It feels so sad having to come to the end of this course which has been a good companion for the last tent weeks. But this is life; everything has to come to an end.
This week has not been so heavy as some of the last few weeks. We discussed two topics this week; integrating technology and the different learning styles and the advice we could extend to any future participants in the course.
The discussion on the firs topic was illuminating as it touch on the practical applications of matching learning styles with the integration of technology. Specific examples were mentioned and discussed.
I also offered some pieces of advice to the future participants in this course. The main advice was to post as early as possible so that one can get enough and good feedback from the instructor and the other participants. The other advice was to manage the time well so that enough time is given for reading , posting, and responding to the other participants' comments and views.
The course overall has been wonderful. I learnt many things about the potential the internet holds for an English language teacher. I learned some practical things which I have already started using such as developing a course website, a blog, and the tremendous materials on the internet.
Thank you very much Robert for being such a wonderful instructor. Thank you Oregon Sate University for giving us this opportunity to learn about the use of technology in ELT. Thank you very much all my classmates for being very sweet and very cooperative.
See you soon everyone.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Week 9: Technology and Learning Styles The most significant thing this week was the submission of the final draft of the Course Project. My topic for this project was on creating a course website. There were two topics for discussion this week; learning styles and technology and "Meet the FORUM editors". Frankly, the discussion on "FORUM" was not very useful. It was just limited to questions and answers about the magazine. I knew about this magazine two years ago. The only new thing I learned from this discussion was that FORUM is available online for free. The discussion on learning styles and technology was very useful though. It reminded me of the different learning styles people have. There are two approaches to learning styles; Kolb's classification and Gardner's. I am still not sure whether the two refer to the same thing or that the latter is an improvement over the earlier. However, it was very useful to read different opinions about the way the teacher can link the use of technology to this approach in teaching/learning. Specific examples were mentioned and that is what the discussion should be about. It is generally accepted that a person does not have only one learning style. In fact, it is a matter of preference or dominance that makes us say that X has this learning style/intelligence or that. Since the class will have students with different learning styles or intelligences, the teacher should vary his/her techniques and tasks in the same class or over the different classes so that he/she caters to the different learning styles of the students. In one class the teacher can design tasks and activities for two to three learning styles and in the next class other learning styles and so on. I feel sad that the course is about to end. It has become part of my daily life and I think I will feel I am missing something. This is life though and everything has to come to an end. However, I really wish, as I Naqib suggested on the social thread that the members of this course find a way to keep in touch with each other either through a yahoo or facebook group. See you soon then.
The most significant thing this week was the submission of the final draft of the Course Project. My topic for this project was on creating a course website.
There were two topics for discussion this week; learning styles and technology and "Meet the FORUM editors". Frankly, the discussion on "FORUM" was not very useful. It was just limited to questions and answers about the magazine. I knew about this magazine two years ago. The only new thing I learned from this discussion was that FORUM is available online for free.
The discussion on learning styles and technology was very useful though. It reminded me of the different learning styles people have. There are two approaches to learning styles; Kolb's classification and Gardner's. I am still not sure whether the two refer to the same thing or that the latter is an improvement over the earlier. However, it was very useful to read different opinions about the way the teacher can link the use of technology to this approach in teaching/learning. Specific examples were mentioned and that is what the discussion should be about. It is generally accepted that a person does not have only one learning style. In fact, it is a matter of preference or dominance that makes us say that X has this learning style/intelligence or that. Since the class will have students with different learning styles or intelligences, the teacher should vary his/her techniques and tasks in the same class or over the different classes so that he/she caters to the different learning styles of the students. In one class the teacher can design tasks and activities for two to three learning styles and in the next class other learning styles and so on.
I feel sad that the course is about to end. It has become part of my daily life and I think I will feel I am missing something. This is life though and everything has to come to an end. However, I really wish, as I Naqib suggested on the social thread that the members of this course find a way to keep in touch with each other either through a yahoo or facebook group.
See you soon then.
There were two topics for discussion this week; learning styles and technology and "Meet the FORUM editors". Frankly, the discussion on "FORUM" was not very useful. It was just limited to questions and answers about the magazine. I knew about this magazine two years ago. The only new thing I learned from this discussion was that FORUM is available online for free.
The discussion on learning styles and technology was very useful though. It reminded me of the different learning styles people have. There are two approaches to learning styles; Kolb's classification and Gardner's. I am still not sure whether the two refer to the same thing or that the latter is an improvement over the earlier. However, it was very useful to read different opinions about the way the teacher can link the use of technology to this approach in teaching/learning. Specific examples were mentioned and that is what the discussion should be about. It is generally accepted that a person does not have only one learning style. In fact, it is a matter of preference or dominance that makes us say that X has this learning style/intelligence or that. Since the class will have students with different learning styles or intelligences, the teacher should vary his/her techniques and tasks in the same class or over the different classes so that he/she caters to the different learning styles of the students. In one class the teacher can design tasks and activities for two to three learning styles and in the next class other learning styles and so on.
I feel sad that the course is about to end. It has become part of my daily life and I think I will feel I am missing something. This is life though and everything has to come to an end. However, I really wish, as I Naqib suggested on the social thread that the members of this course find a way to keep in touch with each other either through a yahoo or facebook group.
See you soon then.
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