Changing Perception

It an amazing trip and experience that I consider a turning point, not only in my career , but in my whole life!
Nigeria, with its three tribes and hundreds of dialects and languages, has changed my perception about " Sharing your knowledge, experience, thoughts, information,fear and dreams is not only caring, it is a human potential.As a teacher, I know this is what I have been doing: Helping others to learn.Having a new vision,experiencing new values, seeing other parts of the world, dealing with different cultures in one country and watching the world through new lenses. It is the sense of mission that could fill up or eliminates any other feelings of emptiness that one could ever experience one day.I may sound ridiculous, but again and again, it is the language barrier that doesn't help me convey what I am feeling now.I just want to say that it was a trip that helped me to put my conscious and thoughts in harmony.

My presentation went great, together with Lawan.It was the first of its type.Vance presence for few minutes, added to the synchronous concept that we were trying to explain.
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Crossing Continents: Web 2.0 for Teacher Professioanl Development

OK, I am leaving to e-learning conference, Nigeria on Sunday 18th!Because everyone is against the idea, even the people at the Embassy:-)(dangerous Nigeria!), it will be a two-fold trip: an adventure and a presentation. Everything is set, in here, but I hope we could webcasted it at Alado. Unfortunately ,I can not decide this until I reach there and make sure all equipments are suitable and could do the job.

Psychology, not technology

Today, I was on a "cleaning over", going through my inbox"es"", delidious account and many other cyber-scattered documents.I stopped on Terry Freedman article.Here are my favorite quotes"
"What is really interesting is doing stuff that you simply can't do in the normal classroom."True!Technology helped a lot in exposing my students to other cultures and the rest of the world.

" There are three groups of people, broadly speaking: those who are convinced of the benefits of technology, those who have no real opinion one way or the other, but who are getting good results and therefore see no urgent reason to change, and those who won't touch technology with a bargepole."Although I didn't know the meaning of bargepole, these are exactly the types of teachers we have here.Even the second type is too afraid to take the intuitive.

"Psychological aspects are the driving force or the barrier to showing teachers the ineffable value of technology in the classroom." Carla Arena in a comment to Terry Freedman.

Dying Professor's Last Lecture

What Made me go back to this video, is the brick walls I am facing these days. They are getting higher and higher.So, knowing where to go for a relief, thank Allah, I went back to Randy Pausch's last lecture.
"The brick walls is there for a reason. They are there not to keep us out, but to give us a chance to show us how badly we want something."
Some of the many inspiring words:
"If I am not seemed as depressed as I should be, sorry to disappoint you."
"Give people more time before getting angry at them." More to inspire if listened to!!

Making Web 2.0 applications meaningful for Developement

Extermely true!
At the Web2forDev conference,web 2.0 tools were discussed as tools which "have changed traditional patterns of communication and knowledge sharing." However, the audience were warned not to focus on Web 2.0 tools only. Web 2.0 tools are valuable for bringing people together, but it is also important to think further than the web. "When we think about participatory web, it’s not about laptops and high bandwidth… it’s about mobile phones. There are 3 billion handsets worldwide, and it is estimated that 80-90% of people in the developing world can access a mobile phone if they need to. This is a level of penetration of technology that changes the rules of the game. We need to broaden our thinking beyond the Web."

They reached a conclusion that more exploration of the use of these tools is a must."On the one hand Web 2.0 offers us five key tools - blogs, wikis, tags, feeds and mash-ups – but on the other hand, in order to make the application of the tools meaningful for development, we also have to overcome five key challenges: we need to think about how we involve the right people; if the people we are trying to reach have access in terms of connectivity, infrastructure and language; if people actually will participate; how we structure and organize content; and finally, how we will measure the changes we have made. It is only when we use the afore-mentioned new tools with an approach to overcome the five challenges listed above that we will be able to further enhance development activities.’Chris Addison.

Rational Future to Choose from!

I always try not to be like one of my students, who always write about dark sides in Sudan. But, when I lay my eyes on Downes words:
“And I don't see technology as inevitable, I see the
future as the result of choices, not progress, and there is
no one purely rational future to choose from.”
When I watch a video like this one entitled "A Vision of Students Today" for Micheal Wesch,It just bring all the negative emotions up the surface.
Students in my country DON’T HAVE CHOICES!!
Did you feel this before? Not being able to choose your future? I am not talking about destiny, no, and I can never do that. I am just talking about choosing a better life, work hard to achieve it, even it takes you 40 years to reach your long term goal.
Students here, ( or maybe my people too!) stopped to dream. They stopped to plan, Oh!, we are actually not raised to be researchers or planners, but one day we were the bravest people in the Arab world, who were born as fighters, always fight for their our own rights.
I am not describing my own situation, thank God, but I am reflecting a situation of 90% of students in the country. Maybe my kids will be one of them, one day!!:-((

Nigeria e-Learning Conference 200

I received an invitation from a friend, Lawan Dalha, from Nigeria to present my presentation at Nigeria e-Learning Conference 200 .Not bad,ha?I was hesitant at first, but he encouraged me saying teachers in Nigeria do need an "opening eye" to know about Web 2.0 tools and how useful they are in the ELT field.I sent an abstract and I am waiting for a response.
Viva Africa!

Project-Based Learning

Interesting article!
Interesting article, and a relieving one too! This is explains my wondering about the marks of the trainee I worked with lately.The marks for the grammar, reading and study skills were fine and anticipated. The ones of writing, after all the corrected emails and extensive work using online tools, were not!
I am going to copy and paste this part:
What can a computer do that a pencil cannot do?
•It can open the walls of the classroom and connect people from distant locations.
•It makes collaboration anytime and anywhere simple and affordable.
•It can keep track of data when it gets too much for a person to write or to think about and help to analyze that data which provides for some deeper thinking.
•It can make the editing process feel successful rather than frustrating.
•It can even the playing field for students with disabilities

Launching SudaELtech

I will do my best to send invitations for joining SudaELTech YG before Eid.
Yesterday, I attended David Warlick,PRE CONFERENCE KEYNOTE,
“Inventing the New Boundaries” on K-12 Online Conference..Will Richardson writes about it saying:
The entire conference will be delivered as downloadable digital media via the Internet with over 40 sessions presented in four strands: Classroom 2.0, New Tools, Professional Learning Networks, and Obstacles to Opportunities.

Although many of the topics and themes could not be of an interest to teachers here in Sudan, I felt a qualm of not being able to have a platform to notify them of these kind of events.The funniest thing happened with me when I was playing with Elluminate tools.I put my photo there and couldn't take it off!!!In front of 77 people, whom I know only Jeff and Dave.lol
More screenshots are saved Here.

Hero

I think all teachers in Sudan should listen to this song.
We always need to be reminded of the "hero" inside us!!
Thank you Vileta for reminding me of this video!

I Have a Dream!

My dream is to be courageous enough for starting a pilot course/workshop for EFL teachers in Khartoum, or even in other parts of our mini continent, Sudan.
It will be about how to use the Internet for their professional development. It will be like going through an attempt to convince them of the advantages of the free web 2.0 tools. It worth spending time and more energy, but where can I have the courage? Do you have some to lent me??:-)
"Success is never final.Failure is never fatal.It is courage that counts." ~Winston Churchill

"How to attract students who reject ICT"

For the last two months, I was teaching English to fresh graduates of engineers who work for a petroleum company in Khartoum. On coming to the course, some didn’t have emails and never touched a keyboard before!!
When I started working with computers with them, they never showed reluctance or fear from using ICT. On the contrary, they were very excited about the idea and showed “more” enthusiasm and motivation than those who have already an idea about how to use commuters or the Internet.
This was exactly the case when I worked with my first year students in Computer Sciences College.
I believe, for all tyes of learners,if they are aware of the range of choices open to them and how this could can make a difference in any working/studying field, they will NEVER be resistant to the use of ICT.
So, again, and again, it is US who are responsible of leading the way to show that ICT is fundamental to shaping what is happening now, and in the future. It is OUR job to tell them that they are already using ICT, from mobile phones to iPods, MP3 players etc.
The above was a reply to a discusson on Aberedeen, iatefl, about "How to attract students who reject ICT"

Training Career at Etisalat Academy

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This was what took me "ages" away from here!
I discovered that, although I am used to e-multitasking, in real life(RL), it is very difficult to me to keep two jobs at the same time.Looking for perfection sometimes is what I characterize as one of my long list of weak qualities.Maybe I should put it aside.

Simplicity

Do you know how does it feel when a kid is given the bicycle he dreamt about for months? This is how I felt minutes ago, when I saw my name on the BBC British Council Teaching English website.I remembered that one day I added my contribution to the questions and answers about the use of blogs in classrooms.
Happiness in Sudan,as my friend Azza says is very simple to gain!!!

Keeping Strong

"I like the Japanese saying: "Fall seven times.Stand up eight." Now I should say, I don't think of life in terms of winning and losing, victory and defeat. I do think, though, that life rewards the effort you put into it."
By Stephen Downes July 13, 2007

OLM

I have been invited by Cris to a session on online learning and moderation We also use Blackboard (an exg!!??)at University of Salford.
Sorry if this post has grown up to be a long post! lol
I tried to answer all questions in one post!
What are our students' demands/needs?
After reading Hofmann's "Be an Active and Participative Instructor" and what she counts as learners' success factors, I thought of my own students. I thought if I am to talk bout my own experience, especially on the last two semesters when I was on a blended learning experience, I could formulate a better frame work.
As the proverb says, "Students don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." They need us to show that we CARE about their learning. On my first week with my students, I didn’t' asked my self what do I expect from my students? I did ask myself what do my students expect from me, (a apart from the course material, syllabus objectives and the college's strategic objectives)?
An online moderator? An online moderator/facilitator should always be available to assist learners to use the technology, encourage them to extend and explore their different learning styles.I once dropped out of an online course because of the moderator, who was rarely there when I needed him, synchronously or a synchronously.I guess as an online moderator, I also have to be aware of the course instruction and course planning. A good article which helped me a lot before I started my blended learning experience was " Negotiating students' needs and desires in cyberspace" By Sharon G. Solloway and Edward L. Harris:
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/erm/erm99/erm99021.html
Hofmann's states some of the factors to" Success".In my context,students need opportunities, because they have never given opportunities during all education levels they have been through. They need to be taught about the meaning of the concepts of sharing, interaction, cooperation, participation and collaboration. They have never been introduced to teaching using a variety of delivery methods. They had no idea about "user-friendly technology" in spite of the fact they are students in College of Sciences and Technology. The students work individually on assignments, and no cooperation is encouraged.
Hofmann's words, with which I agree 100%:
"The online instructor plays a vital role in ensuring that learners are successful. Whether delivering a traditional, synchronous, asynchronous or blended approach".
Don't forget that the additional burden on the online moderator. In the f2f classroom, time is spent with the teacher lecturing and the students watching and listening. When implementing, designing, and delivering online programs, education and training professionals should strive to incorporate these success factors at the planning stages to ensure cooperative learning in which students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of their own, discuss, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class, students work in teams on problems and projects under conditions that assure both positive interdependence and individual accountability.
I believe in teachers as "super-humans". When we interact with students, whether in lectures, class discussions, office hours, we need to "act" as competent teachers, trustworthy friends and dynamic parents. We have to do it in a way be are to do so in a way that provides educational leadership. We need to show them that we are leaders and good ones too! All these have to be performed, not in a teacher-centered instructional methods, but in a learner-centered one. I told you, we are super-humans!
I believe that one of the most important factors that lead to success in any online learning environment is the *humanware* that built between the moderator and participants. As Hofmann states, "The online instructor needs to become the central human contact point, reducing the impression that people are learning from a computer." Humanware is not only learner-moderator "long", but it should be amongst learners themselves. Students in the future "ill demand higher and more diverse skills and knowledge to support the creativity" and humanity upon which their success, in a course and in life, depends. Over the course of their lives, they will remember both the content of the course and the humans (moderators+ participants) they interacted with.
One of the most interesting workshops I watched and had an impact on my teaching style is an eight-part professional development workshop for Art teachers" In the eight one-hour video programs, seven principles of effective teaching are introduced, and then explored in depth."
http://tinyurl.com/339kgn (you need to register) Workshop 3: Addressing the Diverse Needs of Students
"E learning becomes as comfortable as a daily latte - cafe's of learning - you can hang out and linger over the froth, go alone, go with mates, or swing back a quick macchiato before getting back to work."(Sharon Smith)
What do you consider the educator' role in the educational setting of the 21st century to be?
I guess all the above could be some of the characteristics of the 21st century educator.Even much more are needed.
Superhuman beings??
Cheers,
Hala

All Went Well+Surprises

It was really a blast!
Everything, thank Allah, went very well. No techie glitches at all, thanks to Nagy, the techie young man at the BC.
When I came back online, after two days off the virtual=real world, I had to take more than two hours reading emails of congrat's about the presentation and about my post below" Teaching Values, unconsciously!"
What's the story? Cris had let the cat out of the bag on an email to the webehads:
Yesterday Hala, Teresa and I met at ALADO.We had a great time while preparing
Hala's presentation.Hala was told us about one of her latest experiences with students. (Halainha,I am sorry if I am letting the cat out of the bag, but this has to be shared with the world -You are such a true inspiration!
Today on my way to work, I was thinking about our conversation again, and it
struck me that I would like to pursue some future research such a topic related
to the Humanware -about good practices, where technology is used as an inclusive
way to educate students to become not only experts in their are, but also to
become better citizens.I don't know if such a topic is possible, but you have just inspired me for it.I big Thank you from the heart!
My tribute to you is here
beijinhos
Cris
Thank you Cris!

E-Everything!

What is the impact of ICT on the teacher's development and creativity by Brahim Elkhalil Afaichil - Tuesday, 29 May 2007
"Teachers now have to face the challenge to use ICT appropriately. I'm afraid that technology will invade all domains and therefore we'll have e-friends , e-meetings, e-lessons, e-families, e-feelings and you may imagine how many Es you can add to the list. I wonder whether new technology is doing good or harm to human beings!

Teaching Values, Unconsciously!

http://tinyurl.com/3b6sxz
When one of my students wrote to me saying, "You taught me never to give up", I paused for seconds and asked myself," Did I really taught him that?
When another student wrote to me saying,"I want to re-join the Internet group Please teacher give me another chance to show you I am a good student". I paused. Why does she care to prove it?
When another one whispered about a secret poem he wrote in high school and I hoorayed loudly, he raised his voice asking if he could publish it with a short story on a blog. He did! He wrote back addressing me as his favorite teacher in the university. When a student sent me a card on Valentine day, I cried, because she said that it was her first time to know, from me, that Valentine day is not only a day for lovers, but it is a day to tell whom you love that you do love them( this what I told them in class).
When one of the students thanked me for putting him back to "his" group(authentic translation),I knew he would have never thought I would read his blog entries. But I did!
All the above were not to compare to what happened today..
While I was up to my ears, rehearsing and preparing, throwing like tons of sheets of papers, my husband called me to answer a telephone call on his mobile( I wonder from where did my they get his number!).It was one of my students. He told me the names of four of his colleagues.They were with him telling him what to say sometimes when he paused. This what he said:" We need to know why did you resign and leave the university?" We have been waiting all day in front of the Dean's office to ask about you and to ask about the problems you are having with the university.", "Are you coming to tomorrow's lecture?", "If you will, we want you to come with your 'dignity'( big word, ha?)," If you will not come, we have decided not to attend any lectures". We will go into a strike."
Pause!
I began to explain that I have solved all my problems and they were not with the college. He sounded ready to go to where the problems were!!(Good Idea!), but I asked him about the resource who told him all these information. He would not tell. He kept on asking more questions to make sure of my coming tomorrow.
End of the story!
What exactly did I teach them, apart of teaching them General English, ESP and about love, dignity, life, that each one of them is so special, about the importance of being proud of their own culture, identity, responsibility, studying hard, respecting each other and saying " thank you" all the time???
I guess I have done well!
Thank you my dearest students, who may not have the chance to read this.
I love you all!

My Presentation at the British Council

Earlier thoughts:
I have been busy lately preparing for my presentation at the BC on the 5th of June. It will be Webcasted at Alado.On Sunday, I had met with Andy and my dear friend Cris for testing the room and it was a kind of an orientation. I will just let him and Teresa do the job, of "next slide please". I hope it will a success!
Second thought:
I Alas! I have almost finished! Today I decided to put the 101 link into a wiki..Let's see if it could be inserted there. I don't want it to a daunting presentation, but I can't stop feeling the "oh, this is important. they have to know about this..that..!!".I guess here comes what is called "the researcher" instinct, and we Sudanese are not taught to be ones!!!!!
God be with me!