Mobile Learning

Mobile learning is my latest research interest. I am a great advocate of allowing mobile phones in the classroom. Although many teachers do not agree with me, I feel that if put to use properly, mobile phones can help students achieve more, stay focused and learn better. In the US, they are now redesigning curricula of school subjects to be more 'mobile'. That is why they have now the term 'mlearning' because students like to learn anywhere, anytime, and not only in the classroom. I wish we had a better wireless connection at the university so that we can fully use our mobile phones in all our lessons, especially that there are so many ways to do that.

Messi

Today, in my Speaking class, one of my students, Rajaa, gave a presentation on Messi, the famous football player. You already know how I feel about football, so when Raja got up front to give her presentation, I felt sorry for myself. 'Not football again!' I thought. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it so much, I came home talking about it! I am happy that I can talk football with my boys. Besides, I enjoyed the video she showed at the end and I appreciated the skill of that amazing football player, Messi. There is still hope for me!

Football

I am NOT a football fan. I do not like football and cannot stand watching football matches! Yet here I am sitting in the living room with my three boys and husband, watching a football match!! Yes, that's right! I am watching Bayern Munich playing against Werder Bremen and totally failing to understand the point of healthy young men in their prime obsessed with kicking a ball around a field. Obviously enough, I'm blogging in the middle of the match which proves just the extent of my failure to engage with the game. Why is it that I cannot see what the hype is all about? One thing I am sure of is that interested or not, football will always be part of our daily lives and my boys will always update me with the latest news of teams and players. They will always try to explain to me the skill of a player or the strategy of the game. In return, I will keep on trying to understand in the hope that either I get interested or my boys lose their interest ( which is highly unlikely).

Blogging!

It is never an easy task to spill your thoughts into the public domain, to write for the whole world to see, to reflect openly on different matters and confess your ideas and intentions. That is the main reason that kept me from blogging until now. I have finally decided that if I am going to ask my students to keep a blog and write three entrees a week, then it is only fair that I should do the same and set an example on free writing. I have neither planned this blog, nor have I thought about what I will write in it. I just wrote the first idea that came to my mind. This is exactly what is required of my students: to spill their thoughts into the public domain.

Just as this experience is new for them, it is equally new for me too. I really look forward to follow their blogs and share my ideas with them.