Week 10 UO Winter 2014 Webskills for Teachers: Wrap up

Hi everyone,

This post signals the end of the official course span, but according to all the seeds that have been sown, there are many more fruits to come.

I feel satisfied as if when we participate in a rich and well prepared feast, prepared by very special hosts and  shared with  honourable guests. I'm thankful for all the knowledge, energy, time and care that has been offered by Sean McClelland's, all the staff of University of Oregon eTeacher Scholarhip "Webskills" and all the course participants.


Before anwering this week's question, I'd like to paste here what I shared on nicenet regarding: What I've learned:
* how to set up a blog and keep it going for 10 weeks - to be celebrated !
* new approach to websearching tools - way beyond google.
* how to use google docs for collaborative work.
* that webskills is not only about using technology with students in the classroom, but also how to make use of resources in between classes.
* that using rubrics is really worth it.
* how useful delicious is 
* The importance of PBL for learning autonomy 
* How practical and appealing a padlet wall can be.
* How nice  and friendly it is to work with zunal.com
* that my nteractive power poin skills can be improved to a great extent.

* I wish I had invested more time on how to set up a wiki. I really appreciated the way the class wiki was used during the course.

Then - my reflections:

The following topics  were most useful to me: 
ABCD learning objectives + Technology Enhanced lesson plans
Saving bookmarks with delicious
Project-based learning and webquests
Rubrics
Padlet
Learner autonomy and student-centered classes
Teachers resources online

The most successful ones were definitely - rubrics and padlet, besides the many resources online from which I still have much to learn.

The only topic I feel I would have benefited from having presential guidance is interactive powerpoints. I have read so much and yet, could figure out very little percentange of all the possibilities available.

I feel I  would have benefited to see more about: wikis and a bit on how to protect the computer whislt using technology. I had a computer crash towards the end of the course.

I have also  saved some sites to explore in the future - among them - anvill "https://anvill.uoregon.edu/anvill2/". The description on the site is as it follows "ANVILL is aimed at both teachers in traditional face-to-face situations as well as at those who are doing distance or hybrid courses. ANVILL is a research project of the Yamada Language Center at the University of Oregon.  ANVILL is quite flexible, and permits the kind of extra listening and speaking practice that language students need so much."

The topic of Effective Web searches has also been appealing and I feel I still have a lot to learn.

I've saved lots of teacher's resources online shared to keep exploring them in the future. 

This week, while working with technology integration frameworks: "http://www.k12.wa.us/edtech/techliteracy/techinttiers.aspx" and "http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/matrix.php"
I felt motivated to keep the assessment of where I am in mind and keep enhancing my "webskills" both as a lerner as well as a teacher. 

During week 1 we were asked to share a quote, I'd like to end the programme some:

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world.” – David Warlick

Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought, or an event. – Heidi-Hayes Jacobs

And finally:
"What we leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what's woven into the lives of others"
Percicles.

With deep gratitude,

Juliana