Name: Salma Varachhia Hosein

Date: 23th October 2015

Journal Entry 2 1st Teaching Video Lesson

Today I filmed my video lesson for teaching practice. I acquired consent forms for a form two
class, to whom the lesson will be taught during the third period from 9.40-10.15. After getting
all the relevant permissions from administration and parents, I decided to enlist our capable
students from the schools film club to put their talents to use. They began setting up from
second period while I was busy organising the furniture and testing the equipment. Once
everything was ready, we did a test of the audio and video equipment. We altered classroom
layout to ensure all students will be on camera. The projector and internet connection was also
double checked for proper functionality.
I then allowed the form two students to enter the computer lab. To my surprise all the students
I was expecting did not show up. I had originally carded a four peer share group for twenty four
students who got permission, but only eighteen turned up. I had to quickly rearrange the
groups, now having six groups with three students each. I then asked the students to place
their bags in the cubicle and to proceed quickly to their allocated seats. I managed to do that
just in the nick of time, as the bell rang for the lesson to begin.
I started off with the set induction PowerPoint where a concept map was presented. This
PowerPoint was interactive and layered. I showed the class the word Multimedia and ask
what the word meant to them. I then instructed them to discuss it among themselves in
groups. As I proceeded to walk around looking at the discussions taking place, I was simply
observing the interaction amongst the members of the groups to see if each member was
making a contribution. After the allocated time, a student from different groups was asked to
quickly come up and write their answers board in the various bubble of the concept map. I
thought that students would have provided correct responses after discussing their answers
they wrote. This should have been a pretty fast exercise. However, I realised that they had
misconceptions of what multimedia meant. I then took a few minutes to discuss and clear any
misconceptions before moving on to the lesson. I did this by breaking down the word and
having them analyse it. By asking relevant questions I was able to elicit the correct responses
from them. This was reinforced by showing them the answers in the next slide and allowing
them to view it.

I then proceeded to show them the objectives of todays lesson and what will be expected
from them. Following this, two slides were shown and this brought us to activity one which
entailed comparing the two slides and giving reason for their choice on why one slide seems
better that the other. This was a group exercise and each member of the group had a role. One
was the group leader; another was the time keeper and the volume controller. I decided to
implement this strategy as was suggested on Tuesdays class to see the response. The activity
sheet provided was used for students to write their responses and then orally share their
answers with the class. I then randomly called upon three groups to share their responses and
give their reasons. After that I asked the class if anyone had a different answer. All of the
groups voted for slide two as presenting the information better compared to slide one. This
then led to activity one question two, which asked identify at least three different multimedia
used. Again the groups had to write their answers by identifying the multimedia used and
orally present their responses to the class. This was done on the activity sheet. I realised that
students were quickly able to answer this, as they now had a better understanding of the topic
presented. Three different groups were then asked at random to share their answers with the
class. I then asked if any other groups had any other answers. I also asked student to identify
what are their learning preferences by raising their hands. This would give a good indication of
what type of learners they are. From this quick survey I was able to determine that majority
were visual learners with few auditory and even fewer read/write learners. Showing students
the use of multimedia catered for different learning styles. From this activity, I was able to
determine that all of the groups were able to complete objective one of the lesson. This was
evident from their response t my oral questioning and proven with the written assessment
from the activity sheet collected.
It was now time to move onto activity two which was for students to design their own
PowerPoint by choosing a topic of interest or hobby and creating a slide which was similar to
slide two as was seen earlier. I give students this choice of deciding the content. After this, I
asked each group what their chosen topic was and indicated that a topic should not be
repeated. I felt this worked well as each student may have had different topics to present and
they would then have to agree on which one they should select. This ensured different topics
being presented. I began by reinforcing the steps in using PowerPoint by asking students the
file path to access it and repeating the steps. This activity provided an opportunity to students
in showing their creative side.

Students were also given the opportunity to use the internet to search for multimedia and
research their topic as three facts needed to be presented on their slide. One member of each
group went to get the relevant information while the other two were discussing and working
together on their slide. As I walked around I observed that most groups were handling the task
well. Two groups required some assistance, as their video was not able to play in PowerPoint. I
decided to give them the choice of using any sample video that came with their laptop and
find information on that topic, or use any other multimedia since having a video was not
mandatory to use. During this exercise I also asked for a volunteer to orally state the steps
required to insert a video. After providing some clues, students then found the relevant tab
and then stated the step. I explained the difference between inserting a video from the
computer and from the internet. While walking around the class, I asked different groups how
they saved a video from the internet. Most said they used an online converter while Kaveer
from group two said Miss I place ss in front of the youtube video I wanted. I know I should
not be surprised, but considering it was form two, I was reminded that we are really teaching
21st century learners or should I say learning from them. I remember Atiba asking me a
question as to the specific number of multimedia that they can used. I replied by telling him
that the decision was up to them to decide.
After we completed the exercise a member of each group brought their flash to display their
enhanced presentations. Ansari came to represent group two which was the first group to
complete the task while Vishal who represented group five was last. I projected each groups
responses and asked students to use the peer assessment sheet provided to rate their
classmates by giving them stars based on three criteria. The rules were explained orally and
written instructions were also provided with an example at the back of the peer assessment
sheet. I emphasised that the group presenting should not vote for themselves but should rate
the other groups. As we viewed each group presentation, students had an opportunity to
record their assessments. At the end of the presentations, I closed by asking students to
identify multimedia and how it is used to enhance presentations. They were then informed of
the next lesson. After that I quickly asked students to stand to indicate their voting of the
presentations. It was observed that the majority voted for group four. Group four were asked to
stand and they were given a round of applause for their presentation on wildlife. Students
were reminded that they would be given a copy of todays lesson by obtaining it from the
students drive in school.

In reflecting on todays lesson I believed that I provided a student centred lesson. Overall, I felt
the lesson was very good. There were lots of interaction amongst students and they were
engaged. There were lots of activities that students had to do catering for the various learner
styles (VARK). I found having group roles was effective and I am happy I tried it as volume
controllers worked well. I was not able to complete the lesson within the time and took an
extra couple of minutes. This was mainly due to having to clarify students misconceptions at
the beginning of the lesson. I believe that this was important before moving on. In fact,
because of this, I believe all of my objectives were achieved as evidenced by that the results I
got with the assessments. Time was also lost as most groups had to be reassigned last minute
since some of my carded group leaders were absent. I tried to have an equal mixing of groups
by placing average with slower students since not all groups had advance students. This now
meant that weaker students were grouped together and required extra attention from me
since their group leader was absent. Since this was a very short period and especially with a
practical topic I believe that a forty minute period is required. One thing I would have like to
have is each group come up and actually present and talk about their topic so that at the end
the entire class will have learnt at least one fact about the various interests presented by
students. However due to time constraints this was not possible. I think for the next class I will
use the double period and discuss their presentations. Also I will go through and ask for
responses from the class on what can be done do to make it even better. This, I think will prove
to be useful, as students tend to get carried away by wanting to put all the multimedia on a
slide when only few may be needed to emphases a point. In this way students will be able to
receive feedback and next time would be able to create more effective presentations.
After watching the video of me teach, I realised that this is how students see me as teacher. It
felt weird. I realised I use my hands a lot for gesturing while I speak. I provided a calming
environment and felt the lesson ran well. I believe that I was speaking loud enough to compete
with the air condition so that all students can hear instructions. I tried my best to make sure
that all groups got the required attention, some more than others based on what I was
observing. I am confident that students really enjoyed the class and felt even happier that all
my objectives were achieved. I must also mention the incredible talent of the film club who
was gracious in helping me tape my first video lesson. This I must say have been a learning
experience. Since someone telling you about the way you teach is totally different from how
you see yourself actually teach. I hope that with each passing teaching practice I continue to
grow and become a better teacher implementing all the skills and techniques I picked up along
the way.