Reflection 10: Time to pave and expand our paths!

Let the tree of Knowledge grow in your personal garden!

There is nothing as powerful as the power of ONE. That is very true, my friends, because when we work as one, there is no force that can defeat us. During the last ten weeks, our group has become a huge, solid team that has shared their best for the benefit of education. All along this path to knowledge, every single one of us has gathered the necessary tools to expand and pave our own roads for the benefit of our students, or what is the same: The world. We are not the same individuals who embarked on this journey at about seventy days ago. Now we are powerful individuals, armed with technological tools that can guide our way. U2 has said it before in their song called "One" when they state that "we are one, but are not the same.. we have to carry each other...One." And this, my dear colleagues, is what life is all about. To become one being one; that is to say, that we are single elements that make up a whole structure that looks forward to the well being of humanity.

Let the light of knowledge guide you!

Along this path to knowledge, many useful tools have proved to be of an amazing value. The ABCD Objectives Plan has shown how easy it is to carry out an effective lesson or activity. This method or way of planning is powerful yet simple. Another important element found as the journey developed is Project Based Learning (PBL). It is an excellent way of bringing light into each one of the participants while bringing out the best of each person. I must confess that PBL is now one of my favorite activities for any class for through it the instructor passes his or her controlling role to the participants; a fact that creates or develops a sense of confidence and possession at the moment of acquiring knowledge, especially if it is a language what is being taught. This practice (PBL) can also be enhanced if it is used together with an alternative evaluation  rubric. 

When we become one, nothing is impossible!

Alternative evaluation is also a very precise way of deconstructing or demystifying the traditional role of the instructor. Through it, each participant has a fair way of being graded. This, together with a clear identification of the participants´learning styles, can garantee a precise and accurate learning process. In addition, web pages such padlet.com, wiki.com, and Zunal WebQuest can be extremely useful to enhance any single class. I am actually using padlet.com right now with my British Literature Survey class (http://padlet.com/wall/tq2yuhy9un and http://padlet.com/wall/l9p8xnd39z ) to develop two oral presentations. The idea of using Padlet.com came up as an option when I realized that with Zunal WebQuest, in the free account,  I had the chance of developing only one project, and I had already used it for my final project. So, as you can see, many are the technological options out there, all you need is the will to use it in the correct way.

Education is sharing!

The time has come to share all we have learned during this ten weeks. It is the moment for every single of us to pave and expand our paths and let the light of knowledge shine in every single of our classrooms; creating a more equal and fair society where every single individual has the opportunity of acquiring knowledge according to his or her way. It is our time to bring out our best and make our planet a much better place than it already is. It is the time to be one with all. This is not the end of the journey, my friends. On the contrary, this is our opportunity to get on board on the journey of our life. Let´s enjoy and share our knowledge because that is the only thing that is really ours. 

Let´s share knowledge!

Reflection 9: Learning occurs in Mysterious Ways!

Everybody has the right to learn in accordance to his or her capacities and characteristics.

Just like we all dress differently and just  like we all enjoy different things through our pilgrimage in this world,  it just happens that people learn in dissimilar ways. The idea of having the same  lesson´s activity for everybody in the classroom is not correct anymore. It is the duty or challenge of instructors nowadays to find the ways to make learning a more democratic process where each participant can access knowledge according to his or her capacities and characteristics. It is a decision, by part of any instructor, to open his or her eyes to wider range of perspectives just like any person opens the windows of his or her house to have a better view or just to let some fresh air or light get into the room. 

The first step to take when you are an instructor is to be able to differentiate the learning styles your students have. One possible way of doing this is by taking a test (http://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-learning-styles-quiz) to know what learning style you have. After this, there would be a clear idea of the scenario you are going to be moving on. Then, it would be more a matter of taking choices from all the technological devices out there. You can take the lesson plan to include listening activities from YouTube, for example, or from podcasts for those whose learning style is audio oriented. You can also bring music into the classroom such as songs for a grammar class where people have to identify the parts of speech to the rhythm of the most recent hit. You can find a whole set of excellent resources to prepare activities for your class based on learning styles in this useful web page on Technology and Multiple Intelligences (http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic68.htm).

The best way of seeing the change of including different activities that can address different learning styles is by being part of it; there is no doubt about it. To illustrate this, I can bring back my final project -which we handed in this week- (http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=181343) where my students had to prepare a class activity for a grammar lesson by their own and based on their field of study or work activity. The results where simply amazing and the class turned into a varied and colorful canvas  where we were witnesses of a unique parade of games, songs, and speeches. As a result, the class became a stage where we all participated and learned at the same time. It was truly enriching and changed my perspective of what to do and what not to do in a class. 

Through having a class based on learning styles, not only the student benefits from it;  the instructor does as well. That interaction provided by the spaced created in the classroom is filled with a plurality of ideas that constructs the learning process into a series of roads that expand the access to knowledge; providing such diversity that it suits any one in the classroom either in direct or indirect way. Through having a class based on learning styles  it is clear that the instructor makes sure that whatever it is being studied in class can find each one of its participants; turning the act of learning into a universal one for every single student will benefit from its joys. It is like having a huge, shady tree that covers everyone under its branches. And the best thing, my friends, is that... it feels so good!

There is no age nor place for learning styles.

  

Reflection 8: Time to Act, Time to make a Difference!

It is time to act; it is time to make a difference!

We are here because we love what we do, right? I mean, if you are reading these  lines written somewhere in the cyber world is because there is a part in you that loves education. We have been part of a journey that is getting close to its end; a journey that, ironically, is going to mark a new beginning where we all have to put into action all the knowledge acquired through these weeks of discovery and awe. The moment, my friends, has come to stop being audience and turn into actors of a play that has as its scenario our classrooms. Shakespeare once said that the world is a stage and that we were mere actors, and I guess he was right. The moment is now and we have to start making a difference if we want to change our world. 

There is something magical, almost universal about this week that is finishing. That simple, human act of interacting with other human beings is, at least for me, a moment of perfection that has no comparison in the world. This week Bangladesh, Romania and Costa Rica were linked by education through the cyber space. Alina, Tahsina and me exchanged our final project drafts for each one of us to read and comment on possible changes to improve them. But beyond the act of reading and correcting or suggesting ideas, there lies all this feeling and passion that is not literary seen but felt. Through the drafts of my two teammates, I could see and feel how passionate and professional they are in their role as educators. It is also interesting to realize that no matter the distance or the language, there are certain situations or characteristics that are repeated in all countries when it comes to students of English such as students´ response or behavior and attitude towards the subject or in the classroom.

Luckily, times are changing and we have access to a whole lot of educational tools and devices that can be our allies to enhance and bring color to our classes. ANVILL, for example, fills a very necessary gap in speaking and listening classes. It offers the opportunity to bring practice to the classroom. Just "like the language lab console of old, it's focused on the practice of oral/aural language, but at its core are very modern web-based audio and video tools from duber dot com and the University of Oregon: Voiceboards, LiveChat, and Quizzes and Surveys. Their newest tool, TCast, allows teachers to record and place audio or video files anywhere in a lesson--in 3 easy steps. Each of these tools really opens up the scope and sequence of lessons centered around spoken language tasks."

There are, in addition, the options of Blogger,  Google Docs, www.wizard4teachers.org, and Nicenet; all four provide a wonderful opportunity to take the class out of the room and take it to practically anywhere. Besides, by using these tools, the student will notice that there is a change going and so all the possible stereotypes attributed to education and its connections to  school, high school, or college will disappear. All that is required is the compromise and the active attitude of the instructor to change the world of the classroom. In my case, I decided to implement a site for my new course on British literature. I chose Google Sites to create a site where my students can have access to videos and supportive material as articles and songs. You can take a look at it here:    https://sites.google.com/site/lm1485brittishliteratureucr/. It is not finished, as it can be seen, but I hope it can turn out to be a good, useful resource where my students can find interesting resources to enhance our the material seen in class.

This is the time to act, to be that element that can change a person´s life by offering him or her the chance of rediscovering a whole new educational world and being a fulfilled individual. It is time to start acting and putting into practice our passion and love for what we do. Let´s act for the time to make a difference is now!

Let´s act like we mean it!