I started blogging when I was doing some Moocs online some years ago.
I am still blogging about education and the use of technology in my job.
I am a life-long learner and love doing what I do.
Some more hours to wait for and we will enter the new Year: I wish all the best to educators worldwide and their students. It is going to be a new year with plenty of challenges!
Be ready to work together and to learn from the others and with the others!
Module 4 Mooc about Supporting Special Education Needs
This is my post about the presentation of the Mooc which I finished in November.
I submitted the slide with is a picture of the learning space where I would like to work.
It should be a place for the gifted students, for the less able ones and a place where learners love spending their time.
This learning experience made me think and reflect about the importante of learning spaces in our schools: we do need to create special areas which deal with the needs of everyone.
Open spaces and the use of technology can also help us while dealing with the peculiarities of the different learners we have in our classes.
I used an online tool for creating images of the place and then I also created the video:
The Mooc took place last autumn and I was busy online while doing my course for preparing students who need to take Cambridge IGCSE exams in my school. I had to catch up but I chose to do it as more and more our schools are coping with Special Education Needs. The platform that provided the Mooc was Schooleducationgateway, an important website where European educators can have access to free resources and Professional Development.
The aim of the Mooc were clear and I really wanted to learn together with other educators.
These ideas were specified in the first Module:
Understanding the need for inclusive classrooms
Identifying some practical tips and tricks to make your classroom more inclusive
Making connections to fellow educators who are in a similar situation to yourself
Learning from the experiences of educators around Europe
Understanding the variety of special educational needs
Considering inclusion as a human right
Developing a plan towards inclusive education in your own context
Key ideas were presented in the Mooc: acessibility and inclusion
" Accessibilityrefers to providing systems and solutions to optimise access in content, methods and environment. In learning environments,accessibility meansdesigning learning experiences without barriers that allow all students to achieve the main pedagogical objectives. Why is accessibility important? One of the main arguments is that accessibility benefits everyone and not just a single segment of society, providing easy and various ways to access information, materials and environments. Captions for audio and video, for instance, don’t just help hearing-impaired people. They can be beneficial for anyone who doesn’t speak or understand the language of the presenter being spoken. This is the premise on which you should approach many of the activities explored on this course. Whenever you improve the accessibility of your teaching, it is not only for the support of those students who have been identified to have a special need; rather, it is supporting the learning of all your students. That’s why, later on in the course, we explore the process of the “universal design”, which should be incorporated in every design process of creating products, services, environments or learning experiences for all people.
And what about inclusion? In education, inclusive education is defined by UNESCO as a process of addressing and responding to the diverse needs of all learners by increasing participation in learning, cultures and communities, reducing exclusion within and from education. Inclusion is also a right and not a privilege. It is every person’s right to bring out their unique strengths by participating in our society and to appreciate the beauty of diversity. According to UNESCO (2017), inclusion is a mindset that involves valuing the presence, participation and achievement of all learners regardless of their contexts and personal characteristics and recognising the benefits of student diversity."
Definition of Special Needs
In special education, there is a wide range of disability levels to consider and some of them are quite tricky to recognise and support. Furthermore, special education encompasses not only the individuals with learning disabilities but also the gifted and talented students.
INCLUSION AS A HUMAN RIGHT
For teachers and school administrators, this convention means that they have to be committed in respecting and accommodating diversity and, more practically, creating learning environments where all students can meaningfully participate, contribute, and learn.
INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
The aim of inclusive education is to respond to the learning needs of all children, whatever their needs are. Inclusive education does not only have pedagogical benefits, by addressing the learning differences of all students and confronting them with various learning styles, but also social benefits, as it leads the children to become citizens who are open and tolerant and can live in peace and harmony with each other. Obviously, inclusive education requires teacher training..
Learn different strategies for accommodating the learning of students with special needs
Reflect about own practice and beliefs
Identify main elements of the inclusive classroom
Prepare an inclusive classroom design
Review inclusive classroom designs of other course peers
Make connections to other course participants
DYSLEXIA
Dyslexia is more common than many people think, considering that almost 10% of the world's population has dyslexia traits. MEMORY TECHNIQUES
Multi-sensory approach
A student's perspective
AUTISM Autism spectrum disorders are characterised by social-interaction difficulties, communication challenges and a tendency to repetitive behaviours. Symptoms vary widely across these core areas.
ADHD Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a mental condition characterized by problems related to paying attention, excessive activity or difficulty controlling behaviour which is not appropriate for a person’s age.
GIFTEDNESS
The definition of giftedness has not been universally decided. According to Heller (2000), giftedness is an individual potential of abilities for excellent performance.
However, there are also some students who are exceptional in two ways: they are gifted and they have special needs. That is why they are called “twice-exceptional” learners.
"I am gifted"
OUR FINAL ACTIVITY- TO BE ASSESSED BY PEERS
In this final peer-to-peer activity, you have the opportunity to imagine the inclusive classroom of your dreams. You can either find a colleague to work with for the final task, or do it by yourself. You are free to choose who you would like to work with. You can have a look at theforum posts in Module 1, to see who shares similarities with you (similar kind of students, teaching the same subject) or from whom you would like to learn in particular. You can use the forum to contact each other and to set up a new thread to collaborate. If you prefer, you can also decide to collaborate outside the platform, e.g. via Facebook, Skype or a shared online document.
The inclusive classroom of your dreams can be a graphical representation or described in text format (15-20 lines) or even better, both. You are highly encouraged to use visual elements. Hand sketches, cardboard models or 3D design models are all available options and you can use LEGO, SketchUp, Minecraft, HomeByMe or just pen and paper.
Use the following questions as a guide on what to address and then unleash your creativity!
Guiding questions:
What could the learning space look like?
What needs do my students have?
How can I facilitate the learning of all my students?
What are the important physical features?
What support would you place in your learning environment for SEN students?
What digital technologies would you use?
How adaptable and flexible is my learning space?
How accessible will learning be in my learning environment?
Will it facilitate various types of teaching methodologies?
What is your vision for the inclusive classroom of your dreams? When you have designed and described your classroom, please submit your work in the next section. Make sure to read the instructions carefully.
As I am a secondary school teacher in Italy and I am not working with young students I had to focus on what my students need to spend their time well while they are at school. Some have problems with dislexia or have difficulties in spending hours sitting at their desks. My ideal school is a school where everybody finds a place which is interesting and they can have fun. In my next post you will find my activity. Here is the place I have created online by using the tool HOMEBYME.
It is the Eve of Xmas and we are all going to celebrate this day among our best friends and our famiy .
In Italy it is time for making dinner now: we are all eating together and sharing presents.
Religious families will also go to church to celebrate the Birth of Jesus.
In the next days I will update my blog and I will add new posts about this year and my learning experiences online.
I have learnt a lot thanks to the learning opportunities offered by some European platforms and some American ones.
I will have to reflect online and continue working on my CPD. It is time to rethink about my way of working and change and modify what went wrong. Yes, I am aware that teaching requires a lot of strategies and what we learn while reading is different from what happens in classes.
Teaching foreign languages requires a lot of passion and we do need to rely on the best of technologies to help our leaners learn better.
I wish you all the best for the Xmas holidays and I do hope that next year will bring more happiness and peace all over the world.
Looking forward to Santa Claus and his presents for the many children who are in need. This is my great wish for them: they should all have access to education and live in peace
When I started this Mooc I was busy at school and I did not have the time to write a Learning Diary.
I only started to bookmark some weblinks and videos and also searched for materials online which I would use for my Lesson Plan.
I really liked the way they introduced the Mooc: I am quoting from the webpage of the course online
" STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is everywhere, and it’s been a game changer for the whole of humanity.
STEM has evolved exponentially in recent human history. We have gotten to a point where most of us are proficient users of technology, yet most of us don't really understand the science behind everyday objects, such as microwaves, mobiles, tech gadgets, etc."
I teach English and love Art, I teach in a school where Art, Italian , English and Paiting are important but I would like my learners to be aware of the importance of STEM. Subjects related to STEM are important for our daily activities and I do hope that more learners will think about what they have been doing in subjects like Sience or Maths.
I have created a lesson plan about the issue of Water: without it people cannot live and it is important to teach the learners about the best ways to cope with the shortage of water. It is a problem that is faced everywhere: from the poorest countries to the developed countries. In Italy we have a lot of problems in agriculture and also in everyday life as in some towns and places we do not have enough water.
Here is the WAKELET with the main links and materials I have used for my course online:
My Lesson Plan
I have presented a plan for students working online.
I have also learnt about a new tool to create comics.
Here is the text I created for this lesson.
I did work hard online this week- I had to work on a project /lesson for a Mooc : it was about preparing a lesson plan for STEM.
I am an English Language Teacher but I love learning online and although I do not teach Maths, Science and Technology I feel that our learners need to better their knowledge in these fields.
The presentation of the Mooc was engaging: I had registered online and then did some tasks, I searched some interesting resources and I learnt a lot .
They created social pages to interact with the teachers: https://twitter.com/hashtag/STEMIsEverywhereMOOC?f=tweets
The aims of the Mooc had been explained in the presentation online:
Identify STEM in everyday life and learn how to integrate real-world STEM problems in your lessons
Build confidence in trying out new methods in the classroom, such as an interdisciplinary approach
Explore a range of resources, tools and strategies for activities that enhance STEM in real life
Learn about 21st-century skills and how to address them in the classroom
Review the work of course peers
Connect with other course participants
Reflect on your professional practice, beliefs and Learning
We have worked on four modules, right now we are in the fifth week and we have been working on the lesson plans and the evaluation of our peers. I will post my lesson plan this weekend.
Here is the screenshot of what I have already finished:
In this Mooc we were guided into interesting activities and tasks for students of different ages: we could see some interesting ideas and lesson plans online.
It was amazing to learn about the many activities that learners can do in class and online.
I really appreciated these videos:
In my next post I will be sharing my module/lesson plan and ideas about this interesting Mooc.
I will then focus on other learners' lessons once I have been given three lesson plans to evaluate.
I am interested in learning about the past and thus I would have never thought that social media could help me study the past.
Here is an interesting video shared on FB. It tells us about the many people and nationalities involved in the Great War.
I cannot but say that educators should rely on the new media and try to find a way for supporting their lessons.
I am doing WWI with my students and I have discovered a lot of useful documents which clarify what really happened in the past.
They are engaging and often focus on facts we are not aware of .
26th September is the day we call " European Day of Languages". We have special events in many schools and today I could follow an interesting webinar online. It was about multiculturalism and languages and I learnt about some resources online which are used by educators.
Befored watching the webinar online I searched online and collected the most important resources for language learners and teachers.
We have a lot of interesting projects which can support educators and thus I am sure that Europe is investing in the future of education and the European citizens.
Etwinning and Erasmus Plus are good examples of what we can do with our students.
I would like to do something next year but school starts late in September in my region and it is difficult to run events when you have just started. I will try next year.
Here is the document with some links which are related to the main sources which can help educators build projects and enhance the students' learning: they represent the main documents which today we can use and where we can find information.
Day 2 Judy Wong presented TELL- Theater for English Language Learners .
I was online on Saturday but had problems with my internet connection and so I was forced to watch the recording of the webinar online this week.
It was an interesting topic and the presenter focussed on the issue of a world that shrinking and why it is important intercultural competence and understanding as global educators.
Judy Wong is one the best speakers and presenters I have ever met virtually thanks to the many conferences which Dr Nellie Deutsch has run so far. This must have been my fourth webinar online where she was presenting her ideas. Last year I saw her in another presentation online and read some posts in her blog http://judysworld.edublogs.org/. They were so inspiring!!
I could not connect with her but I have tried to get in contact with her since her project TELL is great. The theatre and the issues presented in some plays show human beings who share the same problems everywhere and at anytime.
During her presentation the focussed on the issue that we need to work on ourselves as " We are teachers as well as students" and in education today learners need to master global skills and not only English. In a shrinking world where too many people seem to be afraid of the differences among people as some seem to be different she stated that " we are all humans " but stereotypes are still present.
Judy presented herself as a person who speaks many languages but because of her apperance people might think that she speaks Chinese too, which she doesn't.
We are also facing similar issues in Europe: more and more people are changing their attitudes towards people who have just arrived and fear immigrants and people who do not seem to come from their own land. The colour of the skin, the culture and the language they speak can be seen as a sign of " diversity", someone who we should not trust.
Educators can change the world if they work in a different way with their pupils. They need to be open:
The project she has been working on deals with the theater and how it can open the mind of the learners and help them develop as people who can make a change. She is trying to work on the issue stereotypes and prejudice and I am sure that if you start working with young learners about them you will be able to reach your goals.
What questions came up as you watched the event?I thought that it was a great idea and that we should try a similar path in our schools too.
How did the content relate to you as a teacher?I am a person who loves sharing ideas and would like her students to become citizens of the world, so the content was relevant for my teaching situation.
What were some thoughts that came through your mind?If I were in the USA I would like to meet Judy and learn more about this project. Hopefully she loves sharing ideas and I am sure that she will work online and let us know more about it.
How did you feel as you watched the event?You become aware of the importance of educators who work on the same issues and Judy was very positive and optimistic, I really appreciated it.
Describe three webinars that you enjoyedI have watched some other recordings but I must admit that Susan Brodar's and Judy Wong's were the ones I liked most.
What would you like to do in the future?I will try to learn more about TELL. In Italy we do not have a great tradition of schools with studends doing drama at school but we might try to do something.
What a question that you would like to researchPerhaps we should be given the chance to learn more about this experience by doing some other webinars in order to know about the way students have been working and why working with plays might be a success.Here is the recording of my reflections on the webinar:
The event took place last Sunday but I was not online. I watched the recording today since I was not able to watch it live.
I must confess that I wanted to watch it as I have met the speaker many times, virtually, and I have appreciated her way of working.
The first time was two years ago when she was working in an EVO session.
Natasa based her reflections on what she had learnt in this year’s EVO Session working online on Moodle and thinking about her experience online as a learner while doing some Moocs some years ago. In particular she shared with me an experience as a teacher by using Moodle, which I did last year and which she did this year.
You can find more information in her blog post http://lunas994.blogspot.com/2018/03/keep-your-online-learners-motivated.html
She explained that it is important to plan well and to work on the layout of your course as you will have to get all the learners engaged. It is important to design the first week well and to provide help , support and also tips by using chats, forums and also videotutorials online. Online learners may have different backgrounds and Learning experiences online ; some might be less or more tech savvy, as a result the tutor online plays an important role.
Engagement is the key word to success. By helping the learners and by supporting them and also badges and simple tasks might be appropriate to help them continuing learning.
Icebreakers and good introductions are important, teachers need to be flexible sometimes and be ready to encourage also the less able learners.
She suggested these tips to begin with
A view out my window
3-2-1 introduction
Two truths and one lie
Post a picture of your classroom
Where on our website can you…?
Or you can adapt your favourite icebreaker for online use.
In order to get a sense of progress she suggested these tasks and final rewards :
blogs
artifacts
badges and certificates
As I have started some courses in a blended learning way I can easily understand what she meant. The teacher must be patient, onbserve what's happening online and work on bettering the activities.
What questions came up as you watched the event?
I thought that to begin with you need to try to work online. At the beginning it might be difficult. You need a lot of training and learning by doing.
How did the content relate to you as a teacher?
It is something I am now learning about as I am using Weschool for my classes in Italy. But I think that Moodle is a great learning managing system.
What were some thoughts that came through your mind?
It is important to share ideas and learn from the others.
How did you feel as you watched the event?
I felt that today teachers need to be able to work also online. In most universities in Italy people teach by using Moodle while in secondary schools we are starting and some of us are using different LMS.
So far I have watched six webinars and I have particularly enjoyed this one, the one by Judy Wong and the one by Susan Brodar but I will watch the others in the next weeks as they are available online and on Youtube..
What would you like to do in the future?
I will start using Google Classroom and this is my next step in CPD but I will continue doing some online learning regarding Moodle which I feel is great but in my school we are going to choose another LMS.
What a question that you would like to research
I would like to learn more about some other ways of working online as so far I have used Moodle, Weschool and Schoology.
Here is the screenshot of a course she did online where Natasa found a good guide for the learners who were getting into the course. I cannot but agree with her: it is the layout of the course that makes the difference.
Engagement is a priority if you do not want to fail!!
Here is the recording of my reflections on this webinar :
Friday 3rd August Susan Brodar and her presentation about " The Amazing Power of Language Games"
I was not online for the whole session of the webinar on 3rd August as I had problems with my internet and I had to watch part of the webinar this week. So I watched the recording of this interesting webinar by Susan Brodar today.
Who is Susan Brodar?
I had already appreciated this speaker in some online events and I had loved her presentation in MMVC17 last year. I could not but wait to see her. I could not interact with her but she left some nice links in the Moodle for chatting about the webinars and I am going to check them.
I followed a great presentation with lots of ideas: she said that " Repeation is the key word to learning" and I cannot but agree with her!! In her presention she gave a lot of examples of the many interesting activities she has created in order to make the lesson more interesting and also described how she got most of the students engaged while in the traditional way of working the Italian teachers she worked with had had difficulties. She focussed on speaking, asking questions and also working on vocabulary!! The questions that came to my mind were simple when I watched the recording: not everybody has the chance to work with a mother-tongue teacher who has such experience. The way she works is successful because she has created good tasks. The students are active and engaged and will achieve better results and marks later. I wish she could work in my classes as the way she gets the students into speaking is very empowering! There were so many tips regarding the use of language items and how to work on vocabulary like working with the students who support the teacher for creating part of the content and this requires a second viewing!! I will have to check the recording again!!
During the presentation she mentioned some tools which I need to learn more about. Susan uploaded a list of useful websites so I will have to check which ones might help me devolop activities in class and as a reinforcement. This is my mission for the next months: I will have to find a way for teaching better since I know the situation in most of my classes needs a lot of motivation and new ways or strategies.
My question about a new research is about the way games can help reluctant learners. Games can be fun but they require a trained teacher. I will have to learn from people who have been successful like Susan Brodar.
Thanks to her great tips!!
This is my video where I am reflecting on the webinar and sharing my ideas, how I felt and what I liked in Susan's presentation. I used a new tool to record it- Loom
