Date: 8th August 2007
Time: 1200-1530
Venue: Computer Laboratory
Creativity
The lesson began with the introductory of the initiatives implemented in the education field. We were initially exposed to Pembestarian Sekolah & TV Pendidikan by Miss Chin. The session was carried out at a very fast pace due to time constraint as there would be another long "technology" session on poster designing waiting to be introduced to us. As a matter of fact, we were not able to have time to understand them in depth but successfully grasp the general idea of that 2 initiatives. We were asked to read up for the whole concept of :
- Pembestarian sekolah at www.pspnperak.edu.my/flies/pembestarian_sekolah_btp.ppt
- TV Pendidikan at http://www.moe.edu.my/tvp
Basically, there were 5 initiatives disclosed to us by Prof Dr Maznah Hussain & Miss Chin. They were:
- Smart school
- PPSMI
- Schoolnet
- Makmal computer
- TV Radio Pendidikan
Smart School
- 88 schools chosen nationally are made to be smart schools
- There is a vision (pembestarian sekolah) that all schools become smart schools in the coming year.
- The government has spent millions and millions of ringgit to make this dream a reality by providing and upgrading the facilities (especially the technology ones) in school and training teachers to be better prepared and equipped with sufficient knowledge, skills and willingness to guide our younger generations to walk towards advancement and success.
Can we make this dream happen? It all depends on us- teachers. Effort, sacrifices, knowledge and a positive attitude are the essentials required to make this dream come true. Schools cannot be smart without the teachers. Without intellectually and mentally qualified teachers, a dream will always remain as a dream as a dream needs logic and realistic dreamers to make it a reality. Many people dream and plan, but not many could implement it realistically. As a result, these people will constantly remain in the dreaming process but not stepping forward to turn the dream into a total different definition called "reality". In short, all dreams need actions. I always believe in "What we sow is what we reap."
PPSMI/ ITEMS
- It is the programme of teaching Science and Mathematics in English.
- It has been carried out for 5 years.
School.net
- It is a broadband service.
- To function, a satellite disc for the internet signal is required.
- Schools are allowed to access internet via school.net.
- At present, not all schools have a computer laboratory but they are provided with computers according to the ratio of pupils and computers 5:1 or 10:1.
- In large schools more than 1000 students, there might be up to 4 laboratory provided.
- In medium sized schools, at least 20 computers are provided in 1 computer laboratory given.
TV Radio Pendidikan
- It is used to teach the bahasa ibunda in Sabah and Sarawak schools.
- It is shown in Channel 9 as well.
- This programme failed to implement smoothly due to the problem of the TV @ radio schedule.
- There is WebTV for teachers to upload teaching materials.
There are two important sources that we-teachers are supposed to know:
- BTPN (Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan Negeri) - to get technology information in education
- PKG (Pusat Kegiatan Guru) - to get teaching ideas and up-to-date teachers' affairs
Here comes the main dish of the day- poster designing.
This session was conducted by a graduated student of Prof Dr Maznah who is studying now in the University of Multimedia. She is Pn Nazirah. A pleasant and enthusiastic lady. She is conducting a research on DISC (Designing for interaction and students’ collaboration) which is mainly about poster designing for the coming 50th Merdeka Celebration for the Malaysian Primary pupils. We were there to try out the lesson and give her relevant feedbacks.First, we were exposed to what poster designing is all about. There were 5 main features to be taken into account in poster designing. There are:
- title
- picture
- caption
- logo
- designers
We were asked to design a poster on Merdeka Day by the given templates, pictures and logo in groups of 5. Generally, it was a fun and exciting 45 minutes session as we could 'exhibit' our talents, creativity, cooperation and our love towards our country in the posters designed. "Killing many birds with 1 stone." We were rather satistified with our production but somehow there were still flaws and improvements can be done. Well, we believe in learning from mistakes and constantly yearn to strive for the best.
This is our "humble" production, not a very impressive but satisfactory product I should say.

The feedbacks on this poster designing lesson.
1.Did you face any probelm during the session? Why?
Basically, we did not face any serious problem during the session as the instruction and guidance given are sufficient and detail. However, there is a minor problem that I would like to point out here. I did understand that we had to do it in a group of 5 due to time constraint of presenting our products in the later session.Since there were 75 of us, if there were too many small groups formed, there would be more products to be presented. As we need to design this poster within the 5 of us, it was hard for us to come to a consensus regarding to the title, the font, the colour, the picture and the caption used. It took us a lot of time to evaluate each other's opinions and finally agreed to one. I think it would be better to do it in pairs rather than in such a big group. There would be members who were no so satisfied with the end product since there were elements not designed to their likings. Catering to all individual differences is somehow imposible. If it is carried out in such a way in the primary schools, I am afraid that the young learners might end up having a row or become a passenger in the designing process since young learners constantly want attention. When their ideas were not accepted in the group, they might create havoc or give up participating in the lesson.
2. What do you think of the instruction?
The instruction given was clear and detail. From the beginning, we were guided step by step to the process of designing. We were clear what were expected from us. Pn Nazirah displayed her instruction clearly via powerpoint presentation and further explain to us when there were doubts among us. Moreover, she showed us a few sample posters as a guideline. I think this is the most effective way of allowing your learners what they are supposed to do in the poster designing session. By giving concrete visual samples allow them to work in a clear direction where they can picture "how a poster should look like"in their mind.3. What improvements can you suggest?
- Learners should be given the "general rules" of poster designing regarding the font (which font is suitable to bring out the formality of Merdeka Day, which font is suitable to show the mood of celebration), the colour ( which colour is expected to be used in the poster signifiying the meaning of national day), the caption ( what is the meaning of national day to them). This should be done before the designing session begins so that the learners have the brief idea of what are the "dos" and "don'ts".
- Learners should be given more freedom in designing their posters. Perhaps a plain template can be provided for those who are more creative to explore and go beyond the restricted templates.
- More pictures in different sizes should be provided. The more choices given, the more creative the learners can explore. They would have more freedom to place the pictures appropriately at different corners and places on the template.
4. How would you carry out this design session with the primary level students?
Initially, I would elicit responses from them about their perception on National Day. I would share to them the meaning of thre celebration of Merdeka Day and the difficulties that we have been through and reaches the development we possess today. This is to allow them to know what to write in their captions later in the designing session. Caption is the content of the poster. Without the general idea of the background and objective of the poster designed, it is difficult for the young learners to show their understanding and appreciation in their poster. All this can be expressed via the caption. Then, I would show them a few samples of posters to them via powerpoint presentation. There will be the effective ones and the less effective ones. Learners are required to identify the good and the bad ones as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the posters and simultaneously I would expose to them the gereral rules of designing posters which I mentioned in question 3. Before this designing lesson, I would also ask my students to search for images and photos (people, places, food, culture and etc.) online regarding our country- Malaysia. In this lesson, they are allowed to use thier own photos and image found to design their posters. This is to allow them to gain the overall satisfaction of their own effort. On the other hand, I would still provide them my pictures to give them more options to explore. This task should be done in pairs to promote cooperative learning yet prevent them to engage in any conflicts if it is done in a bigger group where they find it hard to come to a consensus in designing. Before they start designing, I would like to introduce them different ways to create their captions. It can be done by writing a few words, phrases, sentences or a poem. This is to cater to the different level of language proficiency of all students. Finally, they are asked to present thier poster by explaining the message conveyed in the poster. Feedbacks and comments are given by the teacher and peers. The best pieces can be printed out and distribute to all students in the school in conjunction with the National Day. This can definitely enhance the self esteem of the "little designers" as they are able to obtain a sense of acheivement.
Our lesson ended with the powerpoint presentation created by primary school kids shown by Miss Ng. I was amazed not only by their designs as well as the content of their topic about drugs.It was attractive and informative. I began to feel challenged yet looking forward to my days of teaching in the primary school; teaching and learning together with my "future kids".
7 comments:
i'm quite agree with your sugession that we need to be given the opportunity to choose our very own templete.i do understand if it is their intention to scaffold us (who have a very limited knwledge in designing a good poster) by providing the templete. but as you said, that might limit our creativity. so, in my point of view, what they can do is that, they should have explain the 'principles' of a good templete of a poster. Maybe, from the principles, we can derive our own principle that shows our creativity. in that way, we could have both quality and creativity. Don't you think so?
you did suggest that the activity should have been done in pair rather than group. in a way, it's good because we could express our thought to the max as we don't have to adjust it too much to suit the other members' ideas. however, what i'm worry is that, there won't be enough time for all to present their work. that'd be another dissapointment for those who could not 'show off' their hard work, don't you think?
there is a typo error in my previous comment.. it should be '... from there, we could derive our own templete' not 'principles'. sorry for any inconvinience.
thank you azlan for your long reply. Both of us share the same thought on "quality+creativity" which i've wrote in my blog.For the case on "showing off" their product, maybe they could upload in the website for viewing purposes and comments are welcome.
What do you think?
Mun, I’d gone through your blog. Haha, well, ours are really almost alike as what you'd said. Haha…
Erm.. I particularly like the idea on how you are going to implement the poster design to the primary school kids. It really provides them with the precious concrete experience on what is needed and expected in their poster design. It also helps to draw their attention to the meaning of Merdeka. Moreover, you’d taken into the consideration of reducing conflict due to the personal preferences in implementing the activity. What a good idea!
Well, I just like it. I guess the pupils will have clear understanding on how to go about it and I bet that they'll love the way you’ll carry out this activity...The steps are just so crystal clear.
Hey there my lovely ex room mate,
Well i rea;;y like the way you have written your blog. i find it very systematic and orgainzed. i even like the way you have given explanation on the smart schools and also etems and not leaving behind tv pendidikan.
Moving on to the poster, i do agree with you that more choices of pictures should be provided because at times it is hard for young learners to make choices from such limited choice.Moreover i agree with you that they should be given a bit more freedom to design the poster as some young learners are very creative and they can come up with wonderful designs. Anyway my friend keep up the good way of writing your blog.
Dear Mun Mun,
I have read your blog, well, i find that most of your suggestions are almost the same as mine...since we all notice the same problems... hehe...by the way,also you did provide good and crystal clear suggestions especially when you mentioned that you will draw their attention to the meaning of merdeka instead of letting the pupils to work on the caption without any input!as without an understanding of the meaning of merdeka, how can the pupils come out with a sound caption or message to represent this 50th National Day,right?
Well, regarding your queries on e-portfolio, though a bit late, but i do hope you can stop by at my blog and have a look at my responses - "A glimpse of my little illumination on e-portfolio...clearing the doubts". Hope that i asnwered your questions correctly.
By alison
August 20, 2007 8:24 AM
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