Week 10 Reflections “This is not the end, it’s the beginning”

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.

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.

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.