Hello Donna and classmates
During this interesting online course, I have
learnt many things that have been useful and motivating.
What topics were most successful?
I found some topics very interesting and useful
such as:
1)
Web
searching: I am a big Google fan, but I learnt how to use other search engines
that can be as effective and useful as Google.
2)
How
to write clear objectives: Writing objectives has been my weakness and a
headache sometimes. However, I could clarify some doubts when we had to do it
using the ABCD model. This way of writing objectives is very accurate and measurable.
3)
Multi-skill
activities and websites: Most of the time, I provide my students with extra grammar
activities, but during the 3rd and 4th week, I learnt how
to use other resources or websites to exploit all the language skills.
4)
Rubrics
and alternative assessment: This is helpful to assess our students’ performance
more accurately.
5)
Teaching
large classes and learning styles were also very interesting topics because we
have to face these issues in the institutions or schools where we work.
What topics were most useful for you?
1)
Saving
bookmarks with Delicious: I used to have many websites that I kept in my
browser’s favorite list, but they were really disorganized. After creating my
account and using Delicious, all my favorite websites are classified according
to the topics that I am interested in; I can follow other Delicious’s users and
share our links.
2)
Creating
an academic blog: I think this is a very simple and effective way to help our
students to practice writing outside the classroom because they can feel more
confident to write and share their opinions and ideas.
3)
Tools
for assessment and creating exercises: these tools were very useful because I like
to give my students extra practice. Therefore these tools can help me a lot to
create my own worksheets.
4)
Interactive
PowerPoint: I have used PowerPoint presentations several times, but during this
week, I learnt how to create better and interactive presentations that can maximize
the use of this visual tool.
Which tools will you use in your classes?
I will definitely use a blog, interactive
PowerPoint presentations and multi-skill activities.
Which, if any, do you think were not relevant
to what you do or will do?
I think most of the tools and topics that we used
and discussed during the course were important, but some of them are not feasible
to put into practice in our classes or we need to get more familiar with them
to start using them in the classroom.
For instance, I would need to practice more how
to use webquests and ANVILL tools before starting to use them in my classes. I think
they are very useful and interesting to the students. However, it might take me
some time to learn well how to use these technology tools.
What other tools might we have covered or would
you suggest that we could have looked at?
Nowadays, social networks, cell phones and
tablets are becoming more and more popular among teenagers and young adults in
my country and also all over the world. It would be a good idea to include some
tips or activities to use these technology tools in the classroom.
Sincerely
JC
