Critical Reflection on The Role of Peer and Tutor Feedback

Giving and receiving peer feedback in this class was a new experience for me. At the first class when Brad told us that we will be giving feedback to our peers throughout this class, I was totally overwhelmed by the idea. I did not have confidence that I would be able to give any constructive feedbacks. However, after reading the resources on the ES1102 website, I had a clearer idea of what we should be commenting about.

After all the feedback sessions that we have gone through, I have come to realize that peer and tutor feedback plays a significant role in improving our essays. It helped me to reflect on my own mistakes and learn from others at the same time. When I gave feedback on others’ post, some of the common strengths and weaknesses that we all have in writing became clear to me. This is something that I would have otherwise failed to notice, if I were asked to read through only my own posts. Sometimes I had doubts when trying to give useful feedback to my peers, which made me realize that there was still so much that I did not know or was not clear about. Some of the evident problems in others’ essays also served as a reminder for me to avoid such problems in my own essay. My peers are all skillful writers who can express their ideas fluently, beside using precise words in their essays. Their wonderful essays have motivated me to work even harder on my own writing. Thus, to me, giving feedbacks to our peers was truly a fruitful process.

On the other hand, receiving feedbacks from peers gave me a chance to look at my own essays in a different perspective. As writers, we tend to overlook the need to elaborate some of our key points, as we already have the full idea of what we are trying to get across in our post. It was only when my peers pointed out some paragraphs that they found to be unclear, that I knew that my post was still not perfect, and I had to spend more time to improve it. Brad’s feedback was often very critical as well. Be it organizational problems or grammar mistakes, he could always notice areas that you could still improve on. I think these feedbacks served as a clear guideline for me to fine-tune my essays and reader responses, which helped me a great deal while I was trying to improve my writing and presenting skills.

To conclude, peer and tutor feedback provided me with insightful suggestions on how I could improve my writing. I will remember all the feedbacks that I have received and constantly use it to improve in my further writing. I feel grateful for being in this class, where everyone was always open to feedbacks. The conducive learning environment and interesting tutor has made my ES1102 journey an enjoyable one. A heartfelt thanks to every one of you! 🙂

Short answer from GEK1527

Short Answer 1: Based on your results, which species of bacterium was the most likely cause of death? Explain your reasoning and/or facts that were used to make this conclusion (answer should be no more than ~250 words).

Among the three bacteria that I have identified to be present, Borrelia burgdorferi is most probably the cause of death of the victim, because Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli are bacteria that are commonly found in the human body. Both of these bacteria reside in the intestinal tracts of humans and are usually harmless (Hanin, Sava, Bao, Huebner, Hartke, Auffray, & Sauvageot, 2010; “Escherichia coli (E. coli)”, 2012). On the other hand, Borrelia burgdorferi, a pathogen, is the main cause of a disease known as Lyme disease. Transmission of Borrelia burgdorferi to humans can happen when humans are bitten by ticks which are infected with the bacterium (“Lyme disease”, 2014). Some common symptoms of Lyme disease include tiredness, fever, headache and a skin rash called erythema migrans (“Lyme disease”, 2014). Although it rarely causes death to the people infected, people who are contracted with Lyme disease can develop complications if appropriate treatment is not given (“Lyme disease”, 2014). The infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system, threatening a person’s life (“Lyme disease”, 2014). In particular, Lyme carditis could be a reason of death. According to “What you need to know about Lyme Carditis” (2014), Lyme carditis happens “when Lyme disease bacteria enter the tissues of the heart” and it can be fatal. The occurrence of Lyme carditis is about 1% of Lyme disease cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (“Cases by Symptom – Lyme Disease”, 2013, as cited in “What you need to know about Lyme Carditis”, 2014). In addition to that, since the immune system is responsible for the protection of the body from pathogens, people with weaker immune systems are more susceptible to the Lyme disease infection, which could result in a higher possibility of death. References   Escherichia coli (E. coli). (2012, August 3). Retrieved October 12, 2014, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website: http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/general/index.html Hanin, A., Sava, I., Bao, Y., Huebner, J., Hartke, A., Auffray, Y., & Sauvageot, N. (2010). Screening of in vivo activated genes in enterococcus faecalis during insect and mouse infections and growth in urine. PloS One, 5(7), e11879. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011879 Lyme disease. (2014, June 23). Retrieved October 12, 2014, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website: http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/ What you need to know about Lyme disease. (2014, January 13). Retrieved October 12, 2014, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website: http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/lymeCarditis.html

Essay Final Draft

In this “digital age”, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which is defined as “technologies that provide access to information through telecommunications” (“ICT”, 2010), has shown increasing importance in various aspects of human lives, including the education field. Recognizing the paramount importance of ICT in the process of learning and teaching, Malaysia has launched several initiatives such as Smart Schools, SchoolNet, Computer Lab and Educational web TV to integrate the use of ICT in teaching and learning processes in primary and secondary schools. The outcomes of these initiatives were indicated in a study by Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia (MSC) & Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) (2006), in which 73% of the teachers identified themselves as “upper intermediate users” and 10% of the teachers identified themselves as “advanced users” of ICT literacy. Also shown in the studies were the opinions of students regarding the use of ICT in their learning processes. A vast majority of the students surveyed (97.7 percent) stated that their interest in learning was improved due to the use of computer (MSC & MOE, 2006).

Despite the large number of teachers who reported themselves as “upper intermediate” or “advanced” users of ICT skills (MSC & MOE, 2006), a “divide” was still found to exist between younger teachers and senior teachers in primary and secondary schools in the frequency of ICT use for “teaching and learning, searching educational resources, and creating presentation/delivery materials” (Umar & Yusoff, 2014). Due to the less frequent use of ICT in the learning and teaching process of primary and secondary schools among the senior teachers as compared to junior teachers in Malaysia, the Ministry of Education (MOE) Malaysia should conduct more ICT workshops for senior teachers to encourage them to incorporate ICT in their classrooms more often.

According to the study done by Umar and Yusoff (2014), senior teachers (teachers who are 30 years old and above) use ICT significantly less than junior teachers (teachers who are less than 30 years old) in their teaching and learning processes. This could be caused by the attitudes of senior teachers towards ICT use in education. For example, some of the senior teachers believe that their age is an obstacle for them to adapt to the modern teaching styles and that traditional teaching methods suffice in educating their students (Raman & Yamat, 2014). As a result of the significantly less frequent use of ICT in their teaching and learning processes, the senior teachers and their students fail to benefit from ICT. ICT use in teaching and learning has many benefits for both teachers and students. Specifically, it promotes active learning in students, encourages them to learn more and increases their interest towards learning (Elmaifi, 2014). Teachers also gain from the use of ICT as it increases their efficiency in lesson planning, besides enabling them to work in teams and communicate ideas more easily (Elmaifi, 2014). In view of the numerous advantages of ICT use in classrooms, actions should be taken to encourage senior teachers to integrate this technology in their teaching and learning processes more often, so that both the teachers and their students will get to enjoy the benefits of this technology.

One solution to reduce the disparity of frequency of ICT use between senior teachers and junior teachers is to conduct special ICT workshops for senior teachers. Although a large number of ICT training programmes have been provided to the teachers in Malaysia, MOE has not conducted relevant training targeted at the senior teachers. Therefore, special ICT workshops should be conducted by MOE to equip the senior teachers with the interest and skills to integrate this technology in their teaching. To ensure the effectiveness of such workshops on the ICT use of senior teachers in classrooms, these workshops should be held with the vision that they will result in an improvement in senior teachers’ ICT skills. The workshops should also raise awareness in senior teachers about the benefits of using this technology in their learning and teaching processes. Thus, experts in ICT should be involved in teaching senior teachers the relevant skills that can be used in teaching such as the usage of presentation tools, word processors and so on. Employing experts in ICT to conduct training for senior teachers is vital as these experts have a high proficiency in ICT skills. This maximizes the possibility that questions raised by the senior teachers will be answered, which would in turn enable the senior teachers to have a greater command of the various ICT applications.

Another necessary instructional method in these ICT workshops is experiential education. In this context, computer labs would be ideal venues for these workshops as participants would have access to a computer each. After the instructor demonstrates the use of ICT tools, the senior teachers should be given time to test the various tools, as the hands-on experience would consolidate their mastery of these skills. In addition to that, participants could be divided into groups, which would in turn be assigned tasks that simulate real-world scenarios. For example, a group of participants might be requested to apply ICT in their teaching process of a new mathematical concept to the other participants. Through the actual application of ICT skills in teaching, the senior teachers would retain more knowledge than if they were to maintain the passive role of listening to the knowledge imparted (Ayers, n.d.). The hands-on experience is indispensable, as it would also arouse the participants’ interest in learning more ICT skills (Ayers, n.d.) and applying the skills in their actual teaching processes.

However, in order to fully equip senior teachers with the knowledge and interest of using ICT in their learning and teaching processes, the ICT workshops would have to be held frequently. This would require the allocation of a substantial amount of funds for these workshops, which could become a burden for the Malaysian government. Furthermore, a more comprehensive approach will have to be taken to address the less frequent use of ICT in classrooms by senior teachers. Adequate technological infrastructures have to be made available in primary and secondary schools, before the senior teachers can apply their ICT skills. Another important strategy is the encouragement from school administrators on the application of ICT in teaching in their schools. This is essential as the support from people whom teachers deem respectable is necessary in the teachers’ execution of a new technology (Ely, 1993, as cited in Khalid, Nawawi & Roslan, 2009).

In conclusion, MOE should multiply their efforts of encouraging senior teachers to integrate ICT in their teaching and learning processes to reduce the disparity of frequency of ICT use between senior teachers and junior teachers. Undoubtedly, the efforts of the other parties involved such as the institution administrators and the junior teachers is equally significant to induce a change in the use of ICT by senior teachers. If a concerted effort is made to bridge the divide between senior teachers and junior teachers, the increased usage of ICT by the senior teachers would definitely be beneficial to both the teachers and their students, which could eventually lead to an improvement in their teaching and learning results.

References

Ayers, S. (n.d.). What are the benefits of hands-on training? Retrieved October 9, 2014 from http://www.ehow.com/about_5136211_benefits-handson-training.html

Elmaifi. (2014, February 9). Advantages of Using ICT in Learning-Teaching Processes. EdTechReview. Retrieved October 9, 2014 from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/959-advantages-of-using-ict-in-learning-teaching-processes

ICT. (2010, January 4). In TechTerms.com. Retrieved October 9, 2014, from http://www.techterms.com/definition/ict

Khalid, F., Nawawi M. Hj & Roslan, S. (2009). Integration of ICT in Malaysian SecondarySchools: What Conditions Will Facilitate its Use? The International Journal of Learning, 15(12), 85-93. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/

Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia, Ministry of Education Malaysia (2006). Impact Assessment Studies on the Smart School Integrated Solution (SSIS) and other ICT Initiatives. Retrieved from http://www.mscmalaysia.my/sites/default/files/pdf/publications_references/ImpactStudy.pdf

Rahman, K. & Yamat, H. (2014, July). Barriers Teachers Face in Integrating ICT
During English Lessons: A Case Study. The Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 2(3), 11-19. Retrieved from http://mojet.net/index.php

Umar, I.N. & Yusoff M.T.M. (2014, February 21). A study on Malaysian teachers’ level of ICT skills and practices,
and its impact on teaching and learning. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 979-984. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.331

Presentation reflections

To be honest, I didn’t really prepare much for this presentation. That was why I couldn’t even remember what my slides would show, and ended up having to keep turning my head back to the screen to check during my presentation. I agree that it must have been very distracting to the audiences. This is something that I will take note of in the future.

Besides, I lacked interactions with my audience in my presentation. I think that asking questions actually plays an important role in getting the audience involved with whatever you are presenting. By thinking about the questions, they will feel more connected with your topic and also remember the details better after the presentation. Hence, I will certainly try to improve on this aspect in my future presentations.

In sum, I feel that I should have spent more time preparing for this presentation to make it a better one. Nervousness is also something that I should try to overcome. I should also try to make my presentations more interesting, like adding elements such as the pictures that Calvin used in his presentation and the video that Maeve showed at the start of her presentation. What’s most important is to figure out what you want to let your audiences know and to make it crystal clear to the audience. It would be best if it could leave a deep impression as well. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this experience and I have learnt a lot from the others’ presentations as well. I hope that I can do better in the future! 🙂