Connecting Online (CO) is a free 3-day online conference that has been taking place on the first full weekend of February since 2009. CO17 is the 8th annual event. The theme of CO17 is conecting online for information. After having watched multiple recorded sessions I will consider the following template to portray my personal reflection upon 10 webinars.
- Give the title, date, presenter, course number or name, and where the presentation took place (online/face-to-face).
- Describe the event very briefly.
- Did you connect with the other attendees or the speaker? If so, how?
- What questions came up as you watched the event?
- How did the content relate to you as a teacher and/or learner or individual?
- What were some of the thoughts that went through your mind as your watched the presentation?
- How did you feel as you watched the event? If you felt good, what made you feel good? If you felt discomfort, what made you feel discomfort?
- What challenges might you encounter in implementing some of the ideas?
- What steps can you take to resolve the challenges?
- What would you like to do in the future as a result of what you heard, read, saw?
- Write a question or 2 that you would like to research (look into) as a result of the event.
ONLINE PRESENTATIONS - REFLECTIVE WRITINGS UPON RECORDED SESSIONS
Learning to Research, Researching to Learn -Dr Janet Salmons (Friday 3rd Feb)The presentation deals with the protocols for questioninig. dr Salmons emphasises the idea that learners should acquire subject matter knowledge and inquiry skills from an early stage. As I watched the event I wonder how I could implement those ideas with first graders. The topic caught my attention to me since I teach at primary, secundary and university level. In my teaching contexts many challenges may be faced (going from age to learning strategies) but the idea of scaffolding tasks may be one step forward to achieving the goals.
Online and free tools to enhance vocabulary learning . Sibel Taskin Simsek (Saturday 4th Feb)
The presenter provided appealing tools to deal with vocabulary learning. The interesting part is related to the idea of context based reference. It is worth mentioning the inclusion of examples, how to use and practice sections that facilitate the understanding of the usefulness of the different interactive tools and/or apps. As I watched the event I felt behind as regards new tools which can motivate learning vocabulary in a more appealing way. A drawback of these new tools may be internet connection within my teaching contexts but students´mobile devices may be of great help.
Optimizing your business English online coaching and learning session with Mind maps - Dr Ron Morrain (Saturday 4th Feb)
Dr Morrain holds that to connect the take away to the teaching learning context to create meaningful learning by means of mind maps; promoting voice and choice. Key terms to be considered: open mindedness, curiosity, awareness, collaborative and autonomous work. As I watched the presentation I wondered upon the infinite number of ways of creating a mind map. Quite useful and used in my teaching contexts.
Three approaches to cultivating a purposeful and professional eportfolio for developing lifelong learners - Dr Benjamin Herrera; PhD Piry Herrera (Saturday 4th Feb)
The presentation deals with the different types of eportfolios (formative-product-asessment -reflective-)There is a clear definition of each of them but personally, I would have preferred to see examples of real productions from the learners that contributed with their perceptions. A topic that may be interesting to deal with at some point with teens.
Leadership in a digital educational and learning context - Dr Ebba Ossimnilsson (Saturday 4th Feb)
The presenter emphasises the importance of ICT to achieve educational targets in global development goals. She focuses on SAMR model which focuses on enhancement and transformation. Quality in education is linked to digital transformation. I still wonder about Dr Ebba´s phrase: 'take the lead'
Learning opportunities through web-based tech - Dr Revethi Viswanathan (Saturday 4th Feb)
The presenter focuses on creating opportunities to understand academic content and apply their knowledge to problems. A learner centred approach which involves active participation from the side of the learner. As I watched it made me think upon the difficulty of developing critical thinking skills in students. Difficulty that may be overcome through working on them from an early stage.
Writing groups in language teaching - Malu Sciamarelli (Saturday 4th Feb)
During the presentation, the speaker provides different techniques for dealing with group work. She emphasises the importance of feedback, immediate feedback and mentions the disadvantages of counterproductive feedback. As I watched, I could mirror those techniques in my classes. It was very useful to find additional sources to keep on investigating (books and articles).
Affectively engaging materials and language learning - Angelos Bollas (Saturday 4th Feb)
This presentation is really engaging since it shows the humanistic approach to teaching. The presenter deals with different activities based on students´experience or hypothetical real situations. Bloom´s taxonomy is of great importance in this approach to teaching. Creating, evaluating, analyzing, applying, understanding and thus remembering are essential factors in language learning by means of engaging materials.
Exploiting your own materials - Julie Kacmaz Pratten (Sunday 5th Feb)
The presenter offers you a workshop to wonder about ones creativity. She offers tools to realize how you can get creative. From an empty vessel to get comfy creative. Refreshing ideas that lead us to retrospection.
Challenges involved in teaching and learning online - Parminder Mitter Chaudhuri (Sunday 5th Feb)
This presentation offers a clear panorama of the pros and cons of virtual learning and it states the paradigms of teaching: constructivism and constructionism and their effects: engagement, flexibility and tailor-made.
As I watched, I felt identified with the challenges that were mentioned: presence of different learners, connectivity; lack of training and support, the need of a variety of activities among others. Challenges that are faced by teachers in most teaching contexts.
To sum up, we are constantly facing challenges, It is our responsibility to look for quality education for the digital generation and to foster tech integration that is planned and purposeful.
To mull over:
-How can we 'take the lead' for digital transformation?
-How can we optimize reading comprehension with Mind maps?
