Design a Panda Habitat

I found an interesting post, which introduces an activity called Design a Panda Habitat.  As it has been described in the post, "this activity would be a great context to use graphic organizers to gather information and make decisions about the elements of the habitat." Some specific vocabulary and knowledge could be learnt from this activity. The topic is attractive. And the interactive tasks are helpful, as well as fun for learners. 

    This activity reminds me of some SLG or SIM games I have ever played. One kind of SLG games requires you to find certain items from a setting according to a list or according to some riddles. I have to look up the dictionary when I encounter a word that I am not familiar with. In order to play the games well, I learnt a lot of vocabulary. Some SIM games are very authentic. Though some settings were not real enough to me when I was in China, however, when I am in US, I find they are quite close to what is really like. I learnt vocabulary and chunks in specific settings from those games.

    I consider this a good way to enlarge vocabulary and knowledge, especially when tired about reading from textbooks.

EFL Classroom 2.0

    I visited EFL Classroom 2.0 and found this group worth to be added in my favorites. It consists of a number of badges, which includes newest posts, quick posts, latest activity, videos, forum, and etc. I like the KEEP THE IDES COMING… Though I am not sure how often will the topic be changed, it is always a good idea to get to know and to be familiar with new things. There are resources and suggestions for teachers to practice in their own classrooms. You can also post your opinions or photos, and the news of your action will appear in the latest activity. This group is a good choice if you would like to keep up with the upcoming new ideas. Help yourselves to check it out!~

Connetivism

The word "network" reminds me of the spider web. To me, learners are very like spiders, using webs to acquire information and knowledge. As it has been stated by Siemens (2005) in Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, "The starting point of connectivism is the individual.” From this point of view, individual learners are at the center of the web, all the information and knowledge are to serve the individual learner and are chosen to be acquired or be neglected. However, the metaphor above is more suitable for learners in traditional learning ways. The learners of today are not as passive as in the past. They are connected with the information more directly and actively. They have become part of the web to capture information. And the information is to be shared by the whole web.

        Besides being more directly connected with information, the learners are forming a circulation which is good for transition of information. The learners create new ideas and pot them onto the net, they get new information or reflections about their posts from the network, and then they reply the reflections or generate new ideas from those. In this way, the learners are always connecting to the newest information in the fields they interested in, and their contribution to the network help to keep the fields fresh. “This cycle of knowledge development (personal to network to organization) allows learners to remain current in their field through the connections they have formed (Siemens, 2005)." There are many ways for learners to keep updated to their field, but no other ways are as direct and rapid as network does.

Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age

THE NETWORK IS THE LEARNING

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

At first sight of the list, I was attracted by the word 'animate'. I thought it should be an interesting video clip, and I was right. The video uses animations to express ideas. It is really a fun to watch this video, because the animations are well drawn.

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

     However, finish watching this, I felt little sad about today's education, especially the part about ADHD across the country. Children with ADHD are forced to take pills in order to be concentrated on class. That sounds too pathetic.

     Are teachers making classes more and more boring? I tried to look back into my own education experience. Some parts were boring indeed, so boring that I don 't want to recall again. I could still remember, in a grammar class, after explaining a complex grammar point to us, the teacher apologized to us, 'sorry to make this class so boring, but I don't know how to make it intereting, and you'll be tested in the future exams on this point." Are we driven by rules and standards which require us to know 'what we should know as a blahblahblah'? That also sounds pathetic.

     I was surprised that when we were like 5 years old, 98% of us are genuis in divergent thinking. Sadly, as we grow up, we are more and more constrained by what we have gained from education. Instead of activate our thinking, 'we are getting our children through education by anaesthetizing them.'

     I hope I could learn more technologies from this course to activate my future students instead of anaesthetizing them, and to make study more attractive to them. Maybe animation is a good way. I am considering practicing my drawing skills. O(∩_∩)O

Safe Blogging for Students

Using blogs is exciting, but don't haste to start posting. Here are some tips for safe blogging which are better to be kept in mind.

1. Keep your personal infromation out of your posts. You are not expect to post or give out your family name, password, username, e-mail address, home address, school name, city, country, or other infromation that could help someone locate or contact you in person. Your interests, ideas, and preferences are free to share.

2. Your username and password is your own secret. You are not expect to share them with others. And you should never log in using others' names.

3. You are expected to behave properly, treating blog spaces as classroom spaces. Consider whether your posts are appropriate for class before posting. You are encouraged to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers. However, you should not forget you are also the manner representative of yourself.

4. You will receive comments on your posts, most of which are respectful or helpful messages. If you happen to receive any comment that make you uncomfortable, please contact your teacher, do not response to that comment.

5. Take care of your computer by not downloading or installing any software without permission, and not clicking on ads or competitions.

These are only some basic items to pay attention to. Here are some links to other useful sites for safety. View them as you like.

Safetyweb | SafetyWeb Blog

Connect Safely |Safety Tips & Advice

Using Blogs in Teaching

It is a great idea to introduce blogs into teaching. I would like to create a class blog.

     The blog can be used as an information collection. All the class activities will be recorded on the blog, probably with pictures and videos if possible. Some other useful information, like tips for learning, recommended readings, or message for coming activities, can also be published on the blog. Students can use the blog to track the class history or use it as a resource for learning. I try to correspond this to the communication standard 1.2: students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.

   

     The blog can act as platform for students and me to communicate. Students are not only viewers of the blog. They can freely leave message to each other, as well as to me. They are welcomed to make comments about recent events, give suggestions to me, and share their thoughts about learning or about the class. This sees correlation with the communications standard 1.3: students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.

 

     I will also encourage students to create their own learning blogs. I will teach them how to use blogs. Thus they can post what they like or what they think are worth to share on their own blogs for their classmates to view.  This idea correlates with the connections standard 3.1: students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language.
   

    I'm considering a group blog that allows students to do groupwork by using blogs.