14th Week

This is it then....

The final class for resources..

Through out this course i have learned immensely and lot of new technological tools have been part of my life for the past 14 weeks.



Lots of these tools would be useful in my path to become teacher. Integrating technology into classroom instruction means more than teaching basic computer skills and software programs in a separate computer class. Effective tech integration must happen across the curriculum in ways that research shows deepen and enhance the learning process. In particular, it must support four key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. Effective technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine and transparent and when technology supports curricular goals.



I have also started using many of the tools that have been introduced through all the modules and it has made myself into a tech-savvy person and i enjoy being part of it.



Of course our exam is around the corner and there are lots to study but i would like to thank Pn Foziah for giving me this opportunity to expand my technological horizon and engage myself with the virtual world

13th week

Today we learned on video editing.

Of course it may sound a bit difficult and high tech but with the right tool and some exploration it is actually very easy.



It is amazing how we can patch up pictures and some audios and text to create an effective learning tool in the classroom.

Hence, our lecturer made us to create a video which can be used in classroom to teach the syllabus in the curriculum



Teachers could even have their students to create video based on what they have learned. Students who have the resources would be thrilled to use technology and see the end product. In fact, students are better off with technology than us



" We already knew that kids learned computer technology more easily than adults. What we're seeing now is that they don't even need to be taught. It is as if children were waiting all these centuries for someone to invent their native language." --Jaron Lanier

12th Week

E-Book

Ever heard of that...

For some maybe yes and for some maybe no.

Well, let me explain

E-Book is a text- and image-based publication in digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book,but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. E-books are usually read on dedicated hardware devices known as e-book reader, e-readers or e-book devices. Personal computers and some cell phones can also be used to read e-books.



E-Book is an important and useful tool in telling stories to kids and engaging them in the lesson. Rather than using the typical and boring way of reading, teachers should try out using e book and i'm sure it would be fantastic

11th Week

One thing that i have learned from our 2nd module which i think is very useful is the application of photobucket.



Photobucket is an image hosting, video hosting, slideshow creation and photo sharing website.



Photobucket is usually used for personal photographic albums, remote storage of avatars displayed on internet forums, and storage of videos. Users may keep their albums private, allow password-protected guest access, or open them to the public.

10th Week

We continued with our completion of module 2.

We were also given task to see whether we are able to put what we have gathered from the module into real life action.


Task 1 :- Choose a song, and then edit it by isolating the chorus of the song to make it in a ringtone. The song could either be a Malay, Mandarin, Hindi or an English song.

Task 2 :- The next task is to cut and paste two songs together and make it sound nice.

Task 3 :- The third task is to edit a song and to change the quality of the song to make it sound better. The editing must be done for the song ‘dua insan’ sung by siti and M.Nasir. The intro needs to cut out the clapping sound and the end of the song, cut out the clapping sound as well as the introduction of the singers.


I must say that this has been quite an intresting task and i enjoyed doing it.
Infact i'm constantly trying to create new ringtone for my phone and editing songs that i like very much

9th Week

Today we received our 2nd module.

It was on Photo Editing.

As i skimmed through the module, one thing caught my attention. It was the Adobe Photoshop CS3. This was something new and exciting. So tried to figure out what it was all about.



Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.

Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop. The CS rebranding also resulted in Adobe offering numerous software packages containing multiple Adobe programs for a reduced price. There are two versions of Photoshop: Basic and Extended, with Extended having extra features available. Adobe Photoshop Extended is included in all of Adobe's Creative Suite offerings except Design Standard, which has the Basic version.



The speciality of the CS3 was that new features propagating productivity include streamlined interface, improved Camera Raw, better control over print options, enhanced PDF support, and better management with Adobe Bridge. Editing tools new to CS3 are the Clone Source palette and nondestructive Smart Filters, and other features such as the brightness and contrast adjustment and Vanishing Point module were enhanced. The Black and White adjustment option improves control over manual grayscale conversions with a dialog box similar to that of Channel Mixer. Compositing is assisted with Photoshop's new Quick Selection and Refine Edge tools and improved image stitching technology
CS3 Extended contains all features of CS3 plus tools for editing and importing some 3D graphics file formats, enhancing video, and comprehensive image analysis tools, utilizing MATLAB integration and DICOM file support

7th Week

As mentioned in my earlier post we were given the 1st module.

So, in this class we were to continue working on our module which was helpful as we could finish it up much quickly.

I would like to share one of the skill that i have learned through this model which is 'encoding' Before this i had no idea what it was all about and never would have tried but thanks to the module i did get my chance.

Encoding is the process of putting a sequence of characters (letters, numbers, punctuation, and certain symbols) into a specialized format for efficient transmission or storage. Decoding is the opposite process -- the conversion of an encoded format back into the original sequence of characters. Encoding and decoding are used in data communications, networking, and storage. The term is especially applicable to radio (wireless) communications systems.

6th week

Today we were given our first module.

At first i had no idea what it was all about. Apparently it is detailed steps of using technological tools as a resource in teaching.

The first module was on Computing and Internet skills.

It is pretty basic stuff such as how to search for images and journals from the internet.

Also on how to download songs & videos (which was very useful)

Some of the objectives of the 1st module is to:-

(1) Carry out a search procedure to find pictures, text, software, gifts, images, animations, PDF files, journal articles, online games, as well as songs either for educational or personal use.


(2) Download software, video and audio files as PDF documents from the internet eg.Youtube.


(3) Upload files as attachment to yahoo mail, windows live, pictures to photobucket, flicker and Youtube, share files over media fire, 4 shared and esnips.


(4) Encode, convert audio and video files to be used for educational and personal purposes from various sources.


(5) Store files on various storage facilities such as CD-rom, pendrive, external hardisks, online storing in youtube, 4shared, photobucket, and windows live. They should also learn to Burn CD and DVD’s.

We were supposed to try out all these steps and comment on it if we faced any difficulties and record our progress.

5th Week

Today we were re-introduced to the notion of teaching aids and its importance.

Of course when we were in Institut Perguruan Ilmu Khas we were constantly in pursuit to create new teaching aids for the endless lesson plans for all the subject.

Now, what is a TEACHING AID?

A teaching aid is a tool used by teachers to

- help learners improve reading and other skills
- illustrate or reinforce a skill, fact, or idea, and
- relieve anxiety, fears, or boredom, since many teaching aids are like games.

Some examples of tecahing aids would be:-

The Alphabet Book

Introduction


Alphabet books are sometimes used


* as motivational tools to attract people's attention to books
* as supplements to primers
* to help transfer reading skills from one language to another, or
* to introduce the sounds and letters of an alphabet.

Definition


An alphabet book is a collection of pages that lists and illustrates the entire alphabet.
Features


Here are some features of an alphabet book. An alphabet book usually contains the following for each letter:


* one or more keywords
* an illustration of each keyword, and
* the letter(s) in small and capital letters.


Variations


An alphabet book might include


* all the letters in a language
* only the vowels
* selected vowels and consonants
* sentences using the keywords and letters
* paragraphs or stories featuring the key words or letters
* an entire page of examples of the use of one letter, or
* several letters on each page.



Other than that posters are also good teaching aids

Introduction


A poster is an informative, often decorative way to attract attention to the information it contains.


Here are some ways to use posters in classroom:


* To advertise events or products
* To display information or instructions
* To teach some kinds of information


Ready-made posters from
o business organizations
o community development organizations
o government offices
o medical companies, or
o tourist agencies.

4th Week

As a teacher our office is the school & our clients are the students...

So how do we work with young learners?



It is important to understand their characteristic before trying to tackle their problems. Some of their characteristic would be:-

- Ability to grasp meaning
Children are not born as a ‘blank slate’ but they are capable to pick up the ‘meaning’ of thing as they progress through experience. So teachers should present their lesson by acknowledging this fact and prepare it in a more inviting way.



- Children’s creative use of limited language resources
children are creative in creating and using limited language resources. Children will simply ‘experiment’ the language that they might familiar when they are talking. Even though sometimes it seems ‘ungrammatically’ correct the way children speak, but, this is a fundamental phenomenon for language development.

- Children’s instinct for play and fun
Teachers should add the elements of fun and games in eliciting knowledge from children. Since children love fun, teacher should conduct a game that they are using English. Thus, this ultimately will make them learn indirectly the intended objectives of the lesson. So, teacher should be creative in exploiting the children instinct so that through games, children are motivated to learn English



- The role of Imagination
Children have no limitation on their creativity in imagination. Knowing this fact, teachers should try to make use of it and trigger their imagination. Make lesson as more than just giving input but something that they would have to think about and ponder.