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!

Reflection 7: Bringing the world into the classroom

The classroom, that interactive, educational place where knowledge, dreams, and learning become one, has turned into a global village. It cannot coexist in isolation anymore. Nowadays, both students and instructors stay connected with what happens around the world while having infinite access to knowledge. From a tablet and smart phone to a personal computer, classrooms have become enlightenment centers where, in the blink of an eye, people can satisfy their thirst for knowledge. However, this new reality is not the same for all of us involved in education because, while some people working in private, wealthy institutions can have all this and more, there are other people who do not even have access to the minimum necessities to have a decent class.

What would you do if your classroom were like this?

This is a world or contrasts, there is no doubt about it. So, what can we do? Well, play, fight... use what we have been provided with. This week, we have been given the opportunity of reading about two very interesting topics: Learner Autonomy and One-Computer Classrooms. Although the two of them might seem extremely different one from the other; reality shows us the opposite for one contains the other when it comes to learning.

Learner autonomy launches ones identity in search of knowledge

Learner autonomy deals with our own responsibility as learners. The learning process has drastically changed in the last decades, and it has moved from a teacher-centered environment to a student-centered one where each participant has the right, and the duty, to learn in accordance with his or her own terms, speed, and tastes. The main problem with learner autonomy is found on the level of maturity that, not only instructors, but also parents and mainly students need to have. The new learners have to struggle against centuries of educational imposition, where all the knowledge was and has been given to the students as if they would be a recipient on which learning is pour to. So, going against this unconscious method means an inner fight that is not easy to break or change. Important steps, nevertheless, have been taken and our society moves towards a new direction where the learning process has become active, personal,and globally interactive.

One way in which learner autonomy meets this limited-sort-of reality is when you have a classroom with one computer only and it has to be shared with every single member of the class. This scenario provides the best opportunity for a teacher to stir students´imagination within a context where each participant has learned to be responsible and respectful for others.  They have to work in relation to the rest of students, knowing that they also need to use the only computer in the classroom. Although, limited to a certain extent, one-computer classes can fill any classroom with technological devices that can help enhance the students´ knowledge.

One example in which the cyber world can interact with the physical world in a classroom with limited technological devices can be this lesson plan I came up with in a hypothetical composition, one-computer classroom: After reading about how to write a comparison and contrast composition (Condition), participants in the writing class (Audience) will do research in internet for the songs "Asleep" by The Smiths and "Krafty" by New Order to find similarities and differences within the lyrics of the songs (Behavior) to write a twenty-line,in-class composition (Degree).

Finally, this week that is about to start, my grammar advanced students will present their PBL activities which came up as a result of a problem detected along the progress of the course. I still have no clue on what they are going to come up with, but I am sure it will be something good. The truth is that I am really anxious to see their projects are going to be. In fact, I am thinking on taking pictures about the different presentations to include them in next week´s final report.

As it can be seen, life shows us different faces in different circumstances;  we, however, have to learn to see it with  the best look we have: that of our heart for there is where passion lives and, it is, through it that obstacles can easily be overcome. Let´s bring our world into the classroom!

Let´s bring our world into the classroom!

Reflection 6: Education is a route, not a destination

Week six came, it stayed with us, and, now, it is about to leave. However, many were the precious gifts it brought to us and which, at the same time, enriched us as professionals in the field of education.

To begin with, we all learned about the advantages on implementing PowerPoint presentations in our classes. Although I must confess here that it was kind of difficult to follow the creation process, with the help of videos from YouTube you can find many different ways to create activities that go from a quiz to a game. Definitely, using PowerPoint presentations is a very useful and powerful technological resource when what we want is to bring a change into the classroom. In addition, I really find the page Creating Interactive PowerPoint Presentation for Teachers and Students done by Drs. Terry & Cathy Cavanaugh of Florida Center for Instructional Technology, USF very clear, informative, and useful. I really recommend it.


Secondly, I want to express my admiration for those instructors who have to deal with large classes (60 or more)for it is extremely demanding and exhausting. Luckily, I don´t have to deal with such classes, but it does not mean that I have to ignore the possible activities that can be carried out for groups like those since some of those activities can be developed with any kind of class. In my case, I have used games such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire for my classes with much success. This week that we are about to start, I am going to use the PowerPoint presentation of grammar for my Grammar Advanced class which is great because it will be a type of review of the material covered so far in these 5 weeks of classes.

Finally, I am very happy and thankful for the helpful resources found throughout this course. Not only have we learned a lot on sites and technological devices, but also we have put them into practice, which, I think, is the ultimate goal of any course with the nature of this one.

This week, my Grammar Advanced students are going to give me a report of the Final Project on Zunal WebQuest implemented as a response to problem emerged in the course. This final project (in pairs or individually, and according to their field of study, students will provide an in-class activity on a topic that we were not able to cover due to lack of time)will be presented next week, and it has been an extremely useful activity for now we have to cover the rest of the topics contained in the course program. Moreover, I am extremely proud of my other project that has come out as a result of this course: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, an ESP Blog for now my ESP students from Pre-Intermediate 3 have started writing; a situation that hardly occurs within our normal classes due to time problems. Here, they, after having read the book and watched the movie, have to write a minimum of five entries and they also have to comment on their classmates´entries. This whole idea and activity of intergatring the movie, the book and now the blog has been very rewarding for all of us. There is no doubt, I am going to continue putting this activity into practice.

As it can be seen, Education is not a destination; it is a route that we all have to help to expand by finding the necessary devices and ways to make each class unforgettable and useful. Let´s all transit through the highway of learning!

Reflection 5: Moving Forward!

There is no doubt, my friends, that the only way is forward. We are now in week 5 of our academical journey and the amount of information that we have acquired is just amazing and extremely useful. This is a fact that pushes us all towards new horizons in our educational highway and professional life.

This week´s trip started with a very interesting topic on PBL(Project-Based Learning which now I really find necessary and mandatory if what we want is real learning from our students. In PBL, the students become the doers and they stop being the receivers; in a word, they become actors and not just the mere audience. In addition, they work on something of their own; a topic in which they are the experts so the inversion of roles takes place; leading to an extremely positive outcome: The students get confidence and feel capable of improving their English speaking skills.

After that amazing first place, we were taken to a beautiful location with breath-taking scenery: Rubrics and Alternative Assessment. Here we came across an invaluable fountain of resources, especially for the creation of rubrics. The page RubiStar offers the possibility of creating your own rubrics based on the characteristics and necessities of each group you teach. This option, plus the opportunity of carrying out alternative evaluation, greatly enhances the learning process for each participant and for the whole class because it gives professors the chance to personalize each graded activity done in class.

Finally, As our last stop we went to a refreshing lake where we had the opportunity of using technological tools to the service of education by finding a solution to a problem found in one of our groups we are currently teaching . In my case, since a couple of weeks ago I had decided to work on my Grammar Advanced group. One of the problems I had mentioned before and which is the one I chose to work on is time for we have classes four hours a week which is not enough. So as a way to solve this inconvenient, I am going to implement a project-based learning activity with the use of ZunalWebQuest in which participants will be divided into groups according to their field of study or job. They will work on applying one of the topics studied in class to a text (video, story, article, poem, etc.)that is closely related to what they study or do every day. The idea here, my friends, is to take the grammar class to the student´s daily life so they can see and feel that it --grammar-- is an essential component of whatever we do in our lives and not just a boring academic subject. Then, through RubiStar a rubric will be created to evaluate such activity.

As you can see, this week´s journey has been a fulfilling one which has helped each one of us to give shape to our different classes; without paying attention to the geographical region or the topics or type of students being addressed. We all have benefited from the invaluable possibilities that we have acquired through the pages read and visited. It all depends on us, to be wise enough to visualize how to use them properly and constantly. At the end, the ones who will be completely benefited from all these mountains of knowledge will be our students.

Kind regards from paradise,

Hector.

Reflection 4: From text to film and into the classroom

The act of reading is a mysterious one. It goes way beyond decoding words and symbols and attaching meaning to them. It is an act of creation where the individual´s background gets into action and plays a fundamental role while meaning is ascribed. Both the text and the reader become one and so meaning comes into existence.

The act of teaching and learning, in addition, is exactly the same: it happens everywhere and all the time and in different ways according to each person´s background. Therefore, a teacher has to learn to read his or her student´s needs so his or her class can be successful and, most important, productive; consequently, developing reading skills is a wonderful opportunity to achieve this.

This week´s class moves around the usage of technology as tool to enhance reading and writing skills which matched perfectly with what I am doing with my students in the pre-intermediate 3 Social Sciences class. We, as a group, are reading The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. This book moves around Charlie, a fifteen year old high school kid who is considered as a "wallflower" and who is very lonely and quiet. If you want to know more about this great book, please go here: Book Review


Mei-Ya Liang in his article "Three Extensive Reading Activities for ESL/EFL Students Using E-books" published in the internet journal explains three different ways on how to take a literary text (an ebook in this case) -- Read the article here: Liang´s Extensive Reading Activities . Miss Liang goes from how to choose a book for the class, and reading and sharing books to evaluating books. In our case, the selection of the book was done in a different and more direct way, basically based on the fact that I had already chosen the movie to be seen and analyzed in class. Then, one of the students said that she had just finished reading it and that it was a good book so by general consensus, the whole class agreed on reading the book first and then watching the movie to be ready for a graded oral presentation. Going back to Mei-Ya Liang´s article, she provides a link to how to create story maps, which definitely I am going to use.

So putting into practice what we have learned so far, I created this ABCD Objective for a class lesson based on both activities: (Condition) After reading the book and having watched the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower, (Audience) the students from ESP Pre-Intermediate 3 Social Sciences (Background)are going to deliver an oral report based on the field of study (law, psychology, Spanish philology, sociology, social work, and music)(Degree)from 5 to 8 minutes with 85-90 percent accuracy in pronunciation and subject-verb agreement as well as verb tense usage without reading from flashcards or notes.

Finally, in order to develop writing skills, the students are going to write a letter addressed to the rest of the members of the class as if they were Charlie, the main character from the book. To do this, I decided to create a page for that purpose by using Zunal WebQuest. There is no need to mention that I am very excited about this whole project.

Regards from paradise,