"Worrying is like paying on a debt on a loan you don't have."

May 4- 8, 2008

This week has been a trying week to say the least. I had to focus although my mind was left back at home with my 2 beautiful angels.

It was last Monday when I started to identify the subject of my imminent study. I had done several attempts but I failed to formulate a good one brought about by my insufficient knowledge on problem formulation.

trying to go beyond my limit... (a reflection)

Just as i consider the 4 C's in my successful research prob formulation, i'll take these in fulfilling my dreams as well.

The first C stands for contstraints.
The second C is conclusions.
The third one is Courses of action.
The last C is for Consequences.


Do you ever realize that when you start to think of achieving something - you find it everywhere? It's like your mind is on high alert and you can sense or feel that 'thing' you so covet. I remembered when I so wish to have my first Maldita dress. I was like wearing an eyeglasses with the image of the dress on it that everywhere I turn, I see everyone wearing it.

I am not a real feely-philosophical-young-aged type of person, however I do see that sometimes the chance or opportunity is either with you or against you.

Recently, I have felt that the chance is with me. I received a lot of blessings and I gained support from my superior (Mam Joy) in the profession. Not to mention the mails I received from my superiors in the ICT community of our division this morning which let me feel important. It lets me feel tall though I'm not.

I have been thinking of the things I am thankful for and noticing that everyone's doing the same. I must be in good company here.

Fourth Day's Input

Topic: Problem or Project-Based Learning

What i got from Dr. Dioquino's talk yesterday was what she kept stressing. That's letting students discover new ideas by themselves!

In other words, use the time-tested EXPLORATORY strategy, which i categorized as one of the Montessorial Approaches in the Teaching-Learning process.


That's the meat of the matter!
All the rest of the issues she emphasized are no biggie.

 

Third Day's Struggle to Academically Advance

Time: 7:50pm
Venue: Training Room

Reflection:

I was moved by the adage that Fr. Legaspi shared and I quote, " A turtle makes progress when it sticks its neck out."

When i heard the line, a great challenge flashed in my mind. I should now divert my attention unto a broader horizon - a makeshift of brand new ideas of this noble profession. I just realized the importance of teaching the cyber generation of learners to be good netizens...

Second Day's Portfolio

Topic : Digital Storytelling
Thrust : To immerse learners into the dynamics of digital communication and self-expression.
Task : Photo Story Development

My experience yesterday was absolutely an exeption of IT literacy! I went beyond the basics.
Yesterday's topic opened my novice mind to a new perspective of introducing an innovative instruction to learners.

I learned two equally important softwares that would help me deliver my lessons effectively. My encounter with MS Photo Story 3 brought me a big awe! I learned to use Movie Maker and other free online softwares in creating slideshows yet the mentioned software is far better than anything else in terms of transitions and effects. Now, Im recommending it to my online friends.

By the same token, Marvin software is also an excellent pedagogical tool in motivating students to learn. With it, i learn to be more innovative and more creative.

By and large, I find Module 2 interesting!

Let's try Bo's :)

I partially agree to the father of one of my friends. He once told me “Dai, lisud ang kinabuhi kung diri lang mo sa ato lugar. kinahanglan ninyo mag-abroad kung gusto ninyong matilawan ang wa ninyo natilawi dinhi sa ato."

I mentioned “partially” for yes I agree that its real hard to have a luxurious life here. labi na ang life with condo unit, bmw ug patravel travel lang, party diri, party didto, eat diri, kape2x didto.

In contrast, coffee shops nowadays mushroom everywhere.

Haven’t u noticed how STARBUCKS has proliferated now in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu? Today, Starbucks here in Pinas spells fun and gimmick! We have known coffee contains caffeine and it isn’t really good for our health but why suddenly everyone is mad about coffee and is willing to spend a whoping hundred of pesos for “One tall mocha frappe please!” Now it means something to die for pinoy that instead of paying a visit to church and instead of catching a nice flick at the cinema, the pinoys’ new idea of fun and kakikayan is to voluntary park their buns at the café and gulp as much caffeine as they can just to look classy.

I don’t exactly know why Starbucks has become the hot spot, when what they serve is just foamed Blend 45 for crying out loud! Hehehe sorry starbucks fanatics specially to the teeny-boppers. Mas lami pa man ang corned coffee ani :)

Who can resist frequenting a posh place like this? Kaulaw lang that after taking the order, the “Pinay” takes excessive packets of extra sugar and extra cream, an inch thick of Starbucks tissue paper for souvenir peppered pa with picture-taking for fb. :)) She then sits by the front window, hoping someone she knows would pass by and see her drinking expensive coffee. She takes remarkably small sips in order to prolong her stay, like a real smart-ass. During the entire process, there is the obligatory flaunting of cellphones, tabs and ipads and the occasions of “yeah” and “sure” here and there. Pathetic as it is, this atmosphere is contagious that it simply brings out the social climber in one.

So, sige magBo's nalang ta. :)

Yesterday's Input

Count me in!
In yesterday's kick-off session, I learned how to skim through the webpages and use the info extracted from these pages responsibly.

Basically, I have learned to mine the web using the CARS tool to ensure ACCURATE and CREDIBLE search results peppered with the newly-acquired knowledge of narrowing and broadening searches with the different boolean logic operators.

Yesterday, for some silly reason, I thought it's "biggie" already to merely listen to Fr. Jomar's discussion without internalizing what he said but i was wrong!!! Now, I am a bit guilty on this issue. :)I’ll now try to tediously get some coherent and significant summary posts up tonight!

Has Technology Fulfilled Your Promise in the Classroom?

I'm sure all of us have experienced something like that scenario with a teacher-staring out at a collage of blank faces, hoping for a student to show some interest, some spark of understanding, or should we dare even think of it as some insight.

As this teacher used old-fashioned “talk and chalk” at the front of his classroom, his students drifted farther and farther away. No wonder he wanted to take a day off and a self-declared holiday. We all laugh at this scene, but we need to ask ourselves: What are we doing so differently now? It seems that our “technologically advanced” classrooms aren't much different from this teacher's boring class.

We have “integrated” technology into our classrooms by simply tacking it on. We now have students take online quizzes at starquiz.com like the one I used before, assign them slide presentations rather than paper-based reports. We use PowerPoint slides to present our lectures, instead of chalk and blackboards and or markers and whiteboard. So how does that make us much different than the above-mentioned teacher?

We unthinkingly automated our tasks, and our students followed our lead. When assigned a research project, they quickly find Web pages on the Internet, cut and paste information onto their slides, and then spend the remainder of class time playing with colors and animations. They are no more engaged with the curricular topic than they were before the computers arrived, perhaps even less so. So what do we do? We need to start asking ourselves more challenging questions when it comes to the implementation of instructional technology not just “So how do I use this?”