“The US Department of State and the University of Oregon are offering a free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on English Language Teaching. The class begins May 12 and runs for 5 weeks. You do not need to complete part 1 to register for part 2. I have attached a link for more information. Please share with with your colleagues.” This was Dr. Kelly Wonder’s post on our Edmodo page on May 3, 2014. I was hesitant at first to enrol but as I read my classmates’ posts expressing their interest in the course I got convinced. I signed up and went on with the process. Watching intro videos and taking weekly quizzes became part of my regular activities. Then, the lesson plan project came. I got 32/32 for my first project after the peer evaluation, the process which really posed challenge on my part as the plan was evaluated by three of my foreign virtual classmates from other countries. Thereafter, phase 2 lesson plan project followed. This aimed to let us revise our first work by injecting what we have learned from our last lesson – classroom management and reflective teaching. Unfortunately, internet connectivity was not cooperative on the day of the project’s submission. Thus, I went beyond the deadline and wasn’t able to submit my plan. I posted a plea for an allowance for late submission but got a “share your lesson plan” part instead on coursera’s page. I was grateful with that though considering that at least I was given an opportunity to share my plan despite the fact that it won’t earn any point for my final grade. I posted my plan and never hoped for a passing grade.
June 22, coursera sent me an e-mail informing me of the result of my 5-week diligence. I clicked the prompt and got to the page which displayed my grade and the box which displays the prompt “download statement”. I did as I was prompted and saw the certificate with my name. Joy overcame me that I shared the news right away to every fellow teacher I encountered that very moment. Obviously, it was my first online course statement of accomplishment and something which I never expected.
Yes, my professors, Dr. Healey, Dr. Smith and Prof. Magato were so good that they considered my efforts in my quizzes, forum posts and first project. As I browsed over the forum page and determined the number of students who did not earn what was extended to me, I can’t help thanking God and the professors.
Being one of those students from 173 countries all over the world who participated in the Shaping the Way We Teach English, 2 : Paths to Success in ELT makes me really proud and I treasure everything I learned from the course as the lessons enhanced my knowledge of ELT strategies and classroom management. Further, it provided me an opportunity to virtually befriend teachers from various nations.
As a whole, my MOOC experience with coursera is something I consider very beneficial and worth of every effort I exerted. Thank you very much to all the staff and the professors - Dr. DEBORAH HEALY, Dr. ELIZABETH HANSON-SMITH and Prof. JEFFREY M. MAGOTO. Above all, to Dr. KELLY WONDER who disseminated the information to us, her students.
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