Week 10: Reflections

This week, we have done the following assignments:
1. Blog: Final Reflection
2. Self-evaluating ourselves with the LoTI framework
3. Overview of the course

• BLOG: FINAL REFLECTION

It's really hard to believe that this is the last week in our course! I am sure everyone of us feels sad about it because we haven't just been learning but also having fun with technology tools on the Internet. I was very excited to work with experienced teachers from all around the world and have learned a lot from reading their posts and comments. I wish we could keep in touch for as long time as possible. For me, I will continue to write on my blog so please make sure you come and comment. I would also welcome the idea of continuing our discussions on Nicenet as we will still be able to have access to the class.

We could swap our students' emails and let the students practice their English by writing emails to each other with a CC to the teachers. I think this practice will improve the students' English and introduce them to other cultures. It's so wonderful that a class in the Middle East for example is working with a class in Europe or any other part of the world.

• SELF-EVALUATING OUR TECHNOLOGY USE
  

The Levels of Technology Innovation (LoTi) framework is a scale of seven levels used to "assess authentic classroom technology use". In this task, we had to read the aforementioned framework and decide which level we are in now and where we would like to be in a year. We also had to include ideas about how we will get to where we want to be in the future.

In my post on Nicenet, I pointed out that my technology integration was in the past limited to finding materials on the Internet to enhance my lectures, which is LoTi Level 1 (Awareness). However, since the start of this online course, I have implemented some technology enhancements in my teaching such as the use of blogger and emailing, which I think puts me now in LoTi Level 2 (Exploration).

I think if my classes were equipped with technology and all of the students were used to using it, I would aim at Level 4a – Integration: Mechanical. Of course this is not the case in the place where I teach and therefore the target level I hope to reach in a year's time is LoTi Level 3 (Infusion).

To achieve this, I would use Task-Based and WebQuest activities that are based on authentic materials to enable my students to apply, analyze, synthesize and evaluate problems.

I would also involve the students in reading activities on Nicenet where they can use their critical thinking skills in their analysis, synthesis and evaluation of the texts. The students would also need to start their own blogs to practice their reflective thinking by writing about what things they do in the course and what they think about them.

• OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE

In this task, we discussed what topics were most successful in the course, which ones were most useful for us and which were not relevant to what we do or will do.

For me, all the subjects were successful and useful, particularly the following:

• Creating class sites and making online exercises.
• Creating a rubric for assessment
• Writing class objectives in the ABCD method
• Technology enhanced lesson plans
• Project-based learning
• Interactive PowerPoint
• Learner autonomy and Teacher autonomy

The less relevant topic to what I do right now was probably Teaching Large Classes. Although some of my colleagues are teaching large classes, there is a tendency towards making the classes smaller (approximately 25 students). However, it was undoubtedly interesting to read about the subject.

Yours,

Mohamed

Week 9: Reflections

This week, we have done the following assignments:

• Submitting the Final Project Report
• Creating Class Sites and Making Online Exercises
• Discussing the Online Tools Explored This Week

1. THE FINAL PROJECT REPORT:
By the end of this week, i.e. Sunday, June 6, 2010, all participants in our online course will have to submit their final project reports to the course coordinator, Deborah Healey. My project, which I started eight weeks ago and have already submitted, examined the usefulness of web blogs in fostering motivation in English writing in students. To do that, I created a class blog for my engineering students at the University of Bahrain in order to encourage them to write more in English. The response and reaction of the students are amazing despite the fact the students have been busy with tests and exams as their course wraps up by June 8, 2010.

Some benefits from using my class blog:

• The students became more confident to write in English.
• Their writings improved from one post to the next.
• They were able to read their peers’ writings and comment on them.
• Silent students in the classroom had the chance to speak out.
• Our physical classroom became a more relaxed and friendly place to be in because we all felt a sense of community resulting from the online interaction on the class blog.

In my final part of the project, I concluded that the experience of incorporating a class blog in my teaching was successful and that it made me value the role of technology in motivating my students to write more in English. I also warned from rushing to blame students for their inability to progress well in English writing and suggested that a change in the way we teach, especially using blogs, would greatly help to improve the writings of students.

2. CREATING CLASS SITES AND MAKING ONLINE EXERCISES:
In addition to the class blog that I created for my engineering students, I have created Nicenet and Wiki classes for my business students.

The purpose of the Nicenet class is to enhance the students' reading skills by posting reading texts and asking the students to comment on what they think about the way the problems in the texts are probed and what they suggest as a solution. They will also be required to research for some terminologies in the readings and do exercises, such as matching, cloze and crosswords activities that will be uploaded on the class Wiki.

I have used Easy Test Maker to make a paper cloze exercise for my General English students and Hot Potatoes to make a crossword puzzle for my business students. The latter activity is called Vocabulary in Context which is done after reading an article titled Learning to Cope with Corporate Culture Clashes to help the students find the answers.

The most interesting online exercise maker that I have explored this week is Hot Potatoes. It is an essay tool to use. First, you need to download the program on your computer and then follow the steps in this file here to get started.

3.DISCUSSING THE ONLINE TOOLS EXPLORED THIS WEEK:
In the discussion part on Nicenet, we shared our ideas about how the tools we explored this week, such as the ones in 2 above, might change the way we teach and the way that our students learn. In addition, we discussed how using these tools could promote learner autonomy as well as the constraints that would make it difficult to use the tools and how we will overcome these difficulties.

For me, using these tools would enable me to create materials that are tailored for my students instead of adapting ready-made ones. The activities that I make can be posted on the class wiki where students can download them and do them at home.

In my view, the tools we explored this week can promote learner autonomy, as students will use most of them outside the classroom boundaries where there is no direct help from the teacher and this will provide the opportunity for the students to take more control over their learning.

The one thing that could constrain my using of some of the tools is the fact that I have no Internet connectivity in many of my classes. Some students find it difficult to use online tools unless someone shows them how to do it. Without Internet access in the classroom, this will not be possible.

To overcome this problem, I would create How-To files (documents with instructions and pictures) to help my students to acquaint themselves with the online tools that we plan to use.

Yours,

Mohamed