Overview of the E-Teacher Course Work

(OVERVIEW) REFLECTIONS IN WEEK - 10 

It had been a startling start for me to get through the intricacies of webskills and teaching skills via UO. I was afraid then, I was holding myself high to penetrate through the webskills techno-savvy approach of UO.  Learning this E-Teacher (Building Teaching Skills through Webskills)   through University of Oregon, U.S.A., is relevant to my own further academic enhancement and it will enrich me with the global demand of raising better human capital well-versed in English language both as a teacher and as a student.

First I opened my classroom discussion account, but I was initially stuck up with blogger. I named it –http://extaxsieinelt.blogspot.com/ - Webskills in ELT.

Incorporating Technology via Blog

The teachers are nowadays quite conversed with world-wide web services for their teaching learning interventions. Even the faculty and students do not lag behind in developing their interpersonal relations through networking on social sites like Face book and Twitters and teachers use blogs or their own domain websites to post their profile updates or their achievements. It is also found that teachers of the respective departments post their yearly schedules, action-plans, feats etc. to highlight the progressive potentiality of their colleges. These days students and teachers are sufficiently knowledgeable to surf NET for procuring study material, application forms for admissions, job opportunities, examination papers, sample lessons etc.

The E-teacher Online Scholarship Program, conducted by American Institute of English, Depatment of Linguistics, University of Oregon, Eugene will help the ELTs to study that to what level the interaction on the websites can be used for creative skills in teaching and learning activities in colleges for ELT. It would focus on the usage and application of language skills to create environment in the classrooms as well as to develop the sense of receiving and transmitting education to students. It would explore the resources available at E-Libraries or at E-journals to enhance teaching strategies. It would bring out the prospects of information knowledge processing in professional ethics.

The E-teacher Online Scholarship Program, conducted by American Institute of English, Depatment of Linguistics, University of Oregon, Eugene will help the ELTs to study that to what level the interaction on the websites can be used for creative skills in teaching and learning activities in colleges for ELT. It would focus on the usage and application of language skills to create environment in the classrooms as well as to develop the sense of receiving and transmitting education to students. It would explore the resources available at E-Libraries or at E-journals to enhance teaching strategies. It would bring out the prospects of information knowledge processing in professional ethics.

Oral-Aural Skills

Through TELL and CBT various multiple capabilities can be instilled, while holding student-centered classroom activities. These innovative, interactive and integrative English Language Oral Practice Modules, many kinds of multidisciplinary and literary activities can be framed. In teaching drama we can evolve oral skill interventions in this way - To let the students to introduce their assumed character chosen out of the play (an individual and group/peer activity);- To speak one of the dialogues of the assumed character from the play (role-play);- To predict the event or the action that could happen if the character had done/not done so (Future-Teller); To speak in alphabetical order the adjectives written for the characters in the play by the playwright( game-activity); - To ask students to get from web the pictures that relate to such characters in the play and speak a few sentences for each picture (individual and group activity).

According to me some of the significants motives must be:

- To know about our inner dilemmas.

- To know ones' attributes that confirms how much we are dynamic   and hard-worker to feel and accept the change.

- To excavate the inner strengths quickly.

-To display our thought-process in demanding and in eye-catching way,  even though it reflected our simplicity or ignorance of our expression.

- To solve the intricacies of exploring web-possibilities for the interaction purpose

 -To prepare new models for ELTs is no doubt interesting and intuitive but these ideas do need lot of reorientation as regards computer and internet being used for learning webskills.

Action - plan for lesson in classroom with multicultural-setting

- An Indian poet's collection of poems may be used for pedagogic study as regards ELT studies. Generally poems give lot of information such as -backdrop, history, social conditions, psychology, the kind of people or characters, geographic locations, besides linguistic variations consisting in it. Then other exercises can be planned out as regards the comparative study in the poems of the same poet.

Non - Native Speakers of EFL

Every learner has its own culture which he carries into the language learning classroom and teacher has its own cultural background because of his experience, language education and knowledge or because of his being migrant to the other place from his native place, so his teaching process may vary with the language-performers and language –learners. Learner has the knowledge of his mother tongue and his culture when he comes to learn the target language or second language, which is English. It is important to note that English language has its own entity and learning process.

Experts of EFL and in ELT for ELF and EAP

Similarly teacher is supposed to adopt such strategic pedagogic interventions so that students become familiar with the second language with ease and comfort, and the acquisition process turns into a coordinated and cooperative learning. Effective learning can take place only when amalgamation is established between the first language and the second language. Collaborative and cooperative learning process should be emphasized so that the learner becomes more and more interactive and he develops his productive and receptive skills.

ABCD Model of Teaching

In response to the reading material provided to understand the ABCD model of teaching and learning theory, I intend to illustrate this with the fact that any model that is developed either as verbal or visual clue to extract information from the students, we have to see that there should be no communication barrier. For this every unit of our lesson-plan must be social in nature, promote response to stimulus, relate to surroundings of the learner, the nature of lesson -plan should be cognitive, psychomotor and affective. To generate effective learning, all oral teaching should aim to  enable the learner to at least first express logical vocabulary to the verbal/pictorial stimulus; second when identification is over, then it is to be related to memory or understanding because that results into conditioning and behavioural changes. The interactive web can be a resourceful tool to the present generation of multilingual society to evoke perception, identification, selection, recognition and expression.

The appropriate motives of application in ELT

It is only possible when teacher forgets his own role of a supervisor/controller rather he/she too moulds his teaching interventions as if he the first primary learner out of the disseminated information done by the students. The perspective of language teacher education in contemporary classroom is comparatively much difficult to prepare lessons plans because today the learner is far richer in the knowledge about social milieu through new media and media literacy. Similarly the instructor is to play the role of mediator rather as teacher or as the supervisor rather as the philosopher to instill problem solving outlook among the learners, as the present age is more scientific, technical, informative and communicative. Therefore the perception towards language teacher education is to be reformulated and redesigned in order to bring not only the autonomy in learners' engagement to the text and context in the classroom; but also to reestablish the verbal culture of teaching EFL as ESL in the varied categories of learner's engagement in classroom, in day to day conversation and in official language as required either in public sector or in the corporate sector.

Pragmatic use of Web Search Engines

Julia Dong's research article on the study of “The Employment of CALL in Teaching Second/Foreign Language Speaking Skills” published in the Post –Script Volume 3:1 (July 2002) presents the research study on computers, software packages and networks that help in providing a number of ways to assist language learning.

She suggests that CALL applications and techniques have become now a model in virtual arena of classroom teaching for ELT purpose. These make available to us the various resources via internet, web - study materials and spontaneous feedback. It also procures for us the effective packages for searching the pronunciation, sentence utterances, vocabulary-building, listening-speaking audio-video materials, transcripts for assessing writing and reading skills etc.

She says that presently CALL is used for two purpose as according to Pennington's Model of approaching the ELT i.e. mechanical (productions of sound patterns) and meaningful (grammatical sentence utterances) aspects. But she alleges that such applications of language skills are useful in bigger classrooms for higher education sector where learning and teaching happens via SLIM (Multimedia Interactive Linguistic Software). But at the lower intermediate and intermediate level where the speakers are from multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary situations there the CALL applications need to be authentically contextualized in a more specific, effective, in real human language way.

She has discussed advantages and disadvantages as regards CALL. She says that memory level of computer needs to be increased to load the CALL applications and programs for ELT purpose and secondly the realization of target language needs to framed for “the use of the specific potential of computers in developing speaking skills and effective teaching with the existing computer-based environment that require further study for CALL researchers, program designers and language teachers”.

Assessment tools and rubrics

I have found extremely fruitful and cultivating these fertile web-tools, web-engines and web-technology and web-protocols in order to update my traditional knowledge with fresh and novel talent and creativity.

It has added in my store of knowledge the assessment skills via net i.e. Rubrics, Rubistar - Recommended Internet tool for creating rubrics: RubiStar. Sign in to save your rubrics. http://rubistar.4teachers.org/ and assessment scales to be understood from Alternative learning; alternative assessment:http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/assessing/alternative.htm/.

These sites have helped us to assimilate teacher's evaluation methodology in the PBL so that there may be validity, motivation, accountability, and responsibility on both learners and teachers' part.

These potentials of testing teaching and learning yet to be executed in India especially in the suburbs of all big cities and even in small cities and remote areas. Secondly the teachers in India only at CBSE level are integrated with CBT or TELL. The students at higher education level i.e. in metro business schools do undergo such kind of testing, teaching and learning approaches that coordinates all this web system.

The PBL, Assessment and Rubrics as according to your discussions and your enhancing lesson plans make me understand that the PBL is one of the emerging heuristic way to adopt inductive and deductive process of knowledge and to disseminate and expand one's information. Assessment has two way process – (1) continuous assessment and (2) alternative assessment. It means that while-working activities in class for reading. Speaking, listening and writing sets teacher to task of continuous assessment and supervision as well as controlling the student work as per the requirement of behavioural and degree of development skills in ELT. Second one i.e. alternative assessment suits for PBL or post-based behavioural and development of skills in context of psycho-motor and affective skills when students learn individually and collectively to connect and apply their learning in contextualize sense and in comparative sense. This alternative assessment is subsequent to continuous assessment i.e. cognition results in comprehension; comprehension leads to interpretation; interpretation derives inference/information; inference enables self-regulation or critical thinking. Basically assessment is a tool to motivate, to reinforce and to develop the areas of students' performance where there is lack of accomplishment as regards as PBL.

Web-based access and tools – replacements for ELT practice & learners’ autonomy

We have been able to create web-based replacements for the audio and video through ANVILL provided by - anvill.uoregon.edu. ANVILL is facilitated with a microphone and / or webcam, a modern browser and Adobe's Flashplayer.

Crossword weaver.com enables us to frame English language Vocabulary - Building exercises by way of puzzles, quizzes etc.

Webquests.com is another source of designing and loading profile portfolio along with the latest updates of files of lesson plans posted on this site through Documents or Desktop of one's computer.

http://www.dvolver.com/live/movies/

In order to enhance the English language lesson plans by integrating tradition and technology

the below given links showcase the ELT web-based practices: http://www.ehow.com/list_7187747_technical-tools-aid-educational-objectives.html/

http://www.ehow.com/video_5103554_teach-english-through-films.html/

http://www.ehow.com/video_5103551_teach-english-pronunciation.html/

https://www.eportfolio.org/projectbuilder/projects.cfm/

Multiple Intelligences and learners’ autonomy

We have been offered the reading material that completes the appetite with the dessert for learning or building teaching skills in the form of thinking about the activities related to multiple intelligences implied through various web-tools, web-applications and web-engines in ELT.

I went through the various student projects and lessons based on multiple intelligences ideas, I felt that ELT has immense scope to underline the fact that many disciplines can be coordinated with one faculty while teaching. Secondly many applications can be used in teaching and learning one discipline. Thirdly many teaching theories can be practically related to ELT if an educationist or teacher wants to address his/her learning style for pedagogical goals in context of non-conventional patterns to engage students. Fourthly the teachers comes across ethnographic variations inspite of being given homogeneous classroom situations, then the practices of integrating technology in class avoids classroom conflicts and rather “it gives place to classroom environment, previous background, motivation, gender and multicultural issues that greatly adds quality of learning”(Mc.keachie, WJ.,1995).

Theories for Teaching – Models in ELT

I have come across in the reading materials that Learning Style Models can offer us a range on strategies for making our teaching sensitive to the important issues they raise.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - suggests that an individuals' personality profile is identified along four dimensions: orientation to life (introvert/extrovert); perception (Sensing/intuitive); decision-making (Thinking and feeling); and attitude to the outside world (judgement/perception). It has all to do with gender difference also., therefore gender dominated disciplines can pose problems for students in particular; similarly students of other disciplines may be sensitive to what they see as over-emphasis by the other gender in particular.  So it is necessary to set first of all the dichotomous dimensions in the learning modes of disciplines, so that "the educational process has the potential to amend the gap in capabilities between these groups of students".

Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model posit three dimensional additions; Input (visual/verbal); Organization (inductive/deductive), and Understanding (sequential/global. The theorist suggests that the contemporary belief is " that organizations increasingly looking for multi-tasked oriented people who can integrate multidisciplinary teams and get across the concepts of one field to the other disciplinary knowledge-bases.

For example I am teaching literary theories of English Literature - in order to be global I need to search abstract common universality experience in the theories of English literature; in order to be intuitive I need to search examples while delivering theories abstractly in the class by way of novels, plays, poems to connect theories of English Literature; in order to add visual descriptions and to supplement verbal information I need to illustrate concepts of theories with pictures or sketches/diagrams; in order to be deductive I need to interpret theories while reading the text of poems, novels, plays especially in relevance to the prescribed courses of syllabi at post graduate level of English Literature.

We are providing time for both student and teacher  participation when he reads the text or enact it and when he tries to reflect on the text we give time to present the material according to his perception or point of view.  Grasha - Rechman Learning Styles are pragmatic, practical and provide comfort zone to students because they provide models that are based on students' responses to actual classroom activities rather than on a general comprehensive assessment of personality or cognitive traits.

They focus on competitive/collaborative and dependent/ independent learning style typology based on demographic characteristics of classroom environment.

Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever

In 1989 Johnson Foundation set seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. These principles were created in view of the new communication and information technologies used in higher education for teaching and learning purposes. They are instructional strategies to support multiple capabilities that happen on account of web-access, web-tools, web-applications and web-search engines to continue vividly and interestingly in multi-cultural setting various classroom activities for student-centered PBL.

It focuses on:

1.      Student-faculty contact

2.      Share useful resources

3.      Augment face-to-face contact in and outside class meetings

4.      Strengthen faculty interactions

5.      To discuss values and personal concerns in writing than orally

6.      Opportunities for students and faculty to converse and exchange work

7.      To interpret what has been said and compose a response

8.      More intimate, protected and convenient communication on virtual arena for shy learners

9.      Responding to others, improves thinking and deepens understanding and sharing as well as involvement

10.  Working relationships and team-building to ‘learn the plumbing’ and solve the problems

11.  Active learning, learning by doing, time-delayed exchange supported with ‘worldware’ i.e. software

12.  Provide feedback and the feedback inherent in simulations.

13.  Portfolio evaluation strategies, rich storage through book-marks available in web-resources

14.  Easy access to student products and performances

15.  Dramatically improve time on task for students and faculty members as regards performance

16.  Communicate high expectations explicitly and efficiently especially when knowing that finished work will be published on the World Wide Web.

17.  Brings different talents and learning styles to schools and colleges.

18.  Self-reflection and self-evaluation

19.  Collaboration and group problem solving

20.  Inspite of the new communication and information through technology, students should move to alternatives and teachers to follow –up variations

21.  Software and technology-assisted interaction should be problem-oriented, relevant to world-wide issues and that evoke student motivation

22.  User friendly hardware, software and communication methodologies for effective and efficient purpose

23.  Institutions to improve educational infrastructure, amenities and teaching learning practices.

Frameworks for professional practice

 Based on the Levels of Teaching Innovation Framework (Moersch 1995), the LoTi Teacher Evaluation system emphasizes authentic student-directed outcomes as part of a sustainable and collaborative continuous improvement process for increasing observable student H.E.A.T. (i.e., Higher order thinking, Engaged learning, Authentic connections, and Technology use). http://loticonnection.cachefly.net/global_documents/LoTi-Evaluation-System-Flyer.pdf/

The LoTi assessment has undergone extensive research over the past 20 years and has emerged as a statistically-valid tool achieving (1) content, (2) construct, and (3) criterion validity; therefore proving that the LoTi assessment can be used to accurately diagnose instructional uses of technology and recommend professional development priorities consistent with 21st Century Skills and the NETS-T and NETS-A.


Loti Digital Age Survey- 


I have filled my survey to check myself to be at the level of Instructional leadership, but due to my contrary academic growth, I showed myself as doctorate in English, but to teach at multiple level of grades, I need lot of Webskills and technology learning input. The survey results show me to be good at student learning  and creativity because I am myself is always the learner, so I may be creative but it suggests certain criteria to be followed-up in order to be at leadership level in the Web-technology.

Results were for Instructional leadership:-


Digital Age work and learning 50%
Digital Age learning Experience and Assessments - 60%
Student learning & creativity - 80%
Professional Growth and leadership - 50%
Digital Citizenship Responsibility - 60%


Recommendations to learn through weblinks :-

Digital Age Work and Learning

http://www.atomiclearning.com/
http://www.educationonlineforcomputers.com/
http://www.techtutorials.net/
http://www.cbtcafe.com/
http://tech.tln.lib.mi.us/tutor/welcome.htm/


Digital Age Learning Experience and Assessments

http://www.loticonnection.com/index.php/staff-development/teachers/264-using-digital-age-best-practices
http://www.loticonnection.com/index.php/products/services/318-heat-online-courses

Student learning and Creativity

http://www.loticonnection.com/index.php/products/services/318-heat-online-courses

Conclusion

I am indebted to be aware of the explorations of wed- research resources to enhance technology use as regards technology training methods, evaluation, and their integration to use the teaching plans with effective, interactive , multi-dimensional and with intelligence capabilities.

With Best Wishes and Great Future Prospect ahead!

Dr. Jayshree Singh

Udaipur

.