Hello!
The time has flown by and we are now finished with the course!
I will miss all of you so much. I wish you the very, very best in all you do.
Donna
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Monday, June 8, 2015
Week 9
The worst is over--the final project or plan reports are in!
Congratulations to everyone for posting them to the wiki so
efficiently.
I'll be reading them this week and next week. I will email you my feedback.
Well done!!
Donna
I'll be reading them this week and next week. I will email you my feedback.
Well done!!
Donna
Monday, June 1, 2015
Week 8
Week 8 has ended, and all course participants have actively engaged in sharing feedback with one another.
I always wonder about how helpful the peer feedback is. I think with adults, peer feedback is very helpful, especially when furnished with checklists and rubrics. I don't think peer feedback is helpful with students unless the feedback is carefully scaffolded. Students really need to understand an assignment's requirements in order to give one another good quality feedback. When they are struggling to understand what is required, the qualify of the feedback is very low.
Donna
I always wonder about how helpful the peer feedback is. I think with adults, peer feedback is very helpful, especially when furnished with checklists and rubrics. I don't think peer feedback is helpful with students unless the feedback is carefully scaffolded. Students really need to understand an assignment's requirements in order to give one another good quality feedback. When they are struggling to understand what is required, the qualify of the feedback is very low.
Donna
Monday, May 18, 2015
Week 7
This week is partner creation! This means that we are nearing the end of
the course as course participants create partners with whom they will
share their draft plan report or project reports! This is an exciting
time because it means that those reports will be due very soon!
Donna
Donna
Week 6
Well . . . this week passed nicely, with a lot of activity. This
week's focus was interactive PowerPoint. When I discovered interactive
PowerPoint, my thoughts changed completely about the usefulness of
PowerPoint. Sitting and watching and reading a lengthy PowerPoint
presentation is soooooo boring. It puts me to sleep. I am constantly
amazed by the poor quality of a speaker's PowerPoint--these are people
who should know better. They feel the need to cram every word possible
on each slide. Bleh!!
I like minimal slides with interaction. This keeps an audience and students engaged and motivated.
To tell you the truth, I tend to judge speakers by the quality of the PowerPoint! If they have a poor quality PowerPoint, I tend to disregard the speaker.
That's my rant for the week!
Donna
I like minimal slides with interaction. This keeps an audience and students engaged and motivated.
To tell you the truth, I tend to judge speakers by the quality of the PowerPoint! If they have a poor quality PowerPoint, I tend to disregard the speaker.
That's my rant for the week!
Donna
Monday, May 11, 2015
Week 5
Well! We are half-way through this course already. How amazing! This 5
week point comes up so quickly. I always like this point because the
course is perking along nicely with everyone knowing what to do and
posting away at Nicenet, adding to their blogs, and participating in a
wonderful collaborative learning community. I am always gratified how
hard everyone is working and how much effort they put into expanding
their knowledge base.
Well done everyone!!
Donna
Well done everyone!!
Donna
Monday, May 4, 2015
Week 4
Well, week 4 is over and I'm just posting to my blog! I'm late--yikes. This course has lots of pieces.
I'm late to post as I spent last night working on the two MOOCs I'm enrolled in. One MOOC just started, and it deals with Web 2.0 tools. It's very interesting, and I'm learning about a lot of tools and resources available on the Internet that I didn't know about--just like everyone in this course.
I'm also completing a 5-week MOOC offered by my program. It was developed by my close colleague, Deborah Healey (along with colleagues Jeff Magoto and Elizabeth Hansen-Smith). This MOOC is called Shaping the Way We Teach English and is available in two 5-week segments. Part 1 is ending in a week, and Part 2 will be enrolling soon. You can do Part 2 before Part 1 (I did). To enroll, go to
https://www.coursera.org/
and search for "Shaping"
I recommend the Shaping MOOCs. They are free and entirely wonderful.
Donna
I'm late to post as I spent last night working on the two MOOCs I'm enrolled in. One MOOC just started, and it deals with Web 2.0 tools. It's very interesting, and I'm learning about a lot of tools and resources available on the Internet that I didn't know about--just like everyone in this course.
I'm also completing a 5-week MOOC offered by my program. It was developed by my close colleague, Deborah Healey (along with colleagues Jeff Magoto and Elizabeth Hansen-Smith). This MOOC is called Shaping the Way We Teach English and is available in two 5-week segments. Part 1 is ending in a week, and Part 2 will be enrolling soon. You can do Part 2 before Part 1 (I did). To enroll, go to
https://www.coursera.org/
and search for "Shaping"
I recommend the Shaping MOOCs. They are free and entirely wonderful.
Donna
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Week 3
Hello Everyone,
Our Webskills course is almost finished with another week. Everyone did such an excellent job last week with their ABCD objectives--which tend to be difficult to write at first--and everyone has done an excellent job with their Delicious pages.
This week we're doing some new and exciting things. I hope that everyone reads the example Project Reports and has a much more clear view of the projects that will be due at the end of the course. I think that seeing examples is very helpful.
One thing to keep in mind when pondering projects is to choose something new to try in your class--a new technology tool that you've never done before. Another thing to keep in mind is to keep the project simple! Don't try to do too much. Although you'll come across many exciting and fun tools, don't try to include all of them in one project. For purposes of the project, just include one or two (for example a class blog or a webquest or a wiki). Don't try to do too much. Once you see how your project goes, you can try other tools in your class.
The new task for this week is to create a Delicious page. I think that Delicious is wonderful and amazingly helpful. Another alternative (and a more powerful alternative) is Diigo. If you find Delicious too simple or not meeting your needs, try Diigo.
I hope that everyone has a great week and learns lots of new things.
Donna
Our Webskills course is almost finished with another week. Everyone did such an excellent job last week with their ABCD objectives--which tend to be difficult to write at first--and everyone has done an excellent job with their Delicious pages.
This week we're doing some new and exciting things. I hope that everyone reads the example Project Reports and has a much more clear view of the projects that will be due at the end of the course. I think that seeing examples is very helpful.
One thing to keep in mind when pondering projects is to choose something new to try in your class--a new technology tool that you've never done before. Another thing to keep in mind is to keep the project simple! Don't try to do too much. Although you'll come across many exciting and fun tools, don't try to include all of them in one project. For purposes of the project, just include one or two (for example a class blog or a webquest or a wiki). Don't try to do too much. Once you see how your project goes, you can try other tools in your class.
The new task for this week is to create a Delicious page. I think that Delicious is wonderful and amazingly helpful. Another alternative (and a more powerful alternative) is Diigo. If you find Delicious too simple or not meeting your needs, try Diigo.
I hope that everyone has a great week and learns lots of new things.
Donna
Monday, April 20, 2015
Week 2 - We're Off and Running!
Hello,
We have finished week 2, and it looks like everyone is working away, busy and productive. The Nicenet discussions are lively and fruitful, and a wonderful learning community is developing.
It always amazes me how quickly a learning community can develop online. Even though everyone is far apart and does not communicate face-to-face, the support and interest that develops is hugely gratifying. I think this is why I love to work with teachers. I think that we are a very caring and curious group of people. Teachers are life-long learners, and it does not matter how far apart everyone is geographically. The unique qualities of teachers know no borders.
The most difficult weeks of our course are behind us, routines are established, and everyone is working hard to complete the week's tasks and assignments.
I LOVE all the photo that have appeared on the bogs! They are incredible.
Yay to everyone!!
Donna
We have finished week 2, and it looks like everyone is working away, busy and productive. The Nicenet discussions are lively and fruitful, and a wonderful learning community is developing.
It always amazes me how quickly a learning community can develop online. Even though everyone is far apart and does not communicate face-to-face, the support and interest that develops is hugely gratifying. I think this is why I love to work with teachers. I think that we are a very caring and curious group of people. Teachers are life-long learners, and it does not matter how far apart everyone is geographically. The unique qualities of teachers know no borders.
The most difficult weeks of our course are behind us, routines are established, and everyone is working hard to complete the week's tasks and assignments.
I LOVE all the photo that have appeared on the bogs! They are incredible.
Yay to everyone!!
Donna
Monday, March 30, 2015
Week 1 - Welcome!!
Hello!
We're off on a great adventure--week one is underway for the spring term. I am looking forward to working with all of the teachers in this course. It will be amazing, interesting, and great fun!
I welcome you to the course, and I hope you enjoy it! Please contact me via email (dshaw@uoregon.edu) whenever you have a question or problem or comment. I'm here to help you succeed!
Just in case you are interested, here are some photos of the University of Oregon and the surrounding area:
Warmest regards,
Donna
We're off on a great adventure--week one is underway for the spring term. I am looking forward to working with all of the teachers in this course. It will be amazing, interesting, and great fun!
I welcome you to the course, and I hope you enjoy it! Please contact me via email (dshaw@uoregon.edu) whenever you have a question or problem or comment. I'm here to help you succeed!
Just in case you are interested, here are some photos of the University of Oregon and the surrounding area:
 |
| University of Oregon campus |
 |
| Multnomah Falls, Oregon |
 |
| tulip field, Oregon |
Donna
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)