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Part 2: Presentation Continued [IWB Assignment]

19th September 2007 – The presentations on IWB products were continued with the rest of the groups not presented last week. I would depict the scene at MK2 similar to last week. It seems that the faces in MK2 were again filled with amazement. One could not stop admiring each of the products presented.

Everyone seated in the cinema (MK2) was eager to watch

the PART 2

Below are some of the products presented by my course mates:
- Hanna present on her product to teach Time (Mathematics)
- Iz with her lesson on the topic Money- I find this lesson to be quite confusing.
- Nad came up with her poem in her product. I like the spinning tool from the smart board tools utilized here.
- Alison presented a Science lesson on Food Chain.

Today, my group had to present one of the selected products too. Actually, we were in the midst of deciding whose lesson to be presented until the last moment. Finally, it was Nanthini’s to be presented.

It is a lesson on Countable and Uncountable Nouns. Actually, this lesson is simple yet practical and meaningful to be used with young pupils who still developing the concept on Nouns. The first part of the lesson deals with a self-discovery learning where pupils will have to write their answers in the space provided on the IWB. Following that, pupils can drag the stars at the bottom of page to check if their answers are correct. Next, pupils will move on to a simple task of classifying done by dragging the correct object into the boxes (person, place, thing) specified. After that, pupils can write their answer on what are countable and uncountable nouns. The answers can be checked by using the eraser in the smart board. The most interesting part of this lesson is the nouns and ladder game at the end of the lesson. This is to replace to traditional snake and ladder game. It is something new for pupils to try out snake and ladder using IWB. This game will be able to attract pupils’ interest.

The activities presented by Techno_thinkers:

To recap, all the products or courseware presented last week and this week are wonderful and amazing. I never thought that all of us could come up with interesting activities because we are novice learners in this field. But we have prove that we will strive hard to master the skill of manipulating IWB and smart board tools to contribute to pupils’ learning.

Part 1: Presentation [IWB Assignment due]

12th September 2007 – Have you ever been in cinema and watched a number of tremendous shows in a row continuously without being able to rate which was better than the other? I had a number of experiences of watching a few shows/movies in a row but could pin point the weaknesses as well as the strength of the show besides rating it. But watching the presentations on IWB lessons was something unusual. How should I describe it? (thinking). I could only say, “Wow…. Amazing smart board lessons were released in cinema!”

The lab (MK2) was like a cinema. The presenters were like a professional artist on stage while the rest were like a big bunch of audience who are enjoying themselves with excitement and full of surprise. The only technical hitch was that the IWB (imagine as the cinema screen) was not functioning in the beginning but our technical crews managed to fix the problem (Ms. Ng & Ms. Chin manage to fix it). Due to the technical problem, the show was delayed but it did not lessen the interest of the audience. They are willing to have the show the following week. Fortunately, our technical crews have managed to fix it. Hence, we were able to start the presentation.

Yes, the IWB lessons presented were all amazing and I could not say which one was better. All the lessons were great in its own way because each lesson is unique and interesting. I was speechless when I saw the lessons presented. It was really good and some of these ideas never crossed my mind before. I was really impressed with each of my friends’ product. I am sure, young pupils will be attracted to these lessons and want to be involved in the activity. It is indeed true, SMARTBOARD can do miracle.

All together we only had time for six groups to present the chosen lesson. Ms. Teoh started the ball rolling with her Mathematics lesson on a topic of Money. Wow, there were 100 slides in her lesson. The activities were design in a way that it will really cater with the needs of the pupils as well as the teacher. This is because, there is a session called ‘Teacher Guide’ for each activity which is linked to the procedure and rationale of the activity. This will be useful for the teacher when using the activity. Teacher will not have to think of ways to carry out the activity. Teacher can just refer to the procedure and either follow it or modify it based on the current needs. However, in my humble opinion, 100 slides can be quite confusing. Although, the links are provided to go back to the content page, there will be some confusion if the teacher needs to return to the third question or answer in a different activity to show the pupils some related skills.

Following that, Jeng Yeong presented his superb IWB lesson on a mathematics topic, Time. He used fun animated clips in his lesson with a story. It was a good idea to incorporate story in a Math lesson to contextualize the content. I guess everyone was entertained with his lesson since everyone was laughing out loud. This is indeed a good sign because young pupils need to be engaged in fun learning environment. According to Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypotheses, one learns better if the level of anxiety is low. That means, pupil should not feel threaten to lower their level of anxiety. Instead, pupils should enjoy the lesson.

Next, Lina came up with a brilliant idea of having the pupils to catch the thief using direction. When I saw her lesson, I could recall my childhood memories where we often play games like catching the thief. Pupils will definitely be interested in this lesson, since they can now catch a thief in the classroom using IWB tools.

Here comes Ashah (my ex-roommate, ex-housemate but still a loving friend). Ashah represented her group to present a Science lesson prepared by Anis. I am sure all my course mates whom are taking Science would have felt relieved by now. The lesson was about life cycle of animal. There was integration of video clip of the life cycle of a frog. This will provide pupils opportunity to observe the cycle step by step.

The next actor on stage was Azlan (my classmate, Resourcesaurus group mate- nice working with you, Azlan). He came up with a simple yet interesting lesson. There was a lot of effort put in. I noticed he was having difficulty in handling the IWB. I guess it is still a major problem for most of us.

Before the curtain draws, Mellisa (my great..great ...friend) the great actress step forward with her usual expressions of excitement. Mel presented a lesson on a science topic, SPACE. Well, the design and layout of the lesson slides are eye-catching thus would definitely captivate pupils’ attention. I personally did try out this lesson and I really find it interesting. (Mel, I love the part where pupils have to drag the planet to its name)

The show ended and I could see various expressions on the audience but most obvious was the feeling of amazement. The rest of the groups will continue to present next week. My group will be presenting next week as well. Hopefully, it will turn out well. Prof mentioned that she was really impressed with all our works. Actually, today is the due date to upload the IWB assignment into AIRSET. Today I have learnt a lot of tricks and technigues of smart board tools when designing a lesson. The presentation also has opened my eyes to believe that SMARTBOARD do not restricts one's creativity when designing a lesson.

Note: There were two guests present in the lab. (I am not sure of their names)

Part 2: Discussion Continued & Progress report on IWB lesson

5th September 2007 – Continuation of the previous CONFERENCE … Well, we actually decide to work on our own IWB lesson. At the same time, we did help each other in giving new ideas to be included in the lesson. It was merely a preparation session for each of us.

I took this opportunity to collect material for my lesson. Actually, the NOTEBOOK software installed in my PC has got a very few gallery items that I need. I do not know why I have only a number of items while some of my friends have got a vast number of gallery items in their NOTEBOOK software. Since I am developing a lesson on time, I need pictures like clock face and hands of the clock. I need those pictures as separate items because, I want to develop an activity where the teacher or pupils can move and rotate the hands of clock to show different times. I also gathered other suitable and interesting pictures which might be useful later on. Thus, I occupy my time by copying and saving these gallery items to my pen drive. I have transferred the gallery items to my NOTEBOOK software in my PC. (Yahooooo…. Now, I can further develop my IWB assignment with these gallery items)

Let me further report on my progress on IWB assignment:
After a lot of brain-squeezing, I made up my mind on the main activity to be included in the lesson. The learning area I am focusing is on reading and writing time. Thus, I plan to design an activity where pupils will have to read time by looking at the clock displayed on the screen and choose the correct answer box on the Interactive White Board (IWB). This activity can be either a pair or a group activity.

How to conduct the activity:

1. After the teacher has finished teaching the pupils the function of the hour and minute hand on the clock, the teacher will proceed with this activity.
2. Teacher will first divide pupils into groups of five.
3. Then, teacher explains the rules of the activity:
   * After reading the time, pupils have to discuss their answer in their group
   * Teacher will randomly pick a pupil from any group.
4. Teacher display the first question with a clock showing time and 3 answer options.
5. Pupils will discuss and decide on their answer in their groups.
6. Teacher randomly selects a pupil from a group to step forward and touch the correct answer box on the IWB.
7. Depending on their answer, an instant feedback page will appear (Good or Try Again).
8. Steps 4-6 are carried out with the rest of the questions in this activity.
   

Actually I need those gallery items retrieved from the computer in MK2 for the activity mentioned above. Before that, will be an input session on the function of the hands of clock and how to read time.

For the set induction activity, I have prepared a simple yet interesting activity. I name it as MINI TREASURE HUNT. In this activity, pupils will have to identify the hidden clocks and watches in a bedroom by Dragging and Dropping it in the box provided. Here too, pupils can be engaged with the activity by having them manipulating the SMARTBOARD tools. I am still seeking idea for the follow up activity to complete the lesson. Overall, I am still working on it with a taste of both coffee and chocolate drink. WHY? It taste bitter like coffee when I have so much of trouble handling the smart board tools and taste sweet like chocolate drink when I manage to handle it.

Back to the events in the lab:
Ms. Chin gave us some useful web addresses which will be useful for designing lessons in the classroom.
Below are some of the website addresses given:
- http://www.tutor.com.my
- http://eleaston.com
- http://portalbahasamelayu.fateback.com/index1.htm (do visit this website, you can find out more about Ms.Chin – she is the author)

Later on, Prof Raja came to check on our progress. Prof did ask mine to check on it. Unfortunately, the file I saved into my thumb drive could not be opened. That was when I realized that the Smart Board files can be opened in a PC provided it has the similar version installed in it. After going through some of my classmate’s lesson, Prof gave her opinion and informed us on some important aspect to be taken into consideration while designing the lesson. It is the learning outcomes. Prof told us that learning outcome should be measurable or observable. The changes in pupils’ behaviour should be clearly stated. (I will discuss further on this under the heading ‘What I have Learnt’)

What have I learnt today?

1. What is learning outcome – “statements that specify what learners will know or be able to do as a result of a learning activity. Outcomes are usually expressed as knowledge, skills, or attitudes.”( http://www.aallnet.org/prodev/outcomes.asp)
2. Characteristics of good learning outcome :
   - Pupils’ action measurable
   - Pupils’ action observable
   - Action done by learners
3. “Avoid starting learning outcomes with the words such as “understand”, “learn”, “know”, etc. since these indicate internal mental processes for the students. Focus instead on what students will be able to do, produce, or demonstrate”. (http://www.merritt.edu/apps/comm.asp?$1=40647)

Here, I would like to share some good websites on how to write learning outcomes:
http://www.k-state.edu/assessment/slo/verbs.htm
http://www.merritt.edu/apps/comm.asp?$1=40647
http://www.aallnet.org/prodev/outcomes.asp

Next week, we shall see various groups presenting their lessons. Can wait to see it! Thank you for reading.

Part 1: Discussion on IWB Assignment

29th August 2007 – On this bright, sunny day, a number of mini conferences was held at MK2. ….CONFERENCE?…… Actually, today we had discussion on our major assignment related to SMARTBOARD in our respective groups. We are required to design a lesson to be incorporated with the use of smart board tools and Interactive White Board (IWB). We have to integrate the use of smart board tools for English, Mathematics or Science topics. Each group member is to produce a lesson. My leader has already divided the work to us on a democracy basis last week. Tussna, Nanthini and Loura will be working toward producing an English lesson each while Lali, Maisarah and I will be working on a Mathematics topic each.

Introducing the members of TECHNO_THINKERS present at the Conference. Doesn’t it sound professional? (sigh). Unfortunately, none of the delegates present are techno-savvy. We are all novice to this ICT. However, we will not give up to produce a good lesson each despite of all the obstacles namely lack of ICT skills.

My group discussion was led by Ms. Maisarah, our leader. Maisarah gets the ball rolling with some housekeeping matters namely on the topic chosen and on our progress. Each of us explained our ideas briefly to the group members to let them know the reason why we chose a particular topic and a rough idea of the lesson. The rest gave feedback to each other to further improve on our lesson ideas. It is indeed crucial to have a valid reason for choosing a particular topic to be integrated with the use of IWB. This is because, not all topics are suitable for use with IWB. This has been mentioned by Prof Raja and also has been clearly highlighted in the Assignment 2 outline posted in the Moodle. Thus, it is crucial to discuss why one chose a particular topic so that we can correct each other if we are not in the right track.

Since, I have been assigned to do a Mathematic lesson, I chose to do the topic of TIME.

Why I chose the topic of Time for my IWB lesson?

The very reason why I chose this particular topic is because time has often been traditionally conducted by using clock face and so on. Often pupils are asked to read and write time by looking at the hands of the clock either on real clock or on diagrams of clocks. But are the children really involved in the lesson? It is something questionable. Young learners might be just reading the time by pouring back what they have memorized. Perhaps they have memorized the hands on the clock from 1pm to 2pm (1.05 pm, 1.10pm, 1.15pm etc). Thus, they will be able to read time within this range. However, they may face difficulty, when they are required to read time beyond this range. For that reason, children should be exposed to the real concept of time in order to enable them to read and write time successfully. Learning how to tell time is a skill that will last a lifetime. Learning how to tell time has never been so easy. Based on the Constructivism Theory, one learns better by constructing their own knowledge. Therefore, it is crucial, to engage children in the lesson so that they can construct the concept of time on their own.

Hence, by incorporating the lesson with the use of smart board tools and IWB, teachers can actually evaluate pupil’s understanding. Teacher will be able to detect if pupils have not acquired the time concept. This is because; IWB lessons are aimed for hands on activity to engage the pupils. In that case, pupils can manipulate the smart board tool to show their understanding.

Back to the discussion (conference):
I am still working on my lesson. I really need to look into many other aspects like pupils’ level, learning outcome and practicality in order to produce a quality product. As usual I was playing the role of assistant leader to remind the rest of the important criteria to be considered while preparing the lesson. Some of the criteria were the lesson should be aimed for upper level pupils and to make sure all pupils will be involved in the lesson.

Before signing off, I would like to thank Ms. Chin for giving us some brief ideas on how are we suppose to carry out the task. Ms. Chin showed us some sample lessons prepared by seniors and some master students. It was really useful. Ms. Chin also explained to us that we are supposed to come up with a lesson of minimum 5 slides due to the quarries made.

After S.E.V.E.N weeks

22nd August 2007 – Today we are moving into the seventh week of the semester. Yes….S.E.V.E.N……1..2..3..4..5..6..7th week. Having gone through half of the semester, I have really gained a lot of input on ICT skills needed in education.

“People, do you know what are we going to learn today?” (checking the moodle web to see if there is any announcement regarding the class)

Having no pre-conceived knowledge on what we are up to, I was so not prepared for the lesson.

Soon after that, Prof Raja came in. All eyes were directed on her. I guess everyone was eager to know the agenda of the day. Alright, let us move on to the focus points of the day:

First of all, Prof started off the class with some house keeping matters. This is indeed very crucial for each and every one of us since we will reflect on our progress. There are few questions posed by Prof which made me to reflect on my task development.

1. How many post have you published so far?
2. Have you commented on others’ blog?
3 Have you been participating in the discussion board?

In my personal view, one does not need to answer this question to others. One should just answer to themselves. In fact, I did recall my own development in blogging. I realized that I should improve on my blogs. Prof also told us that we need to visit others’ blog and comment on theirs in order to invite others to our blog. Later they will visit us back.

Next, Prof brief us on the smartboard assignment. We were informed on the criteria to be looked into in order to complete the assignment. The following are some of the criteria:

- minimum 5 slides
- lesson for level 2 pupils
- rationale of the activity
- guidelines or procedures of the activity

Some sample assignments by seniors were displayed. One of my classmate was chosen to carry out a story telling session using the sample lesson. I really find it interesting. Now I understand how IWB lessons can help teachers to make the lesson more interesting and engage learners in the lesson. Having a better understanding of how to go about with the IWB assignment, we have divided the work and planned to further discuss on our ideas and topic for the lesson. My progress will be posted in coming entries.

Till then, have a nice day.

Smart Board.

1. Do you understand the basic knowledge using Note book function in SMART board? If yes which part that you understand most? If not why you did not understand

Yes, I do understand whatever has been taught. This is because, most of the basic features in the SMART Note book is similar to the one in Microsoft Word. The most memorable basic skill that I have really acquired is how to change the font and how use the infinite clone function. It is very useful indeed if we have to get a large number of the similar picture or text.

2. Do you understand the basic knowledge to use gallery feature and attachment picture in SMART board incorporate for teaching English vocabulary for standard 4 students?

Yes, this is another simple element. However it is more complicated and need a lot of practice to master this skill.

3. Do you find that SMART board is useful tool to support in teaching and learning? If yes, why it is useful? If not, what is the problem?
This is a tough question. I am yet to decide on this matter. Well, to certain extent I would say SMART board is useful tool to support in teaching and learning. For insatnce, it makes the life of the educators is easier. It also motivates children to learn due to the fun element like the animations which the SMART board offer. However, it is still questionable, whether it is really effective since it takes time to prepare the materials using SMART board, when one is not skillful in it.