teachers.on.net

“The teachers.on.net listings provided me with the opportunity to proactively contact over 230 teachers who had previously registered their interest in teaching overseas. The ability to initiate contact with potential candidates is much preferred to, and more efficient than, having to wait for responses from applicants (often many unsuitable) which result when advertising school vacancies by other means. I will definitely continue to utilise teachers.on.net as my primary recruitment source.” David Hewitt, Australian International School - Dhaka.

Source

Arsonist sets school on fire

A school in Pattani's Mayo district was set on fire on Sunday night, just hours before the new semester began yesterday. One building of Ban Krawa school was reduced to ashes in the fire which began at about 9pm on Sunday night. The detailed extent of damage was unknown so far.

Authorities said it was the work of arsonists who came back to attack police investigators who were inspecting the school damage. That led to a five-minute gunfight before the attackers retreated. There was no report of casualties.

Source: Bangkok Post

Early childhood education project

The Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC) has launched an early childhood education project to breed a new generation of southern youth in tune with the need for peaceful coexistence in the strife-torn region. The centre will encourage a sense of patriotism and belonging, said the SBPAC director. The project, consistent with southern economic development strategies, would help young people develop. It would also improve caregivers' potential and upgrade the standard of nurseries.

Source: Bangkok Post

Sexual harassment

At least three cases of sexual harassment against students by lecturers at Thammasat University have been reported over the past decade, according to a seminar on sexual harassment at universities yesterday. The chairwoman of Thammasat University's Women and Youth Studies Programme said there had been serious cases of sexual harassment prior to last month's scandal involving an engineering lecturer at the Rangsit campus.

Source: Bangkok Post

The Qualities of Decent People

The Office of the National Culture Commission (ONCC) has published 100,000 copies of a comic book entitled Sombat Khong Phudee (The Qualities of Decent People) for distribution to youngsters nationwide. Culture Minister Anusorn Wongwan said the book represented a light-hearted approach to teaching youngsters the value of decent conduct.

Source: Bangkok Post

Reflections on Facilitating Asynchronous Discussion

When I started reading the article Facilitating Asynchronous Discussion by A. Bedard-Voorthees (Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, vol 2, 2005, pp. 912-917). I thought that as I’m not an online instructor, but an online learner, the article won’t be of too much help. But as I kept reading I realized that the article is quite useful for online learners too. On top of that, it’s also good to know what the instructor’s work frame is and the basic techniques they use to generate good asynchronous interaction.

The article ends with the mention of MERLOT Virtual Speaker Bureau, a program I’ve never heard of. A quick search on yahoo directed me here , where I found out that MRLOT “allows you to enhance the educational experiences of your students by bringing them together with guest speakers who are experts in their fields. Guest Experts are available on a wide range of topics relevant to technology, teaching, and learning…” Bottom line, it’s just another tool useful in distance education.

Going over the list of references, I found an article published in the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. The journal publishes interesting articles, but the only problem is that the full text of the article is subscription based, only abstract being available for free.

After reading this article I remembered that about one year ago I registered to an online forum about Thailand: ThailandQA. With all the information that I’ve been accumulating in the last week in my mind, and waiting to be put to good use, I came up with a project / paper idea. In the meantime, I started reading some of the post on the forum and tried to identify elements specific to asynchronous interaction.

Facilitating Asynchronous Discussion

The article Facilitating Asynchronous Discussion by A. Bedard-Voorthees (Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, vol 2, 2005, pp. 912-917.) presents techniques of how online instructors can facilitate meaningful asynchronous discussions. Asynchronous refers to “one-one-one and one-to-many text based interaction independent of time.” (p.912)

Competencies for asynchronous interaction (for instructors)

- scaffolding (building on prior knowledge, sequencing)
- technical support
- “online communication skills” – the ability to write clear, positive contributions in a “personable” way
- “content expertise”
- “personal characteristics”

How to create a positive atmosphere in asynchronous interaction (for instructors)

- self disclosure (local details and humor)
- expressing interest and encouragement
- inclusiveness behaviours (responding to learners by name, using “we” instead of
“I” and salutations – “Hi all”)
- control over the choice of words with negative connotations

Why learners may write impertinent posts

- lack of clarity about learning expectations
- anxiety about the new text environment
- a sense of displacement from community (due to online environment)

Side note: “students sometimes make remarks online they would never in a face-to-face classroom”

Instructional competencies (for instructors)

- ability to generate goals for discussion
- create participant expectations
- formulate stimulating questions
- re-direct strayed discussions

Content items that matter (for learners)

- addressing the topic
- reference to readings
- real-life examples
- a response to another student
- expressing own viewpoint

Side note: It’s recommended that the instructors provide “models for students as a way of suggesting appropriate levels of response”

Good questioning techniques (for instructors & learners)

- spark discussion
- re-engage participants
- prompt students to process the learning content
- respond to an expand upon the response of others

Kinds of questions

- open-ended or naïve (e.g. What would happen if _______?)
- asking for clarification of statement
- questions that identify assumptions
- asking for example of evidence
- asking learners to consider alternatives
- asking about viewpoints

Foreign language acquisition

"Foreign language acquisition is a skill, more than a body of facts, acquired with practice; therefore, sustaining motivation and promoting lengthy practice outside the classroom are key factors." (Anne Fox, UsingPodcasts in the EFL Classroom )