teachersareawesome

Monday, January 24, 2011

HotPotatoes: "Harry Potter"



In this close activity worksheet, students read a close passage "Harry Potter" and fill in the blanks with the most appropriate word.

Screen preview:

Download here:


Friday, January 21, 2011

WEBSITE EVALUATION

1. What does the application attempt to “teach”?

For this assignment, I chose to evaluate an ESL website; “Grammar.ccc.commnet.edu”. Specifically established as a guide for grammar & writing, this website contains 427 references which covers almost every fundamental aspects of Grammar & Writing. There are six key categories in the website, which are;
1. Word & Sentence Level
2. Paragraph Level
3. Essay & Research Paper Level
4. Grammar, Quizzes, Search Devices
5. Peripheral & PowerPoints
6. Grammarpoll.
Each category will be respectively explained in the next questions.


2. What sorts of things are the application users expected to do with regards to learning the content.

The diverse nature of the website is very appealing for me as educator. The six primary categories that had already been stated as above contain numerous exercises, worksheets, games and other external links as well. Most of the content grammatical issues, tips on composition, and advice on English usage.

1. Word & Sentence Level
In this section, users are exposed to many aspect of sentence parts such as; adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, determiners, interjections much more. It also includes abbreviations, articles and also determiners.

2. Paragraph Level
Sentences, Coherence and sentences were thoroughly explained in this section. The website also provide the users with examples and constructive exercises for the benefit of the users.

3. Essay & Research Paper Level
In Essay & Research Paper Level, this website provides outlines for users to know the writing processes and to organize the ideas that suggest themselves during the freewriting.

4. Grammar, Quizzes, Search Devices
There are 174 interactive quizzes available for users to choose, designed by Professor Karyn Hollis's Tutor Training course at Villanova University. Quizzes done in Javascript are followed by (js) and those done with CGI are followed by (cgi).

5. Peripheral & PowerPoints
This section contains external links to well-known website such as Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and many more.

6. Grammarpoll.
Users are expected to leave comments in their guestbook. Constructive criticisms are highly welcome as well.

3. What sorts of computer skills is the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?

For this website, users are expected to have basic and very minimal computer skills. Hence, it would be no problems for users to actually use this website. Only simple clicks are involved and it doesn’t require an installation process at all. Novice users can easily make use of this website without hassle. Users just have to simply follow the given instructions and be directed to the games and other application. Yes, it is THAT easy.

4. While you are “playing”/ “accessing”/ “assessing” the application, does it remind you of anything you do in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?

This website does reminded me of reference books but its plus point will definitely its abundance of resources. The interactive website is also another reason for users to use this website as their reference to complement what they’ve learnt in class. The given examples are a very good approach in order to crystalize their comprehension in any given topics regarding language.

5. Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the application?

There are several theories of language learning applied in the websites. However, I would like to stress on the application of “Silent Way” – a pedagogical approach created by Caleb Gattegno for teaching foreign languages. This website encourages students to work as autonomous language learners in learning the second language. By relying on what they’ve learnt in class, students can actually fortify their language acquisition through the website. Silent Way is heavily involve students mental capacity and to “think on their feet”. This website is one of the best resources available on the net for such language learning approach.

6. How well is the constructivist theory of learning applied to the chosen website(s)?

This website is very straightforward in nature and weakly support the idea of constructivism, where learners will construct the meaning themselves. By constructing, the users will be learning via the website as well. However, this website is like an open reference book. It provides the users with abundance of explanations regarding the subject from diverse sources of references. This website does not really encourage students to think critically because its already provide the users with excessive number of resources for explanations purposes.

7. In 1980s and early 1990s, there was a major debate on ‘whether the computer was “master” of or “slave” to the learning process (Higgins and Johns, 1984). In relation to your evaluation – was the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?

In my humble opinion, computer is neither “master” nor “slave”, and honestly I don’t think it should be an issue at all. However, the debate was circa 1980s & 1990s, where the exposure towards and usage of computer was so minimal. . Hence, I feel this question is kind of invalid and there’s no use to prolong such issue that linger during 1980s anymore. Today, computer is our secondary teacher and friend. It will never be a replacement for teacher or servant. The advanced technology has allowed us to push the boundaries in learning-via the computer. It’s just a mere medium of learning where teaching process can be even better and efficient

8. Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work?
Yes? Give reasons:
No? Give reasons:

Yes, definitely. This website provides me with such an amazing number of resources that might need several books to cover. The external links are very useful to be used and the index section will help users like me to better find our resources and explanations regarding any matter.

9. Suggestions/ Recommendations.

This website has very good potential in providing information and resources. However, the presentation of the website, including the design, should be improved to invite more visitors to check on the website. There are many dead links as well that need urgent fix. Other than that, I find that this website is very useful and interesting to refer to.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

IN CLASS TASK 2 : Excel Worksheet!




I've decided to work on the Hydrological Cycle which is simple and targeting on Secondary Students with Sciences subject.


Download the file here:

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

About


Q1:

"A Muslim, a traveller, an experience whore, a philanthropist and a go getter!"

Q2:
"A novice. Technology and me just don't go so well together. Hope you'll enlighten me."

Q3:
"Computer Software: iCal, PhotoBooth, Grab, Automator, AppDelete, iSquint, iPhoto, Yasu, iMovie.
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc."

Q4:
"Nope."

Q5:
"Yes I did. I consider it as successful as it able to draw students attention towards the learning process itself.

Q6:
The use of technology is extremely important to keep up with the global changes around us. With better gadgets/inventions mushrooming everyday, teachers must be able to master the use of the technology not just to ease their teaching process, but to keep our approach relevant for the students. Like it or not, technology is here to stay. And we need to keep up with it."

Q7:
Expectations often lead to frustration.