*Final Entry*

1. What do you like about blogging?
Blogging actually helps me to reflect on my learning as I post the reflections based on each week’s lesson. On the other hand, it also develops my critical and creative thinking skills as I need to think critically on what I should write in my weekly entries and also how to decorate the particular entry as well as the blog

2. What you do not like about blogging?
One thing that I do not like about blogging is that, I could not complete my work if my internet connection is slow or not available. This makes my entries to be procrastinated sometimes.

3. What have you gained from blogging e.g. Language skills, improved fluency, critical thinking, improved thought processes, technology skills etc. How?
Firstly, I have improved on my language as I check and revise my entries before I post it in order to avoid grammatical errors. Besides, it also helps me to develop critical thinking as I reflect on my own learning and write it in my entries. Lastly, of course blogging improved my technological skills. I am new to blogging and I have learned a lot on how to create and manage a blog.

4. What do you like about this course?
The modules. Yes I have learned many thing through the modules such as editing audio, video, downloading, uploading and many more.


5. What you do not like about this course?
This course was more to technological based and I have to work with my laptop most of the time. Frankly speaking, I am not able to sit in front of the laptop for a long period of time.


6. What have you learnt from this course?
The main thing that I have learned from this course is to make technological teaching aids. I have learned how to make use of various software to prepare appropriate teaching aids for pupils.


7. What have you learnt from this course that you did not expect to?
Firstly I didn’t expect that I will be introduced to various software. It was an eye opener for me into the world of technology. Next, I learned how create various technological teaching aids such as audio, video, e-book and many more.


8. What have you expected but do not learn from this course?
-

9. Comments regarding modules:

1. Internet and computing skills

a. What do you like about this module?
This module introduced me to various software and skills such downloading, uploading, storing files, burning and many more.

b. What do you not like about this module?
-

c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
The tasks are very useful as it serves as practical for what we have learned from the tutorials.

d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
-

e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
Downloading files, uploading files, scanning.

f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
With the skills that I have learnt I am able to choose and download appropriate teaching aids from various sources(websites) and I can also use various software to download it easily such as Moyea Youtube Downloader.

2. Photo Editing

a. What do you like about this module?
This module also introduces me to various software and skills on how to edit photos.

b. What do you not like about this module?
There are many tutorials of the same photo effect which are repeated few times.

c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
The tasks are very interesting as I can edit the photos. I will be useful for me as a future teacher in order to prepare suitable teaching aids for my pupils.

d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
-

e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
Of course photo editing using various software such as photoshop, photoscape and many more.

f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
With the skills and software introduced through this module, I can edit photos and pictures to suit my lesson.

3. Audio Editing Skills

a. What do you like about this module?
I like the part where I can edit and create ringtones.

b. What do you not like about this module?
-

c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
The tasks given were a good practice on what I have learned through the tutorials therefore it enhances my understanding.

d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
-

e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
I have learned how to edit the quality of audio, cut audio and join two songs.

f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
I am able to edit audios in order to suit my lesson. I can easily remove the unwanted parts from an audio easily and use it in my lesson.

4. Video Editing Skills

a. What do you like about this module?
Extracting image from video is new experience for me and I really enjoyed doing it.

b. What do you not like about this module?
Editing and creating videos is actually time consuming and needs a lot of patience.

c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
It is a good practice of what is in the tutorials. It is interesting too as we created our own videos.

d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
The tasks are time consuming as the tutorials.

e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
Creating, and extracting video, audio and images from a video.

f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
Based on the tutorials and tasks, now I can create my own suitable videos to conduct lessons.

5. Software for ELT

a. What do you like about this module?
It helps me to explore Ms Publisher fully.

b. What do you not like about this module?
-

c. What do you like about the task given for this module?
The tasks allow me to apply the knowledge that I have learned through the tutorials as we need create many teaching aids or the tasks.

d. What do you not like about the task given for this module?
Since we have to create many teaching aids, it is time consuming.

e. What are the specific skills that you learn in this module?
I have learned to create brochure, banners, paper folding and many more.

f. How the skills learnt in this module can help in the making and choosing of teaching aids for the ELT classroom?
I can create various teaching aids that suits different stages of the lesson such as brochure, invitation card and many more.

10. If you can change anything about this course, state what is and elaborate?
One of the changes that I would suggest is that there should not be any repeated tutorials. For example no two tutorials should emphasize on the same skills such cutting audios, or adjusting brightness and so on. The repeated tutorials bring any benefit as the skill is already learned in previous tutorials.

On a scale of 1 – 10, please rate your computing and technological skills for both before and after undergoing the course.
Before 4
After 8

14th Week

14th week, we have come to the end to this course. The journey of ‘Using and Developing Resources for ESL Classroom has taught me a lot especially in technological aspects. I have learned many new things such as Photo editing, Audio Editing, Video editing and many more which would be very useful or me as the future teacher.

Let’s move into this week’s agenda. This week is fully utilised to view the videos created by our peers. The main aim of this week’s class is to improve on the videos. Pn Foziah also gave time to us to edit and re-upload it in youtube. There were videos from different topics and themes. From the videos, I realised that most of us have put in a lot of effort to create it. On the other hand, there were some videos which need some changes and editing in order to make it more meaningful and to deliver the message it carries. From the module and also the video created, I realised that creating video is not merely using pictures and adding background music to it. A video should be specific on the message or story that it carries. The choice of pictures and also the background music plays an important role in portraying the feeling or emotions of the scenes as well as the whole video.

I personally like the video created by Faiz and his pair. The video was about cancer disease and the way they created the video really amazed me. The video was able to convey the message it carries and the background music that they used were very suitable for their theme.

Next, the date for the test is already set. Pn Foziah reminded us to study and prepare for the test. The test would be a very good practice to apply what we have learned throughout the course as it will be based on applications of the knowledge learned.

All in all this week’s class as well as the overall course was very useful for me to prepare myself to face the challenges in using and developing resources for ESL classroom. The Knowledge learned and gained will not end here as I will be repeatedly use the knowledge in future which eventually provides lifelong learning for me. That’s all from me. Bye...

13th Week

Week 13 of the resources class. Without wasting any time, let’s look into the major events of the day. Ok, this week we have submitted 4 things which are:

1) Module 2
2) Individual work (task 1)
3) Pair work (task 2-eBook)
4) Group work (lesson plans)

Talking about the tasks, it was a good exercise to practice what we have learned in the module. I personally learned a lot about photo editing while doing the tasks rather than doing the module itself. Although software such as photoshop was very difficult for me, later I managed to learn it and I applied it in editing pictures for my tasks. I am really happy that now I have learned and able to use various software to edit photos.

Now let's move on to the next agenda. Currently

we are working on the module 4 which is the video editing. This module is another good instrument as we can learn about video editing by using software such as Cyberlink power director, Cyberlink powerDVD, Windows movie maker, HJ-split and many more. It is really fun working on this module because now I am able to make and edit my own videos.

As we all know, each module comes with some tasks. The same goes to module 4. Pn. Foziah asked us to create a story board for the task 2 which is the pair work before the class itself. Pn. Foziah checked the story board and gave some comments on how to improve it. As for me and my partner, we choose the topic ‘humanity’ and we are still working on it. Hopefully I can apply the skills that I have learned from the module in creating the video.

That’s all for this week’s entry. Bye...

12th week

Time flies very fast. I feel like just entered this semester but it’s already the 12th week. Yes, we are in the 12th week of resources class too. Last week was about editing pictures using various tools and software. Not to be forgotten that there are tasks to be completed after the module. This week, Pn Foziah is going to check the task 2 which is the ebook. Before doing so, Pn Foziah showed us some of the ebooks that have been done by her students. The ebooks are very interesting, colourful and of course it is attractive. Pn Foziah also reminded us on some important thing about the ebooks.

She reminded us

- to chose good quality pictures

- to insert the navigation keys

- to insert sound

- to have a theme, characterization and plot

After that, Pn Foziah went around checking all the ebooks and gave her comments and opinion. The comments given by her is very useful to improve the ebooks. Later on, Pn Foziah gave 2 sets of module which is the continuation of module 2. These two sets are continuation of module 2 using the adobe photoshop CS3 software. It is quite lot, but I am sure that we will learn something new from those tutorials.

Later, Pn Foziah asked the class to move forward to the front of the class because she wanted to show us some examples on video editing. She showed the edited video of Chun and Ella. The videos are really wonderful and it gives a basic idea to me on how video editing works and its product. Although we do not get the module 4 yet, Pn Foziah asked us to choose a theme for our video editing task. My partner and I chosed ‘Humanity’ as our theme and we really hope to create a meaningful video soon.

That’s all for this week, bye.

11th Week

This week’s class is a continuation on the tasks of module 2 which is the photo editing. Pn Foziah showed her collection of edited photos. The photos are really amazing and it does carry a message or story as what Pn Foziah asked us to do. Although it is just a single piece of photo, the message is very clear and interesting. Hope I can edit a photo which carries a story too. Next, she also reminded us to place our name or signature on the edited photos. This is to show ownership and to avoid others from plagiarizing our edited pictures or photos.

After that, Pn Foziah asked us to work back on our photos and create a more meaningful photo rather than simply adjusting the brightness, cropping adding text and so on. From the input given by Pn Foziah and her collection, I decided to combine 2 pictures. Yes I decided to make a superimpose photo of myself in opera house. As Pn Foziah reminded, I have included my name in the photo to show the ownership. Below is the original and the edited photo.

That’s all for this week’s entry, See you all in the next entry. Bye…

10th Week

Week 10, It’s the submission week for the lesson plans and also the teaching aids that we have been working on since before Raya holidays. Fuh!, it is a big relief to complete the entire task and submit it.
Next, we used today’s class to complete the remaining of module 2. As we all know, module 2 is about photo editing and it is really an exciting task. While working on the task, suddenly Pn.Foziah asked us to view our senior’s photo editing collection. I was amazed looking at the product. Photos are beautifully edited and the editing is very neat as well. There were about 280 photos and I viewed all of them. It was a tour of photo editing for me. From the module 2, I have learned how to edit photos, and now I have learned where and how to apply it.

After that, Pn Foziah gave a task for module 3. First is to create a ringtone. Next to cut and combine 2 songs and lastly to edit M.Nasir and Siti’s dua insan song. The submission of module 3 and the task is on 28th September.

9th Week

Pn. Foziah is away this week but she had already assigned the task for this week. It’s MODULE 2. Module 2 is about editing pictures. As in the previous modules, this module does require some software such as Adobe photoshop. Adobe photoshop CS3, Photoscape, Iphoto, ACDsee, Microsoft paint, Photobucket and Triscape Fxphoto.

This module is also exciting as the module 3. There are many things that can be done to the photos using the software above. The pictures can be cropped, resized and we can reduce noise, adjust brightness, add text and frame and many more. Adding frame to the photos captured my attention as the Photoscape software provides wonderful frames to be added to our photos. I have used the software to edit some of the pictures in my own collection too.
Since this is the first time I am using most of the software, I do face some difficulties. Firstly, I found difficulties to identify the icon mentioned in the module. It was quite hard as some of the modules just show the icon but does not show where to look for the icon. Secondly, I found difficulties in making the effects as mentioned in the module. This module requires a lot of patience as I need to explore the functions of the software in order to complete the software. If one step is missed, the expected effect will not turn out. After a long exploration on the software, I managed to identify all the icons and complete the tutorials.

For the time being, I have completed most of the tutorials and I am still working on the rest. The deadline for this module is 27th September 2010 and I really hope to complete it before the deadline because we will be receiving another module on the 27th.

8th Week

There is no class for this week BUT there are a lot of things to be done. Firstly, we have to complete module 3 which is about audio editing. Next, Pn. Foziah assigned us to prepare 3 half an hour lesson and a 1 one hour lesson. Lastly week need to prepare teaching aids.

When I saw module 3, there was a small relief in me because this module is not as thick as the module 1. Module 3 is basically about audio editing using software such as Audacity, Wavepad, Sony Vegas, Karaoke Anything, Music Editor, Nero Wave and lastly Sound Forge. Fuh!!! It seems that there are a lot of software to be explored in order to complete module 3.

Working on this module is much more exciting and fun compared to module 1. This is because in module 3, we are creating something on our own not merely getting something from the internet. Through module 3, I have learned how to make ringtones, making minus one, changing speed, cut songs, combine 2 songs and many more. That was really exciting and fun working with this module.

The next task assigned to us was the lesson plan. We were required to prepare four continuous lesson plans for a particular year. My group have chosen Year 4 as the target group and the topic was about food.

Lastly, we were also required to choose a topic from the syllabus for each year (year 1 to 6) and prepare teaching aids. The teaching aids include both technological and non-technological materials. Since the teaching aids are prepared for young kids, we used colourful and attractive pictures, videos, powerpoint presentations, puppets, task sheets, and big book.

In conclusion, lesson plans and teaching aids are very essential in carrying out a lesson successfully. Therefore we have prepared appropriate lessons and teaching aids which can really aid in carrying out the lesson.

7th week

Last week’s 'fever' is still on till this week. Yes, I am still working on the module 1. As Pn Foziah said, I kept on thinking about the module wherever I go and I spent a lot of time working on it.

While working on the tutorials in the module, I realised that there are many things that I am unaware or do not know about internet and internet skills. The module was an eye-opener for me into the world of technology especially internet skills. Through the module, I was exposed to many software and also websites which will be useful for me as a future teacher.

The software such as Audacity which is used for the encoding tutorials is amazing. YES, there are a lot of things that we can do with this software. Since this is the first time I am using this software, I was really excited to explore the software and learn new things from it.

The websites such as ‘Photobucket’, ‘4shared’ and ‘esnips’ are totally new and unfamiliar to me but with the examples given by Pn. Foziah, I managed to sail through the tutorials with very less difficulties.

There was some confusion while doing the tutorials but it was not a big deal as I still managed to complete the tutorials. The confusion may be due to some changes in the websites as they upgrade the websites. Whenever we face any difficulties or confusion we were required to write comments beside the slide and I did so. The comments will be very useful to improvise the tutorials in the future.

The only part where I found most difficulties was the file conversion part. In this part, we were required to convert files into different formats such as MS WORD to PDF, PDF to PPT and so on using software and also some online conversion websites. This was a real new experience for me; I do not know anything about these till the time I did the tutorials. Besides that, some of the conversion could not be done exactly as in the examples given by Pn. Foziah which makes me to look for different alternatives to convert those files. At last I managed to complete the tutorials.

Although the module took a lot of time to be completed, when I look back at the completed module, I feel so happy. I can see my hard work on each and every slide. WOW that’s really amazing.

6th Week

Hi everyone.... Here I am with another entry in my blog in week 6.

Time flies very fast Huh!..... Ok without wasting anytime, let’s go into today’s events.

The major event of this week’s class is the ‘Module’ Yes, the MODULE... The moment Pn foziah enters the class; she informed us that she’s going to distribute the Module 1 to us and asked few volunteers to get it. I was waiting eagerly for the module but when I saw the module, OMG what is this? The module is sooooooooooooooooooooo thick.

How am I going to complete it? That was the question that was in my mind when I saw the module. Wait, that’s not the end of it, there is another shocking news from Pn Foziah: The modules should be completed in 2 weeks. I was speechless when I heard it. How am I going to complete the THICK module in 2 weeks?

Then I realised that, no point in thinking how I am going to complete it but better to think when I am going to start doing it. Yes, I started immediately. It was quite fun doing the module and I have learned many things from doing it. I feel that, completing this module equips me with various technological resources which will be useful when I become a teacher later.

In this 21st century, Teachers should equip themselves with enough ICT skills. Equipping themselves with the skills is not sufficient but they must practice it in classrooms. Teachers nowadays, rarely use technology in their lesson due to lack of exposure to ICT. By completing this module, I hope that I can get enough exposure and able to equip myself with various resources which can be helpful to face the challenges as a 21st century teacher.

That’s all for this week, there’s a lot of work to be completed. See you all in the next entry, bYe...

5th Week

5th week, 5th week, 5th week. This week’s class started with a good deed I should say. The whole class helped a PhD student to answer his questionnaires. Hope that questionnaire really helps him with his research.

After that, Pn. Foziah showed us on how to use Moyea to download videos. Although Moyea was already introduced in the previous week, this week’s demonstration was really useful.

Next, Pn.Foziah assigned us a task. For the task we need to work in pairs and the pair should be from different gender. My partner and I were assigned the topics Places in school, Animals and pets and Liza’s Family. The task is basically to find resources or teaching aids which matches the topics given. To simplify our work, Pn. Foziah created a template in which we have to include the stages, the kind of teaching aids, rationale for choosing the teaching aids and final column is for comments. The template served as a very useful guide for us to complete the task. Thanks Pn. Foziah.

Talking about resources or teaching aids, it is actually a part of our life. Why do I say so? because as future teachers, we will be collecting, creating and using different types of teaching aids in our lesson. Teaching aids is actually a very good resource to enable the pupils to understand the lesson taught. It actually helps the pupils to learn in a fun and enjoyable way. For example, young kids will be excited and interested to see colourful pictures, videos, catchy songs and language games. When the pupils are excited and interested, it would create a warm environment for them to learn. The pupils will actually learn indirectly by playing the games, singing songs, watching videos and many more. Young learners cannot be separated from fun and play. Therefore, the only way for a teacher to bring in fun and play in the classroom is through teaching aids. As future teachers, teaching aids is very important to carry out our lessons successfully. The task assigned to us will be a stepping stone for us to have a compilation of various teaching aids in the future.
That’s all for this week, see you all in the next entry. Bye....

4th Week

Fourth week of PBEY3102, there are still four groups left to present from the previous week’s task. 4 groups to present, meaning that I am going to learn and absorb a lot of things today.

The first group presented on “working with young language learners”. Basically, children are born with innate abilities to absorb language therefore they do not come to school with empty hands. Young learners have the ability to understand what we say although they do not understand each and every words uttered by us. As a teacher, we should understand this situation and should not label any student negatively. With proper teaching learning process, the pupils will be able to grasp the language. Therefore, it is the teacher’s responsibility to carry out activities which suits the pupils in order to enhance their understanding.

The second group presented on ‘Children’s Instinct for play and fun’. Play and fun, these two things are very essential in the development of a child. Even adults love fun and of course young learners love it too in their learning. The major point here is how the teachers can carry out a lesson which does no bore the pupils who loves to play and expecting fun in everything they do. As a future English language teacher, this would not be an awkward situation for us. We can use colourful and beautiful pictures, use songs, videos, carry out plays, dramas and introduce language games such as ‘Hang-man’ and many more.

Next, the third group presented on ‘children’s creative use of limited language resources’. We know that young children are able to convey a message although the words and the sentence are grammatically incorrect. Young children uses or actually imitates gestures to convey messages as well. Although with limited language resources, young children are still able to convey a message due to the creativity which they learn and expanded through their daily life experiences.

The role of imagination, this is the last topic and it was presented by my group. This topic is mainly about how imagination plays a vital role in a child’s development and how we as teachers can encourage their imagination. There are many ways where a teacher can encourage imagination in a child. For instance, teachers can carry out activities such as ‘hot seating’, ‘role play’ and many more. Besides, teachers also can carry out their lessons using the Desuggestopedia method where the pupils are asked to close their eyes and imagine while the teacher narrates a story. This will provide ample space for the pupils to develop their imagination as well as grasp the input given by the teacher.

After the presentations, Pn. Foziah introduced us to MOYEA. By using this software, we can download songs and videos very fast. This software is very useful as it saves time and we can download the songs and videos whenever we want as it only takes a few minutes or even less than that. Next, Pn.Foziah showed us a module on ‘how to search a song’ and taught us how to print the screen. The input given by Pn. Foziah, was very useful as it is new for me. Hope to learn more from Pn. Foziah and our resources class.

With this, i would like to attach a video which is related to children's imagination.

3rd Week

This week’s class is totally different from the previous classes. Usually Pn.Foziah will deliver all the input and we just need to listen and understand, but this week we were required to work in groups and present our task in power point presentation. This would be the first presentation since we entered University Malaya, so everyone was really excited.

This week’s chapter is ‘Working with young language learners’. We were divided into 6 groups and each of the group deal with different subtopics. As future primary school teachers, these topics are very important and will be very useful as we will be dealing with young learners. Due to time constrain, only two groups were able to present today. Their topics were ‘1.3 - Children’s capacity for indirect learning’ and ‘1.6 – The instinct for interaction and talk’.

From the first group’s presentation I realised that indirect learning is very crucial for learners especially the younger ones. Indulging them in indirect learning would be fundamental to develop their vocabulary, pronunciation or even their knowledge about phrases. In my opinion, making the pupils to learn indirectly or naturally is much more effective compared to the normal chalk and talk phenomena (direct learning). Indulging pupils in guessing games such as ‘Hang-man’ and ‘Charade’ would be suitable to develop young learners language as it encourages critical thinking as well as creativity which indirectly profits pupils’ learning.

Meanwhile, the second group presented on ‘The instinct for interaction and talk’. This group did a very good job as they gave definition for the words ‘instinct’, ‘interaction’, ‘talk’ and finally an overall definition of the subtopic. Starting their presentation with simple definitions enabled me to understand and cope with their presentation. From my point of view, children love to talk and there is no point for a teacher to control them from talking. Teachers should actually encourage talking as it can develop pupils’ vocabulary, pronunciation and intonation. Therefore, I would say that teacher’s job is not to control pupils from talking but to make the talking more educational and beneficial. This can be done by assigning pair or group works. When pupils work in groups, there will be more chances for them to interact, communicate and share ideas which will eventually develop their language proficiency.

2nd Week

2nd week of PBEY3102, I am ready to accept and absorb new things from today’s lecture. As the first week, this week seems to have its speciality. This week we were introduced to ‘Touch typing’, Skydrive, and Moyea. All the three things introduced this week is also unfamiliar to me. As usual I have to listen carefully to Pn. Foziah’s lecture in order to understand these things.

Firstly, ‘Touch tying’ is a typing skill without looking at the keyboard. Typing without looking at the keyboard? OMG, another herculean task for me. I even make mistakes when I look at the keyboard but now I have to learn to type without looking at the keyboard. How am I going to type without looking at the keyboard? I was really threatened because I could hardly type without looking at the keyboard. Luckily, Pn. Foziah taught us on how and where to place our fingers on the keyboard in order to type without looking at the keyboard. Besides, she also gave us the ‘Typing Test’ software in order to practise typing using both hands and also without looking at the keyboard.

Next, we were introduced to Skydrive. Skydrive is a place where we can store our files and share it with our friends.

On the other hand, by using Moyea, we can create and customize web player which can be embedded in multiple platforms like blogs, websites, forums and so on.

Lastly, we were given a survey questionnaire. The survey was basically about our skills and ability in applying and using the current technological development.

From the today’s lecture and the questionnaire, I realised that, I need to learn more in order to be aligned with current technological development.

1st Week

Name: Kumaresen A/L Mahalingam

Matric No: PEH080022

PBEY 3102- Using and Developing Resources for the ESL Classroom, this is the only thing that I know about this course.

I kept on wondering what am I going to learn in this course since the day I registered for the course. Finally, on the first class of PBEY3102, the mystery that was wondering me was finally revealed. Our lecturer, Pn. Foziah gave brief description of the course and she also introduced us to some new things.

At first I was quite happy because we are going to work more on the computers rather than using paper and pencils, but as the class progresses I was a bit lost.

I was lost because we were asked to create a blog. BLOG???, this word is very familiar to me but frankly speaking I do not know anything about blog except for its spelling..he..he..he.... It took me some time to create the blog and learn to manage it.

Since this course is more to computers and softwares, Pn. Foziah asked us to get at least an 8GB pendrive.

8GB!, the capacity of the pendrive shows how much work we need to carry out later, so friends be READY to start a new adventure.

Next, we were asked to install Adobe Photoshop CS3. I know about this product but never used it, I am very eager to explore it soon.

From the first day’s lecture, I realised that I am far behind compared to the current technological developments and I really hope that I could be aligned with current technological development as well as the progress of this course.