Week 7, par t2

Dear Blog, and fellow coursemates,

After I wrote my first part of week 7, I went through an interesting experience with PPT. That was my first encounter with this program. I didn't even know where I could find it. Talking to a friend he told me to just click All Programs. There I saw Powerpoint. I opened it. I did my job . I did it the simplest possible with the intention to practice it more in the future. I congratulate myself for the test. I hope the evaluators will accept it, and already I am expecting their remarks, and I am ready to repeat it.

My second experience after I wrote week 7, part I was when I came on Nicenet to choose a partner. I had some names in my mind. All these people were already selected. Now I am with Marcias. I hope we will do a great job together though I have not ever commented her posts, she hadn't commented mine either. The community we built here is strong and it will resist earthquake and tsunamis.

If we have any people from Chile, from Japan, or from the Pacific, I want them to know that I think of them in my prayers.

Roland

Week 7

One more week is on the way out. I am not in a hurry to leave this place, but I worry not to leave anything and to carry home everything we are receiving for bettering our teaching and our comprehension of ourselves, of our students, and all people living around us even virtually. We don't forget what we had the last week. Certainly they are in your Delicious. I didn't visit mine very often, so when I tried to go there yesterday I forgot my username and I wasn't able to enter my Delicious I am sure I haven't lost anything.

I am still on the trail, picking the sweet fruit of the different universities of the United States: how to produce interactive lectures, how to use PP effectively. Those two topics don't go by themselves. They remind others we learned the past weeks: types of learners, divisions of the brains, all of these to tell us we should know our students to offer them the kind of instruction their personality requires. We also learn that we are the main actors in the show. We can have the best materials ,but effectiveness and efficiency depend on our personality and competence.

While looking back at the past, we cannot help thinking about the future. Tomorrow, I will have to think of the final project. What will it be? the 8th of March is a little far away. How is this presentation going to be ? Where am I going to find the materials to prepare it? Fortunately Iam in this class where I'll use the experience of my fellows and my mentors.

Rubric Story

Dear Blog and fellow Bloggers,

Every week, after completing the assignments of the week on Sunday, I have always something to tell you at the last moment before the dealine. I cannot keep from telling you my "Rubric" story tonight.

I started reading and thinking about Creating a Rubric last Tuesday." http://rubistar.4teachers.org" didn't help after I had read it many times. So I went to "http://health.usf.edu/public health/Rubric. Tutorial/default/htm"I read the tutorial many times and I tried to write on the templates it provides. Nothing worked. Then I decided to have a home made template. I did it on Word. I tried to put it on the wiki. Impossible. So I mailed it to Deborah. I decided that I would try many times before I looked for her answer. Nothing worked. I could not add it to the wiki. Finally I went to my Inbox and I discovered that Deborah had already added it to the wiki. George had commented on it. Have the colleagues read it ? I don't know. If I had the e-mail address of all of you, I would have mailed "Roland Rubric.docx" to all of you. Send me your e-mail address,folks. It is another tool of communication we should not omit.

Week 6: part 2

During all the course, we have been concerned mostly with our students in our classrooms. However, one of the objectives of the course is to have the participants "act as train-the-trainers models". So that's something I have in mind and it's why I am trying to master as much as I can everything taught in the course. It's not easy but I have to. How will I act this way?

First I know that I am not good at computers. The first thing I have to do is to practice computers more and ask questions."Learning starts with asking questions", a writer said. At the university, there is a lab attended by twenty students at a time. I will explain the methods I learn here to the lab teacher. We will discuss them and we will set up a program for my class of forty students: e-mail, sharing of sites for the different skills; listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and culture.

Since the 12 th of January, classes do not function normally. I have to see Mr. Raymour, the computer teacher, before I decide to use the computer-lab.

The course, a large experience to share with others, but I'd like to master all its elements.Practice will make me good, if not perfect.

Week 6

Days have been passing away, and we are still on the track. Are we fixing our luggage, ready to go back home? So far, we've been gathering so many things and we've been snubbed so many times. We are still on the track, picking up a lot of new notions for our profession and mostly knowing who we really are,renewing and understanding ourselves. We often believe we are great professors, mastering a lot of things; here, we realize that we still have a lot to learn and, to talk according to this week, we know what kind of learners we are. Because I am a reflective learner, the digital science is very difficult for me. I then understand why I get so many troubles with Webquest and Rubric. I understand the explanations and I can pass them to anybody, but I will take time to make them up.

Knowing the kind of learner I am, I know immediately the kind of teacher I should be. Slow and sometimes inept to manipulate things,I think that I should be patient with my students and with people around me, take time to prepare my classes and deal with people more skillful at computers than I. Also I learn a lot of good things about teaching and I realize my training cannot be over now. At the beginning of the week, I worked long hours to see if I can finish the Webquest. I've not heard of it yet. Today is Friday, late in the afternoon, My rubric is not over. I hope to have it ready before Sunday night.

I think it is the place to express my gratitude to the many colleagues: Nina, Aleyda, Barad, Mahamud, Zlatka and the monitoring staff Deborah and Sandra for their support and their advice.

Week 5: part 2

When I wrote my last blog, my week was not over yet. I still had a lot of experiences to go through. Many times during the last two days, my writings often slipped out of the browser for ever. I had to start writing again. Three times Google refused the password I had been using for a long time. Nicenet I had consideered as the friendliest of all did the same thing. Fortunately I kept writing the same password they finally accepted. What happened then? I don't know. Have you ever experienced such troubles? They were really hard on me.

Those were not the only difficulties of the week. I overcame these ones and I was able to face another one bigger this time. I am finishing the week without completely understanding Webquest. I like the notion and the philosophy, but I have not been able to create one yet. I am still reading and asking questions. I must get it anyway, perhaps not tonight.

Through these difficulties, I have learned a lot of things. I am getting more used to the computer, and this is critical when I have to use technology in my teaching.
I find PLB extraordinary, as much as it can be used to involve the students in their studies and in subjects related to their society. Webquest can also serve this purpose, but it is too much computer-centered while access to the computer is very limited.

I must tell the colleagues their postings on Nicenet help me a lot. Their comments support me a lot. Very often, I visit the links they submitted and I found many of them very obvious.

Week 5

We are still on the track, enjoying the discussions with our colleagues, sharing new ideas, and recalling methods and notions we studied long time ago. I enjoy the company. Thanks to mentors and participants. What have I learned so far and how do I feel ?

Two weeks ago we were introduced to delicious. We created our own delicious page. Only now I realize the purpose of Delicious. My favorite and useful links and those proposed by my friends are on my computer. They are all together. Now working on Webquest or PBL I can choose some and assemble their thoughts and create a special web to discuss a new topic. Can I do it well right now? I don't think so, but I am happy to know how to make it and referring to Suzan Gaer,Zunal ,and Bernie Dodge, I will be able to make my own webquest and help students to make their own. So we will become more autonomous. I mean my students and myself. I am also glad that I have tools that can have people motivated and engaged in their learning.

This week, I feel that I am getting more used to the computer , but so far, I cannot turn the pages as I can do in a printed book. The wish I have now is to be able to register the links just with one click. Copying them on a notebook first and on the computer next, leads to errors. It is really frustrating when you cannot reach a link because of a spelling error.

Anyway, let's go. The methods are helpful and attracting, but the main block is student access to computers. Any way, let's go. The future will better our situations.

Week 4, part 2

I have just written the last assignment of week 4. I felt that I should talk about my experience before I reached this stage. On Friday afternoon, I thought that all my papers had been done. Yesterday I opened my laptop and I plugged into Nicenet. Then I discovered six assignments instead of four. So I had two more to write. I did. Reading the thread of the discussions, I learned a lot of things. I discovered many useful websites. What happened then? I don't know. Anyway, I did my job. But I also realised that some of the tasks written on Conferencing in Nicenet were more than in the description of the assignments. As a lesson, I will remember to check both the conferencing page on Nicenet and the assignment description on the home page of ETeaching before planning my assignments.

Week 4

For a couple of days I have been going through the fourth week. It has been full of surprises. Technical notions I thought I mastered last week have gone off my mind. Fortunately the instructions of the facilitators and comments of my classmates I had printed and handwritten in my notebooks brought me back to the right track. This is not a plea against the web, but a recall that people don't learn overnight. Constant effort , determination, repetition, patience are keys to knowledge and success. This experience and the kindness of the group are things to remember and to pass on to our students.

In spite of the confusion on the computer, let's say, the lack of mastery of the computer, the instability of the electrical power and of the connections, I have learned a lot of things. Pedagogically, the ABCD paradigm and Bloom's taxonomy were reinforced in my mind. In addition to the pedagogical lessons and websites about listening ans speaking, I discovered a lot of websites about teaching and learning reading. They are saved in my Delicious, though sometimes, the latter doesn't accept my data, but I will go back to my delicious and with some pats on its back, it will keep the webs I think useful to teachers and to learners.

I also discovered the wealth of interactivity and exchanges. When my memory fails,it often does, the comments of my colleagues remind me of what I have forgotten. In my reflections, I cannot neglect the article of Jarek Krajka, "Using the Internet in ESL Writing Instruction". It is a gold mine. Besides, I will recall the lesson plan models. With some adaptations, most of them will fit my needs and consequently those of my students.

I know that I still have to work on my technological knowledge, but I still rely on my paper and handwriting while trying to be better on the Internet. The web is a must for teachers in the digital era.