~Continuation of Module 1~

Well, there is nothing much to say for this week since we basically continued with Module 1. After nearly completing it, I realised that I learnt a lot of new skills such as burning Cds, converting files from various formats and encoding music. All these sounded really alien to me at first because I've never done it before, but after this, I would say I am more knowledgeable in this area. I am still not perfect because there is still a lot of new things out there which probably will leave a "?" in my mind, but as of now, I can say it is no longer there!


Though it was hard work trying to complete Module 1 (there's still 4 more to go...), I wouldn't want to say "No" to it if I was given a chance. I just wish that there was more time for us to complete it because I had to rush to complete it. At one point, it gave me a lot of stress because my internet connection was very slow and unstable, thus my working speed was reduced.


Then again, I thank God that somehow I managed to scrap through it and hopefully in the upcoming modules, I wouldn't have to undergo the same condition again. That's all for this week.

~Module 1 is here!~

Hey everyone! We've now entered the 6th week of the course. So far, it has been "honeymoon" time for us since we don't have much workload compared to the other courses.


However, from this week onwards, everything's going to change because the 1st MODULE is here!!!


I was very SHOCKED and SURPRISED because it is so THICK!! The first thing that ran in my mind was "I have to do ALL this?? This is just the beginning??" *takes a deep breath*


Anyway, because it was due in 2 weeks' time, I had no time to lose. I quickly set to work and as of today, I can say that I've completed at least 20 powerpoint slides! Not sure if that is a figure I should be proud of now though.. still, thumbs up to me! ^^


Though there is a LOT of things to be done, somehow I kind of enjoy doing them. Not only because there are guides to help me when I'm lost, but also it teaches me how to download a LOT of new things, things I've not even heard of before!

Also, there were a few steps missing in the guide given by Pn. Foziah. This teaches me to be brave to find my own solutions. It is always challenging to find your own way to achieve what you want, but I think that is the most rewarding experience of all. I always believe that it is the PROCESS that counts, not so much the end result.


I guess that's all for this week. Time to get back to Module 1! All the best to everyone! See ya! ^^

~Using Moyea and Finding Teaching Aids~

At the beginning of the class, Pn. Foziah showed us once more on how to use Moyea to download videos. Personally, after I have been introduced to Moyea, I cannot help but start downloading lots of educational videos! (This also includes short video clips on cartoons since children are very much attracted to that!) I have always wanted to have a collection of it because it is going to be very useful as my teaching aids in the future. I am aware that this is considered a plagiarism, but as long as I don't take it as my own video, I think I should be excused from the "cyber law"!

After that, we were given the chance to do our assignment in class so that if we need any help from our lecturer, we could do so at that moment! I feel that this is a good way to get us started on the assignment and to know what to expect from it. At least, after the "preview" of this round, I would know how to manage the REAL work better! So I'd like to thank you Pn Foziah for giving us the chance to do it in the classroom!


Anyway, we were asked to sit in pairs as we would need to discuss suitable teachings aids that can be used to teach the three topics given.


My partner (Woo) and I were given these topics:

Year 1: How Do I Get There?
Year 2: Follow Me
Year 3: Working People




Basically, for each year we have to specify what teaching aids we can use for each of the stages in a lesson.

For Year 1 and 2, we have decided to show them a video on how to give directions. To view the video, please click here.

We have also managed to find a task sheet where children can try to answer to see if they can remember what they have learnt. This task sheet centres on prepositions because when it comes to giving directions, prepositions are the key element needed to locate a place.

To locate the task sheet, click here.

For Year 3, basically we have decided to use a song from the fairy tale "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves", a video from youtube about different kinds of occupation, online role cards for children to play with and flash cards to teach the children about working people.


The video from youtube can be viewed here.

We also planned to introduce the "Cold Seat" game using the role cards whereby each child will sit on the cold seat and describe to the rest about his occupation. The other pupils will have to guess the name of the occupation.


We have also decided to play musical box whereby when the music stops, the child with the box needs to take out a flash card, mime the work of the occupation and let the rest guess the name of the occupation.

All right everyone. That is the end of this week's class. See you in the following week!

~Group Presentation Part 2 and WakaWaka Song~

Hello again friends! This is the fourth week now. How time flies and it's now AUGUST!


Anyway, in class today, we continued our group presentations of the first topic. My group was first and we explained about the role of a teacher in helping children understand the meaning of words. Basically, children are not born "stupid". They already possess the innate knowledge, but it is now the teacher's job in bringing them out. What I realised from the feedback session by Pn. Foziah was the importance of the teacher's role. A teacher is the key element because they are the ones giving the children cues to help them understand the meaning of words. I only thought that with the combination of teaching aids and teaching techniques, it will be sufficient to teach children, but now I know that the teacher himself plays the biggest role. If the teaching aids and techniques used were flawless but the teacher himself does not put in effort to teach, there will be no difference made in the children.



From Asraf's group presentation, I learnt that life is all about play and play and MORE play for children. They need fun in order to learn, but compared to the traditional classroom condition where chalk-and-talk method was used, there was hardly any fun in that (it wasn't for me, now that I think about it). Therefore, it is very necessary for a teacher to insert elements of fun whenever possible in the midst of a teaching and learning process. Now you may ask, if children play games all the time, when will they learn anything? The beauty about children is that indirect learning occurs. This means that by playing games (especially language games), they will learn the language indirectly. For instance, when children play the spelling bee game, they also learn how to spell words while having fun at the same time. I think it's a great gift that God has given the children because they are able to learn and also have fun. In fact, they learn better when they have something exciting accompanying that learning experience!




In Woo's presentation, it was interesting to know that even though children's knowledge of language may be limited, they can still be very creative with the language. I find it very amusing when a child says "Switch off the dark." They sound so adorable because they always have the "I-am-right" innocent look. Then again, it is our responsibility to teach them the correct language. As a teacher, it is important for me to give the children many opportunities to construct the language. For example, through the use of songs, children can learn to refine the language in a fun yet memorable way. An example of song could be "This is the Way". Since some of the lines are repeated, the children would be able to say the lines correctly. To me, there is no such thing as being too young and immature to learn anything because younger children are already able to say a sentence even if they don't understand what they are saying. Here, I learn that as a teacher, I cannot underestimate any child's ability because everyone has different capacity of learning.



Lastly, Nizam's group presentation was on the power of imagination. I am sure that even now, we can still remember some of the impossible things we thought we could do when we were younger! To us then, everything seemed to be so possible and easily achieved, but reality crashed hard on us as we grew up. A question was asked after the presentation: what is imagination in educational context? I would say the power of creative thinking put to good use in academic. Frankly, in a child's mind, there is no limitation on their creative thinking. They are free to explore anything and to them, everything is possible no matter how impossible the idea sounds. This is one aspect that I as a teacher need to develop and put to good use. For instance, if they are able to channel their creative thoughts in their writing, the essays would definitely come out spectacular!!

After the presentation, we were asked to do a tutorial on how to find the waka waka song, lyrics and video. A few websites were introduced such as www.4shared.com and www.metacafe.com.


Pn Foziah also taught us how to use the Moyea Flv downloader to download video clips. Wow! So many things came at once! At first, I couldn't catch up to what she was saying because it took me a while to find the song, but when I do, I realised that it wasn't so hard after all. To me, if this is a learning process that I need to go through in order to be an all-rounder 21st century educator, then I am all for that!


That's it for this week. See you!