Week 5 - Alternative Assessment and More

We have come to the end of Week 5 and as usual there has been so much learning! Our discussion thread has been around alternative assessment and I have been particularly interested in this topic. Coincidentally I had been involved with the Mid Term Exams (Written Tests) in our center this past week and that is the main form of assessment we use.
After reading the suggested articles and also the very inspiring comments of my peers I feel a bit "sad" as I see we are doing so many "wrong" things.
Our moderator, Carl Falgraf, was very thoughtful in that he showed us there is no such thing as right x wrong when it comes to assessment. We have a number of issues to consider according to our schools' policies and even the government rules about educational assessment. There are different forms of assessment and they are not simply good or bad.
Another thing that I liked a lot was the possibility to learn more about creating Rubrics using Rubistar and WebQuests - something I want to devote more time to apply to my teaching practice.


Wish you all a great end of Sunday and welcome to Week 6!

End of Week 4

We are almost there and to quote a beautiful song "Midnight, not a sound from the pavement..." I would like to announce the end of such an enriching week - Week 4.
We have all learned so much from the websites we have been visiting I feel we have lived a month in a week, maybe more, much more.
The lesson plans which have been written adding a technological element are all very much inspiring and I feel particularly tempted to try them all.
As I have decided to use a blog in my project I remembered the video embedded below which beautifully shows us why we should motivate our students to write, open their hearts and blog, blog as much as possible to reach a greater audience all over the world.
What are you waiting? What's your next blog post?
Welcome week 5!

Week 4 - Reading/Writing

I have been particularly excited with our course this week having the chance to know a lot more about the vast array of possibilities to help our students practice reading/writing online.
I have always loved reading and writing is also a great passion. The Internet, this fantastic tool we now have, blogs, is by far the best for those who want or need to express themselves in writing.

How about you? How do you feel about reading and writing online? Would you ever consider publishing? Do you have a favorite writer, blogger?

Week 3 - Social Bookmarking

This week has been faster than usual, maybe because of the long weekend we have been having in Brazil. It has been just as enriching, though.
I was really happy to have the chance to revisit my delicious page and start bookmarking again.
Social bookmarking has always been a favorite of mine ever since I started my online journey. The idea of having all my "favorites" available no matter where I am and which machine I have around is priceless to me.
As I have said I also use DIIGO a lot to bookmark online and the idea of having different tools for the same purpose is also very much positive - there is always something you like best about all the endless possibilities we have online.
Week 3 has also been enriching as we read about the new possibilites CALL has to offer, particular to enhance students' speaking and listening skills. Although a lot has yet to be researched about it, it is always good to bring such an important issue for reflection and discussion.

What have you enjoyed the most about this week? Can you think of life before/without all these wonderful tools we have been analyzing during our course?

Mistakes?

I have just posted about the end of week two and I admitted sometimes I will feel guilty as it seems I am not careful about time management and end up getting behind schedule and all that.
I have, however, just remembered this amazing song by Barbra Streisand. I have always loved using music in my lessons. This one is very special. According to the lyrics "There are no mistakes - just lessons to be learned".
I also like the video which was created for the song with a number of positive affirmations by Louise Hay.

How do you see it?

End of Week 2

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/3616155715/sizes/o/in/photostream/)


I must confess I thought I would not manage to do everything I had to and catch up with the tasks for this week.
It's been a particularly hectic week with some unexpected things coming my way. I am glad we are coming to the end now.
I believe that time and time-management in particular could well be considered the greatest enemy of our days. For those like me, a little older than 40, it must seem crystal clear we did have more time in the past. I can still remember how long it would take from one weekend to the other, not to mention from one Christmas to the other. Do I have to be explicit about what happens in the days and time of twitter, facebook, orkut and so many other microblogging platforms? I sometimes make some jokes at school and say it seems I only teach on Mondays and Thursdays. The thing is it always seems I am saying "Hi, how was your weekend?" and then "Bye, have a nice weekend". I simply don't know what happens in between.
Maybe because I have my hands in different pies this feeling is even stronger and then there comes a bitter taste of guilt in my tongue. Should I be more careful about my time management skills? Am I doing anything wrong?
How do you feel about it? Do you ever wish you had some more time? What would you do if you were granted two brand-new extra hours a day?

Quotations

I have always been a great fan of quotations, proverbs and popular sayings. My students are aware of it and just like songs, they are always expecting me to say "Well... there is a proverb...".
As we have just started our webskills course, I remembered this quotation in particular that has always been a favorite of mine. I am glad to be part of this group of educators who have made the right choice and, in some cases, have been fighting against their fears, doing their very best to overcome obstacles.
Time will show us, we are on the right track and the amount of experience that will be shared will add a lot to our personal and professional lives.