Week 9

It is hard to believe but there is just one week left for our course to finish.Time really flies, especially if you're dealing with something you mostly enjoy. Now .... Just a mixture of feelings... as we always have in the eve of all good-byes...

Week 9 has been the least demanding week for me as I was almost done with my project report last week. So I was able to concentrate on last-minute details, spelling and some other mechanics of it with no rush.

In fact, this week's discussion topic is one of the most interesting of all we have covered so far for me since I always find Gardner's way of classfying intelligences as something which brought fairness and rightness to the land of education, thinking all those poor students smashed under the wheels of the traditional tyranny of the IQ.

The Road Not Taken

I remembered this poem while adding some details to my report and thinking about "change" , aiming to put change in practice is like choosing the "less travelled road", I think, by challenging the established systems in our institutions, and in our own teaching we all choose that less travelled road. then the poem is for all courageous hearts. wishing you all the best sebnem "Road at Chantilly" by Paul Cézanne

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Copyright © 1962, 1967, 1970 by Leslie Frost Ballantine.

Week 8

Not surprisingly, I have found this week rather demanding. We're nearing the end of the course and busy with giving our project reports their final form. Peer reviews are absolutely alleviating the problems related to our projects. I can't express how thankful I am to Dragana and Chandy for their valuable recommendations and also modelling with their own reports. Most of my concerns have disappeared, and my misunderstandings clarified.

As for the task of this week, I have prepared an interactive multiple-choice test by using hotpotatoes and I just loved it. Becuase such a task is new for me I had to spend minutes on even the simplist detail but the final product made me forget how I suffered :)

All these online tools and Anvill are just amazing and mesmerizing. I wish I could manage to employ them skillfully soon and add variety into my classes, increase student motivation and foster learner autonomy.

Bye for now

and wish you luck with your project reports

week 7

This week has been a new experience for me because I've tried to follow the discussions far away from my home and the comfort it provides for my studies. Having no internet connection in my family house, I've had to spend time in internet cafes and tried to focus on the readings assigned sitting amongst a group of noisy teenagers crazy about computer games :) anyway I was able to catch up with the class in the end.

"Learner Autonomy" marked our nicenet discussions. In the readings what I most liked was the fact that learner autonomy is multi-factorial, requires time, training and teacher assistance to develop. What is more, teacher autonomy and learner autonomy go hand in hand, and absence of teacher autonomy brings about negative consequences in terms of learner autonomy. That is, there is a powerful organic link between the two.

We also read about how to deal with "one computer classrooms". We've been learning about various net tools to employ in our classes, assuming that the classes are equipped with a computer for each student or easy access of internet for all students. Then what are we gonna do if these are all absent and the teacher is alone with only one computer for all, which is actually the case in my institution and many others.?For this reason, the readings were rather enlightening.

For the project, we were asked to find a partner to evaluate our projects. I think the activity fits into the nature of this course very well. After discussing alternative assessment, and engaging students it is our turn now to practice group work, and learn from each other. I have always liked putting myself into my students' shoes so it's going to be a really instructive experience, which feels exciting as well. I can't wait to see the comments of my two valuable colleagues.

Wishing you all the best

Sebnem

Week 6

It's just the second day but I am poured with lots of new information already. I am collecting bits and pieces from each source and trying to draw the complete picture of what is ahead. We are in the second half of the course, it feels like countdown has started. This means project dealine is nearing. Although I was really confused about which class to choose, which new tool to implement at the beginning, things found their own path. Now I see, I am already halfway through the project. I still have two groups, and two different nicenet virtual classes. the first group (elementary level) has already sent their first posts and the second one is on the way. All of the 10 students are participating actively. In the second group (intermediate level), 3 students out of 12 have sent their first posts. In our next meeting, I will be informing them about the weight (20 %) of these activities in the midterm . Hopefully, they will start taking the activities seriously. This integration of nicenet activities and formal examination does not intend to put students in a disadvantageous position,all will be able to do the task on paper. but the ones who are used to them from the nicenet will be just more comfortable in the exam. I am planning to give a place to the webquest I have created in the final exam. the final outcome of the webquest will be graded and the score will be added to their final exam score.(like 70 + 30 points) Right now, this is just an intention though. From the posts they are writing I can sense the joy they get from writing to me and make it visible for their friends. at the end of the term, I am planning to have some feedback about this application through a questionnaire and an informal class-discussion. That's all about the project.

I see this week's task a challange as I am not used to preparing powerpoint presentations. Hope things will go well.

Best

Sebnem

About Week 5

Last week was full of various gains again. the discussion topic "Alternative Assessment" was my favorite as it was my reasearch topic for the master's thesis. So , I could find several opportunities to polish my background knowledge and of course added a lot new perspectives thanks to the contribution of my colleagues and hot Nicenet discussions.

The pearl of last week's though was preparing a webquest for me. I had heard a lot about them, tried to use a few but not created one by myself before. I like the principles behind this tool a lot. Promoting research, creating a fictional environment, developing student autonomy, changing the face of research in general, which is associated with usually tiresome surfing among the resources and producing a typical paper only. Even though much of the work was done by Zunal.com webquest template , and it is still like a draft, I felt very proud of the outcome :)