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3/30/2014

I AM A PUZZLE-DOER

Hi everyone! This week's assignment was so enjoyable for me : creating a puzzle.  I love puzzles,mazes and riddles thus it is not a tough task for me. I created 2 different puzzles on 2 different topics. First one is the HIDDEN MESSAGE, I chose the novel 1984 by George Orwell as a topic for this one. There are 13 hidden words, relating to the novel , in it. The second one is CRISS-CROSS and the topic of it is fruit and vegetables. Clues for the answers are given as colours and shapes of fruit and vegetables. I did some small changes on my criss-cross puzzle in Microsoft Office Word. For instance, I changed colour of the letters and shape of them. To share my creations on my blog, I had to make print-screen of the pages. Because, The Puzzle- Maker does not allow me to share the puzzles I created as a link. That's the only irritating part of the task. 
P.S.  Good Luck on our mid-term exams...






3/24/2014

EVALUATING THE WEBQUEST ( POETRY PRESENTATION PROJECT )

This week our assignment is to evaluate a webquest from several aspects. I am going to evaluate '' Poetry Presentation Project '' from zunal.com . The purpose of the project is to attain deeper understanding of poetry. The students are supposed to analyse a poem and evaluate it from different aspects. This is a gorup work. Let's have a look at this project from a closer perspective :
   
  1.Overall Aesthetics : 
     
     Visual appeal : There are some graphic elements making easy to understand the directions about the project. In each segment, relevant pictures are added to the top of the page. Generally, the type of size, color aren't changed. But, 2 quotes are written different type of sizein the introduction part
     Navigation : There is no way to get lost and get confused in this webquest. It is well designed and each category is divided systematically.
    Mechanical Aspects : All of the attached links service smoothly and there are no missing images. However, there are some spelling mistakes such as  ''alwaystalking'' and '' aboutthis''.

     2. Introduction :
        
        Motivational Effectiveness of Introduction : In the introduction part, the teacher tries to motivate students and tries to get them calm about the project. I can give really motivating and sincere examples from the introduction part. Firstly, there is a picture saying ''Keep calm and get a 5 on the AP exam ''. Beside sharing some positive quotes from S.Rushdie and W.H. Auden, the teacher says '' Get your c.mates involved and watch how easy '' All of these examples show that the teacher triggers the students to do the task eagerly.
        Cognitive Effectiveness of the Introduction : The teacher exactly refers to the stdents' prior knowledge about the topic and makes clear explanations about how the task relates to their previous knowledge.
 
     3.Task :
     
        Connection of Task to Standards : The task is connected openly to what openly to what are responsibilities of the students. Directions are clearly stated such as '' You will be expected to utilize time wisely, create a compelling choral reading '' etc.
        Cognitive Level of the Task : The task isnot so challenging, it's doable. To me, it facilitates the students' critical thinking ability. Apart from these, the task requires multiple sources of information and creative activities. E.g. Poetry, the poet's background, figurative devices... It is asked to integrate them in this task.
 
     4. Process : 
         
         Clarity of Process : Steps are divided into 4 parts. Directions are explained clearly in each step such as sharing the list of poems they will examine. Websites and links are shared for the research and even the duration of one step is stated.
         Scaffolding Process : Organizational tools are embedded in the process. Different and sufficient resources, which are appropriate for the students' level, are shared.
         Richness of Process : The process is not included only few and one-way steps. In contrast, there are discussion part, and activities by which the students think creatively ( e.g. Preparing a presentation including visual, spatial materials).

    5. Resources :
       
       Relevance & Quantity of Resources : There is a meaningful connection between the shared resources and the information which is important for students ( e.g. http://www.poets.org/ and  http://www.famouspoemsandpoets.com/ ) .
       Quality of Resources : Shared links and websites have colourful, lively aesthetics. Also, they have excellent information about the subject which is no way to reach them in the classroom setting.
   
    6.Evaluation : 
       
      Clarity of Evaluation Criteria : The form of the rubric is divided into 4 parts. Each part has 25 points. The aim of the project and the evaluation questions are matched. There is no irrelevancy between them. Criteria includes qualitative as well as quantitative descriptors. For instance, using time wisely is one of the quantitative descriptors. On the other hand the presentation's entertaining side is measured too, there is no need to say but is a qualitative one. Finally, there is a 'comments' part in which teacher write about the performance of the group.
     
      To see the webquest page I've evaluated : http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=230790
   
       I have another assessment page for this project. I want to share it with you, too. You can click here to see the page.

                                                                         THE END ...
     


     

3/17/2014

MY FAVORİTE BOOK ( WIKIS )

 Hi again :) Project of this week is really an entartaining one : creating a wiki page. We were supposed to introduct our favorite book on this page. We were also supposed to summarized it and give our opinions about it. As I mentioned above, this is an amusing task for me. It's just like an advertisment. I must try to convince my friends to read my favorite book. If I advertise it professionally, they will read it or ask me about the book. Apart from these, of course, I had some difficulties in this task such as introducing my favorite book . Because, when I read this book I really loved it but telling about it with 150-200 entry is restrictive for me. I couldn't decide what should I mention about the book or what shouldn't I.

If you are an EFL learner, you can express yourself with English via the wikis. It doesn't have to be about books but numerous areas such as films, dictionaries, recipes, music etc. I really want to use it with my own students in the future. It is the only way to cope up with them as  they will be technology monsters.

Here is my wiki page : The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan KUNDERA

http://myfavouritebookproject.wikispaces.com/The+Unbearable+Lightness+Of+Being

3/08/2014

Vocaroo Voice Message ( INTERVIEW )




Hi ! I worked with Esra Çelepi in this podcast project. I think this project is very beneficial for our pronounciation and self confidence. In our first attempt, we really hesitated to speak out but after many attempts , we satisfied with our performence. Our self confidence increased compared to the first try. We had several difficulties while we were working on this project. For example, I stay in a dormitory and working in pair is a challenging duty for me. Because, I have no place to share with another friend. Then, finding a place with internet connection could be easy but finding a silent place for our duty is very diffucult and really discouraging. Apart from these disadvantages, podcasting has many advantages for EFL learners. Firstly, they can hear their speaking , pronounciation and after that they can criticize themselves. They can see their errors in many scopes such as pronounciation, grammar, vocabulary, stress etc. Finally, I can sincerely say that I would use it with my own students in the future. Have a good weekend :)

OUR PODCAST :




Vocaroo Voice Message


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Interview About The Podcast on Edmodo

Hi ! I worked with Esra Çelepi in this podcast project. I think this project is very beneficial for our pronounciation and self confidence. In our first attempt, we really hesitated to speak out but after many attempts , we satisfied with our performence. Our self confidence increased compared to the first try. We had several difficulties while we were working on this project. For example, I stay in a dormitory and working in pair is a challenging duty for me. Because, I have no place to share with another friend. Then, finding a place with internet connection could be easy but finding a silent place for our duty is very diffucult and really discouraging. Apart from these disadvantages, podcasting has many advantages for EFL  learners. Firstly, they can hear their speaking , pronounciation and after that they can criticize themselves. They can see their errors in many scopes such as pronounciation, grammar, vocabulary, stress etc. Finally, I can sincerely say that I would use it with my own students in the future. Have a good weekend :)

OUR RECORD  ( INTERVİEW ) :




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