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

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

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.

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".

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!