I must say that throughout this course I've learned things no other training course or workshop has ever provided me with before. I met people from, almost, all over the globe and it has been so much fun learning about other students in other cultures/countries.
The topics discussed and investigated were all of great importance to any language teacher; starting from the formulation of behavioral objectives to the learning styles and connection to technology. If I were to talk about one best topic, for me, then it would be the project-based learning. I have been first introduced to this topic through this course and it felt like I have come across a great invention! I have always been wondering what other techniques and methods can be utilized to substitute the current assessment and evaluation system followed in Kuwait. I read a lot about it and I collected all the info my colleagues mentioned so as to make the best out of this experience!
I also LOVE Padlet. It feels like my own whiteboard has been "virutually" extended and students and I can write on it anything, anytime, anywhere! It can be used for so many purposes like; debating, sequencing, time-lining, to teach vocabulary and other skills. I'm sure my students will enjoy working with Padlet and I just can't wait to introduce the tool to them.
All in all, it was a great experience. I don't think there's anything I'd add to the course as all important topics have been covered. I just wish there was an instant chat option where we could discuss things live!
I'm glad I'm "graduating". This course took me way back to the time when I was a student myself and it felt really good!
Thank you so much Donna for the great assistance and help. You've been extremely understanding and supportive. The feedback you provided kept me going and it was a push that helped me continue though at some point in time I almost felt like giving up. It was hard to catch up as I have a LOT of responsibilities at hand but hey! I'm done! and I did it! Thanks to you :)
I also would like to thank all my colleagues for their fruitful feedback and insightful posts. I thank Adriano my partner in crime :) for reviewing my work and helping me perfect it. Mucho gracias, amigo!
If anybody is interested in following me in twitter then my account is: @MsWRashid
and my instagram account is: @mswraf
Have a wonderful life everybody!
Wadha,
Kuwait
Friday, June 13, 2014
Friday, June 6, 2014
Final Project SUBMITTED! (Week 9)
My oh my! This week has been by far the busiest for me to the extent that I've lost the sense of time. BUT it was also a very productive one!
After working on my draft project report, I have submitted it to my colleague, Adriano, who did a very good job in reviewing it. He drew my attention to few points that I've missed which is an excellent thing as I like my work to be always PERFECTO!
I, too, went through Adriano's report and I wasn't surprised that it was a great one. I used to the checklist provided to follow-up his work and review it. I went through it item by item and offered my own help and comments which I hope he'd make use of. It was really a pleasure to work with Adriano and , of course, the rest of the group.
While writing my project I was trying my best to explain to whoever is going to read it and make use of it how the whole project came to life, what points to consider, and what problems to anticipate. I am really optimistic about it and I already know that my students loved and enjoyed working on it. I received nothing but positive feedback and the whole experience was nothing but heartening.
I plan this week on saving all the material proposed by Donna and my colleagues as I know I will be needing them for future projects. I will save all links to my delicious page!
On Nicenet we had a discussion on the different learning styles and the use of technology. A guest instructor Mr. Jeff Magoto has introduced a new technology tool, namely ANVILL and a whole webinar will be conducted to explain to us how it can be best utilized. and I just can't wait!
Wadha
After working on my draft project report, I have submitted it to my colleague, Adriano, who did a very good job in reviewing it. He drew my attention to few points that I've missed which is an excellent thing as I like my work to be always PERFECTO!
I, too, went through Adriano's report and I wasn't surprised that it was a great one. I used to the checklist provided to follow-up his work and review it. I went through it item by item and offered my own help and comments which I hope he'd make use of. It was really a pleasure to work with Adriano and , of course, the rest of the group.
While writing my project I was trying my best to explain to whoever is going to read it and make use of it how the whole project came to life, what points to consider, and what problems to anticipate. I am really optimistic about it and I already know that my students loved and enjoyed working on it. I received nothing but positive feedback and the whole experience was nothing but heartening.
I plan this week on saving all the material proposed by Donna and my colleagues as I know I will be needing them for future projects. I will save all links to my delicious page!
On Nicenet we had a discussion on the different learning styles and the use of technology. A guest instructor Mr. Jeff Magoto has introduced a new technology tool, namely ANVILL and a whole webinar will be conducted to explain to us how it can be best utilized. and I just can't wait!
Wadha
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Closing Time ... (Week 8)
The countdown has started and we're less the 10 years away from "graduation"? I'm extremely happy that I reached this point in time with this sum of information and knowledge. The feelings I had prior to joining this course are nothing compared to what I feel now.
This week Adriano (from Spain) and I exchanged our draft projects. We currently are editing them and preparing the feedback for each other. The process is going smoothly and things are working out just fine.
I also prepared a Padlet for my students to help them prepare for a balloon debate. It can be found here! The idea is that we're 26 famous characters in a balloon that is falling down. Each student (character) should justify the importance of his/her presence in that balloon. Characters are disqualified if their speeches/arguments are not appreciated or voted for by the rest of the class.
And speaking of debates remember this episode? (Mind your Language)
Well, compared to the video, it's easier now, using Padlet, to introduce the concept of balloon debate and the helpful language and terminology to be used. Students can be well prepared before hand. It fosters independent learning and helps strengthen their autonomy.
Warm regards,
Wadha
This week Adriano (from Spain) and I exchanged our draft projects. We currently are editing them and preparing the feedback for each other. The process is going smoothly and things are working out just fine.
I also prepared a Padlet for my students to help them prepare for a balloon debate. It can be found here! The idea is that we're 26 famous characters in a balloon that is falling down. Each student (character) should justify the importance of his/her presence in that balloon. Characters are disqualified if their speeches/arguments are not appreciated or voted for by the rest of the class.
And speaking of debates remember this episode? (Mind your Language)
Well, compared to the video, it's easier now, using Padlet, to introduce the concept of balloon debate and the helpful language and terminology to be used. Students can be well prepared before hand. It fosters independent learning and helps strengthen their autonomy.
Warm regards,
Wadha
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Week 7 is On!
Good day all,
So week has started and the end is near!
One of this week's highlight, for me, is being introduced to a very user-friendly and environmentally-friendly technology tool called "Padlet", previously known as wish-wall. It is basically a virtual wall which is infinite in space and can serve many purposes like it can work as a debating space, a timeline, an announcement and important notices board .. etc.
We also were asked to choose a partner who'd review our projects/plans and provide us with a constructive feedback. Luckily, Adriano Lopez from Spain shares the same ideas and work on the same skill so we decided to work as partners and I'm sure it's going to be a great experience. High five, Adriano!
The Nicenet discussion I decided to participate in is on the one-computer classroom and using mobile phones in teaching. I learned a couple of new terms this week; MALL (actually and acronym that stands for Mobile Assisted Language Learning), m-learning (mobile-learning) and moblogging (sending pictures and words to a certain website). My colleague and I discussed many related topics and after reading articles posted by Donna I found out that there are zillion different ways through which mobile phones can be utilized in teaching/learning, whether it's a face-to-face experience or even a long-distance one; and whether it's "learner-paced or calendar-based". I liked what Mohammad from Bangladesh and Albana from Kosovo wrote on the topic stressing the importance of using mobiles; both giving us a piece of their minds. I find Albana's post to be somehow funny and honest.
Finally, I'm currently working on my draft project preparing it to be submitted to Adriano so as to see what he thinks about it and whether there are things to be added. I know May 28th is the deadline but I prefer to finish my assignments as soon as I can.
Gracias Adriano for offering your help and wait for my email!
Wadha,
Kuwait
So week has started and the end is near!
One of this week's highlight, for me, is being introduced to a very user-friendly and environmentally-friendly technology tool called "Padlet", previously known as wish-wall. It is basically a virtual wall which is infinite in space and can serve many purposes like it can work as a debating space, a timeline, an announcement and important notices board .. etc.
We also were asked to choose a partner who'd review our projects/plans and provide us with a constructive feedback. Luckily, Adriano Lopez from Spain shares the same ideas and work on the same skill so we decided to work as partners and I'm sure it's going to be a great experience. High five, Adriano!
The Nicenet discussion I decided to participate in is on the one-computer classroom and using mobile phones in teaching. I learned a couple of new terms this week; MALL (actually and acronym that stands for Mobile Assisted Language Learning), m-learning (mobile-learning) and moblogging (sending pictures and words to a certain website). My colleague and I discussed many related topics and after reading articles posted by Donna I found out that there are zillion different ways through which mobile phones can be utilized in teaching/learning, whether it's a face-to-face experience or even a long-distance one; and whether it's "learner-paced or calendar-based". I liked what Mohammad from Bangladesh and Albana from Kosovo wrote on the topic stressing the importance of using mobiles; both giving us a piece of their minds. I find Albana's post to be somehow funny and honest.
Finally, I'm currently working on my draft project preparing it to be submitted to Adriano so as to see what he thinks about it and whether there are things to be added. I know May 28th is the deadline but I prefer to finish my assignments as soon as I can.
Gracias Adriano for offering your help and wait for my email!
Wadha,
Kuwait
Friday, May 16, 2014
Action!
Ever since week 6 started and we were given the green light to implement the technology tool we've chosen, I decided to talk about it with my students. As you know, the problem I'm facing with them is related to speaking. We have little time to practise, the students are too shy to speak and there is no detailed rubric to evaluate the quality of the students' performance.
The technology-related solution I came up with is to have the students video themselves, upload the videos and then I evaluate their performance based on a rubric I developed and introduced to the students prior to introducing the task. The students and I went through the rubric items by item and I'm going to post it on my twitter & instagram accounts.
I introduced the idea to the students and I explained to them reasons why we're resorting to this tool. I encouraged them to be as creative as they can be and offered them help by introducing some websites they can make use of.
We decided on a deadline: 28th May. 2014, and I encouraged students to submit their projects as soon as they're done with them so as to allow me enough time to evaluate each project meticulously. I also explained to the students that they can work individually, in pairs or in groups. When working in a group each student should be given the exact same time to speak and they are to mention how the work has been distributed among them.
On a different note, this week I learned to develop interactive PowerPoint slides and I really am so happy with the final product! It was a challenge for me as I've never used PowerPoint but as a presentation tool. In order to learn how to develop a PowerPoint interactive game (jeopardy) I went through many youtube videos and they were very helpful.
The technology-related solution I came up with is to have the students video themselves, upload the videos and then I evaluate their performance based on a rubric I developed and introduced to the students prior to introducing the task. The students and I went through the rubric items by item and I'm going to post it on my twitter & instagram accounts.
I introduced the idea to the students and I explained to them reasons why we're resorting to this tool. I encouraged them to be as creative as they can be and offered them help by introducing some websites they can make use of.
We decided on a deadline: 28th May. 2014, and I encouraged students to submit their projects as soon as they're done with them so as to allow me enough time to evaluate each project meticulously. I also explained to the students that they can work individually, in pairs or in groups. When working in a group each student should be given the exact same time to speak and they are to mention how the work has been distributed among them.
On a different note, this week I learned to develop interactive PowerPoint slides and I really am so happy with the final product! It was a challenge for me as I've never used PowerPoint but as a presentation tool. In order to learn how to develop a PowerPoint interactive game (jeopardy) I went through many youtube videos and they were very helpful.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Wadha meets PBL ... (Week 5)
Truth be told, this is the first time I hear about Project-based Learning. Or maybe I had a rough idea on alternative means of assessing students different from the exam-oriented ones but I just didn't have a name for that. Through this course I had the chance to learn a LOT about project-based learning, alternative assessment tools and rubrics!
Recently, in Kuwait, students turned into robots with minimum amount of creativity and innovation. They study for exams; to do well and graduate with flying colors. By doing so, and actually asking them to study just for exams we are reinforcing low-level thinking skills (knowledge, comprehension and maybe a little bit of application?) No critical thinking or problem-solving skills are being taught, therefore no actual learning is taking place.
During this week we managed to work on so many topics and tasks. It was a very fruitful week, at least for me, and I measure that by the relatively large amount of information I learned. I created my own rubric (Well, not from scratch, it was more of an editing) using Rubistar.com which is an extremely useful tool if you plan on adopting the PBL approach. You will need to create rubrics to provide your students with details on how they will be evaluated and what is expected of them.
I also worked on my first WebQuest; a web-oriented lesson format where students are provided with unlimited amount of information that basically come from the web to help them increase higher order thinking skills. My WebQuest has to do with both reading and writing skills; analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and creating skills. It can be found HERE!
I'm currently thinking of preparing a workshop on PBL for teachers of all grades to introduce the approach to them and hopefully encourage them to embrace it?
It's high time we changed the way we teach and understood the way our students "learn".
Recently, in Kuwait, students turned into robots with minimum amount of creativity and innovation. They study for exams; to do well and graduate with flying colors. By doing so, and actually asking them to study just for exams we are reinforcing low-level thinking skills (knowledge, comprehension and maybe a little bit of application?) No critical thinking or problem-solving skills are being taught, therefore no actual learning is taking place.
During this week we managed to work on so many topics and tasks. It was a very fruitful week, at least for me, and I measure that by the relatively large amount of information I learned. I created my own rubric (Well, not from scratch, it was more of an editing) using Rubistar.com which is an extremely useful tool if you plan on adopting the PBL approach. You will need to create rubrics to provide your students with details on how they will be evaluated and what is expected of them.
I also worked on my first WebQuest; a web-oriented lesson format where students are provided with unlimited amount of information that basically come from the web to help them increase higher order thinking skills. My WebQuest has to do with both reading and writing skills; analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating and creating skills. It can be found HERE!
I'm currently thinking of preparing a workshop on PBL for teachers of all grades to introduce the approach to them and hopefully encourage them to embrace it?
It's high time we changed the way we teach and understood the way our students "learn".
Saturday, May 3, 2014
When technology fails ... (Week 4)
Ever since we were appointed as teachers we've been asked to integrate technology in our classrooms. But little were we told about how to deal with any breakdowns or disruptions. This is exactly why some teachers fear using technology and prefer the safe pen and paper. When preparing a lesson I always keep in mind and think of any anticipated problems and then the reasonable solutions (especially when technology is involved). Technology has failed me so many times, unfortunately, in the presence of either my supervisor or the headmistress! So I learned to always think of other options just in case things didn't work out well. For example, I now, always, check whatever device or tool I'll be using in class ahead of time; to check whether it works well or technical help should be sought. I advise you to always have a plan B (and C, and D and Z!) You never know what may happen; so just expect the unexpected. Whatever technology you use, you have to understand how it functions and you really need to employ it effectively or just do without it. Finally, never underestimate your students' technical support skills! My students know a LOT about technology and smart devices. Sometimes, when I'm stuck and struggling with my iPad or iPhone, I seek their help and it just works!
Well, week four was, again, a hectic one for me. I had to prepare myself to set for the Academic IELTS, prepare for a job interview and get ready for my best friend's wedding! But then again, I had fun doing that all and more. I keep discussing the things I learn about (and the cultures) with my staff like on a daily basis. I share with them the websites and links we're introduced and they're just loving it! (I have 14 teachers in my department)
This week I designed a technology enhanced lesson plan and provided options just in case technology fails. The skills we focused on were reading and writing (and vocabulary though it's not a skill). Behavioral objectives were formulated all the way through. I think the success of any lesson plan (or any plan at all) is related to the formulation of objectives. Clear objectives lead success and great achievements, as simple as that!
Finally, I finished one more task related to the final project. We were asked to think of the problems that our students or even us face in the classroom and then narrow that down to one specific problem. My students' problem is mainly speaking. Whatever topic we start to discuss they either shy away, use Arabic (their mother tongue) or sometimes poor English. Speaking in English is very important in real life. Our governmental school stress on the reading and writing skills that other skills are relatively neglected. So I'm currently thinking of way to utilize technology to enhance speaking skills and help my students enjoy that tasks, also.
Time to prepare dinner ... grilled ribs! You're all invited!
Well, week four was, again, a hectic one for me. I had to prepare myself to set for the Academic IELTS, prepare for a job interview and get ready for my best friend's wedding! But then again, I had fun doing that all and more. I keep discussing the things I learn about (and the cultures) with my staff like on a daily basis. I share with them the websites and links we're introduced and they're just loving it! (I have 14 teachers in my department)
This week I designed a technology enhanced lesson plan and provided options just in case technology fails. The skills we focused on were reading and writing (and vocabulary though it's not a skill). Behavioral objectives were formulated all the way through. I think the success of any lesson plan (or any plan at all) is related to the formulation of objectives. Clear objectives lead success and great achievements, as simple as that!
Finally, I finished one more task related to the final project. We were asked to think of the problems that our students or even us face in the classroom and then narrow that down to one specific problem. My students' problem is mainly speaking. Whatever topic we start to discuss they either shy away, use Arabic (their mother tongue) or sometimes poor English. Speaking in English is very important in real life. Our governmental school stress on the reading and writing skills that other skills are relatively neglected. So I'm currently thinking of way to utilize technology to enhance speaking skills and help my students enjoy that tasks, also.
Time to prepare dinner ... grilled ribs! You're all invited!
Friday, April 25, 2014
I hear you ... (Week 3)
Ever since I started this program I feel the whole week has been minimized to two days (Sunday and Wednesday!). I don't know why do I feel so, maybe it has to do with deadlines? It's like important dates are highlighted in my mental calendar and the rest of the days are all in gray. This, of course, does not apply to this program alone but to other projects, tasks, and papers I work on.
This week the tasks were basically on aural/oral skills; focusing on important neglected literacy skills, namely listening. Before I start discussing and reflecting on things I have to admit that while going through the readings and the project I couldn't help but remember an episode from one of my favourite British comedy television series which premiered on ITV in late-1977 - entitled Mind Your Language
The following is a funny scene where the teacher Mr. Brown is trying to get his students record their voices so as to correct their pronunciation and then the fiasco begins ....
Now let's get back to week three, and the aural/oral skills. I've always told my students that if they don't listen they won't be able to speak. It's as simply as that. Pay attention to what the person is saying in order to "understand" is the only appropriate way to communicate whether in the mother tongue or the foreign language. Luckily, English is widely used in Kuwait; at shops, restaurants, certain colleges ..etc so students are relatively exposed to it but rarely are the speakers native ones. For this reason, schools in Kuwait are providing authentic recorded materials of native speakers of the language to our students. Basically, I teach listening to my students twice a month; something I'm not happy about but I'm restricted and have little freedom to change things.
This week, I had the chance to read three interesting articles about teaching listening, pronunciation and speaking. I was introduced to a new concept that I was unaware of: CALL and currently I plan on focusing on this concept in my upcoming papers.
Project task 2 was to read and discuss a past sample project report. I really enjoyed reading the final reports and actually I felt relaxed a bit; knowing what to expect and having an idea about what to expect. I chose a project done by a fellow teacher/supervisor from Burkina Faso. The project was on teaching students writing through emailing.
Another task that I enjoyed working on was creating a yummy delicious page. I've always kept bookmarking the pages I liked but with delicious I can keep a neat and detailed record of my bookmarks and favourite links/pages!
Finally, we were introduced to a great number of websites on listening, speaking and pronunciation. I plan on using many of these websites in my classroom. I also am working on a technical meeting where I'm going to introduce these websites to my teachers at the department (I have 13 teachers that I supervise!) and I know my teachers are as anxious as I am to utilize such technology in our classrooms.
To make a long story short ... listening is a must if you want to get your students speaking!
Wadha,
Kuwait
Friday, April 18, 2014
Let's Roll!... (Week Two)
So two weeks are almost gone and I'm enjoying this experience more and more. To tell you the truth, it hasn't been easy for me as midterms have started (Meaning we have to correct 4,792 exam papers, manually, Oh yeah that's a lot!)
So let's get back to the course work. Before taking part in the Nicenet discussions, I checked the readings and resources section. I read articles on the learning objectives, web searching guidelines and a GREAT article entitled Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally that I really really really recommend. It answered so many questions I had on how to apply and relate cognitive objectives to the digital world.
I, then, moved to the (Weekly Assignments) section to study and read in detail the tasks assigned for this week. I started with Project Task 1, the web-searching task, the ABCD Objective task and here I am working on my last task (which I really enjoy doing); Blogging!
Project Task 1 was very easy as I only needed to describe my class, the students' needs and use of technology, the technology tools available at school and those used by the students at their own homes. While doing so, and while reading my fellow-teachers posts I realized that our classrooms lack a touch of "touch" technology! Classrooms in Kuwait are relatively traditional and when it comes to English Language Classes little do we implement technology and teachers tend to prefer paper-based tasks/readings.
I can't tell you how much I learned and benefited from the Noodletools task. I came across too many amazing search engines. Reading my mates posts, they summarized the benefits and the easiest ways through which you can use these websites.
As for the ABCD objective formulation, it was an easy task as this is exactly what I do prior to any session. While preparing my lesson plan, I specify the objectives but sometimes I do not mention the "Degree" part and I wonder if that makes my objectives less SMART?
I'll catch you later guys ... lunch is served!
Wadha,
Kuwait
So let's get back to the course work. Before taking part in the Nicenet discussions, I checked the readings and resources section. I read articles on the learning objectives, web searching guidelines and a GREAT article entitled Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally that I really really really recommend. It answered so many questions I had on how to apply and relate cognitive objectives to the digital world.
I, then, moved to the (Weekly Assignments) section to study and read in detail the tasks assigned for this week. I started with Project Task 1, the web-searching task, the ABCD Objective task and here I am working on my last task (which I really enjoy doing); Blogging!
Project Task 1 was very easy as I only needed to describe my class, the students' needs and use of technology, the technology tools available at school and those used by the students at their own homes. While doing so, and while reading my fellow-teachers posts I realized that our classrooms lack a touch of "touch" technology! Classrooms in Kuwait are relatively traditional and when it comes to English Language Classes little do we implement technology and teachers tend to prefer paper-based tasks/readings.
I can't tell you how much I learned and benefited from the Noodletools task. I came across too many amazing search engines. Reading my mates posts, they summarized the benefits and the easiest ways through which you can use these websites.
As for the ABCD objective formulation, it was an easy task as this is exactly what I do prior to any session. While preparing my lesson plan, I specify the objectives but sometimes I do not mention the "Degree" part and I wonder if that makes my objectives less SMART?
I'll catch you later guys ... lunch is served!
Wadha,
Kuwait
Saturday, April 5, 2014
The Beginning ... (Week One)
Dear all,
My name is Wadha (Wadheha according to my passport) a teacher of English from Kuwait. I currently am the head the English language Department at a school called Farea Sec. School for girls. I'm also a holder of a master's degree in Interpreting and Translation. I'm extremely happy to be part of this program where people from different parts of the world are sharing their experiences and viewpoints. Everyday I'm learning something about a new tool of technology, method of teaching or even a different culture I was ignorant of.
Actually, I've always enjoyed blogging but I mainly blog in Arabic (with very few English posts that can be read here) so this is basically my first all-English blog. I use wordpress.com to blog about Human Rights-related issues, books/movies reviews and to raise awareness. Being a teacher of English, for almost 8 years now, I honestly never employed blogging as a tool for teaching English or even for self-reflection purposes. I have my own journal where I keep my day-to-day observations, feelings, experiences and discoveries but I keep all that in a written form. While creating this blog, I was thinking of ways through which I can use blogging to teach my students or even solve work-related problems.
I am waiting for the suggestions and contributions of the rest of the group. If there's anything I can help you with, guys, then please never hesitate to contact me.
My name is Wadha (Wadheha according to my passport) a teacher of English from Kuwait. I currently am the head the English language Department at a school called Farea Sec. School for girls. I'm also a holder of a master's degree in Interpreting and Translation. I'm extremely happy to be part of this program where people from different parts of the world are sharing their experiences and viewpoints. Everyday I'm learning something about a new tool of technology, method of teaching or even a different culture I was ignorant of.
Actually, I've always enjoyed blogging but I mainly blog in Arabic (with very few English posts that can be read here) so this is basically my first all-English blog. I use wordpress.com to blog about Human Rights-related issues, books/movies reviews and to raise awareness. Being a teacher of English, for almost 8 years now, I honestly never employed blogging as a tool for teaching English or even for self-reflection purposes. I have my own journal where I keep my day-to-day observations, feelings, experiences and discoveries but I keep all that in a written form. While creating this blog, I was thinking of ways through which I can use blogging to teach my students or even solve work-related problems.
I am waiting for the suggestions and contributions of the rest of the group. If there's anything I can help you with, guys, then please never hesitate to contact me.
Warm regards,
Wadheha (AKA Wadha) Al-Dousari
Kuwait
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