Shares of thoughts on ICT

1. If you had the chance would you utilize ICT (CALL) in your teaching?
Yes, i'll seize the chance to try out different approach to my teaching provided that the facilities are there and students are inclined towards ICT. More and more students nowadays are showing interest towards ICT as there would always be rapid and constant advancement in the ICT world which seems to attract them. However, the biggest concern is that facilities are often lacking and it seems to be the main issue among teachers in schools when it comes to this question of using ICT (CALL) in teaching their students. Referring to my own experience during my Practicum in one of the schools in Klang, the techologies are there but often only 'for display'. For instance, every classroom has an LCD and teachers just need to bring a laptop into the classroom in order to use the LCD to project any lessons to their students. However, other issues may arise, such as the setting up of the equipments, competency in using the computer and the limitation of time in class. Honestly, up to the end of the practicum, i've never been to the computer lab (i dont even know whether there is any), and this situation is very bad. I think that teachers just wont bother to add more hassle to their daily teaching as most of them prefer to resort to the traditional teaching of whiteboard & marker pen.

2. How do you think it would help (or would not help) your students to learn English?
I've always believed in the power of motivation in learning. I think that ICT in classroom would be one of the ways to cultivate students' motivation, thus helping them to learn English. The main differences between traditional classroom teaching & implementing ICT would be the level of effectiveness in terms of visual & audio aids. ICT helps lessons to be more interactive & promote creativity among students. This would lead to better cognitive development among them and create a sense of fun learning in class. I was once a student in school and i have to admit that facing the teacher, white/blackboard, listening to endless instructions & teaching, doing piles of homework was NOT fun at all. By integrating ICT into classroom, students would at least divert from traditional teaching to another approach to learning. It is vital to inject changes in the classroom to avoid students from getting bored while retaining their attention towards the lesson.

3. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of implementing CALL in the Malaysian schools?
Advantages: promote alternatives into classroom, thus helping education field to move forward and not remain stagnant especially in this era where globalisation in learning is very much talked about.
Disadvantages: changes in school's system/policy may need to be done. A lot of things would need to be revised so that CALL could be implemented effectively. Teachers may need to adjust to the changes and come out of their 'comfort zone'.

4. What are the barriers in implementing CALL in the Malaysian classroom?
Barriers as discussed in Q.1 would be financial constraint and constant funding to ensure optimum performance from all parties(teacher,technologies,school admin). That would be the physical aspect. As for the individual, mentality and attitude towards CALL is another barrier. So long as there is still negative attitude towards ICT, CALL would never benefit anyone because of the rejection and refusal to try out implementing CALL in the Malaysian classroom. Solution? Teachers, students, parents, schools and the community as a whole must not be afraid to change and just face the challenges that may come.

Please also include any other comments/thoughts/ideas on this topic

WWW LESSON PLAN

E-Holiday Brochure

LEVEL : Form 1

TIME : 35 minutes

AIMS : To gather information about places of interest in Malaysia; practice using adjectives to describe places.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:

One computer per group of 2 – 3 students, with an Internet connection and a Web Browser.

Website: http://www.goborneo.com/discoverer/mulucaves.htm

PREPARATION:

1. Browse for sites related to Mulu caves.
2. Check selected site for any grammar error before lesson.

PROCEDURE:

1. Invite students to share about interesting places that they have visited in Malaysia. Write name of places on the board.
2. Ask students to describe briefly what they remember most about those places. Jot down descriptions on the board.
3. Instruct students to access the given website address (URL) and read through the brochure on Mulu.
4. Inform students that they need to read through the e-brochure and fill in the blanks on the worksheet given.
5. Students note any new words that are unfamiliar to them and try to figure out the meaning with the help from peers and teacher.
6. When students have completed the worksheet, they should be able to talk about Mulu National Park and provide factual information about the place.
7. If time permits, students try to locate other websites related to interesting places in Malaysia by choosing any places that they want to explore.
8. Tell students to prepare a mind map of their own related to the place of interest, using facts that they have obtained from the websites explored.
9. Students can paste the mind maps on the notice board.

TESTINGTESTING123 hypertext&hypermedia

Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India, on October 2nd 1869. His father died when he was still a teenager. At the age of 13 he married Kasturba Gandhi who was three years younger and the marriage lasts for 62 years until her death in 1944.As a young man Gandhi left India to study law in London. Then he spent two decades working in South Africa securing rights for Indian expatriates. It was during this time that his political reform through non-violence which he called Satyagraha was born. This movement meant resistance of tyranny through mass civil disobedience, firmly founded upon ahimsa, total non violence, which led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. This way, when he returned to India, Mohandas Gandhi emerged as a political and religious leader in the fight for independence from Great Britain and was accorded the country's Father of the Nation. India freed itself from Britain on August 15th, 1947. Five months later, on January 25th, 1948 Gandhi was shot by a conservative Hindu.

CALL/CALLT Website Evaluation
http://www.manythings.org

Q1: According to the website's description, which can be found at the bottom of the homepage, the website is aimed at the ESL (English as a Second Language) learners, followed by those EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners as well as the native speakers of the English Language. I find it to be interesting because it accomodates to beginners by having a section called "Easy Things For Beginners", where users who are new to the language as well as the website might want to start off doing easier tasks before exploring and advancing to a more comprehensive level.
The difference (just a reminder of the terms)

• ESL: those learning English within an English speaking country
  
• EFL: those learning English within a non-English speaking region
• Native Speakers: whose 1st language is English Language

Q2: There is a menu bar on the left-hand side of the website which clearly outlines the preferred topic which users might want to explore. For instance, if I am interested to look into sentence pattern, all i have to do is just click on the 'Sentence Pattern' category and activities related to the sentence pattern will be ready for users to choose from. Most of the activities are very interactive because it involves games and as I went through the activities, I had fun and was eager to explore other features on the website. If a user wish to look into other categories, all he/she has to do is to click on the menu located at the top-center of the website, where there would be a drop-down menu available for the ease of users to explore the website faster. The navigation is simple enough for a user to manipulate the content of the website in their quest to learn the English Language.

Q3: As I have mentioned above, the website is simple and easy to use. A user just have to know how to get to he website, using the mouse to point at the preferred category and click their way to fun learning! However, there are several learning content which require certain applications before a user is able to move forward into learning using this website. For instance, the listening and hearing practice requires RealAudio before the content can be assessed by users. Other contents such as the Podcasts/Songs/Jokes section requires Flash 4 or a newer version in order to view its content which include digital media files. java-enabled browser is also one of the application needed for some of the activities. Thus, a user who is not familiar with downloading files or installing program might find it difficult to assess some contents of the website.

Q4: Honestly, I have to admit that what I have learned during my CALL class for the past few weeks had some similarities to the activities in this website. E.g.: The MS Word activity & HotPotato program.
The beginners activity which involves some drag and drop exercise, matching activity as well as arranging word in the correct order really remind me of the tihngs that I have done during my CALL lessons. It was really meaningful because I finally get to relate things that I have learned in class to things that I do on my own outside the classroom. Though it may sound too simple for some people. as for me, I truly enjoyed the exercises and activities.

Q5: I think that this question on what setting will the website best used in is somehow quite subjective. I have to say that it really depends on the competency of the user. Competency here refers to the English proficiency level as well as the how good is the user's computer skills. For example, if the user is competent in the English Language and understands every bit of then content of the website, BUT do not possess any computer skills, he/she might find it difficult to assess the website. The same goes for those who may be very good in computer but do not possess good command of the English Language, he/she may find it difficult to understand the content of the website. In short, a teacher is needed to guide these type of users.Thus, assuming that a person is competent (both in English+Computer), then only this website is best used in an independent study lab.

Q6: I would say that this website is based on the Behavioristic CALL theory. This is because I can see a lot of drills and repetition exercises for users, conglatulatory messages as well as tracking of scores when a learner achieves the right answer. This is perhaps to reinforce the motivation of the user and in a way 'transforming' a computer to what a real teacher might say to a real student in a real classroom situation. I am not sure if this is a Communicative CALL website due to the fact that there is no discussion involved when doing the exercises. However, I personally think that this website does stimulate critical thinking when going through the exercises and contents.

Q7: Gardner's Multiple Intelligence
There are 6 multiple intelligences outlined by Howard Gardner. Now this is what I feel could be accomplished through this website. I feel that the user can achieve Linguistic Intelligence and Intrapersonal Intelligence. I do not know if everyone agrees, but here are my views on these two intelligences. As for Linguistic Intelligence, the website helps users to learn languages and perhaps after a period of timen, helps users to effectively use the language. All that matters is the degree of this Linguistic Intelligence- whether it is achieved at a high, medium or low level. On the other hand, Intrapersonal Intelligence is directed more towards understanding oneself and appreciating one's feeling such as motivation. Earlier on, I have mentioned that this website contents conglatulatory messages and tracking of scores which are closely related to motivation in learning. Thus, this website may in a way instill Intrapersonal Intelligence in a person and helps user to grow more positively as a person.

Vygotsky's Constructivist Theory
Vygotsky intoduced Social Constructivism theory in learning. Logically, I think that we can rule out Social Constructivism because the only elements most likely to be involved during learning through this website are Computer and the User. Perhaps a teacher might get involved but this still does not help to achieve the social constructivism process. Thus, Vygotsky's theory is not applied to this website.

Q8: Master vs Slave. I feel that there is no one ultimate answer to label the computer as either one of those. In my opinion, the role of computer is interchangable. It does not stick to one role only because it may rapidly change, depending very much on the context surrounding it. Quite ironic i think, due to the fact that it takes over our daily activities but could never be a Master without us operating it. Unless, if there is a Robot computer in the future! So, i guess that it is more of 'an obedient servant to students'. We click and we direct our own learning. In short, we need the computer to learn and the computer needs us to handle it. :)

Q9: Would i like to use the website in my future work? YES because now I find it interesting and perhaps NO in the future because there might be other more advance website coming up! So I'll just wait and see.

Q10: I think that the website should include some communicative elements where users get to interact with other users (via forum, e-mail or online discussion/conference) as this would help learners to feel that they a part of a learning community and not just a user out of many other users of the website.

Prepared by: Emily Mabel Livan Michael (2004327268) 190808 1625hrs

CLICK n DRAG!

This is an exercise on idioms created using the MS Word, designed for beginners and is a very simple exercise to complete.

Exercise using cut and paste

Ta-da!

Well, what do you think of my blog?
It was very difficult finding items that I like but at the same time not so painful to the eyes!

Here's what I added since the last time:-

• A new layout - because Spongebob is funny!
• Hello Kitty -just because i want to hv a collection of it.
  
• My tag board - be sure to leave a message if you drop by!
• A blogroll - my nearest and drearest :)

Well, it was fun (and tiring for the eyes) doing this. Who knew the Internet has so many templates to be discovered. (snicker!)
'Til the next post! ;)