Week one - Familiarizing with the course, content and participants

I heard of blogs and their purpose a few years back and just recently I have been encountering them more and more, and so I have noticed that most of them are a great source of information and ideas. Being accepted in the e-teacher scholarship program, provided by the U.S. Department of State, for the course “Building Teaching Skills through the Interactive Web (Web Skills)”, offered through the American English Institute at the University of Oregon, Department of Linguistics, I hope that I will be able to master the necessary skills to become a resourceful and regular blogger. 
Technology has become a great part of our lives and even though it takes some courage, patience and time to familiarize with and use various tools, by incorporating it in teaching facilitates the process of teaching and learning, and contributes in achieving greater outcomes. My goal for this course is to find and use suitable tools to incorporate in my work, which in turn will give me a chance to develop professionally and will facilitate my daily work.

During this first week of the course, I have been able to read through the instructions and guidelines which set the ground rules and the expectations for this course.  Setting a positive working atmosphere has been achieved by involving us, as participants, in discussing and finalizing the Ground Rules for Discussions and the rubrics for the evaluation of discussion posts.

Reading the articles on using blogs in the classrooms gave me some insights on the various ways how blogs can be a great source to facilitate learning .  I had the chance to better understand the different elements that distinguish the Tutor Blog, the Learner Blog and the Class Blog and my curiosity has already been triggered to find ways to use blogs in my work with my students.

It is also a great pleasure to read and get to know the other participants who enrich this course with their experience and individuality.

Have fun blogging!

Krenare