"Reading Progress" in Microsoft Teams

 Thanks to the generous help of Kelvin Kan Ka Hei, I had the chance to test-drive the new AI-assisted Pronunciation Assessment function within Microsoft Teams, called Reading Progress. 

Under Reading Progress, the teacher uploads a reading passage to Teams, and assigns it as a Reading-Aloud assignment. Afterwards, the programme will (a) return a percentage grade for each submitted assignment, and (b) provide a diagnostic report on the performance (i.e.., words highlighted showing mispronunciations, omissions, insertions, etc.). The teacher does not have to listen to each recording, as the assessment is all done by the AI programme. 

My own test-drive shows that the AI programme is quite reliable in terms of assessing the pronunication of individual words, but still has to do further 'learning' in terms of listening for features of connection speech, such as weak forms, linking, elision, and assimilation. 

From 'teacher-student' to 'peer'

 今天下午到這學校和老師就著一個 P2 RaC Unit進行co~planning。其中三位是我的舊Education student，這是令我最有滿足感的活動。當年我是她們的師訓「班主任」，然後她們畢業後成為前線教師，積聚經驗，今天充滿創意和教學熱誠，然後我們由「師徒」變為教學的peer,一同備課。有我這樣經歷的同工應該不會很多哩。

International Outstanding e-Learning Awards

 擔任了這比賽英文組評判幾年，親眼看到參賽水平一年高過一年，像今年中學金獎已經把CoSpaces Edu融入中一的教學設計，小學金獎在小二已經用Flipgrid組織學生分享經驗。

這就是e-learning 吸引人之處，工具在那裏，但怎樣運用於教學上，這當中有無限的空間。有創意的教師可以不斷鑽研，專業水平便不斷提高，學與教都變得更有效，更有趣。

Classroom Dynamics

 Yesterday morning, I observed an excellent S3 flipped lesson at this school (Ho Lap College). The lesson demonstrated all the most important principles of flipped learning design. The pre-class work prepared students with the key concepts for the upcoming lesson. The in-class lesson concentrated on active learning and higher-order thinking activities. 

What particularly impressed me was the superb classroom dynamics. The teacher, Ms Li, connected with the students seamlessly throughout the lesson. Every student was focussed and on task, and took part in every activity with utmost enthusiasm. They supported and collaborated with each other, rather than trying to one-up their classmates. I could feel the very strong bonding between the teacher and the students, and between the students themselves. Every person in the classroom was engrossed in the same teaching and learning journey. On two occasions, the teacher, Ms Li, proudly proclaimed to the whole class: “I love you all!” And the whole class reciprocated, spontaneously, with “We love you, too!”

Such classroom dynamics don’t just happen by chance. The teacher must have spent a lot of time at the beginning of the school year building up this class cohesion and ethos!

Fake news

 昨天 Kelvin Cheung 在分享中談到要訓練學生判斷在網上找到的資訊的質素和真偽，當時他的其中一個例子就是下圖。記得當年一位舊學生知道我喜歡蒐集這類例子，於是立刻傳給我，我當時也很懷疑它的真偽，因為錯得太離譜，不合常理。

Padlet's Map Template for Creating a Multimodal Text

 Last Tuesday, I finally had the chance to have my Master's students create a multimodal text using the Map template in Padlet, to introduce some places worth visiting in HK. Here is my design for the group activity: 

1. Discuss with group members to decide on a theme for the collection of your recommended places to visit. 

2. Identify the exact places under this theme that your group has decided on. 

3. Divide up the work: Decide who will be responsible for which place.

4. Find out more about the place that you're responsible for. 

5. One person in your group will create a Padlet wall, and share the link with the other group members. This Padlet wall should be using the Map template. 

6. Collaboratively build up your group's Padlet map. Your place, in the form of a card, should consist of (a) name of the place, (b) a short introduction to the place, (c) a photo, and (d) a link to either a webpage or a Youtube video where viewers can find more information about the place. Your group members can either do this together, or 'separately together'. 

7. Upload your group's completed map to the Class Padlet. 

I have curated the 6 completed mpas and put them in the interactive image below. Click on the top left of each card to see the group's work. Note, though, that the students had only about 15 minutes, and it was their first attempt at the task. 

https://view.genial.ly/61a201b8f812630d8ffabd83?fbclid=IwAR3PmhlnSqzVZvNmka86qnYsSB0YAKoNp8RjI0E-K09puJjwmx0PsI5BFcs

Thinglink integrates with Canva

 如果要製作interactive image,我第一個推薦的app是Thinglink,因易學而效果已不錯；最近發覺Thinglink把另一個app Canva integrate在內，Thinglink便如虎添翼了，因可在Thinglink內選取Canva的template, edit後隨即加入Thinglink的interactive element, 乾手淨腳。

The power of flipped learning for teaching Speaking

 This morning, I observed an excellent lesson under the Jockey Club Flipped Learning Pilot Project. The teacher, a NET named Mr Gareth Roberts, had superb lesson management skills, and succeeded in getting this S2 class to do lots of meaningful speaking activities even though the lesson was only 30 minutes in duration.

This lesson also showed the strength of the flipped learning model. If it hadn't been because of flipped learning, the teacher would not have accomplished so much in a 30-minute speaking lesson.

Just awarded the Harvard Higher Education Teaching Certificate

 

The 7 Myths about Technology-Enhanced Language Learning

 Thanks to the invitation from OUP, I had the opportunity to give a presentation on technology-enhanced language learning at the Education Leadership Forum which commemorates OUP China's 60th anniversary. Over 500 people registered for the presentation, including people from Singapore, UK, Ukraine, Philippines, ...!

Wakelet's new layout

 Wakelet 新加column的layout後，用法更像Padlet了，雖然functionality 仍不及Padlet,但勝在免費。我是Padlet的early adopter,他們給了我58個免費的wall, 但仍不夠用，以後可以多用Wakelet作為替代。

Harvard Higher Education Teaching Certificate

 Received the final grade for the Harvard Higher Education Teaching Certificate course which I took in the summer. The grade was based on over 20 assignments and quizzes. This 8-week course was much more demanding than I had anticipated. A slight imperfection that I didn't get full marks for the final grade, but good enough for me to get the certificate. The biggest gain, though, is that the course has re-energised me for teaching in the new academic year. Now looking forward to receiving the physical certificate in mid-October.

Speaker at a language forum organised by HKUST's Center for Language Education

 

Becoming MIEE 2021-22

 The first e-learning badge I have earned in 2021-22.

"The 8 biggest breakthroughs in the science of learning"

 An article that includes some useful reminders: 

https://www.brainscape.com/academy/how-students-learn-science-of-learning/?utm_campaign=Academy+Drips%3A+Teachers&utm_content=Email+2%3A+8+Of+the+biggest+breakthroughs+in+learning+science&utm_medium=email_action&utm_source=customer.io

Launching into the 35th year

 快開學了。1991年進入中大教育學院任教，這暑假剛好滿30年，加上先前在羅富國教育學院的4年，這個九月，將會是我從事teacher education 的第35個年頭。

能夠這麼長期從事自己享受的工作，從中找到意義，工作性質又讓我可以不斷學習，我實在非常非常幸運。

Completing the Harvard Higher Education Teaching Certificate course

 經過九個星期努力，終於完成這Harvard 的Higher Education Teaching Certificate 課程，當然仍要等8月19日provisional grade 的公佈，才知道會否獲得證書。

回想這九個星期的課程，比我當初想像中demanding和rigorous 得多，課程的prospectus說每星期需時10小時，但事實上遠超此數。而我已經不知多久沒有在兩個月內做了那麼多篇功課。

今次整個學習過程除了內容外，给我兩個很大的體會：(1)温故知新: 作為teacher educator, 課程內容對我並不是100％陌生，但就是review 學過的知識(例如Bloom's taxonomy),仍會有新的理解和體會；(2)學如逆水行舟，不進則退。

去年暑假不能外遊，結果讀了多個e-learning 課程和考了十多個e-learning的認證。今個暑假仍然不能外遊，結果完成這如果外遊便無可能完成的Harvard課程。這罕有的人生經驗令我再記起西諺When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. 

當然我仍然希望明年暑假可以外遊!

Students may remember ...

 那天和32年前舊學生午餐敘舊，她竟然可以清楚敘述我當時其中一課的流程!

老實說，我自己也不會記得起每一課的細節，這亦提醒我們當老師的，有時候我們的一句說話，一個舉動，我們也許不以為意，但學生也許會記得很多年呢!

A good teacher vs A successful teacher

 

To me, ‘a good teacher’ is a general term. The question boils down to how ‘good’ should be defined. Some people may equate ‘good’ with ‘caring’, while others may equate it with ‘being nice’. Still there will be those who define ‘a good teacher’ as a pedagogically competent teacher.

All of us want to be looked upon as good teachers. And indeed we may receive that compliment once in a while, for example when someone says it out of social courtesy. At the end of the day, we ourselves have to contemplate in what ways we want to be ‘good’ as teachers.

To me, the description ‘a successful teacher’ takes into account those on the receiving end, i.e., the students. A successful teacher succeeds in changing the students in one way or another, whether in terms of knowledge, or skills, or attitude.

Today, within changing students in terms of attitude, I would highlight one teacher success factor: the successful teacher ignites in his/her students a curiosity, enthusiasm, and even passion, in continuing to further their investigation of the course subject matter even when the course is over. This is because we are now living in the 21^st century. With knowledge being multiplied day by day, every university course, even those at advanced levels, will only scratch the surface. For me, this disposition to lifelong learning is of paramount importance. To sum up, if I see a student continuing to explore my course subject matter even after the end of the course, that is the kind of success that I will most value.

Pecha Kucha - my quick review

 https://www.pechakucha.com/ is a web app for creating videos from pictures. You upload some pictures, voice-record every picture (slide), and then click create. The beta video creator doesn't have any other editing functions. 

Hence, it doesn't trump the more modern apps for creating videos from pictures. Pecha Kucha distinguishes itself as follows: 

1. The number of pictures you can upload is fixed (e.g., 5, or 10, or 20). The audio narration duration for each slide is equivalent to the number of slides you have uploaded. Thus, if you have uploaded 5 pictures, you have 5 seconds for narrating each picture. This is fixed. But as such, this may be good for practising presentation skills, especially with regard to timing. 

2. Pecha Kucha is primarily for people who want to share their work with the public. There is a vibrant Pecha Kucha community which organises presentations events from time to time. 

Downside

3. Too rigid in terms of the number of pictures one can upload, and the duration for narrating each picture. 

4. The download video option is a paid function. 

5. There isn't an unlisted sharing option. (Default: public)