There are a lot of things you can learn from the novice. First of all, you can admire their curiosity. They are curious just about anything and they are not afraid to ask. Secondly, these people are highly motivated. They go all over for knowledge and don't take no for an answer.

Hello!

These qualities exhibited in the teachers that I came into contact yesterday. A friend from the Microsoft Education requested for a session with his teachers. In my mind, I thought they were those young bubbly just about school leavers who will be in attendance. I got the shock when I realized that most of them were not as I imagined them to be, I was sorry for myself for being a stereotype.

Hi guys!

The session went for 30 minutes with Q&A about my whereabouts (MYSTERY SKYPE, in action!) and a lengthy discussion about the cultures of both countries. We also shared some ideas on how to use technology in the classroom and how it may benefit students.

Isn't she lovely?

This session helped me and the students of Mr. Tien Mai to connect, and Skype helped to personalized that connection. By having a video call, the presence can be felt as we were able to look at each other, understanding cultures by observing how people act and react.

Have you ever Skype in your classroom? Give it a try, you will feel the difference!

I was nervous when a Skype guest speaker request came into my inbox the other day. I understand that when I signed up, someday the first request will come. People say, the first time will always be the hardest but I say the first time is always mind-boggling. I didn't know where to start, although the teacher did mention that his students wanted to learn about Malaysia. Being born and raised in Malaysia suddenly made me an expert?


I love this song! Her voice was enchanting!

The realization of having to describe Malaysia in a short amount of time was certainly is not my choosing. I want to tell a lot of things, about my hometown, how we do things every day, how much we love being Malaysian. After some deliberation, I chose to share about Malaysian never-ending penchant for food and the glorious sandy beaches stretches that made Malaysia an island and a peninsular combined.

Picture taken by Mr. Alper Cifti

Ain't they cute?

The session went smoothly and judging by their body language, I knew they had a great time and I knew I certainly did. Although they seemed shy, the questions flowed at ease as they were teenagers with high curiosity (or it was their teacher's prompt? haha). I thought they were bright too.

I learned 3 things from the session:

The world is not defined by borders or ethnicity. Those students that I talked to came from the middle east with their family. Living in Australia, adopting the new country as theirs, adapting to new cultures and traditions made them into a world citizen. These days we should not stereotype countries with certain ethnicity but to be open to accepting people regardless of their religion or skin colour.

You don't have to be an expert at everything. What I think important in today's world, as people say living in the 21st century, is to be able to learn, unlearn and relearn. By embracing these three things, we can be optimistic of change and humbled by the knowledge we can learn from others.

Take pride in who you are. This is a value that I struggle to have, which only arrive as I grew older. The idea of the other side is always greener or taking pride is sin made me wonder about my true self, whether it is worth it. Now I do believe that everybody brings value into this world, therefore it is important to be proud of who you are and learn to own it. This will help you understand how you can contribute to the people around you.

I hope to be part of this guest speaker session sometime soon. Maybe it will teach me more about myself that I'm still discovering (I talk like a 20-year-old girl with a whole lot of possibilities! haha).

So, how about you? Have you tried being a Guest Speaker on the Microsoft Edu? 

Alhamdulillah. Give thanks to Allah, the Most Gracious.

There were a lot of great things happened during our Skype session. I wish to highlight 10 of it. The order of writing doesn't mean I favour no. 1 over no. 10. It is just in the order I remember it. However, no. 1 is everlasting because my tastebud fell in love with it.

1. The teachers gave me a box of cheese tarts as a token of appreciation. I believe the baker did a great job, as the cheese was soft and fluffy. Yummy! Cheese tart and Skype? Aha!

2. The students understand the flow of Skype without having to be reminded. And, I loved the way they navigate themselves and help each other out.

4. I am eternally grateful to the teachers of SK Seri Berang. All of them were blessings from God and I wish them the very best in life. Thank you for having me at your school.

I am so excited about our Riddle Skype this year. Alhamdulillah, we have the opportunities to do so. Thank you to Mdm Haruka and her students from Saitozaki Elementary School for reaching out to us.
#skypeintheclassroom   #skypetolearn

The Skype session which will be on schedule tomorrow has undergone 2 training sessions prior to the real session.

In the first training session, students were brief on the flow of the Skype and designation of roles. The students learned how to go about based on their roles. During the second training, the students experienced mock Skype which requires them to simulate the flow of activity. They portrayed their understanding of their roles and were positive throughout the training.

I hope everything will turn out well for Skype and students will gain valuable experiences and ideas about the world around them. I also hope that this activity will motivate them to speak and learn English better. In order to understand this, I have prepared a debriefing activity which I hope to discover new things about the programme and the participants.


Debriefing activity

On the 5th of December, my Little Kampung Skypers had the chance to meet with a Princess from the Lisbon Zoo Kingdom. The princess had lost her crown and she needed our help in finding them. Together, we 'walked' around the zoo, going from one enclosure to another in search of her dazzling crown.

Click to learn more on the zoo

Isn't it lovely?

We went to the zebra's, flamingoes', giraffes', elephants', meerkats' and chimpanzees' enclosures to look for the crown. While we were looking, the princess shared a lot of interesting animal facts with us. The princess is certainly a knowledgeable person. Brain with beauty! Perfect!

Hello!

We were asked to count the elephants too...

Listening attentively...

Do you know how flamingo has its colour?

The giraffes.

I think the ancient Egyptians had some inspirations from these meerkats' 'eye makeup'.

Are you a real princess?

The little Skypers answered the questions posted by the princess and she was impressed at their answers. She graciously complimented their effort and the Skypers were very pleased. Guess where we found the crown?

I found it! said Khodeejah.

You may take this trip too. Find out more by clicking the image below. Thanks to Microsoft in Education for making it possible for educators to make the world as their classroom. This is our second virtual trip and already I have seen some improvement in my little Skypers. Give it a try, I am sure you will want to take another virtual trip to somewhere again.


We sure had a lot of fun with the princess and hope to see her again soon!

During Skyp-ing

Thanks to Rania for the Sway on our interaction the other day.



We look forward to an extended session when the school reopens in January 2017!

It was FUN!

As the name suggested, we skyped again with Redlands School, Sydney. This time around, we exchanged questions prior to the session. The questions concern on daily activities, preferences and cultural practices.

The session went well and the students from Malaysia were excited and nervous at the same time. As English being the third language learnt in school, the students need to articulate the questions correctly and listen to the answers provided by the Redlanders. The answers to the questions were written by the data enterers.

Hmm...

A student with his teacher

Isn't she cute?

Listening to question attentively

Answering questions as the data enterers look on

Hello, friends!

Some of the questions asked by us are:

• Is your school huge? Please tell me about one favourite place that you like in your school?
• What is your hobby? How you usually carry out your hobby?
• How did you come to school? Who bring you there?
• Do your parents read you a bedtime story? Which story is your favourite?
• What did you do during the previous Halloween? Do you get many candies from others?
• What is your favourite food? Why you like it?
• How many family members do you have? Who is your favourite? Why?
• Who is your best friend in school? What do you like about her/him?
• Can you tell me about your favourite cartoon? What is it interesting about?
• Can you tell me about your country?
• Can you please tell me what is interesting about yourself?
• What kind of movie do you like? Why?
• Tell me about your teacher. What is her name? How does she look like?
• Tell me about your favourite book.
• Can you tell me the festival that you celebrate in your country? How you celebrate it?
• I love to eat avocado, do you plant them? Have you seen avocado tree before? Do you like Avocado? Why?
• I know there are a lot of berries in your country. Do you like them? How are they grown in your country?
• Have you seen Santa before? Do you believe that Santa does really exist? 
• What you like about your school? What is your favourite activity in class?
• What will you do if you find you have make some mistakes?

Skypers!

The concurrent trend requires learners to participate globally in order to be competitive, learned and at the same time grounded in the values of their own country. Although it is a big word or big ambition you might think but it is inevitable not to embrace the concept. Of late, the development of social media transcends across the generation. The need to feel connected and creating influence fuel our further need of social media. In a way, it feeds on our nature of human being, being social.

Waiting to ask question

Preparing...

We got ready early!

During the call

WEFIE

Our new friend from the Southern Hemisphere