IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COURSE WEEK 5!

This was WEEK 5, and I learned  how to do many, many things:

1. I learned how to use alternative assessment tools. 

Alternative Assessment, PBL projects and Evaluation Rubrics, lead the students to become AUTONOMOUS LEARNERS. The reason is because these tools are more "Student-Oriented" rather than "Teacher-Oriented". For instance, the tools give the students more "freedom" to choose their topics, they also lead to critical thinking, and last but not least they have the opportunity to self-evaluate their own progress. But the best thing that these tools can offer is the "feeling of accomplishment" that students get when they learn or discover something new, and that would definitively give them more confidence on their second language because they won´t be discouraged by a bad grade or comment made by the teacher.

2. I learned how to use Rubrics through RubiStar.com. 

This website is very easy to use, it includes already made rubrics of different subjects. The rubrics are very helpful tools for busy teachers like me, and they also have another great advantage which is the type of assessment which is summative, it means that instead of grading with an A,B or C or like in Mexico with numbers (5-10) the student has the opportunity to read his/her feedback (comments made by the teacher) and in that way students can learn how to become more autonomous.

3. I learned how to use WEBQUESTS and PBL. 

Webquests are based on the PROJECT BASED LEARNING approach and they help students how to search information on the Internet, at the same time these tools help them to develop their critical thinking and last but not least it's a good opportunity to work in teams and learn from each other.

And to end up the week, we reflected on our school technological needs, and possible solutions.

Well, I guess that after this hard week of work, I think that now I'm coming up with more ideas for my final project.