# TENTH DAY The E-Book and Poster

By: Ammar Shauqi bin Jamaluddin G1918501

For this course, There are two assignments that really caught my attention. The first one is the E-Book assignment where we have to crate an E-Book based on one of the topic in Textbook and another one is poster, also based on one of the topic in textbook.

E-Book 
We create the book based on the topic of Nouns (Common and Proper Nouns) and Article (A, And, The). The E-Book can be a really good material to be used in classroom. There are three elements that we put in our E-Book, which are presentation, assessment and immediate feedback.

The Presentation of Topic

The Assessment

Positive Feedback

Negative Feedback

With all these elements, the teachers can use this E-Book not just in class but also as a homework for the students. The colourful feature that we put in the E-Book will also attracts the students to learn using the E-Book.

Posters
Poster is also one of the assignment that was given to us. We have to create a poster based on the topic Singular and Plural. Poster can be used in class in the presentation part where the teachers do not have to write one by one in whiteboard. The teachers can straight paste the poster in class or project it using projector. This can save the teacher's time and make the teaching and learning session to be more effective.

Our Poster

The colourful poster also attracts the students' interest to learn about the topic. Plus, after the teaching ends, the teacher can print out the poster in smaller paper and make it as a handout for the students. Other than that, the teachers can also print out in big size paper and paste it at the back of the class. So that the students can always go and recall what they have learnt in class. 

The teachers must know how to apply these two materials in class. Without proper preparation, the teaching session cannot be effective no matter how good the materials used in class- Shauqi

# NINTH DAY How To Use Blog in The Classroom?

By: Ammar Shauqi bin Jamaluddin G1918501

This entry is based on the entry by Christopher Pappasentitltled, How To Use The Blog in Classroom.
Link: https://elearningindustry.com/how-to-use-blogs-in-the-classroom

According to Papas, blog is short for web log. It’s a bit like an online diary or journal, except blogs aren’t necessarily private, instead they’re created for an audience. And just like a diary or journal, a blog is relaxed, making it an easy and comfortable way for students to get writing. But nowadays, we already have the smaller or we can call as mini version of blog which is micro-blog. Micro-blog allows users to exchange small elements of content such as short sentences, individual images, or video links", which may be the major reason for their popularity. These small messages are sometimes called micro-posts. The famous micro-blogs are Twitter and Facebook. Most of the students nowadays, they use micro-blogs more than the blogs. However, the functions of blogs and micro-blogs can still be the same and can be applied in classroom in the same way. 

The teachers can use blogs in class for many purposes. The teachers can use blogs to publish assignments, resources, and keep students and even parents up to date on class events, due dates, and content being covered. This can lead not just students' engagement into the learning, but also for parents to be updated about their children's learning. Teachers can also use blogs to help students’ master content and improve their writing skills. This is because writing in blogs can be a stress-free writing session because the students can regard it as leisure writing compared to writing in physical book which they will interpret as an assessment.  

I mentioned about using blogs in enhancing students' writing skill in my previous post, the link: https://iiumictclass.blogspot.com/2020/07/ict-and-four-skills-in-english.html

Other than that, the students can use blogs to publish their writing and educate others on a particular topic. This can increase the students' confidence in writing as they will get feedback and reactions for their writing. Lastly, students

can also create blogs for the chess club or the yearbook club, the football team or the upcoming prom. This can increase the students' writing session and not just focus on academic only. This is good for them to be exposed to leisure writing which can increase their interest.
5 TIPS TO USE BLOG IN CLASSROOM

There are 11 tips to use blog in classroom by Pappha, however I will write five which I think are very important.

1) Guidelines and Expectations
Before starting an outline of your blogging guidelines and expectations check with your school for a written guideline. Guidelines and From here you can develop clear goals, guidelines, and expectations for you and your students. For ecample, the teacher must check with the school whether they are allowed to put the children's picture in the blog. The parents' consent are also important in doing this. By doing this, you can write a blog that follows the rules and there will be no issue in it.

2) The How To of Commenting
The comment section of a blog post is where students can share thoughts and opinions and have a discussion about the published content. Initially, it is a good idea to teach students the dos and don’ts of commenting. Bad comments from peers will affect the students' motivation to write more. So the teachers must give a really clear guideline on how to comment in a good manner to the students.
3) Plagiarism
Explain to students that plagiarism will not be tolerated. Student contributions must be their own work. They cannot copy from other sources directly and put the writing as theirs. They must write BASED on sources and not copy the sources. The credit must also be given to the writer of the sources that they refer to. The teachers must also highlight to the students to use copyright free image in their blog. This can nurture the students to have integrity in writing.

4) Be Realistic
Building a blog takes time so set your sights small. Some of the students may not have interest in writing the entry in blog. The teacher must know how to tackle the students' interest in writing the blog. The teachers can start by choosing a topic based on students' interest. Ask them to write on their blog about the topic and the teachers can check their work there. After a while, give another interesting topic that can also spark the students' interest to write. By starting with a classroom blog, students build the skills they need to create their own blogs effortlessly.

 5) Read other Blogs
Take the time to read other classroom and student blogs. There are many good blogs out there to be used as an example in class. Both teachers and students can read the blogs and take example on how to produce a good blog and how to write in a good way. But the teachers must be cautious with the content of the blogs that they give students to refer. Not every blog has a suitable content for kids although it is a good blog. Always read the blog first before give  them as examples to the students.

In conclusion. blogs can be a really good tool in learning especially writing. But then the benefits are not just for students' writing skill. But it also enhances the students' ability to create something and think critically when they want to write a certain topic. The teachers must use blog in a good way and always improve the way they use it in class in order to provide the best teaching for the students. - Shauqi

# EIGHT DAY ICT and The Four Skills in English

By: Ammar Shauqi bin Jamaluddin G1918501

ICT in education is something in inevitable today. The teachers have to use the ICT in teaching in line with the encouragement from the Ministry of Education. The usage of ICT in learning English will enhance the four English language skills which are listening, speaking, reading and writing. It can be enhance through the usage of technology that can enhance the students' development of the four skills. The first skill that will be reviewed is listening. Listening is a key significance for learners to acquire language (Nachoua). The usage of ICT in listening provide learners with large input in assisting the students to acquire English. 

Among the device that can be used by the teachers to enhance the students listening skill is MP3. The main in MP3 is the pause and play feature. The students can control their own learning by pausing whenever they do not understand the audio and listen to it until they understand the content. This can greatly enhance the input that the students get from the audio. This regulates their learning hile taking over their self-regulation strategies which enable learners to learn at their own pace.

Next, we will look into how ICT greatly enhance the students' speaking skill. The usage of digital video creation in class by the teachers will enhance the students' speaking skill greatly. The usage of digital video creation by the students will not just enhance the students' speaking skill but it will also enhance the creative thinking, flexibility, originality and elaboration along with aspiration, motivation and confidence. This is because, in doing the video, the students will not just have to speak, but they will also need to plan the video and work in team in order to finish the video recording session. 

Other than that the usage of ICT also enhances the students' reading skill. The usage of e-Book in class will greatly enhance the students' reading skill. e-Book can assist the comprehension by introducing to wide variety of reading materials. The students can access the book ubiquitously which can develop the students' interest into reading. They will also read more books which later will greatly enhance their comprehension skill and increase their vocabulary. 

Lastly, the usage of ICT in class will also enhance the students' writing skill. However, it is found that, in teaching writing using ICT it is better to use integration of both web-based and traditional based learning. The teacher must explain first in traditional way and use blog software such as Twitter and Blogger for the students to write. This will increase the understanding of the students towards the teaching. By using blog software like Twitter and Blogger, it will help the students to practice written language and engage with the language that they learn. They also can share their thoughts and feelings that can be reflected in the writing. This can also greatly enhance the students' interest to write as writing in these two mediums are stress-free compared to writing in a physical book. They would regard writing in Twitter as a leisure thing to do compared to write in a physical exercise book which will be viewed as a task. 

In conclusion, the usage of ICT in class is something that must be applied by the teachers. However we understand the circumstances of the teachers in Malaysia where the facility is not there. The government must do their best to provide the students  with ICT tools needed. 

# SEVENTH DAY Mid-term exam for our ICT subject "THE NEW NORM"

While the pandemic was racing all over the world, we opt to a new norm for conducting the mid-term exam. Indeed, it's not the same as the sit-in examination. For this reason, our instructor published the rubric followed in marking the students answer sheets. As such, the instructor informed the student a week earlier about the time & date of our mid-term exam. With this in mind, each student confirmed with the lecturer that they are free to have an ONLINE exam at a specific date & time. Bearing this in mind, each one of us has to read ahead and do the necessary preparation as the challenge here is that the duration of the ONLINE exam was ONE hour and FIFTEEN minutes. 

Supposedly, each one of us should have studied all the materials required for the mid-term exam.

What is needed for this exam was easy if the student has the willing to allocate some of his time to just read some of the articles and papers shared by the instructor as well as some videos related to WORLD WIDE WEB & NETWORK and what makes difference between them. The mark for this exam is out of 20, so each student is required to be well-prepared to guarantee the highest mark that can be achieved. 

The day of the exam has come. Each student was allowed to answer within a time frame that consists of an hour and FIFTEEN minutes. It should be added that all students were warned for any plagiarism or copy paste action. Such doing will result in mark(s) deduction. To be sure, the lecturer has informed students that all of their answers will be TURNEDITIN. No excuse for any of us. Those who are well-prepared can beat the exam as easy as a piece of cake. Out of a sudden, and after ONE hour and FIFTEEN minutes passed, all students required for additional time. The lecturer understood the situation and was generous by allowing us for a 15 minutes extra time. All in All, the exam was very comprehensive and fair for those who studied well. It is to be considered our first experience having an ACADEMIC exam being conducted in a virtual world. WALID DAKHEL G1814575

#SIXTH DAY The Challenges In Teaching Online for the Teachers

This writing is based on the artcle, EFL Classes Must Go Online! Teaching Activities and Challenges during COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia by Arief Eko Priyo Atmojo and Arif Nugroho.

By: Ammar Shauqi bin Jamaluddin G1918501

Corona virus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is originating from Hubei Province of the People’s Republic of China has become a current pandemic over the world. The first case of Covid-19 in Malaysia was detected on 24 January 2020. Until now, the current case in Malaysia has reached 8637 cases with 8334 cured cases and 121 deaths.With the emerge of the pandemic in Malaysia, The Ministry of Health Malaysia initiated Movement Control Order starting from 18^th of March 2020 until 9^th of June 2020. Along this period many sectors have been shut down and not allowed to operate including education sectors. Major examination for Year 6, Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and for Form 3, Penilaian Tingkatan 3 (PT3) has been abolished. However, Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) for Form 5 and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) for Form 6 are still ongoing. After three months, on 24^th of June 2020, the schools are allowed to operate but only SPM and STPM students are allowed to go to the school. The rest will have to go for online learning that is conducted by their teachers. This situation is the same with other countries not just Malaysia where the countries, globally have adhere to online learning due to Covid-19.

Corona Virus. Source: Google Image 

The first challenge that the teachers must face is the low digital literacy among students. The students may know how to operate a smartphone or laptop, but they will have problem to use the applications that the teachers use in their online teaching. This may happens due to the fact that the students never use the applications like Google Classroom, Zoom and Google Meet. This may trouble the teachers in making sure the students get sufficient information from their teaching. 

A student taking notes in online class. Source: Google Image

The second challenge that the teachers must face is the difficulty in creating materials for the the online class. The teachers have to consider many things in creating materials for online class. Factors like students' affordability to buy the Internet quota and the students' gadgets' specification always contribute to the difficulty in creating effective materials for the class. For example, the teachers cannot use a good video from YouTube  due to the data consuming. The teachers have to find another alternative to supply the students with effective materials such as notes that are sent to Whatsapp group and using Google Form to asses the students. 

Materials. Source: Google Image

These are among two challenges among many other challenges that the teachers must face in online teaching. The teachers must be critical in making sure the students are literate enough to use the applications. For example, the teachers can post the step in using the applications like Google Classroom in the Whatsapp group. Other than that, the teachers must be creative in providing the students with effective materials although the students have problems with the Internet quota affordability and the gadget's specification. - Shauqi

MAY THE TEACHERS SURVIVE THE ONLINE TEACHING WHILE IT LASTS!