This week, week 3, is a lot different than the first or the second week. For
me, this is the real week 1 of this online course because in the first week, I didn't
really have much to do and week 2 was not much of a challenge because I had
plenty of time to read and do the assignments thanks to a two-day break. However,
this week was quite demanding as I have a very tough schedule at school and the
responsibility of a father of two cute teenage daughters. In order to cope with all my chores at home, school and online, it is absolutely necessary to get to know how to manage my time efficiently so as to
honor my commitments. At school, it was a week of tests; the term's final exams. This
means 200 papers to grade for next week. Week 3 was also pressing for we had a
lot to do: to create a delicious page, which I didn't have to do since I
already had one but that I didn't really use very much; to read some articles
about CALL for listening and pronunciation and to explore some skill-building
websites for teacher and learner use. The articles were very informative
but I thought they lacked recency. I mean that since we are dealing with technology which is
so rapidly changing and developing, we could also read about the latest
research findings and developments in technology and pedagogy. The websites,
however, were fantastic. Most of them provided practical lesson plans and hands-on
activities, downloadable audio/video material and photocopiable worksheets. The only
trouble is that most of them were addressed to ESL learners with an American or
British accent. I may be wrong because I have not been able to explore all the
sites but I am sure they exist. Onestopenglish and the BBC are an exception.
Finally, the sample projects gave me a clearer idea of what is expected to do on the
final project. I went through all of them but managed to find only one that is a bit
closer to my teaching situation. Clearly, Week 4 is going to be a tough one both
at school and online but I am more than ready for the challenge. I wish to extend
my sincerest thanks to Donna for her precious help and guidance without which I
would not have been able to write this post today.
Karim
Karim
Hi Karim,
ReplyDeleteThe course gets tougher every week as well as our school commitments. Nevertheless, let's be positive and optimistic - after all, we are not the first international group, all have proved to be committed teachers and if they managed to have such great projects, so will we with Donna's support.
All the best. Greetings from Portugal,
Alex
Dear Alex?
DeleteThank you so much for your encouragements and support. I knew from the start that you were one of the key driving forces in this course. Keep it up! :-)
Muito obrigado
Dear Karim,
ReplyDeleteYes, this week has much to do but you are doing great. The real challenge I understand is your two daughters. The articles included a lot to say especially to people who have little idea about the use of CALL in teaching English, for me I liked tracing CALL from the beginning and I liked having pauses of admiration every two or three paragraphs when my eyes find something really inovative. I can clearly touch the enthusiasm you have, the support of Alex and the true guidance of Donna. This is all wonderful.
Good Luck for you and your students
Ra'ed Egypt
Dear Karim,
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've visited your blog and it looks quite nice to me. I agree with you that weeks 1 and 2 weren't so much of a challenge, but week 3 definitely was. The question of finding the time to cope with our daily activities at work, sharing time with the family and doing our tasks for the course is a hard one, but I hope that in a way or another we will all manage to succeed.
Carlos
Dear Karim,
ReplyDeleteWow, you blog is nicely done. I should take time on my blog . Sounds like you have been efficient! I wish you Goodluck too. I had a same impression of selecting or surfing for the appropriate materials for my class. I teach more of translation skill courses and ESP courses such as business and etc. I do have general -level english course too, so for me, ESP materials were mine and some listening activities from onestop english. Tseeggie/ Mongolia