Week 10. Is it the end...?

Week 10. It means that Webskill Spring 2012 program is about to finish. Yes, the program is finished, but the spirit, efforts, ideas, skills, friendship among  participants and instructors must not be finished and over. Instead, we must develop and increase our spirit, efforts, ideas, skills, friendship for better future both professionally and personally.

I have learned so many things from this course and mostly they are new and inspiring. I have written in general what I learned and did during this course from week 1 to week 9 in my week 9 post on this blog.

What I learned much from this webskill course is the great opportunity to help both teacher and learners to improve their teaching and learning more efficient, motivating, and fun using technology and internet. Teacher can easily create student-centered based activities like Project-based Learning (PBL) using free tools such as Nicenet for discussion, Wiki to submit certain tasks, Webquest, and many more.

From this webskill I also get many interesting links to website that provide great information, exercises, materials, that I can develop as the source of teaching and learning that I save in my delicious http://www.delicious.com/hermanto/. I also learn how to assess students using rubric and I can make rubric with certain criteria we want using available template via rubistar. It much help.

Well, there are so many other things that are very interesting that I can't tell here. In short, I learned a lot of interesting and inspiring topics from this webskill class and I want to try to implement some of them in my next semester classes.

Week 9. It's not the end...

Week 9...

Although the course has not yet finished, the burden seems disappeared because the final project report has been done and posted. However, it doesn’t mean that the task is finished. Harder and more challenging tasks are waiting especially in implementing the valuable skills, knowledge, and experiences we get during the course into real class as I conducted in the project. I cannot surely implement all of the knowledge I get, but the course has been able to open my mind about the broad and rich sources of material and activities available in the internet that we can save in delicious and develop it as media of teaching and learning.

In this week I also learned about multi-intelligences and learning styles that are very important to consider because it is very closely related with the ways different students with their different learning styles can learn for the best and how teacher can accommodate, provide them with suitable learning method and activities.

From the first week until week 9 there are really abundant information, knowledge, skills, ideas that I get.

Week 1: I learned about how to enroll for the online class, how make blog for a class, guideline for discussion, how to make wiki account, and so on.

Week 2: I learned about how to state learning objectives using ABCD model. This model of stating learning objective is clear and comprehensive and measurable which is different with they way I usually state the learning objectives which are sometimes ambiguous and not clear nor measurable. In this week I also learned about web search engine which is very important to find out important links and webpages useful for the learning. http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html is one of the example.

Week 3: In this I learned about Delicious and how to make personal delicious page which is useful to save web links that we think it important to keep and access again some time later. I also learned to access and collect some aural-oral skill building.

Week 4: I learned about searching for some webpages to build reading and writing skills. I also learned about how to make technology enhanced lesson plan.

Week 5: I learned about project-based learning which is very suitable to be implemented in the online course activity. The project-based learning is best supported by webquest, a media in which learners can work in groups and have a specified product. Rubric which was discussed in this week is also important. I can learn how to make a rubric with criteria suitable with my need using rubistar http://rubistar.4teachers.org/. Alternative assessment which is useful to assess students’ learning rather than traditional one is also inspiring to me.

Week 6: It is about teaching large classes where some problems may appear in it. I could learn how to overcome it by using technology in teaching large class for example by using interactive PPT.

Week 7: The topics of week 7 were learning autonomy and one computer classroom. From the topics about learning autonomy I learned that technology/internet gives many possibilities to foster autonomy. One computer classroom is the way to involve the limited source of learning using technology. What I learned from this topic is the spirit to improve the learning by making use of available media, one computer for the whole class.

Week 8: In this week I learned about how to make online/offline teaching/learning materials, exercises, or test using possible sites like http://www.toolsforeducators.com/, http://bogglesworldesl.com/, http://www.easytestmaker.com/default.aspx, http://hotpot.uvic.ca/ , etc. I also learned how to make class communication using ANVILL, class discussion using nicenet. More important in this week was I had to make the draft for the final project and chose one of classmates to become peer reviewer. I would like to thank to Yoon who was willing to become my partner in the project peer and reviewed my draft. I wish she will teach again soon.

Welcome Week 9

Now it is almost in the middle of Week 9. The topics of the week is multiple intelligences and learning styles. These are interesting topics since every one has different style including the style of their learning and how teacher should treat students with their different learning styles. More important is how technology (the use of technology) help address the issue of multiple intelligences/learning styles.
Another  important thing to do in this week is FINAL PROJECT! June 8 is approaching the project must be done!

New tools for online class ...

In this week we learned different kinds of tools for on line class activities. The tools are very excellent to create and develop the materials and activities so that students become more interested, motivated to learn. On one side such learning media are very helpful to help students become more self-directed in their learning especially out of class activity. On the other side, in class activity in which interaction between the teacher and students is still relevant and if the everyday lesson is held in class, I think it would be better if the online activity is only part of the whole teaching and learning system.

Week 8 !!!

Thanks God that I am still survive following the webskill class until week 8. In this week, by the mid of the week, I have to post a draft for report project to my partner Yoon from Korea. Though my first draft lacks some elaboration, but I believe I am still able to revise it and make it better.

Week 7 Autonomous Learning and One Computer Classroom

Week 7 is about to over, and here are three topics I got in the week.

1.       Autonomous Learner.

I think the ideas about autonomous learner are still relevant to be discussed and implemented in this era where the learning resources and technology available outside the classroom are abundant with different forms, levels of difficulty, and media. Moreover, they are easy to access and free.

Although the dependence of the students on the teacher becomes lose, in the classroom context, teacher still takes his important roles that cannot be replaced by the technology. Not all students, even teachers, have easy access to the technology. Teacher as organizer, controller, adviser, evaluator and educator cannot be separated from human education. The main task of the teacher in the context of autonomous learner is to create condition conducive enough for students to become autonomous learners. Teacher must be able to show students the way how to recognize their cognitive and metacognitive strategies, motivation, attitudes, and knowledge about language learning. Teacher must be technology literate and is able to create interesting, challenging, motivating learning resource and environment to foster autonomous learning.

I tried to create webclass as the manifestation of learning autonomy (http://www.edmodo.com/myenglish). In my webclass I try to provide links to learning resources from which student can access themselves and make use of them easily. I plan the implementation of this webclass becomes my final project.

2.       One Computer Classroom

One computer classroom strategies and ideas presented in this chapter are very helpful to facilitate teacher with teaching method in a limited access to technology and big size classroom. There are several strategies that a teacher can apply his only computer in the class (http://www.lburkhart.com/elem/strat.htm), for example 1. Use the Computer as Teacher Tool, 2. Use the Computer as Multi-Media Chalk Board or Flip Chart , 3. Have Students use the Computer as a Tool for Individual Input as Part of a Larger Group or Class Project, 4. Use the Computer as Learning Center or Station, 5. Use the Computer as Cooperative Learning Tool, 6. Have Students Use the Computer to do Individual Work for Practice or Assessment.

From these six strategies I prefer to choose Use the Computer as Learning Center or Station because I think it is the most appropriate for maximum use of the computer for students’ learning in the classroom. Without internet connection with the computer, for example, I can make use of the facilities embedded in the computer like, word processor, spread sheet (excel) and of course power point. I use these facilities to create tasks as media of learning and instructions. If the computer is connected with the internet, I will have much richer source of learning material for the students to use.

3.       Project Task

As I tell earlier, I want to use my first implementation of my webclass become my final project report for this webskill class. I don’t have partner yet but I propose one of my classmates become my partner. I am observing the implementation of my webclass and taking notes the students responses to the class.

Week 6: Big Class and Tecnology

This week the lessons I get are mainly about the problems of teaching in big classes and using technology as a solution for that problem, interactive PowerPoint. The activities or tasks for this week are making interactive PowerPoint, discussion about the use of technology to overcome the problem of big class and the use of interactive PowerPoint in teaching, progress report of the class project.

Big class is a common problem most teachers have in their teaching, but that problem should not have always been persistent due to the availability of technology that can be implemented in teaching. From the reading materials given in this week, I learn that there are many tools such as Blackboard which provide instructors with a form for building online assessments using different question types., Respondus to create and manage exams that can be printed to paper or published directly to Blackboard, ANGEL, Desire2Learn, eCollege, Instructure, Moodle, and other eLearning systems. However, I am not sure if such tools are for personally managed and used by individual teacher. It is a bright idea to have such tools, but the policy is on the institution/faculty/unit which is better managing the program for the teacher to implement it. For me the solution to the problem of big class is by applying teaching method like group work, games, group project e.g. PBL, that can be supported by implementation of technology like interactive PowerPoint like the one I put in Wiki, WebQuest, etc.

Week 5: Half way left, half way to go

This week I learned at least four interesting topics:

1. Webquest

Webquest is a great way to create students independent and meaningful learning activity. Students are free to create their webquest by searching and selecting the related and relevant webs, videos, document files, presentation files, photos, and many more form of learning sources that match the project objectives. The product is very useful not only for the students who create the webquest but also other students because the webquest can be shared to others to enjoy or use and these users can make comments or responses to it. Therefore, there is interaction in it. Webquest is really excellent to motivate students learn and improve their learning.

I believe WebqQuest become one of the alternative for project-based learning (PBL) because Webquest is not one session activity. It may takes as short as a week project of longer than that. Because webquest is a basically web-based project, in my opinion it is very suitable for students who have familiar with internet/web technology. For those the internet technology is something new may take time to accomplish webquest project. What I am afraid of is the students will not learn the content of the project but only the project accomplishment.

I have tried to make my first webquest although it was still half way I guess because it was not complete and there were some parts missing. I need to learn more to develop it and make it applicable in class.

2. Project-based Learning

Project-based learning (PBL) is the activity in which students work together within a certain time frame to solve a problem or certain issues related to their study to promote their learning. PBL is one of learning method to facilitate students’ different learning styles to acquire knowledge. Through PBL students are expected to gain skills in problem solving, critical thinking and cooperative learning (Cuthbert, 1995; Peterson & Myer, 1995). Project-based learning also enhance learners’ motivation, improved their performance in writing and communication, and initiated their active roles in learning (Gu, 2002). Such condition was also experienced by Susan Gaer as she wrote in her article ‘Less Teaching and More Learning’ that “using a project-based approach to language learning gives meaning to the learning that normally goes on in a classroom. … I do a lot less teaching and see a lot more learning in the classroom”.

3. Alternative Assessment

As the name suggests this new kind of assessment is an alternative for the existing ‘traditional’ assessment that teachers usually use such as quiz, formative and summative test, mid and final test, etc. in which "students are evaluated on what they integrate and produce rather than on what they are able to recall and reproduce" (Huerta- Macias, 1995, p. 9). There are many methods the alternative assessment can be employed,  as Jo-Ellen Tannenbaum shows in her article ‘Practical Ideas On Alternative Assessment For ESL Students’, for example:

1.       Nonverbal Assessment Strategies

-     Physical Demonstration

-     Pictorial Products

2.       K-W-L Charts

3.       Oral Performances Or Presentations

4.       Oral And Written Products

-     Content area logs

-     Reading response logs

-     Dialogue journals

-     Audio and video cassettes

5.     Portfolios

Because alternative assessment depends on direct observation, instructors can use checklists and rubrics to evaluate student performance/product.

4. Rubric

In this topic I learned how to make rubric using Rubistar. Rubistar really helps me easy to create the rubric since it provides template tables as well as pull-down choices of category.

 Thank you my little assistant, your cry at night kept me awake to guard you and finish these assignments.

Happy Ending?

Week 4 has passed. Thanks to my instructors, Jodi and Celeste and all my e-classmates, especially, Georgia, Ruta, for the support and pray. I have learned lots of lessons this week, not only webskills, but also life from this e-class, e-classmates as well as from myself and family that makes me strong and ready to face the future and the incoming web skill activities.

A Nice Topic,

Week 4 is a week that I wait for because it offers topic about reading, vocabulary and writing. I need information and web links, lesson plan and many more related to this topics. The first day of week 4 I eagerly opened the web skill and seeing the page with the topic I want but until the middle of this week I almost didn't make any report although I read some of the reading materials. This week my concentration is not on the web skill because of many things to do and I almost have no time in the day, while at night I only have little energy and concentration. More over I had to pay attention and made preparation for my wife who will give birth to our new baby this week. However, I have to cope all of this things so that every thing will go on the right way. I still believe "Better late than never."

Week 3

It was another interesting week after week 1 and 2. What did I learn in week 3?
1. Delicious.
As the name suggests this little stuff gives great advantages to manage my favorite web links. In delicious I can keep so far 13 links that I think they are very interesting for me and my students. Here is my delicious address http://www.delicious.com/hermanto/ .

2. Aural/Oral Skill-Building Websites
From the the assigned readings as well as the site links given, I got many useful links that will be very advantageous to develop my students' aural/oral skills. Among those sides are:
*  http://www.esl-lab.com/--> for listening
* http://www.real-english.com/ --> for video
* http://www.englishlistening.com/index.php/explore-passages ---> listening with written exercise
* http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/03/17/the-best-sites-to-practice-speaking-english/ ---> alternative sites for speaking
I have included the first three sites in the great aural/oral websites in wiki.

3. Project task
Thank you Jodi for giving me the samples of the final project reports. The various forms, setting and the goals of the project reports shown have given me idea and inspiration of what to do with the project and perspective of broad scope of the project will be.

Reflection Mid Week 3

In week 3, there are more interesting activities to do, materials to understand, links to explore. It means I have to provide more attention and time to them. Moreover, despite the limitations, I got a lot of insights that awakened me of the great opportunity and ideas to create more interesting teaching activities and methods in the class.

Reflection of the end of Week 2

In week two I have learned a lot about at least two things: search engine web and ABCD objectives. While in the beginning of week 2 I still concentrate completing some missing tasks and assignments, may be the other participants have already tuned in and busy completed the tasks and assignments for week two. As the days passed by I was able to manage my time and slowly I started enjoying on-line and following the activities.
 

The first topic about search engine is very  interesting and fruitful. From the instructor and other participants in discussion activity I know different kinds of search engine, not only google, for example www.noodletools.com from which I can choose the topic areas more specific and suitable for my need. Beside that, I also get a link from which I can access to get more materials and information not only for me as teacher (<br /> <a href="http://iteslj.org/">The Internet TESL Journal</a>- Articles, Research Papers, Lessons Plans, Classroom Handouts, Teaching Ideas & Links <br />),but also for my students (<br /><a href="http://a4esl.org/">Activities for ESL Students</a>- Free online quizzes, exercises and puzzles to help you study English<br />). From the discussion about search engine I also get answer to my question about a web that provide information and activities about English for specific purposes. Thank you Ruta who has shown me the web http://www.eslhome.com/esl/esp/. Also Han Na and Celeste who share respectively information about youtube for school, teachertube for teacher . They are good site to access.

Another topic concerning ABCD objectives is also interesting to talk about. The ABCD objectives is very  clear and simple guidance in how to state the objectives of learning. Reflecting on the ABCD objectives model, the learning objectives which my colleagues and I made so far do not match with the elements of ABCD objective. Due to the clarity and measurability of the objective statements using ABCD model, I want to revise my learning objectives to become more clear and measurable.