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.

Week 2

Week 2 ...
Now it is very early of Friday....April 20, 2012. What did I do? What should I have done? What will I do? It seems I am entering a new world, a place where it is very quiet although many people are interacting there. Yes! That is web-based instruction! I fell enjoy entering this world now because so many new and interesting things, challenges and problems to overcome.Moreover, there are guides who help me go through. Although it is almost the end of the second week, I feel it is just like the beginning of the first week. You are too late and left behind by your friends! Well, better late than never! OK, I think I have built the foundation to start the next activities then I have to read, start thinking the project and ...