My Class PresenTaTion is AveraGe..

I have presented my lesson to the class during previous lesson and it it lucky enough that nothing much to be condemned by. hehe.. Anyway, there is always room for improvement. This time, i have to look back and ensure that everything mentioned by the tutor should be considered.

In term of font, i may not having much problems with font size but have to change font type where the Times New Roman must be changed to the Comic Sans MS. This is more appropriate for the young learners. I have understand that the children may be having difficulties in reading the text; as an example the alphabet A of Times New Roman may confuse the pupils compared to the alphabet A of Comic Sans MC.

Choice of colours also should be the priorities in designing materials for school kids. Besides making sure that the colours can be seen, colour also play an important role in giving motivation for the pupils. Specific colours have different effects. Below are some examples that can be as a quick reference for colour theraphy - colour and the Brain (copied from Biopulse.org):

Black: self-confidence, power, strength
Blue: calming, lowers blood pressure, decreases respiration
Green: soothing, relaxing mentally as well as physically, helps those suffering from depression, anxiety, nervousness
Violet: suppresses appetite, provides a peaceful environment, good for migraines
Pink: used in diet therapy as an appetite suppressant, relaxes muscles, relieves tension, soothing
Yellow: energizes, relieves depression, improves memory, stimulates appetite
Orange: energizes, stimulates appetite and digestive system
Red: stimulates brain wave activity, increases heart rate

On the other hand, i am glad since my activities in the lesson are related to one another and purposely, I am providing the pupils with deminishing assisstance as the activity move from one to the other activity. It means that the activity become more challenge with less assisstance as the pupils follow the activity designed.

some tHings to be Updated..

I've change the input in the earlier screen. I replaced the Cookie Monster with the video of health reminder.

The ActiviTy

I have just really started my work last week. It looks late and procrastinating. Well.. they said students are always like that. It is not a very good statement but I agree for the time being..
Being in this course teach me a lot of new things with great application. I was introduced to the smartboard during my third semester but I have never realized that smartboard can provide teacher with enormous assistance until the assignment is carried out. I started to applied functions that contain in the software. I have not being able to apply and master all the functions, but I still believe that it will develop within time and through constant interaction.
My rough idea of constructing the smartboard activity is to include the sesame street video which presents Cookie Monster (MC) singing “Healthy Food”. It seems to be catchy and applicable to the activity since my content is generally on food. I used to enjoy Sesame Street when I was young. Here, I include lyrics (chorus) of “Healthy Food”, singing by MC.

(Chorus)
Healthy food!
Boy, it taste so good.
Me one healthy dude
'Cause me eat healthy food.
Me love it boiled or stewed,
Me love it whole or chewed.
You'd feel just great if you'd
Eat some healthy food!

Me promise that when you eat varied menu,
You get more out of every meal.
You need balanced diet,
Come on and try it!
Not believe how great you'll feel!

Munch some carrots or beans
Or poultry or greens,
Along with your chocolate chip.
And banana or plum
Will make you go, "Yum!"
Nutrition--- it really hip!
www.lyricsdownload.com/sesame-street-heatlhy-food-lyrics.html

Assignment Again...

It's time to back on track and focus on the next assignment.. It is about developing activity for primary school children and my chosen subject is English. I have some ideas of what to be created but it is still in the initial stage. Prof. Maznah kept reminding us that not all activities are suitable to be used with SMARTBOARD. I agree with her since smartboard requires tasks that are interactive and full engagement..
i have read some of the articles and the level of interactivity attract my attention. There are level 0 (no control,view only)until level 5(return scores, diagnostics ). Of course, my mission is definitely to achieve Level 5. InsyaAllah...
However, I am still have not finished my reading especially on the 12-teaching techniques and it will be in progress..

Soft Skills

I started to recall the kinds of soft skills that are related to me when Prof. Raja Maznah mentioned about it. I believe that some soft skills that have developed in me. One clear thing is I learned how to manage the stress and problem occurred by reminding myself that everything would be completed in time. At this point, time management is very important that I have to be very strict with myself as the video in progress or else I failed to complete it on time. Being responsible for my own work and achievement that I can get is also essential for me. Thus, I have to take all the responsible seriously as it is my own project and my own product. Through it, I would always aspect that I can produce of something that can be proud of. Possessing self-esteem is another important soft skill that I gain in term of my confidence in using ICT for my future task and job. I believe that ICT is able to assist me in developing and completing my project as well as giving me new skills that are beneficial for long term journey.

SmartBoard Again...!

SMART Board interactive whiteboard is a product of SMART Technologies. It is a large, touch-controlled screen that works with a projector and a computer. The projector throws the computer’s desktop image onto the interactive whiteboard, which acts as both a monitor and an input device. Users can write on the interactive whiteboard in digital ink or use a finger to control computer applications by pointing, clicking and dragging, just as with a desktop mouse. Buttons launch a popup keyboard and a right-mouse-click menu for more input options. The interactive whiteboard is usually mounted on a wall or a floor stand and is used in face-to-face or virtual settings in education, business and government.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_Board_interactive_whiteboard

As others, i have been in the short course for the SMART board before. This time it seems to be more exiting and i feel like really really want to learn more. Maybe because i have the previous experience with that thing. Honestly, the knowledge that i have gain is just a small part of what the Smartboard will offer to me.

SMART Board provide an opportunity for teachers and students to communicate interactively. Everything can be shown clearly and interestingly. What i really mean here is the learning process will be more meaningful since the technology support reciprocal interaction within students and teacher. Every example can be shown in clear views. Plus, the functions in the toolbox and the templates that can be easily download from the internet making teacher's life easier and more time saving..! Plus no more worries for the dust from chalk and blackboard..!

Movie & tHe ProgreSSioN...

Through out the week, i have been sitting in from of the laptop, continuity complete my movie. Thanks to some friends who give me the Power Director, which is now replacing the Window Movie Maker. Thanks guys..
My strategies was i collected the materials needed for the movie, completed the story board, and then started to do movie editing. I asked my sister to become the "model" in the video and my brother as the only "production crew". Besides friends and course mate, it is really enjoying when sometimes, completing assignment with the help of own family members. Personally, the process of collection materials, capturing pictures, and recording clips are really valuable moments, especially when most of the things go smooth. Much more valuable when we get great score for the effort..! Hehe..
Until now, the movie is in 75% completed. I strongly hope that the objective of the movie can be achieved as well as applicable in the real classroom. The main idea of the movie is to guide the pupils to make their own photo craft. For me, the video is suitable for young learner. For instance, the video shows the pupils to paste paper using using glue neatly, to draw, to decorate and to paint. All this small elements actually able to enhance pupils creativity. This will also develop their fine motor skills since most of the activity in the video requires them to use their hands.
Here are some info about motor skills:

What are fine motor skills?
Fine motor skills are those skills which require a child to manipulate and gain control over a range of materials and tools. These are often for communication purposes both functional and expressive, eg writing a name or message, manipulating a computer mouse, creating a sculpture. Opportunities to develop these skills exist in all six key learning areas of the primary curriculum. The components of fine motor skills can be considered to be:

* Grasping -eg using a crayon, pencil, brush, glue stick, beater, blocks
* Manipulating - eg playdough, clay, paper, sewing, scissors, fingerplays
* Hand-eye co-ordination - eg writing, cutting,using a glue gun

Structured learning experiences such as developmental play and learning centres are opportunities for teachers to provide a range of activities which will help develop the fine motor skills of children. These will often include materials such as playdough, clothes pegs, sorting, Lego, construction toys, bottles and lids, paper, pens, paints and other media, computer-based technology.
http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/linkages/ContentLinks/links_fmskills.html