deryabki: August 2011

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Dear Donna!

What You did with Us? We do not want to tell Good buy to each other!!! This is so sensitive!

...........

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Dear Colleagues and Professor Donna! Thanks to everybody for the course! It was great to know all of YOU and be part of this course! I wish to continue study with My group and dream that we will meet Virtually or somewhere on the Planet. I wish us to recognize each other and support in teaching practice and not only.
I really will miss this course and opportunity to learn together! This chance can be given not often and I am lucky that I could have it!
With Love to everybody! Good luck in our teaching and implementation of the projects!
Natalia

The second project is in realization or how topics of the course were useful for me?

What are the participants’ needs

1. Participants in the group have to improve their computer skills:

9 participants do not have any computer skills

4 participants have intermediate level and are able to work in Microsoft Word Office.

4 participants have a good experience by using computer; they are able to work with Internet and with e-mail. Nonetheless, they do not know the programs that we will work with at the course (wikispaces, delicious, creating Google account, blogger)

2. Participants have to create collaborative environment with each other and improve their collaborative skills between teachers of science from different schools.

3. Participants have to learn about the new ways of teaching.

Issue or problems that technology can help with:

Research question: If teachers of science from Osh and Khorogh are provided with opportunities to use discussion platforms and reflective blog, will they improve their methods of teaching?

1. A lack of motivation of 8 participants to use technology for teaching and enriching lesson plans.

2. A lack of communication between teachers of science to share their working experience.

3. Limited resources at schools (reactive, equipment, models, and so on).

4. Limited access to new educational literature, methodical literature, and news about scientific discoveries.

5. Limited knowledge about using motivational factors for their students at the lessons and after.

6. Simple lesson plans have 12 participants.

7. 13 participants are passive in the school.

What happened and will be in the future

We watched video “Vision of students in 21 century” where students applied to teachers to use technology in the classroom and discussed it.

We watched video with Howard Gardner speech on MI theory and the role of assessment for students with different learning styles.

We reflected orally at the end of each day about what we have done and how can we use it in our school experience.

Participants wrote two reflections in reflective blogs on what did they learn and how they will use it in their school.

We organized the session “the hot chair” for teacher who still didn’t have positive attitudes on using technology. Other participants stated the role of technology and how can we find resources from community, partners, and International organization in order to find them and to use for their projects.

I will organize Professional Development training several times in a year and inter-sectional meetings between teachers. I started the first training from 15 of August to 25 of August. At the training we have learned how to use wikispaces.com, Delicious.com page, created account and opened e-mails, and also opened reflective blogs in Blogger.com. These tools will help teachers to have discussion platforms, “meet virtually”, and write comments to each other and share experience. As the result, all participants opened e-mail account (baktugul.1977@mail.ru; larisabeknazarova@gmail.com; venera.galishina4@gmail.com; kjamila77@mail.ru; nazira.mavlonazarova.76@mail.ru; lolamirzoeva@rambler.ru; nadejdanaymenko@gmail.com; zukova.oksana940@gmail.com; ruslan.raimbekov1@gmail.com; gulsarasatebaldeva@gmail.com; shuhrat1173@mail.ru; aiguzaltoroeva@gmail.com; zardodkhonova65@mail.ru; dildor-gulomnabiev@rambler.ru; erbol2006@gmail.com; volkova.tatyana27@gmail.com; davlat.khudonazarov@gmail.com) ;

opened reflective blog page with filled profile, and addresses of blogs from their colleagues, wrote two posts, and comments to others participants on their blogs (http://asalbegim.blogspot.com/;http://baktugul.blogspot.com; http://veneragalishina4.blogspot.com/;http://jamilaq.blogspot.com; http://naziraumed.blogspot.com; http://saodat.blogspot.com; http://venera2011-venera.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post_21.html; http://oksana-zukova3.blogspot.com/2011/08/ce.html; http://satebaldeva.blogspot.com/;http://shuhratsultanov.blogspot.com/;http://aiguzal.blogspot.com; http://zardodkhonovam.blogspot.com; http://dildor-barcem.blogspot.com/; http://zulya7.blogspot.com/)

3. Different sites with videos and also DVDs were presented to teachers in computer room and in Learning Resource Center. Teachers practiced with the piece of the lesson with using video “Experiments in science”. Teachers discussed how they can use video instead of reactive and models that teachers do not have at schools. At the same time, for teachers at the training we presented through Internet videos, animation, simulation games, and tests videos and tutorial programs that allow practicing without equipment, but improve science skills. In a year, teachers-participants of the course will have opportunity to use resources of Learning Resource Center in Aga Khan School.

4. In a presentation to participants through Google.com we could share the information about searching new information, news of science, lesson plans, and other methodological literature and articles. Teachers found sites that they prefer and saved them as a new bookmark in their Delicious.om page. They used new for them practical skills and will continue to learn how they can search and save information into their Delicious page. At the same time, methodological literature and books for science were introduced to teachers. They also can use it in a school year.

5. We organized sessions where teachers could practice with chemical reaction by providing experiment and asking questions to us (participants, imagine that we were students). Their task was to motivate student to learn the topic and discover phenomenon. Teachers shared their ideas if motivation was existent through the questions and reaction. The session “Interactive and traditional lectures “let participants define lecture, find advantages and disadvantages of different forms of lectures. They discussed that interactive lecture allow teachers to provide feedback and to students be involved in the process actively. Different Interactive videos, Tutorials, and Power Point Presentations were introduced to participants and we discussed the role of such tools in lecture. Through the practical work, participants created their Interactive Power Points and presented them to all auditory. 14 participants worked at the first time with PPT and it was difficult to them to create slides and especially Interactive! Nonetheless, we followed step by step through instruction that Instructor presented and also by individual help to participants.

6. In order to talk about lesson plans, we started this point from learning how to write learning objectives. For this reason we discussed ABCD model and applied it to the lesson plan. Teachers practiced to write their learning objectives and shared by class discussion. It was not easy for the first time to them to use this model and rite objectives correctly, but we practiced it several times. We discussed revised Bloom’s taxonomy and applied it to the lesson plans. Teachers could share with examples of one lesson with application of Bloom’s taxonomy. They disseminated levels of memorization, analysis, evaluation, application, and so on. In addition, we discussed Howard Gardner’ Multiple Intelligence theory, identified participants’ learning styles through surveys in Internet, and discussed the lesson plans with attention to students with different learning styles. In a year, teachers will apply the knowledge and identify learning styles of their students with planning activities for them by using technology.

7. During our training, participants created their project that they will implement in school. They worked in pairs and provided peer-feedback to each other in order to improve their projects. Participants plan project from September to December. At the time of project implementation, participants will share their experience with each other by reflective blog, wikispaces, and e-mail.

When and where I did and will do it?

10 days’ training (9.00-15.30) was organized at Aga Khan School in computer lab from 15 to 25 of August (the first phase of CE course)

September to December (two times in a month) we will meet virtually (with teachers from Tajikistan, and some of Osh teachers who will not have time to come to meetings) and in the school with Osh teachers who have questions or polite experience.

In January we plan to organize 5 days’ training (the second phase)

From February to April (two times a month to meet virtually and in school.

Conference with certification for our participants will be organized in April.

Expected response:

19 participants will open e-mail

19 participants will create Delicious page

19 participants will open reflective blog

19 participants will learn to work in wikispaces.com

19 participants will plan their project and implement it in teaching

Creating of collaboration environment between teachers of science

Enrichment of lesson plans by using Internet, videos, DVDs, and etc.

Assessment

At 10 days’ training, we us the form for evaluation of teachers’ response and participation:

E-mail creating and work through it (possible points 10)

Creating and work in Delicious page (possible points 10)

Work in Wikispaces.com page, comments there (possible points 10)

Creating reflective blog and work there (possible points 10)

Creating Interactive Power Point (possible points 5)

Creating Rubric (possible point 10)

Participation in discussion (possible points 10)

Presentation (possible points 10)

Final Project Plan (possible points 15)

Attendance (Possible points 10)

Totally: 100 points

week 10, reflection

Answers on some final questions:

What topics were most successful? (Most successful topics for me were: “How to blog, ABCD model; Using Delicious; Improving listening skills; Project-based Learning and WebQuests; Interactive Power Point; Learner autonomy; exercise generators; ANVILL; LoTI framework”

Most useful for you? (You can find the project at the next post and analyze what topics were useful for me and you will see that all of them, especially: “How to blog; Web Searching; ABCD model; Using Delicious; Improving oral, written skills, listening skills, and reading skills; Project-based Learning and WebQuests; Interactive Power Point; Learner autonomy; one-computer classroom; exercise generators; ANVILL; learning styles; LoTI framework”

Which tools will you use in your classes? (Nicenet.org; reflective blog; e-mail; wikispaces.com; web Quests; delicious.com; PPT)

Which, if any, do you think were not relevant to what you do or will do? (There were no topics that were not relevant to me)

What other tools might we have covered or would you suggest that we could have looked at?
( I would be glad to know more about Free Assessment tools that I can use for my students or other groups of participants; Pod-casting, video casting, Movie player. I am not sure yet. I am full of information and have to think about this question during my project implementation, when I can see the gaps and problems that I have in my knowledge and skills.)

Friday, August 19, 2011

Howard Gardner of The Multiple Intelligence Theory

Week9, Reflection

It was a week with feeling of missing the course that is close to the end!
We discussed Multiple Intelligence theory by Howard Gardner and concluded that have to pay attention to each individual abilities of our students who learn differently. At the same time, they have to develop Intelligences that not developed well. Group work help us include there students with different MI and except that they can work on the task differently, but the result would be more valuable if they combine their efforts. By knowing this theory and analyzing the process of her implementation, we discussed the role of technology and types of activities that we can organize to our students such as reading and interpreting web information , brainstorming, Webquests, Video and audio recorders, Internet research , blogging, virtual Field Trip - using and creating, email, desktop presentation and so on.
Richard Felder and Barbara A. Soloman proposed another classification of learners: active and reflective learners; sensing and intuitive learners; visual and verbal learners; sequential and global learners. According to this classification, students learn differently by their individual abilities. Some of my web-mates (Jose) prefer this theory and analyze lesson plans by this classification.
These two theories provide to us opportunity to think deeply about the teaching methods, learning objectives, and activities at the lesson. Thanks to Celeste, I could find a survey at site http://www.edutopia.org/mi-quiz" and to check my learning styles that are higher for intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences, and not so developed at this time in visual/spatial (that I am surprised). Will try to use effectively my abilities in work with others and develop other MIs.
Project/Plan: As I wrote before, at this week I could apply my knowledge into teaching practice by project that I am implementing now at Aga Khan School with teachers of science and I fill the posts in the blog about this Professional Development Course ( http://netki11.wordpress.com). Final Project plan for the next implementation with my students in biology class was written during several weeks and submitted at this week for final consideration.
Atanu gave a great idea to find each other on Facebook. If somebody wants it, let’s add each other and contact for the future collaboration!
Thank you to everybody for great collaboration and discussion! Natalia

The second project is in realization!

Today is a 5 day of training that starts from 9.00 to 15.30!
Who are the learners?
Among of participants we have 18 teachers from Osh city and Khorogh (Tajikistan), plus one facilitator from Khorogh who is also a participant at the course. There are 4 men and 15 women with different years of working experience from 5 years to 50 years. The language of our discussions is Russian, but participants have to use English words that appear in mail, in Google, and so on. Two of them teach physics and others biology and chemistry. Seven of them do not have any experience with computer and Internet and have never used it. One teacher does not have computers at school and seven teachers do not have access to Internet at school at all. Four teachers in this group have good experience with computer and Internet and use it in their teaching practice. Eleven teachers have heard about the new ways of teaching and tried to practice them in their teaching experience, seven teachers do not have ideas about the student-centered approaches in teaching. One of our participants is a teacher of physics who also teach ICT. Thus, he is a technician person and a participant of the course in one time. As you see the group has different abilities in using technology, but all of them are science teachers who consider the new concepts of teaching with motivation, based on the Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence theory and Bloom’s taxonomy in designing the lesson plan. Teachers consider the question of using ICT at the lessons and have a chance to practice it during the first phase of professional development in ten day’s training.

What is the setting?
We organize training in computer lab with 25 computers with access to low-speed Internet (Ha!). Demonstration of the steps in practice work with computer I can organize by Projector with white screen board or through Net Open program by using my computer with demonstration on all computers for participants. It’s very hot in the room and we have already a conditioner and cooler with water (That is great!). In the school cafeteria we can provide for our participants coffee-break and a lunch. We are planning to work in the future day in Learning Resource Center with the resources that we have for teachers (books, CDs, DVDs, magazines and so on).

What are the course goals?

To create and facilitate a continuous improvement process that ensures excellence in teaching and learning science so that will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and competencies in their teaching practice.
It has the following specific objectives:
Having Professional Development training, participants will be able to make inputs in re-shaping teaching experience with reconsideration of syllabus by technology use.
• To enhance the PPs pedagogical and content knowledge.
• To help the PPs develop greater confidence and competence in using the newly learnt strategies in the classroom.
• To encourage the program participants (PPs) to reflect and share ideas and experience upon their current classroom beliefs and practices about teaching and learning of science:
• To expose the PPs use of ICT( Internet, CDs, use of web resources, data bases, and computer software) for classroom teaching, as well as for their own learning as teachers.
• To encourage the program participants (PPs) to work closely with other PPs to develop skills and attitudes to work collaboratively with their peers for their further professional growth

What have we done for this period of time?
All of the information about the course and photos with participants you can find on the site http://netki11.wordpress.com . Please, welcome to the site and leave your comments there! The information there is on English and Russian. As you find from the information at web-site, as the result of 5 days’ work participants of the course we could create e-mail account (we did it during a day, can you imagine?!, because the system worked not so well and low-speed Internet didn’t allow to us to work fast). Many of them didn’t try to use e-mail before and still in confusion with writing letters to each other in a group. At the next step, participants created account in wikispaces.com on discussion platform where we have discussion each day (For some participants this is a huge progress to write one sentence, for another is “OK” to write a half of the page-as they differ by their abilities to work with computer). Many of them have learned in two days how to type on computer and what does it mean “Enter”.
We did more: participants could create and open account in Delicious page ( for example: http://www.delicious.com/venera4 ; http://www.delicious.com/ruslan.raimbekov75; http://www.delicious.com/tania11) and after all of these activities some of participants felt that they mixed all of their “pages with usernames and passwords). Thus, today we practiced again and tried to identify what is the difference between them, what are their goals, and how they can get access by “sign in” function. Tomorrow we will have “Exam” (with practical work) and participants after the training today worked individually and in pairs (with my help) to have more practice with Internet access and to pass exam well.
Additionally, we discussed ABCD model for learning objectives and applied it to the lesson plan; news of science and technology and how teachers share with this information and include their students in work with new information through different resources; practicing science skills through experiment with motivation to learn the topic; lesson plan through Bloom’s taxonomy prism; Gardner’s MI theory and how teachers implement it in their teaching practice.
I am going to present information and show how participants can create an account in reflective blog and write posts there. For sure, many of them do not have any ideas about blogging and the meaning of it, nonetheless, during our practice I demonstrate web-site everyday where participants can see their photos and information about the course. Only five participants wish to learn how to work there with deep understanding the value of this for their teaching practice. Will try to explain, but feel myself exhausting...

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Week 8, Reflection

As a part of project work implementation, at this time, I plan two project activities in my school. One of them is for teachers of science from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and another is for 9-grade biology students.Thus, I am searching resource on science firstly that I will use for my projects and practice. This week was very helpful with readings and assignments that were directed on practical implementation of documents, forms, and sites that we can use in our work. Therefore, all of these assignments motivated me to create sites, to practice exercises that I will definitely use in two my projects. As a result, I created class at Nicenet (for 9-grade students); new page in blogger.com (for CE Course); new site in Google (for 9-grade students); new documents and forms in Google; and a new site in http://netki11.wordpress.com/ that I am going to use for my participants of CE course. Isn’t it wonderfully that I am going to change the way of writing reports? I will use just a site where everything would be documented. I was looking for discussion platform and found that I can use wikispaces for that goal. We checked that it’s real can work with Professor Donna and I can invite participants of CE course to visit wikispaces where they can use Russian language too.
There are many resources that I am and my students can use. From beginning to end of our week, I looked through suggested exercises at “Tools for educators”, “Lanternfish”, “easy test maker”, “Crossword Puzzl Games” and found many interesting handouts and cards that can be used in the classroom for my teaching. I love “Technically interesting Hot Potatoes pages” at http://eolf.univ-fcomte.fr/index.php?page=technically-interesting-hot-potatoes-pages. There are so many wonderful examples of Hot Potatoes Quizzes, especially I love quizzes with Interview questions that include audio files and video files. I found that the Web Poster Wizard is very creative site and I can create there different posters. Students also can join this site and make their own posters. All of these sites and exercises I will use in teaching science and professional development of science teachers.
As Administrator at school, I love to explore new for me wiki site http://netki.pbworks.com/w/page/44265088/FrontPage that can be used at school for administration for sharing documents and files. I am going to keep it and work there in a year.
The central part of our discussion at this week was ANVILL, a free Course Management System that is awesome in its using. Teacher who wants organize a course, can create their course and post there materials-files, handouts, photos, videos, and so on. It’s also great with T-cast where students and teachers can post their audio and video messages according to the topic that they discuss. ANVILL is a creative tool that can content stories, slideshows, games, Interactive lectures and students can work in groups, solve problems, answer on the questions and understand the topic naturally by exploring and virtual investigating.
I could practice in formative assessment by providing feedback to my partners on the Project/plan drafts that we created till now. I have learned from my colleagues a lot about writing project/plan and reconsidered some of the sections that I wrote before. I believe that I can improve my plan before due date.
I feel that my knowledge and skills become better and I will be ready at the end of the course to implement my project ideas.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Learner autonomy

Thursday, August 4, 2011

7 week, Reflection

At this week we discussed issues of learner autonomy and use of one-computer classroom. We read the explanation of the definition “learner autonomy’ that is similar to “independence”, “andragogy”, and “self-awareness”. Through discussion with classmates we shared ideas that “Autonomy is a process, not a product (Thanasoulas)” and it dependent on positive atmosphere that stimulate students think, share, discuss, and create. “Autonomy” has to start from school administration then to spread to teachers and students. All of these groups have to allow that “autonomy” is a norm of student work. Students have to work collaboratively in the group, learn how to manage plans, take decisions, and solve problems. The role of a teacher is high, because he/she has to facilitate learning process skillfully. Teacher has to engage students into the process, learn student learning styles, their interests and needs. Teacher has to monitor student success and support him in tasks that he/she can do very well. I remember the example that was provided by my classmate Celeste about the boy who could teach students how to use technology. Student was shy before that lesson but after he gained self-confidence and his classmates “looked on him differently”. Thus, we can see that support of a teacher is a valuable for students who want to feel confidence in a group and in a class. After that, students will work in a group with satisfaction. They will plan the steps on realization of their work and will develop many skills such as language skills, computer skills, group collaboration skills, and presentation skills. Teacher has to provide a feedback to students on time in order to let them know where they succeed and what they need to improve. Samuel P-H Sheu writes in the article “Learner Autonomy: Bird-in-the-hand or Bird-in-the-bush?” that “Richard Smith is right to remind us as teachers of the need to take responsibility for our own teaching development as a part of our professional practice.” Thus, teachers have to share their experience with others, discuss issues, and find solutions with other teachers and administration. In addition, administration has to know that students work in groups, develop critical thinking skills, and teachers use critical thinking and innovative methods of teaching. They have to agree, motivate, and be anxious of success from using pedagogical innovations in learning process at school.
At this week we planned a technology-enhanced lesson plan with one-computer classroom. As I read in the literature about using one-computer room, I understood that even one computer can be used in variety tools such as administrative tool, a presentation tool, a communication station, an information station, a publishing tool, a learning center, a simulation center (http://www.seirtec.org/present/onecomptr.html). Thus, it was a difficult task to choose what I am going to do with one-computer room. I applied my knowledge to a topic on Human anatomy “The respiratory system”, where I will provide a presentation through Power Point Presentation by projector, take an Interactive Quiz, and organize a “Research station “for group work. Students will work there on the question “How does smoking affect the respiratory system?”. I believe that use of technology would benefit my students as they improve their computer skills, research skills, leadership skills, and ability to communicate in a group.
Moreover, we “polish and review” the Plan that I am going to put into practice when the school starts. Students of 9-grade in anatomy class will experience this Plan.
In addition, at this time I create the 2-Plan. What is about? I am going to organize a Professional development training for teachers from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, where I will implement (my second) Plan of my on-line Course. They are teachers from Kyrgyz, Russian, and Uzbek schools. Their ages are different from 30 to 50 years old. There would be 30 teachers who are able to speak on Russian, so training would be on Russian. I will post topics of discussion, photos, and reports on wordpress.com site. I have already a draft of it. The duration of Professional Development Course is one year. The first phase of the course would be from16 to 26 August. The settings are: one room for discussion, with a white board and movable furniture. Another room is a computer room of 27 computers with access to Internet, projector, and printer. Teacher’s needs are to learn how use ICT in the classroom; learn new methods of teaching, discuss assessment and evaluation; share experience, and so on. For my 2-Plan I will ask teachers open e-mail address, create reflective blogs in blogger.com and delicious page. We will discuss issues of science and technology and how teachers can use technology at the classroom through Nicenet platform. We will discuss the role of student-centered methodologies, Interactive lectures, and Interactive Power Point. Also, we will discuss diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment. To asses and evaluate the work of participants, I will use Rubrics and also I am looking for grading on-line system. One of them I found at http://www.smartergrade.com/gradebook/one.aspx . I try to practice it with new class of students (that I design) and by adding types of assessment, and so on. From the first side it looks OK. I am not sure yet if I will use this system, but will try.
Sites and downloads that are useful:
1. How Stuff Works “This is a great place to learn about how things work. Some of the topics are How telephones work, How your immune system works, and Inside a remote control.(http://www.howstuffworks.com/index.htm)”. I could find there puzzles of animals that I can use in my classes http://animals.howstuffworks.com/animals-puzzles.htm
2. It’s very interesting site with “Virtual field trip” http://www.uen.org/tours/ where I can “travel” virtually with my students and discover some new places.
3. ooVoo I installed it again at my computer! I used it before at MSU. This program is a free conferencing tool, it has “computer- to phone” calling service, six-way video calls, business with desktop sharing

deryabki