Thursday, September 4, 2008

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

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