EFL537 - Day 5
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Hello and Happy Friday!
Congratulations, you have survived Week#1 of EFL537.
and I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk to you now
since we're almost half way through the course, about few different things
I've noticed that in some of your reflections that some of you are feeling very stressed and overwhelmed
which makes me sad a little bit, because, I really want this course to be fun journey of learning.
and not this SERIES OF TASKS that you MUST COMPLETE
and DON'T SLEEP and JUST WORK and...
Yes, I realize there's a lot of content
But the important part for me as a teacher
is that you experience what's out there
that's my goal - to show you what's out there
to have you try to use them
I don't expect you to master these tools
I'm very aware of the limitations
of the lack of experience that some of you have
and the lack of access to the internet after the class each day
so, whatever I can say to try to help people be less stressed
I would like to say
because I think learning happens best when people are comfortable and relaxed
so again, please try to know that it's going to be OK
and I do realize that this is a very challenging course for a number of reasons
of course because I am far away
and this is an online course
that makes things more difficult in many ways.
I'm sure there are many times when you have a question or a problem,
If I was there, I could say
oh, do this and do that. Click here, click there.
and it's frustrating for me also when I've tried to prepare materials to help you step by step
but sometimes people don't find the answers that I hope they will find in those guides.
So, that's challenging, but I also want to point out that
in a way, this is how learning happens in the 21st century.
what you had to do to survive this week
was to find the information you needed
and to work with other people to accomplish your goals
and I think that is the way that education is evolving
It used to be that, OK for this course
we're going to learn this material and we're going to start here
and we're going to finish here. This is the knowledge
I am the teacher, you are the student, LEARN THIS!
and I don't think that is how learning works these days.
There's so much information. So many resources
with the internet and other opportunities
that it's not about learning 'this much' knowledge
It's about seeing what's out there
and knowing how to find what is useful and meaningful for you.
so I want you to think of this course also as an opportunity to experiment
with this different kind of approach toward education.
and that's pretty much what we're going to do for week 2
in week 2 what I really want you to do
is focus on the parts of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning)
that will be most useful for you
or that you're most interested in.
So far, Week#1 we've all done the same readings, worked on the same skills
Week#2, I want you to start focusing on your interests.
Threre are no 'required' skills for Week 2.
All of the skills listed for Week2 are OPTIONAL
I provide thise guides so you can learn about them if you want
but you don't have to
So, some people might focus on these skills
other people might focus on other skills
Readings - I want you to find readings that are interesting to you
and finding those readings is a big part of the assignment.
because, that's one of the big challenges these days
is finding what is useful for you
in today's small group discussion
the questions I ask you are about what has been useful so far
and what else you want to learn more about
I'm really in hearnig those discussions and answers
because from here on out,
the content of this course will vary depending on what you want to learn.
My job is to help you get there. So whatever your learning goal is for week2
my job is to help you get there.
help you find what you're looking for, help you overcome the technical obstacles you will encounter
and I just want to say 'please use me'.
I'm here to help as much as possible
There are a number of tools we can use so I can see your computer
and you can see mine.
and I realize that some people are probably hesitant
because of the language difference and trying these new methods
but I really want to encourage you to try
becasue as a teacher I want to do as much as I can to help you achieve your learning goals
So that's all for now
I do want to say 'Have a good weekend'
Please, try to get some sleep.
Play with your children or your friends.
Take a little bit of a break because I know if you have this constant pressure
hanging over your head of
'Oh No! Another skill! I have this other assignment!
It's stressful. I do know that.
but try to catch your breath a little bit
and really try to focus on what you want to learn
So, I hope everyone has a good Day#5
and a good weekend and....
I will very much look forward to continuing this learning journey together