Task 3 is here =)

1. Why do you think evaluation of CALL courseware, websites, materials etc important?

I do think that it is important because it helps teachers to have better understanding on the subject matter that they are going to teach to the students, deeper beyond their surface assumptions. The analogy would be same with the process of passsengers going through custom checkpoint at the airport and get their approval to board the flight. Teachers should take into consideration of several aspects before deciding which CALL courseware, websites or materials to be introduced to the students such as age factor, level of cognitive capability as well as its attractiveness. Therefore, doing evaluation beforehand avoids teachers to feel intimidated with the learning activities that they give to the students later on.

2. How do you think Hot Potatoes JCloze may help your students learn English?

Technology sometimes does wonder to mankind, including in the educational field. By having Hot Potatoes JCloze as a new interesting gateway of learning English, it is hoped that students will put more interest in learning this particular language than learning it through traditional way. Focusing on the grammatical aspect that is the pillar of effective English communication, it is a good way to use JCloze as a mean to teach grammar by asking the students to do the JCloze activities prepared early on rather than asking them to complete the activity sheets or copying questions from the whiteboard which are time consuming. Besides, this teaching tool also helps to arouse students' interest when teachers are able to create an activity that is attractive to the students with colourful backgrounds, pictures and fonts so that it would please them to appreciate the knowledge conveyed. Most importantly, the students can receive the feedbacks as soon as they answer the questions on the JCloze activity and this is why Hot Potatoes is so hot that should be given two thumbs up!!

Classroom Activity...

In-Class Task 1

Assalammualaikum..

Hye..I'm Sarahlina and this 8th January I'll be turning into a 23-year-old girl. I live in Pengerang which is located in the Kota Tinggi district in Johor, the southernmost tip of peninsula Malaysia. There are lots of things that interest my life such as watching movies,travelling,shopping,home decorating and cooking which I think are the normal things that spark the life of a grown up woman like me. As the eldest sister of three siblings, I find myself as having the combination of two personalities,strict and lenient. I can be flexible with my sister and brother and most of the time I love joking around with them as long as they respect me as an adult. At the moment, I'm thinking of completing my bachelor's degree faster. I yearn to shift into a different world which is working as soon as possible but at the same time I'm also hoping to further my master's degree straight away. Well, we'll see what comes around.

Talking about my computer skills, I put myself as a novice user. There are still lots of things in the computer that I'm not used to. Most of the time I use the computer for basic purposes such as completing my assignments using basic Microsoft applications and surfing the internet for online shopping,e-banking and social networking. I'm pretty sure that I'll gain lots of new skills about IT knowledge from this CALL class, insyaAllah. Honestly, I'm not that fond into IT and what not but I know that I need to have sufficient knowledge about IT because it is going to be very useful for myself in time ahead.The global world requires its people to have a mastery knowledge in IT in order for them to compete in the global market, regardless in the education or workforce area.

So far, as a novice user, I can at least be proud of myself because somehow I know how to download the antivirus software from the internet to protect my laptop from being destroyed by the spread viruses. That I guess is one of the software knowledge that I have apart from dowloading free movies and any other components which enable me to watch online movies from Ares and Divx TV. Besides, I know how to connect the webcam cabel to my laptop when I need to chat with my friends and I know how to store and transfer my documents from the laptop into my pendrives. More than that, with my digital camera and handphone, I could store significant moments in my life by transfering the pictures from those gadgets to my laptop using USB cabel. Printer and scanner are also my most frequently used hardware at home.

Being a student, I have experienced several time of online learning through IELTS site. I also have a pen pal who is an English teacher teaching in Japan. He often sends me emails telling about his experiences teaching English to the Japanese children as well as the way he introduces English literature to them. I gain lots of knowledge from him and I think that is also a kind of online learning that I have. When I did my practicum in SMK USJ 12 last year, I utilized the internet to get interesting ideas for my lesson plans and sometimes I downloaded online worksheets for my students in hope that it would thrill them to complete it.

However, during my practicum, I encountered difficulties in integrating technologies in my classrooms because of the facility and time constraint. Even though I was sent to SMK USJ 12 which happens to be an elite school in Subang Jaya, my dreams to integrate the use of technology in the classrooms were shattered due to that reasons, therefore, I photocopied a lot of learning materials for the students to save my time. Not really to say incorparating technology in my lessons during practicum was a failure but I would say it was rather upsetting.

Nevertheless, it is always an interesting idea to use technology in language learning because it can spark interest among the students. Apart from that, when the use of technology is applied in the classroom, the teaching and learning process will be more interactive due to the excitement that the students feel in learning. It also helps to cut cost because most of the time the teachers have to use their own money to distribute the materials to the students because paper is not fully funded by the schools. Not all schools subsidize their teachers with teaching materials and this will add up burden to the teachers.Teachers should put more priority on their teaching quality rather than thinking about other unnecessary things like on how to cut cost on learning materials. I believe that the use of technology in language teaching can benefit the students in many ways such as in listening and writing skills as well.

To wrap it all, I'm hoping that this CALL class can help me to polish up my computer skills so that I won't be left out by others who are more expert in this area.