how to promote the use of computer lab in the classroom

there are many ways that we can do in order to make the use of computer labs is at the maximum. first as a teacher, we should be a good model for the students. what i mean by model here is that teachers themselve should promote the use ofcomputer labs among the pupils. they should make the pupils see that the use of computer labs are also practices among the teachers.
Next, teacher could also plan activities that integrate computers lab. As for example, instead of drawing the ordinary mind map, the teacher can also use Mind manager so that pupils can at least use the computers available. Other than that, they should also asked to find relavant information about certain topics by doing live search in the classroom by using search engine like yahoo, google and Msn. apart from that, the teacher could also use online games in the classroom as one of the activities after the presentation of the input by the teacher. maybe the teacher can use language games in english classroom so that the opportnity to use the computers will be more.

My future classroom

if anyone ask me about what my future classroom would be, then i would say that it is many things that i have i mind my about my future classroom. The very first thing that i woud like my classroom to have is sufficient facilities. What i mean sufficient facilities is things like LCD projector, a computer, radio, a smart board and also internet connection. the reasons why i would like these things to be equipped in my classroom is because all of these things are required to maximize the teaching and learning that is going to take place. with these facilities, i can definitely plan many activities and teaching aids for the pupils. As for example, live search for photos and videos. it does not mean that without all of these things i cannot carried out the teaching and learning activities but i can expose to the pupils many things that i can by using and exploiting the facilities that i have in my classroom.

Next would be the environment of the classroom. i would really hope that my classroom will be clean and organized with the table and chairs are arranged according to groups so that it would be easier to conduct activities there. Besides, i can also grouping them according to their level of proficiency in order to give them full attention or the necessary guidance. apart from that, the air ventilation of the classroom should be good so that my pupils can learn better and in a condusive manner.

last but not least is the pupils themselves. i would really hope that my future pupils are the one that really have motivation to learn, willing to take the knowledge that i'm going to give them. however, if they are opposite from what i have expected, then it should be ok as i'm going to take that as a challenge for me to shape them to be the person that i have mentioned above.

FisH pHiLosoPhY~

Be There, Play, Make Their Day and Choose Your Attitude> the four simple practices of fish that we could use in order to make the learning more fun. F.i.s.h> at first i was quite blurr about the word fish that prof maznah had introduce to us. i tought it was something like softwares or games that she wanted to introduce to us >_< color="#993399">be there is the practice where teacher play a centre role in the classroom.teacher should always be available for the pupils and ready to help. the teacher is not physically exist in the class but must show that he/ she is present completely in the classroom, giving full attentention to the pupils as well as to the teaching and learning activities.
Next is Play. as we all know, pupils have the instinct to play and have fun in everything they do. they need the element of entertainment in the teaching and learning activity that are being carried out. So, as a teacher, we need to make sure that this element is there so that pupils will enjoy the class and become more motivated to participate and engage in the activity.
another thing that we can take into consideration is the practice " make their day". Children can get easily feel good about themselves when they get something that interest them. So we as a teacher should know what are the things that can make their day and how to make it. perhaps, by giving some of the motivation or praises will be enough for them. This is important as it is one of the way to end up the class with meaningful experience for all the children. lastly, " choose your attitude". This is where teacher have to be flexible to choose the attitude that suits with the mood of the classroom. If let say the activity like games is concerned, so teacher should not be serious in conducting the activity.

all in all, i really find that this philosophy is really good and help the teachers to make classroom bcome more lively and fun =)

getting on the track back

it's been quite along time i didnt update my blog.. yes, i admit it was all my mistake for allowing procrastination to take place...i hope it is not too late to update something about the technology information that i have gained as well as the Techno class so far..let me just refresh what i have posted for the previous blog. it stopped at the assignment 3..i could still emember what we have done for for few weeks after we had given the time to complete our assignment. It was a peer evalution as well as leactures and tutors evaluation. Every group had to send representative so that they could present the best product of the assignmnet on using the IWB a.k.a SMArt Board...i could see the clear reasons why this peer evaluation is important for everyone. i realized that sometime, we cannot see our own weaknessess and mistakes. We need someone to be our mirror so that it will reflect us and tell us what we should improve to make something better. from all the presentation that we all have done, i learnt quite a lot and get the ideas of using the IWB.. the first point that i would like to share is that the activity designed shoud be suitable and maximize the use of smartborad in the classroom. what i mean here is that we should designed the activity which have the extra things that a normal blacboard cant do.. as for example, the infinite cloner..it is no point to design an activity that can be carried out using the ordinary blackboard like writing, matching etc..so teachers should be wise in designing the activity too in maximizing the use of technlogy in the classroom.Next would be the activities designed should be congruent to the learning objectives that we have stated earlier.another things that i have learnt is that we have to be sure who is our target audience so that the activity designed suits all the aspects for our target audience. as for instance, our target audience is Primary school children, so the activity desigen should be colourful, variety, fun, interesting etc..

there are many other things that i have learnt besides what i have mentioned above. the most important thing, the list about what i have learnt and gained about smartboard is getting longer and longer. i feel the peer evaluation should be continued in the next sem so that other people will learnt and develop their understanding about the smart boardyes, it helps apart from the self exploration that i have done on my own =)

week 8: Assignment 3

For this week (week 8), all of us didn’t learn any theory related to this course but to make full use of the time given to finish the assignment 3: designing activities using smart board. Sincerely, I haven’t started to do the assignment yet except for exploring the Smart Board and gathering pictures and materials for my assignment. The assignment looks quite ok to me but as I tried to list down what I should put in every slide, I begin to realize that it wasn’t that easy actually. Yes, I may say that to finish the assignment is not that difficult but to produce a high quality product become an issue. Everyone can produce activities or task using the smart Board. I guess the toughest part is to compete to produce the best product among the entire cohort. I guarantee that all of us want to the best mark for this assignment. So, everybody is struggling to do the best for this =) Though this is a fasting month, it doesn’t mean that it can be used as an excuse for us not be active in the classroom --à I mean actively engage in things related to the course =) Still, there are lots of questions and things to learn from the lecturer and tutors while finishing the assignment. One thing I realized most was as a university student, I have to learn a lot on my own---- > self discovery. Yes, we cannot depend too much on the lecturer and tutors but to discover on our own. Hopefully this is enough for this week. Check out for the next 0_o!

week 7: integration of technology + smart board

For this week, Ms Chin has taught us on the topic integrating technology in the teaching and learning process. I learnt a lot from lectures today as there are many things I find very useful and practical for me as a future teacher. Before this, I wasn’t know that there are differences between
“Learning through technology” and “Learning with technology”. Obviously, they are 2 different things. The first one refers to process of learning that uses technologies as the medium of learning and the second one refers to the process of learning that aid or facilitate by technologies. Another interesting thing would be “Learning about technology”. This refers to the process of learning about the skills related to the technology itself. As a future teacher, it is important for me to know how to transform the traditional T&L process to more advances where technology becomes a matter. As for examples, we can use Smart Board, PowerPoint presentation and e-book. However, in making this realistic, teachers need not to be rushed but to get the students learn slowly, steps by steps. This is important as not all of the pupils know how to use the technology especially computers. Perhaps, what teacher can do is to give them ICT skills needed but at the same time give some contents to them as well. In doing this, teachers must not forget to develop their understanding on the safe practise in using technology. When pupils are comfortable with all of this and can move a step forward, a teacher can give problem solving activities or task for them to complete. For instance, project, brochure or a PowerPoint presentation. It is possible if a teacher can publish the pupils’ work as one way of appreciating it. Maybe, the teacher can upload it in Teacher Tube, You tube and 4Shared. A step forward may be taken after this by engaging them in Collaborative learning like video conferencing, chatting, blogging and messaging. Perhaps, all of these can make teaching and learning process more interesting and fun.

To put in a nutshell, there are lots of things that a teacher can do for the pupils in helping them to be technology literate but most importantly, “Teacher shouldn’t transfer all the knowledge themselves, but let the pupils discover on their own”. 0_o!

Week 6:reflection with Prof Raja Maznah

As for today, we had reflected on our 2nd assignment which is “video making”. According to Prof Maznah, some of us produced really good videos in relation with educating primary school children or young learners. Hopefully everyone, not just that “some” meet the requirement of the assignment given. No doubt that the assignment really gave me hectic days to prepare for materials in order to produce a good and high quality video. However, I also felt thankful as the assignment gave me new experience and new skills in regards to the use of technology. As I mentioned in my previous posts, I wasn’t good in using technology especially in handling various software which I myself is not familiar with. So, this assignment really gave me opportunities to practise using and integrating technology.
During the reflection session, Prof had asked us on our new experience and new skills that we have learnt through out the process of video making. Everyone seemed to agree that they gained lots of experience or at least learnt something which is new to them. We have listed the new skills or new things that we have discovered;
Software
Windows Movie Maker
Power Director
Total Video Converter
XiliSoft video converter
Pencil 4.0
Anime Studio
Pinnacle Studio
Soft skills
Communication
Teamwork
Creative and critical thinking
Leadership
Ethics and Moral
Entrepreneurship
Skills
-photo editing
-video editing
-video recording
-acting
-narrating
-drawing
-hosting
-File-sharing
-uploading
-storyboarding
-directing