The End
1. What do you like about blogging?
Blogging helps me to reflect creatively and critically on every week's class as I need to recall what I have learnt on that day.
2. What you do not like about blogging?
Nothing much just that when I insert the picture. I have to drag from top to the place where I want the picture to be. Sometimes, this process will affect the arrangement of other pictures and words in my entry.
3. What have you gained from blogging e.g. Language skills, improved fluency, critical thinking, improved thought processes, technology skills etc. How?
I would say through blogging, it helps me to improve my language writing skills and my English proficiency too as I need to write about what I have learnt on that day. In terms of critical thinking, yes as I will always think and reflect critically on what I have learnt and gain on that day. To be honest, this is my very first academic blog in my life and I find that it is really useful in my learning journey as an undergraduate.
4. What do you like about this course?
This course exposes us to a lot of technological skills such as photo editing, audio editing, video editing, computer and internet skills. Now I know how to edit my photos and edit videos.
5. What you do not like about this course?
Well, I would say is module. To me module 3,4,5 are ok but not module 1 and 2. Module 1 and 2 have too many tutorials to be covered and I find that sometimes I am out time to do it. With this, we have to be very good in time management in order to complete our task in time.
6. What have you learnt from this course?
I get to know a lot of technology software such as Photoshop, Photoscape, Audacity and many more.
7. What have you learnt from this course that you did not expect to?
There are tasks for each modules as it already takes us a lot of time to do the module, yet there are still tasks for each modules.
8. What have u expected but do not learn from this course?
The 2 books which we have bought at the beginning of the semester where I thought it will taught during the class. However, I still can manage it by reading the books on my own. As a university student, I need to be more independent in learning and not just everything depend on our lecturer.
9. Comments regarding modules:
1. Internet and computing skills
a. What do you like about this module?
The module helps to learn a lot of technological skill such as how to download mp3, video, mv from internet.
b. What do you not like about this module?
There are too many modules. It is our first time to do this, so is kinda not used to it.
c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
We can learn how to prepare teaching aids in future.
d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
nothing.
e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
Downloading skill. I learn to download music video and songs from Moyea Youtube downloader.
f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
I can choose the appropriate songs or videos from 4shared.com and Youtube and download them via mp3 downloader and moyea youtube downloader for my teaching next time.
2. Photo Editing
a. What do you like about this module?
This module teaches me how to edit pictures by using a lot of software such as Adobe Photoshop CS3, Photoscape, ACDsee and etc.
b. What do you not like about this module?
For some tutorials, some steps are not shown clearly and we have to google for the steps and try it.
c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
I have learnt how to add effect to my photos to make it look nicer.
d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
nothing.
e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
Photo editing skills via photoshop, photoscape and photobucket.
f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
I can edit the pictures and used the pictures as my teaching aids.
3. Audio Editing Skills
a. What do you like about this module?
I have learnt how to edit songs by using audacity.
b. What do you not like about this module?
It is difficult to add effects in the music till it is good
c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
The tasks given are not as heavy as the other module as it only required us to edit songs by combining 2 songs, cutting songs and adding fade in/out effect.
d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
This really test my patient while I am editing the song. We need to try the effect and listen to it a lot of time.
e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
Fade in, fade out, noise removal,increase voloum, change frequency..
f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
I can use these skills to edit songs to be used in my teaching next time.
4. Video Editing Skills
a. What do you like about this module?
The module taught me a lot of video editing skill such as extract pictures and audio from the video.
b. What do you not like about this module?
Time consuming.
c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
It's interesting as we can create video on our own.
d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
It's difficult to look for video and audios which are suitable for the selected theme in KBSR list.
e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
Extract pictures and audio from video.
Create video via window movie maker.
f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
I can create my own video based on the topic I want to teach in my lesson.
5. Software for ELT
a. What do you like about this module?
The module taught me to create poster, name cards and etc by using Ms Publisher.
b. What do you not like about this module?
nothing.
c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
I have the opportunity to make a set of teaching aids by using MS publisher.
d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
We need to create a lot of teaching aids for the task 2.
e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
Create brochure, flyer, business cards, poster, banner, greeting cards and etc.
f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
I can create the teaching aids on my own for example flyer and poster. Then I can ask questions to my pupils in the class.
10. If you can change anything about this course, state what is and elaborate?
The number of modules given should be reduced as some of the tutorials are just basic and the steps given in the modules should be correct as some of the steps are not the same and not accurate like what it appear on our laptops. Therefore, we have to find the solutions on our own.
On a scale of 1 – 10, please rate your computing and technological skills for both before and after undergoing the course.
Before - 4.5
After - 8
Friday, November 5, 2010
14th Week
Shh....Shh....Shh....
It's Exam Time
I guess everyone is quite busy this week as we need to prepare for final test, module 5, Task 1,2 & 3 of Module 5. For this semester, this is our very first paper for examination. In Um, there is no monthly quizzes held every month and everything we had learned through out the semester will be tested in one shot during the final. This is different when we were in Maktab last time where we will be tested after a few topics are taught. Therefore, I find that it is a challenge for me to really understand what we have learned during this semester.
As I walked into the examination room, cold wind blew through my hair and I could smell the exam papers which were waiting eagerly for me. Slowly, I opened the examination paper and there are 4 questions in it. Although it is just 4 questions, all of these questions require us to think creatively and critically. I had to analyse the questions slowly and list down the important points first before I started to write the essay. Well, I guess I have not been writing for half of the year as I am using my laptop, my hand almost cramped.
However, I think I had managed to complete the questions just in time and really hope that my answers written on my exam paper are correct. After the exam, it's the time for us to prepare for the tasks in module 5 and also to update our blogspot. Well, I guess that's all for this week entry. Happy working all my friends.
It's Exam Time
I guess everyone is quite busy this week as we need to prepare for final test, module 5, Task 1,2 & 3 of Module 5. For this semester, this is our very first paper for examination. In Um, there is no monthly quizzes held every month and everything we had learned through out the semester will be tested in one shot during the final. This is different when we were in Maktab last time where we will be tested after a few topics are taught. Therefore, I find that it is a challenge for me to really understand what we have learned during this semester.
However, I think I had managed to complete the questions just in time and really hope that my answers written on my exam paper are correct. After the exam, it's the time for us to prepare for the tasks in module 5 and also to update our blogspot. Well, I guess that's all for this week entry. Happy working all my friends.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
13th Week
Video Editing
Time passes really fast and it is now the 13th week of the semester. Wow, I can't believe that we have gone through so far. I have the feeling that it was just yesterday when we first stepped into the door of University Malaya. For the past 13th week, we were introduced to a lot of knowledge regarding technology tools. Now, I know how to edit picture for example crop picture, add lenses effect on the picture, reduce the brightness. increase brightness, add frame to the picture, add text on the picture and etc by using Photoscape and Adobe Photoshop CS3.
For this week, we need to show our product of video editing to Pn Foziah and consult her for further improvement that we need to modify in order to produce a good video. A good video should consists of story plot with beginning, rising action, climax, falling action and ending. Again this is a pair work. Therefore, my partner Jen Sen and I had chosen the theme "Healthy Living" and we will make a video on healthy food and unhealthy food. We look pictures of fat person, pictures of healthy food, pictures of unhealthy food, exercise and etc.
In order to create a video, we had decided to use Windows Movie Maker. We drag the pictures that we want into the story board and adjust the time for the pictures to be shown. Besides, we also add in video transition and video effects onto the pictures. In order to make the message across, we add in words to send the message of the importance of healthy living. However, after we had shown to Pn Foziah, she told us that it would be better if we could add in a character to tell a story on the importance of healthy living as a good video should consists of story plot like what she mentioned earlier. So, my partner and I had made some modification on our video by adding a boy as the main character of the story and how he lives his life unhealthy and how he changed his living style to healthy living.
Time passes really fast and it is now the 13th week of the semester. Wow, I can't believe that we have gone through so far. I have the feeling that it was just yesterday when we first stepped into the door of University Malaya. For the past 13th week, we were introduced to a lot of knowledge regarding technology tools. Now, I know how to edit picture for example crop picture, add lenses effect on the picture, reduce the brightness. increase brightness, add frame to the picture, add text on the picture and etc by using Photoscape and Adobe Photoshop CS3.
For this week, we need to show our product of video editing to Pn Foziah and consult her for further improvement that we need to modify in order to produce a good video. A good video should consists of story plot with beginning, rising action, climax, falling action and ending. Again this is a pair work. Therefore, my partner Jen Sen and I had chosen the theme "Healthy Living" and we will make a video on healthy food and unhealthy food. We look pictures of fat person, pictures of healthy food, pictures of unhealthy food, exercise and etc.
In order to create a video, we had decided to use Windows Movie Maker. We drag the pictures that we want into the story board and adjust the time for the pictures to be shown. Besides, we also add in video transition and video effects onto the pictures. In order to make the message across, we add in words to send the message of the importance of healthy living. However, after we had shown to Pn Foziah, she told us that it would be better if we could add in a character to tell a story on the importance of healthy living as a good video should consists of story plot like what she mentioned earlier. So, my partner and I had made some modification on our video by adding a boy as the main character of the story and how he lives his life unhealthy and how he changed his living style to healthy living.
12 Week
It's Story Time
I would say this week is fun as we were given the chance to create our E-book. So, what is E-book? What do you think? Usually people will relate "E" with technology and "E-book" would probably be Technology Book. Well, you are partially correct that "E-book" is a technology book. E-book is some kind of electronic book where we teachers can create a story using technology tools. It is an electronic version of a printed book. With this, Pn Foziah asked us to use MS Power Point to produce a story. In order to create a good E-book, the story must have beginning, rising action, climax, falling action and finally ending. With these 4 elements then only we can say that it is a good story.
With this in mind, My partner Jen sen and I discussed with each other what type of story we should choose. After a brainstorming session, we decided to choose a fairy tale from Walt Disney - Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. Why we have chosen this story? We thought that this story consists of the 4 elements which I had mentioned earlier and the story is interesting. We thought that children will definitely like it.
After we had done the selection of story, it's the time to download pictures from the internet and organise the story line. We need to look for pictures of Snow White, Prince Charming, Evil Queen, Ugly Witch, The Seven Dwarfs, forest, animals and etc. After we had found the pictures, we tried to put the pictures into the power point slides according to the story line. After that, together we discussed and added in the animation and transitions for the pictures. We were actually having fun while adding animation to the pictures as we can actually make the characters look like they are walking and the birds are flying. It's cool and fun. Besides, we also put in some sound effect like bird chirping, the dancing music of the seven dwarfs, the crying sound effect and the wedding symphony to the story.
Below are a few snapshots of our E-book "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs"
Here are the characters in "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs"
The castle where the King, Queen and Snow White live in.
Snow White had grown up to be a beautiful girl.
I would say this week is fun as we were given the chance to create our E-book. So, what is E-book? What do you think? Usually people will relate "E" with technology and "E-book" would probably be Technology Book. Well, you are partially correct that "E-book" is a technology book. E-book is some kind of electronic book where we teachers can create a story using technology tools. It is an electronic version of a printed book. With this, Pn Foziah asked us to use MS Power Point to produce a story. In order to create a good E-book, the story must have beginning, rising action, climax, falling action and finally ending. With these 4 elements then only we can say that it is a good story.
With this in mind, My partner Jen sen and I discussed with each other what type of story we should choose. After a brainstorming session, we decided to choose a fairy tale from Walt Disney - Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. Why we have chosen this story? We thought that this story consists of the 4 elements which I had mentioned earlier and the story is interesting. We thought that children will definitely like it.
After we had done the selection of story, it's the time to download pictures from the internet and organise the story line. We need to look for pictures of Snow White, Prince Charming, Evil Queen, Ugly Witch, The Seven Dwarfs, forest, animals and etc. After we had found the pictures, we tried to put the pictures into the power point slides according to the story line. After that, together we discussed and added in the animation and transitions for the pictures. We were actually having fun while adding animation to the pictures as we can actually make the characters look like they are walking and the birds are flying. It's cool and fun. Besides, we also put in some sound effect like bird chirping, the dancing music of the seven dwarfs, the crying sound effect and the wedding symphony to the story.
Below are a few snapshots of our E-book "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs"
Here are the characters in "Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs"
The castle where the King, Queen and Snow White live in.
Snow White had grown up to be a beautiful girl.
Oh no, Snow White ate the poison apple given by the witch!
Luckily, Snow White was saved by the Prince Charming.
Overall, my partner and I were very happy and satisfied with our end product. This course had really taught us a lot of technological skill.
11th Week
Let's Show Our Photo Editing Skill
Photo editing? Honestly speaking, I have never done this before and to me photo editing is really a tough and complicated job. I don't know how to decorate and add in special effects to the photo in order to beautify it. Well, luckily I had done my module 2 and the task of module 2 requires me to edit a picture. I guess this is indeed a good opportunity for me to explore more in photo editing. Compared to Adobe Photoshop CS3, i would prefer to use Photoscape and the tools given not that complicated. I find that I am more comfortable with Phostoscape. So, for this task, I decided to use Photoscape to edit my picture.
But, what picture should I choose? After I scan through my photo album, a picture caught my eye. Immediately, without 2nd thought, I chose that picture, a picture where a mother is holding her child. This picture reminds me about my mother who used to worry about me when I was running around in the park. She was afraid that I might fall down and get hurt. Therefore, she needed to be always be my side to keep an eye on me. So, no second thought, this picture is chosen.
The next thing is, how should I add in the effects, should I crop the picture, what effects should I add in........ This task seems a bit challenge to me. But, no worry, just try it. Like Pn Foziah always say to us : Always try to do, if not you won't learn. Try to refer back to the module that you have done and learn from it. Yes, what she said is write as need to keep on trying till we success and we should not be afraid of failure. There are still empty rooms for us to learn. With this, I launch the Photoscape and program and start editing my photo.
So this the end product. Do you like it? I love it so much and I showed this picture to my mother on her birthday and she loves it so much and she was very touched after she had seen this picture. After editing this picture, we have to upload the before and after pictures onto photobucket and wait for Pn Foziah to evaluate us. Through out the editing process, I have gain fruitful of experience and knowledge and this will certainly help me in my photo editing skill. Next time, I am sure I can produce better teaching aids via photo editing. Thank you Pn Foziah for the helps, guidance and advise. I will always take your advise through out my journey of becoming a successful English teacher.
Photo editing? Honestly speaking, I have never done this before and to me photo editing is really a tough and complicated job. I don't know how to decorate and add in special effects to the photo in order to beautify it. Well, luckily I had done my module 2 and the task of module 2 requires me to edit a picture. I guess this is indeed a good opportunity for me to explore more in photo editing. Compared to Adobe Photoshop CS3, i would prefer to use Photoscape and the tools given not that complicated. I find that I am more comfortable with Phostoscape. So, for this task, I decided to use Photoscape to edit my picture.
But, what picture should I choose? After I scan through my photo album, a picture caught my eye. Immediately, without 2nd thought, I chose that picture, a picture where a mother is holding her child. This picture reminds me about my mother who used to worry about me when I was running around in the park. She was afraid that I might fall down and get hurt. Therefore, she needed to be always be my side to keep an eye on me. So, no second thought, this picture is chosen.
The next thing is, how should I add in the effects, should I crop the picture, what effects should I add in........ This task seems a bit challenge to me. But, no worry, just try it. Like Pn Foziah always say to us : Always try to do, if not you won't learn. Try to refer back to the module that you have done and learn from it. Yes, what she said is write as need to keep on trying till we success and we should not be afraid of failure. There are still empty rooms for us to learn. With this, I launch the Photoscape and program and start editing my photo.
So this the end product. Do you like it? I love it so much and I showed this picture to my mother on her birthday and she loves it so much and she was very touched after she had seen this picture. After editing this picture, we have to upload the before and after pictures onto photobucket and wait for Pn Foziah to evaluate us. Through out the editing process, I have gain fruitful of experience and knowledge and this will certainly help me in my photo editing skill. Next time, I am sure I can produce better teaching aids via photo editing. Thank you Pn Foziah for the helps, guidance and advise. I will always take your advise through out my journey of becoming a successful English teacher.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
10th Week
Continuation of Module 2
This week is the continuation of Module 2. Everyone is given extra time to complete the module, I can see there are a lot of happy faces hanging on our faces. I guess everyone is glad with this. For me, I have finished almost most of the tutorials, I can temporary switch to relax mode for the moment. I need to have a rest 1st before continuing the tutorials. hehe....
So far, what I have covered for the modules are editing photos by using Photoshop, Photoscape and ACDsee. I really enjoyed the moment where I could crop the pictures, resize the pictures, remove blemishes on the pictures, remove red eye of the pictures, add special effect for the pictures and etc. The most exciting part is I can crop out my picture and put myself in a beautiful background, for example: North Pole, Sahara desert, Paris, Japan....haha...It is very fun and enjoyable.
This week is the continuation of Module 2. Everyone is given extra time to complete the module, I can see there are a lot of happy faces hanging on our faces. I guess everyone is glad with this. For me, I have finished almost most of the tutorials, I can temporary switch to relax mode for the moment. I need to have a rest 1st before continuing the tutorials. hehe....
So far, what I have covered for the modules are editing photos by using Photoshop, Photoscape and ACDsee. I really enjoyed the moment where I could crop the pictures, resize the pictures, remove blemishes on the pictures, remove red eye of the pictures, add special effect for the pictures and etc. The most exciting part is I can crop out my picture and put myself in a beautiful background, for example: North Pole, Sahara desert, Paris, Japan....haha...It is very fun and enjoyable.Friday, September 24, 2010
9th Week
Raya Mood
Selamat aidil fitri
Kepada saudara serta saudari
Setahun hanya sekali
Merayakan hari yang mulia ini
Di masa bulan Ramadan
Kita berpuasa hingga sebulan
Pabila Syawal menjelma
Hari raya disambut dengan gembira
Kepada saudara serta saudari
Setahun hanya sekali
Merayakan hari yang mulia ini
Di masa bulan Ramadan
Kita berpuasa hingga sebulan
Pabila Syawal menjelma
Hari raya disambut dengan gembira
"Wishing all my Muslim friends Selamat HariRayaAidilfitri"
For this week, I guess everyone is still in Raya mood and some are still in holiday mood. I can see that not everyone is well prepared for the class yet. Haha....By hook or by crook, we still need to go for classes in UM.
When I fist stepped into the door of the computer lab, Haiqarl told me that today is the day for Module 2. So, I have to switch off my holiday mode and turn on the working mode. I guess I need the Energizer batteries. haha...
Okok...Back to business. Module 2...hmhm...quite thick too but not as thick as module one. I guess I still can manage it. Hopefully. Previous week, we had done computer, internet skill and audio editing skill, this week the focus is on photo editing using photoshop CS3, Photoscape and ACDsee and etc. I love photo editing as I can edit my pictures according to my preference. Therefore, with these tutorials provided by Pn Foziah, I manage to upgrade to a higher level in terms of my technology skill. hehe.....
Well, that's all for this week entry. Gonna off to work now..... Adeus......
8th Week
This week we were not having class but we were given some tasks to do........Pn Foziah said this would be the task which we needed to complete during the Raya break. Every year, my holiday is filled up with lots and lots of assignments. This goes the same for this year too. Well, I was quite used to it and I was ready to face the challenge. Nothing can turn me down as I will always stay strong to face the challenge.
For the assignments, we need to complete Module 3, Teaching Aids and Lesson Plans during the holiday.
Module 3:
This module is on audio editing by using Audacity. Thank God that this time the module is not as thick as Module One. At least I can still manage with the other assignments. With Audacity, we can use it to record sound and add in other sound effects to make the recording more interesting.
In this assignment, we need to create interesting and attractive teaching aids (technology and non-technology) from Year 1 to Year 3. The teaching aids can be in the form of picture cards, video, power point slides, stick puppets, task sheets, songs, video clips and etc. With the use of these interesting teaching aids, this can help to enhance the teaching and learning process.
Lesson Plans:
For the lesson plans, we need to plan 4 lesson plans based on the chosen topic. (3 Lesson Plans for 30 minutes and 1 Lesson Plan for 1 hour) My group had chosen year 3 - Fun times and each of our lesson plans focus on the 4 main skills which are listening skills, speaking skills, reading skills and writing skills.
7th Week
Continuation of Module One
For this week, we were allowed to continue our module one during the class. With this, we are able to complete the assignment within the time given. Really thank Pn Foziah for letting us to complete our module during the class. Still, I had a lot of steps which were not completed. I need to work harder on this in order to complete the task given.
For this week, we were allowed to continue our module one during the class. With this, we are able to complete the assignment within the time given. Really thank Pn Foziah for letting us to complete our module during the class. Still, I had a lot of steps which were not completed. I need to work harder on this in order to complete the task given.
6th Week
Surprise and shock were the two words which I can use to describe my feeling when I received the 1st module from Pn. Foziah. Oh my god, it is such a think module. A lot of questions keep on wondering in my head. Am I am able to complete the task within the time give? Am I ready for this challenge? Can I do that? I was quite worry at the first time. After Pn Foziah gave us some motivation and moral support then only I could stay clam to complete the task given.
In this module, we were required to focus on computer and internet skills. With this, we need to print screen the steps of completing the task, for example: how to download a song from 4shared.com. After going through the module, I found that there are a lot of things which I do not know. This has definitely widen my horizon in the world of technology.
Besides learning the steps given by Pn Foziah, we were allowed to put in extra information regarding computing and internet skill. This provides a golden opportunity for me to explore and learn more on computing and internet skill.
In this module, we were required to focus on computer and internet skills. With this, we need to print screen the steps of completing the task, for example: how to download a song from 4shared.com. After going through the module, I found that there are a lot of things which I do not know. This has definitely widen my horizon in the world of technology.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
5th Week
What's So Important About Teaching Aids?
Do not ever look down on the usage of teaching aids in the classroom. Teaching aids are the MAGIC WAND to beautify the teaching and learning environment in the classroom. Without this magic wand, the class will be boring and lifeless. If the teacher uses the magic wand appropriately, it can lead the children to the wonderful magical world of learning. It bring fun and curiosity to the children. With a swing of the wand, colourful picture cards, songs, videos, word cards, fantastic story book, cute little stick puppets, box puppets and mask can be shown to the pupils. I can assure that none of the pupils will dislike these. Even I as the adult learners love them too.
These teaching aids are able to help the teachers to deliver information and knowledge to the pupils and pupils are able to learn better through these teaching aids. This is because teaching aids are the concrete items to be used to explain on the abstract ideas. For example, when telling a story, it is difficult for the pupils to imagine the situation of the story or the characteristic of the characters and it will be very boring if the pupils are just listening to what their teacher is talking. Through the implementation of teaching aids such as puppets and picture cards, pupils can listen to the story and at the same time look at the movement of the puppets. The use of puppets can also lower the affective filters of the pupils thus pupils will not feel tense during the lesson. Besides, teaching aids are useful for the visual learners as they see they remember. Therefore, as the teachers, we should prepare a variety of teaching aids for our lessons.
Due to the importance of teaching aids, this week Pn Foziah assigned us to work in pair in order to design technology-based teaching aids for 3 topics in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3. I found that this task is interesting as we need to put ourselves in the pupils' shoes in order to know what the pupils need in their learning process. The topics which were assigned to us were:
Year 1, Topic 2 - Making Friends
Year 2, Topic 2 - My School
Year 3, Topic 2 - My Neighbourhood
Year 1, Topic 2 - Making Friends
In this topic, my partner and I have decided to use video, pictures, story, stick puppets and song. All of these teaching aids suit various types of learners as they can see, listen and move. As they are Year 1 pupils, they are still fresh and most of them still prefer playing rather than studying. Therefore, the teaching aids used must be simple, interesting and colourful to prevent boring. Teacher plays an important role to demonstrate the teaching aids an
d fully utilise them.
Year 2, Topic 2 - My School
In this topic, we had chosen pictures, Smartboard and power point slides. By using these teaching aids, we can let the pupils know their places in the school. Besides, teacher can ask the pupils to compare the places they can find in the school with the pictures shown. Teacher can also ask them to name the places which they can find in their school
besides the pictures shown.
Year 3, Topic 2 - My Neighbourhood
We use pictures, videos, power point slides, Tux Paint and poem in teaching the lesson. By using the tux pain, teacher can ask the pupils to draw the neighbourhood of the pupils. Through this, pupils can be trained to think creatively. After they have drawn the neighbourhood, they have to provide reasons on their selections. This activity is able to guide the pupils to think outside the box and to think creatively. Besides, the use of colourful teaching aids can arouse pupils' interest to focus on the lesson too.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
4th Week
Don't You Think That Children Are Interesting?
This week is another week for group presentation and my group was the first group to present. Our topic is "Children's Ability To Grasp Meaning"
After the presentation, I realised that teacher plays an important role in the class. The children will get clues and ideas from their teacher. In other words, teachers are the role model for the children. During language class, if the teacher applies appropriate teaching strategies and use wonderful teaching aids during teaching and learning process, pupils will definitely understand better. Pn Foziah stressed on this aspect as she said that a teacher is the key element in the class as they are the only one who can provide clues to the children in order to understand the meaning of the words and the shape the children as well.
Next, it was the presentation from Ash's group. Their topic is on "Children's Capacity for Indirect Learning."
As teachers, we need to always bear in mind that there is only PLAY in the world of children. Try ask your kids what they want to learn, they will definitely say I WANT TO PLAY. If a teacher carry out the lesson by only asking the pupils to sit and listen, I can assure that they can't learn anything. Instead, if the teacher integrate games, songs, stories in the lesson, definitely the pupils will be interested to participate in the classroom activity. They will learn indirectly. For example, words guessing game. The pupils can have fun in the game and at the same time learning the new vocabulary. Life is all about play and fun, so why not we let the children to have fun during their childhood. As the saying goes all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Besides, from Woo's group presentation on "Children's Creative Use of Language Resources", I realised that the usage of songs, games and stories as creative resources is important. Although they have limited knowledge on the language, they still will have fun and be creative. Some of the children may say, don't unring if he wanted to tell a telephone caller to wait and Switch off the dark when he wanted the light to be put on. They create their own
words creatively.
The last group was Nizam's group, they presented on The Role Of Imagination. Children's mind are full with many unrealistic things and sometimes adults will say that it is nonsense. Well, do not do this to your children, this will indirectly demotivate them to think creatively. The types of activities which they had suggested were role play, essay writing, hot seating and story telling. There are fantasy in children's world, why don't we let them make full use of it?
After the presentation, we were assigned with tutorial task. In this task, we have to learn how to download mp3 songs and videos via moyea youtube downloader and show the steps in power point slides. Moyea youtube downloader - another new vocab to my dictionary.
That's all.... Bye...
Sunday, August 1, 2010
3rd Week
Working with Young Language Learners
What is the very first thing that comes into your mind when you are asked to work with young language learners?
i) Troublesome? Irritating? Annoying?
ii) Fun? Interesting? Cool?
Well, we, as the adults won't understand the world of children. However, we must bear in mind that working with children is fun. Young children do not come to the language classroom empty-handed. They bring with them curiosity, instincts and other characteristics which will help them to learn new knowledge.
This week, we were assigned to work in group of 6 and each of the group was given 1 subtopic to read and present. "Children's ability to grasp meaning" was the topic given to us. This topic is about how the children understand what the adults say although they do not know the meaning of each words in the sentence.
How do children understand us?
Intonation, gesture, facial expressions, actions and circumstances can help the children to understand the unknown words, phrases and sentence. For example, you said, "It's dangerous! Don't!" by saying it in a deep tone. Young children may not understand the word 'dangerous' but through your facial expression and gesture, he knows that he should not go near to that place. They might not know why but they know they should listen to you because there might be something there.
In learning a new language, children will apply the same method to interpret new words and new sentence structures. As language teachers, we should be the actors which are able to demonstrate good gesture, intonation and facial expression during teaching and learning session. For example, children can learn language through story telling. While telling story, teacher can show picture cards to the pupils when he/she is expressing something. This can help the children to understand better of the story they are listening to.
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