Week5 Reflective Blog

Hi Everyone Week 5 Reflective Blog This week I did many great and amazing tasks. I will start by creating a Web Quest. This is because the idea is new for me. Now I have many technology tools that I can choose according to students’ different levels and different situations. I browsed a number of links from the extra activity tasks: First I started by exploring the meanings and functions behind creating Web Quests in ELT: http://zunal.com/zunal-help/help-about-whatiswebquest.php I discovered that Web Quests are interesting and motivating to teachers and students.They develop critical thinking skills.Students learn as they search for information using the Web, following a prescribed format that focuses on problem solving and authentic assessment. They ask them to analyze a variety of resources and use their creativity and critical-thinking skills to solve a problem. They help students analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. There are two kinds of Web Quests: short term and long term. They can also work off line (Dodge) Alternative kinds of assessment can be used to judge the results of Web Quest projects. I can use, for example, my rubric for letter writing to assess my students’ work on the Web Quest. Web Quests are tools, not educational theories. So they can be used in virtually any classroom with appropriate computer access. I watched Videos on Web Quests at http://www.webquest.org/search/index.php Examples at : http://questgarden.com/ Then I browsed Essential parts of a Web Quest at http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index_sub3.html I created my Web Quest for my students to combine it with a blog. I will use both of them as educational tools in my class project for the coming weeks. The URL for the Web Quest is : http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=195924 For rubrics, I started by Rubri Star that shows us how to create quality rubrics for our students at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ I chose writing as a theme I created my own rubric for an elementary class-Letter-Writing I saved my rubric online on database of Rubri Star The URL is http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?ts=1367417353 My rubric ID # is: 2318148 Then I surfed other links to make rubrics more interactive at http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=Waypoint&module=Rubistar Then I browsed way point http://waypointoutcomes.com/get-started/rubric-library It takes from minutes to months to create a rubric. Rubrics should be authentic. http://rubriclibrary.com/ I found recent example of rubrics . Critical writing assessment : URL: http://rubriclibrary.com/assessment-methodologies/course-embedded-assessment/critical-writing-assessment/ http://waypointoutcomes.com/screenshots/rubriclibrary/spotlight/critical_writing_assessment_w.jpg and more information at http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/default.htm I read the article: ‘Creating a Rubric: Tutorial’ URL for an example rubric for oral discussion: http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/documents/dimensions_online_Discussion.pdf Rubrics are essential teaching tools that we as teachers can regularly use with our students as alternative way for deep critical assessment. For PBL I had great ideas from the following links http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=385.html Title: Less teaching and more learning by Susan Gaer. The expression ‘Making meaning , making change’ is very deep and useful. The themes of cook, folktales( a way to preserve culture), help students to learn a language for purpose, developing sense of community help and foster motivation. This is very useful in areas of multiculturalism in which English is used as a second language or as foreign language. More and extra links at http://pbl-online.org/ Here I had ideas about how to design a project with my students. URL: http://pbl-online.org/pathway2.html I downloaded a project planning form in word The PBL modules are based on The Project Based Learning Handbook, published by the Buck Institute for Education. You may browse the contents of the Handbook at http://www.bie.org/index.php/site/PBL/pbl_handbook_introduction/. I watched a video from Singapore, a project authorized by the National Ministry of Education lasted for six months .It enhances critical thinking, students self directed learning, teachers as facilitators, they do not teach, but help learners to do their tasks and develop their skills. Then I browsed an example : http://www.edutopia.org/new-technologies-link-ancient-cultures title ‘ learning matters’ New Technologies Link Ancient Cultures Then I browsed : for an example of a school sharing at Hawaii, what works in public education http://www.edutopia.org/classrooms-without-boundaries URL for Practical Ideas on Alternative Assessment: http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/tannen01.html I browsed Practical Ideas On Alternative Assessment For ESL Students Jo-Ellen Tannenbaum, Montgomery County Public Schools (MD) The main goal is to "gather evidence about how students are approaching, processing, and completing real-life tasks in a particular domain" (Huerta-Macias, 1995, p. 9) OH, what I did was great. Now I have feelings that with minimum teaching I can achieve maximum learning. By using different , combined, and easy educational and technology tools I can facilitate teaching. My students can learn by themselves, they can make use of all the facilities available for them in the Internet, with my help, to use language in contexts. Now we are helping our students to be creative, critical thinkers, autonomous and self-directed learners. Thanks Donna very much for your help. Nada