Week 11 Reflection: Search & Scan

This week was another fabulous week as yet another task was allocated to us. To me, the task was rather unfamiliar as we had to seek out two research materials relevant to the use of teaching aids in the primary classroom. To make things more complex, we had to analyze every bits and details of each research materials we find but that would only be possible if the materials we found are accepted by the lecturer. Thus, the search begins!

Through the countless attempt of browsing the internet, like a pirate of the sea in search of hidden treasures, I reminded myself that learning is just another part of life that makes become more mature and allows opportunities to practice patience and wisdom. And like all sailors of the sea, our mind grows with experience we encounter throughout our journey. Like a wild horse, I managed to tame and open my heart to read all the materials I could lay my hands upon in this ‘cyber sea’. Reading experience has taught me that the purpose many researchers had in mind when publishing their research were that to help future teachers like me to become well aware of the enormous and unpredictable learning benefits teaching materials could offer, especially for young learners. In addition, I learned that teaching aids are exceptional assistant which could turn around the overall mood of learning of a child, for instance, by playing a simple yet catchy song, children may eventually find themselves indulged in the learning process as such teaching aids allows them to ‘see’ that learning in the classroom is actually a fun and enjoyable thing to do. Such conversion of a child thought towards the idea of learning from boring to exciting is of most importance to me as from my observation of prior teaching experience along with reading examples found in books and researches, I have realized that children in the Malaysian context have about 5 minutes attention span before they ‘switch’ into their own activity of making noise at the back. Therefore, adding suitable teaching aids are essential for prolonging their attention span along with the right interest towards positive learning attitudes and also help reduce disciplinary problem in return.

While it is good to know that teaching aids are good tools for improving the learning effectiveness, knowing how to use them into your favor is another thing. According to current research done in schools lately, teachers have been found to still implement the ‘chalk and talk’ approach as a daily teaching mode. They admitted the idea of using teaching aids is great and beneficial but they argued that they lack the abilities to download or convert the application as they are not very techno-savvy themselves. As a result they are forced to attend seminars for acquiring the necessary knowledge to do so. But this consumes a lot of effort and time; something they cannot afford to lose. That is why I am grateful that the TESL course that I took integrates the teachings of utilizing technology towards the betterment of learning experience for future learners. Thus, the task of seeking research materials and analyzing them for further comprehension of current times’ issues regarding teaching aids and the teaching environment as a whole, are crucial for me to progress both in maturity and wisdom as future teachers to come.

Reflection Week 10 (Cont.)

The countless number of assignments and tasks we received along the progression period of this course were pretty heavy and took a hefty toll on us all in the sense that we suffered internal and external pressure cracking our heads to come up with creative and innovative ideas. We hoped that our hard work of manufacturing all these tedious and neck-breaking assignments will not be used by other people for their self gain, particularly manipulating our masterpiece as their own for furthering their studies for the title of professor or doctor for example. Plagiarism or a deliberate act of misusing other’s work is a sinful and unethical conduct to perform by anyone regardless of their status as students or educators and I may have to resolve to file a police report if I sniffed out any trace of such malevolent and blasphemous idea. As students, we should know our rights and search for ways to protect our original products.

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Week 10 Reflection

This week was the submission of our second assignment which was done in pairs. The second assignment gave us an insight on how to better learners as we managed to incorporate cooperative learning, dividing task for seeking new information on the internet and engage in several virtual discussions. Since we are limited by the distance barrier between us, the use of technology for making real-time discussions were imperative to keep track of our findings and to configure a smooth progression of our assignment. Application like the simple yet reliable and user-friendly Yahoo Messenger really made a difference in making sure that our ideas are properly delivered and understood. This was better than using the common handphone for communicating in a distance because we could not only send compressed files, but also gain better comprehension of each other through facial expressions and gestures via the use of the webcamera. As we learnt in before, the effectiveness of communication between two individuals can greatly be reinforced with the presence of visual assistance, particularly in providing facial expression and gestures to convey their meanings more clearly and accurately. The awareness to use such a technology was deemed essential for us students due to the fact that the service comes with no need for us to spend a penny; it’s absolutely FREE! The process and procedure that we went through really taught us to become resourceful in making the right choices to suit our current needs of seeking information related to teachings and so forth.

Assignment two taught me a lot about crafting the right activity and lesson for the target audience. Apparently, young learners learning abilities differs greatly from that of an adult due to the fact that young learners tendency to comprehend an idea better with the assistance of visual and auditory components. We cannot simply give a child a book and expect them to understand it thoroughly from the beginning until the end. It falls back to us to bolster their still-developed cognitive system by including fascinating and colourful pictures, interactive GIFs, and also catchy sound effects and music, all in the effort to guide their comprehension to our intended learning points or ideas; according to Jean Piaget.

The tenth class was another moment of ‘enjoyment’ because the advent of yet task. Wow, I’m so ‘thrilled’. Another sleepless night for me, just great…hooray... The task required the use of the MSPublisher application in order to construct newsletter, business card, pamphlets, and brochures. It sounds like a lot of work but it actually really is. Another pressure or predicament we face is apparently not everyone has the application installed within their Windows system, unlike the Windows Movie Maker which is integrated along with it. Hence, some of us need to rely on other friends who have the application already installed, download from the internet or buy a new Windows CD. So, a lot of my friends find themselves stuck with the problem. Luckily, I already have mine installed when the first time I formatted my desktop. This is the moment where I learn to share the means of complete our tasks and be thankful to God to be able to work together and help each other during this dire moments.

It seemed that assignment three which should be the final one, has made its maiden appearance. Each of us is required to prepare four full activities and lesson plans, each focusing on different skills depending on the topic we received. I guess this one is really testing our competence skill as a teacher-to-be as we are actually crafting lesson plans for the whole week. But I believe that this is crucial for making us immersed with the experience of a real teacher which will definitely benefit us later on in the future. Feels like practicum already…hmm…I wonder…

Week 9 Reflection

“..Strike your enemy from within..” (The Art Of War)

Life is a battlefield filled with relentless trials and challenges that sometime struck us on the outside and internally as well. Often, we find ourselves engulfed by problems that seemed endless and haut us day and night. But when we lean back and take some time to reflect, the pieces for finding the right solution gradually comes together. As the saying goes, the enemy which hinders us from progressing and completing our responsibility is actually our own self. When the body is crumbled with countless outside pressure, the presence of patience and calmness provide assistance to the soul, helping it to meditate and visualize the core of each problem with ease. Thus, having patience and maintain a cool conscious are a necessity when it comes to deliberate the body and soul from trials of life. I find myself in need of patience as a weapon to deflect and resolve the tasks and assignments bombarded to me virtually every day, 24-7! Moreover, with the advent of fasting season, it also provides me the greatest moment to practice building a good foundation in terms of patience and calmness.

The ninth class had undergone a clarification period regarding our tasks, assignments and so forth. Basically, I find the idea of having a portfolio as a must, regardless of our status as a university student or a primary school learner. This is due to the fact that it carries many positive effects and benefit to the learner later on. Aside from being a formal medium for assessment, the portfolio functions as a black and white evidence that records all the work and tasks done by the learner in a systematic and chorological order, which also indicates the whether a learner has made progress or the other way around. In addition, when learners are presented a clear record of their work, it provides a sense of acknowledgement which in return helps them become more responsible for their own learning. Parents also benefit from this type of evaluation as it opens a channel for them to determine the growth of their children, and also identify a problem and fix it at the heart of its core before too late.

There was another opportunity for me to refine my schemata for today as I was introduced with a new video-related website called the http://www.onetruemedia.com. It is basically similar to the common YouTube.com website that we had been using for some time, in the sense that it was possible to upload or download videos we made or of other’s. The interface looked wonderful with bright brilliant colours filling in the site’s background. I have yet to master using it but one thing for sure is that I have added another source for raw materials to help me pack a punch for my next creative activity for the primary classroom.

It was also the time for us to present last week’s work to our friend in class. Each group took their turn presenting and each one presented with an air of enthusiasm signaling that they have made appropriate preparation before coming to the front. I was amazed with their spirit and calmness when presenting, especially during the challenging fasting month. Their cool personality and ethics are just some of the essential traits that I hope to adopt later on as a teacher of the future.

Week 8 Reflection

Since the work load that we carry, regardless of any subject in the course, increase day by day, there seems to be lesser space for enjoyment and leisure to be spent. I guessed I have been pampered too much during the last semester because compared to my friends; they are prepared to around the clock. With tasks coming out everywhere, there is bound to be problems and difficulties along the way. One significant example was the predicament I faced when wanting to complete the E-book task. As if the task was not hard enough, I faced an unexpectable error. After I have uploaded the E-book files into the 4shared website, to my horror I noticed that the video clip that I integrated along with the power point presentation could not be played. Unlike the previous tasks, the E-book was something I looked up to because it was not a last minute work. Therefore, I sincerely have faith that all my hard work of brainstorming was arranged and effectively embedded within the E-book framework. But as soon as this surprising error emerged, I became out of clue. Alas, I have no one to blame except my own self who is lacking in the sense of computer expertise. Nevertheless, I refused to give up and crack my head again through a series of trial and error with the power point. Luckily, with the blessing of Allah, I managed to solve the riddle that has been a sticking in my mind. Not long after that, a friend of mine suddenly gave me a distress call. She carried with herself the same problem that had me spooked earlier. But with a few minor assistance here and there, I managed to not only brought peace and wisdom to myself, but also to others around me...Alhamdulillah...and all it takes was a little courage and faith to go beyond.. :D

The eighth class was unexpectedly quiet with the absence of the lecturer. It was unclear to me the rationale behind her punctuality, but I guess everyone must have a good reason for not attending class. I now know that everything was all my fault. There was a miscommunication between us and her informer (assistant). Apparently, we were not aware that her assistance already told us that she will not attend today's class due to her illness. I admit it was due to human error, and humans are never far away from making mistakes. I believe that this is an important aspect to look upon due to the fact that I myself am going to be an educator in the future. Therefore, I must learn from other’s mistakes and make sure that the same thing will not occur to me or my friends because as a student, we are not only attending classes for knowledge of the subject, we are also observers and evaluators of appropriate conducts of others. I believe the same thing goes for my future learners who are small children, who are more observant of the behaviours of others and possess innate tendency to adopt the attitudes they see and perceive (as suggested by Skinner’s theory of Behaviourism). Hence, I should be ever aware of the attitude I attempt to display to my future learners as they are like a blank white sheet, it is up to us to shape them towards the right path. :D

At the last hour before the class ended, we suddenly got the last minute information that we should do yet another assignment-like task. At first, we have difficulties understanding the rubrics due to the absence of the lecturer to give a detailed explanation. But later, due to the unrelenting effort our three friends who are the lecturer’s assistance to make things clear for us, we finally got the picture. I for one am amazed by their bizarre effort and contribution to become the ‘eyes and ears’ of the lecturer and to carry such a heavy task of becoming the assistance. This made me appreciate others more and made m realize how lucky I am to have such good friends around who are consistently prepared to give aid during my dire moments. The assignment-like task requires us to integrate if not all, at least one of the editing skills that we have learnt to create an activity for the classroom context. Like I said before, though the task may seem difficult, it was all thanks to the friendly cooperation and understandings that the three lecturer’s assistance gave that made life a bit easier for us in completing the task. I am again grateful to Allah… :D