viii: poster quote

Complete the following quotation by creating a poster/infographic using which ever online tool you are familiar with (the easiest would be Power Point).

"Give a man a fish and he will eat it for a day: Teach a man to use the Internet..."

vii: week without wall

Talk 1: “Pengintegrasian Ilmu Naqli dan Ilmu Aqli dalam Pendidikan” by Prof. Madya Dr. Nurkhamimi Zainudin (USIM)

1.      What was/were the new term(s) you have heard from the presentation?

The new term that I heard from this talk is the concept of neo-liberal. As explained by the presenter, when it comes to neo-liberal approach, individuals are deemed as a modal or a mean of exploitation for the sake of development and advancement, to the extent that they are to be one the same par with material, money and so forth. Another term that caught my attention is future-proof; which carry the denotation of something that is unlikely to become obsolete. The reason why this term is mentioned during the presentation is to put emphasis on the importance of producing well-rounded graduates that have the sense of holisticism wherein they employ the creative and critical ability, intuitive, ethics and soft skills to face the changes challenges in job market in the future.

2.      What was / were the technology(ies) / technological advancement mentioned by the presenters?

One new platform for online learning mentioned by the presenter is GOALS (Global Open Access Learning System) which is designed and opened for access for all USIM students and educators only as compared to MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) which can be accessed by everyone including publics. GOALS is used for the purpose of communication and interaction in teaching and learning process in order to ensure their advancement in education to face the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The objective of the program is to increase access to the writings and research paper conducted by USIM through various medium of publications. For the previous years, USIM has been in line with digitalisation by turning their printed materials for reference purposes into digital materials. As of 2019, USIM has improvised the effort and policy by taking into account the visibility of the academic material and protecting the legal right of the said materials.

3.      What would be the implications of the points in terms of teaching and learning in general and specific to your future teaching practices?

In my opinion, what the presenter wanted to convey from his presentation is how crucial it is for educators to inculcate in their teaching and learning practice the techno-humanistic education which consist of mastery of science-technology, mastery of moral values and the implementation of moral values. Apart from that, to provide plenty of resources for the students for their learning may also help them to prosper and enhance themselves. In terms of my future teaching practices, it is important for me to cater to my students’ needs as well as various learning styles, preferences and interest.

~ ~ ~ ~

Talk 2 : “Nurturing The Intellectual Mind: The Story of Mathematics and Technology” by Prof Dr Parmjit Singh (UiTM)

1.      What was/were the new term(s) you have heard from the presentation?

One new term that I have heard during this presentation is the development of mathematical thinking and from what I read mathematical thinking is a whole way of looking at things, stripping them down to their essentials, whether it's numerical, structural or logical and then analysing the underlying patterns.

2.      What was / were the technology(ies) / technological advancement mentioned by the presenters?

Technological advancement mentioned by the presenter is regarding the Education 4.0 where due to the fact that 4IR (Industrial Revolution 4.0) is transforming the world, there are changes in technology like internet and Artificial Intelligence and they have affected the industries, it somehow causes evolution in education as well.

3.      What would be the implications of the points in terms of teaching and learning in general and specific to your future teaching practices?

It is undeniable that technology has become a major help in enhancing and facilitating learning of students by providing an abundance of resources as well as interactive activities and applications. During the presentation, Prof Dr Parmjit Singh has mentioned how technology is important but we have to consider the other side of technology where it may affect the pedagogical practices in classroom, of how the web has replaced and interrupted the notion of learning through interaction. When there is too much technology inculcated in classroom, somehow the “Aha!” moment will become non-existent when in fact those moments are critical because they turn information into knowledge. Educators need to know how to differentiate between lecturing and teaching. While lecturing merely means doing presentation, teaching means there is an interaction that has taken place whether it’s between the teacher, students or environment. The fact that the role of teacher is not a dispenser of knowledge should also be put in limelight.  

           

vi: Assignment 1 - Digital ESL Material Evaluation

British Council Learn English

Fatimah Mardhiah binti Omar 

2015149957

1. What does the website or MOOC or app or tool attempt to “teach”? Are exercises or activities included in the website? What are the types of exercise or activities included? Are there immediate feedbacks? Are there different levels of difficulty for different proficiency levels? (You can add any other comments you think is important to point out).

The website that I choose for my evaluation is British Council. Despite the fact that this website is created for adult learners of English to improve their English language proficiency, it is still suitable to be accessed by younger learners. There are plenty of exercises and activities included on the website and they are categorized accordingly based on the level of proficiency of the users which mean that since they use CEFR as their standard, the levels are divided into A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2. The types of exercise and activities included cover all skill of language including grammar. On top of that, the website also provides game-based activities, audio and video materials to make it more interesting for visual and auditory learners and they are all set to different levels of difficulty for different proficiency levels. The most interesting part of this website is that it provides a list of their specially designed applications to learn English at home, at work or on the move, basically anywhere at any time. At the end of every activity, there is only short feedback provided and in my opinion this is why a teacher is needed when a learning process takes place because the teacher will be able to point out in details to the learners which part that need improvement as well as to suggest solution and clarification to the learners.

2. What are the learners/visitors required to do with regards to learning the content of the website or MOOC or apps?

In order to gain access to the content of the website, learners just have to visit https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org and they are free to make full use of the activities and exercises provided, unless for adult learners, if they intend to take online courses from British Council in order to improve their ability to find and apply for the right jobs, develop interview skills and learn how to perform in the workplace with confidence, they can subscribe to them. At each level, tutor videos and workplace scenarios guide them through the materials, explain key language and grammar points and offer vocabulary that they can use in everyday business life. For normal users, they can start by taking the free English test on the website to know their level of English proficiency which range from beginner (A1) to mastery (C2) and later find lessons that suits their level. In order not to miss any important events from the website, the learner can sing up to their newsletter to keep them update.

3. Does the website or MOOC or app or tools present learners with something that cannot be done in a face-to-face classroom? If yes, how so?   

It is true that real classroom with the presence of a teacher with a face-to-face and social interaction is a better choice. But, this website also presents learners with something that cannot be done in face-to-face classroom. It indeed provides learners with abundance of materials to be used in improving their English language proficiency, fluency and accuracy level yet sometimes in real classroom, the right and condition of self-government which is also known as autonomy is rarely given to the learners. By using this website, learners have control on their own pace of learning and taking into account the English test provided to get to know their own proficiency level, learners would be able to learn something at their level rather than if they are in mixed-proficiency class where sometimes the lessons might be too easy or too difficult which can lead to boredom and lack of interest in lessons.

Many students do not have the confidence to use the language orally and feel stressed whenever they need to produce it and this is known as language ego, a sense of inferiority as one tries to learn a new language. This website is a better option to serve as the platform for the learners to practice speaking in English. It offers plenty of exercise to practise speaking and learner would be comfortable to learn in their own skin. The thought that someone is watching them and fear of making mistakes in speaking can be reduced when using this website.

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

From what I see, the theory of language learning underlying this website is most probably Constructivism, a theory about how people learn where it propose the idea that people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. When we come across something new, we have to relate it with our schema and previous knowledge, maybe changing what we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge and to able ourselves to do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know. Due to the fact that this website offers self-assessed activity and exercise, the learners themselves must be aware of their learning process, and how it takes place and the room of improvement available in order to advance further.

5. An important criterion for evaluating a CALL program, task or activity is the potential for language learning (i.e. will student learn something?) Does the website or MOOC or app fulfill this criterion? If yes, how so? If no, why?

Regardless of the circumstance that it is a digital platform with no face-to-face interaction, this website can still be considered as a potential medium for language learning because of the authenticity of the materials provided. The examples as well as the situations described in the activity are related to the real world context in which the learners will be able to apply the input learned from the website in real situation. The context of the activity and exercise vary from casual ones like everyday activity and daily conversation to a more formal one like attending job interview and fact-related discussion.

6. Would you like to use the application yourself in your future work? Yes? Provide reason(s), No? Provide (reason).

In the future, I will definitely use the website to facilitate my teaching, if I become an educator, because not only this website offers material for adult learners, it also provides material for younger learners such as teenagers and children. Hence, it would be much easier for me to find material needed that suits different level of learners at different age. On top of that, I will also make use of this website to assist me in language learning as learning is a lifelong process and there will always be something new to discover. Since English is my second language and I will always prone to use my native language in most of the situation, this website will be a great help to keep me in check with my English language proficiency.

v: class activity (food class)

iv: 3 major learning theories