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.

Workshop on Poster Designing

Abstarct:
8th August 2007 - Today we had a special guest who carry out a simple workshop on creating a poster. We were to work in our own group to come up with a poster and need to be presented. Pn. Nazirah also introduce some tips in creating a good poster. The theme is on Independence Day. One limitation in this workshop is that we are allowed to utilized the pictures given only. The end product was good. All groups came up with attractive and meaningful poster.

8 August 2007 – Today a special session on creating a poster took place at MK2.

“Oh Gosh! Surprise! What surprise is awaiting there?” (stepping into the Education Tower @ Menara Pendidikan)

We have been informed in advance via e-mail that there will be a surprise for today’s lesson. Actually, I have been looking forward for today’s lesson as I thought we will be taught on how to use the Interactive White Board (IWB) and the Smart Board tools. For the past 5 weeks, I have been staring at the IWB which stands firmly at MK2. Hmm….my guessing was wrong. Nevertheless, there was something interesting stored for us. We are to undergo a session on creating a poster conducted by this young lady named Ms. Nazirah. This activity is called Designing for Interaction and students’ Collaboration (DISC).

Prior to the poster designing session, we had our cute, Ms. Chin starting off the class by giving a brief lecture on ‘Konsep Pembestarian Sekolah’. It is all about the government’s initiatives to achieve the aim and vision of education in Malaysia. Due to time constraint, Ms Chin had to rush through the lecture. Fortunately, we have technology as we can retrieve the slides and notes from the following websites. (Thank you, Ms. Chin for providing us with this information)
- http://www.smkchanglun.net/bestari
- http://www.moe.edu.my/tvp

Back to the core event of the day:

DISC is actually designed to be carried out with Malaysian primary pupils of 10 to 12 years old, in conjunction with Malaysia’s 50th independence celebration. This activity involves designing A4 sized posters using Microsoft PowerPoint. This session was carried out with us to experiment it before being implemented with the children’s.

We were given 45 minutes to complete this task. After that, each group has to present their poster to the rest. All the groups came up with fantastic posters but some of us have overlooked at simple things like font size and colour. There is still room for improvement. After all this is the first ever experience designing poster using Power Point Software for most of us.

Having gone through this session, we are required to answer for the following questions.

Here it goes…..

Did you face any problem during the session? Why?
I personally did not face any major problem during the session. It was quite smooth that I could sail through it. However, I feel that the activity restrict one from thinking out of the box. This is because, we are to design the poster using the limited pictures provided only. I understand, when carried out with young children, it is aimed to guide them. But it is like over guiding them until restricts their creativity. Besides that, my group had a tough time to select a picture to be included in the poster. In my humble opinion, everyone has their own definition for independence (kemerdekaan). Thus, when one is asked to select a picture out of the few options, one might hesitate because the meaning of the pictures may differ from theirs. Providing a collection of specific pictures put them at stake to ignore their own perception.

What do you think of the instruction?
The role of the instructions was the most significant one in this session. The instruction given was comprehensible and clear. It was straight to the point and not confusing to me. Ms Nazirah tried very hard to convey her message using simple terminologies. She realizes that not all of us are used to this technological terms, hence she adapt to our needs. I would also say she was being aware who her audiences were. She also gave some examples to make it clearer. For instance, she displayed the sample instruction on the smart board to make it clearer to us while explaining.

What improvements can you suggest?
Perhaps, more pictures can be provided. This will allow them to think of various themes instead of restricting the title and their thought to the picture. Searching pictures from the internet would be another idea.

How would you carry out this design session with primary level pupils?

I would introduce, to them a few samples of posters. Once they have a clear idea what is a poster, I will proceed with the session by teaching various method to design poster like using Paint and so on. Then, I will teach them how to create posters using PowerPoint software. Prior to that, I will explain clearly what is to be done and how is to be done?I will also demonstrate while introducing. After that, I will ask them to work in groups of 3 to design a poster on their own with the theme, Malaysiaku Gemilang given. Once pupils start working on oit, I will go around facilitating them

Here I have uploaded the poster designed by my group.

You are welcomed to comment on my group's poster. Thank you.

How to Prepare an effective PowerPoint Presentation

25th July 2007 – Today’s lecture was actually a continuation from the previous lesson.

“Who is this pretty Chinese girl?” (a Chinese girl stepped into MK2)

We are introduced to this new face, Ms Ng as our facilitator. “Ooppss…. Not merely a young girl or lady….but a young facilitator too” She looks stern yet sweet and pretty.
Prof Raja Maznah informed us that Ms Ng will be giving a lecture on how to prepare a good PowerPoint slideshow presentation. Last week (18th July), all the groups came up with fantastic slide shows despite of the time constraint. However, the comments received explain that there is room for improvement. Hence, it is indeed a golden opportunity for all of us to learn how to develop effective PowerPoint slides, for future use.

First and foremost, I would like to thank Ms. Ng for highlighting an important matter which has been lingering in my mind for the past years whenever there was a PowerPoint presentation taking place. Let me ask you people this question, ‘What do you feel if a speaker faces his back and reads out every single word from the slides instead of interacting with the audience?’ I assume most of you will be annoyed and some might even switch off. I certainly agree with Ms. Ng on this matter. Why one have to read it to me? I can read it by myself. It is as if the speaker doubts one’s reading skill. Often, people dress up when they are to be the presenter in order to be the centre of attraction during the presentation. If one is going to read chunk by chunk from the slides, he or she is no longer the focus since he or she will not be facing the audience and not interacting with them.

Let us move on to the main agenda of the day:

Ms. Ng gave us valuable tips on how to prepare an effective PowerPoint slideshow. There are a number of tips which can be applied to prepare a good PowerPoint slideshow namely; visual, colour scheme, no cluttering, objective, audience and the list goes on. I would like to use only one word, ‘SIMPLICITY’ to summarize all the tips. This is because; based on my perspective, the various tips mention above is meant to simplify the slides instead of making it congested with unnecessary input.

Ms Ng also showed us some samples of effective PowerPoint slideshows. Among all the samples, I preferred the one prepared by this person named Dick (I can hear his voice in my mind when I type this). I will further explain on the tips learnt under the heading ‘What I have learnt today?’

What I have learnt today?

Basically the lecturer today has triggered me to find out more on what Garr Reynolds has to say about ‘EFFECTIVE POWERPOINT SLIDESHOWS’. Below is an summary of information I have obtained through my online reading.

Let me further unravel on what exactly I have learnt from the tips given by Ms. Ng:

The most significant thing that I have learnt today would be SIMPLICITY is the BEST POLICY. In simple terms, it means to simplify everything rather than complicating it. It is better to only include limited points and words on a slide. If the slide show is full of words, audience might end up reading the slides on their own rather than listening to the speaker.

Besides that, an effective slide show should have limited slide transition and animation. Preferably, one to two type of slide transition throughout the slide show. A variety of slide transition might disturb audiences’ focus. Selection of graphics and visuals also determines the effectiveness of a slide show presentation. The pictures should be relevant to the topic and not simply add on visuals to fill up the empty spaces on the slide. According to Garr Reynolds, “The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual message will become”. (quoted from http://www.garreynolds.com/)

Another important aspect is appropriate font and choice of colour used for background and the text. We must always make sure the colour of the slide’s background is of contrast with the text.

Next, I have come to the realization that we must always keep audience in our mind when preparing a PowerPoint slide show. We must know who the audiences are, their interest, prior knowledge, background, needs and so on. For instance, if the audience are children, we must not bombard them with too many detail at a time since they have short-attention span. It would be better to use one word per slide.

Last but not least, I learned that we must quote the reference if we use texts or pictures which is not ours. As a whole, the key element identified is SIMPLICITY.

HOWEVER...

source : http://iplot.typepad.com/iplot/images/simplicity_complexity.jpg

WHY? Keep on scrolling and you will know.

What have I questioned today?

SIMPLICITY…… Well, I do understand that simplicity is the best way to convey messages without jeopardizing it. My first thought was we have less work to do when it comes to preparing slide shows. But my second thought made me to ponder whether SIMPLICITY is really TROUBLE-FREE. In order to create a simple slide show, one might have to put in the maximum effort and do a lot of brain-squeezing. This is because, we must identify the relevant points and the most appropriate visuals to support the topic. It makes our life more complicated.

SIMPLICITY vs. COMPLEXITY

The session today really helped me a lot. Before ending the lesson, we were asked to improve on our slides prepared last week. Actually, my group's slides was fine because ours did follow the tips learnt earlier. There was one limitation in our previous slideshow which was the colour of the pictures. Having exposed to the tips, we modify the pictures to be in gray-scale so that it will be the secondary focus and the text will be the primary focus. The end.

p/s : I have displayed my group's modified slides in the previous post. Sorry, it is only in the slide sorter form. I do not know how to insert it in a slideshow view.

PowerPoint Presentation

18 July 2007 – First and foremost, we were given a form (questionnaire) to be filled in.

“Oh Gosh! I have very limited skills in ICT. Can I cope with this course?” (completing the questionnaire).

I guessed the questionnaire was aimed to obtain information about our prior knowledge on ICT as well as our ICT skills. In fact, it was good to carry out this questionnaire because the lecturer and the facilitators can gain valuable input which will be useful to conduct the course later on. They will be able to match the intended learning objective with our prior knowledge. This is because, new knowledge are derived from previous knowledge after going through the process of accommodation and assimilation. They need to identify our ability before proceeding with a total new skill. For instance, one of the questions requires the information on whether one has experience in using Microsoft Office PowerPoint. If all the respondents answered a ‘YES’, then there will be no problem. But if some of us answered a ‘NO’, then the facilitators might introduce or guide those who are new to this.

Ooppss….. Why am I straying away from the more significant events of the lesson? This simple questionnaire does matters to me. As future educators, I cannot run away from the fact that we need to know the learners’ previous knowledge before planning a lesson. The same goes here, the questionnaire will provide the lecturer and the facilitator with some valuable input to help them to carry out the course so that it will benefit all (my humble opinion only).

Let us get into the core event of the lesson:

We were required to work in groups to prepare a PowerPoint presentation on a given topic and present it as if we are promoting the product. Before proceeding with the task, we are to get into groups of 5 or 6 and give our group a name. Having formed a group, we brainstormed ideas on possible names for our group and all of us agreed upon my suggestion of TECHNO_THINKERS. My group was unfortunate to get an unfamiliar technological gadget, Digital Camera SLR (Single Lens Reflex) as our topic or should I say we were more fortunate to present on this gadget. We will find out this, at the end of this entry.

Ready….Get Set….Go….Without being a slave of procrastination, we quickly divide the task into 3 minor tasks where; Lali and Nanthini are to prepare the slides in terms of animation and to insert the texts, Maisarah and Tussna are to find suitable pictures and basic input while Loura and I have to search for information on advantages of SLR Digital Camera. We were given around an hour only to complete the task. We managed to prepare a simple yet informative PowerPoint slides. We used only key words and phrases to highlight our message instead of chunking all the information into the slides which might confuse the audience. We were almost done when, Mr. Shahril asked us to transfer our PowerPoint presentation to his computer. Meantime, I was trying very hard to digest the information collected since I will be the presenter for my group. I had a tough time digesting the information since I am not familiar with this technological gadget. Below are sample of slides prepared by my group:

(the watch on my wrist shows 2 p.m)
We were the first group to present in MK1. Following us, was other groups which presented on other topics namely; Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, Hotmail etc. After each groups’ presentation, Mr.Shahril gave constructive comments to help us to further improve on the slides.

What have I learnt today?
I gained valuable information on SLR Digital Camera, its’ functions and the advantages of it. I also did learn about the use of Hotmail, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and so on. I also receive some tips to prepare a good slide.

My Question?
The name of this course (Technology in Primary Education), will suggest to us that technology is applied in primary education. Well our presentations on various technological inventions were informative and did provide valuable knowledge but it would not be significant if it is not applied in the context of primary education. Thus, I was just wondering why we were not exposed to the application of these technological inventions in primary education.

My suggestion
Perhaps we can identify and present on ways to use these technological inventions in a classroom.

Welcome everyone..........

Hello everyone........ At last I am ready to blog. All these while I have been struggling to get used to this new environment in University of Malaya(UM). Metaphorically I was lost in the middle of a gigantic forest and without compass. Can you imagine this? My journey of finding the route to get back home before it gets dark was extremely tiring. Throughout my journey, I had to overcome all sorts of obstacles. I had to remove all the sharp stones along my way which disrupts my journey. Yeah... we should remove all the obstacles as proposed by Robert House, an American Psychologist.

House (1971) proposed that one of the things which a leader should do to achieve a goal is to remove the obstacles. Well, as a future teacher, I have to behave like a leader too. Teachers are guide and model for childrens. Teachers are the main leaders in the classroom. In fact, teachers are responsible to remove obstacles and find alternative to make sure the teaching and learning process runs smoothly.

After all, it is part and parcel of students' life to overcome all obstacles such as time factor, Internet access problem etc.... Anyway, I am more settled now and I can proceed with my blog entries without failure.

Thanks for all those who have helped me.

Can u see the pathway? At last I found my way.....