EdPuzzle

EDpuzzle is a site that allows users to select a video and customize it by editing, cropping, recording audio, and adding questions to make an engaging presentation or lesson (Kupler, 2014). For example, you can use a video from YouTube and inserted questions in the video and students will need to answer those questions before continue watching it. It is undoubtedly that  

This is an EDpuzzle that I have created using a classic story “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” which I aim to use it for my Year 1 students (7 years old). Try to answer it!   

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My Kahoot

Kahoot is a free website that enables teachers to create a set of questions online. This set of questions can be asked in real-time, to an unlimited number of “players”, creating a social, fun and game-like learning environment in the classroom. So teachers, if you want to create a Kahoot! quiz go to https://create.kahoot.it/

As a primary school teacher, I feel that this website enables me to create an interesting and out-of the box way of assessing my students' understanding. I would use this website as an extension from a reading activity. For example, after conducting the reading activity, usually I give worksheets to my students to answer. With Kahoot, students will be using computers, laptops or their mobile devices with the internet connection to answer the comprehension questions. 

Before taking my quiz, you need to read the text that I based the questions from. So, here a print screen of the text. 

Click here to take the Kahoot quiz that I have created 

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Voki

Voki is a website created by Oddcast. It can be used as an educational tool that allows users to create their very own talking character. Voki characters can be customized to look like historical figures, cartoons, animals, and even yourself!

This is a Voki character that I have created. It is Count Dracula! Click here to go to my Voki character.

My Voki Character - Count Dracula.

When Dr. Marta wanted us to think how to use Voki in our classroom, I imagined using it in teaching my students "Guilliver's Travel" graphic novel which is in the Year 5 (11 years old) syllabus. 

A graphic novel that I teach my students. 

I will use Voki as an interesting ways to introduce all the characters in the graphic novel. Other than that, I can ask my students to create their own Voki based on the characters in the graphic novel after they have learnt it. My students will need to work in pairs and create the Voki characters. Their characters will explain a brief characteristics and story. This will be an interesting ways to assess my students' understanding of the graphic novel.

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Word Clouds

It was a interesting lesson today as Dr. Marta introduced to us Word Clouds. Word Clouds is an image composed of words used in a particular text or subject, in which the size of each word indicates its frequency or importance. There are many websites that you can use to create Word Clouds. The one that we use in the class is http://www.wordle.net/.

This is a Word Clouds that I have created using a poem by Shakespeare. Can you guess the title of the poem? Look in the comment section for the answer.

Don't be fooled with the simplicity of Word Clouds. It can be use to generate interesting language teaching activities. The following are some ideas of using Word Clouds in the classroom:

1. Teacher can create word-matching activity where you can write a list of words both in your mother tongue and in English. Then, use the resulting word cloud as a vocab quiz/worksheet. 
2. Teacher can engage students’ discussion by using key words created in a word cloud and make predictions about the content before reading the actual text.
3. You can also create a word cloud out of a text in the target language and ask students to discover and highlight the main ideas in the text.

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Photo Story 3

Microsoft Photo Story 3 is a free application that allows users to create a visual story (show and tell presentation) from their digital photos. If your computer are not installed with the application, you can easily download it from the Microsoft website here.

This is the interface of the application.

Here is a video that I have created using Photo Story 3. Enjoy!

One creative ways of using Photo Story in the classroom is to get my students to create a digital story about their own family tree. One of the themes that my Year 3 students (9 years old) need to learn is about family. They can make a simple video presentation about their own family trees. They can take pictures of their family members and then recorded themselves talking about their respective family members. The teacher needs to give a guidelines or rubric on the content of their video so that the video would not be too long to be shared in the classroom.

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Need Analysis (NA) of ICT in Language Learning (LL) for Primary School Teacher

For the Need Analysis of ICT in LL, we have to work in small groups of 3 to 4 members. My group members are me, Mariana Mohd Yusof (Mar from Brunei), and Manomay Saysopha  (May from Loa). We decided to focus on primary/elementary school teachers. The rationale of this NA is to identify the teachers knowledge, skills, exposure, and attitudes and preferences in learning and teaching using ICT.

Its all starts with questioning what you need.

Our group believe that the best way to gain information from the teachers is through the use of questionnaire. The use of Google Form will enable us to do it in an easier way. It is also more convenient for the respondents (teachers) to attempt the questionnaire.

This is the questionnaire that we had created together using Google Form. Why don't you try to answer the questionnaire and leave any comments so that we can improve on it? Thanks!

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Copyright Law in Malaysia

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including. literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This. protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Every country have their own copyright law. In this entry, I will share the copyright law that we have in Malaysia, compare it with the U.S. copyright law, and highlight particular law for education.    

Where did you find the information?

Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO). It is an agency under the Ministry of Domestic, Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism.

Who developed or wrote the document?

Copyright Act 1987 (Act 332) is developed by the Government of Malaysia under the Ministry of Domestic, Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism.

What is similar & different from the international or U.S. law?

Similarity

• Malaysia, U.S. and my other countries generally have the same Copyright law. This is because we signed the Berne Convention.
• The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works -  an international agreement governing copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886.
• 172 countries signed the Berne Convention.

(Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention)

Differences

• Unlike copyright law in other countries, Malaysia recognizes copyright for works made by the Government or Government organization. 
• This is stated in section 11(1). 
• For comparison, the copyright laws of the United States do not include the works created by the government unless the work is for trading purposes or other special purposes. 
• Therefore, almost all the work done by the United States government is in the public domain.

(Retrieved from:  https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undang-undang_hak_cipta_Malaysia)

Particular law for education or teacher.

The following are the excerpt from the Copyright Act 1987 (Act 332) that explains the particular law for education or teacher in Malaysia.

B. the reproduction made in schools, universities or educational institutions of a work included in a broadcast intended for such schools, universities or educational institutions. (CA s.13(2)(g))

C. any use made of a work by or under the direction or control of the Government, by the National Archives or any State Archives, by the National Library, or any State library, or by such public libraries and educational, scientific or professional institutions as the Minister may by order prescribe, where such use is in the public interest and is compatible with fair practice and the provisions of any regulations, (CA s.13(2)(i))

(Retrieved from: http://a2knetwork.org/reports/malaysia)

So, how about your country? You can share the copyright law in your country in the comment section. 

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Comic Strips in English Language Class - ToonDoo

Another free website that was shared by Dr. Marta with us today is http://www.toondoo.com/. ToonDoo is a cool, comic-creating tool from Jambav. You can just drag-drop or click to create comic strips that express your views, opinions, angst or to just have fun.

Here are two comic strips that I managed to create in the class. Have fun reading my comic!

There are a lot of language teaching and learning activities that you can use ToonDoo with in your classroom. Here are a two ideas of using ToonDoo in the English language class that I can come out with.

1. In the Malaysian primary classroom, the students learn social interactions and expressions. Usually, teachers will teach these social interactions and expressions by explaining the target expression and practice it by role playing, asking students to act out the dialogues that they have learnt. As an extension, teachers can ask students to use the target social interactions and expressions to create their own comic strips. Then, students can share their comic strips with the whole class.
2. Another way to use ToonDoo is to check the students comprehension. Teachers can share a simple story with the students through listening or reading activity. After the listening or reading activity, teachers ask students to work individually, in pairs or in small groups to create a comic strip based on the story. This is a creative and interesting ways to assess students' comprehension.

There are endless possibilities for teachers to use ToonDoo to MAXIMIZE language learning. Can you think any other ways of using ToonDoo creatively in your English language classroom?

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My Pic.Lits

Today we are introduced to a website named Pic.Lits. This is a picture that I have made using the website.

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

This simple yet resourceful website is good for language teaching. Pic.Lits is a great way to get students to think creatively and critically about writing.  Students can choose any picture and then use the word list to create a sentence. It can be a caption, a sentence, a story, a paragraph, a poem, a rap, a quotation, lyrics from a song, and more.

You can use Pic.Lits in your classroom to enhance the students' vocabulary and writing skills. The following are two ideas of using Pic.Lits in the classroom.

1. You can use Pic.Lits to introduce to your students the part of speech in the English language.  When using Pic.Lits as a class, you choose a picture for the day. From the word bank given, students will be exposed to the word categories (noun, verbs, adverbs and adjectives). Teacher can highlight these word categories. After explaining the part of speech, you can ask the students to write their sentences on paper using words from the word bank to describe the picture selected. 
2. For advanced learners, you can conduct a poem writing activity. Asks students to create a descriptive poem of the picture by only using the given words in the word bank.

Every picture selected comes with the words bank given in the Drag-N-Drop selection. For the Free style selection, you can write anything you want.

For a simple website, Pic.Lits do provide teachers the revenue for teaching activities. Do try it!

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Presentation Tools - Prezi

We were introduced to two online presentation applications available for us to use for free. The application are Google Slides and Prezi. Dr. Marta walk through with us on how to use both of these applications. 

Google Slides

Prezi

                         

After that, we were asked to get into small groups (2 to 4 people per groups). I had the privilege working together with Mariana Mohd Yusof (Mar from Brunei) and Manomay Saysopha (May from Loas). We were instructed to create a Google Slides or Prezi presentation about our experience in the Brunei-U.S. ELEP program so far based on the criteria given.

Me, May and Mar.

In our small group, Mar, May and I decided to venture on using Prezi for our project. We sat down together and decided on the things that we want to incorporate in our Prezi slides. We collected pictures, video and the details needed.

The following is our Prezi slide.

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