Research Results

Well, the results are in and I obtained a creditably 80 for the dissertation that i carried out in the content area reading and writing methods course. I thought that was pretty ok. So this brings closure to the MA in New Literacies program. The skills and knowledge gained during these two years have been extremely beneficial to my practice.

The Wiki

Another Web 2.o tool that I am currently experimenting with. It is a useful tool tool that teacher educators can utilize particularly when students are working on group projects. Take a look.

Google Docs

A new way to share and collaborate on documents, presentations and spreadsheets. Go the Google doc way! Take a look

Teacher Education for the 21st Centruy

I must admit that the MA in New Literacies adequately prepared me for this Online Course that I am currently pursing designed for teacher educators from the Caribbean Latin and Central America. The course seeks to expose teacher educators to methodologies that put student teachers in charge of their learning with the use of new technologies. The ultimate goal I suppose is to initiate the paradigm shift in preparing teachers for practice in the 21st century and beyond.

It is a very short course - 11 weeks long which i am already finding so captivating.

It's OVER

Now that i have completed this acadmenic journey I am ever so grateful to all those who made the research a reality. To the research participants i owe a debt of gratitude.

The research was a major breakthrough for me as a new teacher educator. I did not realize that this undertaking was so engaging. I did learn quite a bit however as some of the findings have informed my pedagogical practices at the teachers' college where i currently lecture.

I think that students' participation in blogs and the discussion board was impressive. Their interactive and collaborative participation that took place over the semester-long course contributed to their reflexivity and their understanding of content area related concepts. Furthermore students built communities of practice as was evident in the nature of interaction, their interest and the knowledge and repertoire of instructional strategies that they learned and developed to enhance content area instruction at the secondary school.

Data Analysis

oh wow! I am currently analyzing data garnered from the data collection methods. It is so much, I am getting a bit overwhelmed by the amount of data i have to deal with. I just have to reassure myself that i need to take it one step at a time and focus on each research question in turn.

Just can't wait to get to the end of this academic journey. Meanwhile I work tirelessly.

End of Course

I breathe a sigh of relief at this moment, now that the semester-long course has ended. All students were able to upload the video of their micro-teaching lesson into their blogs as can be seen if you just click on one of the links in the list on the left. This exercise proved to be extremely useful as it provided other students who were absent an opportunity to view the lesson taught by their classmates and comment. It also encouraged repeated viewing and deeper reflection.

...An Update on Micro Teaching

Students are currently doing their Micro Teaching exercise based on a Unit of work that they prepared as part of a group assignment. Initially students were asked to prepare a 30 minute lesson but it was necessary that some modifications be made to allow us sufficient time to complete the course. Four students have taught and the remaining three students are expected to teach a 15 minute lesson.
One student withdrew and the other student who as asked to audit the course has now rejoined her classmates.

All lessons are being videotaped and students are expected to upload their videos into their blogs to encourage deeper reflection. This approach provides me as the course lecturer with another opportunity to review the lesson and to capture areas that i may have missed during the execution of the lesson. In some cases I had to record the lesson so it was not possible for me to evaluate using the prescribed teaching practice assessment tool.

Making Progress.......

Well, we are approaching the end of the semester and by then I am hoping to collect all data that are germane to the research. So far the students are doing quite well in publishing their blog posts and commenting on each other's blog. One of my major concerns however is their inability to use the lab at the school to access the discussion board and their blogs. It means that they are left to participate in this online learning activity at home. This is a major constrain.

Right Trip

I had no idea that I would have seen and felt snow since I was traveling in February, a time when many states in the US particularly Georgia rarely get to experience snow. Well I almost missed it since I had to return home the Sunday morning. On arriving at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport I was told that my flight had been cancelled due to inclement weather conditions. Oh no! I thought but my positive outlook on life was unshakable and instantly I thought about the silver lining that was seemingly hiding behind this grey cloud. The answer was clearly revealed in the afternoon around 3 pm when i was called to the door to witness one of my greatest moments of nostalgia. It was such an illuminating experience and a spectacle as I gaze at the falling snow in awe. Take a look


Of course I did go out to grab some and to get a few photos as seen on the left. Was it one of these fairly tale stories that I had read before? It had indeed come true.

Virtual Pet

I have been taking care of my virtual pet cat Katsumapopo. He feels really drowsy now and needs to engage in some activities. He loves having fun.

My real cat Frisky was hit by a pick-up and sustained serious injuries to the head, so I have been nursing him for the past 2 weeks. Now he is able to eat and drink. He can also walk but sad to say that he is blind. That makes me soooo sad.

New literacies in Methods Course

It seems that things are winding down for me in the MA in New Literacies course. I am in the process of refining my research questions and looking at a theoretical framework for the research. Not sure what the final product will be .

But i have something interesting going on with student teachers in my methods course. They seem excited about new literacies that i have incorporated in the course. Students are expected to participate in an online discussion. A discussion board has been set up for them. Consistent with the philosophical aim of the Associate Degree in Education Program i am making a deliberate attempt to develop the teacher as a reflective practitioner. So students are to engage in ongoing reflection through blogging. I am looking forward to the valuable lessons that this intervention will teach us.

Apologies but ........

I feel awful! Yes I do. It's been a while since I created my last post. I have been unbelievably busy with community projects during the summer and planning for a workshop for second year students as they get ready for teaching practice (seen in in the picture. Planning for the new course that I am teaching this semester has also taken much of my time. Oh, it promises to be an exciting one and I am rising to the challenge. Yes, I have decided to incorporate an e-learning element in a methods course to develop in pre-service teachers new literacies that they need to teach effectively in this multimedia and technologised classroom. I have no doubt that student teachers will learn quite a bit from this novel mode of delivery.