Blog Archives

Reflection (Week 8)

10/30/2015

Assalamualaikum and hello everyone! I forgot to mention that after the lecture last week, Dr. Fariza asked each group to come up with 1) Research Question and 2) Questionnaire regarding the topic that we presented. We then created them using Google Forms to create online surveys as they provide opportunities for users to share their views and be counted in a quick and easy manner.

Basically, Google Forms allows the users to plan events, make a survey or poll, create a quiz, or collect other information in an easy, streamlined way with Google Forms. Besides, it is also directly connected to spreadsheets in Google Sheets. Thus, all the responses will automatically be sent to the spreadsheet. Such a helpful assistance!

After we showed our Questionnaire to Dr. Fariza, there are lots of things need to be fixed and supposedly, we need to build the Research Question first before creating those questions. Not simply from the slides as to make the analysis later easier. After few times editing it, we finally distributed the following Questionnaire through email, Whatsapp and other social networking sites. So, below is the sneak peek of how the questions look like.

If you have free time you are welcome to answer our questionnaire on 21st Century Skills.Therefore, I've personally invited you to fill out the form 21st Century Skills. To fill it out, click here.

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated in this regard.
All the love - A.

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Reflection (Week 7)

10/23/2015

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Since last week, each group had already presented their topic respectively, Dr. Fariza continued the lecture with another three topics which are 1) Open Source Software, 2) Original and Licensing Software and 3) Internet and Computer Security.

First and foremost, there are lots of free software available on the internet. For example, the cloud storage. According to Webopedia (2015), cloud storage is defined as the storage of data online in the cloud. There are lots of benefits to using cloud storage, including data backup, recovery and others. However, the most noticeable is file accessibility. Do you still remember those times when to use files for example, word processing and spreadsheets on different computers, you needed to save the files on a thumb drive or CD-ROM disk. Then, the drive or disk travelled along with you so that you could load the information onto other computers until the documents were safely retrieved. That is so ancient! With cloud, files are stored and can be accessed at any time from any place as long as you have the Internet access. You do not need to worry about losing the device, breaking the CD or not having the information loaded properly anymore. Just how fast the technology changes!

*seems familiar?

However, the big question here is “Are we aware of the trusted and reliable sources?” One thing to bear in mind is that using open source software is not all milk and honey. Have you heard of EULA? That item is the End User License Agreement which covered the software you use. If you read their terms, (most of us blindly agreeing to it, right?) it is stated that the companies disclaimed all liabilities when problems occur and disrupt the productivity. Which means that you won’t really have or receive any support and the worst part is, the responsibility for the product falls on you. From my understanding, ignoring EULAs not only expose the computer to security risks but also your privacy. Therefore, before you jump into the bandwagon and download all the products you’ve been eyeing on, find out if it is worth your while.

Next, there are several issues that arise when talking about Internet security. One example is the online threats such as malwares, spywares and viruses. Every time a home PC or laptops go online, it connects to thousands of unknown networks and millions of their users. While you’re connected, that’s when a hacker break into your computer by finding out its IP address. Hearing a story from Dr. Fariza about the man whom nearly lost RM 10, 000 as the result from being hacked only through the wifi connection scared the shit out of me. Never crossed in my naïve mind that these things could happen to be honest. Being a student, I understand the struggle to keep up-to-date with all the advancement in technology. Tell me who doesn’t love the open wifi? They actually couldn’t care less whether sharing information or having an account at a particular site bring good or harm to them. In fact, youngster nowadays, they couldn’t pass a minute without flooding the social media with selfies or update status on Twitter. What’s on their mind is they have the accessibility.

That's all from me.
All the love - A.

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Reflection (Week 6)

10/16/2015

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It’s a presentation day! Since we (Alia, Izza & Izzy) are Group 1, our topic is about 21st Century Skills. Actually, there was a draw lot to decide the sequence of the presentation. But, I don’t know why, the three of us still got that legend number – 1. Nevermind, being first doesn’t always mean the worst presentation, right? Supposedly, for each group the given time only 15 minutes. But then, since all of us were too excited to share the findings, it goes on and on for 30 minutes each group. Whoops! Dr. Fariza even said that never in the history of computer in education of course in the class she taught, the presentation took from the beginning of time till the end of the class. I took it as a compliment*clap your hands, peeps!

In the last reflection, I had already reflected on the 21st Century Skills education but not fully enough. Overall from the presentation, I can say that there have been a lot of changes in our education system this past few years. Nowadays, learning is comprised of formal and informal. The terms formal and informal here have nothing to do with the formality of the learning, but rather with the direction of who controls the learning objectives and goals. In addition, they are the Generation Z. The learning process solely in the classroom has never been enough for them anymore. Besides, in this era we have been exposed to various new terms, for example, flipped classroom, blended and mobile learning and e-Learning. Also, another important thing is the assessment is no longer exam oriented. Instead, it is formative where it enables the educators to evaluate the progress of the learners from time to time. By doing this, I think it is much more applicable and relevant in the present context and period because exam orientation is totally outdated.

Next, we ought to acknowledge that ICT is a matter of culture, not some kind of diseases that damage young people today. Also, these days, learning is becoming more and more dynamic because of the fast development of ICT tools and devices that allow them to be multi-tasking. Knowledge also is no longer in school textbooks or in the teacher’s brain but is accessible through numerous channels. What’s more, within the emergence of technology and few new ways of learning, the term self-paced learning also popped up. Through reading a couple of articles, I found that self-paced learning here means that learners have the opportunity to complete their learning in any setting, at home, on the road, or anyplace that has internet connections. In fact, the student is more relaxed and can concentrate on their learning better. Also, it can progress at a pace that suits the learner. Fast learners who work at a fast pace have the opportunity to gain competency quickly while slow learners have the opportunity for repetition without being pushed ahead too quickly.

To recapitulate, there are lots of skills presented in the framework of 21st Century Skills but the main focus is on 4’C (Communication, Critical Thinking, Collaboration and Creativity). What I can conclude is that the 21st Century Skills is about being true to self, being assertive and being proud of the gifts as to illuminate a path on which all of us will spend the rest of our life. Because at the end of the day, facts and memorization will bring you nowhere. Thus, the educators need to implement and improved the 21st Century Skills to prepared the youngster adequately for college and work. This is due to the fact that without these skills, they will not be able to successfully participate in the global economy.

All the love - A.

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Reflection (Week 5)

10/9/2015

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A week ago, we (in a group of three) were assigned with different topics respectively. My teammates and I got the topic of 21st Century Skills. From the finding, we managed to sort out the essential skills that need to be equipped for every learner in the 21st Century which are 1) learning and innovation skills, 2) information, media and technology skills and 3) life and career skills as to fit and survive in this 21st Century global society.

I would like to reflect it on the 21st Century Education. What do you think when we think of the future? What does the future of learning look like and how are we going to create it?

Sir Ken Robinson in his talk about Changing Education Paradigm also analyzed that educational system in most countries is built for the Industrial Revolution where the students are shaped and forced to become their ideal kind of students to fit the economy structure. Nowadays the students are living in the Digital Revolution. The path that we tread in the 21st century is completely different from that few decades ago. These days, it is not about teaching the content nor skills, but it is about using the content to teach the skills. What’s more, it is intended to empower the teachers to integrate technology effectively in the current curriculum while focusing on students problem-solving, critical thinking and collaboration. So, how are we going to move forward if we still utilized the same system that have been designed for a few centuries ago?

Moreover, today’s students are growing up with technology such as smartphones, iPads and tablets. To be exact, almost any given day, you will probably find a student using a social media in the classroom. Whether they are sneaking the smartphones out to recess, trying to scroll Instagram during the lesson, or using the Internet for a class project. And also, it has been proven that learning using modern tools is better as students can be more innovative, dynamic and it can be fun for learning.

To conclude, before pursuing my degree in TESL at UKM, when I went into the education field I didn’t sign up to be expert in habits of mind, but as the future teacher, it is significant to implant the skill for the sake of students as to foster their talents and navigate them in a right direction. Hopefully, with the 21st Century skills, the learning objectives are more open-minded and develop the divergent thinking as well, where they will learn that sometimes a wrong answer is a right answer to a different question, just like in the real life.

All the love - A.

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Reflection (Week 4)

10/2/2015

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In this session, we were discussing the contrasts between Learning Management System (LMS), Course Management System and Content Management System (CMS). At first, I couldn’t decipher how they vary from each other even after googling them. Then, with the help and further explanation from Dr. Fariza, it can be concluded that Learning Management System is more into administration in which students used to deal with the courses, Course Management System is more into communicating with peers and lecturers while Content Management System is more into organizing and editing content on the websites.

To close, the presence of LMS and CMS has become a vital cog in the wheel of knowledge. For example, the students can chat with the teachers, collaborate on projects, reflect learning through blogs and e-Portfolios, and play educational games in a safe online environment.

On the other hand, if we see from another perspective, the concept of LMS and CMS in fact, are relevant to mobile learning too as it enables us to access the information whenever and wherever we are. Besides, it is said that 2015 is the year of mobile learning. And, according to a recent mobility trends report, the majority of Millennials aged 18-24, rate their mobile phone as more important to their daily lives than their laptop, television, deodorant and toothbrush.

We could not deny the fact that mobile devices nowadays are becoming more and more ubiquitous both inside and outside of our professional lives. To be exact, mobile has transformed numerous parts of our personal lives, from reading books to hailing a cab. In addition, Prof. Amin once said to us “Those who are born after 1995 up till now is known as the Generation Z – a generation that grows and learns with mobile devices”. Also, these days, students are communicating through Twitter, share photos on Facebook and keep up-to-date through blogs. Thus, there is no compelling reason to prohibit or force them to quit using those digital tools when actually, they had been proven in increasing the test results when students have the access to mobile devices.

In a nutshell, the digital era is already here. Therefore, their education needs to keep up at the same pace.

That's all from me. All the love. A.

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Reflection (Week 3)

10/2/2015

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As the world of the internet has skyrocketed, as blogging became a developing trend, all these bloggers wanted the same thing that is an easy way to manage and place content on the network. There are lots of software, but the common are Blogger and WordPress. To limit the comparison of the two, for those who just want something simple, then Blogger is a great option as WordPress is more complex than it seems to be.

Thus, we are exposed to Weebly: a drag-and-drop website builder that you can use to create your own professional website which is less complicated than others tool. Yes, I agree with Dr. Fariza it is very, very, very intuitive and convenient to use. Very flexible I might say. Apart from being one of the easiest and user-friendly, website builder in the market, it is also free to use and comes with a broad range of well-crafted templates and themes. And the best part about Weebly is, it does not have the permanent date when we publish a post. In other words, it allows you to edit the previous post without changing the date. Also, you can insert the gif easily without the need to convert it to the certain codes. I love gif so much! *Hands up if you agree

My first website *Feel free to visit
http://nendahomestay.weebly.com/

Truth to be told, this is not my first time, I have used this platform back in my foundation year. Therefore, I’m not so head-over-heels about it. *grinning face with smiling eyes. Before this, I’m not one of a kind who likes to share my personal experience or making review of some products. That’s why I don’t blog. I prefer to keep it to myself. However, long story short, the first time I used Weebly for my assignment – creating a website to promote your homestay, I would say it was very handy. You might confuse or scare about how to do it since you didn’t have any clue how it works. No need to worry because with Weebly, you literally can build the website in less than an hour! How fantastic is that! No specific knowledge needed, no credit card information to sign up, no complex codes and no time limit for the free account. So, when Dr. Fariza requested us to build our own website as e-portfolio to be evaluated throughout this semester, I was really excited actually.

All in all, if you are looking a website builder, for example, to make your voice heard, to satisfy your creative side or for networking, Weebly is the right option. Let me know in the comment below whether is it Yay or Nay for you.

*Now watch me whip, watch me

Really anticipating of what new things I am going to come across next.

All the love – A

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Reflection (Week 8)

Reflection (Week 7)

Reflection (Week 6)

Reflection (Week 5)

Reflection (Week 4)

Reflection (Week 3)

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