Week 10

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Here we are, almost at the end. It seems as yesterday I was laughing at the last week posts of the previous participants, thinking they were overreacting when they were mentioning sadness and tears. I am not going to cry, but I do feel very sad and I try not to watch too often the last video on my Oregon page.

I find writing this last post to be most difficult because I need to summarize the most successful topics and the most useful tools and there were so many of them, so I still don’t know where to start. All the topics covered proved to be very interesting, but if I had to choose I would say websites for enhancing different language skills, alternative assessment, multiple intelligences, PBL, social bookmarking and lessons for the one computer classroom were my favourite.

As I stated before, alternative assessment was something completely new to me and I can’t wait to try out creating various rubrics using Rubistar4teachers again. I was aware of some social bookmarking tools, but I had never used one before. Delicious proved as very useful and I am going to continue with creating ‘delicious’ stacks. I was also familiar with Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, but I never came across so many useful resources at one place and I was grateful for having the opportunity to read about using different technologies for catering the needs of students with different learner styles.

My favourite tools would be Delicious, Rubistar4teachers, Zunal (WebQuest) and my least favourite one was LoTi because it was rather confusing. Of course, there are many web tools just waiting to be explored so I am not sure which one could be covered in the future. Maybe I could suggest Edmodo or other similar free networks for communication and collaboration. Then maybe creating an online CV (DoYouBuzz) or even an e-portofilo, exploring websites for publishing and sharing, tools for surveys and brainstorming (Tricider), digital stories.. I mean, I could go on like this forever but I better stop :)

One of the things I liked best was that this course does not describe the web tools only, but emphasizes the importance of methodology and pedagogy which we should always bear in mind in order not to drown in this ocean of web tools. I also value the experience of writing a project, since I have never written anything similar, using the ABCD model and following the steps provided.

I would also like to thank our mentors Jodi and Celeste, for being professional, helpful and accurate, which I really appreciate. I will definitely use their teaching methods in school and online as well as on some future courses for teachers if I get the chance to pass my knowledge further on.

A big thanks goes to all my classmates as well! It wouldn’t be the same without you! Our discussion and communication were priceless to me and I would really like us to occasionally share ideas regarding the use of technology. You've got my e-mail, so don't hesitate to contact me. I created this image above using all your names and I intend to print it out and keep it as a memory of this wonderful online journey!

Wish you all the best and I am looking forward to meeting you again online and offline!

Marija

P.S. I forgot to mention that I will not continue using this blog actively except to reply if any of you adds a comment or asks me something in the future. The reason is rather emotional: I want to keep this blog as a gem, as a memory of all of you, of the course, its mentors and the participants, of the knowledge I gained and of my learning about Oregon and teaching about Serbia. I am thinking about creating a new blog, although I am already moderating several places on the web, but some of those are in Serbian. Anyway, if I decide to create a blog I will let you know for sure! Meanwhile I’ll be sharing useful resources on our Facebook page.

Week 9

WOW I've done it! I've uploaded my project report! It seems as yesterday I was reading reports from previous course participants and thinking how this mission would be impossible for me. As I stated at one of my first blog posts, I'm not so good at writing long essays, journals or projects. I do have ideas and ways to implement them, but sometimes I am not confident enough if I explained the project process so well. Georgia and Justin have helped me and said I was on the right way which I hope is true. Anyway, besides the project report, the most important thing is that I have finished the project itself successfully and that I am satisfied with the results. What I haven't stated in the report was something that happened just yesterday. One group asked me to prepare one more dance, to describe it and actually perform it by the end of the term and the second group (the one whose video I posted on WebQuest) told me that they are going to be even better for European day of languages celebrated in September and that they plan to collaborate with one boy, my former student, who is good at dancing and they are going to practice on regular basis. I was amazed especially since children don't have enough physical activities these days, but rather spend time playing computer games.

This week has also been my favourite regarding the resources given and the next step is going to be creating a 'delicious' stack of useful links leading to articles on multiple intelligences.

I will miss this course, these people and I will have somehow have to prepare myself for the course ending.

Meanwhile I have to relax and I suggest you do the same.

Week 8

At the beginning of this week I was under a lot of pressure. I had to finish my project draft on time but at the same time I had to finish the project itself. The students are thrilled because they collaborated online and combined English and Music and we can’t wait for their dance performances. I hope I will be able to record it and I would really like to show it to you all their Glogsters and their dance performances. 

Most importantly, they liked the idea of Edmodo and they are excited because they are doing something in a rather unusual way. They have collaborated and did the task as a group which was my main goal at the beginning. They have been working on developing reading and writing skills online and there are listening and speaking skills left to be seen as well as their dancing skills 'offline', which I believe is a real challenge especially for the boys who are usually not so eager to dance.

This week we have been exploring the online resources and experimented with creating online exercises. Although I was familiar with many of the tools suggested I didn’t know there was an option of creating a survey on Google docs, so I spent some time creating one. What I liked was a detailed report I get when somebody answers the questions.

Learning about ANVILL was an interesting experience and during the holidays I will definitely spend more time exploring its possibilities. As I once said, any good web tool which integrates several useful tools and enhances learner autonomy is more than welcome. I liked the idea of organizing a webinar too and I wish we had had at least one more during the course.

I also enjoyed exchanging ideas with Georgia and Justin and I have to say it is a great idea to have a partner when working on a project, because you cannot always be objective enough or sometimes the partner notices something you haven’t.

Getting closer to finishing my draft and somehow I think right now we all need a pump-up video which I am going to post tomorrow on Oregon page.