Self-Directed Professional Development

Well, this is the last session for doing CALL 1 assignment during this semester, and I can smile wider and sweeter because of it. I can say that this last assignment is not too difficult. What we have to do is we should join a group that is provided in internet, and than we are asked to comment in discussion forum there, and we must take the screenshoot of it. It is simple, right? so that the tittle of this project is Self-Directed Professional Development.

So, here the example of groups that we can use and join,

• Yahoo Groups
• Google Groups
• One Stop English Discussions
• ELT Community
• EFL Classroom

Beside the tools that mentioned above, we can use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Path, etc. So, there are many discussion forums that we can find in the internet.

Addition, the topic for joining discussion in my project is TEFL/TESOL. So we should look for the discussion forum that talks about TEFL or TESOL. And this is the result of my project.

Class Management

Classroom management is important thing that we should pay attention beside we have to prepare the interesting ways for teaching productive and receptive skills in English. Classroom management involves the teacher, the learner, classroom environment, etc.

There are many technology tools in the internet that can help teachers to improve their classroom environment, such as Engrade as gradebook, teach-nology for making lesson plan, scheduleonce and doodle for scheduling, quizstar and classmarker for creating quiz, etc.

When I am asked to choose three of the tools that are given in session 13. First, I choose http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/lesson_plan/  to help me make online lesson plan. I choose this tool because it provides simple way to make lesson plan, at least I know what I should do in my class with the goals, materials, objectives, and the assessment on a day, and what activities I should do in my class. I choose this tool because it is easy, clear, and simple to use.

Second, I choose http://www.scheduleonce.com/  to manage my important dates, such as when I have to come to the class, when students will have test, when I have such meeting, etc. For teaching learning process, I will use this tool to remind me the dates when I should give the test for my students, such as final exam, middle test, also the day and the time when I have to come to the class to teach them. This tool will help me remember my job as a teacher although there are other activities that I have. 

Third, I will use QuizStar (http://quizstar.4teachers.org/ ) as the media to give quiz for my students. QuizStar has some advantages such as allow students to complete and review, make quizzes in multiple language, attach multimedia file to the questions, etc. I will use this media to make the quiz interesting for students. I can use it for integrated skill quiz. 

Lesson Plan

Lesson plan defined as the preparation of teacher about what he would do in the class. It is detailed description involved instructions, activities, and assignments of the teacher’s plan to teach on a day.

In making lesson plan, we must include:

• Lesson objectives: what do you expect your students to learn.
• Procedures: the activities that should be done by students.
• Assessment: assignment that you will give to your students and the way you mark it.

You can use technology to support your teaching in the class, for example choosing the materials from internet like youtube, presenting materials by powerpoint, teaching using podcast, and giving online assignment through internet.

Here the example of lesson plan about teaching grammar for class X. In this lesson plan, we also collaborate technology with activities in the class.

Topic               : Holiday

Target Students: Indonesian Students learning EFL

Grade               : 10

Allocated time : 1 hour

Description:

In this lesson Teacher will assign student to make some examples and do some exercises about simple past. The class will be in the lab. The activity will be in the form of online game and watching video (videoscribe) about simple past tense. The formula and the function of simple past tense will be shown in video and then students do some online exercises about simple past tense. Students will assign to take advantages of Facebook as a popular social media they have already used.

Objectives:

a.       Students can apply the formula and the function of past tense.

b.      Students can differ between V1 and V2 by doing tasks in the internet.

c.       Students will have practiced make a short paragraph about their holiday and post it to the class group in Facebook.

Pre-activity:

• Teacher makes sure that the projector running well and equipped also with working headphones and microphones.
• Teacher makes sure that all students have Facebook account.
• Teacher introduce the videos and help Students to sign up if they have no account

Procedures:

ü  Teacher will begin the lesson by asking student to mention some verb 2. 

ü  Teacher will show some pictures about verb e.g. eat, drink, etc. 

ü  Tell students to watch the videos about past tense verbs in their screen. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_15Ij_omWc   and  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b4rsDuzThE

ü  Teacher gives some explanations and answers some questions from students if they have any problems about the video. 

ü  Teacher gives a glance of information about simple past tense. 

ü  Tell students to do some online exercises about simple past tense individually and get the score. 

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-simple-past.php#.U4TR03YmTIU

ü  At the end of the lesson, students are asked to make paragraph about their holiday using simple past tense and post it to the class group in Facebook. 

Assessment:

·         Online exercise: (taken from how many correct answer from their online exercise)

·         Make paragraph:

4	3	2	1
Almost sentences use correct grammatical and clear content.	Almost sentences use correct grammatical, but unclear content.	Some of the sentences use incorrect grammatical and unclear content.	Almost sentences use incorrect grammatical and unclear content.

And here is the summary of the language learning activities in the lesson plan using Tiki-Toki media. Click this link.

Teaching Listening Using Podcast

For ESL or EFL students, listening is rather difficult skill, because they must learn to listen the native speaker’s speaking, moreover, sometimes the speaker speaks fast.

Listening is not only classroom activity for language learners, but should also be recreational activity outside classroom. Podcast is an interesting media for teaching listening, beside students must listen to the audio that based on their lesson.

There are many podcasts that provided in internet, which easy to be hunted for and downloaded by students. They can choose which podcast they like and suitable with their level. Podcast also provided various topics that will make students free to choose which topic they like.

In session 11, my project is making my own podcast by recording, it is group work, and the topic is culture shock. So, we are in five doing conversation about culture shock, we must record it and upload it in our blog.

Here is my group work for making our own podcast. Click here. ^^

Skype for Teaching Speaking

Speaking is productive skill in learning English. But, in teaching learning process, productive skills is less used than receptive skill.

As a teacher, we will face many problem when teaching, included when we teach speaking. But, it’s not impossible to try the best teaching to make students enjoying.

So, how to teach speaking in teaching learning process?

We can use our creativity to create something new for teaching learning process that will make students not bored. Moreover, we can use technology to do it.

The example of teaching speaking using technology is by Skype. Skype is a software application that is provided by internet which offer free calling between computers using webcam. Yeah, Skype is the best solution to teach speaking skill. Using Skype, students can improve their speaking ability.

Here, the example of Skype for improving speaking ability. This is my CALL project for session 10. But, the result is not really clear because Skype needs strong internet connection.

Click this link, and check it out..... :)

Teaching Writing Using Google Drive

Writing is productive skill, also speaking. Even reading and listening are receptive skills. There are many ideas to teach writing skill, such as: note-taking, paraphrasing, blogging, or writing letters, essay, stories, and email. Teaching writing skill will be interesting because nowadays many software application provided by internet that will support students to learn writing skill. Beside, teacher can look for materials in the internet, from the valid source of course.

By collaborating writing skill with technology, students will produce writing online, they can use blog for example. It depends on the teacher’s creativity, what technology that he would use to teach writing skill.

Here the example of teaching writing skill using Google Drive. Google Drive also good source to teach writing. This example is my CALL project for session 9 about teaching writing using online collaborative tool. Our task is produce two-paragraph composition about website that we visit often. Here the result.......

Try to create your own using Google Drive :)

Hot Potatoes and Comics for Teaching Reading

Hot potatoes and comics are the example of media that is used to teach reading skill using technology.

For hot potatoes, it is usually used for the reading tasks. Why using hot potatoes? Of course it is because teaching using technology nowadays is more interesting than just doing some activities in the class.

To make reading activity using hot potatoes, first, you must download the HOT POTATOES software (click this link to download it), and then you can make reading activity using it.

For comics, it is usually used to make the reading materials are more interesting and unique for students. For creating comics, you can choose one of these tools:

·         Toondoo

·         Chogger

·         Pixton

How to use these tools?

You can click one of the tools above and then sign up for free. After that, just follow the instruction how to create your comics.

My project in this session (session 8) is about making hot potatoes and comics for teaching reading skill, this is group work, and the members are the same as the project in session 5 about making mind mapping.

So, here are the result of our projects in making close reading activity using hot potatoes and making comics.

Here the result of Cloze reading activity using hot potatoes

And here the result of comic

Integrated Skill

(a poster about integrated skill)

Integrated skill is integrating more than one skill or all four skills in English (reading, listening, speaking, and writing) in teaching English. Before integrated skill, traditional ESL or EFL course using segregated skill.

Segregated skill is segregating language skills into reading class, listening class, speaking class, and writing class. Segregated skill assessed not suitable to be used in teaching because it only focus on one skill, so students cannot use language in meaningful way. Or in other word, segregated skill is uncommunicative.

While, the integrated skill considered more appropriate to be applied in teaching because language is used as a means of interaction, rather than an academic subject, and it is communicative.

Here some advantages and disadvantages of integrated skills:

Advantages:                                                                               

·         Language is taught in communication

·         Easy to use language in a meaningful way

·         Language is as a means of interaction than academic subject.

Disadvantages:

·         Students ca not focus on one skill at a time

·         Students cannot develop the skill that they have not mastered yet.

( The advantages and disadvantages is adapted from http://www.cenarestgabon.org/advantages-and-disadvantages-ict-integration-in-the-classroom.html )

So, which one would you choose when you are teaching? Segregated skill or integrated skill?

For me, I will choose integrated skill, moreover, now there are technologies that can help us to facilitate learning.

What is the role of technology in teaching integrated skill?

Yeah, technology can be used to teach integrated skill. The role of technology in teaching integrated skill is as the learning media. For example, teaching using Skype. By using skype, we integrate three skills, listening, speaking, and writing (note-taking).

Blogs in Teaching

What is blog? When it arise?

According to Merriam Webster dictionary, blog is a website on which someone writes about personal opinions, activities, and experiences. Or, other definition is a website that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.

Blog for the first time was known as homepage. It was created by Justin Hall in 1994. See this Link.

In 1997, the term ‘weblog’ was coined by John Barger. The term was created to reflect the process of “logging the web” as he browsed.

1998 marks the first known instance of a blog on a traditional news site, when Jonathan Dube blogged Hurricane Bonnie for the Charlotte Observer.

1999 weblog is shortened as “blog” by programmer Peter Melholz.

And nowadays, there many kinds of blog that were created. Such as Blogger, Wordpress, Edublogs, Tumblr, etc.

(Adapted from The History of Blogging )

How to use blog for teaching and learning?

Generally, we can say that blog is an online diary, where people can write whatever there up to them. Beside, using blog they can also upload pictures or videos. Blogging is joyful activity, and most of people like it.

Teacher can use blog as the media of study, beside students have to come to class, receive knowledge, and participate there. Blogging is joyful so that students will like it. With blog, teacher can ask students to post their assignments, making summaries, making daily journal using English, etc. Also, teacher can ask them to comment their friend’s blog post. 

Blog in teaching and learning here is as other way for learning that will make students not bored. Yeah, blogging is as interesting as Facebook, twitter, and other social media.

We know that everything has positive and negative effect, same as blogging for teaching-learning, but if we can manage it well, it will have benefit more than the disadvantages.

Some advantages of blogging are:

·         Students enjoy blogging

·         Using blog make learning independent of time and place

·         It promotes their communication skills

·         It emphasize the test and learn, and “learning by doing” strategies instead of “plan and execute ones.

·         It gives a chance for shy students to participate with their peers and get their voice heard

·         It fosters the development of writing and research skills as well as digital skill

·         Blogging help teachers develop professionally

(Adapted from Ultimate Guide to Use of Blogs )

Mind Mapping

The easiest definition of Mind map that I have searched in the internet is from Wikipedia. Mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information. It is often created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank landscape page, to which associated representations of ideas such as images, words, and parts of words are added. Other definition of mind mapping is a simple technique for drawing information in diagrams, instead of writing it in sentences. The diagram always take the same basic format of a tree, with a single starting point in the middle that branches out, and divides again and again.

Mind map can be used for both teacher and students. The advantages of mind mapping such as for taking note, presentation, and making easy to memorize the lessons.

How to create mind map using technology?

To create mind map is as easy as you make timeline which I posted in my previous posting. You can use a web-based mind map tools such as:

•  POPPLET 
• COGGLE 

Just choose one of those two tools, and then you can create mind map using technology. To shorten your time in making mind map, before, using search engine, such google, yahoo, youtube, etc, you can look for the materials that you will put in your mind map. When you make mind map using technology, you can just give the link of the materials and the title in your mind map, just click it and then you can directly visit the link.

Here the example of my mind map in CALL project, it was group work, so I didn’t do it alone. This mind map is about resources that can be used in teaching or learning English such as: grammar, listening, speaking, reading, writing, and vocabulary. This mind map maybe seems complicated because too many materials included. You can create as simple as you need.

Happy trying.... :)

Timeline

Well, the next material in CALL 1 subject is about “CALL and its development”. The project is making timeline about the history of CALL. Do you know what timeline is? Timeline here is not like facebook or twitter timeline. But, according to business dictionary, timeline is line drawn on a suitable scale (days, months, years, centuries, and eons) on which key historical, planned, or projected events and periods are marked in the sequence of their occurrence.  Other definition of timeline is a graphic representation showing the passage of a time as a line.

Timeline is useful for teacher to teach such history, it’s like new face and new way to make your teaching more interesting. Using timeline, you and your students will easily remember the important dates and events.  And for making timeline, you can use one of the web-based timelining tools below:

·         http://www.tiki-toki.com/

·         http://www.timetoast.com/

·         http://timeglider.com/

·         http://www.dipity.com/

How to make timeline using these tools?

It’s easy. Just choose one of these tools, and visit the link, then sign up for free, and you can start to create your first timeline. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time in front of your computer for making timeline, before making it, you can make a note what will you write in your timeline, or in other word you can prepare your materials first.

In my project, I used tiki-toki to make my first timeline, but it was not too beautiful and interesting because I didn’t use the options that are provided the timeline tool well. Yeah, I was confused at that time. But, I am sure you can make better timeline than mine. And here is my timeline.

The web-based timelining tools above provide many options to make your timeline seem beautiful and interesting, like background colour, shape, font etc.

In conclusion, timeline is useful for teacher to teach certain subjects and also useful for students, because teacher can make the materials become simple, and students can easily remember and understand the materials. Moreover, it provides attractive appearance.

So, just try to make timeline and your teaching will be more interesting for your students. Happy trying ^^

Technology in Education

In this 21st century, technology has developed very rapidly, and it becomes very useful for all people in this earth planet. In education, technology also useful for both teachers and students. As Sheryl Nussbaum Beach said, “teacher will not replaced by technology, but teacher who don’t use technology will be replaced by those who do”.

So, if we are teacher, we should integrate technology into education, because it can make the teaching learning process more interesting for teachers and students. For example, students are not bored with the activities in the class, and teachers make their ways in teaching simplier with technology.

Everything has two sides, bad and good. So does technology in education. Technology in education has many advantages, such as it will help students to improve their learning (yeah, because they can access to the internet what they have not understand yet about their lesson), they can also search other references or something else to support their learning, they can share their knowledge with their friends in the different places easily, and they can create something new based on their creativity through technology. So, technology helps students to learn independently and to be creative person.

But, the disadvantages or the negative effects of technology are: first, technology can distract students to learn, because usually they use it for playing games, as we knew, now there many online games are provided in the internet. Second, usually students also use internet for facebook, twitter, or another social media, and reading web pages that are less important and not related with their lessons, the effect, they can fail during the test. Beside, students who addict on technology (gadget for example), will ignore people around them, included the teacher, because they concentrate to their gadget. More, when they get assignments from the teacher, they also can look for the answers in the internet, and then they just copy it down word for word.

For the complete information about the advantages and the disadvantages of technology in education, you can visit this link and watch this video. ^^

NETIQUETTE

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “netiquette” at the first time?, what language is it? Me, for the first time heard the word ”netiquette”, I think it is France language or whatever, which certainly is not English or Indonesian language. And when I first time got the assignment about netiquette in CALL 1 subject, I was really shock. What kind of assignment is it? hehee

But, when I started to read it little by little, I began to understand. And now I’ll share you about what netiquette is. Well, let’s begin…….

The word netiquette is a combination of ‘net’ (from internet) and ‘etiquette’. It means respecting other user’s view and displaying common courtesy when posting your views to online discussions groups. This is the definition from BBC. (so, netiquette is a combination of two English words, not France language. Hihihi) 

Netiquette is known as a behavior on the internet. It such rule about what should we do and what should we don’t do when we are using internet. Yeah, of course because the internet’s users are all people around the world, so that we must respect each other. The examples of netiquette when we are using internet, you can watch this video.

Netiquette is important. Can you imagine what will happen if internet’s users do not have netiquette? Maybe it can be such world war in cyberspace. Hehehe. 

The function of having netiquette are; we can make good relationship with other people who also use internet, not insult or ruin one another, beside, by netiquette, we can also avoid misunderstanding in communication among the internet's users, moreover, to support netiquette, many social medias which provide suitable and funny emoticons to describe our feeling as change of verbal communication, so our interlocutors will be easy to understand our speaking. That’s good thing, I think. ^^