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Monday, July 28, 2003


for CLASSES SATURDAY AUGUST 2, 2003 and
WEDNESDAY AND TUESDAY JULY 29/30, 2003


In Class:

Taking roll - Continued on Saturday -get names spelled correctly and put in IDs for certificates to be issued later.

What have we learned in the past two weeks?

Grammar: We'll look at this site: http://a4esl.org/q/h/grammar.html

ARTICLES: there are many exercises to practice.
Let's try Health Clubs: http://a4esl.org/q/h/9901/cw-articles.html

VERBS: we need work on ...
Present simple: http://a4esl.org/q/h/lb/psv.html
Gerunds and Infinitives: http://a4esl.org/q/h/9801/el-to-ing.html

You can practice in the lab or at home with more exercises on this page.

VOCABULARY

We're going to compile a list of words you've learned in this class
- Play Hangman with them
- Make crossword puzzles with Puzzlemaker

More about this later.

BLOGS

This week we want to focus on DEVELOPING your blogs.

After this week you MUST link to pictures stored at Homestead.
http://www.homestead.com/prosites-vstevens/files/efi/pi/2003summer/ PLUS the filename of your photo.

For example, my photo is here:
http://www.homestead.com/prosites-vstevens/files/efi/pi/2003summer/gvsdivingthmb.jpg

Your existing link might look something like this:
http://f2.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/oEUmP1Landetcyadayada/2003summer/gvsdivingthmb.jpg

or this:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vance_pi/files/2003summer/gvsdivingthmb.jpg

I have not changed the name or size of any photo, so to link to its new, more reliable location, in your TEMPLATE simply substitute the OLD location, above, with
http://www.homestead.com/prosites-vstevens/files/efi/pi/2003summer/gvsdivingthmb.jpg

Make sure you TEST in a browser to make sure your link works. If it doesn't work, see Vance. After this week, Yahoo Groups / Files will no longer be accessible.

What did we do this weekend?

FREE WRITING

Wednesday, we completed the Stickman Murder Mystery. We couldn't complete it in the lab because the Websense settings are different in the labs and classrooms.

http://normandcompany.com/SM1GAME/newsplash.html

REPORTED SPEECH

- Wednesday we chatted with A.L.I.C.E: http://www.alicebot.org/.
- We wrote on a sheet of paper something that we asked Alice and what she replied (one sentence, each person).

In the Lab Saturday:

You can chat with A.L.I.C.E. and write me a paragraph describing your conversation (in reported speech).

You can practice grammar exercises from the URLs above.

You can put the results of your free writing into your blog. Here, we want to make the blogs longer and longer (while correcting previous posts).






Sunday, July 27, 2003

MONDAY JULY 28, 2003

In Class today:

Follow up writing:

If you printed your blog yesterday, Vance will return it today with errors marked. Sit with a friend who doesn't have a corrected paper. Together figure out what the mistakes are. Rewrite one paragraph correctly and show it to your teacher.

Fun time: Mysteries

There are some mysteries at the Tower of English http://towerofenglish.com/

We'll examine The Case of Grandpa's Painting http://www.eduweb.com/pintura/index.html

Here's one for you to try out in the lab today. You might have to download the latest shockwave first:
A Gorey Murder http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/murder/index.html

- Click on the picture to find the villain
- You'll gather clues and objects
- When you've figured it out WRITE your teacher an explanation

In the Lab today:

Saif Saeed started a YahooGroup for the class. Please join by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oasis_2003, or send blank email to:

- oasis_2003-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

- There is a poll there that you can vote in.

Work on your blogs:

- Enter the corrections
- Develop them from your free writing
- Print them when ready.

Really think you're finished? Not in the mood?

- Try out the Gorey Murder http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/murder/index.html




Saturday, July 26, 2003

Sunday July 27, 2003

We put names to pictures at our YahooGroup, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vance_pi/files/2003summer/.

We went over the sentences written yesterday, corrected a few.

Just for fun:

3 teams, sentence completion.

- One team member starts a sentence, others complete in turn.

- 30 seconds from time of going to board to complete word, correct it.

- One point for a correct word. Zero if teacher corrects it.

- Game ends when teacher declares 'penalty shootout' (sentence must end in next 3 words).

Lab today:

- Work in pairs, give and receive feedback to correct your blog and expand it.

- If you have more than one blog, create a portal for them, and link them to each other and the portal.

- Add more photos

- Find a topic in your blog, or start one, to research. Find links and use Filamentality or any system you choose to annotate links, show how they support your topic.

Task for today is to PRINT your blog, hand it in.

Friday, July 25, 2003

Saturday July 26, 2003

We have a YahooGroup for photos
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vance_pi/

We played a board game 4 in Reward Intermediate:

First group to reach FINISH (each person) and then give me four good complete sentences WINS!

· Each sentence is about something someone said during the game.
· Each sentence must be different.
· Each sentence is on a separate sheet of paper (each person writes one)


Tuesday, July 22, 2003

Hi. My name is Vance Stevens. I came from California to Abu Dhabi six years ago but I was born in Texas. I have a wife and two children.

I am a Lecturer of Computing at Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi and I like the classes I'm teaching.

I've been planning my Oasis Summer Program course in this blog and transfering the completed entries to the link below. Have a look at the great blogs my class has made:
http://www.homestead.com/prosites-vstevens/files/efi/pi/2003summer.htm

I also sketched out a plan for teaching students BLOGGING including how to start a blog and posted it here: the orientation one. There's also a component for augmenting links with Filamentality.

Class philosophy (solution to word puzzle first days of August)

Vance has his students create blogs so that they will learn how to express themselves correctly in English.

These blogs can link to other items in the students' portfolios.

Many students have asked to be given a book for the summer courses, when in fact each student in Vance's class is writing his own book.

Each student will learn according to the amount of effort he puts into his personal blog, and when the course is over each student will have something to show for his time spent at Petroleum Institute this summer.

Vance hopes that all students in his class will enjoy the methods of learning used at the Petroleum Institute.

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