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Monday, November 17, 2014
Interesting findings about learning techniques..
"Highlighting Is a Waste of Time: The Best and Worst Learning Techniques
Some of the most common strategies for retaining knowledge are the least effective, according to a new report"
Go to :http://ideas.time.com/2013/01/09/highlighting-is-a-waste-of-time-the-best-and-worst-learning-techniques/ for the article....
an in-class activity
Today's writing topic was "writing a blog post".Most of my students are not acquainted with blogging. To give them an idea I asked one of my students to script a few sentences here ...
"My name is Halide Yılmaz .I'm from Mersin.I'm 18 years old.I am a student.I go to Akdeniz . University.I want to learn English because I want to speak English fluently......"
to be continued :)
"My name is Halide Yılmaz .I'm from Mersin.I'm 18 years old.I am a student.I go to Akdeniz . University.I want to learn English because I want to speak English fluently......"
to be continued :)
Friday, May 16, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
A new online course :Achieving writing expertise
The following is our warm-up :) activity:
Hello everyone,
It feels great to be here surrounded by all those fond of writing :)
Actually, before watching the video I wouldn't have called myself "a writer since - to me - it was an attribute to be found in the ones with a published book accompanied by a prize or so. Having watched the video and completed the activity with timeline, I now understand that I have always preferred to express myself on paper or something readable.
While doing the timeline activity, I remembered the little me writing pages of letters to the pen pals living away, keeping a diary or writing notes on friends' memory notebooks.. then in secondary and highshool all those notebooks full of poems or half-finished stories.....
I can never forget the time when I was a freshman because it was then when I started to understand what writing in academic context meant since I had to struggle to get a passing grade in my composition class.It was rather complicated to adapt to the style of academic thinking and scripting it on paper in an organized way. I tried hard very hard to transform my so called "stream of conscious" into a coherent and unified body. That's one of those periods in life, the one the value of which you understand only years later, to be exact when I started teaching academic writing at university level.
I shouldn't forget to include all the essays, research papers I submitted as course requirements during my both graduate and postgraduate education as well as the master's thesis.
Before putting down my last words, my electronic writing journey is also worth mentioning, with the urge of reflecting on anything readable I started blogging first to keep the memorable moments of my daughter constantly fresh and then to stay updated professionally. I am now the writer of these two blogs too.
Why have I decided to take this online course?
To achieve writing expertise :) and motivate myself to write more since I believe, I better understand myself as a teacher and an individual through writing, and contribute a lot to my professional and personal life.
Hello everyone,
It feels great to be here surrounded by all those fond of writing :)
Actually, before watching the video I wouldn't have called myself "a writer since - to me - it was an attribute to be found in the ones with a published book accompanied by a prize or so. Having watched the video and completed the activity with timeline, I now understand that I have always preferred to express myself on paper or something readable.
While doing the timeline activity, I remembered the little me writing pages of letters to the pen pals living away, keeping a diary or writing notes on friends' memory notebooks.. then in secondary and highshool all those notebooks full of poems or half-finished stories.....
I can never forget the time when I was a freshman because it was then when I started to understand what writing in academic context meant since I had to struggle to get a passing grade in my composition class.It was rather complicated to adapt to the style of academic thinking and scripting it on paper in an organized way. I tried hard very hard to transform my so called "stream of conscious" into a coherent and unified body. That's one of those periods in life, the one the value of which you understand only years later, to be exact when I started teaching academic writing at university level.
I shouldn't forget to include all the essays, research papers I submitted as course requirements during my both graduate and postgraduate education as well as the master's thesis.
Before putting down my last words, my electronic writing journey is also worth mentioning, with the urge of reflecting on anything readable I started blogging first to keep the memorable moments of my daughter constantly fresh and then to stay updated professionally. I am now the writer of these two blogs too.
Why have I decided to take this online course?
To achieve writing expertise :) and motivate myself to write more since I believe, I better understand myself as a teacher and an individual through writing, and contribute a lot to my professional and personal life.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
About e-textbooks
Week 2: Discussion questions
1)Which visual elements do you think are important for your learners?
colorful pictures & images
tables & graphic organizers & flow charts
2)What are your thoughts about the future of textbooks?
I agree with the idea that they will be more prevalent.In my institution we are using a coursebook supplemented by an itool and most days I teach with the itool without referring to the printed book (even though I am a traditional reader who adore the touch and smell of paper :)) But the itool eases my life in the class extraordinarily- no more file opennigs to search for a track, just one click for an answer key or scripts) I believe in the near future students will be buying those itools but not the books. Once in my classroom, a student had forgotten to bring one of his books that day, he just took the picture of certain pages from his friend's book with his smart phone and read from his phone and did all the task.Nothing is impossible for them :) I couldn't even get angry for his irresponsibility as he was that creative :) lol
3)How do you believe digital textbooks should be designed to best match learner's needs?
I believe everyone can benefit a lot from etextbooks if they ......
*are user friendly (not all the learners are digital natives)
*have simple icons to lead through the pages
*have direct links to appropriate websites (be it an online dictionary, wikipedia or any relevant website)
*direct links to audio/ audio-visual materials (difficult to search through a huge list of tracks)
*downloadable
*have interactive exercises for self-study
*enable students to communicate with the instructor via instant messaging or emailing
*allow file sharing (for writing/speaking assignments) and feedback
1)Which visual elements do you think are important for your learners?
colorful pictures & images
tables & graphic organizers & flow charts
2)What are your thoughts about the future of textbooks?
I agree with the idea that they will be more prevalent.In my institution we are using a coursebook supplemented by an itool and most days I teach with the itool without referring to the printed book (even though I am a traditional reader who adore the touch and smell of paper :)) But the itool eases my life in the class extraordinarily- no more file opennigs to search for a track, just one click for an answer key or scripts) I believe in the near future students will be buying those itools but not the books. Once in my classroom, a student had forgotten to bring one of his books that day, he just took the picture of certain pages from his friend's book with his smart phone and read from his phone and did all the task.Nothing is impossible for them :) I couldn't even get angry for his irresponsibility as he was that creative :) lol
3)How do you believe digital textbooks should be designed to best match learner's needs?
I believe everyone can benefit a lot from etextbooks if they ......
*are user friendly (not all the learners are digital natives)
*have simple icons to lead through the pages
*have direct links to appropriate websites (be it an online dictionary, wikipedia or any relevant website)
*direct links to audio/ audio-visual materials (difficult to search through a huge list of tracks)
*downloadable
*have interactive exercises for self-study
*enable students to communicate with the instructor via instant messaging or emailing
*allow file sharing (for writing/speaking assignments) and feedback
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Again
That's for sure now...I need to be taking an online course to reflect here on this blog. Anyway, the course is on EVO again.It's titled "Creating e-perfect textbook".I'm doing much better this time because I've been able to complete the tasks of first two weeks. The following presentation is for second week's task: outlining the principles of our prospective e-book.I enjoyed using the tool (prezi) a lot :)
Monday, January 14, 2013
a new electronic journey
Hi ... again..:)
I've mentioned the online course I'm taking before. It is EVO Digital Story Telling for YLs 2013. I've been interested in teaching English to very young learners since my daughter's birth. The course has started today. It seems to be really fun and the idea of getting acquainted with new tools to create digital stories is exciting. I've played with photopeach, x-tranormal and storybird so far and enjoyed them all a lot.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Saturday, November 3, 2012
the new term
It's been ages since I last wrote here..
The new term has already started. Midterms are ahead of us, in two weeks time, to be precise.
This term there is only one course I am teaching- English 1 / 2 hours per week, but to 11 different classes, the sizes of which range from XXL to XL :) - maximum 120 students to minimum 60. wow.. what an experience with large classes ha ??
It is technology but nothing which saves my life. Otherwise it would really be difficult to draw the attention of such large groups and keep them quiet. I shouldn't forget to say that to be a bit flexible with attendance also helps :)
Compared to last year, there is little variety in the use of online materials in my classes. Unfortunately, no virtual class platforms, online assignments or webquests.... just the pages of book always projected on the board or wall, a few supplementary videos from popular ESL websites. Nevertheless, even these help a lot because the students attending regulary have poor English backgrounds and aren't used to being exposed to such visuals.They really appreciate them. Of course lots of things could be tried with these groups, but the low frequency of our weekly meetings and the limited class hours are the obstacles in front of me now. Hopefully, next term, as I 'll have the broad picture in my mind, I might try out some other online tools with at least a few of these groups.
The new term has already started. Midterms are ahead of us, in two weeks time, to be precise.
This term there is only one course I am teaching- English 1 / 2 hours per week, but to 11 different classes, the sizes of which range from XXL to XL :) - maximum 120 students to minimum 60. wow.. what an experience with large classes ha ??
It is technology but nothing which saves my life. Otherwise it would really be difficult to draw the attention of such large groups and keep them quiet. I shouldn't forget to say that to be a bit flexible with attendance also helps :)
Thursday, June 14, 2012
The term is finally over....
I'm dealing with entering the grades into the system...
Thank God this term has turned out to be a less painful one, resulting in few student failures thus not many knockings on my office door- bearing the message: Teacher, can't you give any extra points because I'm on the edge of CC. or so
Anyway ...
My summer holiday is nearing, just 11 eleven days ahead.
Hope to have a good rest though it seems to be unlikely due to some health problems of my father.
wish things won't get worse...
Sunday, May 20, 2012
if you could visit my wiki and leave your comments here, I'd be grateful ... There is still a lot to add, not a fully complete wiki...
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
news
I have been interested in digital storytelling for a while. This is what I have tried with my little daughter Asya... It was just to check how the tool works and of course to have some fun with Asya :) . and below is the product of another tool. you upload a photo and record your voice on it. I think it is better than "little bird tales" because you can directly embed the product; therefore, the reader + listener (as I have visual- storytelling in my mind, I say so) doesn't have to reach the material through another website, but via your blog or online classroom.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Survey
I am going on practicing the teachings of our webcourse...
As I noted before, my students came together and wrote their webquest final product in the classroom. This happened last Friday.
I am now working on the last touches. Yesterday, I sent a 10-item- questionnaire to my students through Surveymonkey, today a few responses have come. Out of six students, 5 of them checked the option questioning the effectivity of webtools in increasing motivation as agree and strongly agree, which is a desired attitude.
Next week, fall term is closing and I am planning to administer an open-ended questionnaire in Turkish this time. SurveyMonkey is an effective tool, but limiting the survey with 10 questions leaves lots of blanks between the lines . Therefore, I intend to fill in those blanks with a set of open-ended questions investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the course, materials and the interactive webtools employed.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Autonomous Learners ???
Today....
I asked my students what they would think about an opportunity to increase their course grade- the class average is really low and I want them to improve that.This is an elective course and a failing grade is not something desired -
The class was full of murmuring, some asked if I was planning to assign an easy task, or give a simple quiz or else.I told them my intention was to administer a vocabulary quiz which would take up 15-20 % of the general grade.This time some even dared to say "why don't we decide after seeing the quiz results ????"
-I was going to prepare an exam for 41 students, copy them, distribute them, grade them and then if they didn't feel satisfied.....I was not going to do anything but put them away !!!
Then one of them said "Teacher please don't ask but do what you think is good for us"
It was the moment I remembered what I had forgotten in search of encouraging learner autonomy : I was the authority; noone but only I (!!)..... was able to decide for them better than themselves. How could they know what was good for them ???
I love my job :)
I asked my students what they would think about an opportunity to increase their course grade- the class average is really low and I want them to improve that.This is an elective course and a failing grade is not something desired -
The class was full of murmuring, some asked if I was planning to assign an easy task, or give a simple quiz or else.I told them my intention was to administer a vocabulary quiz which would take up 15-20 % of the general grade.This time some even dared to say "why don't we decide after seeing the quiz results ????"
-I was going to prepare an exam for 41 students, copy them, distribute them, grade them and then if they didn't feel satisfied.....I was not going to do anything but put them away !!!
Then one of them said "Teacher please don't ask but do what you think is good for us"
It was the moment I remembered what I had forgotten in search of encouraging learner autonomy : I was the authority; noone but only I (!!)..... was able to decide for them better than themselves. How could they know what was good for them ???
I love my job :)
Monday, December 19, 2011
PROMISES
I remember promising to write here regularly and keep the track of things I am doing in my classes.However, after the course finished, unfortunately, I didn't feel intrinsically motivated to even visit the site.Today I am here to keep my promise.
What have I been doing since the course finished?
I have finished checking the exam papers and uploaded the grades into the system. It's worth mentioning here because the otomotion system is going through its infancy in my institution and it's been a hard job to download the system and create all the classes I teach and distribute the students, finally entering their grades. Thanks to our webcourse, I have improved my IT skills now :) I was able to do them all with no further assistance :)
I was plannnig to assign a webquest task to my students, and I have already initiated it. Next Friday, my students will gather in the class and with all their notes and printed out materials, sit together and write their articles.I changed the final product into an in-class activity since there was no time for drafting and I didn't just want to be given perfectly written articles at the end. At least, as a class activity I will be able to see how seriously they take it; they will also be able to share their ideas and even help each other. I don't want it to be a frightening writing experience. Instead, I want it to be an enjoyable learning experience.
There is a saying after all "learning is what is left after we forget what we are taught at school" :)
What have I been doing since the course finished?
I have finished checking the exam papers and uploaded the grades into the system. It's worth mentioning here because the otomotion system is going through its infancy in my institution and it's been a hard job to download the system and create all the classes I teach and distribute the students, finally entering their grades. Thanks to our webcourse, I have improved my IT skills now :) I was able to do them all with no further assistance :)
I was plannnig to assign a webquest task to my students, and I have already initiated it. Next Friday, my students will gather in the class and with all their notes and printed out materials, sit together and write their articles.I changed the final product into an in-class activity since there was no time for drafting and I didn't just want to be given perfectly written articles at the end. At least, as a class activity I will be able to see how seriously they take it; they will also be able to share their ideas and even help each other. I don't want it to be a frightening writing experience. Instead, I want it to be an enjoyable learning experience.
There is a saying after all "learning is what is left after we forget what we are taught at school" :)
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