Sunday, January 29, 2012

Week 3 - Listening, CALL, Report, Delicious.com


Week 3

The week was busy but very interesting.
First, I created my account on Delicious.com. Here it is: http://www.delicious.com/celinadosanjos
What a fantastic tool, just loved it. I'm still "feeding" it with my favorite sites.
Next,  I had the opportunity to reflect on issues related to Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) and the development of Listening skills. I do like technology, and I do believe it expands learning possibilities. However, technology itself does not guarantee learning. Fine, meaningful activities might do it.
Finally, I read the report by Tendouinde Bruno Nikiema, and felt challenged to face someday a large group and help students improve their skills through an interesting project.
Nice week, it was!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Week 2 - Searching Engines, ABCD Model, Describing a Group

Week 2 passed so quickly! I wish I had had more time to comment on my colleagues' posts and blogs.


Search Engines:
I started the week by trying different search engines, the ones suggested at http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html. It was great, because I realized how limited my searches were when I automatically chose Google and Google only.
I would especially recommend Sweet Search, at http://www.sweetsearch.com/ , in case you are looking for background information on a topic, and INFOMINE if you are looking for "authoritative sites chosen by an expert researcher". Both are user-friendly and seem to be concerned with the reliability of the suggested sources.


Describing a Group:
Although quite easy, the task was interesting as it made me write down information about the group, something that I usually wouldn't do if not required to. The advantage of doing it seems to be linked to a real awareness on who the students are individually and what kind of group they form. Having such a perception will certainly help me choose / create activities that fit their needs and wants.


Task: ABCD Objective


It was literally ABCD for me, I mean, learning from the very beginning. And I feel that it can be considered "infallible": you take into account the Audience (who), Behavior (what), Condition (how) and Degree (how much). Fantastic, useful. I'll try to discipline myself in writing the objective of every new activity.


Thank you all!

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Week 1: Getting started!

This is my reflective blog, part of the Webskills Winter 2012 course.
Creating it was a pleasure and a challenge. It was not easy to come up with a title, and choosing a background wasn't easy as well. I'm not that good with computers, so I had to struggle a little bit in order to reach an acceptable result.
I wanted to show the colors of my country - and they go far beyond the traditional colors of the Brazilian flag, green, yellow, blue and white. I also wanted the blog to look cheerful, so I remembered "chita", which is a very traditional and popular Brazilian cloth. In the past it was used for making women's dresses and skirts, tablecloths, curtains and decoration in general, but nowadays it's almost impossible to see someone wearing "chita". In São Paulo, you will see "chita" dresses and skirts only in São João, São Pedro and Santo Antonio celebrations, which are held in June. Women wear them in order to dance "Quadrilha", a circle dance. However, the presence of "chita" in decoration remains strong.
Welcome to my reflections, welcome to a part of my world.