What makes a difference in our Society

 

          Education is one of the most important elements in developing successful citizens that are an important role in our society. Everyone accounts to a certain role and are all effective citizens no matter what they do as their job. The degrees and certificates are nothing really but a piece of paper that doesn't really determine who that person is and people are not evaluated based on their jobs because even the cleaners are needed to maintain a hygiene regimen. Work is about what you bring up to the society and how you really help other people. Unfortunately most people seem to lack this sense of what a person really is. We are all born equal, and there is no person that is better than the other; rather, it is the different roles that every citizen works for. 

       For sure, education is extremely important and the more knowledge we know the more we can be effective as citizens. Mostly, parents consider their children as failures or they are worried about their future or what career they will choose due to the pressure from the society around about occupation, grades, how many certificates have they obtained. They are really missing the point of a real education...First of all parents should be taught that their children are not evaluated by looking at their grades to see if they are smart or not. There are many factors that affect their performance and such factors include;

• Self Esteem

    Can you just imagine for a second, how much of thoughts and feelings a student carries on their back due to pressure around them from their parents, their peers, the definition of success, the fact that due to the constant negative thoughts planted into their brains have wiped away their self confidence and their self belief in achieving anything. Did you know that being supportive for students and saying positive words to them as well as showing them that you actually believe that they can do anything they put their mind into it, their performance starts to improve on its own!! Yes! this is the power of words and self belief. 

• Fear and anxiety

       Fear is what causes brain freeze and a decrease in student performance. It is the paralysis to the road of success; however, fear is a normal feeling but only when it is in reasonable amounts. In fact, fear can actually sometimes increases our focus due to the high adrenaline rush to our brains. Fear of what? 

1- Fear of Judgement of their grades: this can be fear from their parents due to a punishment or being hit for their poor performance and actually feeling threatened that they have to pass or else something bad is going to happen to them. Another thing is that students fear to be shamed for their grades infront of other classmates as well and that is due to the fact that they feel pressured and more of a competition. Building a safe classroom environment for students should help ease this situation. 

 2- Fear of being evaluated:  Students should be taught that when they are doing an exam, it is to see how much they understood from the lesson to see where to focus on and help them understand it better and that it has nothing to do with them or their capabilities and their self worth. Additionally, a teacher should provide unconditional love to the students and not only when they are getting good grades. Teachers should explain to the students that it is okay if we don't do good on an exam because this will show us how to get better at it instead, and they should know that it doesn't mean that if they didn't do good on that exam that we keep trying! and don't give up. Maybe change the approach of studying or teach them time management skills or how to set their priorities. This is the real education !! not just information from books. " Everyone deserves a second chance, and everyone is unique with their own personality" . 

• Depression 

   Students do not really have the emotional intelligence, and they don't know how to control their emotions or separate these emotions from what they are doing. Symptoms of depression include lack of concentration, overthinking, losing interest and motivation. In fact this is very common especially if parents are passing through problems and divorce for example or it could simply be hormonal changes that the student is passing through. When a teacher sees a certain change in the performance of the student, they should be good listeners and should offer support, care, and love to the student, because you can simply save a life. A positive word, unconditional love, support, care. This can really make a difference. Being a teacher doesn't mean to only teach the subject that you teach, but you are an influencer, a motivator, a leader, a supporter, and you can change lives.  

Traditional curriculum vs creative curriculum 

   

     Why do we need education? the more we know the better, because ignorance is the person's worst enemy. However, we really need to have that inner motivation to be able to gain a good education and that is because people's interests differ from each other. I believe that a more student approach curriculum to be used for a better education, and the freedom of choice for picking what subjects they are interested in or what builds on to their future career and builds the framework of the career to be chosen ahead. For example, why should a student forcefully study things that are non-beneficial to them when they have no interest at all in those subjects? this will actually decrease the academic performance and students will lose interest in learning since they have no internal motivation. Choose your subject of interests and the subjects that move you closer to your career goals. 

     

     I personally support a curriculum that is more vocational and to do more practical skills and work than actually focus only on theory. The learning process is by applying what we learned in real life, and I believe education doesn't meet someone's needs if it was learned only by theory for 12 years at school, going from one grade to another and learning all types of courses with loss of interest, no gained knowledge, and no future dreams just due to the fact that students and parents consider school as something essential for exams and grades. 

       When a student learns to apply the theoretical knowledge in an applied based environment, this brings up a lot of difference in their future careers. For example, if you consider someone wants to continue in phlebotomy, why don't we start with the basics of phlebotomy in school? Training on an artificial arm, improving students communication skills by pretending their friends as patients and how they should talk to them, to really stimulate that workplace and applied based learning. Additionally, I believe courses such as emotional intelligence, social skills, leadership courses, digital safety, organizational skills, first aid training and any course that actually comes in our real life where they actually apply it in their lives and grow through this information, instead of really wasting time on things that are not helpful neither in the daily life nor career wise. Moreover, students can be trained on how to work with companies by simulating a business like environment. This will boost their self confidence, improve their inner motivation, and lead a successful career. When a student is exposed to different work place simulations, this actually helps them figure out the career path they wish to work with. 

       In conclusion, in my opinion  a traditional curriculum sets limits to the abilities and choices of students with no freedom of choice for the subjects they have interest in. I believe that a more student centered curriculum approach should be adopted and for simulation of real workplace on how to deal with people, as well as essential life skills through courses that are not ever taught in schools and these are the most important skills for a successful life ahead. Education is warmed up by inner motivation, and creativity in the courses and learning process can ignite the curiosity of the students and end up having an effective citizen and actually ready to be in the workplace and ready to live life and know how to deal with challenges. This is what education is really all about

Written by: Dana Molla

Use of 3D in Education

 

         The innovation and the rise of revolutionary ideas in the world of technology has been increasing day by day, and the benefits of using technology in class has been proven. Bringing along a lot of Interest, and engaged activities rather than being bombarded with non- understandable information from the books and the curriculum that should be followed. Education should not be the quantity of the information learned, because half of the information being learned is useless or will not be used later on in their life. On the other hand, if taken into consideration that education is intended to build the skills necessary to be able to properly cope in life, this is what should be focused on. It is the activities done, the engagement of students in tasks, and the group work will never be forgotten, but if we follow the traditional way of teaching, education is no use or not as efficient. 

      I believe the image above is self- explanatory of the benefits that are encountered when using 3D technology in classrooms but they will be listed as well for more emphasis. 

        1- Student Interest: As we all know, students tend to be having a lack of interest in studying or performing any activity, and wonder around thinking to themselves " This is a useless subject" , " This is so boring" … etc. Well, how much the student is interested depends on the pedagogy of how you present this subject to them in an unforgettable way and imprints in their souls where they could never forget it.  How much do you think students will be enjoying a 3D movie of a certain topic, such as history, taking the students back to the war zones and feel the climate that was going on in those days? Of course they will be more interested than simply reading from a book about history ! Or how about travelling inside the human body, and see how it functions from inside? this is unforgettable and brings about the interest in the students and they can relate it in life. 

       2- Student Engagement in activities: Many students naturally tend to be off-task than on-task, and it is our responsibility as teachers to make the learning activities as engaging as possible. The most efficient way to make students engaged in a learning activity is using technology, because it is more fun to them and they can focus better when learning while playing than actually just being lectured from the teacher. One of the best ways to do that is using the constructivist approach, where you throw a bate or a small piece of information and ask the students to search about it, they construct their own learning and they share it with everyone when they work in groups. Student engagement in activities is one of the best ways to a successful life ahead and best educational journey. 

       3- Access to inaccessible sites: One of the best ways to learn is to see things in reality, and the videos watched in 3D can be from real life situations and thus the learning process is based on real life experiences and things that they can relate to their life weather currently or not. Instead of going to the factory and showing them how milk is done, you can bring the site to them in class, they can engage in the environment as if they went to the site itself. It is more feasible and safer to do so , I am not saying that it is bad to take students out on a field trip, but since it is very limited, we bring the site to them with this amazing technology. 

      In conclusion, being a teacher is to bring about a better generation, more efficient learning journey, and more students being enthusiastically on-task , but everything should occur in moderation, using too much technology in class and not focusing on readings or summarizing a certain article is not good because they would lose the skills of analytical thinking and other skills such as comprehending what is being said. Moderation is the key to success. 

                                                                                                                         - Dana Molla- 

Technology and Learning disabilities

 

       At schools, there are students that encounter learning disabilities that are usually misdiagnosed, and the blame is put on the children, that they are not studying well or they are not smart and this is why they are not doing well in classes; however, there are many disabilities that can be encountered, such as Dyslexia, ADHD, Autism Spectrum disorder, Poor eye sight, Hearing problems... etc. 

  Thanks to the technology that is rising everyday by day, it is helping students with learning disabilities to overcome this and improve their educational performance and their mental development. With the innovative creations in technology and specific programs, every student is able to express how they feel or what they know in their own way. 

 Let us see how technology can help students with learning disabilities. In the Video provided through the link , you will see how assistive technology uncovered the true essence of students with disabilities. 

       How Assistive Technology Supports Students With Disabilities - YouTube

     In fact, this was a very emotional moment while watching this video, because we cannot determine what a child is capable to actually give or how smart they are. 

   Learning is not always evaluated or assessed through paper-pencil exams to determine what the students know or what they don't know, some students are not able to express their thoughts in writing rather than talking but that does not mean that the student is not smart.

   As teachers, our job is to develop the minds of our youngsters and to help them move forward in their lives, not to judge them and feel that they are not worth it or they are not up to the level. They can be smarter than anyone in the room, but it is our job as teachers to figure it out.  

                                                                                                                          - Dana Molla - 

Essentials for Online Teaching

 

     COVID 19 Pandemic Have Changed the Lives of Many in all directions. The Era of Learning Online has been introduced and Implemented more than ever. Both Teachers and Students had a hard time adapting to this change but nothing is Impossible because the word itself says "I'm Possible". All we need is some patience and to actually teach our students the essential things when it comes to online teaching. So what are the things that we need to teach our students to prevent the troubles of Studying Online?

 Let us think what are some troubles that students face when studying Online?

     1- Internet Connection Problems: This actually wastes a lot of time from the online session and Sometimes the material explained is not very clear when the teacher's voice is lagging. Solution? Make sure to have a good internet Connection for an efficient session.

    2- Chaotic Environment: Many of the students tend to lose interest in the class when it is very chaotic and no organization is made in class. Solution? Introduce and explain to the students the expected rules and regulations such as raising their hands when they want to ask a question or when they want to speak. But if as teachers we are presenting we cannot look who is raising their hand. Solution?  Sign in from another device as well to see who is raising their hands. 

   3- Too Much Distractors: Students tend to Join the class and just go on Facebook and other social media platforms as well as just go to the kitchen to grab some food and doesn't really focus on the lesson. Or maybe the Parents are fighting in the house! This affects the performance of the student. So here, the solution is to advise the student to sit in a Room that is not very noisy to focus more on the class as well as to keep the students on task to prevent them from using Social media platforms.

    4- Poor computer skills: There are many students who are not aware of how to use the platform they are using to study online ex: Zoom, Google meet, Teams... Etc. Students should be taught on how they can submit their assignments using the platform, how they are supposed to join, where are the assignments posted... etc. So, Students should know how to use the online tools and provide them with clear Instructions on what they are supposed to do. 

   5-Teaching students Respect: This is to avoid Cyber bullying, students should be taught that everything they do , they are being watched for it and anyone who mis-uses the internet will be suffering the consequences.

   6 -Avoiding Plagiarism : Students should also be taught on which websites are credible to take the information from as well as How to avoid Plagiarizing their assignments.  

   7- Time management: Due to the fact that the material is being taught online, the students should do double the effort in the sense that they should prepare the material ahead of time to get the most benefits of the session and to teach the students how they can organize their time between studying and resting at home even if no one is seeing them.  

   In conclusion, everything needs time to be adapted to and in fact online teaching is improving the higher order skills in the curriculum due to the fact that the type of exams being used are related to the analysis, synthesis and evaluation levels to avoid cheating and the darkness of online teaching.  

                                                                                                                         - Dana Molla - 

How to be a Digital Citizen ?

 

        What exactly are we talking about when we say " How to be a digital citizen?" . Well as you know, as we move forward, technology is on the rise and children have access to it now more than ever and the Internet world is Really Big and with all the safety measures that are taken it is still not safe. Being a Digital citizen means to know how to use the Internet In a safe way and to learn the Etiquette behind the Internet World. There are many things that are encountered when diving deep into the oceans, there are so much information in a click; However, BOOM! You hit the rock bottom ! In this Post we will see the different problems that a person can encounter when using the internet and what are the solutions that we can do to use it as safely as possible. 

        1- Cyber Bullying - There are many types of bullying and cyber bullying is on the rise because it is definitely easier for everyone to bully others from behind the screen rather than face to face and thus we should really teach our children the respect and the Etiquette of how to treat others when using the internet. Examples of Cyber bullying may include stealing someone's photo and creating a GIF image with a Fake body Placed on it or commenting meanly on a picture or a post ... etc. This can be done even easier when the account name is a nickname not the real name of the person. Nevertheless, Children should be taught that each key that they enter is registered and this is the biggest example of getting ads that are related to what you are searching for. So teaching the children that they are being watched for everything they do on the internet and teaching them to respect one another is one of the main things when it comes to Digital Citizenship. How many people on Facebook have their accounts stolen? In fact, Hacking has never been so easy but one of the things that one can do is to make the password not easy to guess for the hacker. However, there are several applications and websites that allows hackers to do so without attempting to enter the password in the first place. In this case the person reports the account to Facebook and they take the measures accordingly. 

       2- Dating Sites or Chat Rooms - There are billions of cases worldwide due to the dating websites and the Chat rooms where killers can make a false profile and get to know everything about you in details, this makes it easier for the killer or kidnapper to find his next target, Since Simple words and Beautiful pictures are sent by the Guy and Then asks the Girl on a date, Claiming that he liked her rather than He is just dragging her into a Trap. Dating Websites and Chat rooms should be blocked in the country in General as well as make children aware of the dangerous effects that can occur if they enter to such websites. In addition, these Websites and applications can lead the girls to suicide because if they have sent a picture to the Guy, they actually Blackmail them that if they don't do what they ask for that their pictures will be on all websites. These applications are very dangerous and should not be accepted what so ever!!

       3- Protection of Private Information- Here, What I am saying is that There are Hackers out there that actually use your private information against you , such as leaving your credit card number and other information on online shopping website and we don't know if it is actually safe or not. Teenagers should be well aware that if they buy anything online to pay on delivery for example instead of entering the credit card number as well as other private data that can be used against you. Note that this can leave you Bankrupt , Since Hackers can actually make credit cards with your name and your data and then you have to settle the payments. NEVER LEAVE YOUR PERSONAL DATA BEHIND! It is no Joke!

     4-Bad Websites - Since Children have access to the internet , How can I actually protect the children from entering into adult contents? Because as you know this is everywhere even in the Children's cartoons they show Things that are inappropriate. Well what we can do is that we can make the Parental Control in which all websites that have adult contents in it will not be suggested on the Channel or the Website, and as a parent or as Teachers we can see the search history and everything that has been watched or where they are entering, It is not about not trusting the Child but not trusting the people around them. 

     5- Non-Credible Websites- Many of students and many people search on websites in general for information, but Really, how much of this information is actually true? I mean this is one advantage of using books instead of diving into the world of the internet. Anyone can create a website, anyone can post information , but is everyone credible to Rely on their information? Students should be taught about which websites are credible and how to know if the website is credible or not. As you know there are several factors that indicate if the website itself is credible or not. Using those with .Org or .edu for example are credible; However, using those with wikipedia.com for example is not really valid and not always true because anyone can do it. 

      In conclusion, Yes... the World of Technology is on the rise but the dangerous risks of it is also concerning. As a Biologist I would Give an Example of it like when using antibiotics it is helpful because it kills the bacteria, but if you misuse it, it will cause long lasting effects. In everything that we do we should actually Take into consideration the Consequences of what happens when we do a certain action and since technology is in the reach of our Angels; our youngsters, it is our job as teachers or as parents to guide the child of using it safely. This is how you Become a Digital Citizen. 

- Dana Molla - 

Tools that Can be used in Online Assessment

     What is Assessment? It is the Procedures or  Techniques that are used to know if the student have reached the learning outcome or not. There are 3 main Concepts when we say assessment; first it starts with determining the learning objectives, second is to monitor the progress of the student towards the learning objective, and finally to assess the students if the learning outcome was reached at the end of the course as expected or not. It is a continuous process and authentic (Valid), It comes in different types wither the Paper-Pencil Type of Assessment or Performance Assessment. Keep In mind that each have their limitations as well. Assessment can be either formal or informal; There are different types of assessment that are used in classrooms, Placement Assessment, Formative Assessment, Diagnostic Assessment, and the Summative Assessment. Let us look Briefly of the usage of each type

                        

              1- Placement Assessment: Usually done at the beginning of a course to know the level of the students to be able to plan the lesson correctly, and to group students according to the learning styles , multiple intelligence, or Their level according to bloom's Taxonomy 

             2- Formative Assessment: Is Used to Monitor the student Progress towards reaching the learning outcome and is used for us as teachers to know if we continue to the next concept or not. 

             3- Diagnostic Assessment: Is done when 3-4 formative assessments are done and there is still a problem you should do the Diagnostic Assessment to know where the problem is

             4- Summative Assessment: Is done at the end of a term and it indicates how much of the learning objectives were reached.

      Keep in Mind that assessment is not just about putting a Grade, but rather it is used to determine the weaknesses and the strengths of certain skills to improve the developmental process through teaching. Not everyone is perfect and we always need a mentor to develop our skills. A grade doesn't determine our success or our failures rather than it detects what point shall I work on to improve and be better at it?   

      How can we Do the Assessment of Students Online during the Online teaching? Luckily Some tools can help achieve this; therefore, technology these days have a solution for everything. Now, how can we assess the students who are studying online? Let us see some really nice applications and tools that helps us achieve this. We will divide the tools based on the type of assessment.                           

                                                             

  1-  Formative Assessment

        A- Poll Everywhere: This can be used to get feedback from the students and see if they understand the objective or not , and if you continue to the next concept or not. In Poll Everywhere it can be used during a presentation for example to see the understanding of the students. 

         B- Padlet : Padlet can be used in a very effective way in which we ask the student to fill in a table of KWL chart which is used to know what the students already know, what they want to know, and what they have learned . This can give a feedback to the teacher of how much the students understood About a certain concept and where are the things that are not yet understood?

         C- Jamboard: Jamboard can be used to see the Response of the students and their feedback about a topic they are asked about and they can work in the same time. We can also use Microsoft PowerPoint to make a certain design and post it on Jamboard

     D-No Hands Name Picker : Just like the informal assessment done in class when asking oral Questions, we can use this tool to ask oral questions about a concept and by randomly picking the names of the students. This technique leaves the student more focused waiting for their name and more engaged in the activity being done.

     E- Google forms : In google forms it can be used to make a quiz for example about a concept because as we said that formative assessment can also be graded as well, so using Google forms, can help create a quiz and in order to ensure no cheating is done, then we have to make the Questions shuffled and set a timer. This does not eliminate the chance of cheating rather than it just decreases it. We can also make it controlled in a way that we don't allow students to submit more than 1 response, thus decreasing chances of cheating even more.

       F- Word wall : This is a website that is used to Create certain games which in turn can tell us how much the students know about a concept before moving to the next topic. This Game integration is very important because we can assess the students in a fun way and let them more engaged in the Classroom activities and there is a leaderboard, so when there is a challenge, it makes them motivated and want to be the first in the game and this will show us the maximum performance of the students. Therefore, in this case we are actually assessing the students indirectly without making them notice it. 

      G- Google Classroom: Using Google Classroom, as teachers you can post assignments, set a due date, post questions as participation as well as Sharing exams with the students and they also have the chance to post a question if they have any question and allow them to share with the classroom about something that they found interesting. This all Contributes to informal assessment, because maybe you can see what topic are they most interested in and sharing information about then as a teacher will spend more time on it and much more things can be interpreted through this. 

       H- Google Documents: Doing an assignment on Google documents allows us to know the writing skills of the student for example and it also helps with the fact that we can leave a remark or a comment on the student's answer or telling them what they should be careful about for the next time for example. 

        2- Summative Assessment 

       Google Documents: Using Google documents, it allows us to create an exam and share it with the coordinator for making updates if necessary. It is also a good way to share things because you know exactly what each student have made.

       What about Placement Assessment?

     Before starting a course we can use Google forms to assess how much the students have of the pre-requisites needed for the Course by simply asking them to fill in a survey and we get instant statistics using Google forms, this can give us a hint of where we are at before starting. It is also helpful to make a survey regarding the learning styles of the students to know which is the best Technique to use in teaching, or we can simply do an English placement exam to know where the students are at for example. 

      But how can we Apply the Performance Assessment Online?

       A- Breakout Rooms : Using the breakout rooms it puts the students together in a team so you can assess the student's team work skills for example when putting them in a group to do a certain project.

    B- Preparing a Presentation: Yes, it is not completely a performance assessment because the missing thing is that you are not actually seeing the Body language of the student during presentation but making presentations allows us as teachers to See the Performance of the student like the presentation skills and how the student can explain his concept, and the way that the student CREATES a Power Point and How efficient is his skills in the organization, content, and if the student can make a creative Power Point or not. This is a part of Performance assessment  and we shall put a self Assessment rubric and explain to the student to fill it in after the presentation and that they will be assessed according to this rubric.

     C- Performing at Home Experiment: You can tell the students to Apply what they learned by doing a certain experiment at home and make a video Showing every step of how they were doing the steps and finally ask them for a report about the experiment and ask them to Analyze why the results were as such thus you are making students think about the experiment and understand the concept behind it not just perform it. Again, Rubric is a must to ensure a valid assessment when it comes to performance assessment 

     In Conclusion, weather Online or in Classrooms, assessment is a vital process when it comes to learning and luckily, using technology and certain tools we can make an authentic assessment even in Online Teaching. 

Integrating Technology into Teaching

 

        Technology In schools? Yes, sure because what are the benefits of using Technology in Schools? As it is well known that students have disinterest when it comes to studying and making assignments and can be very frustrating to them and they Don't enjoy it, But let us zoom in of how Integrating Technology, which have made a huge turn point and made education better. 

  1- It is Beneficial for Engagement of Activities 

      Students are more naturally to be off-task than on-Task and Engagement of the students in the activities or tasks given is to be taught than to be expected, so as a teacher the first rule when teaching is to grab the attention of students, making them interested, and making them more engaged in the activities in order to achieve the expected learning outcomes. Thankfully, Technology has made this more possible because since it is one of the main things in our world today, integrating it into technology definetly helps to make students more interested.

  2- Webinars and Online Teaching in the Dark times

      COVID has took over the world during the pandemic, people lost their jobs, students lost their schools and their friends. At one point this darkness will Clear out and all we are left with are the decisions that were made during those times for a better life ahead. Education and knowledge has always paid off its value and is the weapon for each person to have a better life ahead it is more of a tool to reach to a life that is safe enough and to be able to get a job to get paid for it and live from the earnings. Nevertheless Education is very beneficial because the more we are aware about Topics and the more information and knowledge we gain the better our lives will be and the more impact and value that we can add to the society. In addition, Making Webinars and Teaching online Has made Education International and available at a click from the comfort of your homes, Can you imagine studying in bed while wearing comfortable clothes and grabbing a snack while watching a lecture online? this comfort will actually improve the performance of the student and show their real abilities thus making Assessment even more authentic. It also gives a chance for those who are shy students to cooperate more and have less anxiety. Keep in mind that webinars are done meaning that we are communicating internationally and sharing new studies and new knowledge that everyone can learn about. It also made it possible for all people who couldn't continue their education to re-complete it and get their diploma. 

3-Making Subjects more Interesting and More related to Daily life 

     As students , how many of us have hated history, or math or any subject that we feel it is uninteresting or useless in our daily lives. This is why the previous curriculum which depended only on Remembering , understanding, and applying and doing exams only is unauthentic Whereas in the thinking curriculum, it is more applied  to our daily lives. The techniques that are used in the teaching process have made subjects more interesting, easier to remember, better to understand a concept and apply it in Real Life situations. 

4-Easier Access for Information and Cost Friendly 

      If a research is being conducted, it is much Easier for students to search the web for a variety of information in a short time and for free rather than wasting time searching in books and Buy Material related to the research information when they can simply search the web but of course they should be taught on which websites are to be trusted and reliable when it comes to information seeking as well as taught to reference, to Validate their research. 

   In conclusion, as technology has caused a major change in our lives we should adapt to this change and improve along with it. 

                                                                                                                             - Dana Molla -