"Judge not so that ye may not be judged!"

I don't know who said it but I like the saying. It's only when we start to judge others that our own actions really dawn on us! We have to account for our own actions.

Like most of our students, I dread the word 'assessment'. It always has horrible connotations and conjures up images that are quite unpleasant! In fact it always caused me fever when I was young!

I love alternatives and choices as they bring freedom to choose! They accommodate for a variety of learning styles! No two human beings are exactly same, so how can we use one yardstick for all of them. The benchmark for learning must be set with the consent of the learners involved.

I've learned this week that exam fright is caused by the unpredictable nature of our conventional evaluation system. We can reduce it by letting the learners become in charge of their own learning and assessment process. They learn more when they own it: when they traverse the path mapped out by themselves, and head towards a destination set by themselves. Through alternative assessment they become aware of the indicators of success! It boosts their confidence and things become less murky!

Self and peer assessment sound less threatening. Peers don't have authority over you and they have to explain why they rate your performance high or low. It is only fair to assess oneself. After all who else can claim to understand your situation better than you yourself! Besides, others may point out the shortcomings in you but if you don't deem them wrong you're not going to improve, or are you?

Muhammad Rashid

Reflections on Week 5 - A Flashback!

"The time when most I loved my task"

Those who know me also know that I've failed many times in life! I’ve abandoned many jobs, and left many tasks unfinished! I lose motivation sooner than many. I’ve been told many times that I follow my impulse and don’t have temperament for long term commitment, hence, people find me unfit for many tasks, or even life!

 As the fourth week of our Web-skills course is nearing its end, I’m beginning to feel that it may not be I who failed those tasks; it may be those tasks that failed me! I need something intellectually stimulating; something innovative; creative; or even soul stirring! External stimulants (those ‘carrots and sticks’, you know) don’t really work for me. I need an urge inside to get going!

 Well, surprisingly, this course has doubled my motivation since I joined it four weeks ago. It has so much to offer! Each week begins with exciting new tasks and challenges! I feel like Alice in the wonderland! Each new achievement increases my level of satisfaction!

 This week I explored newfound worlds for teaching reading and writing. But these new regions don’t excite me as much as do the sharing part. In the past if I came across any exciting resources, I never found many around me to share my pleasures. It seemed everyone around me had different priorities or they thought I was crazy. Here, we can discuss, apply and share resources. Here we have professionals with whom I can share my expectations and excitements! Here I have a digital family with organic affiliations! I feel like I belong here!

 Last week a poem, and this week comic strips! That's like me! I love the blog posts as they offer freedom, room for creativity and innovation! I love this course, because, in the words of Robert Frost,

                                                    "My object in living is to unite

                                                    My avocation and my vocation

                                                    As my two eyes make one in sight.

                                                    Only where love and need are one,

                                                    And the work is play for mortal stakes,

                                                    Is the deed ever really done

                                                    For Heaven and the future's sakes."

Week 4 Reflections through Comic Strips!

Who am I?

Here are my reflections on 'Delicious Pages' in the form of a poem!

Who am I?

Am I a scavenger, hunting for some food?

Am I a beachcomber, nourished by the sea?

Am I a gold digger, sifting through the soil?

Am I a weatherman, fearing frosty winds?

Am I a mariner, cruising foamy seas?

Am I a stargazer, searching supernovae?

Am I a meditator, diving into soul?

Look at my discoveries and discover who I am! 

Muhammad Rashid

ICT: a mania; a phobia!

For most teachers, use of ICT causes either fright or frenzy! There are those who view it like this: “we are digital immigrants, or even digital aliens; how are we supposed to teach digital natives? Just think of the digital divide: our students have evolved into a different species with different aims and aspirations! Most part of their lives is spent in blogging, chatting, texting, tweeting, multitasking whereas we’re simply illiterates in these!” The argument goes something like this: “how can we teach them, if we can’t even reach them?” Portrayed this way, it sure causes digital fright, a phobia!

On the other hand, there are those who are addicted to technology and overexcited about its benefits in teaching! They are far ahead of their students and think teaching would be impossible without Web-skills! They consider it a panacea, a magical wand that’d swing and the whole class of learners would become competent in English overnight! They are swept off their feet by alluring tides of technology. They like to pile up most powerful tools and get buried under it! They are maniacs!

How can we strike a balance between these two extremes? Well, by adopting a third perspective. We must not think of our learners as a member of a different species! They are human beings as much as we are! They have emotions same as ours! They apply the learning strategies similar to our own! They are changed, not transformed! For a few differences between the digital natives and us, we can find hundreds of similarities.

We should also rethink of the dreaded word “technology”! Is it something that we’ve never used in teaching? Or is it a continuation of blackboard, chalk, slate, paper, cassette player, OHP, TV and other such technologies? No doubt, ICT is much more powerful than many of the technologies I’ve mentioned. But why kill a rat with a missile? As teachers we don’t need to have a mastery over every single technology that pops up each day. We need to keep abreast of the latest technologies; find out the ones that are useful for our purposes; and use them wisely to achieve maximum positive results! The lesson I’ve learned is this: let’s behave normally and take this change sensibly and that’s only possible if we are clear in our objectives and our teaching strategies are determined by our target, and not by the tools out there!

Muhammad Rashid

It takes time to save time!

I was wondering if my initial excitement would die down after the first week. Well, it hasn’t! There is lot to learn! Our teacher Donna Shaw shared with us some great resources this week. NoodleTools provided not just food for thought, but also the tastiest noodles ever so it sure deserved to be bookmarked on Delicious! I think searching on the web is like trying to find a needle in the haystack; like a non Chinese trying to eat noodles with chopsticks! World Wide Web holds a maddening disarray of information woven into a complex web. I salute those who find a pattern in confusion; “a method behind madness” and this world makes sense to us. I term myself ‘connoisseur of chaos” and love finding my own way through it! But at times it might be too frustrating and too time consuming an experience! It’s when NoodleTools comes to help! It just doesn’t offer one size that fits all; it tailors information to everyone’s needs! Thumbs up for Donna who shared it with us and hats off to those who created the page!