Hi all,
I really wished this course would offer some help instead of asking us to come up with ideas on learner autonomy or a one computer class. I mean, we have not been able to get the right references that we can go forward on this. I did read the links and researches but i still feel that some pieces of the puzzle are missing.
Maybe its only be thinking like this, but if the course would give us step by step methods on how to use one computer in the class is far more realistic than us practicing an activity that might not even work in our classes and in return turn our students into puppets we are learning through them rather than people we are trying to teach.
I know this is awkward but i felt i had to say it because i really want this course to be a success.
Best.
Hakim Almasmari
Yemen
I really wished this course would offer some help instead of asking us to come up with ideas on learner autonomy or a one computer class. I mean, we have not been able to get the right references that we can go forward on this. I did read the links and researches but i still feel that some pieces of the puzzle are missing.
Maybe its only be thinking like this, but if the course would give us step by step methods on how to use one computer in the class is far more realistic than us practicing an activity that might not even work in our classes and in return turn our students into puppets we are learning through them rather than people we are trying to teach.
I know this is awkward but i felt i had to say it because i really want this course to be a success.
Best.
Hakim Almasmari
Yemen
Hello Hakim,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that this week wasn't as you expected and please allow me to give you my opinion. Although we are all instructors in our daily lives, we are students in this course and as students we need to create something of our own. I believe if these activities are dictated to us or given to us to apply them in our classes, we will forget them as soon as the course terminates. Through these activities all we are involved in active cognitive processes (creating, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and evaluation)...
I hope you will change your mind :)
Sylvia, Lebanon
Dear Hakim,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you and understand your feelings. I wish I could recommend you a paper which would provide you with a comprehensive overview and step by step instruction. Unfortunately, I have never seen such. The point is that these matters are so new that only tentative attempts are being made to comprehend what is going on. And we are here to bring together the bits of the puzzle to see the whole picture.
I think if you just requested some more references at the beginning, out teachers or some colleagues might have shared them with you. I will check what I have available, but it will take me some time. I remember when I was going the course London, we were given a very nice check list on engaging the students. It helped me a lot. If I can't retrieve it, maybe I will try to reproduce it.
Another idea, if you need more references, why not to use Noodle? We were given so many search options, including academic papers.
Actually the idea of the course - I'd like to support Sylvia's opinion here - is to empower us to carry on without your teachers' help. What if you tried this and shared your findings, or asked questions you had?
Let's get down to this issues after we finish this deadline steeple chase, OK?
Dear Hakim,
ReplyDeleteI too can sympathize with your frustration here, but please allow me to add to what Val and Sylvia said.
We are learners here (not students) and our 'instructors' are just facilitators. This course is a good example of what this week learning is about "Autonomous Learning". I believe that your concerns are valid when you were not well prepared to this approach of learning. Saying that, I wish you've raised your concern earlier (maybe you did) I myself or any of your fellow colleague could have helped.
The schedule of this course is quite tight and assignments are heavy and demanding given our already busy schedule and workload. Nevertheless, our facilitator could have assigned you a mentor through out the course or until you got the hang of it.
It is not too late, you can do it. If the suggested readings not enough for you, do your own research and catch on.
Keep going and follow the instructions so you can meet the deadline. Make notes for things to get back to or research further once this course is over so you can complete your own learning cycle at your own pace after.
Best of luck,
Hassan
Hakim,
ReplyDeleteThank you for being sincere and telling your feelings and ideas! The dissatisfaction you feel might help you 'grow' as a teacher!
When one is enrolled into web courses like this, he should understand he would have to study and learn much by himself. When I am not given many links, I use the search engines we were generously provided with sometime during Week 3, if I am not mistaken.
Hakim, and do not worry about the 'missing part of the puzzle' - some things I am going to come back to later, after the course finishes, and I think it is great.
I see many professionals taking part in the course, and the idea of brainstorming has always worked great in any class - traditional or 'webclass'!
And you are a great student of the course! Sometimes I find difficult commenting other people's posts in blogs. Your post evoked a storm of feelings and thoughts in me!!
THANK YOU and GOOD LUCK!!!
Dear Hakim,
ReplyDeleteI thank you, too, for your honesty in your post this week. I appreciate, too, what the others have already said in reply.
It is a very demanding course, and yes, there are many puzzle pieces still missing. The one thing I'd like to add is that those of us in this course have such very diverse teaching situations. What will work for one will definitely not work for everyone else. Likewise, one resource might be great for Yuliya but not at all workable for you.
I'd say that much of the focus of the course is to make teachers aware of many of the different resources out there that are available. None of them is perfect. No one teaching situation is like another. So with that in mind, we want each teacher to look at his or her very particular situation and determine what might work for him / her.
With the discussions on Nicenet, we hope that you and all the participants will be able to share with each other and help each other. I think you have all done that, too.
I hope this helps you a bit. I really am glad you spoke up. You know you can always email me, too, if you have questions or problems!
Thanks for sharing,
Jodi
Hi Hakim,
ReplyDeleteAs I was blogging Sylvia's mail, I came up with some comment about you. I was very curious to log in to see what you have posted!
I appreciate your frankness, but I think there's a point behind this scheme. When you explore things yourself and work hard to do so, you'll gain knowledge. This is an example of enhancing autonomy in class. The learner has to explore the material especially that lots of ideas we are explored to. The problem is that you need time to explore them. Maybe late on, when there are no more due dates, and with the help of all the class's ideas and suggestions, you'll change your mind and find the experience of autonomous exploration very rewarding.
Remember, all th people are sharing daily with lots of encouragement and support.
Above all, Jodi and Sherie are very helpful. According to me, I e-mail her many times when I'm stuck and she's so patient to give me step-by-step instruction.
Hope that things improve in the last three weeks with the course.
I understand you a lot because I've become very frustrated many times specifically yesterday, when I post a comment of help on the wiki page. However, I take the benefit into consideration and proceed to learn and learn to be able to instruct the digital learners of the 21st century in an effective way.
I truly wish you the best of luck.
Where's the smile on your face?
Best regards,
Nihmat, Lebanon