Self Evaluation: Final Entry

10 April 2008 - Finally… The long awaited e-portfolio is ready to be submitted. If I wait, I can still find more things to change, or more amendments to make but I will reserve that as part of my maintaining this portfolio. The journey needs to come to an end. Looking back at what I have done to prepare for this e-portfolio, I think I have spent more hours on developing it compared to time spent on any other assignments! I can confidently say that this is the most challenging but the most rewarding piece of work I have done for this Masters in TESL program.

I can also confidently say that I have turned from a techno-idiot to a techno-savvy, based on my own standard of course. I think I have confronted my fear of exploring what the technology has to offer. I really recommend anyone who is in the teaching field to venture into creating an e-portfolio because it is such a very helpful tool for teachers, students, as well as the administrator or advisor who is evaluating the concerned teacher.

E-portfolios are so versatile due to their nature of being accessible to practically anyone who has access to the Internet. It also promotes the concept of the paperless society and of course the benefit of developing oneself professionally. As an administrator, I do not have much material related to teaching which I can display in my e-portfolio. However, I managed to include a few lesson plans which I have developed for two of the courses I am taking this semester, namely Advanced Oral Communication and Literature in TESL.

The final e-portfolio has eight pages which are Home, Personal Details, Lesson Plans, Blog, Auto-biography, Photo Album, Guestbook, and Links. I chose green clean as a whistle as the design of my e-portfolio because green is my favorite color and it soothes my eyes and my soul. Besides this particular design provides me with a lot of empty spaces which I can use to develop my own personal touch. I also prefer the design because it lists the titles of the pages across the top as opposed to listing them vertically on the side area. I chose “To err is human to forgive is divine” as my slogan because as a human being I can not run away from making mistakes. No body is perfect and that is all the more reason for me to keep on developing myself personally and professionally.

In “Home” page I included a brief information of myself as an introduction to viewers. I included my academic qualifications and work experiences in the “Personal Details” page. The next page which is “Lesson Plans” contains lesson plans which I have written as part of assignments in Advanced Oral Communication and Literature in TESL classes. I am not very satisfied with the way it is currently presented. I am not sure how to link them so that viewers can get access to them right away without having to find them in an obscure spot in the Save-file site. However, for now that is all I am able to do. I will definitely continue to upgrade it after the class is over as part of my continuous professional development.

“Autobiography” page contains a detail story of my life including my struggles learning English as a second language. All of the pages have background music which I chose from the selections provided by the site provider. All the songs which I have chosen, are purely on the basis that they are all my favorite songs except for the Photo Album (FPA) page. I chose the tune entitled Dust in the Wind from a group named Kansas. The reason I chose that particular song is because my husband is from Kansas and most of his siblings reside in or near the state of Kansas, USA. In the last page I have included some links which I hope will be useful to viewers. I plan on adding more as I find more interesting and useful sites in the future. The page entitled “Blog” is a link to my e-journals which is also part of the course requirement for this Professional Development class.

Overall, I have gained a lot of new knowledge from developing the e-portfolio as well as the blog. I would still be unable to develop both if I had not taken this class. The whole process of developing them is so challenging and yet very rewarding.

Feedback From a Friend

3 April 2008 - It has been more than half a month since the last time I wrote my journal entry. I have been busy with work as well as assignments for my classes. In fact I am now in KL attending a four-day workshop at Kolej Poly-Tech MARA headquarters. It is very hard to juggle work, family, and study all at once but the experience makes me a better person. The knowledge which I gain while doing all the assignments is priceless and I would never trade it for anything in this world.

During the coffee break at the workshop I met with Harold Poong, another student for M.Ed TESL with UPM. I showed him my e-portfolio so he could give some feedback on its design and content. He commented on my content and he suggested that I remove two pages but transfer their contents to My Personal Details page. In fact the two pages he suggested to remove are the two new ones which I just added. But I think it is better that way. He also suggested that I use a table for the content of my personal details to make it look more “professional”. I made all the changes that night in my hotel room. Fortunately, the hotel provided a free internet service in each room. I still have to make some final touch ups but I don’t have much time before the due date is here.

I am also excited that I have some pictures added to My Photo Album page. Thanks to my husband who helped scan those pictures. Since I don’t have any pictures taken with any students, I decided to include just family photos.

I Need More Colors …

17 March 2008 - Hello again. It has been a week since I wrote during my retreat. My group and I have been busy preparing for our literature presentation last weekend. Now that it’s over I can write some more for my blog. It’s so frustrating that my page and cursor effects are still hidden behind the pages! I am tired of it. I guess I will leave it the way it is because in a way it’s better like that. Other wise the pages will be cluttered with so many moving objects. Hmmm.. I wonder if it sounds like a lame excuse. I will try to find out how to fix it. But if I can’t until the time I am supposed to submit it, well that’s the way the cookie crumbles. What I need now is to scan pictures of my family so that I can post them in my e-portfolio to add more color to it. So far I only have a photo of my mother in law posted. I must get the help of my husband to do that.

I have made a few changes on my page titles. I have omitted the “TESL Involvement” page because there is so little to be included on a page by itself. Instead, I put that topic into my Professional Development page. I have split the “Qualifications and Experience” page into two pages namely “Academic Qualifications” and “Professional Development”. I have also included a page entitled “Autobiography”. After all I have to write and submit an autobiography to my lecturer Dr. Edwin. You know Dr Edwin, if you ever get around to reading my blog, I have to tell you that I am very grateful for the fact that you asked us to blog and build an e-portfolio. Otherwise, I would postponed my intentions forever… I have always wanted to learn how to do it but was never serious about it. Thanks again Dr Edwin...

Weeee.... I am Rejuvenated.

8 March 2008 - Now it is 1 o’clock in the morning and my friends and I are still typing away. My friend Marina was the first to check-in because the room was reserved under her name. Unfortunately she had a terrible headache when she first arrived. Probably due to being hungry after a 2-hour drive from Rompin. Then Yati arrived followed by me. Mona was the fourth to arrive and Nikki was the last. She had to attend a wedding before she joined us. The first thing we did was to get our user ID and password so that we could use their internet service. When everyone was there we started our first assignment which was to produce a conference brochure for a special interest group. We finished it in no time, like the expression says, two heads are better than one, what more with five heads? Well, figure it out yourself... Then we moved on to the next assignment, then the next… It just went on and on. Whenever we were out of ideas, we got on the internet and worked on our blogs and e-portfolios. The funny thing was that, I was the consultant of e-portfolios for my group! Holy cow! What a wonderful feeling to be called “an expert”! Hahaha.. That was a really big jump from a techno idiot to an expert! Wow.. it’s already 2 am now, we better get some z's. We’ll continue our mission tomorrow. Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite…

Calm Down.. a Retreat is the answer..

7 March 2008 – Today is going to be an exciting day, not because it is the general election day but four of my classmates and I are going for a retreat at one of the hotels in Kuantan. Actually the idea of a retreat was suggested by one of my lecturers. He said it would be good for us as a way of developing ourselves professionally. Then we thought why not? So we called up the hotel and reserved a room for all! I can’t wait to check in. We plan on working on many assignments on this 2-day weekend.

What Has Gone Wrong?

5 March 2008 - I spent so many hours working (or more like playing) on my e-portfolio. I was so excited when I was able to insert music and changed the background of the pages. I also inserted the page effect (rising balloons and falling snow) as well as cursor effect (websclock). As soon as I finished amending anything, I would publish them right away in fear of losing my amendments. Before I finished for that particular day, I opened my site and everything was ok. Then the next morning I was very disappointed when my page effects and cursor effects were not displayed in front of the pages, instead they were hidden behind the pages. What could have gone wrong? How do I fix this problem? Why does it have to happen now when I have tons of assignment to do and not enough hours to do it all. Urggg… I need painkillers. My head is throbbing.

I am Hooked

3March 2008 – Wow! This is getting to be dangerous because I found myself becoming addicted to building the website. Moi? Being addicted? This is hard to believe because I have always considered myself as a techno-idiot. I once said that to Dr. Edwin in my class. But he seemed to have more confidence in me than I had. I am constantly searching for an excuse to go online and work on my e-portfolio. I found out how to do links and also how to add music. I added different music for each page. I was so excited that I sent sms’s to a few friends about my new found talent. They were impressed and started to consult me how to do it. I might be able to help them during our professional development retreat this coming weekend. Wow, I am really looking forward to doing it.

Googlepage vs Freewebs

28 Feb 2008 – Hmm… Should I stick to freewebs or should I venture into a new web provider? I wish I had not seen my friend’s simple but elegant looking site which was created using the Google page. Just to make myself feel better, I created an account with Google page. In the beginning it seemed easier than using freewebs. Unfortunately, I was stuck right after the first page. Reluctantly, I logged off and went back to my faithful freewebs. I promised myself that I would stick to the freewebs until I finish my e-portfolio. Perhaps after this master’s program is over, I will go back and check my abandoned Google page website.

Challenged by Silver Heads

25 Feb 2008 – Boy, I really felt challenged today, after reading an article in the New Straits Times about the "Rise of Silver Bloggers". The article showcases a few blogs which are created and maintained by men who are in their 60s and 70s. Some of them started blogging more than a decade ago, using the Geocities site. I told myself ‘if they can do it, I certainly can.’ I refuse to be “beaten” by a bunch of “uncles” and “grandpas”. So the article was really an eye opener and a motivator for me.

Surfing Time

7 Feb 2008 - I think I must start surfing. That’s what Harold told me to do. He said “You have to explore freewebs and get used to the features provided”. So, while feeling bored during my lunch break, I logged onto the site and it looked interesting but I was sort of overwhelmed by it. “Where do I start?”, I kept asking myself. Then I braved myself by trying to register my name first. Then I chose several pages which I wanted to include in my e-portfolio. Like I said earlier, I am not teaching, I am an administrator at a private college. I think as a start, I am going to create 9 pages namely home, personal details, qualifications and experience, TESL involvement (however little that is), my blog, photo album, links, contact me, and guestbook.. For a novice like me, even 9 pages is plenty

Conceptualize…

1 Feb 2008 – Wow, time really flies when you need lots of it! It’s already the month of February. But what have I done for my e-portfolio?

Of all the classes I have taken so far, this is by far the most challenging. I think I have said this many times before but I am going to say it again. I am not a technology savvy person, which means, I am a techno idiot. However, it is good to be challenged otherwise we’ll be stagnant! So now, my big assignment is to conceptualize my e-portfolio – such as what design I want it to be, what materials to be included, how many pages to create, and what title to give for each page.

Since I am not a teacher or a lecturer, I guess I won’t have so much teaching related stuff to be included. The only teaching experience I have is when I taught a group of SPM leavers in the Intensive English course at my college. Even then, I only had an hour slot, once a week teaching conversational English. However, I am very interested in the learning of language , English in particular. So the moment I was given a chance to join this UPM master’s program, I jumped and grabbed the opportunity. Dr Edwin once asked me in the class whether I will teach after I finish this program. Well, to tell the truth, I am not sure yet, at least not teaching fulltime. I really believe that knowledge is always valuable and you’ll never know when you need it. I was thinking, if I decided not to teach now, at least I can open up a tuition center during my retirement, if God grants me life that long….

A Ray of Light…

21 Jan 2008 - By this time it was already 2 weeks passed without any concrete ideas of what to do. Suddenly, I bumped into one of my colleagues who happened to be in the same class as me, outside of my office. She looked so cheerful and told me that Harold Poong was on campus attending a workshop! It turned out to be that Harold is working in the same organization as us except that his office is with another branch campus in Bangi. So without a second thought I got Harold’s cellular telephone number and made an appointment to see him. He was very obliging and we met just before he went out for his dinner.

We sat and talked for about 30 minutes and he guided me on what needs to be done. Ahhhh…finally I began to see a ray of light coming through my window of thoughts…..

In the Dark

15 Jan. 2008 - It is always hard for me to accept why some students enjoy cutting their classes. I hate doing it because sometimes students have different understanding and perception on what was delivered in the class. By right if they don’t understand what was said they should have asked the lecturer to clarify until it is crystal clear to them. But that would be too much to ask from my classmates. I am rambling for a good reason (at least to me..). I am sad and frustrated because I missed the very first session of this class. I was probably somewhere in the sky between Japan and Singapore when the class started. The next day which was Sunday, I rushed to the Vistana Hotel right after I got off the plane, just to be told that the class was cancelled. By then I was even more frustrated and sadder because I had missed a third of a semesters worth of learning.

Later I contacted a few classmates trying to figure out what assignment I had to do. To my surprised I got as many different answers as the number of people I contacted, ranging from not much, to just prepare your e-portfolio, to not sure. Why on earth didn’t they ask the lecturer? So I calmed myself by saying that I had plenty of time to find out the truth. Being a not so computer savvy person, the thought of developing my own e-portfolio was somewhat scary and intimidating. Then, someone told me to go online and check an e-portfolio by someone named Harold Poong. I thought to myself, hmm.. at least that is something to begin with. I tried so many times to get into it but always to no avail. Finally, I figured out that the url address given to me was wrong!