Overview of the Course

The Building Teaching Skills Through the Interactive Web courses are designed to:

Model innovative online teaching practices for ELTs.
Improve understanding of and actively engage in the analysis and systematic adoption of innovative materials and tools for ELT.
Offer opportunities for EFL educators to observe and analyze real-world application of such new materials and practices.
Provide ELTs with support and problem-solving mechanisms as they implement new materials and practices in their teaching.
Act as a train-the-trainers model so that participating ELTs can move forward after the course with concrete dissemination plans.

Learning Objectives

Participants in the course will develop a formal plan for incorporating technology into their teaching or class preparation in at least one new way and share their ideas with the group.

Participants in the course will practice with search tools, skill-building websites, project-based learning, and online teacher resources, then explain how they could use or adapt these for their own purposes.

Participants in the course will learn about writing behavior-based learning objectives, learning styles, learner autonomy, teaching large classes, the one-computer classroom, and a variety of assessment techniques, then explain how they could apply or adapt these concepts to meet their own needs.

Expectations

Participants in the course will read at least one of the assigned readings, think about how the readings apply to their own situation, and share their reflections with the group (and mentioning some of the ideas of others in their posting, as appropriate) at least once per week.

Respect, mutual help, and enthusiasm for learning will be cornerstones of all interactions, whether teacher-participant or participant-participant. Each week, ELT participants will complete the following activities and tasks. All materials and tools will be freely available at no cost to participants.

Beginning Week 1: Readings on language teaching methods (pedagogy) and practices; active experimentation with and reflection on the use of e-learning tools (e.g. email, asynchronous discussions, course management systems, etc.); weekly tasks related to the readings and tools.
Beginning Week 2: Weekly post on a personal blog, sharing what you did, what you learned, and how you will apply the information in your teaching. This will form the basis for the final project that will be due at the end of the course.
Beginning Week 3: Work toward a final project.
All Weeks: Analytical and reflective discussions and tasks related to the above.
All Weeks: Work in step-by-step with UO AEI instructor guidance to implement teaching projects in your workplace.

Assessment

Grading will be based on the following:

Discussions: 10 points per week (up to 5 points for each of 2 posts) - 20% overall
Blog posts: 5 points per week (8 points for your blog + 2 points for comments on another person's blog) - 20% overall
Tasks: 5 points per task - 20% overall
Project Tasks: 10 points per task - 20% overall
Project Report: 50 points - 20% overall

To pass the course, you need to participate in at least 70% of the discussions, post on your blog at least 70% of the time, and complete the project report with a score of at least 70%.

More information will be added soon!

Previous Terms

Winter 2010 assignments page

Spring 2010 assignments page

Summer 2010 assignments page