*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.