Week 6: Creating Student-centered Classes and Interactive PowerPoint

Although I am currently teaching, it will be impossible to apply this technological change during this term because I have already finished reviewing the last topic and next week, I will start applying final exams (according to the University's official dates). However,  the following are the details of what I am planning to do with the group next term; based on my specific context and students' level of English proficiency:  

READ AN ONLINE ARTICLE (for developing reading skills):

The students in the group that is supposed to present are going to read an article from the following websites (new aspect): http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ or  http://www.manythings.org/  -this last page provides the students with the audio (for developing listening skills) and the script at the same time, and they can actually change the number of times the audio is repeated-. Every group should decide which article they are going to read (from one of the two websites provided). Once the group has chosen and read the article, they will have to develop an oral presentation about the article taking into consideration the following aspects: content presentation, language used, delivery, comprehension and time frame. The students will know beforehand that their oral presentation will be evaluated with a rubric provided by the teacher.

Choosing themselves and reading the article online (new aspect) might give the students the opportunity to have more variety and access to articles that have been more recently published. Furthermore, choosing and reading the articles from a webpage might add some "new flavor to the classroom", provide interesting topics and as a result of this, maintain the students' attention.

PREPARE AN ORAL PRESENTATION (for developing speaking skills):

Once the students have read the online article, they will have to prepare an oral presentation. Before, no rubric was used to assess their oral presentation (new aspect), but this time the students' presentation will be evaluated with the following rubric:

Oral Presentation Rubric : Online articles

CATEGORY	4 EXCELLENT	3 GOOD	2 AVERAGE	1 POOR
CONTENT PRESENTATION	Student presents all the main and relevant  ideas (5 or more) from the article . The student demonstrates a thorough analysis of the article.	Student presents almost all of the main and relevant  ideas (4 or 3) from the article and demonstrates moderate analysis of the article.	Student presents some of the main and relevant  ideas (2) from the article and demonstrates limited analysis of the article.	Student presents almost none of the main and relevant  ideas (1 or none) from the article and demonstrates superficial analysis of the article.
LANGUAGE USED	The student demonstrates an effective use of vocabulary, grammar and target language structures. The meaning is completely understandable and clear.	The student demonstrates a fairly effective use of vocabulary, grammar and target language structures.  There is some inappropriate use of language but the meaning is still understandable.	The student demonstrates a restricted use of vocabulary, grammar and target language structures.  The meaning is barely understood or clear.	The student demonstrates a inadequate use of vocabulary, grammar and target language structures.  The meaning is not understood nor clear due to the  distorted and exceedingly ungrammatical language used.
DELIVERY	The presentation is fluid, understandable and sustained. High intelligibility. (2 or less errors)	The presentation is generally fluid and clear with some difficulties. Good intelligibility. (3 to 6 errors)	The presentation is moderately  fluid and clear with some difficulties. Moderate intelligibility. (7  to 10 errors)	The presentation is not fluid nor clear with lots of difficulties. Almost  no intelligibility. (more than 10 errors)
COMPREHENSION	Student responds correctly to all (100%)  the questions asked by the teacher or peers.	Student responds correctly to almost all  (90-99%) of the questions asked by the teacher or peers.	Student responds correctly to only some (80-89%) of the questions asked by the teacher or peers.	Student responds correctly  to few (79% or less) of the questions  asked by the teacher or peers.
TIME FRAME	Student administrates the designated timeframe accurately. 15 to 20 minutes.	Student deviates from the designated timeframe by one to two minutes. 23 or 12 minutes.	Student deviates from the designated time frame by four to five minutes. 25 or 10 minutes.	Student deviates from the designated timeframe by over five minutes.

Follow-up activities:

For developing writing skills: students will have to create a personal blog where they share thoughts and make weekly comments: about their oral presentations, about that of their peers, and about the articles read.  

Finally, students will have create a delicious webpage where they can add their favorite pages to keep practicing their English skills at home.