A great learning experience continues!
It seems that how we teach writing is a great challenge for almost all the teachers participating in this course, and I believe a good use of technology can solve at least some of the problems. This week, I spent some time exploring the possibility of Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE), which is expected to reduce the heavy load of evaluating students' writing. First of all, I read "Beyond the Design of Automated Writing Evaluation" by Chi-Fen Emily Chen and Wei-Yuan Eugene Cheng, and found that there are some products such as Criterion and MyAccess! But it seems their automated essay scoring function has not yet achieved the sophistication those companies claim to have achieved.
However, I have also learned that some automation is already possible using free web-based resourses. Quizlet and Educaplay, for example, allow you to create vocabulary quizzes and jumbled-sentence quizzes which give immediate feedback to students. I also found an amazing website for Japanese students to practice Japanese-English translation. When you type in the translation of a Japanese sentence (there are 838 questions!) and submit it, you will get automated feedback, such as "You need an indefinite article here," and "With this verb you use the preposition 'to' instead of 'with'." Learners can repeat the process until they reach the correct answer.
Knowing that writing words and sentences (but not essays) can be evaluated automatically, we now need to ask how we can use them in our lessons. Automated Writing Evaluation devices will be of great help especially in a large class, but can make lessons too individualistic. I need to find the right way as I experiment.
Our English debate team is going to have regional competitions a week from today. This is a academic style debate, where the proposition is announced months earlier. The proposition for this year is "Japan should change the university enrollment season from April to September." Hope our students can advance to the nationals.
May our week be filled with blessings,
Sam
Oct 28, 2012
Oct 20, 2012
Week 3: Listening and Speaking
Another fruitful week! I enjoyed every bit of it.
What is interesting about this course is that people bring in different experiences and perspectives into the class. For instance, I know games can be fun, but I haven't really explored this area much before. But I was really inspired by the great ideas and resources my colleagues kindly shared this week. I really liked Taboo shared by Liliana and the story prediction game suggested by Colomba. Those games sound like a lot of fun! I would like to thank Gulnara and Robert for starting the wonderful discussion on games. I also had a good laugh, like Colomba did, when I watched the scene from the film, Pink Panther, "I would like to buy a hamburger". (My wife also loved it, and we decided to rent the video to see the whole thing sometime soon.) I do not have a projector in a regular classroom right now, but I am hoping to get a portable one probably next year. There seem to be a lot of interesting videos out there, including the ones at Real English.com. I should start collecting short video clips to show during my lesson. Videos are powerful and it's always nice to have a good laugh in class.
As for the final project, I started to think about things I could do after I read the past projects. I haven't used computers in class this semester, but I, together with my students, have learned to use the learning management system called Moodle. All my students are registered in the system, and they are already familiar with it. Also, my time with my students will be over in the first week of December, so it is not a good timing to introduce a new system to them. So, if it is ok, I would like to create a mini online course on Moodle. In April, I tried an international discussion forum for my students and Taiwanese students in the online course I created. It was my first attempt of this sort, and it did not, unfortunately, work as I wished. So, I would like to try one more time utilizing the things I learn through this course. I should not be too ambitious, but I would like to give it a try if allowed.
The mid-term exam is over, and I am off to mark all the exam papers!
What is interesting about this course is that people bring in different experiences and perspectives into the class. For instance, I know games can be fun, but I haven't really explored this area much before. But I was really inspired by the great ideas and resources my colleagues kindly shared this week. I really liked Taboo shared by Liliana and the story prediction game suggested by Colomba. Those games sound like a lot of fun! I would like to thank Gulnara and Robert for starting the wonderful discussion on games. I also had a good laugh, like Colomba did, when I watched the scene from the film, Pink Panther, "I would like to buy a hamburger". (My wife also loved it, and we decided to rent the video to see the whole thing sometime soon.) I do not have a projector in a regular classroom right now, but I am hoping to get a portable one probably next year. There seem to be a lot of interesting videos out there, including the ones at Real English.com. I should start collecting short video clips to show during my lesson. Videos are powerful and it's always nice to have a good laugh in class.
As for the final project, I started to think about things I could do after I read the past projects. I haven't used computers in class this semester, but I, together with my students, have learned to use the learning management system called Moodle. All my students are registered in the system, and they are already familiar with it. Also, my time with my students will be over in the first week of December, so it is not a good timing to introduce a new system to them. So, if it is ok, I would like to create a mini online course on Moodle. In April, I tried an international discussion forum for my students and Taiwanese students in the online course I created. It was my first attempt of this sort, and it did not, unfortunately, work as I wished. So, I would like to try one more time utilizing the things I learn through this course. I should not be too ambitious, but I would like to give it a try if allowed.
The mid-term exam is over, and I am off to mark all the exam papers!
Oct 14, 2012
Week 2: Search and Discussion
What a week! I had a great week thanks to Robert and all the classmates!
The Web Searching assignment pushed me into a new level of Internet search. Exploring NoodleTools, I learned to use different search engines for different purposes. Some of the search engines are more useful than others, and I should start to compile the ones I am going to use often. At the same time, I thought I should pay more attention to who selects the information you see when I do a search. Eli Parsier effectively presented in his thought-provoking speech, Beware online "filter bubbles", that now the computer is the gatekeeper of the incoming information. Google, for example, looks at 57 signals, such as what kind of computer you are using or where you are located before returning the search results. Without your knowing it, you will end up being left in the filter bubbles where what is really important is precluded by the computer. I have realized that choosing a good search engine can be one way to combat this.
We had great discussions this week on Web Searching, ABCD Objective, and Project Task 1, and I truly enjoyed them. I would like to express special thanks to Colomba when she pointed out the problem in my abcd objective. It gave me a chance to think more carefully about how I can make a good learning objective. I am not sure if NICENET offers the grouping option, which some Learning Management Systems do, but it might be helpful, especially for this type of assignment, if we can have small groups to help each other. The advantage of grouping is that we can limit the amount of reading and also we can make sure everyone gets some kind of feedback. I once created an asynchronous discussion forum for my 180 students. They said they enjoyed it but at the same time expressed that it was difficult to follow discussions because there were too many postings and a lot of them were redundant. It might be difficulty to set up groups and maintain them, but I would like to try that next time I do an asynchronous discussion with my students.
I am looking forward to interacting with more classmates next week.
Sam
The Web Searching assignment pushed me into a new level of Internet search. Exploring NoodleTools, I learned to use different search engines for different purposes. Some of the search engines are more useful than others, and I should start to compile the ones I am going to use often. At the same time, I thought I should pay more attention to who selects the information you see when I do a search. Eli Parsier effectively presented in his thought-provoking speech, Beware online "filter bubbles", that now the computer is the gatekeeper of the incoming information. Google, for example, looks at 57 signals, such as what kind of computer you are using or where you are located before returning the search results. Without your knowing it, you will end up being left in the filter bubbles where what is really important is precluded by the computer. I have realized that choosing a good search engine can be one way to combat this.
We had great discussions this week on Web Searching, ABCD Objective, and Project Task 1, and I truly enjoyed them. I would like to express special thanks to Colomba when she pointed out the problem in my abcd objective. It gave me a chance to think more carefully about how I can make a good learning objective. I am not sure if NICENET offers the grouping option, which some Learning Management Systems do, but it might be helpful, especially for this type of assignment, if we can have small groups to help each other. The advantage of grouping is that we can limit the amount of reading and also we can make sure everyone gets some kind of feedback. I once created an asynchronous discussion forum for my 180 students. They said they enjoyed it but at the same time expressed that it was difficult to follow discussions because there were too many postings and a lot of them were redundant. It might be difficulty to set up groups and maintain them, but I would like to try that next time I do an asynchronous discussion with my students.
I am looking forward to interacting with more classmates next week.
Sam
Oct 3, 2012
Week 1: Blogging
This is my first posting ever, and I am thankful that I get to experience new things.
The last time I kept a diary was .... a very long time ago. I am not a big writer and I have stayed away from blogging. I am doing it now as part of course requirements, which I think is a good thing. I saw one of the TED presentations the other day. It was about stepping out of your comfortable world. Living in the times when it is almost impossible to find something that is not tailored for you, we are deprived of opportunities to learn something new. I am now given the opportunity to learn how to blog and how I can use blog in my teaching.
Creating a blog page was rather smooth and painless, but I think I need to learn by doing how to maintain my blog page. It is a reflective blog, so the primary purpose of my writing is my own reflection. I know by experience that I can clarify what I am thinking by writing. However, I am not doing it in my diary book this time; I am doing it on the Internet. My instructor and colleagues are going to read it. I may also have other readers,too. At this point, I am not at all used to the idea of somebody reading what I am writing here without my knowing it.
I will learn one way or the other, and that's what stepping out of the comfortable zone is all about.
Sam
The last time I kept a diary was .... a very long time ago. I am not a big writer and I have stayed away from blogging. I am doing it now as part of course requirements, which I think is a good thing. I saw one of the TED presentations the other day. It was about stepping out of your comfortable world. Living in the times when it is almost impossible to find something that is not tailored for you, we are deprived of opportunities to learn something new. I am now given the opportunity to learn how to blog and how I can use blog in my teaching.
Creating a blog page was rather smooth and painless, but I think I need to learn by doing how to maintain my blog page. It is a reflective blog, so the primary purpose of my writing is my own reflection. I know by experience that I can clarify what I am thinking by writing. However, I am not doing it in my diary book this time; I am doing it on the Internet. My instructor and colleagues are going to read it. I may also have other readers,too. At this point, I am not at all used to the idea of somebody reading what I am writing here without my knowing it.
I will learn one way or the other, and that's what stepping out of the comfortable zone is all about.
Sam
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