This week was very rewarding in terms of learning new teaching
strategies using web tools. PBLs, WebQuests and Rubrics made my day as a
teacher. What a wonderful combination of topics! At the beginning they seemed a
bit unrelated but after reading the material from the University of Oregon,
everything fell into its right place. They are very interrelated indeed, and actually,
I think from now on rubrics will be on the top of my teaching toolbox. I have
gained lots of insights about PBL and WebQuests, and I have managed to pile up
and share a lot of interesting links through Diigo and Delicious. However, I believe
I will feel more confident after I make one or both of them in practical terms.
They require lots of planning and “high order thinking” too. Being “inquiry-based”,
the teacher should know what kind of topics will raise students interests the best.
Not everything goes for a Webquest; only real-world questions or controversies work
well. Timing is also a factor to consider when creating these digital tools but
once you have gotten one you are able to recycle it or make small adaptations
for future classes. I have not dipped my
toes into PBLs but, by the readings, it is another super strategy for learning
and teaching. I was thinking: What else could we learn after week 5? I feel like
I have already completed a PhD.
Regarding my final project, I have decided to work on
oral production for beginners. A technological tool that I plan to use is
Voicethread and Acapela. I worked on my rubric this week for that purpose. I am
still taking small steps to learn how to square everything in this project. But
we have a map on hand and that´s helpful.
