I did not write a lot this year as I was a little bit busy working on my PhD. Believe me, I missed it so much, but you know time is so limited. I hope 2016 will be a great year full of more learning and thus more reflections to flourish my digital space. Before saying Goodbye to 2015, I just wanted to share some posts that were frequently viewed by my readers.
Metacognition and reflection are often used inter-changeably in educational conversations. However, there is a definite distinction between these two terms. Metacognition is the one that is often misused and misunderstood among educators, teachers and researchers. I always read and hear that it simply means "thinking about thinking."
I have just finished the Blogging 101 three-week course offered by the Blogging Universitywith the help of the WordPress.com team. As the title says, it takes you from Zero to Hero walking away with a stronger focus for your blog.
Click hereto read my reflection about this course and find a link to register for the coming offering starting on August 3 - 21, 2015.
Just inspired by Marisa Constantinides' article "Eight steps to becoming a more creative teacher"
shared on British Council Voices Blog. She suggests eight highly recommended steps that can help teachers develop their creativity in teaching.
Life is short and all we leave behind us is some small things we do touching others' hearts. Mine is my BIG SMILE that I always draw on my face. It is my brand, hahahaa. It doesn't only recharge my energy and make me feel happy, comfortable, self-confident, and full of hope, but it also leaves a huge impact on all people around me and make them smile as well. It is contagious, isn't it? It can make a big difference in people's lives.
Just make it a habit and you will see what it can do!
It is a nonstop activity! Once you taste it, you never stop doing it on a daily basis. I talk about following people and learning from them via Twitter.
When I share my passion for using microblogging (i.e., tweeting), I
notice that people don't feel comfortable and they think it is a useless
service. I didn't ask them why? But, they maybe have no any idea about
how to get started.
It's been so long since I last posted on my blog. Yes, I am still publishing about online courses, webinars, and conferences. But, this doesn't matter to a writer who continuously looks for a little bit creativity inside. I talk about writing some reflections that bring my own thoughts and touches to life. Blogging is not just compiling some posts and organizing them chronologically.
I had the opportunity to participate in Susan Oxnevad'sThingLink Teacher Challenge which is a free, self-paced, online course that aims to help teachers to transform classroom teaching and e-learning using ThingLink; a tool that enables users to upload their photos and tag them using a variety of media, e.g., text, audio, video, links, ... etc. It simply adds life to the static images and make them more interactive and engaging for the audience. During the ten weeks of this course, we created fabulous images that fulfill certain purposes.
Sometimes, I feel I strongly want to write a story, but no words come out as powerful as my feelings and desire to express my inside. I am quite good at writing instructions and explanations to my students and colleagues, posts about my teaching experiences, or debates to explain my viewpoints with others. My problem arises when it comes to writing stories and descriptions.
I know I have a great desire to start writing creatively.
I don't know how to begin this post. I have many feelings and I don't know how to convey them. Then, I remember my dear blog. Oh, I can now say anything within me. Now, I'm participating in a training program. Actually, it is not an easy program. It needs great efforts and more concentration. Frankly, I have developed some negative attitudes towards it before even it begins. However, I told myself that the trainer will make it easy and understandable. When we start the program, I liked the trainer's soul and constant encouragement. This meeting was just an introduction to the course and participants. The second meeting was very bad. In the computer lab, we have a datashow and 22 computers. I imagined that he will explain a point step by step, then we try it out. But, all my expectations are gone with the wind.
Oh my God, his sessions are teacher-centered. All the meetings coming are just the same. He pours all the information he has without caring if we understand or not. All what he focuses on is just to finish the required tasks. For homework, we are asked to complete some exercises and send them by e-mail to him. We wait and wait for a long time to get suitable feedback, but in vain. More things happened through these weeks and there are no words to describe them. I don't believe that there are some teachers in the 21st century follow this method.
Me as a student, I'm very intrinsic motivated learner. I'm crazy about learning and searching for every new. I exert great efforts to gain and understand what I learn. I can stay without sleeping for more than two days in order to complete a certain task. I really love learning. It is my life and the air that I breathe. I have got high scores in the exams of this program. But, this trainer killed my enthusiasm and motivation to learn more by his way. This is the first time that I feel a sense of failure.
In this moment, I remembered my students. I can't stop my tears. Those students come to their schools with a lot of expectations. And then, those teachers who follow the teacher-centered method break all these expectations in a moment. Now, I can feel my students. I'm not like this teacher. I search for any way that engages my students and provide them with many chances to try and explore. I care about their motivation, feelings and dreams.
This is a message to all teachers. Please:
Feel your students.
Put yourself in their place.
Try to draw smiles on their faces while learning.
Dream with them.
Be available when they need you.
For me, I promise to keep every student in my classes motivated and make him or her happy while learning. I will teach them how to be responsible for their learning. I will provide them with a variety of opportunities to be explorers and discoverers. I will exert my utmost to equip myself with all innovative tools, methods and techniques to be ready for any abilities that might come out. I'm lucky to have my brilliant students. All of them have wonderful gifts and talents. It is my job to bring them to life.
One more thing, please give your students time to tell you what they expect from you in order to match their expectations!
I did not write a lot this year as I was a little bit busy working on my PhD. Believe me, I missed it so much, but you know time is so limited. I hope 2016 will be a great year full of more learning and thus more reflections to flourish my digital space. Before saying Goodbye to 2015, I just wanted to share some posts that were frequently viewed by my readers.
Life is short and all we leave behind us is some small things we do touching others' hearts. Mine is my BIG SMILE that I always draw on my face. It is my brand, hahahaa. It doesn't only recharge my energy and make me feel happy, comfortable, self-confident, and full of hope, but it also leaves a huge impact on all people around me and make them smile as well. It is contagious, isn't it? It can make a big difference in people's lives. 
It's been so long since I last posted on my blog. Yes, I am still publishing about online courses, webinars, and conferences. But, this doesn't matter to a writer who continuously looks for a little bit creativity inside. I talk about writing some reflections that bring my own thoughts and touches to life. Blogging is not just compiling some posts and organizing them chronologically.
