Lesson : The Writing Process : Introduction - 0 views
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Chih-Hsiung Tu on 21 Apr 09Common Question I: Effective Instructional Strategies Please discuss three most effective instructional strategies integrated in your project. Please be sure to justify why they are effective instructional strategies. Remember instructional strategies are not your contents or "technologies," such as wiki, discussion board etc. It is the integrated soft technologies. -
Ramsey Adams on 25 Apr 09I feel that my use of auditory, visual, and interactive forms to present the lesson materials coincides with not only enhancing the EFL learners experience with the lesson by providing greater exposure to the target language but also fulfilling universal design principles. Combining the ways the lesson is presented makes the lesson accessible to those with particular special needs or learning styles. The lesson is very much structured in the constructivist frameworks of inquiry based and project based learning as learners produce a final product through the process of investigation, discussion, collaboration, and reflection. The lesson provides instruction on how to begin the process and provides adequate scaffolding in the form of videos, supporting links, and discussion forums with both instructors and peers. However the route the learner takes is up to them. An important element of the lesson is that learners choose their own topic. I initially had structured the lesson around animal rights with three possible questions for investigation. However, upon reading related literature which revealed that activities were more successful and learners got more out of them when they pursue their investigation on a topic of personal interest (Clark, 2006). Putting the learner in control increases their motivation and participation as they have taken ownership of the project. Clark A. (2006). Changing classroom practice to include the Project approach. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 8(2). Retrieved on February 20, 2008, from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v8n2/clark.html. -
Chih-Hsiung Tu on 27 Apr 09Great thoughts on "). Putting the learner in control increases their motivation and participation as they have taken ownership of the project." Learning management is the key.
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Common Question II: Instructional Technology Please discuss the instructional technologies that you integrate into your lesson plan exclude your web sites/pages because they are the basic technology. Instructional technology is referred to hard technology in this question, such as discussion board, chat, wiki, blog etc.
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I have included wikis, discussion forums, and the social bookmarking tool Delicious. The wiki was chosen for its capacity for editing. Given that a large part of the lesson is about peer editing using a wiki was a logical choice. Wetpaint wiki was specifically chosen given the integration of the discussion forum which is used throughout the lesson. Discussion forums were used to get learners thinking about the concepts of the lesson and to build rapport between learners prior to the editing process. Another element of the lesson requires learners to research out information on the Internet and reference those sources. Delicious was chosen because it allows learners to easily keep all the sites they have found in one place and to share resources. Though it was suggested to use Diingo for learners to leave feedback during the peer edit portion of the lesson, I opted not to introduce another technology tool such as Diingo fearing that the lesson would be more about the learning of new technology tools and less about the actual goal of the lesson: writing.
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To add to the explanation of why Wetpaint was chosen the ability to add templates to new pages permitted me to integrate the peer edit form directly into a wiki page. This alliviates the need for learners to download and print the form, if for example they do not have access to a printer. Additionally it allows learners to simply switch between pages to view the comments left to them by their peers.
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Ramsey, Thanks for reponses! I think you made good chocie on tools. Have you used other wiki tools? Personally, Wetpaint is an effecitve one because it has RSS, tagging, and connected to iGoogle features etc.
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I have used pbwiki which I think is a great wiki for those who may be indimidated by the multiple tools available on Wetpaint. pbwiki is extremely straightforward to use. However, for this lesson I need those 'extras'. I even thought about uploading my flash presentation to youtube then embedding them directly into Wetpaint. However, I opted to leave them within the lesson webpages. I didn't want to overcrowd the class wiki with the lesson and keep it solely for the learners work. This is in part due to the limited number of pages Wetpaint permits per site (50 I think). Another reason may be the limited customization permitted with Wetpaint. For example with many blog templates you can customize the CSS page. So far I haven't figured out how to with Wetpaint.
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I forgot to mention - with Wetpaint I was able to register the site as an educational site to have the ads taken off the pages. I petitioned and within a day I received a confirmation telling me the adds are gone. This is a great way to keep the site appropriate for use in K-12 and with all learners as their mind stays focused on the materials presented in the text and not be distracted with the ads.
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Ramsey, Great informaiotn! :-)
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Common Question III: Pitfalls Do you think your web-based lesson plan is effective and successful? Can you foresee any pitfalls in project? Please describe them.
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I think it is effective, its success cannot be known until it is put into action. However, I feel that I have created an interactive lesson that guides learners through the process of writing an effective essay. The lesson provides many supports including useful vocabulary, links to grammar exercises, video demonstration of all the technology tools, and discussions to share their experiences and discoveries throughout the process. The lesson engages learners not only in discussions but also in the process of peer editing. From an instructor's viewpoint the lesson plan is very detailed with a step by step process of how to implement the lesson. The lesson flows in a natural progression starting learners off by introducing them to the technology tools and providing an explanation of why they need to learn them, stepping them through the writing process and components of a 5 paragraph essay, and then providing support in how to proofread, edit, and finally publish their work. Potential pitfalls may include the lack of access to headsets or speakers for learners to benefit from the audio portion of the lesson. Students may also find working with new technologies intimidating. However, I believe that I have made a good attempted to break the lesson into smaller 'bit sized' pieces so that learners can fully comprehend one step before moving on to the next. The inclusion of identical text-based lessons, I felt, were also important for those learners who either do not have flash installed and for some reason don't want to install it or for those who prefer a traditional text format. Overall, I think I have constructed a theoretically sound lesson that supports learners while permitting them the freedom to discover in their own way.
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Other pitfalls: despite my great effort to provide audio and visual documents for learners with specials needs - depending on those needs their contribution to the peer-editing task may be limited. On this same note, having learners edit each others paper directly in the wiki 1) helps them to visual see within the direct context of the paper errors and corrections but 2) coming from a peer may not necessarily be accurate - this is where instructor guidance is key. Furthermore, learners will need to "clean up" their text before final publication. This could however, help to reinforce areas they need improvement. That is to say the act of going over each correction may provide a needed step in remembering.
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Chih, Is there a reason why when I hover over the graphics in the site they don't reveal the ALT tag I have included? If you view source - the alt tags are there - but no coming through?? Any ideas?
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