I was reading my very first blog, expressing my hesitation to try this new writing platform, and realized how far I have come in this brave new world of technology. Starting a blog was the perfect first assignment for me, since from that point I have determined to do everything I can to make this learning experience worthwhile. Thanks to Robert and all the wonderful colleagues, I was able to keep going, and I enjoyed literally every bit of this course. I have been honored to interact with passionate teachers from all over the world. We are teaching in a very different environment; yet we all are working hard to achieve the same goal. The participation in this course was a unique experience, and it was really empowering.
Now it is our turn to empower students. I mentioned several time the possibility of starting an international project, and I have decided to host an "International Online Discussion Week" at least once a year starting this February. The Taiwanese teacher who participated in my experimental project agreed to try it again with me, and I am hoping to have at least some of you can join us. I wrote up a tentative plan to show what the project might look like.
- Aim: To provide Learners of English to have authentic international communication using English.
- Participants: Intermediate to advanced learners of English
- Size of a discussion group: one discussion group should have 10 to 20 students. It is possible to have more than one group. It depends on the number, but teachers may be asked to select representatives.
- Platform: Moodle (http://eiko-moodle.com/) or Nicenet
- Duration of discussion: one week (February 18-24)
- Possible preparatory activities: self-introduction, initial poll, quick survey, WebQuest,
- Possible follow-up activities: summary writing, final poll, project survey
- Topic: Internet in general or digitization of textbooks
I am planning to create a folder in Box.com to make the collaboration easier. I will send out the invitation to all the participants this weekend. If you are interested to join, please accept the invitation.
Again it was a great pleasure to be with all of you. I wish you all the best for your good health and continued success and look forward to our path crossing again soon.
Sincerely,
Sam
Hi Sam,
ReplyDeleteIt was a real pleasure to have gone through this adventure with you as well; thank you for all your valuable advice. I definitely will be part of the project. Thank you for taking care.
All the best,
Colomba
Sam,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I can't believe how productive you are! You have the skill of making things happen. Your "International Online Discussion Week" Project sounds fantastic. I am interested to participate with my students in it.
Secondly, I want to use this opportunity to thank you for everything. As my peer in the project you were of so much help. As a classmate I have learned so many things from you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and I hope we can keep in touch. I liked your idea (which you expressed I don't remember where) of preserving our group interactions. We should create a facebook group or something similar.
Thanks again. It's been a pleasure to be in the same course with you.
Kind regards,
Liliana Nederita
Hello Sam,
ReplyDeleteIt was wonderful to have such a wise classmate always quick and ready to help. I also like your idea about the project. I hope we'll try to implement it.
Good luck and see you soon!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Egle