Assignment 2 Review of activity, Assessment or Course Design & Proposal for Change

PART A

Review & Evaluate my own learning activity

The Activity Context- The High School in which the activity is taught is located in a poor socio-economic context. - The neighbourhood is situated in the outskirts of the city, so the students have to take the bus or go to school by car. However, this is not usual since the majority of the schools are in the city centre, thus, the pupils can go on foot.- All the students use second-hand books (or recycled ones).- The learners to whom the activity is addressed have computer at home but they do not know how to use the LMS (Learning Management Systems) or Web 2.0 technologies in an educational way. However, they are competent in using the Microsoft Office Tools such as Word or Powerpoint Presentations.

Learning Outcomes for the Activity

By completing this activity, my students will demonstrate their achievement of the following learning outcomes:

1. Improve their writing skills (grammar, spelling and punctuation).2. Be more familiar and practice a Foreign Language, in this case, English.3. Learn how to collaborate with their peers by creating a collective story.4. Review and criticize constructively their classmates work.

How the activity is deliveredThey have to use a specific tool called Edmodo to undertake the activity. So As a teacher I:- Explain in class how to use Edmodo properly. (They are not familiar with it)- Simulate, in the computers’ room, they are doing the activity (writing a simple sentence in a particular space from the tool)Once they know how to use it:- The activity should be done at home, that is to say, online. - The assessment of the task will also be online.

Critique of the effectiveness of the activity

- The task is at first not easy to do by the students, since they are not familiar with Edmodo. - Every pupil has a different level of technical skills required to use the tool, so some of them demand assistance and support.- Some amount of time (two hours, that is to say, almost all the sessions of a week) is needed to learn how the tool works and have a good command of it.- Some of the students are afraid of writing, and they try to confront the teacher by saying they cannot see the importance of using Edmodo to improve the writing skills.

Learning Benefits of the activity- Edmodo is easy to set up, since in two hours my students can master the tool.- The majority of students are familiar with Facebook, so the way the tool works is very similar to it.- Students are more engaged with the contents of the class, since they can interact with their peers.- The pupils improve their writing skills by creating simple sentences freely that will belong to something bigger (a collective and collaborative story).- The learners improve their critical analysis skills as they have to review their peers’ work.

Improvements to be doneIn order to improve the learning and teaching strategies in the activity:1. I should use LMS and Web 2.0 technologies more often in class, because my students feel sometimes lost when they have to use them and they cannot see the relevance of them in the activities proposed.2. More freedom and less guidance would be necessary to the students by creating their own blogs (since the majority of them are quite easy to use) and using Edmodo as a daily and learning tool.3. They should be encouraged to assess their peers, since they are quite teacher demanding, that is to say, “only” the teacher has the knowledge, and thus, the “power” to assess. Under my point of view, this thought is commonly spread and reinforced by the teachers themselves, in order not to lose their authority.

PART B (Based on Part A)

Identify components of my activity that would benefit from integration of an online component

Benefits of the online section of the activity

As I mentioned in Part A, the activity consists in writing an online a collaborative and collective story using Edmodo.

A colleague experience:- Before using this tool I asked for information and experience a colleague who worked in the same school as me and was using the tool. She utilizes it to comment on critically with her students the English language listening and writing activities proposed by her, which consisted of watching videos of funny cartoons and songs. This teacher told me how the students were participating, since they were more engaged in the subject. They also used Edmodo to upload and show their recorded at home role plays. Thus, she gave me the motivation that I was looking for, for me and for my students.

- The present writing activity is supported by the experience of others who are successful using it.

- So, I use Edmodo as a blog, where my students can communicate among themselves and with me as in a sub-hub, that is to say, when I am out of class, give them extra academic support or provide updates to students who are absent from class.

Literature found in the Internet

- In Edmodo’s blog, there are varied experiences of multiple teachers sharing their experiences with the tool. Thus, I found an experience that supports the benefits of my online activity. The teacher, whose name is Anthony J. Garcia and works in Florida states that “Edmodo’s easy to use interactive design increases the likability factor of any subject exponentially. This in turn escalates student participating and learning.”

- He also says that “Besides having to use complete sentences and demonstrate the correct use of punctuation and spelling, they are required to include pictures and links to websites, and/or videos related to their specified interest.”

- His “students are required to respond to high interest articles with their opinions, and provide additional digital resources that piggyback upon previous responses. All posts are reviewed and critiqued on our interactive white board.”

So, Anthony J. Garcia supports my online activity since as I mentioned in Part A, it not only improves the writing skills but also critical thinking.

Literature found in the Internet (II)In a website called www.educatorstecnology.com I found a range of resources and uses to work with Edmodo.

- One of them is related to writing in which it is said that the tool is very useful because it “provides your students with an enriching writing environment where they can compose collaborate and share their writing projects with peers teachers and family”.

In Lizzie Pinard’s blog reflectiveteachingreflectivelearning.com I discovered a very interesting idea which is essential to support my ideas on the online activity I planned for my students.

- As she says “For learners in contexts where there is not a lot of opportunity to use English outside the classroom, a genuine communicative situation is created”. Also “quieter learners may feel more comfortable expressing their opinions in writing and doing so may help build up their confidence to increase spoken production later on”. I can add that as my students are afraid of writing, doing such a collaborative (and almost anonymous) task can prevent them from be ashamed of their productions, thus, be more self-confident in the near future.

My reflections The key benefits of the online component in my activity:1. It helps my students to work together as a team, not competing but collaborating and being more motivated in a familiar environment, since they use new technologies in their private sphere, with family and friends using Twitter or Facebook.2. It enhances their autonomy, because their piece of writing is necessary in order to build up the story.3. It opens the door to use the language they have learnt in class (grammar, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation).4. It shows them that the teacher is a guide, not the source of knowledge and the “only one” who can assess. Thus, peer review and assessment is reinforced.