Week 10 Thank you all

We have come to a new start. The start for our new interactive teaching with technology. We're parting with obligatory assignments of the course but not with each other. This has been the first on-line course for me and it's been a great experience I'd like to repeat. Now I am ready for more knowledge and skills concerning the use of the interactive web so I will look out for further opportunities to develop these. Self-education can be a solution; however, I would love to be given another chance to become a part of a similar course. Many thanks to my professor - Deborah Healey, to provide this wonderful course and my classmates to share those excellent ideas on Nicenet. I do develop my skills using technology and integrating into my class and I am very happy to participate in this course with all of you.

As for an advice, I guess we shouldn't separate and continue staying connected: communicate, write, collaborate, and exchange ideas. I think we can solve any problem together helping each other!  We can let each other know about our progress, new findings, inventions and creations. My blog will stay alive and it will remain open for all of you. I will continue writing so you are welcome to come and comment. I hope we can also keep in touch and continue developing our course wiki with resources, links and new ideas. As well, it is very interesting to know and I would like us to share to what extend all of our projects become successful and possible advice for future implementation.

10 weeks suddenly passed away and so much has been learned! Now I have tools to use, explore and achieve my goals. Thank you all once again for being with me on the way to make our teaching more effective. The end of this course means the beginning of our journey towards better teaching and learning perspectives in the modern world.

 "You've Got a Friend"

 

Week 9 Multiple Intelligences

           I can't believe we are almost at the end of our course study and I am already missing it, our discussions, Deborah's instructions and assessments, our exchange of ideas and simply making friends.

          This week we sent our projects and are waiting for our students to implement our new knowledge. We also read, learned and discussed learning styles and multiple intelligences. 

          Educators must continue to investigate how students learn. Teachers need to use technology in the classroom to reach and support our varied student population and use their distinctive learning styles and strengths to make learning more memorable to each individual student. When teachers incorporate both the theory of multiple intelligences and technology, students find their classroom experiences stimulating and motivating.

            Many educators know that different students learn in many different ways. Gardner says that people acquire knowledge in different ways and that they have competencies in each of the nine intelligences (Gardner, 2006). The list of multiple intelligences, suggested by Gardner is: - Logical-mathematical, which deals with numbers and logic;

 - Verbal/Linguistic, which deals mainly with words; - Bodily-kinesthetic, which deals with body movements and the handling of objects; - Musical, which deals with rhythms and melodies; - Visual/Spatial, which deals with pictures and images; - Interpersonal, which deals with understanding other people and working with them; - Intrapersonal, which deals with the inner self and one's feelings; - Naturalist, which deals with classification and understanding phenomena of nature; - Existentialist or Spiritual, which deals with the big questions of life and harmonizing. Gardner further explains the multiple intelligences, and how each of us has varying amounts of each of these intelligences. “Even as all humans possess and exhibit these multiple intelligences, the intelligences also serve to distinguish from one another. Individuals possess varying amounts of these intelligences and combine and use them in personal ways. Just as we all look different and exhibit different personalities, we all possess different kinds of minds”, (Gardner, 1991, p.81). It would be interesting to first ask students to state what intelligence they think is their strongest then give them an intelligence survey to assess students' strong and weaker intelligences, to see if they were correct about their strongest intelligence. 

            On the other hand Gardner points out,” Technology can often appeal to many students but the content can be too rich or too cluttered for many students with attention difficulties so that these learners can not focus on what is truly central to the concept under investigation”, (Gardner,2000,p.208). This is where the human aspect of teaching is needed, teachers need to continually monitor there students progress while they are using technology.

       Our world has become technologically advanced, and our classrooms are progressively following the same advancements. The teacher should remain the primary instructor, but new technology and resources are changing how teaching and learning occurs. Can technology really help students learn, and does it meet the needs of varied student learning styles and multiple intelligences? It is my belief that if teachers implement both the theory of multiple intelligences and technology, and not just use computers for drill and practice exercises; students will find their classroom experiences stimulating and motivating. When teachers incorporate technology in the classroom it taps into all kinds for the students multiple intelligences.

We should consider ways that technology can help all students learn. The computer can help students develop individual skills, allowing for differences in learning styles and abilities. Here are the explanations of the multiple intelligences and some technology based activities lessons that I plan on using in the classroom to build on my student's intelligences:

             Instructional strategies that work for Linguistic learners must focus on self-expression. Since linguistic learners are very comfortable speaking, I would have them give presentations on their learning in a form of projects.  These students would benefit from using word processing programs, because these programs can help teach language, writing, editing, and rewriting skills. Students with a strong linguistic intelligence would enjoy a project such as a class poem because Linguistic learners would embrace this learning opportunity because they can use their verbal skills to express an abstract concept.

            For the Logical-mathematical learner I would encourage them to use databases and spreadsheets in their projects and presentations. Since these programs would allow these students to calculate and organize data. Logical learners also excel at inquiry-based projects. These students would enjoy being presented with a problem and then given resources to solve it. A definitive answer is what these learners seek. There are a variety of computer programs that teach logic and critical thinking skills, even in game formats which can be motivating to students. Database programs can help students explore and organize data and information.

            Interpersonal learners interact well with society and can be labeled in as the talkers. Students would enjoy working with others on the computer; in groups of two to four would be ideal group sizes. Allowing the students to work in groups reinforces skills such as cooperation and communication. The computer can encourage cooperative learning in any subject area. Interpersonal learners are exceptionally aware of the feelings and motives of others around them and are also especially good at starting discussions and encouraging participation from other classmates. They enjoy creating products that allow them to express themselves to an audience. Presentations, e-mail projects, and videoconferencing inspire these students. These learners are more focused on people and their opinions. I could use a simple statistics lesson to tap into these learners strengths. A group of interpersonal learners can use numerous on-line survey tools to create a test for other students. This lesson could focus on their communication and creative strengths because the topic can be whatever they like. Once the other students have taken the survey, the group can create a visual representation of the results.

            Intrapersonal learners are characterized as self-motivated and learn through metacognitive processes. For these learners I would use computer based journaling, concept mapping, and Internet. Another idea I could use in the classrooms is to have the students create blogs about topics of their interests since they allow students to express their thoughts and feelings in a different way. Students still create a self-reflective piece in a generally self-paced environment; however, it can then be successfully shared with others. A blog provides a channel for students to share their work and might lead them to participate in a writing contest.

            Spatial learners would benefit from making digital and video-camera projects. Computer-aided design and paint programs can also maximize student's potential. Graphics programs can help develop spatial perceptions and help develop creativity by allowing students to create their own designs. Browsing the Internet and organizing files, folders, and directories on a computer involve some spatial understanding. 

            For the Musical learners I would allow them to express themselves and learn through auditory means.  Musical learners would benefit from interactive books, video and audio recordings, and audio notations. These learners adapt well to cross-curricular projects that can incorporate music. A good technology to use with musical learners is a software program that synthesizes music into waves. These students benefit greatly by using their musical talents to break down and rebuild melodies.

            For the Bodily-Kinesthetic learners I would encourage them to express their ideas through movement. They would benefit greatly from creating video productions and virtual field trips since they would be able to move about while filming their presentation. These students do well while using a computer because computers require good eye-hand coordination. These students could benefit from joystick and other devices different from just using a mouse to control computer operations. They need to manipulate their surroundings to achieve their maximum potential.

            For the Naturalistic learners, I would encourage students to use cameras for create imagines in their presentations. They could use the cameras and video recorders to present a report about nature. They could do a presentation about the changes that occur during different seasons.

            For the Existentialist learner I would use problem-solving projects like why recycling is good for the environment or what students can do to help their community because these learners are focused on the big picture and why the world operates the way it does. Or I could have them report on how technologies have improved peoples lives because the nature of technology is existential. The use of technology continues to evolve how we look at ourselves. These students can research how Internet collaboration is changing the world around them.

            These are only few examples of how I could use technology in my classroom to tap into students multiple intelligences. The possibilities are endless since technology advancements continue to grow and more people are sharing their learning on the Internet daily.

         This video is for Visual and Musical learners:

 

References:

Tech tools that support multiple intelligences: http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic68.htm

Richard Felder explores the impact of different learning styles on classroom performance: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm

Learning styles assessment chart   http://www.chaminade.org/INSPIRE/learnstl.htm
More on learning styles from Richard Felder http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Learning_Styles.html
Using learning styles to adapt technology for higher education :  http://iod.unh.edu/EE/articles/learning-styles.html
Student Learning Styles and Their Implications for Teaching http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/CRLT_no10.pdf
 Sailing the 5 C's with Learning Strategies:  http://www.nclrc.org/sailing/

Week 8 My class site as a part of my project

Is a class wiki worth the time and efforts involved?    

It's absolutely worth it! For teachers, seeing their work on the Web promotes pride in what they have accomplished. For students, the value in increased self-esteem is priceless.

We'll get a lot of compliments about the information and links we'll provide our students and staff.  

Class site can showcase student achievements and projects; provide valuable Web links for students, teachers, and parents; and give an overview of the goals and curriculum of a course.  The benefits of a class site are many, but the one that comes to mind first is that it is yet another way to get the message home. It's good public relations for the class, and it's a medium that appeals to students.

Exactly what should you plan to include on your site? There are a number of suggestions for site content. Possible features and topics can include the following:

Class  theme, motto, and/or mascot

general information about the class and  school

state and/or national curriculum standards

class  and school board news

school rules and policies

announcements and events 

activity and program pages

teacher biography and/or e-mail addresses

school calendar

in-class work and homework assignments

homework help

student projects

class schedules

links to curriculum-related information for teachers and students, search engines, parenting information, and education news and organizations

fun links

information about Internet use, safety policies .

When only starting out, the best advice for a new class site is to keep it small and manageable at first, when you become more comfortable with creating Web pages, you can begin to experiment and expand.

This week I also started to create my class site using Google Sites template - https://sites.google.com/site/victoriaillarionovasclass/home . Now I will spend every spare minute to fill it. Here are just a few goals that I have: to introduce new units, to provide information, to store important links that I want the students using, to share images with the students, for students to work as editors, adding content, for students to express their learning, for students, their parents and teacher collaboration.

Week 8 Hot Potatoes

The program Hot Potatoes was designed to allow teachers to make interactive, Web-based exercises that can be accessed by students at any Internet-capable computer terminal with a standard Web browser. Hot Potatoes uses both HTML and JavaScript; however, one does not need to know these languages to make the Web-based exercises. Instead, teachers use the program's exercise templates to create exercises on Web pages which then can be uploaded to a server where students access them.

As for me, I have downloaded Hot Potatoes promised and praised by Deborah (http://hotpot.uvic.ca/ ) and how-to PDF (http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/webskills/material/hotpotatoes6-howto.pdf ). Then I have created every type of exercise – JMatch – to practice compound nouns , JMix –to train the order of adjectives ,JCloze – to fill in the gapped text with different parts of speech, JCross - Crosswords to check the vocabulary knowledge of the unit, JQuiz - Multiple choice Quiz on general intellect. My exercises are on our class wiki - https://sites.google.com/site/webskillssu2010/hot-potatoes-and-other-exercises.

The Hot Potatoes program, which consists of modules for creating six different types of exercises, is an excellent resource for creating on-line, interactive language learning exercises that can be used in or out of the classroom. These types of exercises can be especially useful in language learning laboratories with Internet access, or for remote learning. When matched with both appropriate content and motivated students, Hot Potatoes exercises seem likely to promote second language acquisition. Hot Potatoes' user-friendly modules also allow more adept teachers to create complex, interactive exercises. Hot Potatoes is not intended as testing software, and should not be used as such. Nevertheless, the Hot Potatoes program suite provides teachers with flexible, easy-to-use modules for creating Web-based language exercises that students can work on while also receiving feedback that will direct them towards correct answers.

The use of technology by teachers of foreign languages has many benefits, one of which includes the increase in the amount of exposure to and potential interaction with the target language outside of the classroom setting. Hot Potatoes exercises may fall into this category of beneficial technological use when accessed by students remotely as supplementary classroom work. Moreover, the exercises can be shared with teachers worldwide, as long as they have access to the Web.

THANK YOU, DEBORAH, for leading us through this course, for our priceless acquired knowledge!

Week 7 One-computer classroom

Even with only one computer in the classroom, there are many ways to use technology effectively to improve student learning.

First, you can put the computer to good use even if you don't let your students touch it. You can use the computer as a tool in your own work. Use a word processor to prepare tests, a spreadsheet to keep grades, the Internet to find lesson plans. Use the Web or listservs to discuss issues with other teachers.

A single classroom computer can be used effectively as a presentation tool (to present audio/visual information to an entire class), a tool for generation or production of student work, a cooperative learning tool, and an in-class information resource.

Using presentation software like Power Point or Hyper Studio, you can create more compelling visual aids for your lectures. Such presentations are a good place to begin using the computer with your class, since there is little chance of anything unexpected or unpleasant happening. 

 Some useful tips:

Pair students up and set up a daily computer use schedule. 

Try to find time to have open blocks of time for individual student use.

Use a timer to keep students to their time limits.

Make sure computer time is used for creating products and doing research. All other pre-planning work should be done ahead of time (storyboards are a good way to do this).

Use teacher-created templates for students to fill in to save time.

Display posters using computer terms and commands.

Make sure computer etiquette and guidelines have been modeled.

Students can also use presentation software to support their presentations.

Set up a database that students collect information for, and enter whenever they have time.

Have students keep a class journal on the computer.  Students who are absent can check the next day to see what they missed. Use the computer as a mailbox for email projects.

In a one-computer classroom, students can conduct research in smaller chunks of time, create work products piece by piece, and send and receive email to outside experts. Time is probably the biggest issue with a one-computer classroom, but through creative scheduling, computer use can happen. For example, allowing students to work on the computer when they have finished with other subject work is a resourceful solution. Another solution is to group students and give them a day of the week for their computer day.

You can use a computer as a Learning Station for:

-Storyboard planning

- Peer reviewing and feedback

-Revising and drafting

-Computer use to create work products

-Computer use: researching, working with experts on the computer, publishing

If you have learning centers set up, use your computer as one of them. You can use: content-specific software for simulations, tutorials and drill-and-practice; CD-Roms or the Internet for research;  and a word processor for preparing reports. You can create assignments on disk which the students must complete.  Or assign one student each day to take notes each day and put them on the computer, so that students who are absent can catch up.

This week we were given countless ESL activities, strategies and applications for one-computer classrooms. I liked "101 Activities for the One-Computer Classroom"  http://www2.drury.edu/dswadley/101/ very much and I am again very thankful to Deborah for opening her secrets about Microsoft Word and Power Point for us: I have never heard of Inserting comments, Tracking changes, AutoSummarizing or built-in templates. I've enabled these options in my Windows 2007 and am going to use them now. 

After reading about activities for one-computer classroom, we  were to create a sample lesson to share this week. I've made interactive Power Point Presentation for "Writing Application" lesson and downloaded it on our Wiki. This presentation should help to serve as a plan to follow at the one-computer lesson, will give fine visual aids and will be used as a tool for checking the correct answers quickly and at ease.

References:

ESL Activities for the One Computer Classroom (S.Gaer): Word-Processing Ideas: http://www.susangaer.com/sgaer/onecomputer/wordprocessing.html

Strategies and applications for the one-computer classroom http://www.lburkhart.com/elem/strat.htm

Microsoft Word and PowerPoint in the Classroom  http://www.deborahhealey.com/techtips/may2009.html

Week 7 Learner Autonomy

With the development of science and technology, knowledge is being replaced faster and faster. The students nowadays must be cultivated into lifelong learners to adjust themselves to the times of knowledge explosion. Therefore, autonomous learning is becoming more and more important in learning.

First let's know what the meaning of “autonomous learning” is. According to Holec, “autonomy” is defined as “the ability to take charge of one's own learning”. [1](p6) Furthermore, Dickinson accepts the definition of autonomy as a “situation in which the learner is totally for all of the decisions concerned with his or her learning and implementation of those decisions.” [1](p6) From these two definitions, we can see that the learners must be independent thinkers, and should have a clear view of the whole learning process, including the purpose of learning, the aim of learning, the way of learning, the choice of materials in learning, etc. In another words, it includes everything concerned with learning.

In this process, the teacher's role has changed. We have to admit that the teachers' privileged and centered position in teaching is being challenged. Yes, teachers are no longer the only experts in imparting knowledge, but just organizers in classroom teaching activities.

The students' role in classroom teaching has changed, too. First, the students should be active learners rather than passive receivers. They must know what to do and where to go under the guidance of the teacher. They must be industrious enough to consult the reference books or surf on the Internet so as to gain some knowledge on their own. Second, the students should be active participants or performers in class. It's time for the students to show themselves and to give a full play to their abilities. Third, the students themselves should realize very clearly that it is themselves not the teachers that should take whole responsibility for their learning because they are afforded the opportunities to engage in self-generated, personally relevant communication which involves a wide range of motivations, functions, and meanings that may be very useful in the development of language learning.                                            
 In order to become an excellent student, he or she should have the following characteristics:

-Learn how to learn autonomously under the guidance of the teacher                                                               -Be able to use different channels to get as much information as possible;                                                        

- Be active in the process of classroom learning;                                                                                             -Be ready to take certain charge of his or her own learning;                                                                            -Overcome the complete dependency on teachers;                                                                           

 -Learn to impose his or her self-discipline;                                                                                                                     

- Learn to monitor his or her own learning process.

So while teaching, the teacher should design his or her teaching plan elaborately to attract the students to be involved in the teaching activities.

1 Set up classroom collaborative learning 

The whole class can be divided into several fixed groups, each of whom has 4 or 6 members. Whenever the discussion topic is given in class, the leader of each group is responsible for organizing the heated discussion within the group, and every member in the group is encouraged to participate, then the representative of the group will deliver their speech in the presence of the whole class. Sometimes, the groups are asked to choose their own topic for study, then after class, they are willing to proceed to a probing investigation on that topic and prepare the report to the whole class next time.

2 Choose the charming topics for discussion

 If the teacher wants to involve all the students into the discussion, he or she must choose a good topic, which can arouse the students' interests, and which is easy for them to find more information concerned. Otherwise, the class discussion would fall into an awkward situation at a time.

3   Mobilize the enthusiasm of the whole class by top students

4   Organize a variety of classroom activities                                                                                                  In order to make the class lively and attractive, the teacher should adopt different methods and organize various activities to draw students' attention of learning.  The students who engaged in self-paced learning-by-doing with an interactive environment can become independent learners who are usually labeled “knowledge navigators”.

I consider this problem to be of great importance. It's not easy to teach students to speak foreign language but it's more difficult to teach them to be autonomous.  We need to teach our students how to be responsible for their own learning. One way of doing this is teaching them proper ways to study. Our task is to show them all possible ways and let them choose their beat one. With the growth of web 2.0 it is easier than ever for learners to achieve autonomy but it does need us to point them in the right direction. The best way to make them work on their own is to relate the learning to their lives. No one is going to want to learn anything if they don't see how it impacts them.

References:  What Is Learner Autonomy and How Can It Be Fostered? by Dimitrios Thanasoulas looks at an essential component of a self-access center: a self-directed learner. http://iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Autonomy.html
Learner Autonomy: Bird-in-the-hand or Bird-in-the-bush? Samuel Sheu looks at the difficulties in encouraging learner autonomy in Taiwan's highly constrained educational system http://coyote.miyazaki-mu.ac.jp/learnerdev/LLE/8.1/sheuE.html 
Interconnections: Learner Autonomy Teacher Autonomy http://coyote.miyazaki-mu.ac.jp/learnerdev/LLE/8.1/smithE.html 

Week 6 Project task 4 A Wiki?

Now I am constantly thinking about my project. I am in two minds whether I want a class wiki or a class website or even a class blog. I decided to study wikis this week.
It is already commonplace, that forms of collaborative learning have the high potential to improve learner activation as well as motivation and to make a positive impact on learning outcomes.
As a solution a learning environment was considered, in which students work in teams on specific tasks over a given period of time, producing a common artifact which is reviewed by fellow students. By designing and developing the learning environment the instructional design has to meet following challenges:
1. How can learner' activity be generated?
2. How can students' motivation be increased?
3. How can valuable feedback be implemented?
4. How can learning transfer be supported?
As a cheap and easy to handle collaboration platform a wiki solution was favored.
Usage of Wiki Technology
Computer-supported collaborative learning can be supported by a wiki. With characteristics like free-availability, easy usability, and web-based accessibility it is an affordable and easy to handle tool for on-line collaboration, which requires less support and little instruction on how to use it. With a wiki students can create shared content and results of group work can be easily made available to others like instructors or other student groups.
Wiki enables educators to create interactive on-line course content for students. You can insert dynamic content like videos, presentations, reports and graphs to make regular subjects more interesting.
Wikis help Teachers to create virtual classrooms for their students to stay connected beyond classroom and harness the power of an extended classroom.
It's possible to maintain on-line schedules and calendars for students to track project / assignment deadlines.
It's good to encourage parent's participation in classroom activities and keep them updated on their children's performance.
Wikis can be a showcase of the positive happenings in a classroom or school in your website.
What is the difference between a wiki and a blog?
A blog, or web log, shares writing and multimedia content in the form of “posts” (starting point entries) and “comments” (responses to the posts). While commenting, and even posting, are open to the members of the blog or the general public, no one is able to change a comment or post made by another. The usual format is post-comment-comment-comment, and so on. For this reason, blogs are often the vehicle of choice to express individual opinions.
A wiki has a far more open structure and allows others to change what one person has written.
So to sum up, I see that wiki is very useful, modern technological tool that meets my educational goals at 100%, though I still have some fear about my technical skills.