FINAL...

At last, the semester is at its end. It has been a lot that i have learn in this course. The bitter sweet experiences throughout completing this course are very hard to be forgotten as learning in this course taught me so many things. It were not just the knowledge but I also understand the meaning of friendship, group work, patient, tolerant, rational and etc. And I think this is also important as part good personality.
In this last post, there are a few questions to be answered. I think this is like a reflection for the whole semester..

1. What they like about blogging.

Blogging is like writing a diary or journal. The most important thing that I like about it is the practice of language. This is one good way of improving my language as the blog should be written in English. Besides, I also can reflect what I learned in the class every week. It make me realize the input that I got through out the lesson. Further more, I also can keep in touch with my friends and read what they write about the class. I also can know what they gain and any problems they encountered and how they solve it. So I know what happen to them and how they feel. We also commenting on each other and share our thoughts.

2. What they do not like about blogging.

Since the blog should has been updated once in a week, there is not much a trouble. So, I don’t really find things that I don’ like about it.

3. What have they gained from blogging eg. Language skills, improved fluency, critical thinking, improved thought processes, technology skills etc.

Since I have not try blogging before, surely this task on blogging not just a mere task for me. Indeed, it is a new skill for me. I explore many things from it where I learn some technology skill of creating own blog, design and decorate my blog. Since what I wrote in the blog is mostly reflective essays, thus it help me improved my critical thinking skills in reflecting back the events that I came across. This also improve my writing skill where I think I begin to love writing now.

4. How?

It gives me a feeling of belonging that I have my own blog which can be visited by anybody. I also can check my understanding by reading my own blog and others as well.

5. what they like about the course

This course offers me a lot of new knowledge that I am sure very important nowadays if we do not want to be left out.

6. what they do not like about the course

There were too many tasks. I know that when we talk about technology, there were endless list of it. But then, learning process should not at one whole only. If it can be put into stages, it should be ok.

7. what they have learnt from the course

There were so many new things such as photo editing, audio editing, video editing, downloading, converting, file storage, softwares, evaluation…

8. what they do not expect but have learnt from the course

-It haven’t across my mind that I will learn all these internet skills and of course they were very useful

9. what they expect but have not learnt from the course.

Actually, at first when looking at the name of the course I imagine the class will be decorated with variety of materials that we prepared. I thought I am going to learn on developing materials such as big book, flash cards, game board etc.

10. if they can change anything about the course, state what it is and explain.

-Send assignments using hard and soft copy – I found it really difficult to download any works since not all of us have internet access and even we have, it takes time. It should be enough to send hard and soft copy.

Everything in this life will come in a package, good and bad. Nothing is perfect. So, even there are certain things that are not liked, the most important is the lesson that i got from this course.

Besides, I pray that all the knowledge that my lecturer delivered to us will be benefited to the fullest and it should not stop here only. We can apply it later and in our daily life. I am pretty sure that we all need these skills....

Last but not least, thank you so much to Pn. Foziah for all the knowlegde she shared with us and her patient in handling us. I really appreciate her effort in teaching us. I also would like to thank to all friends, the cohort3 family for helping me since I am not technology literate. I am so grateful that at least, at the end of this semester, there are some internet skills that i knew compared to the first time I step into Resources class...

So, to all friends, good luck in your exam..wish all of us do excel...STUDY HARD, STUDY SMART...

Thanks to all....

Wassalam....

EXAM????

Alhamdulillah.....the exam is finally ends. For me, this exam was a tough one. May be, this is the first exam in this semester. The last exam I took was last semester. Usually, at IPIK, there were tests throughout the semester at least once before the final one. So, students should always be prepared. But then, I cannot compare the life there and here. Surely every place has own strength and weakness. University's life for me offer challenging path that always offer me a "road not taken". We have to be alert, decide our choice and then go on with what we chose no matter it is.
Back to the exam just now, I realized how important materials are for children in order to assist their learning. This exam really test my whole understanding on what i have learn about preparing materials for children. Besides, it also tests me on applying the understanding. On the other hand, I also realized that this exam taught me to work under stress. There was a question on preparing story board for designing a video. Frankly speaking, exam always affect me psychologically that gives me nerves and mind block. I felt so tense as it was very difficult to get any ideas on that. However, at last, I feel so grateful as I manage to answer the question. Even I was not so sure about the correctness, but that was the what I can did.
Hope and I pray that all of us will excel, not just for this exam, but for the whole of this course and also for the other subjects..Amin...

Children softwares

One factor that we should consider when working with Young Learners is that Children's instinct for play and fun. at their age, they just like to play and have entertainment. Thus, learning should be centered at playing so that they gain the input indirectly.
I wish i know this fact even earlier. Before this, i always mad at my younger brothers and sister if they kept playing games and ignoring their school homework. At that time, I thought games just wasting times. This fact is very important and every parents and teachers or anybody who deal with children should know this because it is crucial for the children's development and improvement.
The introduction to children softwares and games make me realizes how games actually stimulates learning. For example, my group had been given a softwares of a game entitled "Freddie Fish". This game is very entertaining and interactive. There were so many features that i found is meant for children for their cognitive growth as well as social growth. The characters are cartoon that surely catch children's attention as children like cartoon. The learning point that is emphasized in this game is PROBLEM SOLVING. It is indirectly taught while pupils play the game. the player should help Freddie the fish solves his problem by finding some clues.
Such games are useful and worth it to bring into the class. Pupils not just have fun but also learn something indirectly. I will surely introduce this kind of softwares to my younger sister,nephews and nieces. Surely they will enjoy it becasue even me myself was enjoying the game.v(",)V..

assignment 3

Alhamdulillah.....
At last I manage to finish Assignment3. This is the most tougher assignment for this sem, I guess....It took quite a lot time for me to complete it. This assignment really challenging for me in terms of creativity, patient, critical thinking skill, cognitive, child psychology and many more. This is because in order to prepare lesson plans, we have to consider many thinks. we have to foresee how the lesson are going to take place in the classroom. it is not just simply prepare a plan and expecting it to be well carried in the classroom regardless pupils' ability and emotional state.

Furthermore, this is my first time preparing 4 lesson plans one go. I wonder, it might be a tough work for teachers at school to prepare many lesson plans. And I will become one of them....So, this assignment taught me that, to prepare myself with workload. This remind me Malay proverb "Alah bisa tegal biasa".

So, now i am bit relieved the assignment is completed. Hope my lecturer is satisfy with my work.(",)

a thousand miles of journey begin with a single step....

The hari raya week was a break-for-any-assignment-week as I was very busy helping at home. Even my mind can’t put aside all the assignments…but hari raya still hari raya. It is once a year and that was the only time my parents, my 11 siblings and me can meet and be together. It was a priceless time that I always waiting for.
However, during the 3rd night of raya, I begin to switch on my laptop and start cracking my head and pleading to my siblings for any ideas to be contributed for my assignment as assignment 3 require me to prepare 4 lesson plans on topic ‘culture and tradition’. But then, raya mood still all around the air filling the atmosphere….its very difficult to have ideas that time. But then, at last I managed to have a draft of what I am going to do. Even, it was just a skeleton, but I think it should be helping a lot before creating the whole body. “a thousand miles of journey begin with a single step” right?

These words inspired me to start my work. Therefore, I managed to start on with the first two lesson plans. The remaining two I planned to do it after I reach college.
While doing my assignment, I realize one more thing. As I was doing this assignment at home, it was not as the same in college where at college I can focus more on my work. But then, at home, there were another task and chores that should be done where the chores should be done immediately. Thus, it was quite challenging for me. Then, I began to realize that this is the life. In the future, as being a teacher, it will not be only the teaching that I should do. Instead, there will be another task such as curriculum activities or sports day or outdoor competition. These activities should be lead by teacher. Therefore, doing assignments plus with other task teach me how to face the real life later. I began to realize that teacher is not only teaching…..:)

two heads are better than one?

We have been given a pair work where we have to work on Microsoft Office Publisher. There are four tasks to be done individually which are pamphlet, book cover, business card and poster. Newsletter we have to do it in group of six. This is another Microsoft office that I am not yet fully discover it’s used. At first, it seems difficult to use it as I am not familiar with it. But then, after knowing its function, I begin to like it. At least it helps me moving a step ahead fulfilling my dream (just a dream…) where I can promote my product and business via business card, poster, pamphlet and book cover. It feels good preparing all these as I start to imagine my business in the future (pray it will come true…amen..).Besides, this task also develops cooperation among my friends and me as we help each other in the process of learning this tool. It is a great feeling sharing our dreams with each other and planning for our own organization.
One more important thing that I learn is that it is not easy to organize an organization. For example, during completing the newsletter, I feel it was quite tough. We should come out with creative ideas because this newsletter is going to be used to attract other people who read it. It should be something new and eye captured. Then, I realized, that is the used of group work. “Two heads are better than one” right?. How about many heads? It is absolute right. When many heads join together, there will be a lot of, a bundle of, a stack of…ideas…brilliant ideas…fantastic ideas…extravagant ideas…yup. Then, the difficult work can be handled. Group work is good.:)

working with a course book :)

This week we were being explained about the distributions of marks for every assignment. It is very important as we could know what is expected from us. It seems a lot more to do….
Later we had group presentation. My group presented on the topic “Working with a Course book”. I just knew that there were two other groups that did the same topic as my group. So, basically the input was most the same.
“Working with a course book” is a good topic to be discussed as this is the aid that teachers really need in assisting their teaching. Yet, teachers should not put full reliant on this assistant as it make turn the class stiff. What I am trying to say here is that teachers should be flexible. It is not wrong getting an assistant as teachers have a stock of work to do. Course book might help in giving ideas of activities to be done. Thus, teachers need not crack their head thinking what activities to be done. Course book usually serve activities that can be done with pupils. But then, using course book alone without putting ‘life’ to it make the class even robotic. Therefore, teachers should be creative in the sense adapting and adopting the activities prepared in the course book and make it realistic to pupils. For instance, in the course book the activities might require pupils to read in pair these sentences:
Pupil 1: What is your name?
Pupil 2: My name is Ahmad
Pupil 1: What is your age?
Pupil 2: I am 9 years old.
Instead, teacher may make this activity realistic. For instance, teacher asks all pupils to mix around and ask their friends a few listed questions. Such activity requires pupils to move around and find friends instead of just sit and read from the book.
Furthermore, before choosing any course book, teachers should consider a few things such as the coverage of topic, suitability of activities, pupils’ interest and also prices. These factors help in contributing to the effectiveness of the course book to certain target group of pupils.
Last but not least, I would like to stress that course book actually do help teachers a lot as teachers sometime might face ‘thinking block’ due to lot of work. Course book can be a good best friend as long as teachers know how to manipulate it wisely.