Date : 28-29 th May 2012
Venue : Sunway Putra Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
The opening ceremony. This year, the conference is held at 2 venues, KL and Kuching. This has been my 4th time participating in MELTA conference, all using my own expenses. I perceive it as a good platform to share ideas, revive my learning styles and network with other educators.
HRH Raja Zarith Sofiah Almarhum Raja Idris Shah, the royal patron of MELTA.
I did the 'crazy' bit by sharing my action research during the Creative Teacher Showcase and conducting workshop during the conference. The main idea was to share what I've done with my students but I tell ya, it's kinda taxing and I missed some of paper presentations from others too :( Maybe next time, I'll reconsider doing both in the next conference. On the bright side, I got the chance to showcase the project that I've conducted with my students. The biggest perk is to get Dato' Dr. Khair B. Mohd Yusof, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Education and Datin Dr. Siti Zaleha Abdullah Sani, Director, Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan (BTP) dropping by at my booth to watch the videos made by my students. I think E-Learning would definitely be a great catalyst to motivate our students to learn better and discover their true potentials.
I'm happy that my book is finally out and launched during the 21st MELTA Conference. The book, 'ICT and ELT: Researches and Practices in South East Asia' is the first book that focuses on the use of ICT in English Language Teaching in South East Asia and I'm glad to be part of this project. You can purchase the book via the MELTA's website. I wrote a chapter entitled 'Utilising Web 2.0. technologies in teaching the KBSM English Literature Component via MY LIT PROJECT', a classroom-based action research that I had conducted with my students back in 2010. I've presented it during the 19th MELTA Conference and it was featured in The Star newspaper as well. Dr. Kabilan proposed that I write it as an academic write-up and honestly, I was kinda apprehensive at first because it's my first attempt at academic writing after years of graduating B.ed in 2001. Nonetheless, I took it as an opportunity to enrich my writing skills and share what Malaysian teachers are doing in classroom. I was surprised to know that I'm the only teacher contributor among the distinguished South East Asian lecturers. Thanks Dr. Kabilan for the vouch of confidence and I hope this will not be my last attempt.
The workshop that I've conducted on the last day of conference. I decided to do a workshop on Hot Potatoes although I am aware there are so many latest E-Learning tools such as Edmodo, QR Code and other social networking sites that cater to classroom teaching and learning. The main reason why I did it is to encourage teachers to generate their own learning materials, to suit their students' invidual needs. Since Hot Potatoes can be used online or offline, it shouldn't be any qualm for teacher not to try this in school. To me, Hot Potatoes can be used to generate revision materials, extra reinforcement activities for students and students enjoy it as they are interactive and game-like. I'm glad that the workshop received good response from everyone and a lecturer even suggested I write a paper on this in the MELTA journal so I can share this with everyone. Alhamdulillah, I was awarded Bronze for Basil Wijayasuriya Award as best teacher presenter. For me, it was unexpected because I presented for the sake of sharing ideas and experience. After all, there are a lot of more experienced teachers such as Kak Rahmah and Ms. Shantini who are reknowned Guru Cemerlang (Master Teacher) in Malaysia.
Honestly, I feel that we need to give support for more teachers to contribute and share ideas at conferences. My journey hasn't been smooth sailing, my intention of blogging, carrying out action research, doing innovation and sharing ideas at conferences has sometimes been misunderstood by the admins and fellow colleagues but I move forth because I feel when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. When I was having Tweet discussion with Zaid AlSagoff and Will Deyamport last night, I realise that the most important part of being an teacher is to do what you believe would benefit yourself and your students in a long run. The journey may be painstaking but eventually, things will start to brighten up and the best satisfaction is inspiring others to make a difference.
A 7-hour drive to Lumut was worth it. I carpooled with Kak Rahmah, Kak Fuzi & Kak Suzi, all GCs from Johor. Alhamdulillah, we managed to reach the venue albeit mild difficulties in finding the location. There were altogether 365 presentations and it was so hard to choose which session to attend as there were so many interesting papers presented during the parallel sessions. Some of the sessions ended at 7.30 p.m. ! I guess a conference of such magnitude would attract so many presenters and participants. The title itself forecasts the excitement that awaits in the teaching of English Language.
I presented a 30-minute paper presentation on the first day. I shared the findings of my classroom-based Action Research entitled '3-2-1 Action!: Digital Storytelling in ESL Classroom.' I carried out Digital Storytelling Project, a project-based learning where students produce the final products with facilitation from the teacher . I've prepared the Student Module to assist my 4 SN1 students in producing their videos as well as conducting Digital Storytelling Workshop with them. Well, it's about time we give the teacher the break and let the students do all the hard work :) My main objective in carrying out this AR is to promote engaging and meaningful student-centred learning via web-based tools. All the students' work are virtually accessable via the DSP's blog and DSP's Youtube Channel. I am so glad and flattered that a lot of participants expressed their interests in the project and would like to try Digital Storytelling with their students and their teacher trainees. To me, whether you like it or not, E-Learning will be the main approach in English Language Learning as more students are tech-savvy and demand a more interactive and personalised learning.
To me, the perk of attending international conferences is to learn new technique, approach and oratory skills from world-reknown International speakers. I was mesmerised by Jan Blake's expertise in storytelling where she captured the attention of every single participant in the room. Prof Alan Maley imparted a very important asset that we, teachers tend to overlook, our voice. He introduced fun and engaging way to help teachers maximise the flexibility of our voice without having to shout or strain our vocal chords too much. My personal favourite is Paul Cookson. He is so oh talented and gifted! I shared his poems with my sons and they simply enjoyed them :) I had the chance to meet and talk to Adisa, a famous British poet that fuses rythms and beats in poetry. These two men really transform the conventional notion of poetry recitation. Who says poetry is passe? ;) Oh yes, who could forget the 2 Steves. They are hyperactive narrative maestros that demonstrated their love for lively and dramatic stories. Honestly, the conference managed to revive my passion towards injecting performing arts in my classroom teaching. Kudos Dr. Jaya and the committee members!
I've met a lot of passionate educators who I've networked and shared my views, rants and ideas on teaching. Phewww, I was reunited with Sim, my former coursemate after 10 years leaving the college. How time flies! She looks lovely and jovial as ever :) I had the chance to meet Darshini, a bubbly blogger from Kuantan who I've been corresponding with via my blog. Although we both are working with CDD on some projects, we never had the chance to meet one another. After chitchatting, we discovered that we have mutual friends, how cool is that :) I met a group of Sabahan teachers that became my good friends during the conference. All of them forked out their own money and flew here just to attend the conference. Isn't that amazing? That's what I've been doing for the past 3 years, attending conferences sans financial support from others. Personally, some might call it crazy but to me, I enjoy learning new things and presenting helps me to sharpen my oratory skills too. I may not possess the vast experience like other presenters but I always believe that practice makes perfect.
Meeting Kak Rahmah, Kak Fuzi & Kak Suzi was a cherished moment as we
shared our experiences and issues in school. Apparently, we faced
similar predicament as it is challenging being a GC as some people
in school might not understand why you have to go out most of the time. This is one of the main issues that I am facing at the moment. As GC, we need to carry out official duties from the District Education Office, State Education Department and Ministry of Education too. I've been working closely with the aforementioned parties this year and that unfortunately means I have to be away from school frequently. Some assume it's like taking a holiday from school but the
reality is we work and run here and there like headless chicken trying
to accomplished official duties apart from the core business of teaching in school. Despite the challenges, I believe that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. I am thankful as my principal is understanding of my situation and she advises me to juggle my responsibilities wisely. Alhamdulillah, my husband has been so understanding and supportive of my situation and I count my blessing as I have good friends who have always been there for me when I need them.
I'm off to Lumut, Perak this weekend to attend the International Conference on English Language Teaching (ICELT) 2011. I'm representing JPNJ and the title of my paper is '3-2-1 Action! : Digital Storytelling in ESL Classroom' which is based on my Action Research with 4SN1 recently. It took me about 2 months to conduct it as it involves hands-on activity (workshop on Digital Storytelling, writing storyboard and editting videos) to my target group (my students) and the project-based learning coordination as well. Nonetheless, I am glad that my students really cherished the knowledge and experience gained during the project.
The students are also exposed to the integration of Web 2.0. media tools (YouTube, Picnik, Facebook, Blog) in conducting this project. They really work hard to come up with their digital stories. They even surprised themselves (me too!) when they come up with such creative and wonderful videos. I dare say some of them are way better than me and you know, that's practically fine with me :) It's all about tapping into the students' creativity and utilising their multiple intelligence in learning English Language more efficiently. I do hope that sharing the experience of teaching Digital Storytelling with the conference participants would help others to see the potential of Digital Storytelling in enhancing verbal proficiency, creativity, active learning and high-order thinking skills. I am looking forward to learning more from other presenters and networking with other participants from all over the world.
In conjunction with the Merdeka month celebration in my school, I've came up with the M Project where the main themes of the lessons revolved around patriotism & Independence Day. In this context, the main educational emphases are on Thinking
Skills, ICT, Knowledge
Acquisition and Multiple
Intelligences. There are so many ways the teachers can inculcate patriotism and raise awareness on ethnic harmony, national unity and tolerance. Rather than forcing them to embrace the 'I must be patriotic because I am a Malaysian or else, get out from this country' doctrine, I believe we should lead the students to form their own perspectives and reflections on their country via positive and constructive manners. Oh yeah, what best way than using multimedia and visual aids right? Here are some teaching aids that I've used to enhance the students' interest and patriotic fervour towards our beloved country, Malaysia.
a) Petronas' Merdeka Advertisements
Using television advertisement is a very effectual method of generating students' interests towards the topic. I always love the series of Petronas' Merdeka Advertisements as they act as catalysts during brainstorming session. You could use various questioning techniques (open-ended, probing and leading) to evoke responses. It works well, especially with weak students as the visual aids help them to come up with possible answers.
b) Project-based Learning
I always find project-based learning as the best way of boosting the students' interest and understanding towards a lesson as it generates active participation, collaboration skills, high thinking skills and indeed, a more meaningful lesson. For the M Project, the students work in group and produce a pamphlet on the topic 'Being Malaysians'. The students did this within 2 days and they really put strong effort in producing these pamphlets. Way to go! For more information on project-based learning, do check out Intel Teach programme.
Students' works.
The students' works were assessed and awarded.
c) Vlogging
This is the latest fad among the teens and I believe it can be fully utilised to teach English as well. Afterall, what best way to connect with the students then using the latest Web 2.0. technologies? Vlog is coined from video + blog = vlog and it's uberly popular nowadays. I've came across a lot of vloggers such as Mat Lutfi, Maria Elena, Anwar Hadi, to name a few. What I like about vlogging is that it fuses the elements of role playing and digital storytelling which make the viewing more engaging and entertaining. This is in parallel with my latest Action Research where I focussed on Digital Storytelling. Maybe we should encourage more students to try this out in class. That would definitely excite the students yet help them to utilise technologies in improving their language proficiency.
I've shown the vlogs below to my students and they helped the students to understand the concept of patriotism in a fun and meaningful way. Vlogging is a great learning alternative to enhance their confidence, vocabulary prowess and language competence.
Event #1: Teacher's Day Celebration
Date : 17th May 2010.
Venue : Dewan Sri Tasek, SMK Tasek Utara, Johor Bahru, Johor.
Organiser : MPPU, Prefect Board and KEBIRU SMKTU.
Of all the day, I had to be stuck in a massive traffic jam on Teacher's Day! Due to a minor accident and road construction near Rustica BBU, I arrived just in time to belt out 'Kami Guru Malaysia', just my luck! By the way, I was nominated by my school to receive 'Active Teacher Award', an award that would be given during the Johor Bahru's Teacher's Day celebration. I think the main objective is to acknowledge those who prolifically contribute to the district level education programmes & activities. Ah well, I've handed in my form to my PK1 and I'll just hope for the best. When I checked my pigeon hole that morning, I was surprised when I read a fax from SK Tampoi Utama, asking me to fill in the profile for 'Innovative Teacher Award', in conjuction with the District Level Teacher's Day Celebration. And get this, I had to send it on the same day! Yikes! In between the manic frenzy of T-Day celebration, I had to slip out to the office to fax the form. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't stay until the end of the T-Day's celebration as I had to rush to Pontian at 1 p.m. for Event #2.
Event #2: Mesyuarat Peningkatan Akademik Bahasa Inggeris Negeri Johor.
Date : 17-19th May 2010.
Venue : Hotel Pontian, Pontian, Johor.
Organiser : YPJ and JPNJ.
I joined 71 other English Language teachers around Johor to build modules based on authentic materials. We were lucky as we were guided by experienced facilitators such as Mr. Ismail Juned, GC from SIGS, Pn. Sallina Hussain, Principal of SDARY & Chairperson of the JB English Language Panel, Pn. Vasanthi, GC from SMK Tun Habab and Mr. Zainal, GC from Segamat (sorry Zainal, I forgot the name of your school).
Although we had to endure sessions from 8 a.m. to 10.30 p.m., I can vouch for the other participants that we gained a lot of experience via the item building session and the intriguing pedagogical approaches that we could apply in our daily lessons. Meeting new friends and rekindling bonds with old friends were the highlight of the sessions as well. I'll share with all this blog readers the materials we've constructed when time permits. Do watch this space!
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Event #3: PMR Talk & Writing Workshop
Date : 20th May 2010.
Venue : Language Lab, SMK Tasek Utara 2, Johor Bahru, Johor.
Organiser : English Language Panel, SMKTU 2.
The next day, I went to the neighbouring school to share my knowledge and experience with the Form Three students on PMR Answering Techniques. Since there are 6 classes altogether, I've conducted two sessions that stretched up to 4 hours. I've also conducted Writing Workshop with the students and alhamdulillah, everything turns out well. Thank you Rasheeda for your warm hospitality and patience. I was pleasantly surprised to know that Rasheeda is one of my blog readers and she was the one who nominated my name to the English Panel for this talk. I am honestly flattered and I do hope we'll keep in touch yeah :)
Event #4: LDP- Talk on Blogging & My Lit Project
Date : 22th May 2010.
Venue : Computer Lab 2, SMK Tasek Utara , Johor Bahru, Johor.
Organiser : SMKTU.
Tomorrow, I'll be sharing my latest Action Research, My Lit Project with my fellow colleagues. Then, I'll conduct a workshop on Blogging and demonstrate how blogging can greatly maximise the learning experience. I know some might have qualms on blogging as they might think it's a bit time consuming but honestly, I perceive blogging as a powerful tool to ignite the creative sparks and illuminate the manifold possibilities of learning paradigms.
"Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by
which they exploit change as an opportunity."
~Peter F. Drucker
Alhamdulillah, I received a fantastic news that I have qualified to the State Level of the Innovative Teacher Award 2010. The action research that I carried out this year, My Lit Project was chosen to represent Johor Bahru in the Secondary School Level category. The need to assist my students in revising for their literary texts gave impetus to my innovation. The learning blog maximises the Web 2.0. technologies and contains digital notes, audio-visual stimuli and interactive activities that could foster and strengthen the students' understanding on the current literary texts. So far, I've managed to cover Latif Mohidin's In The Midst of Hardship, Vivien Alcock's QWERTYUIOP and Bibsy Soedharjo's He Had Such Quiet Eyes. Hope I could add more contents as time progresses.
I took the initiative to develop this blog because I used to have more than 40 students in one class (yes, it's true!) and it is a painstaking process to gauge their understanding. Besides, majority of my students have Internet access at home and they are IT-savvy as well. Since it is geared towards autonomous learning, students take control of the learning process. Based from my students' feeback, they really enjoy watching the YouTube videos as they trigger their interests in engaging themselves with the literary texts. They can set their own learning pace and retake the interactive exercises as often as they like. Nonetheless, I still believe there's always room for improvement and I'm trying to oversee and tweak some of the finer details of the aforementioned innovation. The winner of the Innovative Teacher Award is yet to be announced but I'll just hope for the best.
For those who are finding information on how to conduct an action research, I would suggest you check out the Johor State Education Department's Action Research Portal. It is very resourceful as it provides guidelines in conducting your action research. You can download the user-friendly template as well. You can also download some samples of award-winning action researches such as the WordWise Techniques by Pn. Rahmah Sayuti. Yes, I know action research may sound a bit tedious especially when we are hampered with a lot of clerical works. Honestly speaking, I used to have such perception as well but when I saw how the students immensely benefited from the action researches I've conducted, it propelled my optimism in finding ways to make learning more enjoyable yet fulfilling for my students. It's all part of the process of learning, teaching and loving what you do.
MY-LIT Project, my school-based action research is up and running. Phew! It's been a painstaking process but I do hope my students would immensely benefit from my innovation. For the moment, I've updated the site with some digital notes, courtesy of the Curriculum Development Centre, Ministry of Education Malaysia. The materials are currently limited to Latif Mohidin's In the midst of hardship and Alcock's QWERTYUIOP as the focus was on my Form 4 students. Nonetheless, I'm hoping to develop more materials on other genres from time to time.
I am in the midst of preparing my latest action research project for this year which revolves around the 2010 English Literature Component. Based from the feedback I've received from my colleagues, students and also my blog visitors, it is inevitable to deny the lack of information on the aforementioned subject on the Internet. Hence, I have developed MY-LIT, a website that provides digital notes and audio-visual learning stimuli to assist students to learn more about the literary texts without the constraint of time and place. I am utilising the Web 2.0. technologies to assist me in building this innovation. This is also the topic of my paper that I shall be presenting at the upcoming 19th MELTA International Conference in June. Apart from that, I'm also building interactive modules where the students can do the exercises online and check them on their own. My objective is to provide a platform for my students to conduct autonomous learning and instead of providing some monochromatic notes, the notes and activities are jazzed up with multimedia and dynamic contents. Good news for teachers, as it provides an alternative for us to take a breather and let students do all the hard work ;)
As it is still a pilot project, I haven't release the materials to the mass yet but I shall do it soon. For meanwhile, check out some of the materials on Slideshare.Still assessing the students' remarks and responses on MY-LIT and all I can say, it's a raving success. I'll link the site and hopefully, everyone could benefit from this humble project of mine.
This coming Saturday, I'll be presenting my action research findings at the District Level Action Research Seminar. This year, the venue is at SK Taman Universiti 1. My paper is entitled "OPTIMIZING 3 SAIDINA ABU BAKAR STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND UNDERSTANDING TOWARDS THE POEMS IN THE PMR LITERATURE COMPONENT VIA L.I.T. MODULE [L-LEARN, I-INTERACT, T-TEST]." Yeah, I know, it's a mouthful. I hope that by sharing my action research with my colleagues, I could improve my teaching techniques and at the same time, discover new perspectives on ELT. Since I have no inkling on the correct way to present a paper during a seminar, I'll just follow my instinct by preparing things which are normally required during a presentation. Presentation slides, check. Handouts, check. If you have any experience presenting at the said seminar, I would really appreciate if you could share your thoughts, advice or experience.
The icing on the cake is when I discovered that my husband was also selected as a presenter :D He'll be presenting his paper on Teori F.A.H.M.I. which is named after our 2nd son, Muhd Fahmi. It's a mnemonic technique that assists students in writing essay efficiently. Hopefully, everything will turn out smoothly for both of us.
Welcome to my personal blog. I'm a Master Teacher of English Language (Guru Cemerlang BI) who is an MSc. IT Management candidate. I believe that teaching with passion will lead to meaningful and memorable experience. I love well-written books, catchy tunes and great movies. My family means the world to me.
