TASK 3: WWW LESSON PLAN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q_o1IK5mJs&feature=related

-ORIGAMI-
LEVEL: Form 2 (Intermediate)
TOPIC: Writing
THEME: Social Issue
TIME: 1 hour (2 periods)
LANGUAGE CONTENT: Sequence of event.
AIMS: By the end of the lesson students should be able to practice their writing skills by using the information from the website and present the information in an essay using the sequence of event.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS:
1.One computer per group of 3 to 4 students.
2.Internet Connection.
3.Web Browser.

PREPARATION:
1.Locate sites offering videos about heart origami.
2.Watch the video to see if it suitable for the lesson and for the students.
3.Prepare worksheet based on the information from the video.

WEBSITE:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q_o1IK5mJs&feature=related

PROCEDURE:
Set Induction: (5 minutes)
1.Teacher introduces the topic for today.
2.Teacher recaps the previous lesson about sequence of event.

Task 1: (15 minutes)
1.Teacher asks the students to form a group of 3 to 4 per computer.
2.Teacher gave a sample of heart origami for every student with their own name written on it.
3.Teacher asks the students to respond regarding the heart origami.
4.Teacher explains to the students that they are going to learn about the art of origami.
5.Teacher explains what origami is all about and tells the students that they will learn how to make a heart origami in today class.
6.Teacher gives every student a piece of colorful paper so students can make their own origami too.
7.Teacher instructs students to open the following website. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q_o1IK5mJs&feature=related
8.Teacher allocates 10 minutes for students to watch the video and also make their own heart origami.

Task 2: (10 minutes)
1.Teacher guide the students and help them if they having difficulties in following the video.
2.Teacher distributes worksheet to students and asks them to complete the worksheet by writing the sequence of every step from number 1 to 11.
3.Teacher allows student to watch the video back if the students were lost.

Task 3: (25 minutes)
1.Teacher distributes the second worksheet and asks the students to write a paragraph explaining the step in making the heart origami following the step that they have sequence using the sequence of event.
2.Teacher discusses the answer with the students.

Conclusion: (5 minutes)
1.Teacher recap today’s lesson.
2.Teacher inculcates moral values, e.g. everything can be learnt if we want to and the internet can be a useful tool.

Follow up activity:
1.Teacher asks the students to make a group of 4 to 5 students.
2.Teacher asks them to come out with a video showing them making something: example making chocolate chip biscuit, pineapple juice, bookmark and etc.
3.Teacher reminds the students that if they lost for ideas they can always browse through the internet to find information and ideas.
4.Teacher encourages students to ask for their parents' help in the recording part.
5.They also need to come up with an essay describing the process of making it and it must include the sequence of event (like what they did in class).
6.They will be given 3 weeks to do it and their video will be show to the class.

Worksheet 1

Worksheet 2

p/s:Dr. I also send the worksheet to your email because i dont think you can see it clearly from my blog.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

NELSON MANDELA
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His father was Chief Henry Mandela of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela himself was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand and qualified in law in 1942. He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party's apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.After the banning of the ANC in 1960, Nelson Mandela argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela's campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, Mandela was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. His statement from the dock received considerable international publicity. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life imprisonment. From 1964 to 1982, he was incarcerated at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town; thereafter, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela's reputation grew steadily. He was widely accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa and became a potent symbol of resistance as the anti-apartheid movement gathered strength. He consistently refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom.
Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990. After his release, he plunged himself wholeheartedly into his life's work, striving to attain the goals he and others had set out almost four decades earlier. In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC held inside South Africa after the organization had been banned in 1960, Mandela was elected President of the ANC while his lifelong friend and colleague, Oliver Tambo, became the organisation's National Chairperson.

TASK 2:ARTICLE REVIEW

Samuel, R.J & Zaitun A.B. (2006). The utilization and integration of ICT tools in promoting English language teaching and learning: Reflections from English option teachers in Kuala Langat District, Malaysia. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT > Vol. 2, No. 2 (2006). Retrieved August 16, 2009 from http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu/viewarticle.php?id=161

TITLE: The utilization and integration of ICT tools in promoting English language teaching and learning: Reflections from English option teachers in Kuala Langat District, Malaysia.
JOURNAL-VOLUME: International Journal of Education and Development using ICT > Vol. 2, No. 2 (2006).
AUTHORS’ BACKGROUND:
i). Robinson Joseph Samuel is a retired college lecturer. He has more than 25 years experience in teaching English language to primary, secondary and college students.
ii). Zaitun Abu Bakar is a Head of Information Science Department, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Currently on sabbatical leave and attached to Department of ICT, University of Bahrain, and Kingdom of Bahrain

SUMMARY
This research article intended to examines the present scenario of English language teachers as regards ICT integration and tries to determine if ICT skills of English language teachers in the light of existing infrastructure facilities are adequate to promote English language teaching and learning. These researchers then look at some of the obstacle faced by English language teachers in ICT integration and finally in the concluding part, the researchers suggested that the use of interactive lessons is adequate to speed up the teaching and learning of English.
The methodology used in this research was face-to-face, semi-structure interviews with 30 trained teachers from 3 schools which are Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Langat, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Teluk Panglima Garang and Sekolah Menengah Sultan Abdul Samad, Banting.
The findings from the researches have been classified into six areas which include: infrastructure facilities, computer courses, ICT skills of teacher, ICT integrated lessons, supply of courseware by MoE and obstacle. Almost all the teachers cited that lack of ICT resources and infrastructure facilities in schools are the most common reason that hampers the integration of ICT tools in the teachings and learning of English. There are various obstacles that the respondents face in integrating ICT which are:
1) Lack of support from the school administrators.
2) Exam pressure and fear of not being able to complete the syllabus.
3) Inadequate trolleys to house the LCD in the classrooms.
4) Long waiting list to use computer laboratories.
5) Over-burdened with administrative tasks.
6) School servers are not maintained and riddled with all kinds of ‘stubborn’ virus.
7) No supervision on ICT integration by school administrators.
8) Absence of any kind of school management system in most school.
9) Negative attitude of some teachers.

OPINION:
This article is interesting because there have not been many researches in Malaysia that studies the utilization of ICT in the classroom. This research manage to grab my attention because although many parties is very keen and enthusiastic in suggesting that English teachers implementing the use of ICT in the classroom but there are actually some obstacles that may hinder these teachers to make full use of this technology in class. We need to consider the entire obstacle and find the best solution in order to integrate the use of ICT in the classroom. Therefore, this article is quite beneficial in understanding why teachers are reluctant to integrate ICT in their teaching process.
This article also tells about the current condition of the ICT facilities in the school. The researchers include other information from other resources that they can get regarding this issue. For example, the resource from the Works Ministry Report that had been published, out of the 400 computer laboratories which were found to be incomplete or unsafe, only 100 of them have been repaired. Therefore, we can get a better view regarding this matter.
In my opinion this research is well conducted. The method used in obtaining the necessary data is also appropriate where the researchers use face-to-face semi structured interviews. Therefore, the result is more reliable and valid. Furthermore, the researchers also find other necessary data that will help the study such as the amount of computers and the internet accessibility in the particular schools. However, it is better if the researchers make the target area wider by including other school in other states so they will be comparison between different schools from different states. The amount of respondent should also be more than 30 to make the findings of the research more valid and reliable. The researchers could also include one question in the interview asking the teachers for their suggestions to improve the problem that they faced. The teachers would probably give many kinds of solution that can be considered, since they are the ones who face the problems. Therefore, they will probably know the best way to overcome the problem.

IMPLICATION:
This research is very useful in order to find out what are the reasons the English teachers does not integrates ICT in the classrooms. The Ministry of Education should pays attention to this problem because it is futile if the government spends a lot of money to provide all the tools yet it is not fully utilized by the teachers at the school. There are many researches that showed the utilization of ICT does give positive effect towards student learning process therefore it is vital for the Malaysians school students to have the same benefits in learning the English language.
There should be more research like this in the future and making sure that we keep track with the current progress of the utilization of ICT in classroom. The government cannot just provide the facilities and expect the teachers to fully use it without monitoring the progress of the facilities. The government should appoint an organization in monitoring these facilities to ensure it is well functioning and make sure that the teachers integrates the utilizations of ICT in the classroom.
Although there are many advantages of computers, the application of current computer technology still has its own limitations and disadvantages. Gips, DiMattia, & Gips (2004) indicated that one of the disadvantages of computer and its assisted language learning program is that they will increase educational cost and harm the equity of education. Therefore, when we try to apply ICT to enhance teaching and to help student learning, we should realize the advantages and disadvantages exited in current computer technology in order to avoid misemploying and get its maximum benefits for the teaching and learning process.

ESL WEBSITE EVALUATION

Website: Dave's ESL Cafe

URL: http://www.eslcafe.com/

Q1. What does the application attempt to "teach"?

A: The website that I finally chose to evaluate is Dave’s ESL Café. Dave’s ESL Café is maintained by Dave Sperling. He has a B.A in Psychology from Pepperdine University, and an MA in Applied Linguistics from California State University, Northridge. He had spent nearly a decade teaching EFL in Japan and Thailand .Therefore I am sure he is the expertise in his field especially teaching English as second language. This website basically “teaches” English as second language through different kind of approaches such as grammar lessons, giving notes about idioms, pronunciation, tutorial, forums and also quizzes. The quizzes provided, ranging from different topics which are Geography, Grammar, History, Idioms, Slang and Words, People, Reading comprehension, Science, World Culture and Writing. Although topics like geography, science and world culture has nothing to do with learning English but it act as a plus to this website where the student can improve their knowledge and indirectly practice and make use of English language.

However, since I was assigned to evaluate the ESL website I will focus on the part where teaching English take part. Under Quizzes topic, it is divided into several section where the users can choose the one that suit their needs most. For example, under the grammar section, there are present tense, simple present tense and nouns. The questions are suitable for lower and intermediate level language learners. Another section is Idioms, Slang and Word which I think very interesting for ESL’s students because normally, we have problem in differentiating some words and also understanding different slang that Western people use. Therefore, the quizzes provided are very useful. This website also teaches pronunciation. However, it will link the learners to Pronunciation Power, which is developed under another website that require them to register or purchase the product online.

This website also teaches the users to be independent learners. The users can always use this website without the help from other people because user friendly. Furthermore, the quizzes provide immediate answer for the user. It gives feedback informing the users whether their answers are correct or wrong, as well as providing them with the score that they obtain from every quizzes done. Another additional feature for this website, it provides notes and grammar lesson. Therefore the student can always refer to the notes and lesson provided in this website to have further understanding of the topics. They also can print out the notes and lesson for future use.

This website also caters the teachers’ need because basically, it provides stuff for teacher. I found it very useful because it “teaches” many things from how to manage your classroom, ideas for teaching activities, games, handout and many more. These materials can actually be use by other teachers and this will help to lessen the teachers’ burden in planning for their lesson. Furthermore, this website also has teacher forums where teachers all around the world can share information and exchanging ideas.

Q2. What sorts of things is the application user expected to do with regards to learning the content?

A: The website is quite simple and easy to navigate. Firstly, the users need to identify which category they want to access; whether teachers, students or everyone. Under each category, there are several topics that they can choose for example quizzes, idioms, grammar lessons or idea cookbook. Next, under each topic there are subtopics that the users can choose depending on their need and interest.

This website mostly provides the same type of quizzes where the users need to click on the best answer for each question and then submit the answer. Within seconds the users can get the feedback and their score. Therefore, the users will know their level, where they made mistakes and how well they performed. The font use for the quiz is clear and easy to read. The background color also helps to relax the eyes. However, in my opinion Mr. Dave could also include different kind of activities such as crossword puzzle or flash games to make it more interesting.

Q3. What sorts of computer skills is the application users expected to have in order to operate/access/use the application?

A: In order to use the application, the users only need to have basic skill in using computer such as the ability to control mouse and click the elements which appear in the website. The quizzes in the website only require the users to click the correct answer.

The users also need to know how to browse a website and to click the link provided to go to different page in the website. For the teachers who want to print out the activities or handout from the website need to know the printing skills. The teachers also need to know how to convert the notes into different form like Microsoft Word by the using copy and paste features.

Overall, the website only requires the users to have the basic computer skills in order to access this website.


Q4. While you are "playing"/"accessing"/"assessing" the application, does it remind you of anything you do in a classroom, or with a teacher, or with a fellow classmate, or in self-study?

A: Yes, it does remind me of my own experience in teaching while I was doing my practicum last semester. In my class, I usually use quizzes to test my students’ understanding especially on grammar lesson. Usually, I will print out the quizzes and photostate it to make enough copies for my students. During my practicum, I also browse many ESL website to help me with my lesson plan especially to get ideas on interesting activities. The teacher forums also reminds me about my life at my practical school where I always share information and exchanging ideas with the senior teacher about how to improve my lesson. The grammar lesson and quizzes reminds me about myself where I usually go to certain ESL websites to find information in improving my grammar as well as enjoying the quizzes.

Q5. Can you pinpoint some theories of language learning and/or teaching underlying the aplication?

A: From my point of view this website applied several theories. The first one is collaborative learning. According to Brown (2001) in collaborative learning the learner engages “with more capable others” (teacher, advanced peers, etc), who provide assistance and guidance”. This website provides opportunity for discussion under teacher or student forums where it allows the users to seek for help if they do not understand anything regarding the language topic. They also can exchange ideas and this somehow promotes collaborative learning.

The second theory is the Silent Way. The Silent Way capitalized on discovery-learning procedures where learning is a process of personal growth. Learners are responsible for their own learning and must develop independence, autonomy, and responsibility. While the users accessing this website, they need to read the instructions and questions in order to learn. They also need to decide what they want to focus on. Thus, they have the opportunity to discover the language by themselves.

Howard Garder’s Multiple Intelligences is another theory underlying this website where bodily- kinesthetic skills and visual spatial were applied. The use of computer relies most on eye-hand coordination for their operation-keyboarding and the use of a mouse or touch-screen. These kinesthetic activities that the users did during accessing the website make the users an active participant in learning. Another multiple intelligencies applied in this website is
linguistic intelligencies since this website try to teach English language.

Q6. How well is the constructivist theory of learning applied to the chosen website(s)?

A: Constructivist theory of learning refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves – each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning as he or she learns. It says that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know. Therefore this theory clearly applied to this website where the users can ask questions that they want in the forums. The users can also search the answer by themselves by referring to the notes given and lastly they can assess their understanding by doing the quizzes provided in the website.

Q7. In 1980s and early 1990s, there was a major debate on 'whether the computer was "master" of a "slave" to the learning process (Higgins and John, 1984). In realtion to your evaluation - was the computer a replacement for teachers, or merely an obedient servant to students?

A: In my opinion based on my evaluation I think computer will never be a replacement for a teacher. Therefore, I would say computer is a tool to help teacher to teach the student. During my practicum I found computer is useful to help preparing for my lesson in classroom and also make my students more interested in learning activities. However, I don’t think computer can replace the existent of the teacher solely because it is a nature for student to have teacher to facilitate and guide them along the process of learning. If I just leave my student to use the computer by themselves there will probably some students who end up doing nothing. Teacher needs to be there to monitor them and at the same time human posses so many things that computer can never replace such as affection, love and can understand people need and feeling.

However, for the second statement I do agree that computer is an obedient servant to students. Student can do lots of things using computer by just using their finger (clicking). It helps the student the complete their task (homework and assigment) and also help them to search for information. The computer will just follow the instruction and go wherever the student wants to go (internet). Therefore, I do agree computer is a servant to students but it is absolutely not a replacement for teacher.


Q8. Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work?

A: Yes. I would positively use this application in my future work. As a future teacher I definitely will need some help in planning for my lessons in class. This website gives opportunity for me to exchange information about teaching with other people around the world. It also provides notes, ideas for activities, and other material that I can always make use in my class. I would also recommend my future students to access this website.

Suggestions/Recommendations

The website is very useable for the teachers and also the students. However I would suggest that Mr. Dave could include different kind of activities rather than just focusing on the quiz. Mr. Dave could include language games and crossword puzzle to make learning more interesting.

The content of the website can also be improved by adding more options like listening and speaking activities. Currently, it only focuses on grammar, idioms and verbs. If possible, it is better if the Pronunciation Power can be access by everyone without the need to pay for it. Other than that I am quite satisfied with this website.

I would recommend this website to the English teachers as one of the references for their teaching plan and also for students to improve their English language.

Evaluated by:

Marina Mohamed Zahidi
2005755370

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

me + technology=not a good combination.

Salam..
My name is Marina Mohamed Zahidi. Im a Perakian.I actually not really into technology so you can say that i am not profecient in this field. Futhermore, i am from rural place so the first time that i actually use computer was when i am in form 4. I dont say that i hate technology. It makes my life much more easier. But i just that kind of person that not really interested or eager to make full use of it. Even my handphone i just want it simple. As long as it can be use to sms and make a call that is enough for me because i know even if i have variety of applications in it i still would not use it. In term of computer, now i know how to use the simple applications like power point,excel,and obviuosly i know how to use microsoft word =). I do have friendster, facebook and myspace account but i rarely use it or make any improvement to it. I created facebook account due to one of my friends said that i am a loser becouse i dont have a facebook acoount. They said that it some kind of a must (yeah..right..=p ).The only things i like to do in facebook is answering the silly quizes. It is quite fun. I rarely download anything from the internet such as songs or movies but i am into Youtube. During my practicum i had the opportunity to intergate the use of technology in my class and my students seem to enjoy it very much. They look excited whenever time that i mentioned that we will be going to the APD room. So i think thats all for my first entry....daa.....