Hello out there! We're on the air, it's blogging night tonight. Tension grows, the mouse clicks and the fingers go down on the keys....
I enjoyed the article Abdullah's blogging. I like the fact that the author stresses the importance of the writing of the blog rather than the reading part. It seems that texts about blogging usually stress the amazing fact that students gain an audience by blogging. This point always makes me pause and think... Realistically, how many people actually read student blogs? Maybe I'm wrong, but the point of a possible audience for blogs just seems kind of mute.
However, I do believe that blogs can be a good middle ground between oral and written production. Especially when a course focuses on writing in more formal registers. I can also envision blogs as a simple way for a class to communicate in written form, without the old 'pass the paper to your left'. However, it seems that most technology (including blogging) has more of a place in the education of older students (high school, college and beyond). I believe my middle schoolers would spend more time looking for the keys than producing an actual text.
Thinking back on last week's discussion of myspace, I could also see a blog as a way for the teacher to keep parents/students/the wider community informed about what's happening in the classroom. I guess that would be a more traditional way of using a blog, but I could see its benefits.
I have to admit, though, that I'm also slowly getting blogged-out. It seems that any project that considers itself up-to-speed in the field of technology, is incorporating blogs somewhere.
That's why I say: ... it's the good old blogging game!
Lyrics adapted from song by Stompin' Tom Connors (speaking of plagiarism! :)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Diving into technology
This week's reading got my mind all wrapped up around technology (granted, part of it may be due to the number of pages... :).
I really enjoyed the two rethinking school articles - even though it seems that myspace has not seen nearly as much popularity anymore recently. Many of the thoughts about the introduction of the 'one-on-one' initiative that equips each student with a laptop were very intriguing. During my week-long rural practicum in Buckland, AK, I had the opportunity to observe how laptops might influence everyday school life. I would certainly agree with McFarlane that laptops are not the ultimate solution for all of the teachers' worries. In Buckland, more often than not it seemed that the lesson would start with a "close your laptops and put them away" from the teacher. It seemed that the computers were just an additional distraction that the teacher had to deal with. The only advantage that I could see is the fact that there is no need to reserve a computer lab if any work involves computers.
When it comes to the wonderfully verbose article by Thorne, I will just say that I felt he really had a point in his closing statement: "...the responsibility to make informed decisions ... is more critical now than ever before" (p.18). It seems that the wealth of information and options that technology and the internet offer most importantly requires the teacher to make good decisions!
I really enjoyed the two rethinking school articles - even though it seems that myspace has not seen nearly as much popularity anymore recently. Many of the thoughts about the introduction of the 'one-on-one' initiative that equips each student with a laptop were very intriguing. During my week-long rural practicum in Buckland, AK, I had the opportunity to observe how laptops might influence everyday school life. I would certainly agree with McFarlane that laptops are not the ultimate solution for all of the teachers' worries. In Buckland, more often than not it seemed that the lesson would start with a "close your laptops and put them away" from the teacher. It seemed that the computers were just an additional distraction that the teacher had to deal with. The only advantage that I could see is the fact that there is no need to reserve a computer lab if any work involves computers.
When it comes to the wonderfully verbose article by Thorne, I will just say that I felt he really had a point in his closing statement: "...the responsibility to make informed decisions ... is more critical now than ever before" (p.18). It seems that the wealth of information and options that technology and the internet offer most importantly requires the teacher to make good decisions!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
An often ignored, but very important part of curriculum: the materials
I found this chapter very interesting, probably because I am currently struggling to teach without a textbook. Especially considering that I am an inexperienced first-year teacher, that may actually not be the most effective idea ever... I know it isn't on Saturday nights when I'm creating my pretty handouts! :) I can certainly relate to the statement that it takes very much time and effort to develop your own teaching materials. It seems that just a simple worksheet or communicative activity can take hours to create! It all comes back to the question of reinventing the wheel...
The distinction between authentic materials and materials designed for the classroom appears to be blurring since many textbooks nowadays incorporate (at least some) authentic materials. This is really a step in the right direction: let's go beyond the 'clean' textbook language and help the students understand and learn the real deal - the slang, the youth language, the culture!
I can see how in today's search for a higher level of standardization, the use of a textbook can be helpful. However, the standardization can also be achieved through the appropriate use of a well-designed curriculum.
Since many classrooms seem to be influenced more by the textbook than by the curriculum, this chapter was very informative!
The distinction between authentic materials and materials designed for the classroom appears to be blurring since many textbooks nowadays incorporate (at least some) authentic materials. This is really a step in the right direction: let's go beyond the 'clean' textbook language and help the students understand and learn the real deal - the slang, the youth language, the culture!
I can see how in today's search for a higher level of standardization, the use of a textbook can be helpful. However, the standardization can also be achieved through the appropriate use of a well-designed curriculum.
Since many classrooms seem to be influenced more by the textbook than by the curriculum, this chapter was very informative!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
The buck stops here: The evaluation (Chapter 9)
What would a curriculum be, without a curriculum evaluation? I guess - possibly - a horribly ineffective and malicious document... But how can or should a curriculum be evaluated? Jack C. Richards makes a great point when describing the inadequacy of the evaluative tool 'mastery of objectives'. Obviously the results could be very skewed if all the students take tutoring lessons in addition to a course. But this really made me think about the evaluation of my own classroom. If I can't use the students' achievements as a gauge, then what do I use to decide whether my teaching is effective??? Mmmhh... a point to ponder some more...
The description of the audience for the evaluation seemed to take me back to the needs analysis. It seems that if we are going to use time and resources to do anything at all, we better justify it and make sure that we serve the purpose that we set out to serve and thus satisfy our stakeholders' thirst for knowledge. So, I guess we can't do an evaluation for the sake of doing it - no academic rationalism here!
My favorite quote from this chapter is the one by Weir and Roberts (1994) - p. 298:
"Where is the collective memory of decades of projects? Where does one go to learn from the mistakes and successes of similar projects in the past?" Here I am, so many times, feeling like I'm reinventing the wheel in my classroom... but I guess I can't help it since I don't know where to go to learn about the fabulous invention of the wheel!
The description of the audience for the evaluation seemed to take me back to the needs analysis. It seems that if we are going to use time and resources to do anything at all, we better justify it and make sure that we serve the purpose that we set out to serve and thus satisfy our stakeholders' thirst for knowledge. So, I guess we can't do an evaluation for the sake of doing it - no academic rationalism here!
My favorite quote from this chapter is the one by Weir and Roberts (1994) - p. 298:
"Where is the collective memory of decades of projects? Where does one go to learn from the mistakes and successes of similar projects in the past?" Here I am, so many times, feeling like I'm reinventing the wheel in my classroom... but I guess I can't help it since I don't know where to go to learn about the fabulous invention of the wheel!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Chapter 6: Getting into Course Planning & Syllabus Design
Chapter 6 is very useful to anyone that has a fair amount of freedom in planning the courses they're teaching. Although I found myself believing in one syllabus design and then another when reading through the descriptions, they are a good start to rethinking a course design. I think I'll keep them in mind when deciding what to include in my classes.
However, I am not quite sure whether it is actually useful to think of them as 10 separate ways of going about deciding on a syllabus. It seems to me that many of them are very similar. For instance, what exactly is the difference between a function or a competency or between a text and a situation - isn't a text always part of a situation? It seems that many of these bases are almost identical or at least similar enough to make it difficult to distinguish between them. I also see many of them as being intrinsically linked. For instance it is difficult to teach a situation without including the vocabulary necessary for that situation or to teach a task without teaching the situation that calls for the specific task.
I guess I consider these syllabus approaches useful in triggering thought and discussion about a certain course design, but somewhat confusing when trying to keep them apart.
However, I am not quite sure whether it is actually useful to think of them as 10 separate ways of going about deciding on a syllabus. It seems to me that many of them are very similar. For instance, what exactly is the difference between a function or a competency or between a text and a situation - isn't a text always part of a situation? It seems that many of these bases are almost identical or at least similar enough to make it difficult to distinguish between them. I also see many of them as being intrinsically linked. For instance it is difficult to teach a situation without including the vocabulary necessary for that situation or to teach a task without teaching the situation that calls for the specific task.
I guess I consider these syllabus approaches useful in triggering thought and discussion about a certain course design, but somewhat confusing when trying to keep them apart.
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