Tinkercad, My Second Trial!

I have preferred to make my second of using Tinkercad after watching how to use it in lynda.com, which was very useful and helpful. Since we need to create a useful object with the 3D printing, I have changed my object from “hookah” which looks not feasible project to a new object which is “a calligraphy pen holder”. This will be a useful item for me and I can use it in my real-life. I choose not to decorate it so my students and I can draw using Arabic letters because tinkercad can’t accept Arabic letters.

 

Drawing Machine

The drawing machine was a very interesting project. Our first trial in class was quite difficult, it was not easy to create a balance between the machine weight (motor) and the rest of the machine body, especially the markers. The results were not that good.      

The second trial was successful, we were able to rebuild the drawing machine by creating a balance between the machine weight (motor) and the markers.

The drawing became better

The drawings could be a nice background for a calligraphy project, or a wall magazine for my student writing tasks. They also could personalise it with their favourite colours and drawings.

 

3D Printing

One of the most important things that I have learned through this course was 3D printing. At the beginning of the course, I thought it would not be useful for me as a language teacher, but after some thought, I realised that I could use it in the beginner classroom. By using 3D printing, I could print the Arabic alphabet to explain how letters can be connected in the different positions. In Arabic, every letter has four positions: stand alone, beginning, middle, and final position. If the letters were printed in the different positions, learners could use them to focus on the form by linking them together to write different words, instead of wasting time on writing. In fact, this will facilitate the writing process too, and it will make the learners less confused about the dots and the similar letters.

Moreover, we could print some cultural items and use them to decorate the class. For instance, the hand is a cultural item to ward off the evil eye. We can print many items and every day we can present an item at the beginning of the class. We can create culture sheets, where the student can take notes about the items and submit their notes at the end of the semester.

The last session, I have tried to create some simple decorating patterns

 

Inclusive Maker Education

This video with amazing, it inspired me for my ideas for culture class. The reason I joined this course was to support my Arabic language class with the art culture content. Thinking of the diversity of our students and how they can represent their cultures using art to support the language content is promoting for acceptance and spreading cultures. Moreover, it decreases the culture borders between the language learners, especially for multicultural Arabic classes.

Maybe in my classes, I will not be able to work on any of the electronic projects including the mobile phone due to security reasons, but I was very interested in getting a copy of “Swe Electric” just to be able to use it for teaching the cultural in the Middle East comparing to other cultures.

I think that the most important part was about moving from the comfort zone, as teachers, and as students. We can not teach only what we like but we also should teach what should be taught based on the educational content and the students’ needs. For instance, we should move forward to adopt new projects that expose our students whether they are Art or Language students to the new concept of learning where they are active learners and able to create and express themselves, and celebrating their differences.

Arabic & GIF

The GIF is very common in the social media as a new trend which is used in different ways. As a teacher, I check the social media trends daily to pick up pictures, videos, articles, and the new trends to be used in my classroom.

One of the good things about GIF is that I can create my GIF by myself from my perspective as a teacher to introduce the new trends of the social media by getting benefit from it in my classroom.

When I saw the Gif at the beginning I was thinking of using it in teaching grammar. Later, I realized that I can use it teaching culture too. For instance, I can use it to teach the present, past and future tense. Also, it could be very useful for the speaking classes. 

Glitch Art

The glitch art was very inspiring for me.  As a teacher, I was looking at it as a good resource for creating pictures to be used as a visual thinking Strategies. However, we could use visual thinking Strategies to encourage students to speak with more confident and in the language class it is used as a stimulant for speaking in the target language.

Pictures, in general, are used for building schemata. By using the “Glitch Art” I can create more pictures based on my choice as the teacher and have those effects on it so I can convey a specific message.

By using the “Glitch Art” I can create more pictures based on my choice as the teacher and have those effects on it so I can convey a specific message.

For example, this picture could be used to ask my students different questions based on the “noise” of the picture. 

Language Teaching & Art!

As an Arabic teacher, I have joined this class to find new ways to create class materials in addition to integrating art in the classroom in a way that does not inconsistent with the nature of the language class.

Teachers usually adopt materials, but the time has come to teachers to have the tools that enable them to create their own materials for their different subjects.

As a language teacher, I have my own vision of creating classroom activities. There are many ideas that I feel helpless to apply or to create it in my class. By studying this course I am expecting myself to be able to introduce Arabic by using different tools that could be used as supportive activities.