Lesson Plan: Geotag-Google Earth.

Level: Form 4 (Intermediate)

Time: 60 minutes

Educational Emphases: ICT skills, CCTS

Aims: By the end of the lesson, the students should be able to;

Locate different historical and holiday sites around the globe.

Thinking outside the local context.

Learn more about the sites and answer the questions given by the teacher.

Technical requirements:

One computer for 2/3 students.

Internet connection.

Web browser.

Google earth.

LCD projector.

Preparations:

Download and install Google Earth from the internet

Browse the different places for the students to search that matches the topic of the day.

Prepare a worksheet for the students.

Website:

http://web-japan.org/atlas/historical/histr_fr.html

http://www.dubaitourism.ae/CultureHeritage/HistoricalSites/tabid/61/language/en-US/Default.asp

http:// earth.google.com/

Procedure:

Set Induction: (5 minutes)

Teacher shows different historical and holiday sites from the internet that the students are familiar with.

Teacher asks the students to identify the places shown.

Teacher introduces the topic of the day.

Activity 1: (30 minutes)

The teacher allocates a computer to 2/3 students to work with.

Teacher instructs the students to open Google Earth that had been installed on the computer.

Teacher projects the names of 4places the students have to find:

Dubai Municipality Museum, Dubai.

Toro ruins, Japan

Shanghai, China

The Graet Wall Of China

KLCC,Malaysia

The students are required to fill in the forms given by the teacher.

The teacher offers assistance to students if necessary.

Activity 2: (20 minutes)

1. Teacher distributes a worksheet for the students to answer.
2. Teacher discusses the worksheet with the class.
3. Teacher offers assistance to students if necessary.

Conclusion: (5 minutes)

1. Teacher asks the students to recap the lesson and what they had learned.
2. Teacher inculcates moral values.

Apendixes:

Task Sheet

Find these places and list their coordinates (latitude, longitude) and their characteristics. You can always Google the places to know their characteristics.

• Dubai Municipality Museum, Dubai.

• Toro ruins, Japan

• Shanghai, China

• The Great Wall of China

• KLCC, Malaysia
  

Blog Task - Creating Hypertext & Hypermedia

The samurai were the members of the military class, the Japanese warriors. They are formerly known for their courage and strength and their loyalty to their masters.

Samurai uses a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns; but their most famous weapon and their symbol was the sword.

Samurai were supposed to lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido ("the way of the warrior"). Strongly Confucian in nature, Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to one's master, self discipline and respectful, ethical behavior.

Task 2- Journal Review

The article that I reviewed was a theory on using Google search engine that could be used in teaching. It also offers teachers ideas on how to use the application in teaching. The writer suggested a few techniques and tips that teachers could use to teach and also it could be a time saver especially when introducing the internet in language teaching. This article offers teachers a brief overview of some Google applications and resources, which may be incorporated into teaching, whether in face to face, hybrid or online contexts. The paper also provides examples of how to utilize Google services and suggests some classroom activities to be implemented.

The aim of the article is to utilize the search engine as it could help the teachers in many ways especially in language teaching. One of the examples given in the article is Google Custom Search (GCS) where the teacher could set up on any computer for easy access not just by the teacher himself but also by the students. GCS enables the person accessing the computer to search the most significant topics and avoiding unwanted sites (with spam, pornography, ads).

Other examples given by the site are Google Scholar, easy to use by the students to search for materials regarding the selected topic and sources from around the world, Google Doc, web based document processing that enables the user to create word documents, spreadsheets and presentation slides for virtual use, Google groups that enables online discussions and lastly Google Translate where the user could translate any language to the preferable language online.

The website also includes activities, ideas and techniques for teachers to teach either in traditional classroom or virtually. It could be used by students and could greatly help the teachers in time management and help the students to search for more materials to help them complete their tasks.

From the website, it is an eye opener to know that the common search engine could also be used for educational purposes. It is very interesting to know that Google manage to consider the needs of education and to help the growth of knowledge. I personally think by adapting the techniques shown on the site could greatly help the teachers to teach the language and at the same time gain positive response from the students.

In local context, learning English had long been a problem to many teachers. Adapting the techniques could help the teachers to gain the students interest. Many students especially in rural areas tend to see learning the language as a burden and often the find that it is very hard for them to cope. Google had open a new door in learning the language and at the same time learning the language could be fun for the students as they could gain new experiences in using the language firsthand. It is very important to let the student’s experience themselves the use of the language in the real world to make the lesson more meaningful.

I also think that by exposing the students to this new innovation could be an eye opener to the students. In previous, the students only know how to use I.M for social networking and not for educational purposes. They only see internet connection is only for entertainment. This assumption is based on personal experiences. In reality we could gain more than what we could imagine. Knowing to use the Google search engine to teach the language is something refreshing and the world is at your fingertips.

Claudio de Paiva Franco
cpaivafranco [at] yahoo.com.br
UFRJ / Colégio Pedro II (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XVI, No. 2, February 2010

Site link: http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Franco-Google/

Website Evaluation

After a few days of searching, i had come up with this website that i found interesting enough to be evaluated and maybe one day use in a classroom:

http://www.eslgold.com/index.html

it has everything from grammar down to listening and speaking which i think personally would help students as well as teachers.

the website teaches not only English but also other languages such as Chinese and Indonesian. so the website is not only to be used to learn English but also third languages (for Uitm students) for those who needs help with the subjects they are learning.

the website consists of lessons on listening and speaking, grammar, writing essays, vocabulary and also idioms. the website is also easy to navigate as everything is clear where you want to go and what you want to do. you wont even need to be computer literate to navigate in this site. the lessons are also easy to understand and there are also practices where the students could easily access for free. the website also prepares an audio visual explanation for those who would prefer to listen rather than just read the explanations.

the practices are depends on your level. it starts with beginner level and move up to advanced level. you dont have to worry about the the levels of the practices where you can always take your time to do the practices and learn slowly. it reminds me of my days of school where the teachers would help me every step of the way. the website does the same where we could always refer to the notes while doing the excercises.

it is not just for the students, teachers also could use the website to find new ideas on teaching certain topics. the ideas are also interesting to be used and also it is applicable to any level of learners.

basically the website is for students who wants to self-learn the languages and on topics they have problem with, so it is quite hard to pinpoint on the theories used on the website.

according to question no.6 it is quite applicable in terms where the students(and even teachers) could gain knowledge from various sources. the students could use the website to search for extra excercises and learning could take place as the students are introduced to hands on activities complete with answers so the students could check their answers. the only setback is that the website does not allow the students to write the answers directly on the site and the excercises and notes are not printable.

the website allows the students and teachers to browse through for free, and learn whenever , wherever. but nothing could compete with the explanations of a teacher where the students could relate and ask questions directly if they dont understand and they would get immediate feedback without wasting time to look for the answers. in my opinion, the computer is just a servant to the students and nothing could compete with a teacher.

in the future would rather use this website as guidence to teach where it is accessible and more importantly its FREE. not just for teaching but also grammar references for other future work where English in concerned. i would suggest that the teachers use this website also as guidence as it would help them greatly and may also save their time to find solutions to their problems in teaching certain topics.

Task 3

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

My answer would be..using courseware, websites materials are important not just because it makes it easier for the teacher to browse for the latest techniques to teach the language but also the teacher could easily find the suitable materials to teach. finding the correct material is assential for effective teaching and learning as it is not only easy to find the suitable materials, it would also save time for the teacher to find other activities to do in class and also it is practical, intersting and the students would love it. and at the same time the students would generate their own interest in class and thus create interest in the language itself.

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

personally, i would think that the students would find it interesting. from my experiance, i taught in a school just outside the town of Port klang, where sthe students competentcy in English could be considered as satisfying. they can verse in English but not very well and their exposure in English is not wide enough. they have no interest in learning the language and think that learning the language would only help them pass the exams. all i want to do was make them interested in learning the language content and not learning just to pass the tests. using Jcloze could help me in attaining the students intetrest and at the same time cultivate the interest in learning the language, opening their eyes in the possibility in learning the language and thus create awareness that the language is not just merely learned in the classroom to pass the exams but it is important to be used in the outside world.

Task 2

Task 1

1) My name is Muhammad Nor Adib Zakaria but my friends call me Joe

2)i Would rate myself as a novice computer user and out of 10 i would give myself 7.

3)im used to using photoshop because im partime photographer so being able to use photoshop gives me the advantages to tackle my clients.

4)i have experianced learning palying guitar online through youtube and ultimate guitar tab websites.

5)i did once tried to use online materials to teach but it is quite hard to find a suitable environment such as appliences and also room in my practical school. by the end of the day it all comes down to finding the perfect environment and also materials to use since my students are from a variety of intelligence level.but i never say no to using computers as teaching aids as it would create interest.

6)using computers as teaching materials could create interest among my students and it is also fun to use. but it all comes down to finding the perfect environment and also materials as mentioned before.

7)i expect to learn more in using the computers in teaching languages and finding new ideas in finding the materials.