Upon reaching the school I went straight to the school principal. She was very happy to see me, a former student as a teacher in the school. She then directed me to the school practicum coordinator Mr Ravin Lal the vice principal of the school. He asked me to stay around as we wait for the rest of the teachers and then the staff meeting will be held. In the staff meeting the administrators welcome the new teaches and highlighted the teachers with the school rules and regulation. I was allocated associate teachers. I also learnt that teachers have to prepare a lot before they teach a class.
As the days progressed I was feeling more comfortable with both teachers and students. An exposure was given to me to supervise the teachers’ class who was absent. I was able to see some of the behaviour of the students towards teachers and felt respected. My associate teachers also gave me some of their classes to teach. I felt very nervous at first but then I controlled it and moved on teaching. My associate teacher helped me explain the students some of the concepts which I was not very clear on.

Moreover, I sometimes faced difficulties in supervising the classes as it was hard to explain student on concepts which are apart from my discipline. I also was also reluctant to talk to all the teachers as they were new to me. As days passed by I became more confident and was able to interact well with them.

To conclude my essay I can say that module one had a lot of experience for me as a teacher. I have learnt a lot of things about the school and the amount of work the teachers need to do in order to carry out a successful class. I also learnt that teachers need to ensure that student learn the concepts taught in class i.e. the objectives are to be achieved.

Twitter is one Web 2.0 tool that I found very interesting and helpful in teaching and learning. Twitter is a fun and interesting website. It is part micro blogging, part social networking and part mobile based tool that allows users to post microblogs called “tweets.” Twitter is owned by Twitter Inc. It is based in San Francisco, California. This website was produced by Jack Dorsey. It was launched in July, 2006 and since then it has gained popularity worldwide with over 200 million users. The latest statistics can be viewed at Twitter Statistics.

To many, its value is seen in keeping connected with groups, educational purposes, connecting with business people and friends. Twitter connects us with the latest information in a manner which is very efficient. An example of Twitter efficiency is seen when twitter helps find a missing child.

I came across Twitter at the beginning of this year, 2009. I was overwhelmed by things that Twitter could offer. This website is similar to Facebook.  It is similar that it also is a social networking site. Twitter can be used to share useful information such as study notes and revision exercises by linking with external websites. For example, the topic lights in Physics. The teacher can link the website of lights so that students could get more information. Another useful feature is that you can share links from YouTube or Vodpod. For example if an experiment was not successful in class then the teacher can provide links to the videos that is showing the experiment done successfully by another person in another country. The screen shot below shows a link to a classroom experiment that is linked from Vodpod.

Twitter is less interactive. It has word limitations. Its allows only 140 characters for tweets. Sending messages also has character limitation. Hence, this restricts the users to express or explain in full in other words the posting of a normal user is minimal. It can be a distraction to the user.

Moreover, if a user is a follower of a lot of people or business on Twitter then the person will find difficulty constantly checking for updates from his following list hence Lists can be created to view specific people’s posting at once. I have created a List for my University friends and lecturer and the List can be made private or public for people to follow. To look for updates from a particular person you will have to search for the person and go through his/her timeline if the person is not listed. Also if one is using twitter through mobile phone and has more friends than it becomes hard to handle that is it can be expensive.

Twitter is very helpful as a teaching tool. If u r following someone for educational purposes then you get exposed to a variety of latest information. Links are shared to explore outside the boundaries of a classroom and of Twitter. Remind students about due dates of assignments, upcoming activities or short notices. The screen shot below shows my lecturer reminding students of the assignments due time.

Conclusion

Teaching using Web 2.0 technology, Twitter to formulate better learning process will lead the teaching and learning to a new level. If you are a following someone for educational purposes then this will be very helpful in getting the latest information in education. As a teacher, it would be easy for me to remind my students the due dates of assignments, upcoming activities or events. Finally it can be said that the use of Twitter will strengthen the student teacher relationship and extend the classroom learning barrier.

FEATURES OF ISSUU

Free and unlimited upload

Allows for materials to be converted into Issuu publication in a few minutes. Does not even need one to be technologically advanced, no downloads or installation is needed to use Issuu. Most importantly it can be opened in any web browser.

Perfect display quality

Has a good display quality where publications are clear. The image can also be It does not go blurry or unclear even when zooming in or printing. The image below shows a lecture being published as a book by one of my lecturer Mr Vilimaka Foliaki.

All document formats supported

Supports and converts all types of documents into Issuu Publications, such as PDF, Word documents, Power Points, Open office, RTF and many more.

Organizes and controls your files

Has a My Library section where documents can be managed very easily. Also has the ability to manage large numbers of folders using the file manager option.

Detailed statistics

Provides a number of statistics such as people who viewed your profile, about bookmarks, ratings and links.

Issuu search

It is a popular site for online publication and hence has a search section for the users to discover content available in its database.

Social networks integration

Content can be made accessible through blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Digg and many more, hence it allows for more people to view your publications.

Import contacts

Has the ability to get contacts from Gmail, Yahoo mail, etc and add it to its address book for easy access.

News feed (RSS)

Uses the news feed (RSS) that informs users about your updates.

Subscription system

When someone subscribes to your publications they will automatically receive email every time you update your profile or upload something new.

Friend recommendations

Publications can be easily provided to friends of friends once they bookmark your publication, hence it allows for a lot of exposure to your publications.

Child-safe

It is very child friendly as all its content is filtered and only appropriate documents get uploaded onto Issuu.

Design and usability

Issuu is very attractive and easy to use for the viewers. Allows for your publications to look interesting with ease of access for exploring your publications.

Full screen mode

Also has a full screen mode where viewers can view your publications in an enlarged version.

Search engine optimization

Allows for content to be made available so that not only Issuu users but also new readers can have access to your publication.

Customization

Can be customized according to your likeness such as custom backgrounds and logos.

Protect your content

Files can be protected by making it available where readers can view it but prevents it from duplication and redistribution.

Feedback

Feedbacks can be obtained by allowing them to comment on the content you provided (your publication).

Bookmarking

Makes it easy for the readers to remember your publications.

Email notifications

You can get notifications via email when someone comments on your content.

ADVANTAGES

With the help of Issuu one can publish their documents right away. You do not have to look for a publishing company to get your work to the world. Obtain detailed statistics about their publications, such as the number of views to your profile, the number of downloads of your publications, etc. Moreover, links can be easily shared via e-mails and social media, contents can be downloaded to be used off-line to save on the internet charges. A person can also subscribe and view other users of Issuu. these publications can also be bookmarked and readers can read, comment and evaluate the publications.

CONCLUSION

Issuu is an online publication site. Where one can publish their work online and readers can view, read and even comment on it.

For instance, to view an already published book, you have to click on the cover. This will allow the book to open in a window on the same page hence enables the reader to flip through the pages, zoom and even email the contents.

Furthermore, Issuu is a very helpful tool for teachers as they can upload notes online for the students to get access to. Publications are presented in such an interesting manner where the students can flip through pages and even zoom, that it attracts their attention and allows them to be interested in what they are studying.

Students can also be given an opportunity to publish their stories, the class newspaper and present their own work through Issuu. This web tool increases the classroom learning barrier.