The last reflections on Week 10: what a journey!

Yes, that was a long journey… This is the final blog about our Building Teaching Skills course and as Donna asked I answered her questions for this one. And during the reading, I was amazed to check that I learned so many new things. It was really intense! I’m really grateful to participate of this course and to be guided and supported by Donna. Also, the marvelous and very well experienced teachers that made part of this group that certainly helped me to improve my way to teach and gave me a new perspective of their reality.

Thank you so much!

Now my list…

             Most successful topics

·        ABCD’s objectives

·        Delicious.com

·        Webquest

·        Power point

·        Wallwisher

             Most useful

·        ABCD’s objectives

·        Delicious.com

·        Power point

·        Leaner autonomy

             Tools

·        Power point

·        Tools for educators

·        Easy Test Maker

 

            Other tools

All the tools presented were really interesting and certainly they will be very useful. But thinking about a topic I would suggest the Flipped classroom.

And now, for the last time…

That’s it.

 

Claudia

Week 9 – Happy and sad??

This is the end of week 9 and I’m ready to embrace the world through the web but at the same time feeling sad because it’s getting to the end.

I totally agree with my colleague Dev who posted on his blog as the title of his week 9: “Eyes smile no more”

All our discussions, the material given, the support given by Donna, our blog posts, all these things contributed to change my mind and open it to new directions in my way to teach. I’m not the same as before.

Now, just changing the topic, this week we had some researches based on the Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles. The studies showed us several kinds of learning styles and with them the challenge to us, teachers, to overcome them and help our students to go beyond their limits. And I just can conclude that my job is really complex. On the other hand, it’s challenging and there’s no space for routine.

Also, we had to conclude our project draft this week. And it was a bit hard for me because every time I looked at it I had the feeling that it was missing something. Then I changed something here and something there many times before getting to the final draft.

Well, I’m going to the next week now with opposite feelings in my heart: happiness and sadness.

So, see you there.

Claudia

 

 

 

 

Wow!! The stunning Week 8 has come

 

As I’m doing throughout my previous blogs, I’m going to start my comments about the readings, that were transformed into websites. Our task to research each one of them was really fun. Each one that I opened, delighted me because I was thinking about the interesting things that I could prepare to my classes, the students reactions to that and also the challenge to prepare them. I’m going to tell briefly what I liked on some of them

The Lanternfish ( http://bogglesworldesl.com/)  - there are several interesting tasks that teachers can prepare using pictures (that I love!) and many other options that are not related only with pictures. My colleague Juan Cordova developed with great ability his task using it.

Easy Test Maker (http://www.easytestmaker.com/default.aspx) – if you are worried about preparing test, this is a good solution. There you can choose the type of the test and all the features that a test has. You just have to add your content questions to it. It’s really simple and fast.

Tools for educators (http://www.toolsforeducators.com/) – it’s like lanternfish website but I think a little bit more colorful. You can create many different tasks there. One example is the construction of a board game that my colleague Herman prepared to present as his task. I have to say that I took some time doing my own and it was really good!

Hot Potatoes ( http://hotpot.uvic.ca/) – Gap-filling activity was one of the options that my colleagues Vinay and Livia chose to present their task this week. This website has the same possibilities as the lanternfish and some other.

These were just some websites that we had in our list. While I researched them, I also was preparing my project draft. Like my friend Julhas pointed out on his blog, this week was like to be in a rollercoaster. Certainly it was hard but it’s a relief sensation that I feel after doing all that was asked.

If you think that this is the end, you’re wrong! The high point of the week was the presence of Jeff Magoto in the Nicenet presenting this wonderful, marvelous, incredible tool called ANVILL (https://anvill.uoregon.edu/anvill2/). I’m sure that all my colleagues really loved this tool because we, teachers, and also the students can use it to develop the listening and speaking skills of our students. It’s like a language lab in the internet and the best part that it’s free. Can you imagine that?

Jeff pointed out what this tool could offer us, but also told that we need to have our feet on the ground when talking about tech tool activities. He observed that it took some time to develop them, much more than, a usual one, but it’s an effort that has a great value when you see and prove the improvement in our students learning and behavior.

Now, I’m feeling like a warrior that’s ready for the war with all the weapons on his hand. But of course, if one of them fails, I still have my plan B to carry on.

Warrior Claudia is now going to week 9.

                                                                 See you there!