Saturday, October 27, 2012

Week 4: Skill-building Websites for Reading/Writing Skills and Technology-enhanced Lesson Plans


Eid greetings from Egypt,      




                  It's been a very busy week for me: school exams, paper correction, Eid chores, and course challenging tasks. Though I was not feeling well, I didn't want to be missed out. I kept on reading the materials provided on the website and my colleagues wonderful posts.
 
It's been food for thought. Thanks Robert for the "several multi - skill websites" I worked on this week. I found what appeals to me and to my students as well. Certainly, the needs' analysis is the first step to work out a problem. My students are improving a little bit in listening and speaking. It's one step forward. Encouraging and praising do wonders and raise their motivation. And as it is said "students don't care what you know until they know that you care". I'm working on scaffolding their writing through technology activities that serve the objectives, suit students' levels, the time of class and work best in my context.   
 
Creating a Google Doc. for my lesson plan was a first-hand experience. I'm used to doing others' Google Docs. surveys and questionnaires, but from now on, I can use the tool to facilitate my work. I've tried the two ways Robert suggested to create my Google Doc., but there was a problem uploading my lesson plan template. I thanked God that Robert was ready to help with Plan B. My lesson plan took a lot of time to finish because the format is different from what I'm used to doing when preparing my lessons. I could manage to share the link in NiceNet. According to Shakespeare: "All is well that ends well". Waiting for all your precious suggestions.
 
I'd like to share with you the how to prepare and deliver lessons mind map.
 
Enjoy,
 
Safaa







Friday, October 19, 2012

Week 3: Skill-building Websites for Oral/Aural Skills and Saving Bookmarks with Delicious

So empowering I've found the Oral / Aural  Skills discussions. I feel excited when I learn and try something new. Thanks to Robert and to classmates, I explored many websites and found resources that work better in my own context with EFL students. To mention but a few: LiveMocha, Real English, NPR, esl-Lab, esl.about and many others. Certainly, it's challenging and time consuming to find authentic materials to engage and enhance EFL learners, but I'm a subscriber to many educational websites and also enthusiastic enough to try every possible way to reach my students. It's said that knowledge is power. This gives me confidence when I support student-teachers, colleagues at work and when I train newly-appointed or promoted teachers.

The Delicious task was delicious to start with. I added all the new and useful links that my dear colleagues suggested in the discussions. I've already tried some, but I'll go deeper later. A promise! "Delicious" is a blessing and a time-saver. When my memory lapses,  it's there to remind me of the websites needed. I didn't try any other bookmarking websites because I'm really happy with it. Thanks a million Delicious!

"Achieving is believing". This is what I found in the recipe for success (sample reports). I did read all the project reports, but I chose Nadina's report. Her determination to change herself and  her students is what impressed me.

 



I'll never forget that strong desires bring strong results. The positive attitude of both teacher and students is conducive to learning.





In Weeks 1 & 2, I started to talk the talk about the starting point of my final project, but in Week 3, I started to walk the walk and get the big picture. Thanks Robert & UO for providing that project stuff to keep us on track.

Safaa, Egypt


















 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Saturday, October 13, 2012

Webskills - Week 2 Reflection

It is said that "Variety is the spice of life". And this is true for me from what I learned from Week 2 materials and from the empowering discussions with dear Robert and colleagues. The search engines are many in number and in purpose. Sometimes I got a little bit confused because the search engine is the same as the website as in my case with my favourite website: about.com. Deborah's article on searching tips refreshed my mind of the ICDL course I took in 2008 and learned about Boolean operators. I usually use the + sign when searching for something. I tried some others and googled the phrase "search engines" and found a specified list that appeals to every one. I must be eclectic for the ones that meet my information needs like the ones that are provided at Noodletools.

A big advantage of being enrolled in this web skills e-course is sharing. I learn from others, improve my teaching practices and add to my expertise as a teacher and as a teacher trainer. From the very beginning of the year, I give my students a list of websites to improve their language skills. I do the same with my colleagues at school, with student-teachers and with the teachers I train for promotion when they need help with resources to engage students and energize their classrooms.

I liked the PPP at Slideshare. It shows a smooth transition for the lesson planning procedure. In my context, the Ministry of Education sets the aims and goals for teaching English. It's obligatory for students to study English as a first language, but optional to study French or German as a second language. This is true for all Experimental Language Schools, but not for Public schools. I was happy to analyze my learners as I expect to get precious advice from International colleagues who are in the same boat.

The ABCD model is a new experience for me. But I'm used to using the SMART approach in my daily lessons. I create a curriculum map in the form of a scope and sequence and analyze the content. I've these headings: 1. monthly distribution of the syllabus (month, listening, grammar, reading, critical thinking, speaking and writing)
                                 2. learning outcomes/performance indicators
                                 3. teaching and learning strategies
                                 4. learning activities
                                 5. assessment and
                                 6. evidence.
  The "learning objectives" is the basis for making the lesson successful. It's a must to tie objectives with the assessment.

I was curious to read Google blog about the future of search. I was impressed by the idea of personalization. It's expected that in 10 years' time search engines will understand the individual user better and provide him/her with better results.

Thanks Robert for sharing the search engines link on the Wiki. I do appreciate.

Every week, I'll have an attitude of gratitude for everyone who helps me learn something new, apply it , change myself and the others to the best we can be.

Happy web searching
 
Safaa
 
 
 
 
 

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Webskills - Week 1 reflection

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Creating my own reflective blog is a new and worthy experience. I'm used to practising reflective teaching, but not reflective blogging. Although I receive Arabic and English blogger links through my email, I haven't thought about creating one before. Going through that real experience makes me unique.

I learned about a new technology tool that can facilitate my work with students in many ways: sharing links, stories, images, quotes, idioms, proverbs, visual grammar, mind maps, translation activities and the like. My students can build their own blogs to assess their own learning, find out their mistakes and errors and work on them to improve.

Thanks to the UO and the E-Teacher helpful team, I could improve my knowledge, use a new and an interesting technology tool and change my attitude.  

Safaa