challenging [chal-in-jing] (adj.)

Setting up an online course on Moodle is quite challenging. In the past, I worked with Highlearn (and was quite good at it) and this is the first time on Moodle for me. On the one hand it is going quite well, on the other hand I am having a lot of trouble getting everything to work the way I want. This course is taking me far more preparation time than a regular course battling with Moodle (and hopefully winning).

The word "challenging" comes from "challenge" which nowadays means a figurative invitation to a fight. This word underwent many changes. The figurative meaning came after the literal meaning "to challenge someone for a fight" which originated in the 1520s. This was based on the earlier meaning of "to accuse someone or to dispute something" from the Old French "chalone" (late 13th century). Chalone came from Vulgar (=ordinary) Latin "calumniare" , meaning "to accuse falsely" which in its turn came from the Latin  "calumnia" meaning "trickery". 

So although the word "challenge" started off with quite a negative connotation - trickery, falsely accusing-, it has made a remarkably positive turnaround now having a positive connotation - of something that invites you to battle it but that will usually let you win in the end.

Let's just hope that my feelings towards Moodle will evolve in the same positive manner. The battle continues... 

Begin [bih-gin], v

Last time I wrote in this blog, I was a student learning about technology in education (online course University of Oregon). The tables are turned now. I have been asked by the college to teach my students about this topic and have thus become the teacher. It is quite exciting. I have set up an online course and my first student has started working this week .

As I require my students to write blogs, I decided it's about time to update my own. Not sure if I will be able to manage doing this weekly but at least here I am making a beginning.

The word "begin" comes from Old English "beginnan" meaning "to begin, attempt, undertake," from "be" (meaning "thoroughly, completely") + W.Germanic *ginnan, of obscure meaning and perhaps "to open, open up". Cognates in German and Dutch "beginnen".

On February 11, 1861, President-elect Lincoln made his departure from his home in Springfield to begin the rail journey to Washington, where he was to be inaugurated a month later. Lincoln himself felt a premonition that this was the last time he would see Springfield. Standing on the rear platform of his railroad car, he bid the townspeople farewell, closing with these words: "Today I leave you. I go to assume a task more difficult than the which developed upon George Washington. The great God which guided him must help me. Without that assistance I shall surely fail; with it, I cannot fail."

Let us, with G-d's help, begin this endeavor. Be'ezrat Hashem (with G-d's help), it will not fail.

Etymology [et-uh-mol-uh-jee], (n)

I love to find out and teach about the origin of words. Knowing the etymology of a word helps you remember it better and gives a deeper insight on the development of the English language. I therefore teach the origin of interesting English words to my student teachers as well. Here an example of some of the etymology they study:

		Current meaning	Etymology
1	Steeplechase	A horserace across open country or over an obstacle course.	Steeple = high tower. Originally a horserace with a visible church steeple as the goal.
2	Cardigan	A knitted jacket, that opens down the full length of the front	After the Seventh Earl of Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell (1797-1868), British army officer who liked wearing such jackets.
3	Drawing-room	A room appropriated for the reception of company	Short for withdrawing room, a room into which ladies would withdraw after dinner.
4	Maverick	An individualist, an unconventional person (master-less)	After Samual A. Maverick, Texas, a cattle owner who was negligent in branding his calves. Therefore a calf found without an owner's brand was called a Maverick. Later, anyone ownerless was called this way.
5	Matinee	An entertainment, such as a dramatic performance or movie, presented in the daytime, usually in the afternoon	From French Matin=morning
6	Tar macadam	Also called Tarmac = pavement created by spraying tar over crushed stone.	From tar + McAdam. John L. McAdam was the person who invented this method of paving roads.
7	Canter	Gentle gallop of a horse	During Middle Ages in England the pilgrims going to Canterbury used to ride at a gentle gallop known as the "Canterbury gallop"
8	Gerrymander	To divide (a geographic area) into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections.	1813 Elbridge Gerry, a former governor of Massachusetts. Gerry was immortalized in this word because an election district created by members of his party in 1812 looked like a salamander. "Gerrymander" soon came to mean not only "the action of shaping a district to gain political advantage" but also "any representative elected from such a district by that method."
9	Ambulance	A motor vehicle designed to carry sick or injured people	From French, based on (hôpital) ambulant mobile or field (hospital), from Latin ambulāre to walk
10	Boycott	To abstain from or act together in abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest or disfavor or as a means of coercion	Charles C. Boycott was an Englishman and estate agent in Ireland. Even though the  Irish wanted better treatment Boycott refused to charge lower rents and ejected his tenants. Boycott and his family found themselves isolated without servants, farmhands, service in stores, or mail delivery. Boycott's name was quickly adopted as the term for this treatment.
11	Corduroy	A durable fabric, usually made of cotton, with vertical ribs often made into trousers.	Corde du roi (F) = "the king's cord"
12	Mesmerize	To spellbind; enthrall; hypnotize	1802, from Fr. mesmérisme, named for Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), Austrian physician who developed a theory of animal magnetism and a mysterious body fluid which allows one person to hypnotize another.
13	Foolscap	A large size of paper for writing or printing. Traditional paper size in Europe before adaptation of international standard A4 (which is slightly smaller). Nowadays called folio.	This size paper used to have a watermark with a fool's cap on it.
14	Sadism	The (sexual) joy of afflicting pain or cruelty on others.	From French, named after Comte Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, known as the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), French soldier and writer of works describing sexual perversion
15	Funny-bone	A point on the elbow where the ulnar nerve runs close to the surface and produces a sharp tingling sensation if knocked against the bone.	This name is a pun, based on the sound resemblance between the name of the bone of the upper arm, the "humerus" and the word "humorous" (=funny).
16	Sandwich	Food placed in between two slices of bread.	After the 4th Earl of Sandwich who had no patience to stop his favorite pastime for a meal and therefore asked his servant to place some meat between two slices of bread.
17	Honeymoon	A holiday or trip taken by a newly married couple.	From honey in reference to the new marriage's sweetness, and moon in reference to how long it would probably last – one month. German version is flitterwochen (pl.), from flitter "tinsel" + wochen "week."
18	Wellington	High boots covering the knees	After the 1st Duke of Wellington who used to wear such boots.
19	Santa Claus	The personification of the spirit of Christmas, usually represented as a jolly fat old man with a white beard and a red suit, who brings gifts to good children on Christmas Eve.	Alteration of Dutch Sinterklaas which is alteration of Saint Nicholas
20	Shrapnel	Fragments from an exploded artillery shell, mine, or bomb	After Henry Shrapnel (1761-1842), British army officer who invented a hollow cannon ball filled with fragments which burst in mid-air.
21	Tenterhooks	To be on tenterhooks means to be uncertain and anxious about what is going to happen	Late 15c., "one of the hooks that holds cloth on a tenter," from tenter + hook. (Tenter = A framework on which milled cloth is stretched for drying without shrinkage) The figurative phrase on tenterhooks "in painful suspense" is from 1748
22	Silhouette	A drawing consisting of the outline of something, e.g. a human profile, filled in with a solid color.	After Étienne de Silhouette (1709-1767), penny-pinching French finance minister. His policy was considered cheap so the cheap so the cheap silhouette art form which was growing in popularity at the time was named after him.
23	Derrick	A machine for hoisting and moving heavy objects, consisting of a movable boom equipped with cables and pulleys and connected to the base of an upright stationary beam.	Originally a derick was a hangman, gallows, after Derick, 16th-century English hangman.
24	Panick	A sudden, overpowering terror, often affecting many people at once.	From Gk. panikon, lit. "pertaining to Pan," Pan was the Greek god of woods and fields who was the source of mysterious sounds (>Pan Flute) that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots
25	America	USA	Named after Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) who made two trips to the New World as a navigator and claimed to have discovered it. His published works put forward the idea that it was a new continent, and he was first to call it Novus Mundus "New World."

Next time 25 more.


All the best,

Avraham

Gratitude [grat-i-tyood], (n)

Week 10, final week

There is a famous theme park in Holland called the "Efteling". Efteling was opened on 31st May 1952 as a Fairytale Forest with ten fairytale attractions in a woodland setting. In the years that followed, the park grew into what is now known as the World of Wonders, where fairy tales are brought to life in spectacular theme park attractions. With 4 million visitors each year, Efteling is the most popular tourist attraction in the Netherlands and one of the leading theme parks in Europe.

My favorite attraction at the Efteling is the garbage can. It is shaped in the form of a giant sailor (called Holle Bolle Gijs) whose mouth is wide open. He repeatedly says (in Dutch) in a deep resounding voice:  "Papier hier" (Paper here). Whenever you throw paper in his mouth he politely says: "Dank u wel!" (Thank You). The following video shows this splendidly:

What I like about Holle Bolle Gijs is his gratitude towards whoever "feeds" him. Not only is it a great gimmick to get kids to throw paper in the waste bin instead of on the ground, it is also an educational way of teaching kids how to show gratitude towards those who helped you in any way. I grew up in Holland and visited Holle Bolle Gijs many times. I learned to say thank you....

The word gratitude originally meant "good will" and came to us from the Latin "gratus" meaning "thankful, pleasing". "Gratus" is also the source for the word "grace".  Synonyms are thanks, thankfulness, appreciation, gratefulness. All these express pretty clearly how I feel.

I would like to express my gratitude to Robert, our course instructor for a job very well done. I have administered online courses myself and I know the amount of work that goes into the planning and the day to day monitoring and accommodating. I know from experience that it is sometimes even more intense than giving a regular F2F course. However, Robert's reactions were always prompt, on the ball and showed a lot of expertise. I think we were blessed, "graced", with such a wonderful instructor!

Furthermore, I would like to thank the American Embassy in Israel for sponsoring my participation in this Oregon University Course. I highly appreciate it and hope they will continue sponsoring Israeli English teachers so that these will help improve the level of Israelis studying English. I know I will most certainly use what I have learned during this course in my future lessons.

As they say in Dutch "Dank u wel!" 

Satisfaction [sat-is-fak-shuhn], (n)

Week 9

I worked hard on my final project for the course and I feel I did a good job. I set up a website with online quizzes for my students to take and the site works wonderfully. I am satisfied but also sad. Satisfied that I managed to complete the course successfully and sad because it is almost over.

The words sad and satisfied are actually etymologically connected. Satisfied comes from the word satisfy which came to us through Middle and Old French from the Latin satisfacere meaning "discharge fully, comply with, make amends," literally "to do enough," from satis "enough". When we look at the Proto Indo European base we find the combination of SA (= to satisfy) FACERE (= to perform). The root SA, meaning satisfied also came to mean satisfied as "having enough", slowly becoming "having too much", "too heavy", "weary/ tired of" until it finally became the base for the word sad, meaning "unhappy".

So etymologically speaking it is ok to feel satisfied and sad simultaneously and as this best expresses my feelings right now I will leave it at that.

Disappointed [dis-uh-poin-tid], (adj.)

Week 7


I started off this week in high spirits. I had ordered a computer room for my students and was all set to let them try out the webquest I had created for this course. My webquest is on the origin of the expression "Before you can say Jack Robinson" and I was really excited about having them go through it.

The result, however, was quite disappointing. First of all, I had not taken into account that for them too, this was their first webquest and they had no idea how to navigate the site. As Simon and Garfinkel sang "Slow down, you move too fast". Thankfully, I understood this right away and concentrated their attention to the board on which I projected the site and gave initial explanations, something I should have done from the start.

The next hurdle was a broken link in the quest which I had to fix on the spot. This took me longer than expected with students sitting and waiting for me. Bad, very bad.

But the biggest problem was that the quest turned out to be badly constructed, confusing and with an abundance of hyperlinks that only steered the students in the wrong way. In short; a total disaster. Students didn't understand what they were expected to do and even worse – lost total interest in the whole idea.

The word "disappointed" comes from "dis" and "appoint" originally meaning "to undo an appointment or to remove someone from an appointed position" – this obviously is a rather "disappointing" experience. To "appoint" comes from the Old French "a" (=to) "point". The ground sense here is "to come to the point" hence to agree on something, to settle something.

Taking this knowledge into consideration I understood that my Webquest must be clearer and more "to the point". I have therefore edited it and changed it considerably to guide students more and hopefully get them to where I want. This will in its turn, I pray, lead also to more student satisfaction. The revamped webquest can be found here. I will try it out with another group of students and keep you posted.

minimalism [ˈmɪnɪməlɪsm], (n)

Week 6

The topics of this week are Student Centered Interactive large classes and Interactive Powerpoint Presentations. Having worked 5 years as Manager at the English Content Production department of Time to Know which is all about student centered interactive large classes I decided to focus on the part of Interactive Powerpoint Presentations hoping to learn some new tricks.

In the past, I have created many interactive ppts with multiple hyperlinks and embedded games. I therefore expected some state-of-the-art techniques but when I opened the sample show by Deborah Healey I felt cheated and disillusioned. The "interactive techniques" presented (Blank slide, ConcepTest, Think-Pair-Share, Interpreted Lecture, Rapid Reflection, QuickWrite) were not interactive at all! Or were they?

Ever since my initial viewing of the presentation, I have been thinking about these tricks and have tried them out in class. True, they do not turn the presentation into an interactive one. They do, however, change the lesson/ lecture into an interactive one instead of a one-way presentation with teacher presenting and students watching (and hopefully learning).

I used the concepTest is one of my lectures projecting a question on the screen and having students discuss this in pairs and reporting back before I continued. I also used the interpreted lecture technique in which I stopped my lecture and asked students to explain in their own words what I had just screened on the board. But what I actually liked most was the "blank slide" - just a black slide with nothing on it. It refocuses the attention on the teacher and helps create transitions between different topics. It is so simple and so effective! A minimal addition to a slideshow with maximum outcome.

"Minimalism", a term coined in the1960s is the Anglicization of the Russian term Menshevik, and means the creating Minimal Art. Minimal comes from "minimum" Latin for "smallest" and the superlative of the Latin "minor" (which is still used in English for someone underage). "Minor" itself comes from the term Latin "minus" (= less), also a term which has been adopted into the English language. So minimalism, minimal, minimum, minor, minus are all etymologically connected.

As mentioned, I have become a frequent user of the techniques mentioned above. It is actually saving me time because instead of working hard on creating interactive powerpoint slides, I work less but more efficiently on creating interactive lectures. "Less is More" goes the 19th century proverbial phrase first recorded in 1855 in a poem by Robert Browning. Do others feel the same?