Last week

I don't like saying goodbye and I'm quite emotional now that our online course is over. 
It feels so strange that although we are people from different countries, languages, religions and beliefs, we have so much in common and share the same worries and interest for our job, teaching EFL. We've all learned from each other, at least I have and I'd like to believe that sb has learned sth from me as well.
It's been geat working with you and Robert. I will really miss you guys.
Love,
Angela

One week before the end of our course

My team has found the treasure at the treasure hunt game which is organized in my town. We've celebrated enough, and in the mean time, I've sent my final project plan to Robert. I hope he'll find it satisfactory as the time was limited this week!!!

We’ve explored Multiple intelligencies, activist  learners, reflector learners, theorists, pragmatists etc. Several learning styles, several paces, several teaching methods. It is true that each teacher should keep his/her eyes open in order to find out the students' needs. Then, he/she can modify his/her teaching in order to appeal to the students' needs and the goal of the course.

The best way to make the most of each learning group is to use Educational Technology . By having the students work on webquests, chat rooms, class websites, blogs etc, they are asked  to use several skills and abilities they have, thus acquiring as much as possible from each course.

P.S. I’ve  just tried the multiple intelligences quiz to my son and I found out that he is a Mathematic, logical type of student. I wish he liked learning foreign languages as well!!! 

That's all for now.
Angela :-), :-)

Week 8 What a week!!!

Hello everybody                                          
In Greece we're celebrating the beginning of Lent. It's forty days before Easter and it's like Halloween to us. Being a mother of two sons I have to go to fancy dress parties, treasure hunt games, parades etc. When I come back from all these activities I have to post my assignments, comment on others', write on my blog etc and still go to work the following morning.

In the meantime, I managed to create my own website and I'm planning to use it next semester with a teacher's training course. I'm sure I'll impress them. I'm so proud of it.       

 I've also spent a lot of hours exploring ANVILL but I think I still need more practice, sth that I can't do this week. I'm sure I will later on.

As our course is about to finish, I think we'll all miss it a lot. I'll miss always having sth to do, reading your comments, receiving comments and grades from Robert. I hope we'll keep contact afterwards.

That's all for now folks!!
See you all on line

Angela

New partner, 1 computer classroom, autonomous learners

I have to admit that I can't wait to work with my partners Mbarek and Palwasha. Though I haven't quite understood how exactly this will be done. I always like Mbarek's and Palwasha's posts and we share more or less similar teaching contexts. I also like the fact that we'll work on PPP.
Concerning one computer classroom, it is OK if you also have a projector where you can project things for everyone to see. In my teaching context I can only bring my own laptop to the classroom and have the students watch on the screen sth I've downloaded as there is no internet connection.
I can't say it's ideal but at least it is sth different, sth innovative and students like it a lot. Gradually, students will start working on their PCs to carry out their own research and make their own PPP.
All the above can help make our students autonomous, independent learners who will continue life long learning after the end of the particular course. After all the aim of every teacher is (or should be) to make him/her self reduntant. To provide the students with skills that can help them improve themselves.

Using Interactive Power Point Presentations

And I thought that using applause and sound effects in my slides was sth unique and interactive!!! I thought that I will impress my students by changing each slide with the sound of a camera!!!
I now realize that I was far behind from being interactive. Reading the articles of this week including the supplementary ones has helped me a lot. I hope I will manage to apply what I have learned in the PPPresentation we're asked to to for the second half of the week.

PBL & Webquests

Another week is about to finish and how much we've gained!
 I'm planning to put PBL and Webquests into action in my Technical Vocational Senior High School. The problem is that although there are two computer labs in my school I can't take turn to use them. Both labs are occupated by the teachers of informatics. What I'll do is to assign web search as homework as most of the teachers have internet acess at home. Then the students can print out what they have found and use it in the classroom. Of course this is not actually a computer enhanced lesson but it's the best I can do so far. Another thing I can do is to carry out crosscurricular tasks with the teacher of informatics. Maybe I can arrange with him to let the students carry out the research during his lesson.
I hope all this will work out  

Reading/Writing skills

I would like to thank you all for the useful sites you have helped me add to my delicious list. Thanks for sharing.

I have to admit that teaching writing through the web is cerainly funnier and esier than teaching through a course book. Through the web we can teach our Ss how to write good essays, letters, e-mails, descriptions etc. Similarly, reading could also become funnier and more interesting using the web.
On the other hand I insist on teaching literature for reading/writing purposes through literature books with the help of CDs DVDs.
Ss must touch, smell and feel the books they are reading rather than scrolling down the text to read. In many occassions I've found sand inside the books I read during my summer holidays in the Greek islands and the memories I recall are so powerful that no PC can offer.
Any other romantic teachers out there?
Angela