Lesson planning

 前天和舊學生 Heidi Chang開會，知道她學校有很强的共同備課氛圍，Heidi 更說她很享受備課，這令我最有共鳴。

優質的學與教不會自動出現，一定是精心設計的結果，除非我們仍以為教書就純粹是依書直說。

對我來說，備課就是運用學科和教學法的知識，和發揮創意的過程，我更會盡量找機會嘗試新的活動,技巧，e-learning tool...於是備課亦同時促進個人專業發展，擴大了自己的pedagogical repertoire。

當然備課是要花(很不少的)時間的，希望重視優質teaching and learning 的學校領導都不要忘記這點。

Resuming face-to-face teaching

 今天晚上是二月尾以來第一次面授，享受程度遠超想像。

其實從學習效率來說，我的經驗是網課在教授知識的層面來說，不會比面授差。

但經過八個月，今天晚上给我最大的體會是面授帶來的sense of togetherness, 從他們的眼神，笑容，反應，給予我的超强烈的connection 的感覺，是網課不能比擬的。

難得同學在經過七堂網課後，今天才第一次相見，卻一見如故，整個107 室就充滿着他們的歡欣和笑聲。

'open' or 'opened'? 'close' or 'closed' ?

 

My latest language awareness article published in Ming Pao today. 

https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%e8%8b%b1%e6%96%87/article/20201027/s00017/1603735370459/%e8%8b%b1%e8%aa%9eguide-open-or-opened-close-or-closed

Being concise is not that easy

 製作instructional video 對自己最大的發現，就是當我以為自己表達得很精簡時，一看片長，經常嚇一跳。原來說話長氣不難，要精準卻很不容易。

Loops for creating Learning Paths

 The other day I said I'm very much into designing learning paths (or 'learning quests/journeys') these days, as I believe that teachers of the 21st century should not be 'the sage on the stage', but 'a guide on the side.'

A learning path can range from a 10-minute sojourn to a 1-month marathon journey. It contains 5 elements: (a) a sequence of learning activities, (b) self-assessments along the way, (c) a final goal, (d) a visual map of the journey, and (d) an optional gamification dimension. Learning paths are also a good strategy for differentiated instruction, as well as self-directed learning.

One fantastic app for creating learning paths is Loops. (The others are Classcraft, Genial.ly, Google Forms, GoConqr, and Symbaloo.) But Loops is quite expensive, because business-wise, it targets institutions, not individuals. Thanks to arrangements between Microsoft and Loops, I have been offered a one-year free account by Loops because of my newly obtained MIEE qualification.

Can't wait to build a lot of Loops in the coming months.

My PPTs: 2001 vs 2020

 今早看到我2001 年的PPT(下圖左), 突然很同情當年我的學生。

但即使是如圖右我2020的PPT,我也愈來愈少用, 反而喜歡設計Learning Path；因我堅信廿一世紀的教師，不應再是the sage on the stage, 而應該是a guide on the side。

How brief can I get?

 I've been reading this book called Brief (which, by the way, I regret spending time reading). The writer presents a thesis which resonates with me. Everyone in the working world today is already overstretched, yet when it comes to communications, few people have learnt to be BRIEF. (Which means Concise to me.) As a result, we waste a lot of time reading reports which are longwinded. We waste a lot time attending meetings which are loosely planned and run. We waste a lot of time attending webinars which are not concise enough. (OK, I made up this last point myself.)

In the book, the writer presents several challenges to people in the working world. If you're writing a three-thousand-word report, can you say the same things in half the length. If you're planning a two-hour meeting, can you shorten it to one hour? 

Now, I'm about to run a webinar which I have planned to run for one hour. But last night I decided to take up the challenge, and I asked myself: "Can I present my most important points in less than 50 words?" I tried it, and I succeeded by coming up with: 

That's 39 words. 

Then I decided to challenge myself even further. "Can I say these 5 sentences in less than 5 words?" I tried, and realised I could: 

'Just get started." 

BTW, I regret reading the book because it has taken the write 260 pages to tell us how to be brief. 

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