Week 5 PROJECT STEP: Technology related change

Hello everyone,

Well, as I have already mentioned in week 4 discussions, I hope for using blog as a tool to enhance my students' performance and get safely from the labyrinth my students are facing. Blog tool is something I have not tried with my students. I have only used it to reflect on some of my learning experiences that I have once upon a time.

A blog can be used easily for it is free from charge for educational purposes. It can be dealt with adequately once the instructions and requirements are made explicit for the whole class. The accessibility of the internet connection contribute a successfully in realizing these kinds of PBL.

Furthermore, I will make use of the Google drive for sharing files and documents that the students may need along their learning process. Students themselves can use them to show their expertise. There will a rubric to assess their process which would remain a common reference for everyone.

This is another alternative assessment for more credibility for students' work. It provides a better catering opportunity of different learning styles.

The students have a problem to prepare for their final exam, a four paragraphs essay together with all the potential requirements of an academic writing, bearing in mind that they are in a scientific option where English is required for effective communication only, while the scientific subjects have much importance. Thought English would make a difference regarding their ranking position.

The students will be asked to create their blogs and focus on their free writing. They will be asked to write a weekly post. Then, I (the teacher) would provide feedback for them to reconsider their production. In a later stage, students will have a peer evaluation process to see if they will have mastered the writing skills.  This is a kind of anticipation for evaluation phase.  

Creating my First Virtual Rubric

It has been breathtaking creating my rubric online. I have never expected that it would be that easy to include the features you deemed to be the headstone of your assessment. It is handy and quick to make. What has been awesome was the possibility to include and design it the way you like.

My students are assumed to be advanced level that is way they will considerer the availability of the rubrics as a good omen along their progress. It will cater for their peer assessment and the awareness of the requirements of a sound good four paragraphs essay they will write. Of course, every step of process writing has been or will be dealt with during the course or Colles session. That is to say the individual pace of learning is taken into account in designing or administering any kind of evaluation.

I have uploaded mine to the Webskills wiki.

Week 5- DISCUSSION: Rubrics, Assessment, and PBL!

Week 5- DISCUSSION: Rubrics, Assessment, and PBL!

-How can PBL be used to help motivate students?

It is of paramount importance to mention that project based learning is among the driving force that would give much fuel for students to enhance their learning.  It is goal oriented. As the students is adequately oriented from the beginning. The students would read what is required and move gradually to achieve the goals.

-How can PBL be incorporated with technology in your class - or alternatively, what limitations are there to using PBL in your class?

PBL could be implemented in my class for the connection which available for all the students, besides the various gadgets they own. Moreover, they are supposed to work seriously to be ranked a good position, not only in the local level, but on the national level to access a good national class or go abroad to continue their studies. Therefore, their time is precious, and they would used fully to work on their project or doing something of values related to their studies. There would be no fool round.

-What is the role of rubrics and/or alternative assessment within PBL?

 The role of rubrics and/ or alternative assessment would easy both the students and teacher‘s task to move smoothly, safely, and surely in their projects. It would be a reference to check their progress. It provides objective evaluation. Even, students can provide feedback to their peers. It also provides different options to assess the students’ performance beyond pencil/paper test. It offers and caters for different learning styles. It suits andragogy learning who pretty sure of their learning objective, outcomes, and consequences

-How can PBL, rubrics and/or alternative assessment be used to promote independent learning?

It is obvious to understand that these kinds of rubrics provides enormous opportunities to evaluate, measure one’s performance upon clear criteria that would remain objective for anyone who would deal with  the stated criteria that are need to be performance if one would be successful in doing the activities.

Reflection Week 5

Reflection Week 5

Wow! It has been another successful learning journey this week. The reading was awesome in clarifying the kind of alternative assessment that should be adopted in the classroom in PBL. It has been crowned by creating two different rubrics: one is about writing and the other is for evaluating reading. It is easy and time saving for the limited effort on would invest on it and coming up with a professional tool. It was the first time that I have created one rubric using a virtual application.

The questions in the discussion forum were pertinent asking about the reason to implement those alternative assessments in our project lesson plan. Also, it taps upon a teacher integrating them in their courses, constrains, role and finally how do those alternative assessment enhance learning.

It has been also an opportunity to recall back my account Quizlet and create a set that I have never thought of: http://quizlet.com/samiZsami1

I have pondered upon the kind of technology I would use: Blogging and Google drive to solve the problem related to writing. There is a need that the students should be effective writer and communicate successfully their thoughts. I will be using those tools to help them stop being reluctant and invest sometimes to improve their writing skills.

Last not least, WebQuest design is quite interesting. I have already created one. This means I am pretty familiar with of its requirements. I need only to doctor the needs of my current classroom to this tool.  I used to teach undergraduate students, but now I do teach post baccalaureate ones.

What is more for this week is that it is the first time I have discovered that there is feedback I need to read in the Blackboard platform. It is really surprising for me. I come to know how much effort and energy our moderator is devoting for every participant to supply comments. Thank you so so much Courtney Cunningham.

I need to write my ABCD model in week 2

I need to focus more on the actual classroom, the classroom equipments.