Some times dreams come true!!!!!!!

Dear all,

WITH the end of week 10 my adventure of gaining knowledge with UO  AEL Building_Teaching  Skills  Winter course 2014  passed very quickly. Our course ends . It was the most wonderful journey I have ever had . I came to the final destination at the end of week nine and now am standing in a moment of tranquility to recall this unique experience ,this new chance I passed through and sum up the knowledge I gained from the ten stations I encountered on the road of my journeyas follows :

1.  Week one even I was a little late,my emails were in the spam ,but thanks to D. Donna for re sending the emails , I got three benefits : I got to know new friends ; I participated in the discussion to choose appropriate rubric to be used to evaluate our works on this course ; and learnt about rules for successful discussions .

2. In week one , I acquired knowledge about blogging ; why blogging is important in relation to the teaching - learning process ; how to construct a blog for learning purposes ; and the differences between types of blogs . I created my own reflexive blog and this was really an extra ordinary experience in my life .

3.  Practical tasks started with week 2 .It was fruitful week in which I learned many things related to the use of academic search engines and writing objectives according to the ABCD style and the importance of sharing the objectives with my students .

4. Week three introduced a delicious topic of Delicious . I created my Delicious account and learnt how to have my own archive for my favorite web sites organized in tags . Another topic of this week related to the use of technology for teaching – learning aural /oral skills . The two reading articles provided for this topic opened my eyes to many technological things and how to use them in our classes.
5. Week four presented the topics of writing/reading web sites and technology-enhanced lesson plans. The tasks were to explore these sites and share with the group a technology-enhanced lesson plan . I did and mastered both tasks .

6. On the station of week five , two important activities were introduced ; Project -based learning ; and Web Quests . I read and compared several PBLs and learnt how they develop the ideas of inquiry , search and collaboration , and require students to work in teams . I also gained a clear idea about kinds of Webquests .I created one and I am going to carry on working on it to be better.

7. Week  six was so busy but fruitful . I read about technology and how it foster different learning styles . Small –group informal activities helped me so much as a solutions for presenting my lectures in a new interesting way . I also got to know about Action Maze and alternative assessment .

8. In week seven , I learnt useful techniques to handle the problem of large class and how to use Power Point interactively . I also made a game on Power Point and shared it on Wiki .

9. Developing learner autonomy and one-class computer were the topic of station eight . I read and learnt a lot of useful techniques on both topics .
10. The climax and cultivation week was week nine . We came to the week which supplied us with all that we need to get ready for the new trend of our future career . I made a class for my students at Nicenet and made online exercises on "Hotpotatoes " ,created our class padlet and also uploaded my Final Project .(using a blog to help students in writing )

11. Last and final station , week ten , was easy and comfortable for our course but a busy one in school time for mid term exams a lot of work to be done but if there is a well ,there is a way . I had to point out my current level of technology integration and my expectations for my future levels . I managed to do some assignments I could not do previously due to time limit and revised then uploaded my Final project.


At the end of this reflective blog , I extend my gratitude and appreciation for my Instructor , Dr. Donna  Shaw , who guided , instructed , and helped all of us during this online course and Dr. Jodi who joined us on our fruitful discussion on the nicenet ,a great lady  . I will not forget these two great women all my life . I also hope to meet all my classmates in another running contest for the seek of knowledge . Getting to the station of this week , my running to gain knowledge on this online course reached its final destination . I hope to find another new opportunity to participate in a new running contest in search for knowledge .

Thank you very much all course participants who are really active and knowledge seekers. Changers  of tomorrow. Sharing knowledge is still our aim even after this course. My email is : enam.qassas@yahoo.com

Finally a word of thanks is not enough,to a great lady who is like a candle in a dark night.

Thank you very much Dear Donna Shaw, asking Allah to save you .I will remember you always and may God bless you.

Thank you very much for giving me this chance to join this course.

Thank you very much UO AEI for your sincere efforts for creating and building better teaching standards in the whole world.