Final Reflection!

Yes, time goes by very quickly. However, as Einstein states” time is relative”. Throughout the semester, with lots of assignments and deadlines, I was longing for its end and the holidays and it seemed that the time had stopped and wasn’t moving. However, now it seems like it was yesterday when I wrote my first post as a part of this course assignment. Though, today I am not writing the second one, but the last one.
Every time I use the word “last” I feel sad even when it’s about the assignments. However, in this case I know that it’s just the last post for THIS course, as I am going either to continue using this blog as more personal one or create another one, where I will share my thoughts and ideas not only related to teaching and learning, but also my other interests and worries…
I am really very glad and thankful that I had the chance to take the “New Technologies in TEFL” course because now I feel more informed and updated. Nowadays, it’s difficult to imagine any sphere of our life that doesn’t have anything to do with technologies. And, as I have mentioned several times in my previous posts, technology is developing way fast and we indeed have to be very attentive and cautious so as to be informed, not lack behind, walk by this road along with others and not feel ashamed.
Now, after taking course, I may be surprised to know that someone doesn’t know about Google apps, second life, Digital Media, Blogs and many other technologies yet. However, three months ago I didn’t know much about them myself!
I have indeed learnt many new things. I am not sure whether I will implement all of them in my classes in future however I am sure that I will try to implement more than the half of what I have learnt. And I have already started using myself many of those “new technologies” that this course has introduced to me. The whole course has influenced on the way I live and think now. The articles we read, the in hand practice that we did on each technology we covered influenced my daily routine greatly.
Now, when I open my notebook, besides going to iGoogle, I also go to my Google calendar, I search for new and interesting links, get informed via RSS feeds, think of creating a personal blog and think more creatively, I hope. I would prefer having this course again, but not to learn the same things once more but to learn more technologies, as I believe there are lots of other opportunities that nowadays technology provides us with, however, we, at least I, may not be aware of.

Google Apps and Cloud Technologies

Source: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/google-apps-for-beginners/

Google has become my best friend during the previous 3-4 years. Every day I wake up, open my computer, press on the home button key and my best friend appears in front of me- iGoogle.

Google has made our life easier, I am not sure whether it’s good or bad because now I don’t overload my memory with different information, as when I want to remember something or learn a new thing, find a definition of a word or whatever it takes me two or so minutes to find it… 

However the amazing thing about Google is not limited to its search engine possibilities it has many apps which make our life even easier. I’ll speak about the ones that I use very often and also the ones that I’ve learnt from this course.

First of all I would like to mention Google scholar. Besides the EBSCO, Eric or Jstor, which are very famous journal article search WebPages, I use Google scholar very often as well. It helps me to find the necessary articles very quickly. The next app that I use quite often is Google map. I use this app whenever I want to find a place in Armenia and around the world as well. It was new for me to learn that this tool can be also used for educational purposes. According to Sarah Ring (2011), the teachers can use Google apps before going to a field trip, or when learning directions in class etc…

Another widely spread Google apps is the Blogger. Blogging has become part of people around the world recently. People from business world, education, engineering, news, fashion, arts, sport, any sphere you can imagine, keep their own blog, where they share their thoughts and ideas. Blogger is also widely implemented for educational purposes. Teachers make this amazing tool part of their syllabus and this way they use it for teaching and learning purposes. I myself started using the blogger as a part of my assignments, however I really want to either create a new one, or continue this one and share my thoughts and ideas other than related to teaching and learning. Because in life there are many situations, problems, funny things and just ideas that you want to share.

I also want to talk about Google docs. I am so happy that I have learnt about this amazing tool and indeed it has already become part of my life. I use it both for my studies and just for sharing information as well. It’s a great place to collaborate with others. The only thing that you need to have is a Google account and internet connection.

The RSS feeds help you to be connected to others’ blogs and be updated about the fields you are interested. Google image search, Google book search enables people to find what they want. Another great app is Google calendar. I wasn’t using this app before but now I have started using it and now I am not afraid to forget any upcoming event, deadline or a meeting.

There are many other apps which Google offers to its’ users and the only thing needed from us is to be informed and take the advantage of having a computer, internet and Google!

However, whatever you do in the internet, whichever page you access or whatever activity you start doing does is not “very private”. Meaning that all you actions, want it or not, is automatically saved somewhere. This somewhere is called “cloud computing”. Without pressing any save buttons all your actions are stored in a place which is not visible. This YouTube clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88ysB-EKA9U helped me to spread light the idea of cloud computing, however it wasn’t very clear to me unless one of my classmates brought an example. She said “ it’s like renting a territory to keep your possessions”. It is not like someone else’s computer, and it’s not like that nobody can see your actions. However it’s safe and easy way to keep your files, logs and information which you may need someday. 

Learning and Academic analytics

Source: http://www.davidmartindesign.com/services/website-statistics-analysis/index.html

 All my previous posts during this term were about the new technologies applied in the education. The new technology that I am going to introduce can neither be seen nor touched (Long&Siemens,2011), It is the Big data and the analytics.

According to the McKinsey Global Institute big data is a “dataset whose size is beyond the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage and analyze.” The data collected is huge and is indeed “Big”. Big data is valuable for governments, corporations and higher educational institutions.

 The analytics, on the other hand, can be divided into two subcategories: learning analytics and academic analytics. The 1st International Conference on Learning Analytics and Knowledge identified learning analytics as a “measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimizing learning and the environments in which it occurs.” Academic analytics refers more to business intelligence in education and emphasizes analytics at institutional, regional, and international levels.

That is to say, the learning analytics reflects the data of a specific learning, whereas the academic analytics presents data analysis at an institutional level.

Although the articles that I read were very clear in explanations of these tools, however it wasn’t enough for me realize its importance both for a learner and the institutional organization. The class discussion spread light on this topic for me. We did an in hand review of the analytics and played with the possibilities that the learner and the organization may have by accessing its analytics. It turns out that once you have access it is very easy to see everything which is done in the web page. For example, in our blogs, we can easily see how many viewers we have from each country. If you have the access to a certain webpage you can see where the visitors click first, where they click next, how long they stay in that specific web page etc. This possibility is very valuable and important as you can organize your page accordingly. Meaning if you see that a certain application or room is very popular among the visitors you can bring it in the front and make it bigger. The ones that are not visited much you can put in the end etc.

So analytics plays a great role in any organization and we, as an ordinary users of the web, should be aware of this tool and use the opportunity to see the actions done in our WebPages.

Distance Education

Source: http://wiki.uiowa.edu/display/edtech/2011+-Distance+Education+is...

Distance education has always interested me a lot; however I didn’t have the chance to learn more about it. After reading several articles, watching YouTube clips and having discussions in class I have more information about its possibilities, advantages and disadvantages. According to the article by Hill (2012), Distance Education can be divided into three major categories, which are: Ad Hoc, Fully online courses and Hybrid courses. Ad hoc are called the courses which are organized for a specific situation and for a specific reason. Fully online courses are those that don’t include any face-to-face meetings or classes and the whole learning process takes place online. The Hybrid one combines the best of the face-to-face and online learning, as it involves part of both. AUA has started applying this new way of learning in its’ Academic Writing courses and the results show that they are effective. In her article Cynthia White (2004) discusses some differences between traditional classrooms and Distance Learning. According to her, distance learning differs from face-to-face learning in a way that it provides the learners a totally new setting with new demands and new opportunities, where the students are the ones to make decisions for themselves compared to the traditional classrooms. If in a regular classroom the teacher physically is standing in front of the students, in Distance Learning he/she is not. The teacher cannot monitor the students work and give immediate feedback. The learners should have self-management skills to oversee the rate and direction of their learning and make their own internal adjustments to that environment (White, 2004). During our class discussion, we pointed out some more important differences and features of the DE, such as the fact that in DE the teachser act more like a trainer rather than a teacher. He/she should have IT skills and also the teacher should mediate between the administration and the students and be aware of different learning styles. We also mentioned some key attributes to Distance FL learners. We stated that the learner is more independent in DE, they should have strong time and organizational management skills and they may face the problem of maintaining internal motivation without regular face-to-face classes. This way of learning indeed has many supporters. As for me, I would prefer haveing face-to-face classes over the DE, since the external factors such as the environment in the educational organization, peer collaboration and the professors’ physical existence may motivate me more. Maybe it’s part of the personality type, or learning strategies, I am not sure… However, having an option to learn even without leaving the house is indeed interesting and in many cases can be very helpful. So, in future, if for some reason I cannot physically be present in classes which I need to take I would take the advantage of this fantastic opportunity and become a distance learner!:)

LMS and PLE

Source: https://wiki.oulu.fi/display/LETs/PSV's+PLE+in+LET

Learning management system, which is the same as Virtual Learning Education, is a software which educational institutions use to be connected with their students, provide them with all the materials and information they need for their studies and facilitate the communication both within students and between the professors and the students. This new technological advancement has been part of my life throughout the one and a half year of my studies at the AUA, where Moodle LMS is used. This facilitates my life a lot. I don’t need to go to the library in many cases to find the materials or ask the professors to provide the materials, everything is stored there and I can access to the information anytime I need regardless the place I am.

However, this software has its shortcomings as well. The students have access to the materials and the information in the LMS only during the years of their studies in that institution. As soon as they graduate they cannot go back and look at the materials or the assignment they took.

However, there is another great tool which is of great help particularly in the case of not having access to the LMS. It is called PLE (Personal Learning environment). Stephen Downe’s YouTube clip helped me a lot to identify the differences between the LMS and PLE. PLEs include all the web based applications, softwares, web pages and folders that the individuals use to organize and manage their own learning. This stays with them during their entire life and it becomes their own possession. Individuals use many kinds of informal ways of getting information materials or they have personal folders where they keep their materials. All of these are categorized under the PLE.

I believe, the best solution for the students would be to use both LMS and PLE simultaneously. This way they will benefit from what they get from the LMS and other sources and they can still use them even after graduating.

As for me, I value what I have at this point and what the University provides me a lot, that’s why I keep my own logs and folders with all the information and materials that I believe may be helpful for me in future. I suggest others do the same, take advantage of being a student and become a lifelong learner. 

Open Educational Resources

Source: http://iberry.com/cms/OER.htm OER (open educational resources) are teaching and learning materials available for everyone to use online and free. According to the article by Brown and Adler (2008), in this rapidly changing and flattening world, OER has increased the need for lifelong learning. OER provide opportunity for learners to have access to materials which they might have considered out of reach before. Nowadays people can easily access, read and use materials provided by various well known universities around the world. The same article states that one of the most essential impacts of the OER is the promotion of so called “social learning”. Social learning is described as a virtual place for different people to share their ideas and learn being engaged in social discussions and by interacting with many people. The main idea of the “social learning” is focused on how we are learning rather than on what we are learning. Many universities around the world, like Harvard law school (brown & Adler, 2008), are using second life to conduct classes, discussions, debates and lecture. Here even non students can take participation and learn. I find this really engaging and motivating. The fact that in Armenia you can be enrolled in Harvard school classes makes me feel connected, close and equal. Equal in the geographical sense, where you physical place does not matter. Even enrollment does not matter. The only thing that matters is the individual’s eagerness and willingness to learn…
 However, this great innovation is not widely spread so far. Armenians, like many other people around the world do not have the awareness of the possibilities and opportunities they have. And educational institutions as well still are not using OER to promote learning. According to the Danielyan and Alexandryan (2008), teachers should be responsible for promoting technologies and innovations in their classes, and the fact that in Armenian education OER is not that spread is partially because of the lack of willingness.
 The cultural factor here may have its role as well. Maybe we are still afraid of sharing and spreading. For centuries we have struggled for what we have and this sense of keeping and the fear of sharing has penetrated into the educational sphere as well. However education and knowledge should be spread. If we want to have a wealthy society and country we should make efforts. We should try to implement our knowledge not only for getting money but also contributing to the country’s development. And we should realize that by sharing and educating our society will result in our prosperity and growth as a country and nation.
 We had a very interesting conversation during our class which made me think about what we can do and what we do actually. The reality is that we don’t act according to our abilities… and the bad thing is that we like to blame others, saying that the leaders of the institutions may not approve our actions, moreover, we go beyond blaming the government. But how many of those “claimers” gave a try and failed. I think the answer is probably “none”. Surely it’s very difficult to change the perception of people on different areas, but one thing that I am sure in is that there is nothing impossible. We should give a try and then say that it didn’t and will not work in Armenia. Even one, two and three tries are not enough evidence for stating that it’s impossible. It’s just the degree of willingness and real desire to walk along the world using equal technologies and developments…
 We as teachers are the ones who should give a try and make efforts on changing our environment. If we raise the awareness and provide our students with up to date materials and resources, in the nearest future we will be positively surprised by our achievements. So my dear colleagues, let’s not waste time and act. Let’s believe in our abilities and strengths and use our potential to contribute in the development of our society! :)

M-learning...

Source: http://mlearning2010.wikispaces.com/

Mobile learning  includes the usage of devices which are available anytime and anywhere for learning purposes; for example, cell phones, iPods, iPads etc, (article by Agnes Kukulska-Hulme & Lesley Shield, )

This kind of tools are more likely to be successful as most of the people nowadays have cell phones or other mobile devices, they are light and easy to carry with you everywhere you go. So why not use them for improving our knowledge as well?

After reading the three articles, I realized how useful the small devices that we all possess can be. Particularly in Armenia, where internet access cannot be found everywhere, these tools can be of great help, as some assignment or some options and possibilities that they have don’t require internet connection.

Research suggests that MALL has excellent potential for providing students with rich, real time, collaborative and conversational experiences both in and outside the classroom (article by Yu-Ju Lan,Yao-Ting Sung, Kuo-En Chang). According to Agnes Kukulska-Hulme & Lesley Shield article, MALL can be practiced both for synchronous and asynchronous learning situations. Meaning that the students do not need to be in the same place on the same time to do the assignment they can also complete them whenever they want, surely before the deadline…J  

The more important thing is that with the help of these small tools, learners can enhance also their listening and speaking skills, which, in my mind, are the most difficult ones. The students can listen to the podcasts whenever they want. These tools can be used to record themselves and others by interviewing them. They can shoot pictures and then reflect on them, they can record anything they want. They can take notes and then come to the class and ask questions based on their notes. These tools can be used very creatively and we know that creative assignment always engage students and they become more willing to make efforts on completing the assignments well.

Another noteworthy fact is that it is not necessary to have a “cool” cell phone. The teacher s may think of assignments which are feasible to complete with simple and ordinary phones as well.

I believe, we have to take advantage of what we have, and use whatever we possess effectively. We have to think about more creative ways of organizing our lessons so as to engage our students and motivate them to greater efforts. I am sure, these tools give us opportunities to do so.