NotesfromClass

(NOTE: I wasn't sure where to add the other  materials' lesson plans, therefore I also left the links for them below.)      Hello, everyone. This is Melek. Welcome back. I will present one of the final assignments in this post. We were tasked with designing a material that incorporated an AI tool. Firstly, we decided on the topic and the language function . We chose ''movies'' as the topic, emphasizing vocabulary use in authentic contexts. The first activity was designed to help the teacher see whether the students acquired the vocabulary or not. The second activity was the target task which required us to integrate an AI tool. We chose ChatGPT for this purpose. It is the most known and easy-to-use tool after all. The activity revolved around planning a movie night. ChatGPT acts as a guide and suggests creative alternatives for the planning. Finally, we decided it would be nice to have them organize everything they discussed so far on a poster. Before transferr...

      Hello, this is Melek. As the year 2024 draws to a close, I am excited to present my last assignment of the year. Now, please imagine yourselves walking on the ancient stones of the Colosseum in Rome. Everything feels incredible. What if I told you this experience was possible but in a more affordable and realistic way? Then let me introduce the VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) technologies. While VR immerses users in a virtual environment, AR enhances reality by using digital elements. VR typically requires headsets to achieve this whereas AR uses AR apps, moving images and so on to enhance reality. These technologies also can be quite useful when it comes to second language acquisition. Here is how: engagement, cultural exposure, and immersive learning. For instance, these two notions can make lessons more interactive and engaging. As a result, it can lead to increased student attention and participation. Another aspect is that they can enable stude...

      Hello everyone, this is Melek here. Here we go again for my new assignment. It is designed specifically for a flipped classroom experience but before introducing you to the material, I would like to talk about what is a flipped classroom approach and what are its advantages and disadvantages.      A flipped classroom is a teaching model that is different from a traditional classroom. In a flipped classroom, students are introduced to new content outside of the classroom through videos, readings, or other online resources and then engage in more application-based activities during normal class time.  I would like to mention some of its advantages first. It opens a door for enhanced language practice. For example, while a new topic is covered by the students at home, in-class time can be spent on conversational practice that build real-world knowledge skills. which is what a language classroom's aim is. Another point could be self-paced learni...

     Hello everyone, this is Melek here. We completed the first assignment of the term for our Current Issues course. This time, we were supposed to create a lesson material based on the use of ''Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA)'' and create a lesson plan with the ASSURE model.       To briefly inform you about what are these, I can give you these simple explanations: '' The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA)''  is one of the largest corpora of American English with over one billion words from various sources collected from 1990 to 2020.'' One can look for words in their authentic contexts and the words that they are frequently used with, in other words their collocations.   On the other hand ASSURE model is ''designed to help teachers plan lessons that effectively integrate classroom use of technology and media.''         For the assignment, we worked as a group. Honestly, the design p...

     Hello everyone, this is Melek here. As some of you might remember me from last semester, I used to share my assignments which were created for my ICT class. I am here again to use my blog for my Current Issues in Teaching class.       Starting this new grade is a thrilling experience and we have many new lessons. Current issues is a part of this chaos.What this lesson offers is help students realize how technology is an inextricable part of education and how important it is for English Language Teaching. It aims to teach how students can correctly apply it into their own teaching techniques and methods. It also aims to help them  have an idea of how this process is supported by the theories.  Its assignments will be mainly about technology integrated lesson designs such as AI integrated tasks or a flipped teaching video. Sure they will require patience but I believe the end products will be worth it.      Stick around to ...

     Hello everyone! So, I am here for one last time to talk about my experiences I had while taking this course during the term. Before taking it, I already had positive views about technology integration into education because of the age we are living in right now, therefore I cannot say it changed my ideas because I believe these two are now inextricable. However I feel the need to mention this: I have learned how it could be healthily integrated on the basis of pedagogical and educational principles and what kind of materials I could use through the assignments we have completed. We also learned many tools regarding language practice. This is specifically really important for countries in EFL context. In this sense, the course added an immense amount of knowledge to me.       When it comes to the tasks we did during the term, I have varying ideas about them. I think they would be really engaging and really fun for  the students. Each one of them re...