This week we were to focus on Learner
Autonomy, The One Computer Class, as
well as the use of Mobile Devices.
The whole week was rich in reading, learning about the concept of learner autonomy and finally talking about the use of mobile devices. As for the autonomy, there is a need for students to take charge of their own
learning, making them responsible for what they are doing and at the same time promoting the lifelong learning (they have a right to determine the direction of their own learning) (Holec, 1979/1981). It seems to me that rote learning technique, which was widely used in the past in Polish schools, is slowly disappearing.
What came to my mind while thinking of making students more responsible for their teaching is the idea of a flipped classroom model; see link: http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/
As for the second part of our readings and tasks to be done -One
Computer Class - I can list some of the pros of using it in the classroom: the computer can be used for writing (letters, quizzes, note taking), as a language resource (dictionaries, thesaurus), materials (images, music, videos, podcasts, e-books), to promote social networking activities or just to communicate (e-mails).
To continue with the topic of ICT in the classroom, it's worth mentioning the growing role of the mobiles in everyday life, either inside or outside the classroom. The teaching and learning activities to be done using these devices are as many as you can find on the computer, thus many people seem to call a mobile a very private computer to carry in a pocket. Even I myself use the mobile much too often than I used to in the past.
Sunday 24 November 2013
Week 6, November 24th
The week 6 titled "Creating Student-centered Classes and Interactive PowerPoint" dealt mainly with two issues: teaching large classes and the use of PowerPoint to increase interactivity in the classroom.
The topic of large classes is pretty new to me as for many years I have been teaching groups of students not bigger than 15-16 students. Anyway, the ideas presented in the readings on the webpage: http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/largeclasses/usingtechnology.html can be used in any classroom.
The quote I find very useful here is:
“ Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.” (Chinese proverb)
I would like to focus more on presentations here; PowerPoint can encourage student learning by engaging them more in the learning process as multiple learning styles can be reached easily. Adding animations, inserting multimedia or using interaction seem to be working well towards students' success as we need to teach to as many of preferences in how we learn best as possible. Thus, some points to remember (do's and don'ts) are: break the ice, eg. effective openings, eg. start with a joke, don't make the brain switch off, use the hands-on approach, don't run over the time, involve the audience, use the menu, make the structure very clear, use visuals, summarise what you've said at the end of (or throughtout) the presentation, don't patronise and remember about the standing room.
Another very intriguing topic discussed in week 6 was the use of interactive Powerpoint - never done before by me thus quite challenging.
The topic of large classes is pretty new to me as for many years I have been teaching groups of students not bigger than 15-16 students. Anyway, the ideas presented in the readings on the webpage: http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/largeclasses/usingtechnology.html can be used in any classroom.
The quote I find very useful here is:
“ Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.” (Chinese proverb)
I would like to focus more on presentations here; PowerPoint can encourage student learning by engaging them more in the learning process as multiple learning styles can be reached easily. Adding animations, inserting multimedia or using interaction seem to be working well towards students' success as we need to teach to as many of preferences in how we learn best as possible. Thus, some points to remember (do's and don'ts) are: break the ice, eg. effective openings, eg. start with a joke, don't make the brain switch off, use the hands-on approach, don't run over the time, involve the audience, use the menu, make the structure very clear, use visuals, summarise what you've said at the end of (or throughtout) the presentation, don't patronise and remember about the standing room.
Another very intriguing topic discussed in week 6 was the use of interactive Powerpoint - never done before by me thus quite challenging.
Saturday 2 November 2013
Week 4, November 2nd
The next week is almost finished and still so many sites to be explored.... this week we were into websites for writing and reading skills. And again, a number of new websites to be added to my teaching list. Every time I open a new activity or an app, I promise myself to put it into practice, but it's not so easy. Little by little, however, I try to change the classroom environment I work in. For example, last week I invited my students to create a blog for our English lesson; seeing their reluctance, I thought it would never work out but finally they agreed:-)
For the next few weeks I plan to use the information I've just learned about the writing and reading websites; I liked the one about the museum, where your task is to choose a picture and describe it following the questions you see on the screen. I think it might be great fun and, for sure, students may get involved as they would see this activity as fun and game, not real learning.
For the next few weeks I plan to use the information I've just learned about the writing and reading websites; I liked the one about the museum, where your task is to choose a picture and describe it following the questions you see on the screen. I think it might be great fun and, for sure, students may get involved as they would see this activity as fun and game, not real learning.
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