Monday, February 24, 2014

Khan academy can be useful to me as a teacher

                                                Khan academy can be useful to me as a teacher

What is Genetically-Modified Food?





Using Adjectives to Compare

 

 

 

 

I think khan academy presents science and math lessons but I don't know if  these lessons are a part from  our curriculum .  Secondly,  suppose our students watch these videos , I think the problem here will be the language . English is a second language in governmental school the students learn English at school only and  don't use it in their daily life so it will be an obstacle for them to understand the videos.  It will be useful for experimental and international schools but not for the most schools in Egypt.  So we can say it will be for the elite students. I think teachers  have an important role  in  facilitating  this process . They can benefit from other teachers' experiences  and  their methods of teaching  .

 

                                                            Is it the only tool or one tool ?
                                                                  '' The magic bullet''
Any country  relies on education as a means of  its progress , however, the situation in Egypt is different. Our culture of learning focuses on memorization as a means to get high grades and succeed . The Egyptian standardized assessment in education system ignores any chance of mind opening, students' interests, and their different needs. As a result , they graduate without understanding the main core of learning. I think with these generations we won't have a bright future. So, what is the solution?
We need to create a new generation of critical thinkers, information seekers and future leaders able to solve problems and  be creative .
How?
- Changing the culture of traditional teaching and learning.
- Having hope in future.
- Being  optimistic.
- Liberating the learning process in Egypt.
- Promoting a culture of knowledge - sharing  via the internet.
- Providing knowledge information in an attractive , innovative method.
- Facilitating learning in all fields for everyone .
- Easing the learning process .
- Focusing on understanding  rather than memorizing.
- Acquiring  the ability to analyze better.
Therefore , I think Moocs and Tahrir / khan academy are all means for achieving these goals.above.
What may we have found useful in Moocs and Tahrir/ Khan Academy ?
- Courses ( moocs) are free ,  have flexible deadlines and they will help me for my professional development by providing free materials  for teachers.
- Access new materials for free and give us new ideas , or new ways of explaining  ideas to students.
-  Using short  videos for explaining  big topics .
- Providing a chance to study for those who can't travel abroad.
- Building skills and solving problem.
Things that are not useful
-  Khan/ Tahrir academy depends on videos as the only tool for learning . So it doesn't inspire them to figure out on their own and learn how to create their knowledge by working  together .
- Doing the real experiments  are useful for building their experience .
- They don't use a lot of multiple representations .
- They don't spend time and energy on the pedagogy of teaching math and science.
- In Khan academy , they use their dashboard to know how many times students rewound the movie or paused it.  They can do it to know how many times students attempted the same problem or to know the answer history to each problem.
- In Moocs , there is no certification, just statements of accomplishment.
- In khan academy or in Moocs , English language is essential so it is hard for non- native speakers to follow them.
- They don't test deep learning.
In conclusion , using Moocs and Khan / Tahrir academy as a tool for learning is vital , however they are not the only tool for learning . I think using many methods is essential in learning process. Videos can be considered  as a teaching aid but we can't do without face to face teaching method . There is a Chinese proverb , '' tell me and I'll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I'll understand''. I think this proverb summarize the learning process in brief.


 




 


Sunday, February 16, 2014

Twitter or face book !

Twitter or face book !


When Dr Maha introduced the role play game, at first, I was at lost. Then, I understood it, oh , it was very easy( was this the feeling of being a student?) .  Again, it was vogue,   when Valentina introduced twitter. I know a little about it as we are used to dealing with the face book. When we face something new, we have the same feeling (obscurity). However, my inner curiosity is very high. I spent the last two days reading and searching about twitter. Last year, Sherif asked us to create an account on Twitter so I did but we didn't use it, we didn't have a chance to know anything about it. My students use the face book and it is a part and parcel of their lives and I have my face book which I use as a social interaction between me,  my friends and my  family. Therefore, we hope we will benefit from this new tool of technology to add something new and creative to us.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

                                                           What I  want to learn !
When  Dr Maha asked us that question , I just wondered and asked myself who  are you Elham,  what do you want to do in your future and do you have a plan for it? WOW !
What I want to learn in future for what and why ?
so I have to reflect on myself in an insightful way  and think about the three words , learning unlearning and relearning .Over  the past two  years , we started this diploma , we challenged ourselves because on my behalf , I teach in  a public school and deal with ordinary students who are not rich enough even to have a smart phone . I deal with a huge number of students in my class everyday in a limited time. So, my goal was to find a better way to benefit my students by using technology . In this diploma, I learnt new things that I wish  I could use them with my class such as : blog , Glog, podcast,  how to make a video, how to change power point into video,  e- portfolio and I tried to make a web site. All of these are tools of technology that I learnt and used some of them with my students , however , I feel they are useless . I have an idea about them , it is me , and I just one of many who don't know what I'm talking about and they don't care. I think that is the problem , people don't want to change because they feel there is no hope in changing or future  .   

Fortunately,  I'm not like them , I have my dreams , goals and hopes.therefore ,here are my short term goals:

-How to use assessment in a better way
-How to make a rubric
-What is edmodo and how can I use it
Long term goals 
-How to select and use advanced technology resources as an expert 
-How to integrate what I learnt in my class
-How to help my colleagues in my school