point loomed large on the horizon! Until this week, it was my technological "pet hate", for a number of reasons. The first is the amateurish overuse that I have witnessed. It seems I am not alone because look at what I have found :)

To be honest, the bottomline is that " the way PowerPoint is used should be ditched, not the tool itself. Suggesting we abandon PowerPoint because it's often (usually?) misused and abused to produce awful presentation visuals is like saying we should dump the idea of 24-hour cable news because so much of it is vacuous rubbish. "

Anyway, this week put an end to my excuses. I need to mention that seeing the worth of the interactive buttons made the difference. And, above all, the examples posted by my course mates  had such a boosting effect. It will take a long time to master the countless shades and nusances, popping up or falling down opportunities to be able to create something that will meet the expectations of the bored (with PP) audience of  teenage experts.

Talking of them, another word loomed large as well - feedback! Always in need of motivation, as seen from the last survey . I think we speak different languages when it comes to this word. 

Or I suppose they are simply tired of being spoon-fed and expected to reproduce. I would be in their place. We had a long talk about the project, they got acquainted with Zunal WebQuest Maker and found it friendly to use. A number of my colleagues were intrigued , too, so I suggested the kids take the initiative and teach them (the teachers who do not speak English) how to use WebQuests. A group work on a web quest in any subject can transfrom the classroom and help students express themselves in a new way.

The project..........Time is ticking away and we have to get it going! Besides, we don't have classes next week because of the state exams. On Monday I will show them  some interactive PPPs (Eldin's and Katty's, most probably) to see if they have learned it in their IT lessons. A quiz done interactively can be a great final product for the project. 

To recap, Power Point has had a very powerful point this week. 

Week 5 - on a quest

Searching for the unknown is innate in human nature. We are curious to learn for not only the sake of learning, but because we need various bits of information in our daily round - e.g. how to cook lazagna, how to find a budget hostel in Paris, or  a convenient  train to Budapest, or a cheap airplane ticket to Brazil :)))

It is no wonder computer games are so popular with teenagers (and not only!) - mastering level after level, they head for the ultimate objective, whatever it is. And we do it on our own, with a clear purpose in mind, trying to be fast and efficient (Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose - the three words wrapping up our daily quests:).

Going on a quest is going on the way to discovery. Given a meaningful purpose, we can go beyond our capabilities. Now that we have the net at the tips of our fingers, we can set out on a journey to whatever realm of knowledge and pleasure we can think of.  Setting on such a journey with our students will probably be much more rewarding and meaningful that filling in blanks. But I wonder if I could make them design a journey for us to go on - to find what they like, what they value, what they dream of !?Will the fair assessment with the rubrics be able to motivate them? - I'll have to wait and see.

I was on an unforgettable trip this memorable week 5 - traditional as I am, I still value face-to-face contact, the six-sense perceptions but now I am only left with the Internet to keep contact with these nice people I see twice a year, to roam the streets of these picturesque towns. I have a number of things I need to explore about Spain, so I will have to set on a web quest before I could afford to go on a real one.

Spain is a must-visit; its people are the kindest, warmest, most straightforward people I have met. 

La Sagrada Famila from the inside (you feel shielded under the enormous tree) -  the genuis of  Gaudi