My reflection on Lecture 9: "Assessment and Evaluation"

Hey there, everyone!

It’s great to be back! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and are feeling energized and motivated to dive into each other’s blogs. 

Today, I'm going to reflect on "Assessment and Evaluation" lecture. At first, when we hear the word “assessment,” we might think of exams or quizzes. But assessments are so much more than that. They’re tools teachers use to figure out how much we've learned, where we're rocking it, and where we might need a little extra help. From traditional tests to creative projects and portfolios, assessments come in all shapes and sizes😀 But what exactly are assessments?

They’re there to help teachers, students, and even parents see how much progress we're making. Some are summative, like final exams, while others are formative, like class discussions or daily assignments that give us ongoing feedback. But here’s the cool part: not all assessments have to involve paper and pen. There are plenty of creative ways to show what we've learned, according to the lecture.

Forget boring multiple-choice questions, how about showing off your skills with:

Performances: By acting out a scene, giving a presentation, or even creating a song

Portfolios: Collecting our best work, like essays, artwork, or videos, and displaying our growth over time.

Projects: Building a model, creating an invention, or write a story. These long-term tasks let us dive deeeep into a topic.

These kinds of assessments are awesome because they let us shine in ways that tests sometimes can’t. Plus, they sound a lot more fun!

But, what makes a good assessment? Experts say a good test should be:

Valid – It measures what it’s supposed to measure.

Reliable – It gives consistent results, no matter when we take it.

Adapted to Language Level – It matches our English ability, especially if we're ELLs (English Language Learners).

The role of technology in assessments

Tech has made assessments more exciting and accessible than ever before. Here are a few ways teachers use it:

E-Portfolios: Imagine uploading our essays, videos, and art into a digital folder for teachers (and even parents) to see. Tools like Google Sites make this super easy.

Interactive Quizzes: Websites like Kahoot and SurveyMonkey turn tests into fun games.

Creative Projects: Recording a podcast, designing a website, or making a video presentation. These tools let us showcase our unique talents in exciting ways.

Let's wrap it up once again!!

When working on multimedia projects, the DDD-E model (Decide, Design, Develop, Evaluate), which we have mentioned on our previous blogs, ensures every step is meaningful and assessed in a fair way:

Decide: We research, brainstorm, and pick a focus. Teachers check if we're asking good questions and gathering the right information.

Design: Creating flowcharts, outlines, or storyboards that show how our ideas connect. Teachers assess how clear and organized our plan is.

Develop: Building our project. This is where we get feedback from peers 

Evaluate: Reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and what we learned. Teachers, peers, and even us (through self-assessments) evaluate the final product.

Assessments are for growth, not just grades!!

At the end of the day, assessments aren’t about labeling us with a grade, they’re about helping us grow. They highlight our strengths, show where we can improve, and give us the tools to reach your goals. So next time we’re taking a test or working on a project, we have to remember: assessments are there to show off everything we’ve learned and how far we’ve come. We should embrace them as opportunities to shine, learn, and create something amazing😍

Until next week,

Toodless!

My reflection on Lecture 8: "The DDD-E model, 'Develop' Stage"

Hey there, guys💗,

I hope you had a pleasant and restful weekend!

Here I am again to talk to you about another stage of the DDD-E model, and that is the "Develop" stage. The Develop stage is the third step in the DDD-E model, and it’s where you start creating all the media for your project. This means making graphics, animations, audio, and video that will go into your multimedia presentation. It also includes the programming part, where you put everything together and make sure it works. Creating multimedia projects can be super exciting because it allows you to bring your ideas to life through a mix of graphics, animations, audio, and video. As you start working on the Develop phase of your project, you’ll be using different tools to create or import these media elements. Whether you're drawing graphics from scratch, scanning images, or using digital audio, the goal is to enhance your project and make it more engaging and fun to explore.

Graphics, like images and drawings, can make your presentation stand out. They are images or pictures that you use in your multimedia project. They can make your project look cooler and help explain your ideas better. You can create graphics from scratch using software like Photoshop or PowerPoint, or you can scan a picture or photo you already have.

One important thing to keep in mind is that graphics should help, not distract from, your project. Try to keep them simple and clear, and avoid making them too big because they can slow down your project. Also, use fewer colors (like 256 colors) to keep the file size smaller and more manageable.

Animations are another cool way to bring motion and life to your work. Whether it’s moving a character across the screen or showing a process step-by-step, animations make your ideas clearer and more entertaining. Animations are a fun way to show movement in your project. They help explain things like how something works or what happens step by step. There are two main types: path animations, where an object moves along a path (like a car driving across the screen), and frame animations, where you show different pictures in a sequence to make something look like it’s moving.

Animations can make your project more exciting and help your audience understand things better, but remember, they can take some time to create. So, use them wisely to make your project look awesome without overdoing it! When you also add audio, like music or voice narration, it can really set the mood and help explain your content in a more interactive way.

In the end, think of multimedia as your chance to get creative and make your project something that grabs attention. Just remember to balance your ideas with good planning to keep things simple, effective, and fun!

See you next week💥

Toodles✌

My reflection on Lecture 7: "The DDD-E model, 'Design' Stage"

Hi guys!

I hope you’re doing well. 💘
Today, I’m going to continue talking about the DDD-E model we discussed last time, but this time, we’re focusing on the Design Stage.

The Design Stage is all about making a detailed plan for your learning project. It’s where you figure out what you want your learners to achieve, decide what content to use, choose how you’ll deliver the lessons, and figure out how to assess progress. Basically, it takes the ideas from the "Decide" stage and turns them into a clear plan with everything mapped out; content, sequence, and tools, to reach your goals (Morrison, Ross, & Kemp, 2007).

This stage is super important because it’s like the blueprint for your entire project! 💥 Imagine you’re building a house 🏠,before you start laying bricks 🧱, you need a solid plan. In this phase, you’re organizing your ideas and figuring out how everything will fit together.

First off, you need to chunk your info. This means breaking it down into smaller, bite-sized pieces, so it’s easier to digest. Then, you decide 💭 what types of media you want to use; graphics, sounds 🔊, videos 📹, animations 👧,and figure out where everything should go. A flowchart is like your project’s road map, showing the order in which things happen, so you don’t get lost along the way.

One of the best parts of this phase is looking at examples of good and bad designs. This helps you see what works and what doesn’t, so you can avoid common mistakes. Plus, you’ll get a list of requirements (like how many pages or screens your project should have), so you know what’s expected and won’t feel overwhelmed.                                                                                                                   
It’s also super important to think about your audience👫, who you’re making this project for. Tailoring your design to meet their needs makes it more engaging and fun. Whether you’re working on a website, a video, or a presentation, you’ll use different strategies like flowcharts and storyboards to plan out the layout and content.

Finally, the design phase is all about planning ahead. Storyboards and scripts help you map out every little detail, so when you start building, you’re not scrambling to figure out what comes next. This makes the entire production process way smoother and less stressful.

- Why do students play a key role  in this stage?

In this stage, students play a key role in planning their multimedia projects because they start by organizing the information they want to present, making sure it’s clear and easy to follow. Then, they decide the best order for the content by creating a flowchart to map out how things will connect.

Students get to plan all the fun stuff, like picking graphics, audio, videos, and interactive elements. They’ll also work on creating storyboards to visualize how the project will look and flow.

This stage is all about getting the plan right before diving into the actual work, so students make sure everything is in the right order and each element fits together smoothly to reach the project’s goals.

Let’s get planning! 🚀

Until next time,

Toodles ✌

My reflection on Lecture 6: "The DDD-E Model: 'Decide' Stage"

 My reflection on Lecture 6: "The DDD-E Model: 'Decide' Stage"

Hey there guys,

Welcome back to my blog. Today I'm going to talk about The DDD-E Model and more specifically, about the "Decide" stage. But first of all, what is the DDD-E Model?

The DDD model, Decide, Design, Develop, is a framework for instructional design and project planning. It emphasizes a systematic and iterative approach:

Decide: Identify objectives, define goals, and determine resources needed for the project.

Design: Create detailed plans, such as storyboards or flowcharts, to organize the project.

Develop: Implement the plans by creating content or materials.

This model supports adaptability and collaboration, making it well-suited for multimedia and instructional environments, especially in blended or digital learning contexts (Ivers & Barron, 2010).

In simple words, the DDD-E Model is a simple way to organize tasks, projects
 etc.. and it is effective for both teachers and students because it keeps work structured and clear. For students, it makes tasks easier to handle by breaking them into steps, helping them focus and stay on track. For teachers, it provides a structured way to plan lessons, create materials, and check if learning goals are met.

When focusing on the "Decide" stage, I think it is a really crucial one. It holds a significant importance as it is the base of the whole project. In it, students are presented with the topic; both the teacher and the students focus on defining the main goals, identifying the audience, and planning key requirements. For students, this means clearly understanding what they need to achieve and the tools they will use. For teachers, it involves setting clear learning objectives
and determining how to support students effectively. During this stage the teachers set goals and assess on background knowledge. They provide project guidelines and supervise selection of groups and roles. Therefore, the "Decide" stage is important because:

1-It clarifies objectives: It helps define clear goals and outcomes for the project.

2-Sets a direction: Sets the focus and guides the project’s progress.

3-Identifies resources: Determines what tools, materials, or support will be needed.

4-Clarifies expectations: Ensures everyone is on the same page about what’s to be accomplished.

5-Prevents confusion: Minimizes misunderstandings and wasted effort later on.

However, this stage can sometimes feel confusing. As a student, I’ve experienced moments where I didn’t find it very helpful, especially when the teacher didn’t provide clear objectives or instructions. This lack of clarity often led to misunderstandings and even arguments within the group. The final outcome wasn’t aligned with what we had initially expected, which made the process frustrating and less productive. To avoid this from happening, I have a few suggestions for us as future teachers:

1-We should provide clear objectives by clearly stating the goals and expectations of the class

2-We should offer examples to help the students understand what is expected

3- We should encourage them to make questions if they feel like they didn't understand a specific point of this stage

4- We could also use visual aids to explain the steps of the tasks in a more detailed way.

By addressing these potential issues early on, we can ensure a smoother and more productive process for both teachers and students.

That was it for today, thank you for your attention!

See you next time,

Toodles✌

My reflection on Lecture 5: "Project Based Learning"

 My reflection on Lecture 5: "Project Based Learning"

Hey there girlbosses,

I hope you're having a pleasant evening💗

Today I'm going to talk and reflect on the Project Based Learning approach which we covered in our lecture last week.

First of all, PBL is an educational approach in which students work in groups to solve challenging problems that are authentic, curriculum-based, and often interdisciplinary. They actively explore real-world problems and challenges through hands-on-projects. In this approach, students create knowledge and understanding through learning activities built around intellectual inquiry and a high degree of engagement, with meaningful tasks.

Thinking back on it, we've actually been practicing PBL since we were in elementary school. Remember those biology projects where we had to plant beans or seeds in cotton and observe their growth in both sunlight🌞 and darkness⚫? What about the physics activities where we had to light up a bulb💡 using a potato🥔? Or the projects where we had to build models of our neighborhood🏙 or school🏫? Even the tasks where we focused on relatable topics like community, animals🐈, or the environment🌳? All of these tasks are considered Project-Based Learning activities. They allowed us to explore concepts in a hands-on, real-world way, engaging our creativity and critical thinking while solving practical problems.

As we can tell from the activities I mentioned above, PBL activities promote:

Active Learning, by engaging students actively in their learning process;

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving by encouraging students to think critically and make decisions;

Collaboration and Teamwork, because many PBL projects involve group work, which helps students develop collaboration skills

Real-World Connections, because PBL often focuses on real-world problems or scenarios, making learning more relevant to students' lives.

Deep Learning and Retention, because PBL tasks involve deeper engagement with the material, which helps students retain information better

Interdisciplinary Learning, because PBL often requires students to use knowledge and skills from different subject areas, helping them see the connections between different disciplines, etc.

With all the benefits that PBL offers to students, I can see why many educators embrace it as an approach. However, sometimes it becomes difficult to apply in the classroom. Reasons for this include resource limitations - not all schools have access to materials, technology, or resources that are required; time constraints, as PBL activities often require a lot of time to plan; classroom management - student-centered learning can lead to noisier classrooms, etc..

Thinking about it as a future teacher, I’d love to include as many PBL activities as possible, of course in alignment with the school curriculum. Some of the activities I’d implement in my English teaching would be creating a class magazine or blog (since that's what we're actually doing now 😛), DIY projects, designing a language learning game, creating a class podcast, etc.

Overall, PBL makes learning hands-on and fun, bringing lessons to life!🔥

Until next week, 

Tooodless✌

My reflection on Lecture 4: "Cooperative Learning"

 My reflection on Lecture 4: "Cooperative Learning"

Hey guys💗

I'm back yet again, and today, I'm reflecting on our latest lecture, which was about cooperative learning.

Cooperative learning is an educational approach which involves organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences, where students work together in small, structured groups.(Merriam-Webster). It is a way of learning by sharing thoughts, ideas and working with other people. A process in which students get to know more about one another and their perspectives. In such a strategy, the students gain from each other's effort, and they recognize that all group members share a common fate. In other words, cooperative learning is group work, and we have all been there and done that.

As a principle, working in groups should be a beneficial and fun activity to do, especially when you get to work with friends you associate with (teehee). You share your tasks and, with mutual understanding, you get the job done 99% of the time. However, personally speaking, that doesn’t always happen😐.

Most of the time, only one or two students take the task seriously, while the rest of the group benefits from their efforts without actively engaging in the work. When the task is completed, these students also take credit, which feels unfair to those who contributed more. For that to not happen, there are several things a teacher can do, in my opinion.

First, the teacher should define and specify each of the students' roles. This way, every student feels the responsibility of the task they have to complete.                                                                              Second, set group goals. By setting goals students understand the importance of their contribution to the overall success of the project.                                                                                                              Third, the teacher should structure the activity or choose those kind of activities which require input from all members.

What's also very important, the teacher should monitor each of the students throughout the process. She/He should provide support, and encourage quieter students to share their ideas💥.                            Furthermore, the teacher should provide positive feedback and acknowledge each of the students' work. It is important that every student feels seen and heard. Using peer assessment would also work in such cases, because in this way students assess each other's contributions, promoting a sense of responsibility and accountability.

I believe that cooperative learning is very helpful in the learning process when done the right way. It is important because it puts constructivist ideas into practice. As someone who strongly supports constructivism, I see that both approaches focus on teamwork, being involved, and the role of social interaction in learning. This allows them to work well together to create a meaningful educational experience.

Here’s a video on how I believe successful cooperative work is done https://youtu.be/zR6rTKPkjgQ?si=3nMRMJykHpRqIUDU

Until the next one,

Toodles✌

My reflection on Lecture 3: "Multiple Intelligences: Understanding and Applying with Your Students"

 My reflection on Lecture 3: "Multiple Intelligences: Understanding and Applying with Your Students"

Hello everyone,

I hope you are doing great!

Today I'm going to try something different from last time. Thanks to you, I've realized that being a blogger shouldn’t be so boring and dry (shoutout to my two previous posts for that), and I probably should have trusted my gut when I first started posting. So, this one goes out to my fellow classmates, you're doing amazing sweeties !!!!

Today’s lecture is on a topic we’ve already covered in other subjects but one that still holds interest for many of us (as it should): Multiple Intelligences 

As we all know, multiple intelligences is a theory by Howard Gardner, in which he suggests that intelligence isn't a single, uniform ability, but a range of different types, each significant in its own way. According to him, there are 9 intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, and existential. This theory implies that people have unique learning styles aligned with their dominant intelligences. 

It truly amazes me how our brain decides to grasp information in some ways and decline it in others. However, personally speaking, I understand. Being a student has made me realize that it is really difficult to learn a large amount of new information over a short period of time. Each of us has struggled in our own different ways, but hey, here we are! That means we’ve learned a thing or two about ourselves. Each of us has discovered his or her own way of absorbing new information, whether by taking notes, reading out loud, watching explanatory videos on YouTube about the topic, running around the house, or even dancing while learning. And according to Gardner, once we have found our unique learning style, we have also come to know our dominant intelligences. Finding your strength and then using it to your advantage, to me, is a superpower!

Because of our unique learning styles and how different they are from one another, it is often difficult to learn in environments with large groups of people, such as classrooms or auditoriums. Not only is it difficult for students to remain focused and try to learn new information in their own ways, but it is also challenging for teachers to keep up with every student’s needs. But every student needs to be heard and cared about, right? That's why we, as new teachers, need to come up with new ideas and suggestions, considering the many opportunities technology has offered us. Just as Professor Daniela and other professors before her have done, we should also try to find out our students' intelligences by providing them with Multiple Intelligences tests, and then try to include as many activities related to their dominant intelligences in our next class. Will it be difficult at first? Yes. But will it also be effective and fun? Absolutely YES!

To conclude, I think it is very important for each student to discover who they really are, what fields they thrive in, and where they excel. After all, being bad in one area doesn’t mean you won’t find yourself excelling in another. It's all about self-discovery, and we, as teachers, should emphasize how vital it is

Until the next post,

toodles!