Hoàn's Reflective Journal

In this last module of this course, we learned about flipped learning - what it is, how to design a flipped learning lesson, and some tools and apps for flipped learning. To me, this is a very interesting module. I do have some experience with the flipped learning model, since the place I am working at does apply flipped learning in all of its courses. I think the content of this module helps me understand more deeply what types of flipped learning my center is applying. Specifically, it is Micro Flipped Classroom - The learners are asked to memorize vocabulary and grammar at home, and class time is devoted to practicing the learned vocabulary and grammar in controlled, freer, and communicative activities.  I also think that the article Definition of Flipped Learning assigned as a required reading was quite informative. The article mentioned four pillars of flipped learning, which are: Flexible Environment, Learning Culture, Intentional Content, and Professional Educator. For me, ...

In this module, I learned about project-based learning as well as some other forms of alternative assessment. Then I learned how to build my own rubric to assess learners' performance.  The first part I found interesting in this module is project-based learning. In my class, I have been doing what I thought was project-based learning: giving my learners a project at the end of the course, and the learners would finish that project using what they have learned. After watching the video  Projects and Project-Based Learning: What's The Difference?  by Edutopia , I realized that there is a difference between doing projects and project-based learning and that what I have been doing was only doing projects, not project-based learning. Project-based learning requires learners to come up with solutions to real-life problems, and the process of doing the project IS the learning process. With this new understanding in mind, I am going to change the way I look at projects and come u...

  In this module, I learned about different web pages for Reading and Writing skills, as well as how to create a technology-enhanced lesson plan. Firstly, we were introduced to some websites to help improve students Reading and Writing skills. It was quite a shame that very few of the links in the Canvas's Required readings actually worked. I think I could discover many interesting ideas if the links were to work. Nevertheless, I had a chance to explore many interesting websites that my classmates suggested in the discussion sections. So many interesting and useful websites such as Quill , Writing A-Z , Purdue , ReadWriteThink ,... were suggested by my classmates. My favorite website among these is Quill, suggested by Ms. Hue Dung. I think it provides a lot of helpful exercises and lessons that could definitely help my learners practice English writing. Secondly, in this module, we got a chance to design our own technology-enhanced lesson plan. I think the article " Writing a ...

In this module, I learned about different websites for developing oral/aural skills, as well as how to use social bookmarking sites. First, I learned about using technology in class to teach listening and speaking. I find one of the required readings " Technology and Speaking" by Julie Vorholt very useful, as it gives me an overview of the technology activity types that I can use in class. The activity type I find most interesting is "recording on video". My learners have already been doing this, but now I know that there are other more interesting platforms for my learners to upload their videos.  Speaking of interesting platforms, I was also introduced to some websites to develop learners' oral/aural skills. My favorite site is Flip, I think it offers creative ways for my learners to create videos. Some of the teachers in my center have also been using this site, so I think I am going to give it a try in the near future. One thing I am concerning though, is wh...

In this module, I learned about the ABCD Learning Objectives Framework and Effective Web Searching. Specifically, I learned about different search engines and how to use them effectively for my English teaching, as well as how to write lesson objectives using the ABCD framework . Firstly, in this module, we had a discussion on web search engines. I was so surprised that my classmates shared a lot of new and interesting search engines that I had never heard of before. The one I found most interesting was Slideshare, mentioned by my friend Ha Tu. When I search for information on Google and YouTube, it often takes so much time to read articles or watch videos. On Slideshare, however, the information is kept concise using slides, so that it is much faster to go through the source and get the information I need. I think I am going to be using it more in the future, especially to search for academic information to finish my assignments in this PG program. Secondly, we learned about the ABCD ...

In this module, I learned how to create my own blog for our ELT purposes. My classmates and I discussed the reasons why blogging is a good tool for ELT classes, and we got a chance to see each other's blogs in the breakout rooms.  I think that during the discussion on the Canvas forums, I could see a lot of ideas about what we could use blogs for, and what should I include in a class blog. When I have a look at the additional resources, especially the sample blogs part, I was also blown away by the numerous types of blogs created by many teachers and organizations for various different purposes. I think that those blogs are going to be really useful for teachers and students (myself included) on our English learning/teaching journey. My favourite blog is the one I mentioned in my reply in the discussion post: Film English  by  Kieran Donaghy. I really like the idea of using films to teach English, I think films really make English lessons much more interesting. On the oth...