March 26, 2003 TESOL 2003, Buthaina Al Othman

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Colloquium: "Case Study of a Community of Practice"

Wednesday, March 26, 20039:30 am to 11:15 am, (14:30-16:15 GMT) Baltimore Convention Center Room 306

event number #4101 at the TESOL 2003 Convention, Baltimore,

Maryland, USA

March 26, 2003 TESOL 2003, Buthaina Al Othman

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Why I Joined WiA?

Before After090 Main Page 090 CALL Program

090 Week 1 (Scroll down to find it) 090 Week 1

090 Week 5 (Scroll down to find it) 090 Week 5

161 Main Page 161 CALL Program

(Didn’t Exist) Week 0 & 1

Grammar Presentations Grammar Page

March 26, 2003 TESOL 2003, Buthaina Al Othman

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• Things I Learned from WIA.• Sharing Knowledge.• The on going Learning Process.• Never Alone Again.• Support & Encouragement from the Experts.

Why Am I Still Here?

March 26, 2003 TESOL 2003, Buthaina Al Othman

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Week 5: Mon Feb 17 to Sun Feb 23 • Learned how to plan and prepare for an online conference.• Learned effective ways to promote for an online session.• Learned about effective ways to moderate an e-group in a text-voice-

chat session.• Learned some essential facts about managing Chaos Navigation.• Learned more about effective ways to use synchronous &

asynchronous CMC tools, inside a EFL C-Lab.• Planed, designed, and implemented 2 online text-chat projects and

created an e-group for email exchange project for my students:1. A Chat Project, Using a Group Board:

Inviting a Webhead to chat with my students. 2. Moderating a Yahoo Group for my ESP, Science Class:

Inviting a Webhead to interact with my students at Yahoo Group.3. A Chat Project, and Using Yahoo Messenger As a Stand by Solution:

Inviting three Webheads to chat with my students on a pre- decided topic.

March 26, 2003 TESOL 2003, Buthaina Al Othman

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More About Week 5

• Learned more about the amazing characteristics of Tapped In, (TI).

• Learned various ways to use TI, effectively:My participation in a text-chat project for Taiwanese Students, at TI.

(Another learning experience).• Learned more about the E-learning theory behind, using

MOO at TI: This was during a chat session, moderated by Webhead, Dafne, from in Spain, with the participation of Webhead, Susanne from Denmark.

• Learned more about Chaos Navigation, and the concept of “Cat Herders”.

March 26, 2003 TESOL 2003, Buthaina Al Othman

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Webcams, are they really Necessary?

I knew about webcams earlier, but it has never occurred to my mind that they are necessary for us, language teachers, until I saw how they are used by other Webheads. I tried them inside a c-lab and found: Using a webcam can create a natural, fun learning

environment, during a C-Lab session. Using a webcam can motivate students and encourage a

friendly atmosphere during a virtual classroom. Using a webcam can make students take the responsibility

and respect the privacy of online publications, including images and material, in general.

March 26, 2003 TESOL 2003, Buthaina Al Othman

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Conclusion (1) In terms of Professional Development:

I. Participating in online communities, like Webheads in Action, helped me:

A. To improved my learning and teaching skills inside both, a face-to-face classroom and a c-lab.

B. I gained more knowledge and understanding to the concepts of cooperation & collaboration among groups.

C. I am more flexible and creative in both virtual and face-to-face classrooms.

D. My teaching approach, inside a f2f classroom, has improved. I am able, now, to organize and manage better group activities inside a classroom.

E. My e-teaching and e-learning skills have developed, building more self-confidence and increasing self-esteem.

F. I learned how to emphasize and encourage independent learning through online activates and fun tasks to use for my students, integrating constructivists approach. To see what I mean, please, click here!

March 26, 2003 TESOL 2003, Buthaina Al Othman

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Conclusion (2)

In terms of Personal Development:

I. Participating in online communities, like Webheads in Action, helped me:

A. To step into the 21st century with more style, creating a feeling that I became part of the current, positive, global change process.

B. The great inter-cultural interaction inside Webheads communities, is the right step toward peace and a beneficial globalization.

Suggestions and Recommendations:

A. Educators must consider and encourage e-learning and teaching, particularly, in countries suffering from bureaucracy or easy led citizens by other parties or forces.

B. For more elaboration, click here!