WWW Lesson Plan

Salam Dr. Izaham


Form: 4
Level: Advanced
Time: 1 hour
Language Content: Future Tense

Aims: To be able to identify the description in the website and to practice speaking in class.

Technical Requirements:
1) One computer for a pair of students.
2) Internet connection
3) Web browser
4) Printer


Preparation:
1) Find a suitable website for palm reading
2) Prepare a worksheet based on the description of the palm reading
3) There are two choices of worksheet. a) answer worksheet in word document and print out
b) print worksheet and answer handwritten

Procedure:

Set Induction:

1) Recap previous lesson on future tense
2) Ask students whether they have ever thought about their future life
3) Ask some students to tell their plans for future, in 15 years time.
4) Ask students whether they are familiar with palm reading

Development:

1) Ask students to sit in pair
2) Browse website for palm reading together with students.
3) Ask them to read the descriptions very carefully and understand it.
4) Give them prepared worksheet on the topic. (worksheet 1)
5) They need to fill in the blanks with the descriptions of the palm reading. (transfer of information)
6) They may change the picture in the worksheet to their own picture.
6) 15 minutes allocated for this activity (including discussion of answers)

Website: http://www.indyapulse.com/astrology/ReadYourPalm.asp

7) From the description, ask students to read their partner's palm.
8) They will incorporate the use of future tense in their reading.
9) Some pairs will present their finding on their partner's palm.
10) Students may use their creativity to make the palm reading interesting and funny.
11) 30 minutes will be allocated for this activity (read palm + present)

12) Ask students to write a one page writing exercise
13) They need to argue their palm reading made by their friends.
14) They need to state if it is true or not true and provide reasons they say so.

15) End of activity

HANDOUT/WORKSHEE




Fill in the blanks with suitable description stated in the website.

ARTICLE REVIEW (redo)

Title: The Employment of CALL in Teaching Second/ Foreign Language Speaking Skills

Author: Julia Gong

Link: http://www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/research/resources/student_res/postscriptfiles/vol3/vol3_1_gong1.pdf

I presented and reviewed on Smart School twice this semester which emphasizes on the issue of technology being used in assisting teaching and learning of second language. Many teachers did not fully utilize what has been provided in school by the government in helping them to teach better and effectively. And most teachers are not aware of what can be done using technology.
The article that I am going to review is by Julia Gong, published on July by the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne Australia. The article tells reader about the
application of CALL in second or foreign language teaching and learning speaking skills.

Summary

Educators recognize that utilizing computer technology and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) programs can be convenient to create both independent and collaborative learning environments and provide students with language experiences as they move through the various stages of second language acquisition (Kung, 2002). But there are not many CALL programs that we can find that provide speaking activity.
The author states that there are two aspects covered by spoken language competence which are mechanical aspects and meaningful aspects. Mechanical dimension focuses on the learning to discriminate and produce sounds of a language and decoding of individual sounds/ phonemes. The activities offered in such programs are extensive texts, graphics, animation, audio and digitized audio or video clips. These activities enable text to be converted to speech of native speakers which help learners to pronounce words and phrases correctly. Besides converting into speeches, audio provided will help learners to practice face- to- face communication with the native speakers. With help from computer, learners are able to get real- time feedback with clear interpretable visual images on their performance in pronunciation. Besides that, the mechanical aspects of spoken language competence offers learners private working environment that learners can take their own time and teachers only need to facilitate the learning. Learners can avoid embarrassment and this will enhance learners motivation in learning the language.
On the other hand, meaningful dimension applies to complexity of natural spoken language. Software of meaningful dimension allows learners to talk to computers during the practice of language. Given two speakers in an activity, learners can change to be either one of the speaker. This enables learners to experience variety of situation. However, not much can be done as computers only provide expected feedback and not unexpected situation. An advanced program has simulation activities that instruct learners to simulate their own activity. This simulation will get learners to discuss in a group and decide what should be done in the simulation. From the discussion, learners will interact and use practice spoken language. Apart from software, internet also provides such opportunities to practice language in conversational environment, for example the use of webcam yahoo messenger or other web browser. This is an experience of mine whereby I often use webcam to interact with my friends and it enhances my spoken language. Discussion watched in the internet can be a source of discussion in class whereby teachers facilitate the pace of discussion.
Other than that is the use of electronic dictionary and a few more applications that help learners in spoken language. Immediate feedbacks are given in terms of word and phrase level as computers only provide correct or not feedback. CALL in teaching and learning of speaking skills provides advantages and disadvantages which make it necessary for teachers to understand the use of the software chosen in the teaching and learning activities.

Reflection

I like the topic being discussed in the article as it provides insight especially for language teachers who has difficulties in teaching speaking skill to learners. Second language acquisition is not easy for some learners especially in speaking skills. With the explanation on the aspects of language competence, readers are able to understand the appropriate activities and programs that can be used to suit which type of learners they have.
I do not have experiences using technology in teaching but I did use some information from the internet to assist my teaching. The problem with our daily school is that internet is provided only for teachers to do their work and not for students to utilize the technology. Students are not given enough time to use technology and they are not given opportunity to use it because of the limitation that teachers abide in using the technology. Students cannot use technology widely as teachers forbid them.
As we search in the internet and web, we can find many activities cater for writing, reading and listening skills, but not too much on speaking. Teachers are not equipped with appropriate and suitable software to help them teach speaking skills and if there is any, they do not think that it is reliable because of its limitation in giving feedback and only provide expected feedback.
Skills in language should not be taught in isolation. The integration of the skills is necessary to make learning more authentic to students. Programs of language practice should integrate on all four skills and maybe focus can be given to any of it. The integration of the four skills help learners in becoming more familiar with the language.
I have an experience using electronic dictionary. I installed Longman Dictionary in my laptop to help me in vocabulary. But it did not work as the audio could not work and I could not listen to the pronunciation. Besides that, I only can use the dictionary if I put in the cd, even though I have installed the software.
As a conclusion, I can say that the use of CALL in teaching language is very good way of promoting education in school. Students attracted to technology and each day students improving themselves with the latest technology. Teachers should do the same.

NELSON MANDELA (Hypertext)

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.

Rethinking Multimedia Courseware Design

Title: Rethinking Multimedia Courseware Design

By: Abtar Kaur, Faculty of Education, Universit of Malaya

Link: http://myais.fsktm.um.edu.my/5151/

SUMMARY

This article is written by Abtar Kaur from University of Malaya. The article discusses about two theorist of teaching and learning which are objectivism and constructivism, which apply to the designation of multimedia courseware to suit teachers and students’ teaching and learning. The author emphasizes on both theories and provided advantages and disadvantages for both theories which can be a useful information for the designer to design new courseware that will benefit students in terms of enhancing their learning. Based on objectivist, they believe that learning is structured and directed by teacher and the planning of the lesson will be much from teachers’ perspectives. On the other hand, constructivist is the belief that individuals using their experiences as a foundation personally construct knowledge from internal representations (Jonassen, 1990). It means that students use their experiences to construct the learning process and the learning outcomes is acquired during the learning process.

This article compare between the two theories according to the multimedia courseware designed, instructional events, performance objectives, instructional strategy, practice & feedback and the assessment. The comparison between both makes it clear to the reader about both of theories that can be used when designing a multimedia courseware. In the aspect of performance objectives, it says that multimedia courseware that we are having now is a outcome of objectivism view which foucus the activity on the learning to meet the objectives of the lesson and do not provide students with opportunity to construct their own understanding. The instructional strategy of objectivist lead students to be able to master the outcome goal while constructivist, give choices to students what to learn and how to learn about it. Perkins (1991) discussed in detail how computers can be utilized for such activities as information banks, symbol pads, construction kits, phenomeria and task managers to aid in the achievement of constructivist learning. For practice and feedback, objectivist assessment focuses on determining whether the students achieved the performance objectives while assessment of constructivist test higher level of thinking skills and not pre- determined.

Opinion

Strengths

I like the way the author compare the two approaches. For every aspects, the author compare it straight away so that the reader can have quick understanding of both and straight away think of better theories of the two. The aspects that the author compare is also good that it measures the characteristics that a multimedia courseware should have in order to make it more interesting and authentic to students of mix ability.

The author provided some recommendations that can be used by the designer to design a better multimedia courseware to suit the mix ability students.

Weaknesses

As I read through through the article, I can see that the author compare the two theories in a good way but does not give enough examples of activities that can be used to design the courseware. The author focuses more on comparing the theories but but does not give enough information about it.
The author also mentioned about the combination of the theories in designing the courseware but again it does not provide the examples of activities that can be combined to make it more adaptable to various students.
Recommendation
From my reading of the article and some courseware that I have seen, the author really made a good point there of combining both theories in desinging a courseware. I recommend that governement should redesign the current courseware that we have now in school because they are so lame and not interesting and most of them are objectivism in focus while courseware should be something that enhance learning and understanding.
Maybe the author should provide some statistics or chart on the use ofmultimedia courseware in learning and the effectiveness of it.
A small percentage of the courseware incorporated some instructional design principles which are objectivist in nature (Abtar, 1996). However, fast learner were impatient and wanted something more chalenging (Abtar, 1997). Therefore, I suggest that the designing of coming multimedia courseware meet the purpose of it be designed which is for students. Ask teachers in schools to give their ideas on how the courseware should look like, and do not take someone who do not know the raelity of teaching to design it.

Conclusion

In conclusion, i would highly recommend the use of courseware in teaching and learning but give students something new to make them attracted. Computer in learning is a very good way to promote learning. But teachers have not fully utilized it as it requires lots of work and time constraints to maintain and adapt to the technology.

my first blog....

Hi...
my name is nur izarti binti ahmad anwar. i'm from kota bharu n now in part 8 learning tsl 641. to be frank, i'm quite 'blur' in computer parts, hardware or anything to do with computers... wasn't born with the ability to understand it actually..


as for computer software, i think i know how to utilize some of the microsoft programme such as word, excel, publisher n movie maker. i like movie maker the most. i also know basic features of my own laptop...but if something unusual happens or apperas in my laptop...then i will panic and rush myself to my friend raihan....coz she's the only 1 dat will tell me dat nothing is wrong my my laptop...hehe

i think i dun hv any skills in computer hardware coz since i bought my lap, my friend sets up all the things 4 me. but maybe i know, it's juz dat i dun realize dath i do know abt d hardware...
i use internet mostly to chat...n to look 4 info 4 my assignments.. i dun know how to dload movies o anything from d internet. so at d moment, i only chat, surf 4 info n watch movies

i didn't use much of comp during my teaching bcoz it's very hard 4 me to gather all my students nicely in d lab...they r very naughty especially in d lab.. as for online learning... i nvr tried 1 4 my students. bcoz d school has d internet but doesn't permit it to b used in my lab dat i was using. so sad 4 d students. n 4 me, i'v experienced online education learning, it was back when i was in part 1, studying a subject of comp wit Miss J, n i cried once during d class bcz i lost on track...huhu thanks to rawaidah dat we managed to pass the subject... that's all for my first blog...daaa......