“Do not confine your children to your own
learning, for they were born in another time” Chinese Proverb
I chose to add the Chinese Proverb and the You
Tube video right at the beginning of my reflection for this week because they
clearly show how engaged students are in technology nowadays. The most
memorable moments from school were those where my teachers involved me in the
learning process using games, activities, songs and so on. After reading
through the material for this week’s session, I realized that the purpose is to
engage students, but in contrast to the past, today student centered classes
are infused with technology tools such as interactive PowerPoint presentations.
I can honestly say that I have always used presentations, but when reading
through the reading assignments for this week, I felt a small hole in my
technology enhanced lessons especially with extremely important advice given by
The University of Oregon on “Presenting With PowerPoint” such as using a blank
slide, allowing mind processing time and minimizing the number of slides among
many other useful advice .
Following the instructions for this week’s session
and the articles “How To Create An Interactive Quiz Using PowerPoint
Masters." By Simon Slangen, “How
to Create and Use an Interactive PowerPoint Quiz Game” by Barbara O’neill,
and “Creating Interactive PowerPoint Presentations for
Teachers and Students” by Drs. Terry & Cathy Cavanaugh, I began
to create my own PowerPoint presentation which includes an interactive quiz
consisting of multiple choice questions, a poll and a YouTube video followed by
a Think-Pair-Share activity as described by Rick Finnan and Donna Shaw in in “Teaching
Large Classes II- Enhancing Learning by Engaging Students”. I have never
created an interactive quiz one before, so this was an opportunity to learn and
make mistakes. It took some time at the start, but once I got used to it, the
slides were finished faster. I am very happy with the end product and will certainly
be using it as it brings a whole new dimension into the lesson, one where
students are mostly involved in the learning process.
Upon reading Rick Finnan and Donna Shaw’s advice
on enhancing lecture classes in “Teaching Large Classes II- Enhancing Learning
by Engaging Students”, I realized that they can be used to enhance any class.
Some of the examples I intend to use include giving examples from current
events, distributing voting cards, pair work, group work and keeping eye contact.
I once attended an interesting workshop
at Google which works on enhancing lecturing skills and one of the most
memorable experiences in this workshop was explained the form of an activity
which goes as follows: the lecturer (volunteer in this case) throws a ball to a
person in the audience who asks any question. The lecturer/speaker is supposed
to answer the question while focusing and having direct eye contact with that
person for 15 seconds. He/she cannot look at another person. The person with
the ball then throws it to another in the crows and the speaker is supposed to
speak to him/her for an additional 15 seconds and so on. The idea behind this
activity is to practice looking the audience in the eyes and making a
connection with them. This way, they will have to automatically listen and
focus on what you are saying as a speaker.
I was particularly interested in the idea of Classroom Communication Systems where students
purchase remotes with their texts books and can be used for live true/false and
multiple choice questions. It does have a few negatives about it, such as
having to purchase the remote and the data being saved on the computer class
rather on the teachers’ personal laptop, but it is something that is certainly
worth thinking about as it is very useful for large classes.
Another task for this week was to begin
implementing a technology in our classes, but since I’m not teaching now, I
will start working on my plan. In the previous week, I created a WebQuest where
teachers work in groups to create a unit of literature while incorporating web
tools into that process so I do feel like I have covered the domain of Appreciation
of Literature, Culture and Language from the English Curriculum. For this week,
I am working on a Wiki which includes
tutorials for all the different tools that the teachers will be using in the
WebQuest. I will be adding a tutorial for each tool and then adding an editable
page where teachers will be able to post their links.
I enjoyed this week very much as it was very
informative and practical. I can’t wait for the next.
Nahla
Sources:
· Cavanaugh, Terry , and Kathy Cavanaugh. "Creating Interactive PowerPoint Presentations for Teachers and Students." Creating Interactive PowerPoint Presentations for Teachers and Students. Florida Center for Instructional Technology, USF, n.d. Web. <http://www.unf.edu/~tcavanau/publications/necc/Interactive_PowerPoint.htm>.
· Finnan Rick & Shaw Donna "Teaching Large Classes II – Enhancing Learning by Engaging Students." University of Oregon, <http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/webskills/material/engaging_students_handout.pdf>.
· O’neill, Barbara. "“How to Create and Use an Interactive PowerPoint Quiz Game.". <http://www.joe.org/joe/2003april/tt2.php>.
· "Presenting With PowerPoint." Teaching with Technology -. University of Oregon, <http://tep.uoregon.edu/technology/powerpoint/docs/presenting.pdf>.
· Slangen, Simon. "How To Create An Interactive Quiz Using PowerPoint Masters.", 30 Nov. 2010.. <http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-interactive-quiz-powerpoint-masters/>.
· Cavanaugh, Terry , and Kathy Cavanaugh. "Creating Interactive PowerPoint Presentations for Teachers and Students." Creating Interactive PowerPoint Presentations for Teachers and Students. Florida Center for Instructional Technology, USF, n.d. Web. <http://www.unf.edu/~tcavanau/publications/necc/Interactive_PowerPoint.htm>.
· Finnan Rick & Shaw Donna "Teaching Large Classes II – Enhancing Learning by Engaging Students." University of Oregon, <http://umbc.uoregon.edu/eteacher/webskills/material/engaging_students_handout.pdf>.
· O’neill, Barbara. "“How to Create and Use an Interactive PowerPoint Quiz Game.". <http://www.joe.org/joe/2003april/tt2.php>.
· "Presenting With PowerPoint." Teaching with Technology -. University of Oregon, <http://tep.uoregon.edu/technology/powerpoint/docs/presenting.pdf>.
· Slangen, Simon. "How To Create An Interactive Quiz Using PowerPoint Masters.", 30 Nov. 2010.. <http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-interactive-quiz-powerpoint-masters/>.
Dear Nahla,
ReplyDeleteIt is really nice to know that you are working on wiki, and I think it is such a great idea to include tutorials and discussion board on your class wiki. I am also working on the classroom webpage now. Since you are really experienced, I can learn a lot from you.
I also liked your interactive PowerPoint. It is so interactive that it sure will enhance students' learning.
Lastly, thank you for sharing the interesting way to keep eye contacts with audience using a ball.
Kunie Kellem
Dear Kunie,
DeleteYes I am working on the Wiki right now, I've always made websites, but the Wiki is a first.
Thank you for reviewing my PowerPoint presentation, I do hope the teachers enjoy it.
Yes, that activity is indeed something I won't forget.
Thank you for visiting and commenting on my blog.
Nahla
Hi, Nahla,
ReplyDeleteYou've raised a very sound issue of the generation gap when it comes to technology use. In-service teachers, especially with 15-20 + years of service feel very proud that they can conduct their lesson with no technology and be effective. If such EFL teacher has a charisma, enthusiasm and good command of the foreign language - it's O.K. with the students. If not, the lessons are perceived as boring by digital natives. It doesn't mean either, that if a teacher uses a lot of high tech tools, we'll appreciate the lesson. A good lesson is still a matter of compromise. So a modern teacher is to be both a craftsman and an artist (and an actor).
Olga, Belarus
Dear Olga,
DeleteThank you for reading my post for this week. Your comment is really great and portrays a great concern when it comes to having teachers incorporate technology into their lessons. I have come across many of them, but now that it's a must based on the curriculum, they will have to at least try before passing judgement. Your final sentence says it all regarding this issue.
Nahla
Hi Nahla!
ReplyDeleteI must say - you are really active. I like your presentation a lot and I must say that is obvious that you put a lot off effort on it - well done. It will be nice to see your wiki page - looking forward for it.
Good luck in our course
Petko
Dear Petko,
DeleteI am really enjoying all of these activities. Thank you so much for all your kind comments. I am looking forward to finishing the Wiki and sharing it for feedback. Hopefully, I'll be able to do that by next week.
Thank you and I wish you best of luck as well,
Nahla
Hello Nahla,
ReplyDeleteA very hardworking and effort worthy pupil, must say. Your presentation is so well updated and i did checked out your ppt show, and its was a fantastic job,well furnished. great to find out about wiki. Wish your effort becomes a masterpiece. Best regards
Gyanu
Dear Gyanu,
DeleteThank you so much for your nice comments. I am so glad to get feedback regarding my presentation and I do appreciate you taking the time to look at it.
Thank you and I wish you best of luck as well.
Nahla
Dear Nahla,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your words in my blog post for the week 5. I’m sorry, in the moment I’m not good enough in blogging and I did not immediately reply to your comment. But I learn it with pleasure
I like blog post for this week very much :-) You know, I also thought about the wise idea, expressed in the proverb that opens your post. As for me, it is a complete hit this week. I've got a lot of new skills :-)
Thank you for your posts!
Nadezda Yashchenko,
Russia
Dear Nadezda,
DeleteThank you for visiting my blog. That's ok, I understand we are all learning through all the tech tools. I agree that this was a very interesting week.
Thank you,
Nahla