Friday 12 December 2014

Week 10: Farewell!

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Photo Courtesy: http://kingswoodes.wcpss.net/css/images/learning.jpg

This week has really been emotional for me! I have all these mixed feelings of great achievement and satisfaction for accomplishing this wonderful course, as well as sadness and emptiness for this great journey to be coming to an end.

I remember my excitement to find out that I was selected for this course. It was amazing! Yet, now I can say, I had no idea about how actually wonderful experience it would be. I was only wondering whether I would be able to do all the tasks and achieve desirable results; I didn't actually know how many wonderful new things I was going to learn and, above all, how many wonderful and different new people I was going to meet.

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Photo Courtesy: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyaVhXW2-vBf73X2Ri96w0zQlmqqDyAH5kwfs9gG1gOA4yvV_N6p7W-GF7COKEmDrXhiGwtlckQIuNAlDxJN3rZ_FvDUPv7TN0XMpnjfeVdqK4B1XzS-1N7VL1xkP5dlVwNi7-WcSf3Yw/s1600/kids_world.png

I still remember the phrase Janja used in her first post on introducing herself. She said: "What a motley group of people we are!" I believe this is one of the most beneficial things of this course: connecting people from different parts of the world, different cultural and economical backgrounds, and giving them the opportunity to discuss topics of interest for all of them. And not only discuss the topics, but share ideas, experiences and give feedback to each other. This is actually where I've learnt the value of peer feedback.
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Photo Courtesy: http://www.teachersapparel.com/images/934%20icon.jpg


I really want to thank everyone, starting from the course designers and instructors to all my colleagues.

Yet, special thanks go to Courtney, one of the best instructors I've had throughout my education. Courtney, you have always been very resourceful, reliable, patient and helpful. Thank you for not only teaching us how to use technology in our classes, but also for setting a great role model of teaching!

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Photo Courtesy: http://digitalleaders.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/collaboration.jpg

I would like to thank all my colleagues who have so willingly participated in all our discussions for the last ten weeks. Learning from you and with you has really been amazing! I have learnt to value collaborative work and peer feedback much more. Thank you all so much!

Week 10: Technology Integration

 It seems almost impossible that Week 10 has already arrived. I have a feeling I won't know what to do after this course finishes. But of course I will know what to do (at least in my classes): I have learnt so much!

This week we have been analysing our own technology integration level. I must say I am quite satisfied with what I've got so far. I've started integrating technology slowly but steadily. On one hand, I'm being very cautious not to overwhelm my students with new technology. On the other hand, technology has been very helpful and has opened numerous options that otherwise would not have been available. My classes are more interactive and the students seem more motivated. Even my communication with the students out of the classes has become more active and they are not reserved any more as they used to be.

I have to thank the University of Oregon, American English Institute and the USA Embassy in Serbia for giving me this great opportunity of attending such an informative and beneficial course. All the above mentioned positive changes are due to the information and inspiration I have received throughout this course.

Thank you!
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Photo Courtesy: http://www.healthytravelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Thank-you-post-it_Xoombi.jpg

Friday 5 December 2014

Week 9: Developing Stylistic Diversity

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Photo Courtesy: http://agracy.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/9/9/25995307/2303750.jpg?348
Refreshing my memory on Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory, I have come to realise that there are so many diverse learning styles that a teacher just cannot address all of them at a span of a single class. Nor should it be done! I believe students can learn much more by being provided diversity than by just being directed towards their own learning style.

Deciding on one's own learning style is not an easy task. Challenged by this week's Webskills guest moderator, Russel Moon, I have tried to define my own. What I realised is that I am "active sometimes and reflective sometimes", "sensing sometimes and intuitive sometimes" as Richard Felder and Barbara Soloman so nicely put it in their article.

Generally speaking, I believe I am reflective-sensing-visual-sequential, but these preferences are so mild (especially in the case of active-reflective styles) that they easily turn into their opposites in specific circumstances. For example, when it comes to literature classes, I switch from visual to verbal and from sequential to global. The same goes for my fitness course, while I was attending the course for fitness instructors my learning style was greatly active, visual, intuitive and global. Almost a complete opposite to the preferred general style!


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Photo Courtesy: https://nameun.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/me-myself-and-irene.jpg



What does this indicate? Well, hopefully not a DID disorder :) Even though there certainly is a Dr Jekyll and a Mr Hyde in all of us.





I believe learning is a life-long process which brings so much development to the learner. Throughout your life you develop, change, upgrade and adapt to different occasions. Naturally, your learning style undergoes the same changes. I see this process as a constant professional development.
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Photo Courtesy: http://www.paulasfonseca.com/uploads/5/9/3/9/5939887/636531260.gif?258

Sunday 30 November 2014

Week 8: Technology Tools to Enhance Learning

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Photo Courtesy: http://steedie.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/technology-title.jpg?w=393&h=305&crop=1

After these 8 weeks of our Webskills course, I can nothing but state that technology has influenced both my teaching and my students' learning a lot. The influence has almost unanimously been positive.

Technology has provided both me, as a teacher, and my students with greater availability of teaching materials. Resources are available even if some f2f classes are skipped by students.

Additionally, my students autonomy in learning has increased. They have learnt to be more interested in research. They freely link to additional resources and make use of much more learning devices. They have also become aware of their own responsibility for their learning.

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Photo Courtesy: http://bfbm.org/ckfinder/userfiles/images/class_technology.jpg

One of the issues that has to be addressed with a lot of care in the process of incorporating technology into classes is quantity. One at a time, step by step...these are the golden rules! Teachers have to be very careful not to overwhelm the students with technology, which can cause frustration and negative attitude to the course. Students should be completely at ease and comfortable with one tool before a new one is introduced. In addition to that, there should be a choice of a few tools that will be used. There cannot be constant addition, as Jeff Magoto has stated in one of his posts as a guest instructor in Webskills Course Week8.

Finally, backup plan is a must! Just consider the photo below...

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Photo Courtesy: http://sharmskee.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/technology-school.jpg

Friday 28 November 2014

Week 8: Project Reports - Learning from Peers

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Photo Courtesy: http://stavreas.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/PartnershipCogs.jpg

Week 8 is, among other things, devoted to Project Report Peer Review sessions. Groups and partnerships were founded last week and this week triggered a lot of interaction.

I have a great pleasure to be cooperating with Sharmila and Zulyar in peer reviewing. Both their Project Reports fostered a lot of self-reflection and learning in me. It is by having the opportunity to give feedback to your peers that you actually become aware of what you are expected to do and how you are expected to perform. A lot of new ideas can come to you by just reading different approaches to one and the same task.

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Photo Courtesy: http://nursing.advanceweb.com/SharedResources/Images/2009/033009/NursePeerReview.jpg

The same goes for our classes. By engaging our students into assessing each other, we actually engage them into unconscious autonomous learning process. Critical approach to other people's performance actually raises the ability of critical thinking as well as self-reflection. The benefit is mutual.

Sunday 23 November 2014

Week 7: Project in full swing!

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Photo Courtesy: http://www.majormadness.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/MBA-PROJECT.jpg

This week my Technology Enhanced Project has reached its prime. The students were working on their oral presentations, rehearsing in pairs and finally they gave their presentations to the class on Thursday and Friday.

The quality of the presentations fluctuated. Some of the students were great, both fluent and accurate, exhibiting a high level of presentation skills. Some of them had certain issues with accuracy or fluency. However, it was obvious that all the students had invested time into getting ready for the presentations.

The influence of the WebQuest used last week was obvious: they all used new vocabulary from the resources provided in the WebQuest and all of them completed the WebQuest task. The speaking skills of all students were on a higher level than in regular classes, which actually is my primary goal for using the WebQuest.

I was delighted to see that all the students were actively participating in the evaluation process. They made comments on each other's presentations and suggested certain options for improvement. Most of the students tried to comment in English, but even those who couldn't find the right words wanted to contribute to the evaluation so they used Serbian from time to time.
http://cdn.projectsmart.co.uk/img/cat-it-project-management.png
Photo Courtesy: http://cdn.projectsmart.co.uk/img/cat-it-project-management.png


I have learnt a lot from this experience!

Looking forward to more technology enhanced classes.

Saturday 22 November 2014

Week 7: Autonomous learners - we are born that way

A PowerPoint presentation on Learner Autonomy uploaded to our Padlet wall by Virginia, a Webskills colleague-participant, provided real food for thought. Thank you Virginia for this great resource!

There is one thing in this presentation that really caught my eye. The author states that autonomy is considered to be a characteristic of adults. I have to say I strongly disagree. Even more if we talk about autonomy in learning!


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Photo Courtesy: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIsJSsErgT9IZIuBOF_6i88b9vUW60tTjCUOAhq-5rg8eGyGt_VWJ2xOJjbGvH2XHBFfgEkrn8wwVc7K3_U2hJAoVORK0t9eaFXIoIYv1u5u8AShkFW0leoZrQc2KOALA5yf6Xp7-4Fg8/s1600/2508695768_9ffa5c1af1.jpg

Children, especially very young children, exhibit an extremely high level of learner autonomy. It is obvious in every segment of their lives, from learning how to feed, sit, walk to learning how to speak. These early years of childhood are full of striking examples of learner autonomy. Children listen, watch, imitate, try, experiment, guess and are never afraid of making mistakes (or should I say errors?).

Unfortunately, later in their lives they are taught (by parents, teachers and the rest of the society) to be dependent on others, such as teachers, for learning. So it seems that being autonomous is a characteristic of adults because children have to de-learn this dependency and become independent and autonomous once again as they were when they were very young.

If we could all keep the autonomy we have as young children, and if the society help develop that autonomy and transfer it to other segments of life such as education, than learner autonomy would be much more easily achieved.

Not until I got my own children had I realized this. And now, looking at them and other children of their age, I am impressed by how inquisitive and autonomous in learning they are. I just hope we parents are able to be their life facilitators and to foster this obvious learner autonomy.
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Photo Courtesy: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNuIm12WW0EI8CGLF9EkC8qJ-sx7xJ37xMxYQO7jSJQvZzXO63hyphenhypheniXa9B8x-vrLLGl-RzSiVsR8UDubM4dM5NfpCjfrz72XAyu6xmhcKxcw0IsjmrsGQyynHxocWpZ_78HVs19_z22mv4/s1600/autuonomous+learner.jpg

Week 7: Autonomous learners - responsible learners

This week has brought about another important topic: learner autonomy. I am a huge advocate of it! I believe learner autonomy creates not only better learners but better people as well.


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Photo Courtesy: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZclcukyKzBqHiMXctTnRz2ibHLCSr8pyTbGytokNCBSihZ3NBU_UogjobS3sWoxNXg1ElweYSX3fvakGzcndsL2dqyJU-2IHfANgh8DGhtePOLqrtpaHnA7dSYvShZGR4HJ1iHV50sXE/s320/girl_computer.jpg

In order to become autonomous in their learning process, students need to master learning skills and tools, have to develop critical thinking, have to be able to perform higher level cognitive activities such as application, evaluation and analysis. But not only that, I believe that developing autonomy in learning reinforces all the above mentioned. One needs critical thinking skills in order to be able to become autonomous learner, but autonomous learning helps further develop those critical thinking skills. It is a reciprocal process.

Once this is realized, learners take responsibility of their own learning and are able to appreciate the teacher's role of a facilitator. Speaking from personal experience, once the process is started, positive outcomes never cease to impress you. And seeing your students become autonomous in their EFL learning, and transfer the skills to other study fields as well, is the biggest satisfaction a teacher can get.


Saturday 15 November 2014

Week 6: Implementing technology in my classes

Well, the big day has arrived! I started implementing my technology solution in my class on Thursday.

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Photo Courtesy: http://www.theday.com/Assets/images/0822bigDayLogo.jpg

First of all, the students were a bit surprised we were not having our class in the usual place (our one computer-one overhead projector-no Internet classroom) but in the computer laboratory with twenty computers, all with broadband connections. The surprise was positive, I would say. They liked the idea of changing the setting a bit.


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Photo Courtesy: http://thumb9.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/624082/624082,1304150905,2/stock-vector-cartoon-computer-and-phone-face-icon-76235668.jpg
The next surprise came a few seconds afterwards when they realized not all the computers were on, but one computer per two of them. Some of them started browsing the Net right away, while the others sat quietly awaiting my instructions.

I asked for them to recall the concept of WebQuest I had introduced a week before. We had a few-minute discussion and then I gave them all the link to our WebQuest for the day. Luckily, there were no technological issues and they could all open the link.

The group discussion was triggered right away, the moment they saw the first page of the WebQuest. I believe the photo I used was very inspiring to them.

I used the overhead projector to project the WebQuest for the whole class to be able to see it and then gave them instructions on how it was to be used. I browsed the pages of the WebQuest for them to see what they offer, all of them just fired off questions since this form of instruction was very new for everyone.

When we came to the final point of what their WebQuest "product" should be (in this case an oral presentation) I gave a short oral presentation as a sample of what they should strive for. I even earned myself a round of applause! :)

They all got down to their WebQuests and I could see real interaction among them. Even the quite ones started talking. And they were taking notes, which was pretty much of a surprise!


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Photo Courtesy: http://thumb101.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/216823/216823,1302593405,3/stock-vector-cartoon-kids-with-computer-vector-illustration-75089869.jpg
Unfortunately, some of them resorted to using Serbian language so I had to intervene and ask them to use English as much as possible.

When I called it a day, an hour and a half later, one of the students remarked: "Wow, the time really flies!". So my conclusion is that this first step was a successful one.

The next day, on Friday. We got back to our regular class setting and I used the usual way of teaching using PPT to go into a bit more detail on what their presentations should look like. We went through the useful language section and discussed the language I used in my sample presentation the day before. I also used the PPT presentations I attached in the WebQuest for them to explore, so we did that together.

I must admit I was very glad to hear one of the students tell me how she and her pair had already met the night before and worked on the oral presentation.

Almost all the students had gone through the WebQuest again when they got home the nigt before and they all commented on the appropriateness of the rubric provided.

Some of them asked me on the usage of online dictionaries (the links were provided in the WebQuest), so (even though I had already introduced online dictionaries in one of the classes a few weeks earlier) I gave them a short introduction to using dictionaries, both online and paper ones. Some of them asked for recommendations, as well, which led to a short class discussion on what dictionaries they individually use or have at their homes. 

I really hope the initial enthusiasm does not phase off till next Thursday when they are all supposed to give their oral presentations in the class.


Friday 14 November 2014

Week 6: Live from the University of Oregon

Thank you so much Courtney for introducing us all to the live presentations schedule. It was such a pleasure to watch some of these presentations.

And not only that! Great ideas have been shared among E-Teachers. Excellent presentations to give new ideas on how to engage your students or how to use visual aids in  your presentations.

By watching and listening to our colleagues we can learn so much, not only on the subjects they were talking about, but also on the way presentations are given. From these live broadcasts one can get so much important first-hand information on body language, gestures, voice, interaction with the audience and many more important issues.

Thank you Courtney and the UO AEI once again!

Week 6: Engaging students = interactive classes

Engaging your students, especially in large classes, is not an easy goal to be achieved. A vast number of circumstances influences the students' lack of interest in a class.

First of all, the topic itself might be not exactly mind provoking for the students. They might also find the language used either too proficiency or too elementary for their level. Or finally, they might be having a bad day.

There is only one solution to all the above mentioned problems: a teacher who knows how to engage the students using techniques of interactive lessons. Pair work, group work, brainstorming, think-pair-share, minute papers, jigsaw learning, etc. are just some of those worth mentioning.

We would all like our large classes to look like this:

http://interacc.typepad.com/.a/6a01053596fb28970c0120a5ccd6b6970c-600wi
Photo Courtesy: http://interacc.typepad.com/.a/6a01053596fb28970c0120a5ccd6b6970c-600wi
 ...wouldn't we?!

Monday 10 November 2014

Week 5: Truly a PBL week

This time I was the student...

It all started last Monday morning when my four-year old daughter exclaimed: "Mummy, I want a Minnie Mouse cake for my birthday!" The moment I thought to myself: "OK, I'll order the cake tomorrow", she excitedly continued: "And I want to help you make it!"

Help ME make it...when did I say I was going to make the cake?

Anyway, my daughter was very specific about everything: it had to be a chocolate-cherry-Plazma (a kind of biscuits) cake, Minnie Mouse's en face portrait with a red dotted bow had to be on it. "Phew!", I thought to myself, "At least she didn't ask me to make a 3D Minnie figurine."

So the first few steps of my PBL had already been completed: my daughter (and I) agreed on the topic of our project, the final product was obvious, structuring was pretty much deadline-dictated: the cake had to be done by Saturday noon as the birthday party was on Saturday at 4pm.

So information gathering started the next day: a cake recipe, the necessary ingredients, the necessary decorating material, the necessary Minnie Mouse photo. Once again, Google was my best friend :) And of course, my daughter was a very helpful instructor.

And then came the fun part! It was an awesome experience shopping for all the necessary ingredients and actually making the cake. Everything went smoothly and was easier than I had expected. The decorating part was the best! It was like a sculpturing class to me and my daughter. We enjoyed playing with the decorating dough, or the fondant icing as professionals call it :)


The final product was done on Friday evening and ready for the public display the next day!

I must say that it was greatly admired both for its looks and taste.

Most importantly, my daughter's constant smile was the biggest reward I could get.




 

Week 5: Quest in the WWW

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My first WebQuest! I am so proud of it!

I am planning to use it in my final project to try and solve the issue of inhibited speakers in my classroom. Additionally, this will be my students' first WebQuest experience ever.

It seems that every week of our Webskills course brings some kind of out-of-box experience. As for me, this turns out to be the best way of learning.
Photo Courtesy:  http://www.metanoialiving.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/when-was-the-last-time-you-did-something-for-the-first-time-quote-21.jpg



Wednesday 5 November 2014

Week5: Alternative way of saving my alternative assessment tool

- RubiStar Instructions - checked
- Creating my rubric on RubiStar - checked
- Saving my rubric online - checked
- Downloading an Excel Spreadsheet of my rubric - well...

Some incompatibility error arises every time I try to do this. The document format and extension do not match. I manage to save it on my desktop but it will not upload to Google Drive or the course wiki so I can't share it with anyone...

So I had to think of an alternative way of saving and sharing it. I remembered having read in one of the articles that rubrics can be created as Word  documents, and I even think Courtney has mentioned it somewhere so that's exactly what I did. The good old copy-paste from RubiStar to my word doc and WALLAH. I could upgrade it a little bit and upload it both on the wiki and Google Drive.
Having an alternative is always welcome! :)

Week5: PBL - food for thought




http://21centuryedtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/pbl9.jpg
Photo Courtesy: http://21centuryedtech.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/pbl9.jpg

Week 5 has started to unwind with a plethora of resources on Project Based Learning, WebQuests and Alternative Assessment. All wonderful topics promising another lively week!
I have always been interested in PBL, and have even tried designing some short-term projects, but after reading all the resources on it from the Webskills course site I must admit I am more than intrigued.
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Photo courtesy: http://www.fellowshipofchristianfirefighters.com/images/shared/Site%20Images/internet%20images/food-for-thought-image.jpg

How to incorporate my syllabus into a PBL environment? Would my students be interested in PBL? What topics would they like to explore?
Food for thought, that's for sure!
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Photo Courtesy: http://lamscff.wikispaces.com/file/view/PBL-Logo.png/180606343/560x483/PBL-Logo.png

Sunday 2 November 2014

Week4: Really motivating :)

Preparing my lesson plan on Motivation for my Business English class, I bumped into this photo...made me smile so I thought it would be nice to share it with you all :)


Photo Courtesy: http://cartoonmotivators.co.uk/team-motivation/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/IngredSuccess.jpg

Friday 31 October 2014

Week4: Plan A - Always have a Plan B!


I have diligently coined my Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan this week, posted it on Nicenet and Google Drive. It is actually based on one of the classes I teach this week. Proud of it I wanted to give it a try in the classroom.

Technical preparation took some time, but I was more than willing to do it. The overhead projector had to be disconnected from the classroom computer (as this one has no internet connection) and connected to my personal lap top (as this one has wireless internet connection).

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Everything went well!
Photo Courtesy:  http://lowres.jantoo.com/it-computers-pc-fight-hardware-arguments-fights-47630150_low.jpg

Sounded pretty simple to me. I did it all well in advance and everything was working perfectly...

...up until the moment I wanted to play the Youtube video prepared for this class. Ooooops! The overhead projector went completely dead. As if no laptop was connected to it. No picture, no sound, no video!
It took me a few seconds to collect myself and then I remembered: One of the points covered in the Technology Enhanced Lesson Plan was the issue of backup. What will you do WHEN (not IF, but WHEN) something goes wrong?
I had thought of this in advance and had already prepared the video on my smartphone. Most of the students had their smartphones with them and we were actually able to watch the video in pairs. So the technology component was not lost but, more importantly, another "component" was gained: Plan A - Always have a Plan B!
http://www.toonpool.com/user/589/files/plan_b_2289125.jpg
Photo Courtesy: http://www.toonpool.com/user/589/files/plan_b_2289125.jpg

Week4: Quizlet - truly wonderful!

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Photo Courtesy: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/6/61/20100609225602!Quizlet_logo.png


This week has been fantastic! The moment I log in to Nicenet and open the week topics at least one new tool awaits to be explored.
What has startled me the most, at least so far, is the wonderful, brilliant, amazing new tool called Quizlet. So simple, yet so astonishing!
I've started using it with my students and their feedback is extremely positive.
Three cheers for Quizlet! HIP HIP...!!!

Thursday 30 October 2014

Week 4: Type pals!

I am getting so excited about a new idea that has dawned on me after reading Week 4 Resources and after Janja's post on Nicenet!
Photo Courtesy: http://www.rtmsd.org/cms/lib/PA01000204/Centricity/Domain/487/typing.jpg 




We could all try and set up e-mail exchange among our students! It would definitely be a great way of practicing writing English outside the classroom and an opportunity for our students to meet new cultures.
I have raised this topic on Nicenet Week4 Discussion...nobody has replied yet but I'll keep checking. Anyway, Janja has declared interested in it so I'll just bug her if no one else complies :) Beware Janja!

Week4: Extensive reading = intensive learning


Reading...my cup of tea!

 Photo Courtesy: http://talkreal.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tR-Blog-Extensive-Reading-Books.jpg
 
Week 4 of our Webskills course has been unwinding rapidly! The topic of reading and writing is something that is really my cup of tea.
Extensive reading in a foreign language is not something university level students of non-philology faculties in Serbia do. I am so excited about this idea I have had for some time. Extensive reading...unconscious learning...acquiring a great habit of reading regularly... I am sure the students will benefit a lot from it!
The only problem is getting hold of the resources...or at least I thought it was a problem. With all the new links to e-books, downloadable pdf's and extensive reading sites this problem is fading away.
Photo Courtesy: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gyV6fjjQUoo/UnK4WcQFwxI/AAAAAAAAAEY/36t5n5Y4tu4/s1600/xox0-ebook1.jpg



I just hope my students won't end up like this
Photo Courtesy: http://minefieldwonderland.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/301.jpg
but will become real
Photo Courtesy: http://www.bookworms101.com/img-new_logo._698.png

Saturday 25 October 2014

Week3: Oh...that's what a project report should look like!

One of Week3 tasks was to review a project report from a previous course participant. I was struggling to decide which one to choose. Joanna Zubel's and Prem Bahadur Phyak's projects were shortlisted.
I've chosen the latter for one reason: the project author managed to incorporate technology-based activities into a class of students most of whom have never heard of the Internet or e-mail before.
The mere fact that there are such places in the World where master students of the English Language have never heard of the Internet, nor have they ever used e-mail, was flabbergasting. Even more astonishing was the fact that their teacher managed to incorporate technology into their classes! I'm sure that was a life-changing event for them.
As for me, I've found this truly inspiring. Thank you Prem Bahadur Phyak!

Week3: My Delicious!

I've found out about Delicious.com! I don't know why it has never struck me before that there could be something like that. It is so obviously necessary to anyone using the Internet for any purpose! I don't know how I've lived without it, but I know for sure my life is going to be so much easier from now.
My Precious! My Delicious! :)
  
Photo Courtesy: https://www.google.rs/search?q=my+precious&client=firefox-a&hs=SJi&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=lqFLVM7dL8Wp7AanjIFQ&ved=0CCUQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=608#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=BEeAYX-5c6uJNM%253A%3BKSIpNwq-XgpVoM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fstatic.c2w.com%252Fuploads%252Fquestion%252Fimage%252F01%252F07%252F91%252F95%252FN1079195%252Ffile.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fmaybeshesthatgirl.blogspot.com%252F2012%252F12%252Fmy-precious.html%3B300%3B400

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Week3: (Un)fairly neglected pronunciation

I have started off this week by reading on building aural/oral skills in teaching. The articles were really instructive and interesting.
They also led me into refreshing my memory on a course I was taking during my studies called English Phonetics. I burst out laughing when I remembered myself on a Monday morning at 6 am practicing the pronunciation of English vowels (aloud, of course),  and my roommate (a student of Mathematics) peeking out from behind her quilt in disbelief.
Even though Serbian people are commonly known as having an ear for languages, I am left with a feeling that pronunciation is unfairly neglected in English language classes. Will do my best to incorporate it into my teaching. Promise!

Thursday 16 October 2014

Week2: ...now I know my ABC(D)...

Bloom's Taxonomy...I've heard of it...

Objectives...I know what objectives are...

But this week in the "Webskills" course has led me to much more than just "hearing of it". I've read quite a few very comprehensive articles on Bloom's Taxonomy. They really held my attention and I'm sure I'll go back to learning about Bloom's Taxonomy and Revised Bloom's Taxonomy in more detail later in my studies.

Then I was encountered to the ABCD objectives (Audience-Behaviour-Condition-Degree) and writing your class/lesson objectives.This is definitely a helpful thing when it comes to lesson planning. It makes you focused and all the time aware of what you should actually be doing in your class.

Thank you "Webskills"! I've already become addicted to writing ABCD objectives for my classes.

And I can't stop singing: "...now I know my ABC, next time won't you sing with me..." :)

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Week2: A myriad of Web Search Engines

Yet another discovery in the course: Google is not the only Search Engine, nor is it always the best one!

As Week2 started to unwind I came across a vast number of Web Search Engines. Engines specializing in different topics and fields of study! Miraculous!

I even told a few friends about them. My husband's suspicious remark was: "Better than Google?! I don't believe it..."

Neither had I believed it before I tried it, but it's true. In some cases Google is not the best place to do your googling.

Now I'm a bit apprehensive of becoming a search addict ;)

Week2: Just for fun!

Thursday 9 October 2014

Week1: Serbia, my home country


Photo Courtesy: http://us.cdn281.fansshare.com/photos/serbia/zlatibor-serbia-srbija-nature-1845070174.jpg

Following Sharmilla's proposal...it's my pleasure to introduce you all to my country.

Serbia is a country in the Balkans, famous for its rich history, cultural heritage, lovely nature, undiscovered tourist destinations, traditional cuisine and warm-hearted people.

I'll try and introduce at least one different trait of Serbia every week. I hope you will like it.

Photo Courtesy: http://www.lcc-website.com/admin4/pdf/1/20100810071828Donji%20gradJV.jpg

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Week1: thoughts on blogging

I have created my own blog! I pride myself on that! It took some time but it was worth it. Ideas keep rushing to me how this can be used in my classes. I am sure students would like it at least as much as I do.

I look at the blog now and really wish that my day was at least 48h so I could spend some more time personalizing the blog, adding some photos or videos etc. Anyway, I hope I 'll have time for that once that blogging becomes a routine.

Week1: learning as you prepare to learn

It has all started with the E-Teacher Scholarship provided by the USA Embassy in Belgrade for which I am extremely thankful! I have been chosen to take an online course named "Building Teaching Skills Through the Interactive Web" (Webskills) with the University of Oregon, American English Institute, Department for Linguistics. I am thrilled and a little bit anxious to see what's awaiting me...or even better - to experience the whole course!

It is a 10-week course but my learning has started in the week prior to Week1. A few days before the official opening of the course I received an e-mail with some basic information on the course and the instructions on how to set my browser to work properly. Hmmmm....I ended up with both Internet Explorer and Firefox installed on my laptop, neither of which is completely properly set, but I keep my fingers crossed! Anyway, I have learnt how to use some of the Tools in both browsers and got aware of the Control Panel :)