1. ASSIGNMENT 1<br /> (PART A: SUMMARY)<br />(PART B: ARTICLE REVIEW)<br />Group Members: Siti Nur Diyana Mohd Ghazali (0727706)<br />: Nurul Liyana Binti Janah@Zainal (0723990)<br />: Noor Arina Binti Muhamad (0726896) <br />: Melisa Nurjustina Elwiana Muhd Alwin Liew (0719306)<br />Course Code: ENGL 4740<br />Course Title: Computer Application in Language Studies<br />Section: 1<br />Instructor: Dr. Rozina Abd. Ghani<br />Semester: 2, 2010/2011<br />Summary: Blogging in Teacher Professional Development: Its Role in Building Computer-Assisted Language Teaching skills by Puvaneswary Murugaiah, Hazita Azman, Azizah Ya’acob and Siew Ming Thang<br />The study was intended to see how the Smart School English language teachers are exposed to and can build on technical skills and pedagogical knowledge required to teach in technology-enriched schools through blog interactions in an English community of practice (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010). The methodology used in this article involved twenty teachers from five smart schools located in Klang Valley and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. They were invited to schedule face-to-face meetings to form relationships and get to know each other well. After grouping them, the participants are expected to construct a collaborative community online via the blogs. They were required to post blog entries regarding their teaching practice (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010).<br />Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al (2010) cited McLaughlin and Oberman (1996) that a teacher who learns, gains an understanding of new concepts of content and pedagogy as well as the new role of educator that he plays. The researchers mentioned that Mishra and Koehler (2006) included ICT in their framework of teacher knowledge. Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al (2010) mentioned that computer-assisted language learning (CALL) provides teachers the opportunity to incorporate PowerPoint presentations, photos, slide shows, audio/video resources, hyperlinks and social networking sites in their teaching to make their lessons attractive. In addition, quoted from Murray & Hourigan (2008), the multi-potentiality of these tools can only be manifested if teachers possess the skills and integrate them in their teaching. The researchers also cited Yang (2009) blogs present a platform for teachers to improve themselves through interaction with others. Moreover, from Efimova & Fiedler (2003), blogs promote community building as they are constructed by people who share mutual interests to discuss common issues. Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al (2010) quoted Barlett-Bragg (cited in Muwanga-Zake et al, 2010), blogs provide an opportunity to engage in and scaffold knowledge construction and blogging has the potential to boost constructivist cognition and meta-cognition (higher order thinking skills). <br />The findings have shown that blogging have exposed the teacher to a new skills which is the using of technology and enhanced their skills through the blogging activity. Teachers also will be able to get the feedback from their students on their experience when using the Information Technology (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010). Furthermore, the teachers will be exposed to seven skills in blogging activity. The skills are Basic ICT Competence, Specific Technical Competence for the Software, Dealing with Constraints and Possibilities of the Medium, Online Socialisation, Facilitating Communicative Competence, Creativity and Choice and Own Style (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010). <br />Many implications to language learning can be seen through this study. Existing skills will be enhanced once they are in an ICT enabled teaching environment. The blogging activity provided them a means to build on these skills, for example, the interaction between teachers SH and S. It enhances teacher SH’s existing competences and her self confidence in the new ways of integrating technology in educational contexts. In another discussion, teacher N describes a lesson that required basic IT skills, that is, using a word document and emailing. Teacher S gave her ideas that it would not only make the lesson more interesting but also enhance Teacher N’s competence level. Another effect is that it allows sharing and collaboration through blogging. According to the researchers the blog is a tool for interactions that provide participant with a common platform to express their emotional frustrations and the tensions they experience using IT in which they feel can impede their continuous learning and enhancement of CALL skills. Therefore, it can create a sense of belonging to the community whereby all members can feel connected to one another. Teachers also will be more positive in the decision-making to integrate IT applications in teaching and learning contexts (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010). <br />In this article above, two aspects in the history of CALL are found which can be related to the article. They are Computer as Tutor, Tool, & Pupil and Discovery Learning. These two aspects are very much put into consideration and are very important in Computer Assisted language Learning (CALL).<br />For the first aspect which is Computer as Tutor, Tool, & Pupil, in communicative Computer Assisted language Learning (CALL), learner-learner interaction was emphasized. Through the sharing and collaboration in blogging learners were voicing out their emotional frustrations and the tensions they experience when using IT (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010). The computer now becomes the vehicle as a tool for interactive communication. In this approach, the technology is integrated into the communication process. Thus, learners can interact via international or local network by accessing, organizing information through databases, and using word processors. According to Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, (2010), in blogging activity, learners could relate to each other and feel free to voice out their opinions. In addition, the discussion of common issues among the learners revealed their shared concern that is the challenges in technology-enabled schools. <br />It is said that the first CALL software continued to deliver skill practice but not in a drill format, for example: paced reading, text reconstruction and language games, but the computer remained the tutor. In the third phase of the history of CALL, CALL saw a definitive shift of the use of the computer for drill and tutorial purposes (the computer as a finite, authoritative base for a specific task) to a medium for extending education beyond the classroom.<br />Many IT industry analysts have indicated that the number one business software application used by companies as a whole is database software. Nowadays, database use is just as prevalent at schools. For example, students are given a situation whereby the teacher would have students to surf the WWW to find data and by the conclusion of the class, students would then turn in either an electronic or hard copy of data sheet. Secondly, students are assigned the task of establishing a database upon certain areas of the topic or situation given. Later, students would get approval from their teacher and begin to create the database and on the final day of the project, students would present their findings to the class (Wikipeadia).<br />In relation to the article by Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al (2010), entitled “Blogging in teacher professional development: Its role in building computer-assisted language teaching skills”, it said that online interactive platforms like Facebook and blogs can expose teachers to learn and develop skills. Also, from online interactive forms, education will be extended beyond the classroom. Teacher collaboration via blogs can expose teachers to skills that are critical for computer-assisted teaching and help them to enhance existing competences. Hence, blog, in this article, is regarded as tutor. <br />In the history of CALL, it is said that the computer now becomes the vehicle as a tool for interactive communication. Students can interact via international or local network by accessing, organizing info through databases, and using word processors. Programs like word processors have become valuable as it allows for invention, revision and editing of texts (Wikipedia). In the article, computer is also regarded as a tool for teachers and student to interact, particularly via blog. The computer also now just the pupil and it is often associated with learner-centered approach (Warschauer & Healey, 1998). Students were encouraged to produce their own creativity using the computers.<br />In the second approach, which is the Discovery Learning, it was not only what the students did with the computers but also what they did with each other while carrying out the given tasks (Warschauer & Healey, 1998). In this case, from the study conducted, the teachers (who somehow played the role as students too) are expected to construct a collaborative community online via the blogs (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010) and to use the blogs to interact with each other. So, what they did with the computer is by creating blogs. At the same time, they were interacting with each other to complete the tasks given after being exposed to the use of blog and the opportunity to incorporate PowerPoint presentations, photos, slide shows, audio/video resources, hyperlinks and social networking sites in their teaching to make their lessons attractive (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010) through CALL. In this study the researchers cited Yang (2009) that blogs present a platform for teachers to improve themselves through interaction with others. It shows how blogs promote community building as they are constructed by people who share mutual interests to discuss common issues (Efimova & Fiedler, 2003). According to Barlett-Bragg (cited in Muwanga-Zake et al, 2010) blogging has the potential to boost constructivist cognition and meta-cognition, which is the higher order thinking skills and blogs also is providing the opportunity to engage in and scaffold knowledge construction. Blogging have exposed the teacher to new skills which is the using of technology and enhanced their skills through the blogging activity (Puvaneswary Murugaiah et al, 2010). <br />