Week 3: Hard work, lack of time...

It's night, actually it's after midnight now when I am writing and trying to explain the new things I have learned this week. I can't actually believe that the end of the third week is so close. So many things happened...not only here (I will tell you about them at the end of this post).

At first, more precisely on Monday evening, when I read for the first time the tasks for this week I said: well, it's simpler than before. Actually, I was wrong. Even if I thought I can solve everything in a couple of hours...it took me more than 5 days...


One of the best things I have learned about this week is Delicious.com - and I explained the advantages and why I like it so much in my previous post.

Then, I started reading about everything related to the aural/oral skills. The idea became very clear in my mind and while thinking about my post related to this, I had to organize my ideas and everything I know about them, in order to present my virtual classmates the advantages technology brings in our classrooms. I am addicted to technology and to the internet - I can't imagine life without it. I have been using the internet for more than 15 years, and with time I learned I can use it for something different, not only for socializing or entertainment. Now, it's my duty to teach my students this, and make them understand that the internet is the wonder of our lives and we must use it in a fruitful way (as I said in one of the comments on one blog, we should be able to make our teaching pleasant and useful). I got help from the internet thanks to the links Deborah provided. Everything is so easy and nice... I am able now to find to best resources I need and to adapt everything to my students needs. Otherwise, I lose their interest and attention and I am quite useless...

Now, I would like to make a confession: I am a little bit sad and disappointed to see that not all my classmates have comments on their blogs. I have been reading and commenting almost on everybody's blog. I didn't do it be named "creative" or "the most active": not at all. I comment on your blogs because I consider that communication is the most important thing in our lives. I can't live without communicating. I like to express my gratitude, my ideas, my dis/agreement and make sure you know that I read what you write. Otherwise, if I don't write, how should you know I read your posts?

Now, I would like to tell you why this week was so special for me. It's quite a personal thing, but I want to share it with you. Those of you who read what I posted last week know that my school got the distinction of European School for the second time. On Thursday I went to Bucharest (our capital city) and the minister of education offered us the title and the certificate. I dedicated it to all my students as a sign of gratitude for their hard work in international project during the last 3 years. Here I have some pictures:

Week 3: Mmmm, DELICIOUS...

When I first accessed this site, www.delicious.com, I was quite surprised. First of all, the name of the site, then the images (all of them related to cooking and eating and I have to agree I am one of the worst cooks ever). I couldn't understand what's the point. I let it go.

But, the 3rd week came, and with it, this task: creating a personal page on www.delicious.com/nnadina. And I got the point: it is extremely helpful for me. It helps me save time and it allows me to be more organized. I am not the only person who uses bookmarks (so many sometimes) and who simply loses them. I can give you lots of examples from my personal experience.  When I created my bookmarks, I was very satisfied with them, but something strange happened (because of a virus I have to reinstall the OS or the browser) and I simply lost them. Or: I had them on my computer at home and I needed them at school, and of course I couldn't have them. It meant spending time almost on nothing, because sometimes I wasn't able to find what I was looking for.

So, when this week started (for me on Monday night), I explored very carefully the site. I read the introduction and I created my first bookmarks. Now, I have them with me wherever I go. I find this site extremely helpful. Why? Just to give a short example. As I have already told you, I created (actually arranged and searched) my first page at home. Today, while at school, I needed the exact address of a website for my projects. Instead of going through the e-mail and trying to search what I needed, I simply went to my page (www.delicious.com/nnadina) and had everything there.

I warmly recommend it to everybody. It is simple to use, its interface is friendly, the instructions, examples and explanations are clear and you save time by having everything organized as you like / need it.

That's all for now. I am eager to read your opinions about it. For me, it is simply DELICIOUS.

Wekk 2: Instead of conclusion

The end of my second week on the course is drawing near. It was a very hectic week for me: I attended a course on life-skills, I had to keep up with my work on this course, I had to deliver lessons at school, I had to learn, I had to... enough.

First of all I would like to start by the ABCD model when speaking about objectives. If exactly one week ago they were totally new for me, now I know about them, I have even tried to write an objective following this model. And I find them extremely useful. As long as an idea is clear in my mind, I can express it very clearly and make my students understand it.  It's very important for me to know my audience, to know their attitude and behavior, and to know the performance I want them to reach. I will use only the ABCD model now on as I have never found anything more useful.

Then, I would like to tell you that something amazed me at the very beginning of the week, when I had to describe not only one class, but also the setting. I kept asking "What's the point?"... later I realized that the setting is also extremely important for the teaching / learning / assessing process. As long as you don't feel very comfortable in one classroom, it mark your teaching, your behavior and your attitude. I chose a class I am very fond of: 26 students from grade 9 B in my school. I described the setting, I described the students and now I am able to let you see them: 

The last point I want to tell you about is related to the search engines. I have often felt that Google was not enough for me, especially when I wanted to search something more specific. Now, thanks to this course, thanks to Deborah and to my classmates, I know about Noodlle Tools first of all and I am very glad I know more.

I am very impressed by my classmates' work. I read their blogs, I read their posts, sometimes I comment and I am very happy we are virtually together and we share our knowledge, our experience and we are able to learn together.

This is all about my second week. I am eager to start the 3rd one.

Week 2 - Something you may like

Yesterday I watched quite a new interesting video, on education, of course.

Maybe, you would like to see it.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Week 2 - New ideas, new things to learn, new knowledge

Here I am, in the middle of the second week in this course. A lot to learn, a lot to discover, to read (and to write), but everything is worth doing it.

I have described one of my classes the way it is now - quite a long description, but I wanted to give my fellows a clear idea about those students, about the classroom and the school in general. I like my school and I am very happy as yesterday I got some great news regarding my school: it is the second time my school received the distinction of "European School". The first distinction of this type was obtained in 2007 and it is available till 2010. Now, this distinction is available till 2013. It got this distinction as in my school we developed and initiated many international school projects (as I am the coordinator of these projects, the distinction means even more to me.)

At present, till the end of the week I am away from home (about 450 km, in the middle of the mountains). I am in a little town, named Sinaia (nicknamed The pearl of the Carpathians - our mountains). Well, don't imagine, please that I am here to relax. No way. I was elected to attend a course (organized  by the Ministry of Education in Romania) about developing life-skills for students. Very interesting, quite new, I mean. I found a very interesting thing I want to share with you (I am sure we can take advantage of it at a certain moment) - it's the ITI (Integrated Thematic Instruction) model, initiated by Susanna Kovalik.

In the meantime, I struggle to keep up with the work on this course. I am reading for more detail about the ABCD model, as it is something brand new for me. At the same time, I have already tested some of the search engines suggested and I am amazed.

That's all for now. I will write again as soon as I have a clear image about what I am working on now.

Week 2 - Just the beginning

A new week has just started and my experience with this course goes on. It's a new challenge. Now, as things started to improve, and as I have a clearer idea about what blogging means, I know it will be easier for me. As for the blog, once again I understood that simpler is better. So, I changed the "face" of my blog, I eliminated some gadgets which at first I considered vital!

I have already got used to writing, I have just started to like it. From a simple reader, without posting comments on any blog, I started to express my thoughts on my mates' blogs, I started to like writing. Even if I am that kind of person who considers communication to be vital, I didn't communicate too much. Now, I'd like to think this is past...

So far (I mean yesterday, Monday) I have been reading about the ABCD model. I must admit: at first I had no idea about it, about what it might mean. I thought it's just an initiation, but after reading very carefully, I understood it's more. I felt as if some sort of light entered my tired mind and everything became so clear...

This model is really (but really!) helpful. Once again, I must admit something: I considered the lesson planning a chore and nothing else. They had to be done. I used to imagine all kind of things and make them objectives - well, only for me they could be objectives. Actually they were nothing but ideas about what I imagined students would have to learn.

As I told you, I read in detail about stating objectives, and goals, and students' needs. I haven't finished yet, but once again everything in my mind became so clear...

Pray for Poland

I express my feelings of sorrow for all the people who died on the plane crash today (Saturday, 10th April) and my sympathy for the Polish people and my Polish friends and collaborators.

Rest in peace!