Category Archives: Teaching

Dilemma of a university teacher

Greetings fellow academicians! It’s been a while since I last penned down anything on this blog, but I’m back to share some thoughts and dilemmas with you since the major leap we had to make when Covid 19 hit in 2020.

When the government announced the Movement Control Order (MCO) beginning on 18 March 2020, no one had a clue as to how long it would last or how much it would impact people around the globe. The adaptation and transition to a different mode of teaching and learning were daunting, but as academicians, we’re always up for a challenge!

Workshops and clinics were conducted to help navigate online classes, and we explored a lot of tools, experienced funny moments, and exchanged ideas with fellow colleagues not only in UTM but from other institutions as well. We faced some drawbacks like muted mics, lagging connections, and idle responses, but we soldiered on.

Fast forward to 2023, and life has resumed back to how it used to be, with face-to-face classes. However, we kind of miss online classes. It’s a dilemma that we’re facing because we do enjoy face-to-face learning for its interactivity, but at the same time, online learning offers endless possibilities.

I, for one, am on the digital learning side, and I love exploring new tools, but I still need to acknowledge that some students cannot handle it after a long period of time. As for now, c’est la vie!

Coding and Compartmentalizing classes on Telegram

Penned on 19/10/2020

New semester begins on 18/10/2020 and this semester, I am responsible for 7 undergraduate general English courses namely:

1) UHLB 1112

2) UHLB 2122

3) ULAB 3162

Considering the mode of teaching and learning is still ODL, I decided to sort and organize my classes beforehand so no one (read: me) would be lost in the wilderness.

So, what did I do?

The moment I received the timetable with sections, I created Telegram groups, copied and shared (Control C, Control V) the links on E-Learning. I chose Telegram this time around because I love the extra functions such as folders and better usage capacity to share large materials. To ensure I am not confused which section is which, I coded them with images of different fruits just for the fun of it (Marvel characters? animals? colours? the option is unlimited). And then the waiting game began. Even until today I see new members entering the assigned fruits. Hopefully everyone will be accounted for by the end of Week 1.

Another reason why I prefer Telegram is because I can share information without waiting for everyone to enter and I do not have to re-share each time a new member joins. Such perks!

I hope it will help keep me and the students connected and engaged, inshaAllah.

Paraphrasing Activity

Assalamualaikum and hi all,

Now that we’ve covered paraphrasing based on the notes I gave in the previous post together with the discussion we had in class, let’s practice some paraphrasing, shall we? Below are 7 sentences I would like you to paraphrase. Please make use of the comment section to drop your answers. You can also comment on your friend’s answer. I’ll keep track of your interaction. All the best! πŸ™‚

 

tips: you can make use of synonym, sentence structure, active-passive voice.

 

  1. The student requested that the lecturer excuses her absence but the lecturer refused.
  2. There will be a career carnival in DSI. Would you like to go?
  3. Language Academy is hosting English communication classes. They help non-native speakers of English practice their English speaking skills.
  4. The office of International Students (IS) at UTM is located in block F54
  5. The car that was pulled over by the police officer yesterday just had an accident. The driver was not careful.
  6. An expert on dengue preventive measures suggested that a multi-pronged approach is needed to tackle the dengue epidemic.
  7. A brilliant presentation was given by group FTX in class yesterday.

 

 

Selamat hari raya and happy holidays too!

ULAB 1122 – GROUP PRESENTATION

Dear all,

I’m attaching links to some videos that might benefit you guys for your group presentation.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Gv5aDWjLo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5c1susCPAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNtTT-uBABs

 

These are just some of the examples. You can find more on google…dig in! πŸ™‚

 

As I’ve mentioned in class, the details for your group presentation as follow:

1) 20 minutes per group

2) 20 % marks

3) Evaluation on language, content, delivery and team work

 

The full-mark is high so make sure you do your best! It has to be meaningful to you and the audience but don’t stress out so much πŸ™‚

 

Looking forward!