WEEK 3 - Keyword: Sharing

This past week, I really enjoyed the way we started to share valuable resources around the web.  It is all about creating, editing, sharing and collaborating online. Instead of using the web as passive consumers, we are going to be active contributors of content.

By using social bookmarking, teachers are going to provide active learning opportunities inside the classroom. It is going to improve the ability of students to cultivate autonomy and independence. Teachers as well need to be ready to take the learning process outside the classroom. Creative and critical thinking is going to be enhanced by implementing internet technologies in class.

Teachers as well need to be ready to take the learning process outside the classroom. Creative and critical thinking is going to be enhanced by implementing internet technologies in class.

WEEK 2 - Reflections

This week 2 was a week of discoveries, thanks to my colleagues now I have plenty of resources for my teaching journey. Sharing and exchanging ideas, along with the course itself is a rewarding experience that I am planning to SHARE with my peers.

Now talking about the activities I had to accomplish, I realized that when it comes to using the Internet effectively, students face the following difficulties:

They are not able to evaluate the information they read (on the web, not all information is reliable, accurate and true it also could be untrustworthy, incorrect and false).

They cannot distinguish different types of information (there are essays, articles, testimonials, advertisements. In most of the cases they have to refer to the sources to evaluate accuracy or reliability).

They do not know hot really find the information (search engines help a lot into this point and with specific search engines like Sweetsearch this activity is going to be more productive for students. They are not going to waste their time by searching through millions of web sites that most of the time are unreliable. The sites provided there are supposed to be filtered by educators and librarians. The search on Sweetsearch is understandable, safe and accurate. What I liked the most about it, are its additional resources such as sections for teachers and students, arranged by levels.

WEEK 1 - First Impressions

Well, this was my first experience with “blogging.” And I could say that was not difficult at all and as I start to get into it little by little, the possibilities to use it into my class are multiple and varied. The use of electronic tools and applications are going to make classrooms more attractive, efficient and challenging. Our students are digital natives, fully immersed in technology, our mission as teachers is to accept this digital revolution and take it into our classroom. Students consequently are going to have a more participatory experience in their learning experience, interacting with their peers and accessing to infinite learning resources. Consequently our classroom is going to be an environment for building and sharing knowledge.