Week 10 - Let's Wrap-Up!!

     There is a feeling of anxiety and sadness that I feel at this moment. The feeling can make me cry. I actually do not like the word “farewell”. It makes me want to run and throw myself into the sea full of memories. This week is the time to wrap all things up and return to the hometown. I still want to be here, in the town full of surprises, lessons, and experiences. Yes..This town, Webskills online course. But I have to go back home to apply what I have got and learned. New friends that I know will be friends forever. I can’t give anything as a memento. Only the deepest gratitude that I can convey to the great instructor that I have ever known, Donna Shaw, and University of Oregon that has provided the opportunity for me to join this wonderful course and friends who have been great friends to share ideas and inspiration.

     I have taken 10 weeks to build teaching skills through an interactive web known as "Webskills". The topics that have been given will be very useful and valuable for me. I have tried my best to do the assignments that have been given and feel happy because the work gives satisfactory results. I think I have successfully completed this course, especially in creating and managing this blog. A Blog containing reflections from Webskills online courses. ABCD models, Delicious, Interactive PowerPoint, Online Teacher Resources are the most useful things for me to enhance students' autonomous learning. Nicenet, padlet, blog, WebQuest and other useful tools will be used in my classes in the future. I can't wait for this moment. It feels like I get presents for my birthday. I will be very happy and never forget that. Needless to say, I've learned to become autonomous learner for 10 weeks and I make a promise to myself that from now on I will always try to do the best for me and for all of my students in learning English. 

     Again, I want to give my deepest gratitude to Donna and all of my colleagues that have helped me to pass through this online course. I hope we can meet again one day in a wonderful place of learning. 

"Terima Kasih"

Husni

Week 9 - Tecnology Continues with Styles

This is my style.  What is yours?

" Technology and technology tools can help provide a range of experiences in the classroom that adress different learning style" (Donna Shaw)

     This week we were given an assignment to read about learning styles and multiple intelligences and discuss about them in nicenet, as usual. I found that there are so many interesting parts and realize that those are important parts of effective teaching to understand different learning styles. Howard Gardner of Harvard University has currently identified 9 intelligences. In his article, he assures that we can help students become more successful by understanding student's strengths and weaknesses in each intelligence. So that's why he developed the list as a theoritical model about the physology of the mind and fortunately "Frame of Mind" is his book's title.

     I really like the words that Howard uses for describing people in each intelligence. Word, number, picture, body, self, social, nature and wondering people are used in the article. It really gives me the big picture of them. The point is how to connect these intelligences with technology and to make our students become more autonomous learner. The most important key is to provide them the most effective learning environment.  In another article by Richard M. Felder, he writes about learning styles and strategies. He provides strategies for different learners. I strongly suggest that you must read the articles. They are very amazing!!!.

A TREMENDOUS LAB

I am introduced with a free Course Management System (CMS) developed by Jeff Magoto, director of the University of Oregon's Yamada Language Center, who willingly participated in discussion in nicenet this week and introduced us to an outstanding program. This is a modern web-based replacement for the audio and video consoles of old. It's called ANVILL (A National Virtual Language Lab. Any teachers or students with web access can use this to listen to the news, watch video clips, or submit voice or video-based assignments. If we want to use this tool, we just need internet connection, a microphone or webcam, a modern browser, and Adobe's Flash Player. To be honest, This tool is really amazing. It has Voiceboards, Forums, Livechat, quizzes and surveys, and Lesson Planning Templates. This is always be free to qualified educators. I didn't explore this tool further but I have had an account on this as a student. Lucky me!

FINAL CREATION

As I wrote in my last post on blog that I made a plan report draft for my future class, I had to finish that report this week. This was easy to complete my draft because I just got help from my partner on this report. Juan Pacheco is my partner who helped me to correct my plan. He gave me a feedback of this report and I took an easy part to finish my report. Thanks to him. I also gave him a feedback for his plan report. I guess it was not a good feedback but I tried my best to help him. His report is perfect and I think it will make his class and students become more attractive and effective. He is the best of all and I'm glad to know him. He is a professional teacher. 

     This week was really gorgeous. I'm thankful knowing the new tool and style of learning. It makes me more careful to choose materials for my students. It gives me some new experiences in learning and teaching. Like I said before that I will always try providing the most effective learning environment for my students. I'm really glad, but I felt sad in the other hand. I missed an important part of this week. I didn't join the webinar yesterday because of my stupidity. Yeah.. that was my incapability of getting information. I felt really terrible on this. I hope next time I should be carefull. I will not miss a single thing again of assingments. That's a promise to myself.
 
     Finally I just want to say my greatfulness to Donna, Jeff and my colleagues for their wonderful thoughts and ideas. They are really amazing people. 

Husni

Week 8 - Plan, Share and Report it!

What Are You Going to Do with Online Resources?

      This online course has been running for 7 weeks, and at this time I was in the week 8. In fact, it's still 2 weeks left. It’s really a memorable trip, although it was difficult in the previous weeks. My instructor, Donna Shaw, said and assured us that the next 2 weeks will be easy and I can feel it. There are no many readings and there is plenty of time to work on and complete the task. At least, that's what I feel and think. It feels like I just started this online course yesterday. I hope that I can join this online course again in the future. I’ve got lots of things and experiences and it can unconsciously improve the quality of my teaching in English.

PLAN or PROJECT DRAFT SHARING

       This is the week of creating a project or plan report draft. This is the first step that I took; I chose to make a plan report because I do not have class at this time. Unfortunately, the class that I described in the previous week ended two weeks ago, so creating a plan report is my choice. The more important thing is the plan that I created will be shared to my partner, Juan Pacheco, that has to be read and given feedback at the end of this week. I did the same thing on his plan report. The feedback is in a form of checklist. I am not saying that I made the correct plan, but I have tried to create a better draft. Juan’s plan report draft is very clear and leads to what he plans. His draft was so good and I think that’s the draft that has been created by a professional teacher. Yes, Juan is a professional instructor. I thank to him that has helped me to improve my draft which is still not good enough.

THAT'S MY CHOICE

     My next step is exploring technology tools. No reading this time. I was asked to explore all of technology tools that is provided in the website page. The task would be to use one of them to create online class website, exercise, or tool for my class. Nicenet, Blogger, Padlet, Google Sites are the tools that we're supposed to explore. There are also lots of exercises that can be created and used for the class such as word search, bingo, crossword puzzle, board game, multiple choice, etc. I have to confess that this available online resources is like treasures that I've just found. That's an incredible thing. Needless to say, I chose padlet for my online tool's task this week. Like I said in my previous post, Padlet is an online posterboard. The students can share the projects, websites, videos, and even articles. As I write in my plan report draft, I will use this tool (Padlet) for my class in order to students can see and download their assignments. There will be some tasks that I'll upload in my padlet page. So I hope this tool will work for me and my students. I hope they will learn autonomously in the future. 

     This is what I can share to you this week. Thanks to my instructor Donna that has been patient in guiding us to pass through this course and other colleagues that have spared their time to share ideas in facebook messenger and in App called viber. I really enjoy this. This will be my wonderful experience. Please, always keep in touch with each other.

Husni

    

Week 7 - Learn to Learn Autonomously

Are You an Autonomous Learner?

     I learn many more new things this week. Some tasks that I’ve finished are quite difficult but they’re worth for me. I believe where there is a definite hardship there is an ease. It felt difficult at the beginning, but the more I tried to keep going, the more I felt the ease to get it done. A hard work will produce satisfactory results. That's also what I believe. This week there are several tasks given by my wonderful instructor. Reading some articles about autonomous learning and one-class computer is my first task. Next I discussed the topic with the instructor and colleagues in nicenet. I chose to read and discuss articles on autonomous learning and. I am really happy to discuss it with them. They convey the ideas that really inspired me to continue learning to be the best teacher for my students. Then I proceed with some other tasks.

AUTONOMOUS LEARNING

     I’ve got and learned a lot of new things this time. Now I realize that the importance of autonomy in student learning. The learner takes responsibility for his/her learning, sets goals, chooses language learning strategies, monitors progress, and evaluates his/her successful acquisition. In the article that I read by Andrew GP Nowlan, Motivation and Learner Autonomy: Activities to Encourage Independent Study, he uses reflective journal as a method to improve writing skills and to provide an effective sense to focus on the area of ​​the students' speaking. The other method that he uses is using technology and the internet. Instant messaging, discussion boards, interactive blogs, and online forums might be more useful in autonomous learning as well as social networks and other technological tools. There are a lot of available methods, techniques and technology and has been used in teaching students to become autonomous learning. It depends on us, as teachers, in selecting such right tools.

     Many activities that we can use and develop for fostering autonomous learning such as activities provided by Galina Kavaliauskiene in her article, Two Autonomous Learning Activities for fostering. In the article she describes two activities than can encourage learners' development towards autonomy by motivating and involving students, producing classroom materials and using them in class. I see that the two activities can give students the opportunity to speak out and argue their points. It also has the element of self-study and self-assessment. 

PADLET

      One technology tool that I learned is Padlet, a simple and useful tool that allow teachers or students to build a "wall" for sharing. It's an online bulletin board. It can function as a "bell-ringer" or "ticket-out-the-door" activity, as well as a homework assignment. My instructor provides padlet page for me and other colleagues to fill it with articles, video, audio, or other materials related to the topics we discussed about either autonomous learning or one-computer classroom and mobile devices. It is an amazing moment to share knowledge to others. We, as teachers, can use this as an online posterboard, and it is perfect for a group project. It’s a simple tool to share and increase knowledge about learning and technology.

     This week is really a wonderful adventure. I am also asked to choose a partner to help and share with a project for next assignment. My partner for this assignment is Juan Pachecho, a kind and amazing man. He is from Colombia. He is a great and inspired teacher and he has an impressive blog, too. I am really happy getting him in my project. His idea is very thoughtful and insightful. Thanks to him to be my partner in next assignment.

Husni