Dear All,
The week seven came with new colours. (Aside: The colour metaphor comes here because we are celebrating Festival of Colours known as Holi in India). It came with colourful lessons on teaching large classes with myriad number of students (large classes). It also gave colourful articles in pdf, presentation and you tube videos to prepare painted interactive presentations.
Well, if I give an objective, frank and distant overview (wearing BLUE cap of Edward De Bono), I would like to say that this week did not give much new things to learn. I say NEW things. In all previous week, delicious, rubric, web quest, search engines, blog etc brought wonderful surprises. Surprises because I was using those things but here, in this course I found NEW meaning in them and learnt innovative usages.
So far as last week and its two major topics of discussions are concerned (viz. teaching large classes and interactive PowerPoint), I did not get innovative ideas form the reading resources. Yes, I enjoyed reading Chinese research articles. I was happy to learn that Chinese classes are also overcrowded like Indians, to learn English. We Indians always believed that Chinese do not care for English.
Any way, I personally believe that managing large classes require incessant new ideas and innovative implementation of those ideas in the classroom. No one technique can work for longer time. The teacher has to go on changing methods of teaching and activities. Task based, story telling, role-play, play-cards, group activities, games, presentations etc needs to be incorporated to make class live and interactive.
My recent experiments with technology also help as one of the method of teaching innovatively to large classes.
Well, so far as PowerPoint is concerned, I enjoyed watching YouTube videos. As I am using ppt since long, I did not find anything very interesting.
Yes, the way simple ppt and interactive ppt (iPPT) are differentiated was interesting. I got a word for my workshops… iPPT. Initially, I found Quiz interesting on PPTs. But as I now work on Moodle, I find it far better than iPPTs. I would confess that I was not using other component of ppts often in my teaching. Now I will make optimum use of it.
Though this week did not gave anything new as a surprise as it was in previous week, yet I learnt that ‘Knowledge is not Power unless it is acted upon’. Only knowing things is not important, what is important is using it, and implementing it innovatively in the classroom environment. This is the valuable lesson for me from the seventh week of this course.
Dilip (India)
Saturday 27 February 2010
Saturday 20 February 2010
Week 6 (15-21 February): Rubrics, Alternative Assessment, and Learning Styles
Dear Sandra, Deborah and George (guest facilitator) and participants,
Some of the participants have expressed the views that with sixth week now the countdown has began and we have started climbing downwards. I do not agree with it. I think with this week, the road to destination is getting tough. It seems we now enter into unknown territory.
Two very useful things I learnt form this weeks tasks. First, MI and learning styles. I believed that there are three types of learners... and Howard has moved quite ahead to identify that there are more than seven types of learners. It was indeed a very good learning lesson.
Secondly, rubric. I undestood first time during the reading of the tasks that rubric is so important. And I am surprised to learn that I was member of several syllabus framing committees, and never ever we talk about rubric is this manner. I would say, more concentration should be give to rubrics. It should be shared with students. You all will be surprised to learn that in our traditional courses, we never share rubric with students. In fact, we do not have such well-framed rubric. Students are playing blind game in their learning and evaluation. Most teachers are also blind to the fact of that there is connection between teaching and evalution.
I have attempted to prepare one rubric and posted on google sites. But I still feel that I need more time to read and think over it.
By and large, the week ended with good learning and introspective exercise. I read Mr. George's comments on nicenet. He was very active through out the week to respond and thus encourage participants to discuss more.
Regards to all,
Dilip (India)
Some of the participants have expressed the views that with sixth week now the countdown has began and we have started climbing downwards. I do not agree with it. I think with this week, the road to destination is getting tough. It seems we now enter into unknown territory.
Two very useful things I learnt form this weeks tasks. First, MI and learning styles. I believed that there are three types of learners... and Howard has moved quite ahead to identify that there are more than seven types of learners. It was indeed a very good learning lesson.
Secondly, rubric. I undestood first time during the reading of the tasks that rubric is so important. And I am surprised to learn that I was member of several syllabus framing committees, and never ever we talk about rubric is this manner. I would say, more concentration should be give to rubrics. It should be shared with students. You all will be surprised to learn that in our traditional courses, we never share rubric with students. In fact, we do not have such well-framed rubric. Students are playing blind game in their learning and evaluation. Most teachers are also blind to the fact of that there is connection between teaching and evalution.
I have attempted to prepare one rubric and posted on google sites. But I still feel that I need more time to read and think over it.
By and large, the week ended with good learning and introspective exercise. I read Mr. George's comments on nicenet. He was very active through out the week to respond and thus encourage participants to discuss more.
Regards to all,
Dilip (India)
Saturday 13 February 2010
Week 5 (8-14 February): Project-based Learning and WebQuests
Dear Failitator and Participants,
This was yet another excellent week. The things I have learnt in this last week had opened my horizons to the use of technology in Project Based Learning. Frankly speaking, I did know about WebQUest and PBL. But my knowledge was very limited. By WebQuest I meant Web Search. I did not know the differene between the two. I did not know how WQ can be used for PBL and organised learning. I always overlooked WQ, thinking it is all simple and stupid things. But the links that were shared had wonderfully explained innovative use of WQ.
PBL had also been of similar thing to me. I never used Project is such useful manner in my class. I did use it but it was all haphazard. Now, I learnt the lesson to organised PBL and WQ to make optimum use of both in lesson plan.
Thanks to facilitator for giving mid-term extra point task to create web quest. This was essentially necessary. It is wonderful experience to create our own WQ on questgarden.com.
One very important observation. Many of us shared our issues and problems. The major problem was inavailability of computers and internet in the classroom. Now with this WQ and PBL, we can have a lesson without without technology or with minimal technolog or no technology.
Regards to all.
Dilip (India)
This was yet another excellent week. The things I have learnt in this last week had opened my horizons to the use of technology in Project Based Learning. Frankly speaking, I did know about WebQUest and PBL. But my knowledge was very limited. By WebQuest I meant Web Search. I did not know the differene between the two. I did not know how WQ can be used for PBL and organised learning. I always overlooked WQ, thinking it is all simple and stupid things. But the links that were shared had wonderfully explained innovative use of WQ.
PBL had also been of similar thing to me. I never used Project is such useful manner in my class. I did use it but it was all haphazard. Now, I learnt the lesson to organised PBL and WQ to make optimum use of both in lesson plan.
Thanks to facilitator for giving mid-term extra point task to create web quest. This was essentially necessary. It is wonderful experience to create our own WQ on questgarden.com.
One very important observation. Many of us shared our issues and problems. The major problem was inavailability of computers and internet in the classroom. Now with this WQ and PBL, we can have a lesson without without technology or with minimal technolog or no technology.
Regards to all.
Dilip (India)
Saturday 6 February 2010
Week 4 (1-7 February): Skill-building Websites for Reading/Writing Skills and Technology-enhanced Lesson Plans
Dear Sandra, Leslie and all participants,
Yet another equally interesting week ends today. This time I was expremely busy with Faculty Development Programme at our University. It was very diffiult to spare time and hence I was able to complete my tasks today only.
It was great learning to read other participants postings. It helped me a lot in understanding task in better light.
This week we had new failititator, Ms. Leslie. The tasks she gave were very interesting. I like her way of giving sample postings. Her rubrics are also very clear and specific.
Optional discussion given by Sandra helped in looking back to out edu-system. In this discussion I came to know how things are with other universities when it comes to technology. This gave me realization that we are still far away from incorporating technology in our syllabus. And unless we do that, there is no way teaching through technology.
Leslie's task on multiskill websites gave me some useful web-resoures and the task helped me to understand how I can integrate these web-resouces with my lesson plan.
The project task 1 and 2 gave simulating ideas. It was while working on these tasks that I realised poor infrastruture for internalization of technology in regular teaching. It is very important to think before we act. Both these tasks were thought provoking. It gave me understanding regarding what sort facilities I need to augment before preparing tech - enhanced lesson plans. It was an eye-opener to think on the issues. Had there been no such task, I would have never thought on what I have written in my posting.
At the end I would say that it was incredible learnign experience in the week (1-8 Feb).
Regards to all
Dilip (India)
Yet another equally interesting week ends today. This time I was expremely busy with Faculty Development Programme at our University. It was very diffiult to spare time and hence I was able to complete my tasks today only.
It was great learning to read other participants postings. It helped me a lot in understanding task in better light.
This week we had new failititator, Ms. Leslie. The tasks she gave were very interesting. I like her way of giving sample postings. Her rubrics are also very clear and specific.
Optional discussion given by Sandra helped in looking back to out edu-system. In this discussion I came to know how things are with other universities when it comes to technology. This gave me realization that we are still far away from incorporating technology in our syllabus. And unless we do that, there is no way teaching through technology.
Leslie's task on multiskill websites gave me some useful web-resoures and the task helped me to understand how I can integrate these web-resouces with my lesson plan.
The project task 1 and 2 gave simulating ideas. It was while working on these tasks that I realised poor infrastruture for internalization of technology in regular teaching. It is very important to think before we act. Both these tasks were thought provoking. It gave me understanding regarding what sort facilities I need to augment before preparing tech - enhanced lesson plans. It was an eye-opener to think on the issues. Had there been no such task, I would have never thought on what I have written in my posting.
At the end I would say that it was incredible learnign experience in the week (1-8 Feb).
Regards to all
Dilip (India)
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