The course I am taking with the University of Oregon is coming to an end.
What a great experience it has been!
I have read tons of articles, comments, posts, etc in order to build my teaching skills taking into account technology. It sound easy but it could not be further from the reality!
Introducing technology in the language classroom is a tough task a teacher MUST face.
Nowadays students are more online than before and taking advantage of the time they spend on the internet to help them enhance their language skills is something we need to consider when planning our lessons.
But, to do so the teacher needs to have certain ICT skills (word processing, searching, online tutoring, etc.) so as to update his or her teaching practice and commit their students into their own learning.
During this week I had the chance to finish a project dealing with blogging for developing writing skills, using free and creative writing as a framework. Thanks to Prem, a teacher from the Himalaya, who kindly offered his help!
I have been working with blogs for some time but I had never thought of having leaners’ blog inside the class blog.
What my students usually did was post on the blog and that was it!
After taking this course at UOO, I have enhanced the blog with new web tools and have asked my pupils to comment on other classmates’ posts.
Apart from that, I guided them to create their own blog and they could not be more excited!
I think with this I am giving them the chance to be autonomous (a word that hasn’t left my mind since last week) because they are in charge of their own development, I am there just to guide them but they have the control of their writing.
What a commitment! What a compromise!
This project I have just finished is nothing but a start of this path I will be taking to drive my students to be independent writers and learners. It has opened my eyes to a new world of possibilities in English Language Teaching (ELT)
I would like to thank you all for reading me and sharing your expertise with this humble teacher from Venezuela!
I will keep this blog for sharing my teaching experiences weekly! there is nothing like networking!
Eve
Dear Eve,
ReplyDeleteI like your idea that our students spend more time online than ever before. It's a challenge for them to teach now the "Why" generation and to kepp ourselves up-to-date so that we may motivate them and prove them school has so many good things to offer.
Cheers,
Nadina
Hello, Evelin!
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right that teacher MUST be modern in our modern world, they have to go together with their students, or they won't be teachers for their students.
Hello from Ukraine
Dear Eve.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it is just our first steps to move ourselves and students forward to learning with technology.
Now we are more aware about what exact materials to select, how to model ABCD objective and appropriately design our teaching.
This course gave me a lot. But now I often think that my contribution to the course will be my succesful teaching and motivationg my students using everything I have learned here.
Thank you Deborah and all my classmates!
Yours,
Nilufar
Dear Naddine, Ruslana and Nilufar!
ReplyDeleteWhat a challenge we have in front of us!
Now we know what is out there and I know we are all really excited to update our teaching practice!
I learnt a lot from every single one of you!
You will always have a friend in Venezuela!
So, if any of you happens to feel like spending vacations on the Caribbean Island just let me know! you will be always welcome!
Thanks for reading me once again!
Eve
Dear Eve,
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to think that the course is ending, however, the amount of knowledge and skills all of us acquired here cannot be undervalued.
I agree with you that our projects are nothing but an introduction, the first step, but it was already attemted and we should be proud of ourselves.
So much work... so much satisfaction...
Yours,
Joanna
Poland
Dear Eve,
ReplyDeleteAll of us share the same feelings; happiness with ending up with a plethora of information, and sadness about leaving a warm, collaborative and committed community of teachers.
It was great learning from the course, Deborah, the visiting mentors and from/with ALL of US.
I hope one day I will be visisnt the Caribbean Island. I will for sure have a fiend there:-)
It was great workig wsith you in this course.
Take care,
Hala
Dear Johanna and Hala!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog!
You have no idea how much I learnt from you all!
Thanks for being part of this one in a life time experience!
xxx
Eve