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