Home Schedule Assignments Reflective Blog Staff

Summer 2009 ELT Assignments


Overview

Oregon-Iraq Building Teaching Skills Through the Interactive Web is a 10-week online training course for English Language Teachers (ELTs) offered through the American English Institute at the University of Oregon. Participants in this course will build skills in English language teaching with technology. The overall objective is to enable teachers to understand and use appropriate technology to enhance the learning environment and outcomes for their students.

Participants will create an ongoing record of their work in the course and how the information can be used in their own classrooms through a reflective blog, beginning in Week 2. This will be the basis for the course report at the end of the term.

EFL educators in Iraq have been geographically isolated and negatively impacted by sociopolitical events in recent years. Their access to professional development and networking with colleagues is now re-emerging. Teaching Skills Through the Interactive Web is designed to:

  1. Model innovative online teaching practices for Iraqi ELTs.
  2. Improve understanding of and actively engage in the analysis and systematic adoption of innovative materials and tools for ELT.
  3. Offer opportunities for Iraqi EFL educators to observe and analyze real-world application of such new materials and practices.
  4. Provide Iraqi ELTs with support and problem-solving mechanisms as they implement new materials and practices in their teaching.
  5. Act as a train-the-trainers model so that participating ELTs can move forward after the course with concrete dissemination plans.

Learning objectives for the course

Participants in the course will develop a formal plan for incorporating technology into their teaching or class preparation in at least one new way and share their ideas with the group.

Participants in the course will practice with search tools, skill-building websites, project-based learning, and online teacher resources, then explain how they could use or adapt these for their own purposes.

Participants in the course will learn about writing behavior-based learning objectives, learning styles, learner autonomy, teaching large classes, the one-computer classroom, and a variety of assessment techniques, then explain how they could apply or adapt these concepts to meet their own needs.

Expectations

Participants in the course will read at least one of the assigned readings, think about how the readings apply to their own situation, and share their reflections with the group (and mentioning some of the ideas of others in their posting, as appropriate) at least once per week.

Respect, mutual help, and enthusiasm for learning will be cornerstones of all interactions, whether teacher-participant or participant-participant.

Each week, ELT participants will complete the following activities and tasks. All materials and tools will be freely available at no cost to participants.

  • Beginning Week 1: Readings on language teaching methods (pedagogy) and practices.
  • Beginning Week 2: Active experimentation with and reflection on the use of e-learning tools (e.g. email, asynchronous discussions, course management systems, etc.).
  • All weeks: Analytical and reflective discussions related to the above.
  • All weeks: Work in step-by-step with UO AEI instructor guidance to implement teaching projects in local Iraqi universities and schools.

Reflective Blog

Starting in Week 3, participants will create a reflective weblog (blog) add comments about what they have done each week and reflections on how the information can be used in their courses. This will serve as the basis for a final report at the end of the course.

Weekly Topics and Tools

Week 1- Week 2 - Week 3 - Week 4 - Week 5 - Week 6 - Week 7 - Week 8 - Week 9 - Week 10 - Course evaluation information - End of term information

This schedule is subject to change, based on course discussions and the interests of class participants.

WEEK 01 (22 - 28 June 2009): Getting started - Setting learning objectives and goals


The first week of the course, we will get started - getting to know each other, engaging in planning and processes, and developing a weekly rhythm for working through the topics.

  • Introduction to the course
  • Setting ground rules for discussions
  • Doing a needs analysis related to teaching and technology
  • Looking at rubrics for self-evaluating discussion board posts
  • Finding out about your own learning styles (if time permits)
  • Discussion: Self-introductions; ground rules for discussions; rubrics for posting
  • Learning objectives for this week:

Participants will log into Nicenet and share information about themselves with each other, starting to create a learning community.

Participants will collaborate in setting ground rules for discussions and rubrics for self-evaluating discussion board posts.

Participants will fill out a needs analysis survey to help ensure that the course topics are appropriate.

READINGS

TASKS

Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions.

Additional Resources:

Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics. Participants registered for this course should have information about logging into Nicenet from your email. If you are registered and do not have Nicenet login information, let Deborah know.

  1. Introduce yourself to the group. Include the courses and types of students that you teach, how long you have been teaching, and your favorite saying or short quotation in English.
  2. Think about professional discussions you have had, either face-to-face or in writing. What has made them good? What has made them unproductive or annoying? Look at the suggested ground rules for discussions. Do you see any changes that need to be made? Do you agree with these as good basic rules for our discussions in this course?
  3. We will examine different rubrics for evaluating discussion question postings. See: Online Discussions - Comparing Rubrics.
    What features do they have in common? How are they different? What do you see as some advantages and disadvantages of each rubric? Which would you be more likely to use and why?
    Note: If you'd like more general information on rubrics, also see Assessment Guides and Rubrics for Language Classes.

Weekly Requests and Reminders:

Please make sure you log into Nicenet early in the week. Let Deborah know if you have any problems logging in. It's good to contribute to the discussion early in the week, then check back at the end of the week to read what others have said and reply to some of them.

[Top]

WEEK 02 (29 June - 5 July 2009): Learning Objectives; Reflective Blog

  • Writing clear learning objectives using the ABCD model from the University of Pennsylvania
  • Creating a blog
    • Each week, record your activities and your thoughts about what you could use in your classes in your blog. The final entry will be an overview of how you will use what you have learned from this course in your class this fall. See more information on the Blog page.
  • Learning objectives for this week, using the Audience-Behavior-Condition-Degree (ABCD) model:

Condition: Having read about the ABCD model,
Audience: Participants in this course
Behavior: Will write an objective for a class they teach, using the ABCD model, and
Degree. Share it in at least one post on Nicenet.

Audience: Participants in this course
Behavior: Will create a blog on www.blogger.com
Condition: Using the instructions in Blogger how-to (PDF to download)
Degree: And share the URL with the group.

Condition: Having created a blog on Blogger
Audience: Participants in this course
Behavior: Will write about what they have done and what they learned in the course so far
Degree: In at least one published post on their blog.

[Top]

WEEK 3 (6 - 12 July 2009): Search Tools; Skill-building Websites

  • Search tools; effective web searching
    • Use advanced techniques with Google; use specialized search engines for specific needs, such as academic sources.
  • Skill-building websites: speaking/listening/pronunciation
    • Create learning objectives for one or more websites to use with your class.
  • Learning objectives for the week, using the Audience-Behavior-Condition-Degree (ABCD) model::

Better web searching
Condition: After reviewing different search engines
Audience: Participants in this course
Behavior: Will analyze the search engines in terms of use in their own classes and share their advantages and disadvantages
Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet that includes the web page (with URL), the search term, and their recommendation about the search engine.

Skill-building websites: speaking/listening/pronunciation
Audience: Participants in the course
Condition: After reviewing different speaking, listening, and/or pronunciation web sites in terms of use in their classes
Behavior: Will share sample learning objectives using the ABCD model (paying particular attention to the audience) and an overall recommendation
Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet that includes the web page (with URL)

READINGS

TASKS

Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions. Please work on both topics this week.

Web Searching

Skill building

Additional Resources:

Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics.

  1. Google may not be the best choice for all searches. Take a look at Noodletools for some other options. You can also look at the Web Searching Tech Tip for ideas about techniques for searching. Try some of the search engines or portals to see which ones work best for academic searches and for information for your class. Please use something other than Google (though Google Scholar is fine). Share with the group:

    1) which search site you used,
    2) what you searched for, and
    3) whether or not you would recommend this search site.

  2. Look at two or more of the skill-building websites in the other column of this table with an eye to what would work for you in your class. Please share with the group:
  1. which website you used, and which specific activity/web page. Please include the title of the page and the URL.
  2. a sample learning objective, using the ABCD model we worked on last week. Make sure you are specific about the audience.
  3. your overall recommendation about the site. If you have other recommendations for speaking, listening, or pronunciation sites, please share them with the group and say why you like them. Let us know what your recommended site is good for (which learners, which skills, etc.).

Our guest moderator this week is Rachel Drummond Sardell from the American English Institute at the University of Oregon.

Rachel is an English instructor at the American English Institute at the University of Oregon. She teaches advanced reading and writing and intermediate oral communication, as well as a CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning) course for students in the Language Teaching Specialization program at the UO. Her website is http://www.uoregon.edu/~rachelds/

Weekly Requests and Reminders:

Post at least one reflective comment on this week's work in your blog. Include what you read, what you did, what you learned, and how this might apply in your class. See more information on the Blog page. This is due by Sunday (Iraq time).

It's good to contribute to the discussion early in the week, then check back at the end of the week to read what others have said and reply to some of them.

[Top]

WEEK 4 (13-19 July 2009): Skill-building Websites; Lesson Planning

  • Skill-building websites: reading/writing
    • Create learning objectives for one or more websites to use with your class.
  • Technology-enhanced lesson planning
    • Use a template to help you prepare a technology-enhanced lesson, including learning objectives and pre- and post-lesson activities.
  • Learning objectives for the week, using the Audience-Behavior-Condition-Degree model

Technology-enhanced lesson planning
A: Participants in the course
C: After reading about technology-enhanced lesson plans
B: Will explain how a technology-enhanced lesson plan is similar to or different from the regular lesson plan format that they use in a specific class
D: In at least one post on Nicenet

Skill-building websites: reading/writing
A: Participants in the course
C: After reading about how to use technology in reading and writing classes and reviewing different reading and writing web pages in terms of use in their classes
B: Will share at least one technology-enhanced lesson plan with learning objectives and pre- and post-lesson activities related to a specific web site
D: In at least one post on Nicenet that includes the web page (with URL) of the web site they used

    READINGS

    TASKS

    Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions.

    Technology-enhanced lesson plans

    Articles about using CALL in writing and reading activities

    Sample websites to try

    Additional Resources:

    Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics. Participants registered for this course should have information about logging into Nicenet from your email. If you are registered and do not have Nicenet login information, let Deborah know.

    1. Read about lesson plans from the University of Tennessee. You may also have a lesson plan format that you have used before. Download the lesson plan template from the class website. How is a technology-enhanced lesson plan similar to or different from a regular lesson plan? What more do you need to think about when you use technology? If you have used technology in your lesson planning, how has it made your lesson planning different?
    2. Try some of the reading/writing/vocabulary websites for this week. Please share with the group:
      1) which website you used, and which specific activity/web page. Please include the title of the page and the URL.
      2) the types of students who could benefit
      3) a specific activity you would use for your class. This could be something that you print out or ask students to do on their own.
      Most importantly, why do you think it will work? How can it extend or reinforce what you do in your classroom? Please be specific.

    Our guest moderator this week is Sueanne Parker from the American English Institute at the University of Oregon.

    Sueanne is an English instructor at the American English Institute at the University of Oregon. She earned her MA TESOL at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington and has been teaching at AEI for three years. She teaches a high-intermediate integrated skills course for reading, writing, and grammar, and a high-beginner oral skills course. She is very excited about educational technology, especially peer-to-peer technologies that allow learning to become a collaborative effort of building knowledge, skills and experience together.

    Weekly Requests and Reminders:

    Post at least one reflective comment on this week's work in your blog. Include what you read, what you did, what you learned, and how this might apply in your class. See more information on the Blog page. This is due by Sunday (Iraq time).

    It's good to contribute to the discussion on Nicenet early in the week, then check back at the end of the week to read what others have said and reply to some of them.

    [Top]

WEEK 5 (20-26 July 2009): Project-based Learning: WebQuests

  • Project-based learning
  • WebQuests
  • Learning objectives for this week:

    • Project-based learning
    Condition: After reading about project-based learning (PBL) and viewing some examples
    Audience: Participants in this course
    Behavior: Will share a project-based learning lesson plan for one or more of their classes, including why the students will benefit (work can be in class or outside of class)
    Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet

    WebQuests
    Condition: After reading about WebQuests
    Audience: Participants in this course
    Behavior: Will describe a WebQuest they could use in class
    Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet

    READINGS

    TASKS

    Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions.

    • Project-based Learning (PBL)

    "Focus on Basics: Less Teaching and More Learning" by Susan Gaer gives some background information about project-based learning: http://www.ncsall.net/?id=385

    The "Student Projects Sampler," also by Susan Gaer, provides a number of examples of webquest-style project-based learning:
    http://susangaer.com/studentprojects/

    • WebQuests

    "About WebQuests" is a brief introduction to what WebQuests are and how to use them. This also explains non-web WebQuests that you can use offline: http://www.zunal.com/part1.php

    "Essential parts of a WebQuest" includes some video clips of teachers talking about WebQuests (you can read transcripts if you can't see the video). You can continue to the Demonstration section, where you can view more videos of teachers who use WebQuests or read the transcripts:
    http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index_sub3.html


    Additional Resources:

    Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics. Participants registered for this course should have information about logging into Nicenet from your email. If you are registered and do not have Nicenet login information, let Deborah know.

    1. Read about project-based learning and look at some of the examples. Notice Tom Robb's Famous Personages in Japan - students have been adding to this project for over 10 years. How might you incorporate project-based learning in your class? What are the benefits and challenges of PBL? Think about what you can do with and without access to technology in your class.

    2. WebQuests are a kind of teacher-directed treasure hunt on the Web. In About WebQuests, you can even see a way to do a paper and pencil WebQuest. Students can do their web searching in or outside of class, and usually in groups. What kind of WebQuest would be appropriate for your classes? Specifically, how could you use a WebQuest to supplement what you are doing in class?

    Our guest moderator this week is Dr. Tom Robb from Kyoto Sangyo University in Japan.

    Tom is a member of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and chair of the General Education English Committee, which is responsible for the English instruction of 3,000 students each year. He has been involved with computers and the Internet for over 40 years, and has been chair of TESOL's CALL Interest Section, as well as a founding member and past president of PacCALL. His research interests include the development of Moodle as a viable tool for language learning as well as issues surrounding the dynamics of technology implementation for language education. His web page is http://www.cc.kyoto-su.ac.jp/~trobb/

    Weekly Requests and Reminders:

    Post at least one reflective comment on this week's work in your blog. Include what you read, what you did, what you learned, and how this might apply in your class. See more information on the Blog page. This is due by Sunday (Iraq time).

    It's good to contribute to the discussion on Nicenet early in the week, then check back at the end of the week to read what others have said and reply to some of them.

[Top]

WEEK 6 (27 July - 2 August 2009): Learning Styles; Formative Assessment & Rubrics

  • Learning styles
  • Formative assessments and rubrics
  • Learning objectives

Learning styles

Condition: After reading about learning styles and technology tools for multiple intelligences,
Audience: Participants in the course
Behavior: Will share a specific example of how they could use technology to address different learning styles in one of their classes (for preparation, in class or for students to use outside of class)
Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet and in their blog

Formative assessment and rubrics

Condition: after reading about alternative assessment and rubrics
Audience: Participants in the course
Behavior: Will explain to the group how technology might help with alternative assessment in one of their classes and share at least one rubric that incorporates technology
Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet

READINGS

TASKS

Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions.

Understanding different learning styles is an important part of effective teaching, with and without technology. While there are a number of different ways of exploring learning styles, this article from Richard Felder explores the impact of different learning styles on classroom performance:
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm

Alternative Assessment and Second Language Study: What and Why? by Charles R. Hancock (CAL Digest - 1994)
http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/hancoc01.html


Additional Resources:

Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics. Participants registered for this course should have information about logging into Nicenet from your email. If you are registered and do not have Nicenet login information, let Deborah know.

1. Technology can help provide a range of learning styles in the classroom. Share your ideas about ways that you could use technology to address a variety of learning styles in your classes. What do you think would work best? Remember that using technology can also mean finding material online to bring into class as well as using technology in class.

2. Rubrics are based on learning objectives and specifying what is expected for low, mid, and high achievement of an objective. Read the Rubric Tutorial. Now try to apply this by creating a rubric for FORMATIVE assessment for a lesson in your class and/or for your project. Make sure you start with learning objectives (the ABCD model we've been talking about). How can technology help you and your students meet the course objective?

3. What techniques have you used for formative (ongoing, not final) assessment in class and outside of class?


Weekly Requests and Reminders:

Post at least one reflective comment on this week's work in your blog. Include what you read, what you did, what you learned, and how this might apply in your class. See more information on the Blog page. This is due by Sunday (Iraq time).

It's good to contribute to the discussion on Nicenet early in the week, then check back at the end of the week to read what others have said and reply to some of them.

[Top]

 

WEEK 7 (3 - 9 August 2009): Dealing with Large Classes - Learning Environments; Using PowerPoint Effectively/By Students

  • Teaching large classes
    Large classes are a challenge in any area, but they can be especially difficult in language teaching and learning. There are a number of ways to keep students engaged, even in large classes, thus learning. Hint: Just lecturing is not one of them!

Condition: After reading about examples of different student-centered, interactive large classes
Audience: Participants in the course
Behavior: Will share ideas about what techniques might be useful in their own settings
Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet

  • Using PowerPoint interactively
    Many people use PowerPoint, but it's rarely used effectively and INTERACTIVELY. It's important to move a PPT presentation out of straight lecture mode.

Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet
Audience: Participants in the course
Behavior: Will share ideas about how they could use PPT more effectively to encourage student interaction (possibly including having students create their own presentations)
Condition: After reading about ways to encourage interactivity with PPT

READINGS

TASKS

Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions.

We have two related topics this week, and a lot of suggested readings. You only need to read one, but I think you'll enjoy looking at most of these.

Engaging students in large classes (guest moderator: Georgeanne Cooper)

Teaching Strategies for Large English Classes - suggestions from China. Where else could technology have been used to help?
http://www.linguist.org.cn/doc/su200605/su20060516.pdf

Interactive Lectures: A Summary of 36 Formats - brief descriptions of a variety of techniques to add spice and interactivity to a class. What could technology add?
http://www.thiagi.com/interactive-lectures.html

Personalizing Language Learning in Large Classes
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Lin-Personalizing.html

Making PowerPoint interactive (guest moderator: Robert Voelker-Morris)

Best Practices in Presenting with PowerPoint - from the UO's Teaching Effectiveness Program (PDF)
http://tep.uoregon.edu/technology/powerpoint/docs/presenting.pdf

Top 10 Slide Tips - basic information about making a better presentation
http://www.garrreynolds.com/Presentation/slides.html

Another way of thinking about your audience and your presentation, from the UO's TEP
http://aei.uoregon.edu/de/iraqeltsu/handouts/new_way_of_presenting.pdf

Designing an Effective PowerPoint: Before you Start
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/686/02/
Download the PPT file; make sure you read the notes section on each page.


Additional Resources:

Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics. Participants registered for this course should have information about logging into Nicenet from your email. If you are registered and do not have Nicenet login information, let Deborah know.

  1. Look at "Teaching Strategies for Large English Classes" and "Interactive Lectures: A Summary of 36 Formats." What ways could you add technology to these techniques to improve learning? Think about project-based learning, WebQuests, and some of the ideas in "Personalizing Language Learning in Large Classes" to help in your response. What techniques and technology could you use for your classes?

  2. PowerPoint is very commonly used in teaching, but it is rarely used interactively. Watching the screen is not interactivity. Read "Best Practices in Presenting with PowerPoint" and "New Ways of Using PowerPoint" from the UO's Teaching Effectiveness Program, as well as "Designing an Effective PowerPoint: Before you Start" to find ways to turn a lecture into an interactive experience for students. What could you do in your classes with PowerPoint AND be more student-centered and interactive? (Think about what students can do with PowerPoint, for example.)

Guest Moderators

Georgeanne Cooper is the director of the Teaching Effectiveness Program at the University of Oregon, where she works on improving faculty teaching skills. Her educational background is in English literature and adult education. She has been a guest moderator in several of the UO's distance education courses for teachers. She is also a gardener and artist in her (limited) free time. We are happy to welcome her for our discussions this week! You can find more information at:
http://tep.uoregon.edu/services/staff/gcooper.html

Robert Voelker-Morris works at the University of Oregon as a Faculty Technology Consultant for the Teaching Effectiveness Program. He works with faculty and graduate students to help them best utilize technology within the classroom, such as working on best practices for creating interactive PowerPoint presentations and using online applications to supplement in-class instruction. Additionally, over the last six years Robert has been teaching online, through Distance Education at the University of Oregon, an undergraduate Arts and Visual Literacy course. When he isn't helping faculty, teaching, and surfing the web, Robert is spending time with his family that includes his wife (who also teaches at the University of Oregon) and two children (two and six years of age). Thank you for joining us this week! YOu can find more information at:
http://tep.uoregon.edu/services/staff/rvmorris.html

Weekly Requests and Reminders:

Post at least one reflective comment on this week's work in your blog. Include what you read, what you did, what you learned, and how this might apply in your class. See more information on the Blog page. This is due by Sunday (Iraq time).

It's good to contribute to the discussion on Nicenet early in the week, then check back at the end of the week to read what others have said and reply to some of them.

[Top]

 

WEEK 8 (10 - 16 August 2009): Learner Autonomy; One-computer Classroom

  • Learner autonomy; learning centers/stations/corners
    • Discuss learner autonomy and student-directed activities; find out how to set up small learning centers/stations/corners.

    • Condition: After reading about learner autonomy and reflecting on what they do in their own classes
    Audience: Participants in the course
    Behavior: Will share specific ideas about what they currently do and what else they could do to encourage greater learner autonomy in their classes
    Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet that includes concrete suggestions and possibly a lesson plan

  • One-computer classroom or self-access center
    • Discuss how you can use a one-computer classroom or self-access center to improve teaching and learning.

    Condition: After reading about and reflecting on ways to use a one-computer classroom or a self-access center
    Audience: Participants in the course
    Behavior: Will share specific ideas about what they currently do and plans for additional activities
    Degree: In at least one post on Nicenet that includes concrete suggestions

     

    READINGS

    TASKS

    Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions.

    Learner Autonomy

    One-computer classroom

    Setting up a lab or self-access center

    Additional Resources:

    Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics. Participants registered for this course should have information about logging into Nicenet from your email. If you are registered and do not have Nicenet login information, let Deborah know.

    1. Read about learner autonomy (Thanasoulas and Sheu). Effective self-directed learning starts with learner autonomy. What do you do now and what else could you do to encourage greater autonomy in students, with and without technology? Be as specific as possible - it's more helpful to have actual examples than to have a summary of something you have read. Feel free to add a lesson plan to the course wiki.
    2. Most people don't have a computer lab all to themselves, and many do not have a lab in their school at all. A one-computer classroom is a way to start. Read about activities for the one-computer classroom and some strategies and applications. If you use one computer in your classroom (perhaps your own laptop and data show), what do you do with it? What else could you do with it? Feel free to add a lesson plan to the course wiki so that others can get a better idea of how you integrate technology into your syllabus. If you don't have one computer, what would be the easiest way for you to start?
    3. Some of you may have set up English Corners or English resource rooms for students in your schools. Please share your experience with getting an English Corner or resource room started - what tips do you have for others who may be interested? If you have technology, what do you use? If you don't have technology, what would be useful?

    Weekly Requests and Reminders:

    Post at least one reflective comment on this week's work in your blog. Include what you read, what you did, what you learned, and how this might apply in your class. See more information on the Blog page. This is due by Sunday (Iraq time).

    It's good to contribute to the discussion on Nicenet early in the week, then check back at the end of the week to read what others have said and reply to some of them.

    Be thinking about ways that you will put what you've learned throughout this course into action. Your plan for action will be part of your Project Report, due August 24. More will be coming about that next week.

[Top]

WEEK 9 (17 - 23 August 2009): Teacher Resources; LOTI Evaluation

  • Teacher resources online - templates, gradebook, crossword puzzle maker; create your own Nicenet class, blog, or wiki
    • Try some of the online teacher resources that you think will be helpful in your work.
    • Learning objectives

    • Teacher tools: Class site
    Condition: After thinking about how they might use Nicenet, a class blog, or a class wiki in their teaching
    Audience: Participants in the course
    Behavior: Will create and share a course site that they have created on Nicenet, Blogger, or Google Sites (or other similar site) and will comment on sites created by others
    Degree: In at least two posts on Nicenet: one sharing their own site with a description of how they plan to use it, and another post commenting on someone else's site

    Teacher tools: Exercise generators
    Condition: After exploring the different options for exercise generators
    Audience: Participants in the course
    Behavior: Will create and share on the course wiki at least one exercise that they have created, and on Nicenet they will explain how they will use it and comment on exercises created by others
    Degree: In at least two posts on Nicenet: one sharing their own exercise with a description of how they plan to use it, and another post commenting on someone else's exercises

    READINGS

    TASKS

    Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions.

    • Create a class site - choose any of the following tools. Start by thinking about what you might want to do with the site, then select the most appropriate tool for that purpose. For class discussion, it would be Nicenet. If you want learners to post their own comments, then Blogger is good. If you want to share sites and files with students and have them share with each other, then Google Sites is best.
      Create a Nicenet class for one of your courses (Word .doc file to download)
      Create a class blog on Blogger: log into www.blogger.com, (make sure you log in first!) then click on Create a Blog.
      Create a class wiki on Google Sites: log into sites.google.com with your Blogger username and password, then click on Create New Site. This is the most complicated of the three tools. You will need to click on Edit Page, then Save Page to make changes to each of the pages.

    • Create exercises for your class - choose any of the following
      Make exercises online to print out:

      Tools for educators - word search, bingo, crossword puzzles, and board games:
      http://www.toolsforeducators.com/
      Personal Educational Press - flash cards, bingo games, matching, multiple choice exercises to print out:
      http://www.educationalpress.org/index.asp
      Easy Test Maker (paper tests) - free registration is required:
      http://www.easytestmaker.com/default.aspx

    Make exercises to use online or offline on a computer or to print out:

    Hot Potatoes - download this program at http://hotpot.uvic.ca/ to use it on your computer. It's easy to use and lets you create matching, cloze, scrambled sentence, and multiple choice exercises and crossword puzzles. You can get help online or download this how-to PDF.
    Xword Puzzle Generator - create crosswords to save and use on a computer or print out. Note: don't put anything in the Google search box. Just type your words into the box under "Enter your word list":
    http://www.edict.com.hk/xword/generator/

    Make exercises online to use online:

    Web Poster Wizard - free website for teachers and students to use as part of a course. It uses a very plain format, but it's very easy to create something with text, one graphic, and links on each of 4 pages. http://wizard.4teachers.org/
    SMILE- a variety of web-based activity generators. Requires a free registration
    http://clear.msu.edu/teaching/online/mimea/smile/v2/index.php

    Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics.

    1. Create an online component for one of your classes. This might be a Nicenet class, a class blog on Blogger, or a class wiki for files and weblinks on Google Sites. Share with the group
      a) What you created
      b) The location (class key on Nicenet; URL for the blog or wiki)
      c) The type of students you would use it with
      d) How you would use it - please be specific
      e) How you will encourage learner autonomy with this site
    2. Create something that will be useful for your teaching. Use one or more of the sites on our course website to create an exercise, test, flash cards, or other tool. Share with the group:
      a) What tool you used (please list the website) and what you created
      b) How you will use it in your teaching
      c) How you will encourage learner autonomy with this tool
      d) If it's an online exercise, please share the URL; otherwise, post your creation on the class wiki in the Teacher Tools section.

    Weekly Requests and Reminders:

    Please work on the assignments early in the week so that if you have problems, you can email Deborah for help. You will need to post a summary reflection on your blog by August 24. It should include an overview of what you tried, how you will integrate what you have learned in this class into your teaching, and how you will continue to learn about technology after this course is over.

    You will get a password in your email for the course evaluation survey. Evaluations for the course will be due by August 30, Iraq time. Your comments about the course help us in designing future courses, so please do share your thoughts about what worked well and what didn't in the survey. We do read and learn from what you say!

[Top]

WEEK 10 (24 - 28 August 2009): Summing up

  • Discussion: Overview of the course
  • LoTI (Levels of Technology Integration)
    • Evaluate what you do in your classes and what you could do, using the framework.
  • Learning objectives

    Levels of Technology Integration
    Condition: After reading about levels of technology integration
    Audience: Participants in the course
    Behavior: Will analyze their own and their institution's use of technology according to the framework and share their analysis and ideas about about ways to improve
    Degree: In at least two posts on Nicenet: one sharing their own analysis and suggestions for improvement, and another post commenting on someone else's situation and ideas for improvement

Reflection on the course
Condition: After looking at some of the previous assignments and readings
Audience: Participants in the course
Behavior: Will reflect on what they have learned and offer one piece of advice for teachers not in this course
Degree: In at least two posts on Nicenet, one giving a piece of advice and another commenting on advice offered by other participants

  • Course evaluations are due by August 30
  • Note: This week ends on Friday, August 28.

    READINGS

    TASKS

    Readings are required! Go carefully through them and use them to help form a basis for your postings in the weekly discussions.

    How much and how well are you integrating technology into your teaching?
    LoTI (Levels of Technology Integration): Digital Age Framework offers a way to evaluate how technology is being integrated into the classroom.
    http://www.loticonnection.com/lotilevels.html

    Go back to a previous week and read something that you didn't have time to read before. Think about how your ideas might have changed during the course of this term.

    Discussions: Go to Nicenet, log in, and participate in this week's topics.

    1. Assess your level of technology integration using the LoTI framework. Think about where you are now and where you would like to be in a year. Share your thoughts with your colleagues on Nicenet. Be sure to include ideas about how you will get to where you want to be in the future, and comment on other people's ideas.
    2. Looking back: Look back at the earlier assignments, and read or try something you didn't do before. Share how you would use the information or the tool in your class. Comment on what others are trying, as well.

    Weekly Requests and Reminders:

    Make sure you have turned in your summary reflection (due August 24). For your final blog post, please share one piece of advice for teachers who did not take the course - something that you have learned during this course.

    Evaluations - the surveys will close on August 30, Iraq time. You should have received the password in your email; let me know if you didn't receive the password, and I'll send it to you again.

[Top]

 

COURSE EVALUATION

We want your ideas about what worked well and what could be improved about the course. Please fill out the online evaluation form - it's easy and anonymous. It is especially helpful to have your written comments explaining what you think. The web link and password were sent to you via email; let Deborah know if you don't have them.

END OF TERM

Participants must submit all final assignments by 24 August 2009. This includes the summary reflection on your blog.

UO AEI instructors will complete grades, certificates, and reports by 7 September 2009.

All participants who successfully pass the course--with 70% or higher completion of assignments--will receive certificates of completion. Certificates will be priority mailed to the US Embassy Baghdad, Public Affairs Section/English Language Office and then distributed locally. Please allow a minimum of 4-6 weeks for receipt of certificates as efforts may be impeded due to unforeseen local events and irregularities in local delivery systems.

 
 
Copyright (c) 2009 University of Oregon, American English Institute. All rights reserved. Last updated: 21 August 2009, DH.
This is a collaboration between the U.S. Department of State, University of Oregon's American English Institute, and Universities and secondary schools throughout Iraq.