In the final week, we attempted to assess ourselves by the LoTi(Level of Teaching Innovation) Framework, a research tool for evaluating authentic classroom technology use.
In spite of the richly elaborate computer room, I think my school as a whole is not using it effectively. I assess my school to be at level 0 to 1 in LoTi Framework. Teaching practices in almost all of the subjects including Japanese class usually do not involve the digital tools and resources. In some teacher-centered class settings, technology is occasionally used to help the teacher to give students knowledge and information and to manage the classroom.
The majority of teachers know how to gather information by using the web, but there is not much opportunity in class for students to freely use digital tools and resources to enhance their learning. A lot of sites are blocked and controlled in my school from being used.
The new school year is going to start in April and I will have a new class to teach and work with new staff members. I hope I will be able to introduce to my fellow teachers things we can do in the class using digital resources and tools.
Today is the end of this web-course but my journey to be an e-teacher continues.
I cannot thank Debora, Sandra, other guest instructors and all my classmates for helping me learn and grow as an E-teacher. I would also like to express my gratitude to all the people who are involved in creating this web course and people that recommended me to this program.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Week 9 Reflections “Venture into Useful Webtools”
I have never tried to see so many great websites before. It would wear me out just to see them all, so I decided to pick just a few for trial. I will take time to try them in the future.
As my journey to become an E-teacher comes toward the end, I came to see which direction I am going with my learning now. This week one of our tasks was to create at least one of templates and exercises. I thought the EasyTestMaker(http://easytestmaker.com)would be beneficial for me to learn. I hope eventually it would save me time to make my own handouts. Another thing I tried was “Quizbreak(http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/ria/)”. With it I created a jeopardy game (http://clear.msu.edu/quizbreak/play.php?board=33541-1268439065). I am either going to use this game at the end of the class after studying the course book for consolidation or at the beginning of the next lesson for provoking students to research and read more. It is very exciting to be able to use several tools to keep students interested.
The goal of education is to have students become autonomous learners. I think the teacher always have to keep that in mind when s/he makes a teaching plan. How can students become critical and constructive thinkers? I sometimes wonder if we teachers might have paved too good a road for the youth. Students nowadays have access to so many “state of the art” tools to learn foreign languages. However, tools alone don’t make learners competent enough to be autonomous learners. Skillful human techniques can only manipulate the great web tools. “There is no royal road to learning.”
Blogging and posting comments in the Nicenet made me a little more critical thinker and reflect more on what I did than before. So, I also want to implement those into my lessons. I created a class blog (http://misatoenglishnetwork.blogspot.com) and a class through the Nicenet (Class name:Misato1-3, Class key:3290524M59) for my students and coworkers in my school. As for making my blog inviting and neat, I would like to learn how to process pictures for uploading.
As this online class is nearing the end, I have mixed feelings. Doing tasks, reading assignments, reading others’ comments and making my own in the conference room and writing blogs have been overwhelming to me, but it has been fun and exciting. The idea of having to do them haunted me day and night. However, I know I am going to miss this class. I would like to learn more about new methods and techniques to share with my coworkers and students.
I visited Dilip in his blog and learned how he also has felt overpowered by the experience in this course. He was one of the classmates that have been leading the class for giving good ideas and opinions. He said, “I have cultivated habit of thinking beyond horizons… And this is unforgettable learning experience.” I agree with him and cannot thank my facilitators and all my classmates enough for their energy and goodwill they have put into this course.
As my journey to become an E-teacher comes toward the end, I came to see which direction I am going with my learning now. This week one of our tasks was to create at least one of templates and exercises. I thought the EasyTestMaker(http://easytestmaker.com)would be beneficial for me to learn. I hope eventually it would save me time to make my own handouts. Another thing I tried was “Quizbreak(http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/ria/)”. With it I created a jeopardy game (http://clear.msu.edu/quizbreak/play.php?board=33541-1268439065). I am either going to use this game at the end of the class after studying the course book for consolidation or at the beginning of the next lesson for provoking students to research and read more. It is very exciting to be able to use several tools to keep students interested.
The goal of education is to have students become autonomous learners. I think the teacher always have to keep that in mind when s/he makes a teaching plan. How can students become critical and constructive thinkers? I sometimes wonder if we teachers might have paved too good a road for the youth. Students nowadays have access to so many “state of the art” tools to learn foreign languages. However, tools alone don’t make learners competent enough to be autonomous learners. Skillful human techniques can only manipulate the great web tools. “There is no royal road to learning.”
Blogging and posting comments in the Nicenet made me a little more critical thinker and reflect more on what I did than before. So, I also want to implement those into my lessons. I created a class blog (http://misatoenglishnetwork.blogspot.com) and a class through the Nicenet (Class name:Misato1-3, Class key:3290524M59) for my students and coworkers in my school. As for making my blog inviting and neat, I would like to learn how to process pictures for uploading.
As this online class is nearing the end, I have mixed feelings. Doing tasks, reading assignments, reading others’ comments and making my own in the conference room and writing blogs have been overwhelming to me, but it has been fun and exciting. The idea of having to do them haunted me day and night. However, I know I am going to miss this class. I would like to learn more about new methods and techniques to share with my coworkers and students.
I visited Dilip in his blog and learned how he also has felt overpowered by the experience in this course. He was one of the classmates that have been leading the class for giving good ideas and opinions. He said, “I have cultivated habit of thinking beyond horizons… And this is unforgettable learning experience.” I agree with him and cannot thank my facilitators and all my classmates enough for their energy and goodwill they have put into this course.
Monday, March 08, 2010
Week 8 Reflections “Autonomous Learner Manages How to Study“
There is success and failure in the way we teach even though we teach the same class and there are ups and downs in students’ motivation. What changes students to become autonomous learners? There are many variables in life to change a person’s way of thinking. Dimitrios Thanasoulas in “What is Learner Autonomy and How Can It Be Fostered?” says that autonomous learning is achieved when certain conditions obtain: cognitive and metacognitive strategies on the part of the learner, motivation, attitudes, and knowledge about language learning, i.e., a kind of metalanguage. However, education gives a big influence in students’ life. A teacher is the one to show the way to become autonomous learner. What a virtuous job we have!
This week the issue we had to face was how to encourage learner autonomy with the use of technology. After reading all the definitions about the autonomous learners in the article, I think it is more likely that those who
have learned to be responsible and attained self-discipline are the ones that
will become autonomous learners outside the classroom. Actually students and teachers are not given much freedom to be able to take charge of their learning in class. To me autonomous learners are not totally in charge of every aspect of their learning. In my definition autonomous learners are those who have the control of their time to study alone without being forced, are able to assess their skills and know what to do to enhance their skills to achieve their goals.
As for encouraging autonomy in students, for example, I take small steps
to bring my students to be independent thinkers. I have students make
their own notebooks and use them to keep track of their extra work. The way to use them is up to them. Some use them for doing optional assignments and some for writing lyrics of their favorite music or for preparing for the term-tests. Only a few students submitted their notebooks at first but more students started to hand in theirs because the individual study outside the class gained extra points. This is still a controlled study, yet as autonomous as our system allows.
Another independent study for students is that each student carries a vocabulary book and studies on their own and takes a vocabulary test whenever he/she wants to take it. The tests are made and printed out by the teacher.
Autonomous activity after school is an English Club, an extra-curriculum activity. Students get together once a week and read or watch English plays or movies, or make and play skits. They plan among themselves what they like to do in the time in the allotted time. English teachers are overseers for them.
I visited Hassina’s blog and learned again that we teachers have such an important job to guide our students to find what autonomous learners are. Autonomous life holds a lot of freedom and responsibility.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Week 7 Reflections “Hyperlinking from One Place to Another”
I had my computer quit on me early this week. Not knowing what the problem is or how to fix my computer, I was in panic and discouraged that everything I installed in my computer would be gone. I learned one important thing. Technology is great and useful, but we cannot depend on it with 100 % blind trust. Digital recording is easy and neat without a pile of documented papers around, but it was old fashioned pen and paper that saved me.
This week in the course, we started off discussing difficulties on having a large class. The class size is one of the most challenging situations the teacher faces all alone. Even though students in college should have some personal motivations to learn English, the size of a class tends to make them passive learners. Unlike the difficulty that Dillip, Jonathan and Andreja have in teaching a huge class in a college, my difficulty is to motivate students who do not have a desire to learn or who are so hard to get excited about learning anything in a large class. I do not want to discourage those that want to learn in class by the class size.
Reading “Personalizing Language Learning in Large Classes” by Chao-ching Ling
( http://iteslj.org/Articles/Lin-Personalizing.html)
and “Teaching large Classes”
(http://www.uoregon.edu/~tep/workshops/teachertraining/largeclasses/usingtechnology/usingtechnology.html ) shows that it is possible to have interactive, student-centered lesson with the use of technology in spite of the size of a class. I realize that I cannot blame the size of a class anymore for not having success as a teacher.
In the beginning of week 7, I was thinking of a technical method to assess and evaluate students’ performance and developed skills. I enjoy making teaching plans with new methods but spending so much time in correcting reports and papers sometimes does not allow me to . All kinds of odd jobs take up my time at work. I hope I will gain wisdom to know when and how to use technology to focus my energy and time on what is needed with a humanistic approach.
Deborah’ thoughts in the comment in the reference room re-focused my goal. She said, “ConcepTests and Minute writes/QickWrite, most of these interaction-encouraging techniques are not graded by the teacher. If you encourage students to learn from each other, so much the better. Whether they learn from each other or from the teacher doesn’t really matter.”
Assessing and grading by teachers can motivate learners, but motivation does not have to be visual reword. I just need to remind myself that learning does not come from the teacher alone. Creating an environment for students to learn from each other or by themselves is a crucial job for me.
A lesson with the help of PowerPoint certainly could create an environment to make students want to participate in class. Thanks to the technical tips and sample examples from “Presenting with PowerPoint”(http://tep.uoregon.edu/technology/powerpoint/docs/presenting.pdf) and “Top 10 Slide Tips - basic information about making a better presentation”(http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html),
I was able to enjoy creating a game, “What/Who am I?” The game has to be interactive between the teacher and students and between students. I want the game to activate students’ background knowledge to be ready for the upcoming learning.
When I visited Dilip’s blog and read his reflections, I found out he also thinks that we teachers try to find a best method to work in class but there is not one ultimate technique that works all the time and for every situation. We keep searching for new methods to teach. I think that is what the teacher does.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Week 6 Reflections “Navigating Students through the Rubrics”
While grading papers for my students, I wondered if I was really teaching anything to my students. The article, “Alternative Assessment and Second Language Study: What and Why?” by Charles R. Hancock http://www.cal.org./resources/digest/hancoc01.html makes me think the tests that I give my students in my class does not fully help and motivate their learning.
Charles Hancock mentioned in his article that there is a difference between tests and assessment. “The test is usually kept hidden from the students until it is administered and it is sometimes viewed as feedback concerning students’ progress, while assessment is usually ongoing strategy through which student learning is not only monitored but by which students are involved in decision making on the degree to which their performance matches their ability.”
Through assessment, students can evaluate their own performance. I think implementing assessment using a rubric to show students clearly what is expected of them in my class is very beneficial. In this way students will become more responsible of their learning and adjust themselves to the expected level. I see that it is important for a teacher to set the course for students’ `self-assessment` and `self-adjustment`. It is one way to create an autonomous student.
This week we learned to make a rubric with the help of “Creating a Rubric: Tutorial” (http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm/ ). I found it very challenging and amusing. I made rubrics for my webquest, ”Exploring Castles in Okinawa”(http://questgarden.com/96/22/9/100211050643). The most essential work was to keep the objectives in mind and make criteria clear. I am still not sure of my rubric being effective enough to create motivation in my students. I am a little afraid to even use it. What if it is over their heads?
Another thing I learned this week was that learners have their own styles and we all have our own preferences of different learning styles. “Learning Styles and Strategies” by Richard M. Felder (http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Learning_Styles.html) teaches me to see students from different angles and makes me feel responsible for my students’ learning.. If the technology is to broaden the chance for any type of learners to be successful, why should I not take an advantage of it?
The newspaper article in Japan Times on Feb.20, “Wakayama school uses iPod Touch for English lesson” says that an elementary school is implementing i-Pod as a teaching tool. (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100220f2.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+(The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories)&utm_content=Google+Reader)
We teachers need to prepare for the surging waves of this new educational revolution coming from Web.
Charles Hancock mentioned in his article that there is a difference between tests and assessment. “The test is usually kept hidden from the students until it is administered and it is sometimes viewed as feedback concerning students’ progress, while assessment is usually ongoing strategy through which student learning is not only monitored but by which students are involved in decision making on the degree to which their performance matches their ability.”
Through assessment, students can evaluate their own performance. I think implementing assessment using a rubric to show students clearly what is expected of them in my class is very beneficial. In this way students will become more responsible of their learning and adjust themselves to the expected level. I see that it is important for a teacher to set the course for students’ `self-assessment` and `self-adjustment`. It is one way to create an autonomous student.
This week we learned to make a rubric with the help of “Creating a Rubric: Tutorial” (http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm/ ). I found it very challenging and amusing. I made rubrics for my webquest, ”Exploring Castles in Okinawa”(http://questgarden.com/96/22/9/100211050643). The most essential work was to keep the objectives in mind and make criteria clear. I am still not sure of my rubric being effective enough to create motivation in my students. I am a little afraid to even use it. What if it is over their heads?
Another thing I learned this week was that learners have their own styles and we all have our own preferences of different learning styles. “Learning Styles and Strategies” by Richard M. Felder (http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Learning_Styles.html) teaches me to see students from different angles and makes me feel responsible for my students’ learning.. If the technology is to broaden the chance for any type of learners to be successful, why should I not take an advantage of it?
The newspaper article in Japan Times on Feb.20, “Wakayama school uses iPod Touch for English lesson” says that an elementary school is implementing i-Pod as a teaching tool. (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100220f2.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+japantimes+(The+Japan+Times%3A+All+Stories)&utm_content=Google+Reader)
We teachers need to prepare for the surging waves of this new educational revolution coming from Web.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Week 5 “Taking Students on a Field Trip to the Web”
Though having used different tools to motivate students before, I was always a grammar-based, very traditional teacher. Traditional teacher-centered lesson is not all bad, but I think that made students passive learners. What teachers need to do is to train students to be independent learners.
For that purpose, project-based learning and WebQuest type tools, when used properly, will be very beneficial to the educational system. Students will have a specific topic to talk about, otherwise they are sure to talk about what TV program they watched the previous night. It would be so hard to stay still and keep quiet for 50 minutes. When they have a project that they have to finish in a certain time limit, I am sure that what they talk about in class is their project. Many of the questions I would receive would be about how to deal with the project or what this sentence means instead of “Can I go to the restroom?” What could make a teacher happier?
So, I think a well-thought-of project based learning lesson will change students’ behavior as well as teachers’. I would rather spend much more time thinking about my lesson plans for students than any other odd jobs that are required to do as a public servant.
In “Less Teaching and More Learning” (http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385 ), Susan Gaer said that her students develop a sense of community. I see the project –based learning could create the learning field to connect students to each other. My first technology-assisted PBL is “Intergenerational Activity on Saving Local Folktales”. The reason I chose this topic is that I wanted to make a connection between the young and the elderly to preserve a part of Okinawan culture and good old folktales told by them.
As the birth rate in Japan is going down, there will be a lot less children and much more senior citizens. But working with the elderly is not so appealing to young people and there are not enough workers in nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities. I hope this project will help my students interact with the elderly as well as appreciate their rich culture.
Another thing we learned this week was creating a webquest.
Thanks to the clear and precise explanation on Zunal WebQuest Maker (http://www.zunal.com/part1.php ) and WebQuest. org (http://www.webquest.org/index-resources.php), I was able to understand its concept. It has been quite nerve wracking. It took me much time making every component of a webquest, but every time I felt the burden making it, I went back to the goal, “what do I want students to learn through the inquiry I present to them?” The work has to involve the use of the web, discussion, team collaboration and cooperation and oral performance. I searched the web for projects that matched my topic, a kind of method I want to take and the English proficiency level of my students. I wanted the topic to be something related students to the community, and something some students are familiar or all of the students should know about.
I appreciate pioneers and predecessors so much for their hard work on creating webquests. On the base of their works I was able to make my webquest.
Without using the examples of the projects of “WebQuest Explore Oregon” (http://ces.nwasco.k12.or.us/staff/lhughitt/webquests/exploring_oregon.htm) and “Travel Brochure WebQuest” by Miss Kelli Grammes (http://www.beth.k12.pa.us/schools/wwwclass/kgrammes/kgwebquest/kgwebquest.htm#process). I could not have finished making it. The URL of my first webquest is http://questgarden.com/96/22/9/100211050643/ . It is unrefined and not polished but I enjoyed making it.
What I like most about school is I learn something new. This week I learned the web to be the field where students go around and learn by seeing and touching. The webquest would be a field trip. Teachers need to watch over their students and make sure they do not get lost. That is the metaphor I used for the web and webquest.
For that purpose, project-based learning and WebQuest type tools, when used properly, will be very beneficial to the educational system. Students will have a specific topic to talk about, otherwise they are sure to talk about what TV program they watched the previous night. It would be so hard to stay still and keep quiet for 50 minutes. When they have a project that they have to finish in a certain time limit, I am sure that what they talk about in class is their project. Many of the questions I would receive would be about how to deal with the project or what this sentence means instead of “Can I go to the restroom?” What could make a teacher happier?
So, I think a well-thought-of project based learning lesson will change students’ behavior as well as teachers’. I would rather spend much more time thinking about my lesson plans for students than any other odd jobs that are required to do as a public servant.
In “Less Teaching and More Learning” (http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385 ), Susan Gaer said that her students develop a sense of community. I see the project –based learning could create the learning field to connect students to each other. My first technology-assisted PBL is “Intergenerational Activity on Saving Local Folktales”. The reason I chose this topic is that I wanted to make a connection between the young and the elderly to preserve a part of Okinawan culture and good old folktales told by them.
As the birth rate in Japan is going down, there will be a lot less children and much more senior citizens. But working with the elderly is not so appealing to young people and there are not enough workers in nursing homes or rehabilitation facilities. I hope this project will help my students interact with the elderly as well as appreciate their rich culture.
Another thing we learned this week was creating a webquest.
Thanks to the clear and precise explanation on Zunal WebQuest Maker (http://www.zunal.com/part1.php ) and WebQuest. org (http://www.webquest.org/index-resources.php), I was able to understand its concept. It has been quite nerve wracking. It took me much time making every component of a webquest, but every time I felt the burden making it, I went back to the goal, “what do I want students to learn through the inquiry I present to them?” The work has to involve the use of the web, discussion, team collaboration and cooperation and oral performance. I searched the web for projects that matched my topic, a kind of method I want to take and the English proficiency level of my students. I wanted the topic to be something related students to the community, and something some students are familiar or all of the students should know about.
I appreciate pioneers and predecessors so much for their hard work on creating webquests. On the base of their works I was able to make my webquest.
Without using the examples of the projects of “WebQuest Explore Oregon” (http://ces.nwasco.k12.or.us/staff/lhughitt/webquests/exploring_oregon.htm) and “Travel Brochure WebQuest” by Miss Kelli Grammes (http://www.beth.k12.pa.us/schools/wwwclass/kgrammes/kgwebquest/kgwebquest.htm#process). I could not have finished making it. The URL of my first webquest is http://questgarden.com/96/22/9/100211050643/ . It is unrefined and not polished but I enjoyed making it.
What I like most about school is I learn something new. This week I learned the web to be the field where students go around and learn by seeing and touching. The webquest would be a field trip. Teachers need to watch over their students and make sure they do not get lost. That is the metaphor I used for the web and webquest.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Week 4 Reflections “Web-Traveling Broadens the Mind”
”Traveling broadens the mind” has been true in my life so far. Yet, it is a bit difficult travel in cyberspace. Thanks to my instructors and colleagues, I have come to see so many great sites for instructors and learners, but my progress to become an E-teacher is still slow. Not being able to have my homework done properly makes me nervous.
However, there is a big change in me now. Taking the web-learning course has been changing my method of teaching drastically. I occasionally printed out web-materials and used them in the classroom and also had students research for the related articles before, but never have I used a website as a tutorial tool. This week I was exposed to several articles and many websites that are used as tutors such as “ESL Independent Study Lab,”(http://legacy.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/toppicks.html) or ”Grammar Blast”, http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/quizzes/.
The direction of future education is going toward learner-centered approaches vice teacher-centered. I realized the methods I have been taking so far are very much teacher-centered. I had a lot of control over them. With the use of technology, it is time to give students a little more autonomy to learn. Each student has a different method to learn and we teachers need different tools to tackle the diversity of students at school and it helps them enjoy their work.
“Variety is the spice of life”
However, there is a big change in me now. Taking the web-learning course has been changing my method of teaching drastically. I occasionally printed out web-materials and used them in the classroom and also had students research for the related articles before, but never have I used a website as a tutorial tool. This week I was exposed to several articles and many websites that are used as tutors such as “ESL Independent Study Lab,”(http://legacy.lclark.edu/~krauss/toppicks/toppicks.html) or ”Grammar Blast”, http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/quizzes/.
The direction of future education is going toward learner-centered approaches vice teacher-centered. I realized the methods I have been taking so far are very much teacher-centered. I had a lot of control over them. With the use of technology, it is time to give students a little more autonomy to learn. Each student has a different method to learn and we teachers need different tools to tackle the diversity of students at school and it helps them enjoy their work.
“Variety is the spice of life”
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