Technology to Teach Thinking Skill

Thinking is a skill in language learning besides reading, writing, listening and speaking. Actually all the students have their own capacity of thinking. Some students are LOTS and HOTS. The difference is how critical they think about something. Teach thinking is one of teacher job. Nowadays technology will help the teacher to teach thinking skill. Computer is a tool that scaffold thinking and support collaborative problem solving.  Microsoft office and sound recording can be the media for students to write, sketching or recording their thinking.

Sense is the first thing when students learn. The cognitive processing requires perception and the first step for learning is get the students’ attention. Since you have the students’ attention, it will be easy for the teacher to let the students understand the material easily. Students may have their own concept about something. The main point is just guide them to have creative and critical thinking. As many as you give freedom for the students to express their opinion and give them such exploring question, it will increase the students’ thinking ability.

Webquest is a recommended website for the teacher to support thinking and problem solving. In this website, the teacher can put all the things that relate to the material. it is consists of introduction of material, task for having assignment, process for completing the task, how or the step to to the task, resources as material’s information for support the task, guidance on how to organize the information and the last part is conclusion that brings closure and reflection.

Technology to Teach Writing

As we know that reading and writing are integrated. Before you are going to write you should have prior knowledge about the form and content of the writing. To have the prior knowledge you can read first.

Writing can be nice activity for those who love it and vice versa. Even though you dislike writing you can have computer to help you. Basically writing more focus on accuracy. The main point is about the grammar. You may have Microsoft office to check the grammar, punctuation and spelling. The grammar is already constructed so you just block the sentences and use which language you will use. For website, you can use compcomp.com which provide all about grammar.

Beside grammar, the content of your writing is important. However your grammar is great but the content is bad so it all should be balance. Here critical thinking is needed. You need literature to support it. So your writing content is connecting. Actually content is to develop the content knowledge. There are some websites to help you richer the content. Encyclopedia, national geographic and online library of literature can be use as the website. You can use Purdue owl to check to reference.

Actually writing process is based on the writer. I would like to write everything that comes up in my mind. I do love free writing. I just write the idea, read it and sometimes revise it. Prior knowledge is needed. May be brainstorming will help you to control the content. So writing is based on the person way to express their idea and construct it into the sentences.

Identity among others 3rd individual essay of Humanistic studies

Everybody has their own identity. You cannot see it only from a side even there is most dominant identity that someone has. Reflect to myself, I am a girl who come from Sekayu, shopping and watching are my beloved hobbies, Palembang food is my favorite food. If you want to identify someone identities, you have to see from which side will you get focus more. For example I, the most dominant identity that I want everybody focus more is Sekayu, the place where I come from rather than see me as a woman. I really proud am being a Sekayuness because I was born and spent my days there. Sekayu’s culture is life strongly in my blood. The way I act and the accent of the speaking show that I am a Sekayuness. Actually Sekayu is part of Palembang but I do not want identify as a Palembangness.

The first time I meet someone, I will see their appearance and the way they speak. I mean I will guess what culture they have. I will do some approaching to know them more. I do not want to have wrong perspectives of them.  For me, someone’s identity is very important to make a strong character especially about the culture. As we know that culture is closest to stereotype. Take for an example Javaness is known as kind, polite and slow. Actually it just a stereotyping because I have many Javaness friends and not all of them like that.  Sometimes stereotyping is wrong. So that’s why you have to see the person from their different identities.

                     Identity is like a mirror. As we know that we have multiple identities and those identities are the  aspects for others to see us. Someone focus of identity sometimes different. Although they come from the same background culture but it does not mean they want to be see the same.  For example Siti and Hadi are from Javaness but both of them have different dominant identity. Siti want the focus of her identity is Javaness and Hadi want to see from a side of man. For me whatever which identity is the most dominant, you have to aware of it. Make it as your image. When somebody is talking about Sekayu, they will remain me. People are easy to know or understand you if you have a dominant and strong identity. The main point is however identities that someone has, we have to aware of it.

Technology to Teach Speaking

Nowadays speaking is need for having communication, do not care about the form as far as each of you understand what you are talking about its okay. Actually the main focus of speaking is about the fluency not the accuracy.  Speaking is about the speaker’s ability to take in message, negotiate meaning and produce comprehensible output. If you are talking with native speaker, they do not focus on the form. They just will ask you for the clarifying about what are talking about. Those help you to speak up. On the other hand when non native speaker get feedback about that message from their interlocutor they will revise the speech to clarify their meaning. So it all does to make the communication happen and the message is delivering.

As 21^th century teacher candidate, we ask to use technology to teach our students about speaking. As we know that there is many software or website that provides speaking skill. You can let them visit englishclub.com, englishbaby.com or let them to have a chat with their friends or even with the teachers. By using social network like Yahoo Messenger or Skype, you can conduct an interesting learning process. You also can have software, my English tutor to engage them in speaking. Teaching speaking means you teach your students about intelligibility, speech monitoring ability and the important thing is you ask them to do communication and try to increase their self confident. Just give them opportunity to tell their opinion by speaking.

2nd Individual Essay of Humanistic Studies

Well, my name is Leni Herlina. I am going to tell you the history of my name. I was born in Sekayu, South Sumatra on October 8 1992. Thursday was my born day and now I am waiting for my 19^th birthday.  It means I will be an adult girl. I am the youngest child in my family. I have sisters and no brother. At the first time when I was born, my sisters gave a recommendation about my name. They named me Leni Marlina but my mom did not like the last part of the name and also I have a neighbor who has the same name. So she changed my name became Leni Herlina. She said that she like the name Leni Herlina.

When I am asking my mom about my name’s meaning she does not know. She just said that she like that name without know any meaning of it. Then she asked me to find it by myself but after looking for the meaning, I still do not find the meaning of my name. There is an Indonesian’s wise word “apalah arti sebuah nama”. For me the meaning of a name is not too important but one you have to know, your family give the name to you with the reason. Even I do not know the meaning itself, I am enjoy having this name. I think my name Leni Herlina is appropriate name. In my opinion, my name does not have any negative meaning. What I know, when I am introducing my name to others, they will not relate my name with a name from other religion. Even there is no part of my name included in holly Quran but people know that I am a moeslem. So far, there is no person who complains about my name.

If I allowed changing my name, I will not change it because I love this name and my special woman, my mom really like this name. I know the name Leni is “nama pasaran” but however it is I do not want to change it. Actually I just want to add my family’s name in the last of my name. Not all the things in life are accidents. So I think God has prepared something behind my name. I believe the power of my name makes me become a patience person, strong and smart enough girls. I think this name give me luckiness. I was born in rich enough family and my family loves me so much. By this name, people know me. They understand me. I have many friends. My life is colorful. So thank you so much God for showed my family the way to gave me the name Leni herlina. You have to believe that there is a power behind your name.

2nd Journal of Technology and Language Learning "General Characteristics of Digital Media"

In this digital era, teachers ask to deliver the material by using digital media. Computer and internet are the package that can be use in teaching language in the classroom. As we know that computer provide office tool that help you in writing and presenting. You can edit your work and add some images, audios and videos to make your writing or presentation become more clear and interesting. Teachers can ask the students to publish their work on the internet. May be the teacher can provide a class website or the students can create their own blog. Internet has provided the websites but however, you should pay attention to the copyright issue to avoid the criminal thing.

Communication is the heart of language teaching and learning. Email, blog and social networking are electronic communication that can be used for teachers and students to still keep in touch. Those things are now new things for us. If you have good writing skill, you can earn money by writing in the blog. As many as members you have and the comment make your blog is expensive. Language teaching process can be helped by using software such as lecture maker, audacity, macromedia flash, etc. Teachers can provide the material and the assignment there. Students also can improve their understanding by having some quises that provided by the teacher with the score. So you can check how deep your understanding.  In this digital era, teachers ask to understand the way to create as interesting, creative as the material by using software. As the teachers later, you have to selective find the software which can help us in teaching process especially in teaching language.

The 1st individual essay of Humanistic Studies

It is my first time learns about the whole part of human life. When you are talking about human, you will think from some aspects such as human as an individual, part of society, multicultural and the diversity of religion. I think this lesson is interesting because I could learn about human life through this lesson. One person to another is quietly different. Even they come up from the same ethnicity but their language and religion could be different. So that’s why I want to know more about those differences in this lesson. What is the effect of those differences in human life? And how the culture and religion change the human life? I really want to have the answers of those questions. I wish I could realize that differences is beautiful, you have to care and know each other. You can put yourself well in a society. Talk about human as an individual, you have to know about your name’s meaning because there is something special behind that but actually I do not know what is the meaning of my name, what I know just my name had been changed 3 times.

Differences are important. If you just found everything in your life are the same you will feel bored. Take an example: at SSE, the members are from different town, ethnicity and religion. If you just find someone who is from the same ethnicity and religion with you, you will no longer know about others who are different. You will only talk about you without know what are they (who come from different ethnicity and religion) doing out there, what is their habit, do we have any similarities. You will not realize that having different friends is nice. You can learn many things from them. You have such a sharing about you and them. That really adds your information.

I just feel my experience about having friends from different ethnicity and religion in SSE. Actually I have such those different friends in my time before but I just feel different here. I can learn about other region, start from the languages, the habit and then what is unique from that. As many as languages you know it will helps you. If you go to a region without know about that region first you will feel like a strange person and useless. I ever went to a town in Central Java but I do not know the language itself and the society’s habit. I felt so strange. I did not know what they were talking about and what did they mean when they were having an activity. I cannot be myself who like to talk and doing everything. I just keep silent. That’s really bad experience. Now, talking about religion I feel happy by having friends from different religion because sometimes they are more respectful than those who have same religion. When we are having discussion outside the class then they will remain us that are time for you to pray. I could know about their religion and sometime we have like a sharing and talking about our religion.