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Before I start the course

tamaraauer — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:29:24 +0000

Expectations – What do I already know?
I think the course will be good as it is produced by RAI – a prestigious Italian broadcasting group, but at the same time I am not a strong believer in language learning with computers only, as a lot of the learning of a language is done by observing visual cues and pronunciation must be very clear for the learner to be able to interpret words and imitate the tone quality and accent to produce an authentic sound when speaking.

Written Italian also may be difficult to teach over the internet as no personalisation of content can occur. Learners may be left with gaps in their knowledge, as mistakes may not be corrected in a way that allows learners to fully understand what they did incorrectly.

Pronunciation will also go uncorrected and learners may also be at risk of skipping over questions or topics that they find too difficult.

The course also may get a little tedious after two hours or more as most of the format of lessons will be the same and learners may get bored if the level is too easy or frustrated if the level is too hard. Starting at an advanced level without an indication of what the expectations of an advanced students’ knowledge makes it difficult for learners to form expectations that are positive.

How will I approach the course?

tamaraauer — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 08:40:51 +0000

Will I do the course all at once, or break up the 4 hours? What is my strategy?
Seeing as my course is divided up into 4 topics, 1 hour each, I have decided to complete 2 hours on Saturday and another 2 hours on Sunday. That will give me adequate time to reflect on my progress and my learning process during the course.

I will be prepared and ready to undertake the course and I will make sure I concentrate and engage with the material.

The course I have chosen:

tamaraauer — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:37:47 +0000

Advanced Italian E-Learning Course

Dentro l’Italiano 4.0 Corso Elementare
http://www.italica.rai.it/lingua/corso.htm

I have decided to complete a one-hour lesson from each topic.
The topic areas are:
1. In Città – In the city
(I have chosen to do the module called ‘In Tram’ – On a tram 60mins)
2. Con gli Amici – With friends
(I have chosen to do the module called ‘Parliamo di lavoro’ – lets talk about work 60mins)
3. Vacanze – Holidays
(I have chosen to do the module called ‘Parliamo di Vacanze’ – lets talk about holidays 60mins)
4. Uffici – Offices
(I have chosen to do the module called ‘Cercarsi appartamento’ – Searching for an apartment 60mins)

These are the Learning Outcomes as stated at the start of the course:

Correlazioni

Level/Objective		Correspondence
CEF B1 § Capire i punti principali di un discorso, a condizione che venga usata una lingua chiara e standard e che si tratti di argomenti familiari inerenti al lavoro, alla scuola, al tempo libero, ecc. Understand the principal points of a conversation… that are to do with the familiar topics inherent to work, school and free time etc. § Districarsi nella maggior parte delle situazioni riscontrabili in viaggi nelle regioni in cui si parla la lingua. Disentangle the majority of a situation found when travelling in regions where Italian is spoken. § Esprimersi, in modo semplice e coerente, su argomenti familiari e inerenti alla sfera dei suoi interessi. To express oneself in a simple and coherent way on familiar topics. § Riferire un’esperienza o un avvenimento, descrivere un sogno, una speranza o un obiettivo e fornire motivazioni e spiegazioni brevi relative a un’opinione o a un progetto.		Level: Elementary 25 lessons Advanced 2 lessons
Precursor per Situations	Precursor Narrative
In città In tramCon gli amici Parliamo di lavoro Vacanze Parliamo di vacanze Uffici Cercasi appartamento	Lavori o studi? Parliamo di lavoro In tramChe cosa c’è da vedere? Cercasi appartamentoChe treni ci sono per Sassari? Parliamo di vacanze

Searching for an e-Learning course

tamaraauer — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 01:34:31 +0000

I am looking for a short course that will help me understand what it is like to learn online, It has to be 4 hours long and the instruction will have to be on a topic that interests me. I have decided that the course format I will look for is online and the course will require me to do something.

The topic I have chosen:
I want to continue the Italian language learning that I was doing at uni, online. My topic is therefore Advanced Italian.

E-learning Course Search:

Using the advanced search option is a way of getting much more relevant search results.

Content providers for language learning:
- BBC
- RAI

Assignment 1

tamaraauer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:32:08 +0000

Assignment 1 is done. I had already completed this last semester when I did the subject E-learning Design.

This is my weblog: http://tamaraauer.edublogs.org/

This is my Delicious account: http://delicious.com/tamaraauer

This is my Netvibes account: http://www.netvibes.com/smarttams

Visual Hierarchy and The Psychology of Colour

tamaraauer — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:07:35 +0000

Visual hierarchy is what a learner sees first. This has an impact on learners as what they see first is also what they concentrate on and what grabs their attention is what they focus on. Ideally I would like to be able to dictate in my design, what the learner sees first.

The Psychology of Colour

BLUE

Blue projects the idea of being under control, being calm and collected.

RED

Red is a hot colour and denotes the idea of danger

Choose colours to convey the following:

Aggression RED

Friendly PURPLE

Solid ORANGE

Weak CREAM

Serious GREY

Depressed GREEN/BLUE

The colour quiz

Exploring Visual Design – a quote by Tay Vaughn

tamaraauer — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:58:57 +0000

A quote by Tay Vaughan (1998):

“At the beginning of a project, the screen is a blank canvas, ready for you, the multimedia designer, to express your craft. The screen will change again and again during the course of your project as you experiment, as you stretch and reshape elements, draw new objects and throw out old ones, and test various colors and effects – creating a vehicle for your message…many multimedia designers are known to experience a mild shiver when they pull down the New… menu and draw their first colors onto a fresh screen…this screen represents a powerful and seductive avenue for channelling creativity.”

I find Vaughan’s comments to be encouraging and positive. As I have an interest in art, I can associate with the “blank canvas” image, however for me an element of inspiration is also necessary at the start of the designing process as without inspiration or the generation of creative ideas, nothing new can be made.

E-learning at Work

tamaraauer — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:56:34 +0000

In my work context: What experience have I had with e-Learning?

In my current administration job, I have had no exposure to e-learning. All training I have received has been Face to face training and I have also had to learn on the job (Experiential learning).

It would be interesting to see how e-learning could be incorporated into my work situation. As I am currently working for a community services organisation, a lot of e-learning options are not adopted due to the lack of computers, technology and software. Also, if e-learning were to be introduced, many of the older staff would be discouraged from using the technology due to their lack of computer skills.

In my workplace many workers feel discouraged from using computers and many people come to me with questions about things that are very simple. I believe all staff should be offered more formal computer training as some of them struggle when it comes to things such as the simple formatting of documents. I don’t think e-learning could be incorporated at all unless some workers get computer training beforehand.

My workplace: The Italian Association of Assistance