yuen ching l. - My Reflection

the end

12/22/2014

     This marks the end of the sem and the last class for the sem. YAY! I am honestly very happy this subject is over for the sem.
     Today we had to do our presentation on Present.me, honestly, this was pretty frustrating and annoying, cause we just wanted to present our findings and get it over with, and not use another software or program to do so, but we got it done anyway. Now the annoying part is just the Dropbox, in which I am having difficulty downloading.
     Finals now, still a busy week for me, due to finals and Christmas. So, better get back to work.
     Merry Christmas..

Close to the end

12/8/2014

     Week 13 and this is near the end of our first semester as TESL students and yet the workload just doesn't seem to be decreasing, instead it seems like it is increasing. Last week we just had consultation sessions with the lecturer regarding our report, which is still yet to be edited, but this week however, we learned on using Excel, and this time I actually thought "Yes! Finally something that we can use in class and will be useful for us for when we start teaching"
     Today we learned how to use Microsoft Excel in which we learned how to put the grades of a test to the marks, how to total them and arrange them according to total. We created a spreadsheet where we put in the ":students'" names, and the 10 subjects and created marks for them. After that we learned how to match the grade with the marks by using links and reference which makes it easier, rather than to do it manually. After doing that, we totaled the marks and found who is the student with the highest total and arranged them according to their total scores.
     With this new knowledge and skills, I believe grading students' work and arranging their grades would be much easier. Well, got to get back to my never ending work and assignments.
     Till we meet again

Multimedia

12/1/2014

Yet another task to finish. Will this constant bombard with assignments and task ever stop? Anyway, this week we are suppose to come up with a storyboard/storyline to present our topic on Open Source Software & ICT in Education via video method. Main idea is to use multimedia to convey the message. This subject is slowly driving me up the wall. In this subject I have gone from

Somebody call 911.

11/23/2014

     Assignments after assignments after assignments. Everything seems so overwhelming now. Guess it's time to say "GoodBye Sleep." and say "Hello" to burning midnight oils. Up to date, I have got two assignments for Teaching Profession, two for Foundation in English, one for Linguistics and Language, one for Effective Communication and one for Computer in Education. I believe that is not the end of it either, I am expecting another one for Learners' Strategies. The best part is, it is all due around the same time. Can I just cry now.
     This week the one thing I learned which I found quite useful was the Navigation Page. Creating the headings and sub-headings were a big help to me. With all the assignments piling up, the navigation page eases the management of my assignments. I don't need to scroll up and down to go to the section that I want, I just label them and click. Saves the hassle of going up and down the whole document.
     So, yeah.. Got to get back to my never ending assignments now.
     Till we meet again..

Bound by the net

11/12/2014

      Good day everybody. I’m in an especially blissful mood today. Well, I still feel a tiny bit depressed and homesick especially after an afternoon nap; maybe I shouldn’t nap anymore in the afternoon. Anyway, today’s Computer in Education class was held on a Monday, and now that SUKEM is around the corner, it was going to be a hectic day for me; class in the morning, another in the evening, and trainings at night.

      Anyway, today during class the internet crashed, which was the first time this has happened to us in the computer lab. We had to design a brochure for the topic we presented last week. We were taught how to use templates off Microsoft Publisher, but my friend and I didn’t want to use the templates from Publisher, yet we can’t go on the net to get designs and pictures either, which became pretty frustrating. So we spent that couple of hours not doing anything.

      This is proof of how important our generation treats the internet. The internet has become such a big part of our lives that we need it to do everything. Without it, we just become idle and unproductive. Gone were the days where we could carry on our lives despite the absence of the internet. We have become prisoners of the internet, bound and under the control of it. Maybe I would write a post about this one day. Hehe.

Till we meet again

when things dont seem to go your way.

11/12/2014

      Down with flu, stressed out with assignments, and to top it all, feeling homesick. For some reason, weeks after the mid-sem break have been tougher than the first few weeks. Somehow part of me just had enough of campus life, despite the fact that it we haven’t even ended first semester. I just wanted to back out and return to my life in PJ. However, life had to go on, and this was merely the beginning of my university life.

      This week my group and I had to present our findings regarding Open Source Software and ICT, and even till the last hours, we still did not fully understand what Open Source Software was, and which aspect of ICT we needed to present. At the end we just did what we could and what we knew. The ICT area was fine, but I think we understood and presented the wrong meanings of Open Source Software, which now that I reflect back, it was pretty embarrassing, but I think with all the depressing feelings we were feeling, we couldn’t really care much about it. Yet it was good to have understanding classmates and a willing lecturer to explain what it actually is.

      Open Source Software in my current understanding now is that it is software that we are able to download online without having to buy the software itself. Software such as Movie Maker, Freemake Video Downloader, and other software in which you are able to obtain for free without having to have a licensed code.

     Well, guess that was pretty much it, I really hope the next few months and years studying in UKM actually get better, and that we won’t feel so lonely and homesick anymore.

      Till we meet again.

Long overdue

11/2/2014

    I know I have been long overdue for a reflection post, but to be honest, I just didn't know what to write. Week in week out we learn the same things, just with different assignment topics, and with that also, half the time I have no idea what's going on. In all honesty, I completely lost when it comes to Computer in Education subject. I can write 10 reflection posts just for the sake of it, just because I have to, but I feel that that would just be pointless, and as Chinese people say, 'no heart', which means to do something without putting any effort in it.
    I have a blog of my own also, and even on that, I don't put up a post every week. I write when the inspiration comes, and writing a daily journal isn't something that I do. Hence writing in this reflection weekly just isn't in my system, and I don't want just post a post in which I have no heart in.
    Up to date, I am still extremely lost as to what we are suppose to do in this subject, and the assignments and tasks given are just piling up week after week. It's frustrating because I have always been the kind to get the work done fast and before the dateline, but it seems that with this subject, I'm falling way behind. This frustration may also be caused by my own personal problems, I just want to do well in something, I just want to finish my work and get it done and over with, I just want to know what I am suppose to do and in what way. I don't want to keep asking my classmates in which 3/4 too don't know what we are suppose to do and still not get any answers. Please someone help me.
    Haih. I'm frustrated, sad, feeling alone, homesick, and I just want my life back in P.J. I want the comforts of my life back. I want to feel like myself again. I'm getting off topic. Anyway, I'll try to improve and try to post up reflection posts starting this week. I may be a little too late to change, but I guess it's a start.
    Till we meet again.

Learning Management System (LMS) and Course Management system (cms)

10/2/2014

Like any other new terms, Learning Management System (LMS) and Course Management System (CMS) came as something new to me. What was the difference between the two? What differentiated them? What were they even used for? So, I consulted the all-so-reliable Mr.Google.

At first LMS and CMS confused me. They were both so similar I had to reread and reread all articles and blogs that I came across. Consulting with my friends was part of the process also. Finally, I came to an understanding of these queer terms.

From my understanding, Learning Management System (LMS) is an application or a platform to manage the learning courses/subjects. Basically, it is like the administrative application to manage the learning process via online. Course Management System (CMS) on the other hand is the platform a lecturer would use to carry out his/her lessons. Websites such as Blendspace, Padlet, Weebly and etc. In this way, the computer is used as a tutor through CMS.

Conclusion? LMS is a more administrative app, just like the Ifolio in the context of UKM, while CMS is the teaching platform just like Weebly and Padlet.

Till we meet again.

Third week in

9/29/2014

Well, this is the third week of our Computer in Education subject. This week was all about Google Drive.
Honestly, I am still waiting for the day where I can enter class and learn something new. I have been using Google Drive since my Form Six days. I used it for my assignments during Form 6, I used it at work, I use it during planning of camps, and I still use it to send informations back home. Therefore, Google Drive is no foreign territory for me. However, watching my fellow classmates play and explore with it was intriguing.
We were asked to discuss and write a report on Learning Management System (LMS) and Course Management System (CMS). I actually still have no idea what the difference between the two are, guess it's time to go back to Mr.Google.
Well, till we meet next time.

Week 2 Reflection

9/20/2014

Gmail - Have it, Used it, Am familiar with it. Google drive -Have used it for various projects. Dropbox - Have heard of it. Weebly - What?! Well, that summarizes my first thoughts for my second week's task for 'Komputer dalam Pendidikan'. Whoever, the tasks proved more of a challenge than I thought.
We were requested to create a Gmail account using our full name, this was pretty straight forward, but the challenge I didn't expect came later. Creating the account was easy; Full name, Password and all the other basic details. The unexpected challenge was in creating a signature. What on earth was a signature?! Where did I have to sign? Was I suppose to scan my signature and insert that image somewhere? Staring at the task given, my head started spinning, but thank God for tech-savy friends who weren't as lost as I was, I made sense of the task. <Settings - Signature - Type the necessary informations> Who knew it was that simple. This was a classic case of simplicity made complicated.
Exploring Google drive was a breeze being someone who has used it for work and projects of all sort. Creating a Dropbox account was a walk in the park too. The headache came when I reached the Weebly task. Once again, 'What on earth was Weebly?"
I never knew how to manage my current blog, hence it's pretty basic - as long as it gets my posts across to my readers, I'm good. So, thank God for a step by step walk through by the lecturer, or else I would be completely lost. This proves to say that trying to be smart and trying to do everything on your own sometimes isn't a good thing. So, step by step we created this Weebly thing. I obviously made a couple of mistakes, and clicked on some random icons and freaked out cause my settings changed. Laughing with my friend over my stupidity and figuring out how to 'fix' it together.
Guess that's pretty much my experience for week 2's tutorial. Till we meet again.