Reap the benefits of Week 7

Dear All,
The days are flying. 
From this week I have learn t from follow course mates' posts that how to manage large classroom and how technology can penetrate for understanding large classroom.   For teaching large classes and  to use technology in teaching large classes we are asked to think about project-based learning, WebQuests, and some of the ideas in "Personalizing Language Learning in Large Classes".
Large lecture halls impose physical and logistical constraints on what we do effectively,   That's why  Teaching Large Classes has outlined true techniques  to keep students interested such as Interactive lecture, Just-in-Time teaching, Beating the number games, how to create memorable lectures, tTps for effective use of technology and group work etc.
Reading "Make Technology work for you", Aleyda was fascinated with the technology resources and tools provided at Carnegie Mellon's Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence. She thinks that it is a dream in her reality. However, she reinforced the value of technologies such as podcasting (Web-based sindicated audio and video files), projet-based collaborative learning, and power-point presentations, which can be obtained free and do not require high-technology repositories or a great deal of expertise in computer management. She cited the following sites which I think are very useful.
a.http://www.stager.org/podcasting.html
b.http://www.squidoo.com/free-podcast-resources
c.http://www.slideshare.net/jeremycod/projectbased-collaborative-learning-environment-with-contextaware-educational-services
d.http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ctitext2/service/workshop/collab.html
e.http://www.electricteacher.com/tutorial3.htm

At the beginning, I thought it will be not a problem to find a partner. But  it has taken a lot of time from many of us to choose the right peer. Perhaps all of us were thinking of the parameter.

Without the "Best Practices in Presenting with PowerPoint" and "New Ways of Using PowerPoint"write up, I think it could have become nightmare to be successful in creating interactive PowerPoint Presentation.

Moreover without the direct guidance of Dear Deborah, I would definitely face problem regarding uploading the presentation on Wiki.

Submission of project task is ahead. I am little bit worried of producing the right thing. Perhaps my partner Ahmed will keep me not to be deviated from the original track.
 Again I would  to thank all of the course mates who helped me to learn PowerPoint and managing large classroom. I would like extend my thanks to Ahmed to accept my offer to be peer of me.

Regards,
Mahamud

Week 6 and me

Dear All,

The Chinese proverb “Tell me and I forget, Show me and I remember, involve me and I understand.” has been true to me this week. I think this week from Howard Gardner I have got chance to be involved more in knowing multiple intelligence of the learners and human abilities with how best to delineate. I think when I will deal with my participants I will be able to identify the position of them and set appropriate technology.

Reading Felder and Soloman’s article on Learning Styles and Strategies, I come to know that there are different kind of learners such as Active and Reflective; Sensing and Intuitive; Visual and Verbal;  and sequential and global learners. Perhaps unknowingly we diagnose our learners. But from the article, I have got a clear idea of how each type of the learning helps oneself.

By posting on Nicenet, going through the others’ posts and receiving feedbacks from guest moderator Dear George and my fellow course mates, I have been clear about the human abilities and learning styles.

Our task is assigned to prepare rubric for a lesson. I prepared rubric for assessing writing. I have kept 5 dimensions and 5 levels of quality. I didn’t put “0” as I think we shouldn’t give “0”. Uploading rubric file in the Wiki is also new experience to me.

In project task 3, I mentioned that I want to develop my participants writing and pronunciation skills. I have given some tasks to my participants particularly opening an account to blogger.com. Some of them have already started. I take the pleasure to inform you that some of them have been inspired and bought laptops. I have given them the names of sites which deal with writing skill and pronunciation. They are also told to look into dictionary and find out different symbols, accents for words. I have started to e-mail them so that they can be in touch. Moreover cell/phone is being used to keep regular contact.      

Best regards,

Mahamud

Week 6

Dear All,
We welcome our Mr.Guest Moderator Mr. George Scholz. Inviting one guest  approach by University of Oregon is really unique. It has given special flavor  in the course's taste.  

Each week is coming with its own characteristics. Week 6, I think is a bit difference. Less pressure  but more commitment. There is Project Task but no condition of posting it in Nicenet. Reading on Enhancing Learning has given us to know what is teaching; what is learning. I didn't have particular idea of these. Minute paper, concept Maps are new terms but not unfamiliar activities to me.  Howard Gardner's Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligence for testing has drawn my particular interest. The slogan start slow and let it flow in Teacher Tap has also drwan my interest. I will try to go through the technology and multiple intelligences. Using learning styles to adapt technology for higher education by Terry O'Connor commented that people rely on personally constructed filters to orient their relationships towards the world. The writer highlights learning styles in higher education.; types of learning; using learning styles to teach; applying computing technologies. He considers some applications of  popular computing programs in ways that are friendly to SS's learning styles. Felder in his writing differentiates different kinds of learners. This week Susan & Linda gave clear idea on student learning styles and their implications for teaching. In Bangladesh teaching is developed in a way that students have to walk way. We don't consider students ability and style. In webQuest I was putting rubric in utter confusion. This week I have got how to create rubric as per the need and performance of the learners.

Developing a project is not tough but  laborious specially keeping tracks from last weeks' learning.
Thank you,
Mahamud
Bangladesh

PBL versus WebQuest

Dear All,
In almost all the post I find that the importance of PBL and WebQuest were discussed. Christos wrote " 
PBL and Webquests give students the opportunity to see language for what it is: not an end in itself, but a tool to express themselves."
Ahmad wrote"  
PBL promotes autonomous learning"
For PBL Nina quote from Confucius philosophy: "Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand."
Hassina raised teaching literature through PBL. I was also a student of literature. I also think that if the students of literature could prepare a PBL, it would have become easier to them.  
Bruno aptly wrote "I think Andreja aptly tried to give the nuance between PBL and WebQuests in the following sentences: "WebQuests have an element of inquiry and curiosity, project-based activities are about gaining hands-on experience"."
Zlatka wrote "Now I know that the real project-based work doesn't only consist of writing on a topic, but integrates different skills and abilities."

Mary Jow wrote" The Project-Based Learning (including WebQuests) can change the teacher-student relationship for the students would express themselves freely,look forward to the teacher's lessons and work on projects with greater enthusiasm making learning an exciting experience hence a mutually beneficial relationship. "

Raphael wrote"  Now for the teacher , the use of PBL or Web Quest will give him or her more a feeling that his or her students are learning by themselves, they become more knowledgeable about the given issues, they know more about technology and maybe the most important, they solve complex problems."
Aleyda wrote the following long sentence on PBL  " 
To motivate students, I try to develop projects that are relevant or will be relevant in their teaching career or contribute in one way or another one to their language, academic or cognitive skills (to be more reflexive,for example)like video-taped lesson plans, reading-based drama projects, adapting stories and fairy tales and making their own books, elaborating recipes and organizing food exhibits (restaurants),drawing their neighborhood map, oral presentations on research-based topics, elaborating bulletin boards on language or academic topics, public singing, learning portfolios, etc."

I think this week we are on the verge of getting perfect ideas on PBL and WebQuest.
WebQuest is time consuming, hard but interesting, pleasurable and enjoyable.
Thanks,
Mahamud

Week 5 Learning

Dear All,

We are passing another tremendous week. This week I fell in a puzzling condition as I had time constraint. But at last I have managed time. At the beginning of the week we have been introduced with our guest Moderator Rick Rosenberg. There was lots of good argument in this week. Project Based learning (PBL) or WebQuest.  It is clearly deciphered by Susan Gaer in her article Less teaching more learning. Farah has rightly summarized “Our finalities as teachers are changing our students from passive learners towards autonomous learners . PBL or webquest is a tool that allows students to go to the target information, analyze it and exploit it for their needs . As we are teaching our students to be autonomous , we must teach ourselves how to monitor , guide and help them for the better use of technology . This is also a life-long learning process.”

PBL is very important to engage our learners. They can develop their thought, ideas through PBL. They also run with their own pace.

It seems to me that I will not able to create WebQuest. But in Zonal I have successfully logged in and are developing a webquest. Essential parts of  a web quest has helped me to begin.  The title of my web quest  is phoenix. I am keeping in my mind that I am trying to develop my participants’ writing skills. I want to give scope to develop their pronunciation skills too.

Andreja, Hassina and Nina agreed that in lot of countries students are still passive recipients of teacher's input. I think PBL and WebQuest may the solution for eradicating this age old stigma.

Implementing a project based change is a great issue for this week. Describing a potential change is challenging but at the same end it was rewarding too.
Thank you, 
Mahamud

Week 5

Dear All,
Another week has come to us with lots of learning materials. Perhaps in this week we will learn how to turn from traditional methods to project-based learning by creating WebQuest. Like last week's guest moderator Leslie, we have got our guest Moderator, Rick Rosenberg. Last week we have discussed only the issues for project, this week we will discuss technology based changes on the basis of last week's recommended issues. My focus is to develop writing skills of our teacher trainers.

Getting primary ideas about project based learning, I have reached to a point that tells me that it can be a good source to engage our learners, to make them motivated for self learning.
As per suggestion by Sandra I browsed on quest garden. There I took a venture for 30 day trial log in facility which will allow me to create my WebQuest. But unfortunately I couldn't create that one. From WebQuest Design Patterns I couldn't culminate in any ideas.
I am hoping that by the end of the week, many things will be unfolded before my eyes.
Ha! another trainer opened her blog.

Many thanks.

Mahamud
Bangladesh

Musadderul's achievement

Dear All,
I have earlier shared that we have a team of teacher trainers. Musadderul is one of them. Recently he along with other 6 teacher trainers has taken a new initiative namely "English week". It is done in a rural secondary school. Hemayet Hossain is one of the master trainers who helped them in the venture. Rural secondary school students of Bangladesh also can do what the urban students can do. Our teacher trainers have proved it. Students of that rural school acted out a short play in English, do different activities such as speaking and basic writing. Tremendous participation were followed from the students, guardians, other subject teachers, local community leaders. Local dailies highlighted the events and publish the message.

Recently Musadderul has created his blog. Interested persons can visit him at http://www. musadderul.blogspot.com/ and get the whole idea of English Week.

Another teacher trainer Mostafizur Rahman has also created his blog. One can go to his blog at http://mostafiz-secondaryschoolstrainer.blogspot.com/
My supervisor has also created his blog. He can be reached at http://www.masumbillah65.blogspot.com

I have plan to invite all of our English trainer to open their blog and form a blog society.
I will tell them to post on the beginning of the week and receive feedback from us at the end of the week.

I will appreciate if you kindly visit our teacher trainers blog and make comment if you have.

Thank you,

Mahamud

Learning fromWeek 4

Dear All,
We are going ahead under tremendous pressure. I don't know whether thread has become threat or not. Its very interesting to switch over in the middle of the week. Raising issue for using technology, technology enhanced lesson plan, lesson plan (optional), Discussions on article, Recommendations for multi- skills websites are really interesting for in depth learning. At the beginning I started to grope but soon after my brain has started to work. I taught teachers, teacher trainer for more than 10 years, but I never used technology enhanced lesson plan. In Bangladeshi context, it will take time even though we have to start.
I think our teacher trainers have problem with authentic writing. I want to guide them in developing their writing skill using technology. I think our teachers will be benefited out of it.
There are three articles which lead me to learn about the use of technology. E-mail is a great tool to keep us in touch. Uning technology to assist in vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension has helped me to learn the benefite of CALL for vocabs acquition and reading comprehension.

What interesting to me, when I read the articles, I find that I know what the writers are saying. But the problem is that my ideas are not organised. I have got organised ideas from Jerek Krajka's writing for using the internet.

For my teacher trainers, E-mail is an unique tool to communicate. I have got a clear ideas from Chao-Chih-Liao's article on it. My course mate Raphael has referred many sites in order to promote values or students awareness to environmental issues which was agreed upon by Udan. As per Raphael's suggestion I visited some of the sites including the following one.
1. http://www.manythings.org/
Zlatka examined the different websites at www.manythings.com and her attention was captured by a video titled "8 Ways to Say Thank You" at http://www.manythings.org/b/e/4222 in the category of Culture. I found interest in it greatly. I think our teacher trainers will gtet useful tip for thnking someone.
Most important is that writing ABCD objective for each of the category. I always find it difficult to write objective.
I am happy that Leslie who is known to me earlier through her book has shared directly with me. This is unique iopportunity to receive her feedback.
Sandra, I think is always helpful.

Thanks to my all fellow mate who helped me when I fall in quagmire.

Many thanks,

Mahamud