Here comes the First "CALL"......

:: Greetings to ALL!! ::

Phew!, finally I have a blog on my own since this is my first attempt in writing it and Alhamdulillah the "CALL" is there for me and hopefully i'm not just writing it for academic purposes but who knows, I might be writing it for my personal use in years to come...So, former bloggers out there, BEWARE!!! ha ha ha

"CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS",

::Although sometimes you are not SO sure with what you are going to say::

~Marina~

The name given to me is simple and sweet, Marina binti Nazrin and I bet you can see "MARINA" everywhere even on the label of a sardine can...How i'm so proud of my name!! despite its meaning in Islam. I'm coming from the "Capital City" of Kedah Darul Aman (Geography is the main concerned here everyone). Ha Ha Ha

I would rather assume myself as an average person when it comes to using computer. Well, to be frank enough, i'm not saying that i'm an expert in this field but i'm also not saying that i'm totally illiterate especially when it involves skills in using computers. Perhaps, I know certain features in most Microsoft Offices like Word, PowerPoint and others because these are the things that I have mingled with for the past 7 semesters in completing my assignments as well as for my own benefits.

In terms of software and hardware knowledge that I have, I would say that there are few of them that I have tried before like Microsoft Offices and that include Word, PowerPoint and others. Well, I still remembered my class back then with Dr. Chan Yuen Fook where he taught us Principle of Testing and Evaluation and Microsoft Excel was widely used for the data analysis. For the hardware knowledge, i'm quite familiar with parts of most hardwares such as the head of the printer, it's absorber and such.


Generally, I have not yet come across learning via the computer and to be specific through online learning but I have encountered learning through computers when I was taking a PowerPoint course just to enhance my ability in using the software and during my first semester, I was lucky to learn on how to create a website and that satisfied me a lot up to today.


When it comes to incorporating technology in the classroom setting, one of the best thoughts that I have always created in my mind is " Is it really work to the students?". Well, I should say that it really works!!!!. For some schools, they do not have the facilities and some schools they do have it and Alhamdulillah, when I was doing my practicum, I managed to create activities using technology.

• For me, it doesn't have to be a "bombastic" activity when it comes to creating it because at the end, the learning outcome is not achievable and you, yourself may not be happy with it. I used to create activities for my vocational class which does not being equipped with a projector. What I did was, I let them listen to a song and try to fill in the blanks in order to get a complete lyric of the song and of course the song chosen should be appropriate with the theme of the lesson on that particular day yet suitable with their age as well.

• For my other class that is equipped with a projector, I often showed them clips from the net and encouraged them to give their opinions from what they have seen in the video. The expression that they gave at that moment were the most precious things that I have not ever imagined before and I can see that they really appreciate the efforts that I have put on so much.

I definitely encourage future teachers to fully utilize the use of technology in language teaching although there might be several drawbacks that may come due to the dysfunctional use of the computer itself. Well, it doesn't mean that we should surrender using technology instantly because here comes the use of "PLAN B". For me, incorporating technology in the language teaching is all about "trial and error" and that has actually made us all more than an expert in this field. Another thing that is crucial is that most educators should adapt technology based on the "schema" of the learners themselves so that the learning process can be ended up to be joyously done.

I would say I expect much for this course as I would try to enhance my capability in knowing more about the functions as well as features of certain software and hardware for my further reference and at the same time I can create lots and lots of activities in my class that can give a vast impact to my students in future time. Who knows, Miss Marina is going to "rock on" the class with technology!!!! InsyaAllah....