Week 2 Reflection

I started the second week with the assignment dealing with web searches. I spent most of the first days reading the articles about the Bloom’s taxonomy. I was aware of it but I hadn’t had a chance to read the newest expansion of it with elements from IT. I kept reading about it from different sources since I believe that it is crucial for a teacher of any subjects. I discussed it with some colleagues, and as I expected, few of them knew much about it. There is much talk about educational reforms in Serbia, and the Bloom’s taxonomy ignorance is one of the arguments why it is urgently necessary, in my opinion.

When I continued to the actual web search engines, I discovered a whole new world. It was really interesting and proved to be time-consuming in my case since I kept looking for more resources… it was almost like a game. It took me a while to browse around and see what there is to be found. When I realized that the time had flown, I got down to actually doing the task for the course. It was a very valuable experience for me. It will be very useful for my research and possible projects.

I thought I was good enough in writing course objectives. The ABCD method of writing them is possibly one of the simplest methods I have come across regarding this topic. It is a simple method, but it still deals with organizing your thoughts, so it took some time writing and rewriting. Simple methods do work best but it is a challenge to put words and thoughts together in a meaningful, yet simple manner. Before I wrote them, I had to seriously reflect upon the course project – group of students, task, why, why not, what can go wrong… I do believe that I am on the right track…

Week 1

I have never written a blog before. However, I have read some, from colleagues who are regular bloggers.

It might come as a surprise since I prepare and deliver blended and distance courses that I am not a very confident user of technology. I believe that I am a user, not an expert. That is why each new tool is a bit daunting for me at the beginning and I do my best to master their use. I have had many challenges to that respect, using different tools and platforms for elearning. Maybe that is the reason why I was a bit anxious about the new adventure - blogging.

The instructions about starting a blog were excellent. I followed them step by step - and here I am. It made me confirm my belief that clear instructions are key to successful fulfillment of a task. Confusion and ambiguity must be avoided and it is our role as in-class and online teachers to give clear instructions and expected outcomes from the very beginning.

I do believe that blogs are more than useful when learning, especially when learning a foreign language. Language learners often find themselves in a situation when they use language to perform a communicative task, without having actual audience. That is why I find it to be one of the strongest arguments in favour of blogging.

The article "Blogging for ELT" presents numerous valid reasons for using blogs that are valid for my teaching context. I have been preparing and delivering distance courses for the past six years. One of the biggest challenges that are faced is motivating distance learners to participate in class work regularly. Blogs can be prepared in any time students find suitable, according to their learning pace and learning style. Some of them are morning persons, some of them burn the midnight oil. Blogs provide students with the opportunity to develop both their reading and writing skills. Distance learners at times find themselves feeling lonely in the learning process, it is often next to impossible to make them do pair-work or group work activities. Blogging indeed provides them with a realistic sense that they do belong to a wider learning community. Both blended and distance learners are often shy or intimidated to share their view in class by speaking. Blogs are well-prepared in advance and do serve as tools for overcoming these obstacles. Blogs can be easily included in portfolio assessment, which is already part of the assessment procedure that we are required to use.

All these reasons, along with the fact which I realised upon my reflection of my own experience in creating this blog which is that with clear instructions and step-by-step guidance it is rather easy to create one, make me believe that I should include blogs in the following semester with my students.