UNIT 1 CHALLENGES #EduGoalsMOOC

I have recently joined a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)  on Educalab INTEF named The Goal Minded Teacher: Challenges to Transform Student Learning  (#EduGoalsMOOC).

During this first week we have been asked some introductory tasks, the first of which has been  pinpointing our location  in Google Maps. It´s amazing to see how far we can actually be but how close we can feel when we share our experience on groups in social networks.  The second challenge consisted on introducing ourselves by posting an enriched selfie. this is the one I posted:

The reason why I decided to stick two images related to sports is that they show some aspects of my private life but at the same time they have become the only field where I clearly set myself goals to achieve: One always tries to swim or to cycle a bit faster  than in the previous session,  to swim more laps in the same time or to reach further on every cold weekend morning. It reminded me of the Olympic Games motto Citius, altius, forties (Faster, Higher, Stronger). 

While reading the documents we were suggested I had a moody moment: a flashback from the time when I was at University. I remember those days when I was always messing around with tests, exams, essays and projects. My life now is so far from that! Nowadays I am mostly concerned about paying bills and rising my kids (aged 6 & 4), keeping them healthy, stimulated and happy and trying they become nice happy adults in the future. I am (I was) hardly aware of how goals are an essential part of me.

 

When I think about it, I realize it would be impossible for me to live without some small, unnoticed SMART goals to accomplish in my daily life. That is the reason why I love swimming and cycling and why  I enroll in learning experiences like this and why I keep on leaving my comfort zone as far as teaching is concerned. Although I have been teaching for 26 years now and I am supposed to know how to do it the right way, I’m still searching the appropriate method to make my students speak, understand, write and read English comprenhensively.

In the following weeks, more challenges will come. I am ready for them.