WEEK 5

 I would have been asked out I would have literally to answer: I am "in the middle of something". This is the middle of the course, I am still in the middle of the readings and in the middle of some insecurities. In the first week, when I went over the material, I felt like running for my life. I had the feeling that the job I do is wide different from the environment the course is based on; yet I felt challenged to go through and gain knowledge even if I couldn't use it in my current job.

I have learned a lot reading my classmate experiences, every post tells a story about different places in different parts of the globe but they all collide in the same point: they all share the same interest which is to master the techniques to teach. Technology is on our side so we are all thirsty of knowledge on how to out to work in our benefit even when in some places, many of us have little resources.

Rubrics! It is our topic this week. Rubrics are like a contract between teacher and students that set up: what the teacher expects what and how the student has to do. "Heidi Andrade’s commonly accepted definition is a document that articulates the expectations for an assignment by listing the criteria, or what counts, and describing levels of quality from excellent to poor."
(http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=WhatIs)
 

I checked on my grades and I was surprised because I am missing a grade.   I felt confused and somehow disappointed. My first reaction was to send Sean, my tutor, an email asking why I was missing 5 points. I recalled that I was late to my middle of third week post. My mistake, so I just accepted not getting points for not completing my task on time. This week, while stating what is rubric, I went back to my grades and to this course rubrics; to find out what happened. I have clear now, how is the blog task evaluated but still confused about how many posts we should have. The point is that  Rubrics guide the students on how to perform assignments and even if they get lost in the activity, Rubrics is always a reference to find hints.
 

PBL (Project Based Learning) is currently discussed in my office and in the class, each place has two opposite extremes; on one side Projects are to be removed of our assesment list and on the other side we are learning how to put it to work on student side to gain knowledge. Confusing? 

"Teachers who love teaching, teach students to love learning."