FIRST STAGE OF IWB PROJECT

Ermmm...actually I was suprised when I was told that the submission of the project is on 5 September..hahahaha it seems that I did not really paying attention when the discussion about the project being discussed in the class...Maybe I was to tired on that day...The date is just around the corner. Thus, I informed my other group members to divide the projects into individual work since everyone is going back for the MERDEKA holiday. AUTHENTIC EDUCATORS...Let's start the project now!!!! We come into consensus to create 3 English lessons and 2 Mathematics lessons. Eryanti, Nadiah and me will do the English lessons while Hanna and Akma will do the Mathematics lessons. And as usual...I feel relieved because I am given the English lesson. To be honest...I still think that I'm not really 'PROFESSIONAL' in preparing a Mathematics lesson. But no worries...I'm still learning to do my best for my minor course throughout my journey in becoming a GREAT teacher! sounds familiar? hemm...For my project, I start to find the images needed for the lesson today. I plan to create a lesson which allows the children to learn the process of making a sandwich. This may help the children to learn about vocabulary related to processess and let them to have fun in the lesson. But, I still need to explore the CS further because I might be blessed to come up with other creative ideas tonight...To my group members, as we have promised, I'll show my lesson this coming Monday. Till then...

DISC BY PN. NAZIRAH

DESIGNING FOR INTERACTION AND STUDENTS COLLABORATION ( DISC) PRESENTED BY PN. NAZIRAH

The session was very fantastic. All of us were given a chance to design a POSTER. I did not let this golden opportunity go because this is a new exposure to me. I was amazed by the samples shown by Pn. Nazirah which were created by the primary school children. Let’s answer some of the questions posted in the moodle regarding the session.
1.Did you face any problem during the session?
No.
2. What do you think about the instruction given during the session?
The instruction was very clear since I knew what was expected fro us at the end of the session.
3. What improvement can you suggest?
Maybe open the opportunity for us to explore some of the amazing and interesting pictures which we can browse from other sources such as websites rather that limiting the choice of the pictures which can be opted to be used in the poster. After all, we are learning to establish our creativity in this session right? Or, let’s be positive…the limit source of pictures and templates in designing the poster might teach us in becoming very creative to use the limited source in doing anything.
4. How would you carry out the design session with primary level students?
The design session can be carried out with the primary level students. Teacher can divide student into a few groups if the number of students is big. This will help the teachers to monitor the activity easily and assist them whenever they need the help.
Second, Teacher may group the students according to their level of skills in using computer. The advanced group may be grouped together and allow them to do the design on their own with frequent monitoring from the teacher or facilitator. This means that, they can explore all the templates and pictures available from the internet to be used in designing their poster. Meanwhile, the low group may need to be exposed about the basic skill in using power point presentation first. Besides, teacher can provide pictures, templates and samples of the posters so that they will not be lost during the session. It is also possible to group the students with mix ability since the advanced students may scaffold the low students.

CHAPTER 1-ICT AND THE LEARNING PRINCIPLES OF THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM

I’m back again…This is the session where I want to share what I have learned during Miss Chin’s lecture. The input that I manage to process is very useful for me as I’m ‘crawling’ on my journey in becoming a GREAT teacher.

Basically, the general ideas regarding the lecture can be shown as below:
Learning about ICT- Teacher and students develop skills in the potential uses of ICT to support learning.
Learning with ICT- Teacher and students use ICT resources to support the classroom curriculum.
Learning through ICT- Teacher and students use ICT to transform the process of teaching and learning in new ways.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) offer a range of educational tools and resources for teacher and students in extending their learning environment. The use of ICT has a great potential to transform classroom teaching and learning into more meaningful process when it is in line with the curriculum. There are a number of specific aims for ICT use as I list them below:

-to enable the child to use a range of ICT tools in a relevant curriculum context.
-to enable the child to develop and use ICT in the attainment of curriculum learning objectives.
-to foster the child’s confidence in his or her use of ICT, through enjoyable learning.
-to develop the child’s understanding and practice of the safe use of ICT
-to enable the child to use ICT to support his or her learning effectively and creatively.

Now, here it comes the fruitful discussion of the role of ICT in supporting the learning principles and how the ICT tools can help to support every dimension of the child’s development in the learning process. I’m so sorry because I will not discuss all the learning principles as stated in the notes. I only select three principles which I find the most appealing to me.
Firstly, I always believe that the child’s knowledge and experience are very important for the teachers to know since they are the base for the teachers to start the instruction. The children use their previous knowledge and experience, relate them to the new information then, construct the new knowledge. This is actually the practice of the constructivism theory. As teachers, we need to be aware of the children’s existing knowledge as it is the starting point for them to grasp the new knowledge. This can be supported by embedding the use of ICT in the learning activities. For instance, internet resources where the children can choose the appropriate sites to answer complex questions such as in the Web Quest. Besides, the combined range of ICT tools enables the teacher and the children to maintain a useful record of each child’s journey from the unknown to the known in the form of electronic portfolio.
Secondly, I feel that that every single individual in this world has their own space in creativity. In one of the learning principle which is the aesthetic dimension of the child needs to be developed by the teachers. Valuing the children’s creative response and expression of their own knowledge and experience is an important of the Primary School Curriculum. ICT provides a room to develop children’s creativity by offering a variety of content-free software tools such as multimedia and art design software. The presentation of their works allows the children to establish their own creative product and ideas. Besides, the activity will boost their confidence in presenting their work and feel good about them.
The third principle that really appeals me is the child as an active agent in his or her own learning. In developing the children’s progress, teacher needs to promote active learning among the children. This means that the child finds, manage, evaluate and use information retrieved from the websites suggested by the teachers. The active involvement in the learning process will somehow teach the children to decide at numerous junctures in the learning experience. It is very important to expose the children regarding decision making so that in the future they will become a better person.
In line with the National Philosophy of Education, the integration of ICT in our curriculum manages the teacher to produce a holistic product in the future. It is just the matter of the teacher or the ‘system’. Just a point to ponder on…..

POWER POINT PRESENTATION

SIMPLICITY…Yes, that is the keyword when we talk about power point presentation. I actually quote it from Ms Ng who shared her bright ideas about power point presentation. The session was very effective in which me, myself has gained a lot of input regarding the topic. Alright., it’s time now to discuss the usefulness of the power point to teachers in the teaching and learning process.
The use of power point presentation is very good in introducing a new strategy for teaching and learning activities. But, bear in mind that there are a few important points that need to be taken into consideration. I shall list them as below:

-Teacher must be a GOOD PRESENTER.
-the SLIDES must be SIMPLE with minimum use of words but maximum ‘talking’ from the teacher.
-MINIMAL use of ‘DISTRACTIONS’.
-Appropriate choice of FONTS, COLOURS and LAYOUTS.

Teacher must be a good presenter in the sense that they must have the eye contact with the students so that the teacher knows whether the students understand her explanations or not. The appropriate uses of verbal and non verbal gestures are also very important in conveying the message of the presentation.
Besides that, what I mean by simple but maximum ‘talking’ from the teacher is the input being visualised in the slides. Lengthy sentences in the slides will only cause confusion to the students. They will be busy reading the points instead of listening to the teacher’s explanations. To avoid this, teacher can put only the keywords of the topic in he slides.
Next point that needs to be considered is the ‘distractions’. What I call ‘distractions’ is the massive use of unnecessary pictures in one slides. Yes, it is true that the saying says that picture paints thousand of words. But, in this case, it will only distract the attention of the students.
The appropriate use of fonts, colours and layouts are also vital. The fonts should be large enough to be seen from the back. A good choice of colours also plays a ole here. Can you imagine how it feels when looking at the slides with pink layouts and the fonts are yellow?
Oppss… not to forget..I shall include the advantages of the use of power point present station in the teaching and learning activities. First, it supports the teaching and learning activities varying the teaching strategies so that the students be more interested. Besides, it introduces the use of technology at a very early stage of the student’s life. We should also see the drawbacks of the use of power point presentation in the classroom. he school may lack the facility in providing the projectors in order for the teacher to integrate the use of power point presentation. In addition, the teachers themselves may face difficulties in handling the gadget as well as the programme.
To encapsulate, the onus is on the teachers whether they really want to use it for the student’s betterment or they just follow the trend. Till then…

second technology class

“Pictures serve as a catalyst in children learning process"


18 July 2007, was the second class of technology subject. We were divided into a few groups. Each group was given a topic to present. My group was selected to present aboutcam compact digital camera. We came into a consensus to narrow down the scope to the usage of this gadget in the classroom activities.
There are a few usages of digital camera in the classroom. The most important point that we brought up was the digital cameras cater for multi dimensional learning. It is acknowledged that we have various types of learners in a classroom such as auditory learner, kinesthetic learner and visual learner. They need different appropriate techniques in learning process in order for them to learn better.
Digital camera is very significant for visual learners as they need visual support to grasp a concept. With digital camera, teachers can take pictures and use them in their teaching and learning activities. They will be more interested and engaged in the learning process since the pictures are used to scaffold their ability in understanding certain concepts. In addition, the authenticity of the materials also assists the students’ learning process since the pictures are all taken from real life situations.
Furthermore, students’ writing skill also can be developed by using the pictures taken with digital camera. It helps the students to write better since they can generate more ideas by looking at the pictures. Besides, their writing also is not limited to a particular idea only when writing any topics. The assistance of the visual support also helps the students to be more creative in their writing.
Well, the use of digital camera does help the teachers a lot. But, there are still a lot of questions have been puzzling my mind. I am wandering whether the teachers out there are willing to spend their own budget to buy the digital camera if they are asked to use it in the classroom. Or, are the schools and administrations agreed to spend some budget to buy the digital camera for each teacher for classroom activities?
Yes, the teachers may probable have no problem in buying their own digital camera for the teaching activities. But, how far is the exploration of the pictures taken with the digital camera being explored in the classroom? Is it just to fulfill the trend or the teacher is just trying to vary his or her creativity in selecting teaching materials?
All the questions can be answered by the teachers themselves. It is their onus to think and reflect the advantage of using the gadget in the teaching and learning activities. The school administration may prepare a schedule in letting the entire teacher in that particular school to have the chance to use the camera if there is one camera only. Till the next episode…