Saturday, October 17, 2009

raya mode is still on!

salam and hi to all,

raya had just passed but i guess, we are still in RAYA mode and the excitement of this awaited festive celebration will never fade! :P

ok, back to business. as what i had already told about the SPiCE instructional design model, today in class, we are told that we need to design a website which is quite similar to the concept of instructional design model that Prof Rohaida showed to us before.

but before that, we need to create a storyboard or should i say a draft on how we want our materials to be organized. the purpose f doing this stroyboard is that so that the concept that we chose will be break into smaller units which will help the learners to have better understanding towards the topic besides to get them to see the relation between each concept and others.
storyboard also help us to see the flow of the website that we are going to create later. and, oh! i almost forgot, the website here will refers to the powerpoint presentation since Prof Rohaida said that PPT is also one of the most powerful tools that can be used in class.

after finish the draft of the storyboard, we went and consult her regarding the materials so that we won't repeat the same mistakes again and again. after gone through the storyboard and listen to some explanation from us, at last she permit us to continue with the topic. and i was quiet satisfied and happy with her decision because this means that we are halfway done! ^_~

now, what's left was to search for the real materials that we are going to put in our designed so-called "Website". as there are 6 peoples in my group, hence we divided the workloads where each of us has a role to be carried out. and as for me, i have to search for mamals and insect's life cycles.we are free to insert anything we like as long as it is related with the topic such as interesting facts, activities, videos or even songs!

wait for next week for more interesting news about the "website" and instructional materials!

ok, pen off

till then,

salam and bye bye bye *_*

SPiCE Learning Model

salam and hi to all,

we meet again here, still in science mood..^_^
and today i would like to present you something which is NEW to me and i'm sure, it's NEW to you as well!

so, this is it
THE SPiCE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN MODEL.

ok, today we have to present on what we have discussed in the last class which is the SPiCE learning model. my group had agreed to choose the topic of GROWTH which is quite interesting to be conducted in class. we will focus on the animal's life cycle where there are the integration of technology during the teaching hour.

as we already get the permission from Prof Rohaida to do this topic, hence, it is time for us to find the materials regarding those things such as -->
- different animal's life cycle
- animal's need
- features of changes in animal's growth
and etc.

i admit that we are actually quite blur about the task given by Prof Rohaida however, as she explained it to us again on how to do it, we manage to get a new and clear picture on this task.

while presenting those materials to the class, Prof Rohaida had corrected us on some things such as we need to give justifications on why we need to use technology while teaching this particular topic. i think, this is the most important thing that needed to be looked furter and we missed it!:(
however, i guess, it is good that Prof Rohaida mention the mistakes since it will help us to see the "flaw" that we can't see in the presentation.

other groups had also present theirs and i found that there are many interesting topics which are being chosen for instance, acid and alkali, forces, food chain and constellation.

after all groups had presented theirs, we were required to do a concept map based on the topic chosen earlier. we find it quite easy and organized since we will do it in a form of a mind map where it allows us to see all the ideas clearly besides help to arrange the flow of it nicely.

mind map or concept map is one of the powerful tools teacher can use in their teaching and learning session in class where it enables students to have easy access to all the information given besides help them in learning very much. concept map helps students to only memorize important things that they need to know in a lesson or topic learnt.

before Prof Rohaida let us go, we need to present our "findings" on the concept map and see whether it is correct or not. there are some mistakes that we do and again, Prof Rohaida rectify it and ask us to improve on it.

i think that's all for now. before i pen off my thoughts, i just want to wish Prof Rohaida and all my classmates

SELAMAT HARI RAYA MAAF ZAHIR DAN BATIN ^_^
have a blast raya and holidays!

till then,

salam and bye bye bye

Thursday, October 15, 2009

welcome Prof. Dr. Rohaida ! ^_^

salam and hi to all,

heh~ i'm quite nervous today since we are going to get a new lecturer [she is supposedly to teach us earlier, but due to some problems, she is being replaced with Mr. Fauzi for a while] which is Prof. Dr. Rohaida Mohd Saat. why do i said that i am nervous?? because i don't know her yet and tend to make some speculations in my mind right now..huhhu~

ok, enough bout that, i guess this time we need to be serious since i'm pretty sure that her approaches might as well be different from his. and we need to get good first impression from her. yes.

so, she went in and introduce herself and straightly taught or in different meaning, introduce us to " Instructional Design Theories". at first, i was quite blur on what this theory is all about and what is the importance of this in our pedagogy in class?but, later on, when she explained to us further on, it struck to me that this is actually very important for us as future teachers to use in class since this instructional design is all about explicit guidance on how to better help pupils' learning and development.

WOW! it is this important until i need to agree that this is very much related on what we are going to deal with later. this is actually a so-called software in which by using this, teachers will be able to identifies methods of instruction in order to find ways to support and facilitate learning process in class. it incorporated the theory of cognitivist and behaviorist where the methods or choice will depend on how our believes and the student's way of learning.

she also introduced us with the SPicE Instructional Design Model. there are 7 steps in this Instructional Design Model which are :

- Identify target audience
- Identify instructional needs
- Analyze instructional strategy
- Performance objective
- Design strategy for instruction
- Develop instructional materials
- Conduct formative evaluation

we need to design our own instructional design model based on the task listed above and i can say that this is quite challenging for a first timer like us. but, i think, we need to get the ball rolling and accept the challenge!

and all in all, i can see that there are differences between prof rohaida's approach and mr. fauzi but i guess, i need to adapt these changes. and for now, i'm quite happy and satisfied with her :)

till then,

salam and bye bye bye

of 21st century skills and integrating technology in classroom

salam and hi to all,

this is the 8th week since i put my steps in UM [i know, its lame to tell the same story but, let it be, i like it this way :P]

ok, this week we have been introduced with two different articles namely "21st century skills curriculum and instructions " as well as "2008 Horizon Report" where these two articles touch more on the aspect of integrating technology in class or teaching and learning session.

the first article focuses more on the subject of 21st century skills and ways of achieving them besides how do we as tecahers to achieve them as well as the impacts to both teachers and learners. we are also discussing on the topic of 21st century students where these our our bunches of future students when we are about for school later. i do feel that we really need enough preparations to handle and deal with these students since we know that kids nowadays are more advanced than the adults, sometimes, they know a lot more than we does and sometimes, what they know might be useful or harmful to them. so, in order to choose the best or to filter any harmful content from "attacking" them, thus it is very important for us to be one step ahead from them.

but, mind you, i am not stating here that we need to be one step ahead of everything; for sure some things are exceptional and seems impossible, but for things like education and all, it is not impossible. we are the one who hold the "power" here since it is all in our hands, so it is us who needs to choose the best way for them. and this is where all the educational discussions, brainstormings, notes, teachings and etc comes in and guide us through the way! ^^,

Besides that, the second article which is the 2008 Horizon Report is more or less discussing the same thing except that this time they have the key points on what to be emphasized and concentrate on. This report has describes six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education within three adoption horizons over the next one to five years and this continues to be a great report to help institutions with their five year plans. in this particular 2008 report, they choose to focus on the following topics:

- Grassroots Video
- Collaboration Webs
- Mobile Broadband
- Data Mashups
- Collective Intelligence
- Social Operating Systems

and this is being conducted in three different adoption horizons namely

a) Time-to-Adoption: One Year or Less
Grassroots Video
Collaboration Webs
b) Time-to-Adoption: Two to Three Years
Mobile Broadband
Data Mashups
c) Time-to-Adoption: Four to Five Years
Collective Intelligence
Social Operating Systems

what i can say is that, I GAINED A LOT through the discussion and really feels the urge to be well versed in technology [ not only technology but how to use it so that it would benefit us to the maximum] so that i am able to hold this knowledge and give it to my studnets later.

before i forget, this would be our last class with beloved mr. fauzi since his contract is already over and Prof. Rohaida will take over his place. he's a GREAT lecturer i must say and that i'm very comfortable being in his class. heh~ my safety need is being fulfilled, i guess :P
so, here, i just want to wish he A GOOD LUCK IN HIS FUTURE UNDERTAKING AND DON'T FORGET US. THANK YOU SIR FOR EVERYTHING ^_^

well, i think, that's about it. pen off.

till then,

salam and bye bye bye

p/s: btw, wants to know more? read these links
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/documents/21st_century_skills_curriculum_and_instruction.pdf
http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2008-Horizon-Report.pdf

Sunday, September 13, 2009

interesting softwares for teachers

salam and hi to all
still in the middle of Ramadhan, the awaited holy month :)
for this 7th week of science class we were told to search for interesting softwares for teachers to be used in classroom. as we are having various approaches in order to create FUN in learning, hence finding the most interesting websites or softwares were quite challenging.

i prefer the one which we can download it so that if there is no internet connection, we can still use the softwares without having to depend solely on it. that is why i keep on searching for websites that can be downloaded but it seems like there's none of it in the internet. so, i decided to just use and utilize what i have so that at the end of the day, i will be able to produce something useful and related with the subject.

learning is FUN actually, but it has to depend on the teacher on how they are going to control and conduct the class. managing class through the right way could create excitement among primary school students. i wish to become an "awaited" teacher one day----> meaning that, all my students will be waiting for me to enter the class because they like me very much!!!! ^_^
but, i guess there's long way to go before i could get what i want.

ok, back to our topic, i just want to share what i've found after browsing through couples of websites and these websites are just interesting and fun enough to be used in class as an additional work. CHECK IT OUT!
Funschool : http://funschool.kaboose.com/


Science news for kids: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/

Yahoo! Kids: http://kids.yahoo.com/science


British Council: http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids.htm
lastly, i hope this will benefit all of us in finding new ideas on how to enhance teaching in class.
till then,
salam and bye bye bye

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

salam and hi to all,

i just want to share something which is quite interesting about technology. so, JUST ENJOY! ^_^


10 INTERESTING 21ST CENTURY EDUCATIONAL QUOTES

1-Technology is only technology to those who were born before it.

2-We need to prepare students for THEIR future not OUR past.
Ian Jukes, educator and Futurist

3-Teachers need to stop saying, “Hand it in,” and start saying “Publish It.”
Alan November

4-We have moved from “know what” learning to “know where” learning.

5-The largest number of podcasts in education are about Podcasts in education.
Marco Torres

6-Kids DO want to learn, but schools get in the way.

7-Digital Media enables us to build more stages for our kids to express themselves.
Marco Torres

8-What gets us in trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know that just ain't so.
Mark Twain

9-We need to replicate in the classroom the world in which students are living.

10-If we teach today the way we were taught yesterday we aren't preparing students for today or tomorrow.


REMEMBER, we are dealing with 21st century kids which are more advanced than their teachers [most of them]. they might just looked like this ;



and this ....

or who knows, THIS?



and this....


or even this??


so, what is our roles to make us able to catch up with them?? hmmmm...food for thought, aite?
till then,
salam and bye bye bye ^_^

evaluating course ware

salam and hi to all,

without we realize it, it has been 6th week since we entered UM and enrolled in this science class. as always, life has never been easy on us and it required hardwork and sacrifices if we want to succeed in life. but, as long as we keep on trying, believe me, ALLH will never turn us down!

ok, now back to our topic of reflection. we learnt new things today and it was on the EVALUATION OF SCIENCE COURSE WARE OR MATERIALS. as i mentioned the word resources, it is understood that it must be regarding internet, teaching materials, computers, interesting websites, powerpoint presentation and so on and so forth. we were also required to present our findings on the evaluation of the course ware.

my group and i had decided to use an example of powrpoint presentation to be evaluated which has been found in the internet. it is about sounds and it merely taught students on the different kinds of sounds for example string equipment, percussion and etc. based on the powerpoint, we had come out with a checklist on whether the material is good to be used in class or not. we also prepares some suggestions or alternatives that can be done if it is not suitale to be used in pacticular classes.

while doing this, it struck to me that being a teacher is not an easy job where everyone thinks it is. it really required someone to be hardworking and creative so that we were able to attract student's attention in the classroom. dealing with students was not a simple work which can be taken for granted! remember, we are dealing with students or should i say, KIDS! K-I-D-S! they know what they want and are clever enough to not just accepting what we give them. hence, it is utmost important for us to prepare teaching materials which is fun and interesting so as to attract their attention and interest.

there are some of interesting websites that can be explored by us so as to enhance our etaching in class. apart from helping us in preparing good teaching resources, it also gives us opportunity to broad our teaching scope and to aviod us from just focusing on one aspects of learning only. so, here, i will give some of the interesting links that might help in preparing materials for teaching. hope it will benefit us to the maximum!

http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities.html

http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic86.htm#1

http://mmh.lethsd.ab.ca/games/top100.htm

http://www.moe.gov.my/bpk/


till then,

salam and bye bye ^_^