Now that I have completed my third year as an ELT student at Marmara University, it is a good time to reflect on this term that has contributed a lot to my development as a future teacher.
The best aspect of the course was the use of interactive
methods such as Data-Driven Learning, which make the students act as detectives
rather than just memorizing the textbooks. On the downside, the dependence on
technology was a problem that I personally encountered, as tech issues such as
slow Wi-Fi connection or different levels of digital skills among students
could easily turn a lesson into a disaster.
I found the collaborative parts of the course very easy and
fun, especially the times when I was working with my friends Ozan, Emir, and
Eylül. On the other hand, the most exhausting aspect was the need for technical
accuracy. For example, in our “Prompting Your Style” activity, we mistakenly
spent hours on PowerPoint while the task required us to prepare a worksheet,
which made it urgent for us to work quickly to solve the problem.
The Data-Driven Learning project was my favorite task as
using tools like SKELL and AI to teach “must” vs “have to” was super fun. The
flipped learning video was my least favorite; even though the outcome was nice,
the difficulty of making a video that fits 5th graders’ attention through a
visual script and several narrators was tiring.
Always think of a plan B for when technology fails and be
particularly careful about the format of your work. I have grown a lot as a
professional thanks to this course since it has taught me how to use both AI
and Corpus tools to give my future students a chance to learn independently.
Thank you for being part of my journey!
