Dear All,
With a very good reading on 7 Principles and a site worthy of delicious: Larry Ferlazzo's blog - I am positng my last blog for this e-Course.
I have posted my views on 'What topics were most successful? Most useful for you? Which, if any, do you think were not relevant to what you do or will do?' on nicenet so I am not repeating it here.
We had very good evaluation of our projects under 'level of technology integration'. LoIT scaffold is one of the best ways of evaluating our courses which are framed on technological basis. It was great to see where we stand and what should be our ultimate goal in technology integration. Nice reading and task, indeed!
Well, at the end of tenth week, when I look back, I feel that I got some firm ground to stand on. I was using technology for last 5 years. But it was like flying in the air - directionless - kite orbiting, drifting and shilly-shallying - not getting into air to fly confidently. In matter-of-fact style I would say the use of technology was pointless, meaningless, useless, worthless and purposeless. I found problems with students that they are not learning new things in new way... I found problem with lack of technological infrastructure in the college... I found problems with colleagues... in short, I found problems with all that was out of me... never sought to peep within me.
This course gave me space and opportunity to peep into my self. From ABCD to LoIT and then 7 Principles - these all redeading resources helped me understand my role as teacher and a teacher who uses technology. I would frankly admit that the tool was not appropriately used. Now, I got direction, I found meaning in usign it and I also realised its worthyness and purpose of using it.
The change that this e-Course has brought ( I would rather say 'initiated' than 'brought' as it is going to continue for long time) in me cannot be expressed in words.
I remember, I read somewhere about the experience with God. One saint who had an experience with God was trying to convince an atheist that God do exist and he has seen it with his naked eyes. But the language failed to express his experience in words. The atheist laughed and the saint was termed as fool.
I feel similaryly. The language does not have power to express my experience of this e-Course and if I go on attempting it writing here, you will label me as fool.
Wish you all the best in putting this learning into practice. I hope if we an collaborate with each other on some research projects it will be very good to carry out these pratices. I am Indian and work with Bhavnagar University in Gujarat state of India. If any of you happen to visit India or is planning to have any research project, I would be glad to offer my services.
I can be approached through this blog, my website (www.dilipbarad.com), email (dilipbarad@gmail.com), Google Talk (dilipbarad), Orkut (Dilip Barad), Face Book (Dilip Barad), Second Life (Bardil Joyce), Skype (dilip.barad) and Yahoo msnger (d_barad).
Hope you have collaborative research with someone!
Dilip (India)
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Saturday 13 March 2010
Week 9 (8-14 March): Teacher Resources Online
Dear All,
At the fag end of the course I am feeled with curious feelings. They are curiously contradictory in their nature. On one hand I fee, 'thank GOd, it will end and I will be free to have weekends with my family and friends'... and on the other, 'Oh! God! Great learning experience is near its end... now I will not have new learning experiences... after long time I got opportunity to learn something which was very useful in practical teaching'.
I am over powered by second feeling. If I look back at my career as teacher, in last decade, I have read ad listened lots of things about teaching, methodology, technology etc etc.... all was blah...blah.... None gave me an expereince to 'do' something which can be taken directly in the classroom and put into practice. This course gave me not one but several such tools. And what is more important is, it has widened mental horizons... i have cultivated habit of thinking beyong horizons.. thinking out of the box. And this is unforgettable learning experience.
Well, during this week we were supposed to do following task:
1. On-line Tools for Enhancing Learning.
2. Create online course site or exercise.
3. Peer review of project
My partner Andreja from Croatia did wonderful scrutiny of my project. It really helped in making my project better. I also peer-reviewed her project which was prepared so well that it did not left much for my comments.
This week, I was first to post on nicenet.org. I am overwhelmed by the responce of other participants to my posting. I found everbody refeering back to my post and adding their own. It was wonderful experience to read all your comments - agreeign and disagreeing - on my views.
I have prepared my exercise with the tools like wikieducator and moodle. Thanks to Sandra for giving positive comment on my exercise. I have viewed a few exercise also. I like Christos and Raphael's exercises. It was great to see how several exercise to enhance language skills is possible through technology.
By and large, it was yet another wonderful week full of learning new things.
Your comments are invited.
Dilip (India)
At the fag end of the course I am feeled with curious feelings. They are curiously contradictory in their nature. On one hand I fee, 'thank GOd, it will end and I will be free to have weekends with my family and friends'... and on the other, 'Oh! God! Great learning experience is near its end... now I will not have new learning experiences... after long time I got opportunity to learn something which was very useful in practical teaching'.
I am over powered by second feeling. If I look back at my career as teacher, in last decade, I have read ad listened lots of things about teaching, methodology, technology etc etc.... all was blah...blah.... None gave me an expereince to 'do' something which can be taken directly in the classroom and put into practice. This course gave me not one but several such tools. And what is more important is, it has widened mental horizons... i have cultivated habit of thinking beyong horizons.. thinking out of the box. And this is unforgettable learning experience.
Well, during this week we were supposed to do following task:
1. On-line Tools for Enhancing Learning.
2. Create online course site or exercise.
3. Peer review of project
My partner Andreja from Croatia did wonderful scrutiny of my project. It really helped in making my project better. I also peer-reviewed her project which was prepared so well that it did not left much for my comments.
This week, I was first to post on nicenet.org. I am overwhelmed by the responce of other participants to my posting. I found everbody refeering back to my post and adding their own. It was wonderful experience to read all your comments - agreeign and disagreeing - on my views.
I have prepared my exercise with the tools like wikieducator and moodle. Thanks to Sandra for giving positive comment on my exercise. I have viewed a few exercise also. I like Christos and Raphael's exercises. It was great to see how several exercise to enhance language skills is possible through technology.
By and large, it was yet another wonderful week full of learning new things.
Your comments are invited.
Dilip (India)
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Week 8 (1-7 March): Learner Autonomy and the One-computer Classroom
Dear All,
This week gave us an opportunity to think about:
1. Learner Autonomy from different angel.
2. limited technological resources.
I had limited understanding aobut learner autonomy. I thought that freedom given to students to learn on their own is 'learner autonomy'. I thought that giving liberty to study is learner autonomy. But the articles and other reading resources led me into the sun-shine of better understanding of this concept. Today, I believe that Teacher has very important role in learner autonomy. The teacher is the controller of entire teaching / learner environment. The learner is made more responsible and more tasks are demanded from him.
Secondly, to think about one-computer class in very good mental exercise. One should always have Plan B ready when teacher is using technology. Technology can fail any time, but teacher should not fail. Over dependency on tehnology may lead teacher into troubled waters. Thus, one has to think about limited technological resources also.
Regards to all
Dilip (India)
This week gave us an opportunity to think about:
1. Learner Autonomy from different angel.
2. limited technological resources.
I had limited understanding aobut learner autonomy. I thought that freedom given to students to learn on their own is 'learner autonomy'. I thought that giving liberty to study is learner autonomy. But the articles and other reading resources led me into the sun-shine of better understanding of this concept. Today, I believe that Teacher has very important role in learner autonomy. The teacher is the controller of entire teaching / learner environment. The learner is made more responsible and more tasks are demanded from him.
Secondly, to think about one-computer class in very good mental exercise. One should always have Plan B ready when teacher is using technology. Technology can fail any time, but teacher should not fail. Over dependency on tehnology may lead teacher into troubled waters. Thus, one has to think about limited technological resources also.
Regards to all
Dilip (India)
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