Module 3: Reflective Journal

I enjoyed reading "The Perfect E-Storm." I was so surprised that the article listed 30 different emerging educational technologies. I never imagined there were so many possibilities! Many I have heard about, some I have actually experimented with, and others, I read about for the first time in this article.

The one technology that caught my attention among the 30 described is Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). I never thought these games would be considered an "educational technology." My daughters love playing "War of Warcraft" and I've been quite skeptical when my husband tells me that playing MMOGs enhances coordination, creativity, planning skills, critical thinking, decision-making, perceptual skills, and much more. But, after reading this article, I must give some credit to what he had said. If there's any way of somehow incorporating this type of MMOGs in our courses, be it F2F or online, I think we can retain and engage more students in active learning, and diminish the apathy that many students show towards school work and learning in general.


This week, we also created a concept map. The reading "From Puzzles to Problems: Assessiong the Value of Education in a Business Context with Concept Mapping and Pattern Matching" was quite dense. I believe the mapping created by Andersen Consulting is more suitable for corporations and institutions where complex goals and a large group of stakeholders are in play. For mapping the learning objectives of Spanish courses, I think the mapping process would be much simpler, like the one I created for this module (see image above) using a software called Inspiration (http://www.inspiration.com/).

Class Wiki

Below is the link to the class wiki on "Guidelines for our course: Netiquette and Community Building." In the beginning, this "working" wiki had different colors and font sizes, but this finished product has a clean look and it's easy to read. :-)
http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/uofw_assessment_course/uofw_assessment_course?t&usermessage=&CFID=3621561&CFTOKEN=91691100&jsessionid=c2302632751164473998329

Module 2: Notes on the Interactive Inventory

I had mixed feelings while taking the interactive inventory. I couldn’t decide at first if to choose the answers based on my teaching practices or on my philosophical teaching beliefs. I opted for the latter, and all the answers I chose were learner-centered. But, I must confess that when it comes to assessment, I’m mostly a traditional instructor with emphasis on the right answers.

Could it be because it’s a language course (I teach Spanish), and the answers in grammar are either right or wrong? This is also true in the reading, listening and vocabulary comprehension sections of the tests. The only part that promotes and diagnoses the student’s learning is the essay portion of the test. The points received are based on the content and not on grammar perfection. Somehow I feel that this is the proper way of assessing a beginners Spanish course, to make sure the student has mastered the vocabulary and grammar covered in order to continue and succeed in the next level.

On the other hand, I can see more flexibility in assessment in intermediate and definitely in the advanced levels of Spanish courses. I can see a combination of right answers for grammar tests and having projects, papers and portfolios to assess the student’s learning. At these levels, most of the students who enroll are truly interested learners of Spanish; many of them are professional adults who are taking these courses to improve their Spanish and not for the grade or to transfer the units. I believe this type of students is the ideal one for a student-centered course: motivated, mature, asks questions, and is comfortable at reflecting, self-directing, managing, and evaluating his/her own learning.

Partner Interview

My classmate Mary Ann interviewed me the first week of class, and this is what she wrote about me:

Beatrice was born in Taiwan. As the daughter of a diplomat, she grew up living in three countries: Brazil (4 to 8 years old), Colombia (8 to 10) and Panama (10 to 18). In 1984 Beatrice came to the USA to pursue her undergraduate and graduate studies at UCLA in Spanish and Portuguese Literature. During her Junior year at UCLA, she participated in the study abroad program and lived in Madrid, Spain, for a year. When she graduated in 1991, she was offered a position to teach Spanish at Irvine Valley College, a community college in the heart of Orange County in Southern California. Beatrice loves her job and sees herself retiring there, in another 20 years plus! :-)

This is one busy lady!! Besides the regular face to face instruction, Beatrice also teaches an online course, Spanish 4, almost every semester. This past summer she took two courses: Web Design for Educators and E-Learning for Educators, and this fall she's taking this course and two more: Creating Collaborative Communities and Instructional Design for Online Learning. She is taking these courses to update and learn current online teaching techniques. The graduate units will also help her advance in salary classification. Upon completion of these courses, Beatrice is considering doing the practicum in order to fulfill the requirements for the Graduate Certificate in E-Learning and Online Teaching. And I think I'm busy taking one course!!

Beatrice tells me that with her last name and Asian complexion, people usually never guess that she teaches Spanish. :-) As a matter of fact, there are always some students that when they see her the first day of class walk away from her classroom, thinking that they entered the wrong classroom! But then, after checking the schedule again and the classroom number, they walk in again, still half puzzled. :-)

P.S. I'm on sabbatical leave this fall semester; therefore, have the time to take the three online courses mentioned above. I couldn't do it if I were also teaching full time! :-)

Module 2: Reflective Journal

This was my first experience in creating a blog and reading about its advantages and disadvantages. I had a notion about what it was, but never explored it so fully until this assignment. After checking the four choices (Blogger.com, Our Story, LiveJournal and Edublogs), I decided to choose Blogger.com because of its clean look and its easy and quick three steps process.

I had a hard time coming up with an interesting and original title for my blog and a user name. I decided on "Online Classroom Assessment" - not very creative - but it's a reflection of the content of the course I'm taking and the reason I've created this blog. As for the user name, "Harmony," I happened to be looking at my Swarovski crystal collection, and its 2005 "Wonders of the Sea" annual edition called "Harmony." It contains two clown fishes on an anemone and three other smaller fishes swimming down towards the clown fishes. For a look at "Harmony, " please click on http://www.swarovski.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/SCO-Web_US-Site/en_US/-/USD/SW_DisplayProductInformation-Start;pgid=i35I6_movKNSR0EEKtMsEUMK00006iNKOFF0?ProductSKU=657120&CategoryName=0316099&origin=detail

I thought the two clown fishes could well represent the instructor and the student, and the three fishes are the other students joining on the blog. The name "Harmony" also conveys the idea of working together towards a common goal with mutual respect for each other's opinions.