Time to say goodbye to WEEK SEVEN

    This week's topic was what I had been expecting from the start of the course. It certainly met my expectation because I have learned how to survive and manage the class if only one computer is available. All the articles I have read discussed how one computer can be used by a teacher to create technology enhanced lesson plans which foster learner autonomy. From the learners' point of view, one computer can cater to their needs as a resource station. However, I have learned one important aspect of handling it with care so as all the students will have the chance to engage in class activities. Or else it can affect the students' motivation level which in turn can make them feel insecure and the worst case scenario is that they may even lose interest in learning. As a result, they don't have a sense of control over their learning process and achieving learner autonomy would be out of the question. I also have learned that although a teacher's role is just a facilitator in an autonomous classroom, to make it happen, he or she needs to be well prepared about what he or she has to do with the class, lessons, activities, group work, pair work either with the presence or absence of technology. 

  

After doing all the readings concerning learner autonomy, one computer classroom and mobile devices, my confidence has been restored even if I can only afford to use one computer in my classroom. If I can't make that happen, I am still left with a chance to develop learner autonomy without technology as long as I can establish meaningful learning objectives and the contents, methods and techniques can address different learning styles. Besides, rubrics can be used to evaluate the performance of the students. Then I can be on the right track to let students achieve a certain degree of independence. I totally agree with the fact that it won't happen overnight. It will definitely take time but it is worthwhile to witness change and be the change and change with change. 

Participating and sharing ideas on Nicenet have been an incredible experience as always. And Padlet ( Wallwisher ) is an easy tool but effective to encourage students to be engaged. 

Planning for the final project and actually putting the plans into practice is both challenging and exciting. My students and I have been on the second week of our journey to familiarize with change, adapt to it and make the most out of it. The second assignment for them is to chat with online Tutor Mike  and the detailed instruction was sent to their emails. Some of them like chatting with him owing to the fact that they all can practice English and what they like most is whenever they make a grammar mistake or a spelling error, it is corrected by him and therefore they can learn from their mistakes. I was surprised because they were open minded and brave enough to accept their mistakes by not letting this interfere with their enthusiasm in learning. There are a few students who are not satisfied with Tutor Mike because he couldn't explain or discuss on their chosen topic even though they understand he just responds to what he has been programmed to do. However, according to their blog posts, they all agree on the point that they can learn from him and they even plan to chat with him from time to time. Although their blog posts were not without grammar mistakes, they did their best to express themselves, approach the topic in a creative way and everyone actively took part in the classroom discussion about their experience with Tutor Mike and I am very pleased that they are engaged at last. 

After all, it has been quite a roller coaster ride for me to take this course. However, I am enjoying the ride! :))

Best,

Kyi Tha Wai

Week six gone!

I have hit the jackpot this week. I have discovered a lot of priceless information on different techniques and how to use them to create a student centered environment. First, I even sent an email to Courtney because I didn't know which one to choose to start the reading. She was right. Every resource has its usefulness and if I was interested I could dig more to get detailed information of  the things which captured my interest. Thank you Courtney. I at last knew what you meant " We will be each other's guide this week". I was very much interested in what others had discussed about the things based on their choice of materials. I couldn't read them all at one sitting. I could learn from them, their experience, ideas and what they planned to do for their classes. Thank you everyone for sharing and I am glad I am part of this community to share and learn from others. I mean it.

I have read it in Nicenet posts where Courtney and others discussed about "Interactive Lectures
Summaries of 36 Formats" where there are four main categories "Basic Idea" "Application" "Sample topics" "Flow" but it gives us the idea of how to use certain techniques to meet the needs of the students depending on the type of class we conduct. This is particularly to my liking because I can use them with my classes. I don't even have the honor to conduct large classes yet. But even if I do, I will have the confidence to do so as I have learned a lot more about conducting large classes by choosing an appropriate technology to maintain the attention of the students, increase class attendance, promote peer discussion and encourage student involvement.  Doing this course not only increases our knowledge but also boost our confidence to be able to do well with the classes we teach. 

The article "Improving In-class Discussions" gives me some idea of using a simple tool like emailing to motivate students to engage in class discussion by asking relevant questions based on their response before the start of the discussion. Forgive me if my blog post is lengthy this week. I have a lot to discuss and read this week on Nicenet and now I can't stop myself from sharing more from what I have read. "The use of mobile devices in the classroom" from Chapter 33, Mobile Learning in the book, Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis sheds some lights on how to make use of mobile phones to reach the students and inspire them to use what they are already good at i.e., using mobile phones in the classroom. I quite like the idea of setting rules about using mobiles on the very first day so that they are made aware of the dos and don't s and the problem is solved in a mature and respectful way. This can be used to teach not only small classes but also large ones. 

The last I would like to comment on is CL (Cooperative Learning) which gives me a lot of ideas on how to help both bright and weak students work harmoniously. I like what Alison King (1993) uses an exercise she calls"guided reciprocal peer questioning, which consists of giving students high-level question stems and having them use these stems to construct specific questions on the course material, which they then ask their classmates."The author of "Cooperative Learning in Technical Courses" explained all the possible questions about using CL in the classrooms. What impressed me most is the skills CL helps students achieve like collaborative skills - leadership, decision-making, communication and using a mixture of problem-solving, think-pair-share, trouble-shooting, brainstorming, and question generation can increase the level of active student involvement. Besides it has been shown that cooperative learning is more effective than the traditional individual/competitive approach to education. 

I have gone through a lot of websites and pdf files concerning interactive learning using PowerPoint. I had great time creating interactive PowerPoint games and also liked to watch the YouTube video which shows how to create Jeopardy Game step by step. Overall, I have learned that it is important that we let students engage in the lessons and encourage their involvement but not to bombard them with our overuse or misuse of technology.

Finally, I have started using technology in my class like I discussed in my project step 4 and based on Courtney's feedback on my plan. I let them create their own blogs first by letting them read how to blog. It was a class of 12 and only one person was a computer illiterate but the problem was solved because I noticed she was helped and guided by other classmates who knew how to create a gmail then a blog. Before and after the class, they discussed about what they did, what problems they had creating a blog and if they had questions they asked me directly and I was happy to answer their questions. Since it was new to them, when they first received my email on what they had to do, they were excited and their first post was their experience and feelings about creating a blog. Then my comment was their feedback on what they had done. And for this first time, in order for them to interact with each other, I let them read all the blogs and comment on them in a respectful way by addressing the name of the author and their names. My objective was to improve their writing and reading skills. But from the very start, I can see them discussing, interacting, communicating and learning to respect each other. These are extra bonuses they have achieved apart from my original plan. What can I say? Speechless. Not because I am unhappy but because the opposite is true from what I have done. They are even expecting their next assignment. 

Last but not least, thank you Courtney and all to comment on my post. This gives me the strength to continue doing what I am doing with courage and enthusiasm. 

Best,

KyiThaWai

Simply just week five :)

Hello everyone,

This is yet another week where I have uncovered more amazing tools for my teaching.  I have learned a lot this week. Before I took this course, my students must have thought like this following picture concerning their performance.

 First of all, rubric and alternative assessment is very useful for teachers setting clear, understandable goals and providing guidelines for students so that they will know how to meet the necessary criteria to get their work done. Before I just knew we needed rubrics but after reading some articles I have realized rubrics can be divided into four types and how each type should be used for different types of assessment.We, teachers have now experienced the powerful influence of rubrics by ourselves whenever we post something on Nicenet or a blog. We know how we are going to be assessed for every task we do so that we don't deviate from our original goal post because rubrics constantly remind us of how to meet the expectations of our course requirements. We can give our students that message through rubrics, this sense of awareness can help them guide onto the right track and they won't be overwhelmed by unnecessary details outside of their work. Since alternative assessment is performance based and focuses more on the strengths of the students, learner centered classrooms benefit a lot where students actively involve in judging their own progress. I used "Rubistar" to create rubrics for my students and I believe I have made a difference in their learning. It was not like my traditional way of assessment where they wrote an essay and I checked it and what they knew was sentences must be grammatically correct. But after showing them the rubric I have created, they knew what needed to be done and how it should be done rather than did it blindly. As a result, their writing improved and I was more than happy to see it happening. Now, I know what I have to do, stick to rubrics to get satisfying outcomes.

PBL and webquest are very new to me. But I have learned that they have a positive effect on the learners. They motivate them, give them a chance to work harmoniously in their community, let them deal with real issues by developing  their creativity, critical thinking, language, analytical and problem solving skills. Most important of all, these tools help them to blend their abilities with technology to accomplish their project in a given time frame. Sharing about this and writing posts on Nicenet really helps me learn more, to get more ideas from others and to look at things from different perspectives. I have decided to apply them in my classroom to help make my students to be more confident and independent in their learning.

This week I am glad that I have finally come up with the solution for my project. Thanks a lot Courtney for putting me back on the right track.

Last but not least, the most exciting part is doing extra credit task even though it's not compulsory for this week task. I wrestled with my time to finish it. But after I have done it, I have realized it's worth it. I used Zunal to create my own webquest after observing the provided samples. I was very much interested in planning a webquest for my students. I am confident that this will enhance their multiple skills. Even my motivation was at its highest to do this type of systematical project plans and guidelines for the learners. Not to mention the fact that how effective it can be when learners use this new way of learning.

Awesome! Fantastic! Great! Fabulous! Amazing! I love you WEEK FIVE!

All the best,

Kyi Tha Wai

Almost a month!

This is the fourth week that I have participated in this course. A month has passed right before my eyes. Every week we learn something new and different. For this week's assignment, I started with an article by Jarek Krajka which gives insight into emailing, the role of a teacher in a classroom, ways to conduct online activities, developing writing skill at the same time can enhance related English skills like reading, vocabulary work, speaking/sharing with the class and even listening to others. This gives me much food for thought and helps me create a more technologically integrated classroom.

Another article by Larry J. Mikulecky on "Using Internet-Based Children's Literature to Teach EFL" also shows us using vocabulary mastery to assess the comprehension level of a person's reading whether it is independent, instructional or frustrational. I particularly like the "five-finger method" and I applied it in my classrooms and it gives the learners a sense of control over their chosen reading materials.

Participating in Nicenet discussion on Reading, Writing and Vocabulary Skills has let me explore invaluable resources from different links. I was first even overwhelmed the variety of choices I could use for my students. Whichever link I opened, it was suitable to help the students with their necessary skills. It's also good to have Andrea as a guest because what she shared based on her experience is really of a great help in our journey to acquire web skills. Thank you Courtney for bringing her into our amazing community.

Meeting deadlines was quite a challenge for me but it was worth doing it. Preparing a technology enhanced lesson plan was quite a struggle for me but I could manage it at last by observing all the websites provided on our week 4 course. I really want feedback from Courtney and all my classmates about my lesson plan so that I will know where my weaknesses and strengths are.

While issuing problems we face in our class which we have chosen for our project, it helps us more focused on the area that needs improvement and leads us slowly to our final project.

From the additional reading lists, I love to use this website http://www.rong-chang.com/tutor.htm with my students and their positive feedback and the posts about their experience on their respective blogs using this website really motivates me to keep using technology whenever I can.

Ok. I am ready for week 5 and its assignments. Let's do it.

Best,

Kyi Tha Wai