The Final Post on "The New Literacy"...

Having indulge myself into this new course is really a mixed and match feeling for me... In the beginning, I'm quite confident that I will have the ability to complete all the assignments on the specific time required (week to week basis), but eventually I have been dragged throughout the course for the substantial reasons given by myself... Maybe that's one of the reasons why the "online learning" is gaining much attention these days due to its flexibility in term of time, place and pace!

This 12-week course is finally reaching to its end. At the beginning, I would be quite happy in term of "no more assignments or activities" to be engaged with... Eventually, I have realized that the more time I use to indulge myself into the activities or assignments, the more things that I have learned throughout the course. To be honest, learning all these new tools is of no fun to me as most of the time, I have been struggling to get my work done! Anywhere, when I really put my attention toward what I have learned and gained, I feel pretty proud of myself for being able to complete and to make use of the ingredients inside the course!

There are quite a number of tools that I have learned in this course (e.g. social bookmarking, blogging, wikis, podcasting, video and webcasting, micro-blogging/twitter, social networking tools and finally aggregating tools...) in which most of them are alien to me in the beginning. Besides, I do understand more about what are my own PLEs and how the emerging of technologies of what we have now is going to shape the future of the education system globally.

As what Dr. Irene Tan had quoted a saying by Ralph Waldo Emerson "If you travel the whole world to find the beautiful, you must carry it with you or you find it not...". Yes, I do understand and in total agreement with it. In this context, I have learned and understood the beauty about the digital literacy in teaching and learning and now that I must carry it within me in order for me to truly have it... Therefore, now it is the time for me to utilize what I have learned on these new tools and to implement them into my teaching in enabling me to realize it's beauty...

Now, as I am more aware of the tools that can be used in teaching and learning, I need to learn to create an environment in which I can make use of these tools in an effective ways. Maybe in future at the end of the course, the participant could post a blog on how they are going to implement or to utilize the tools that they have learned in this course into the course/subject that they are going to teach... This will eventually give me the idea on how to manipulate the tools that I have used and learned into the real life of teaching...


Special thanks to George and Peter for making this course a success!

Twitter...

Wow! I think I really need some time to catch up with all these new gadgets of technology. It feel like I don't even have enough time to really 'play' around with one, then another is being 'pop' up...

"Twitter" ~ Frankly speaking, I never heard this term before. After going through a bit of reading, now I know that it is actually a type of micro-blogging... "Micro-blogging"???? Why do we need that? Doesn't we have enough with 'blogging'? To tell you the truth, I really do not know the answer... From what I have read, I know that we can actually share more personal things with certain groups of people that we would like to... And the main point they stressed here is that the maximum character of words are limit to 140, with the micro-blogger answering the question "what are you doing now?" As far as I'm concern, doesn't this mean that we have to be "online" for us to use this "gadget"? (twitter,... I mean). And of course I know that we can divert it to the cell phone,... but then again charges are necessary! I just wonder what is the different between "sms" and 'twitter'? How about "msn messenger", "yahoo messenger" and "skype"? Doesn't all these have quite similar functionality? I wonder...

I do not know what will be the future of the information technology this world will be, but as for me (I'm living in Malaysia), the environment where I'm living now does not allow me to "freely" access to the internet using my cell phone. Although I know recently that Klang Valley does has it own public Wifi, (I do not know how many of you have tried it before, but as far as I'm concern the signal strength is quite low with inconsistence transmission), I still do not think that "twitter" will be a convenience gadget for me to play with in this situation...

After all those "not so good things" about micro-blogging, of course I do know and understand the value of it's existence. Nothing that we all know, came without our thinking of it first, and this make me realize that it is most probably someone, somewhere out there who has been a great fan for "micro-blogging" has materialized it into what we have it now... I might not be able to fully understand the power and usage of micro-blogging now,... but it doesn't mean that I will not be in the future!

Video or Webcast for Educational Resources?

I have just read about the 'screencasting' and 'Ustream' regarding video and webcasting. Wow! I can't really imagine what technology nowadays can't really do! Although I never really put my attention into the leading edge of technologies, but sometimes I really need to give my deepest salutation to those who really think ahead of us... Remember the advertisement by "Nicol David"? It stated that "Winning is just thinking ahead of the others"... and I can't be agreed more with that, personally...

Ok, then... What will be my concern for 'screencasting' or 'Ustream'? I would say that I do like the idea of 'screencasting', as it will save a lot of energy and time in dealing with the explanation or steps involve in sophisticated apparatus or equipment, especially when the students are learning or dealing with it for the first time. When the whole procedure has been encrypted and screen-casted, students can easily followed the instruction in the screencast. Moreover, students can just review back the steps that they are not familiar with or to repeat the whole procedure again without difficulty. I personally do find this important especially in one of the subjects that I taught, where there were quite a number of new equipment that the students need to learn and to apply the techniques and the principles behind each of them. When I'm using the 'old techniques' (power point presentation with series of diagrams explaining the whole procedure), not quite a number of students can actually know what was really happening... And the most difficult part was to repeat the steps involved, as not all the students are having the same credibility in understanding the processes... Therefore, it will be easier and clearer for the students to view it themselves the "real action" of the whole process together with the explanation given in the screencast. Furthermore with screencast, students can actually view it a few days before the day of the lecture where further discussion can be done on the specific area that the students are concern about...

As for 'Ustream', I personally do not find this useful in the environment where I'm now teaching. Not to say that this gadget is not useful in teaching and learning, but the possibility of using it is quite low due to the needs of it steady connection and transmission. Nevertheless, I can't be agreed more that the 'tools' that I now know will shape the future of what kind of learning and teaching environment the next generation will be... and of course, it will all also depends on the willingness and adaptiveness of the educators in applying them now!

As for my experiences in searching for educational resources for the subject that I taught, I do not find any difficulty as most of the time, it is the specific techniques or principles that are required in the application of biotechnology (e.g. DNA extraction and purification, packing of column chromatography, principles of different ion exchange column, etc...), where most of the biotechnology company has already setup in the format of video or webcast about their latest apparatus or equipment that they are selling...

Some of the video or webcast that are useful for my educational resources are as below:
(A) SDS PAGE
(B) TLC and Column Chromatography
(C) Recombinant DNA Technology

My Little Experiences in Podcasting...

Wow! I don't even realize I'm that far away from my original schedule of the course. Oppsss, maybe it is because I don't really like to make it a habit to write or put down everything in the form of words, regularly... (I suppose,....)

Podcasting??? Although the term itself might has tell me what actually this kind of gadget it is, but I guess when you are really into it, then you will definitely get a clearer or more definite answer! I'm quite use to the concept of recording a cassette whether it is an audio or video (errr...I'm not that old actually...) or in a more modern sense, we might have move to the usage of MP3 or even MP4, but I guess it is just the different in the "apparatus" or "format" that is needed as an output??? (Please correct me if I'm wrong!)

To be honest, I do really have a difficult time in moving from the podcasting week to the next as I can't really finish loading the software needed. Don't worry, it is not that the file is too big or my laptop can't support the system, it is actually that I just can't find enough time to wait for it to finish loading before proceeding to my next work... Am I that busy? (You might wonder...) Not really! It is just that you will get frustrated after a few time of unsuccessful trial...

Finally, here I am just finished loading the necessary softwares and now begin to embark into my new journey of podcasting...

My first trial with the software "audacity" is kind of weird. Maybe it's because this is the first time that I'm listening to my own voice using a headphone. In the very first trial, I really do not know what I'm suppose to say when what I can do is just to let the recording process going on in a fast pace without figuring out something to say... Speechless, I seem to be. It seems that I'm stuck in my operational systems between my brain with the vibration that I saw with my eyes. Wow! I never experience that before... As time progress, when I get use to the pace of the recording system, I think I'm be able to get use to it... Although the repeating events of the fast pace of recording process will not terrified me that much, still I'm not use to the environment where I have to record my own voice and to replay it back to listen on what I have recorded. Much to my surprise was I can't progressively talk and simultaneously think what I want to say next at the same time! Therefore, to really record my talk, I need to write down everything that I want to say first, before putting them into the recorder... I guess this task is more difficult to me than when I'm really lecturing in front of the students!

Well, I think I have tried my best in creating a brand new recording for the subject that I taught (only a bit of the intro...). Hope all of you will enjoy the listening process! The link to my first podcast is as followed: http://yapws.podomatic.com/

Blogging??? Am I...

This is not the first time that I have created a blog of my own, but still I'm not very use to it. I can't really remember when did my first blog die off, but I guess it is my intention that is not too strong in keeping it alive!

I don't consider myself to be in the front line of the gadget of new technologies, but I do concern about everything that happen around me. Although the term "blogging" is not new to me, nevertheless as I progress myself (I know, I'm a bit slow...) towards the data or information given by the course (The New Literacy, of course...), I think I have a new defination for blogging...

Previously and most of the time, I would think that blogging is just a tool for someone to write and to express themselves, mostly towards the things that they are not satisfy of or maybe as part of their "online dairy of self expression"... It has never entered into my mind that blogging can also be use as part of the tools in the teaching process...

After reading through some articles on blogging, I start to realize the power of this tool. Although I do understand the limitation and the challenge to use blogging in classroom, but I guess, it is definately a great thing to start with. To be honest, I have just started to learn all these new tools (e.g. social bookmarking, blogging, wikis and podcasting...), but I guess it is a lot of fun to engage with (and of course, I know I have to pay more attention to it!). I do have something in mind on how I want to implement these "new stuffs" into the course that I'm going to teach next semester... (he..he..he..).

Basically, in the assignment that I gave to my students for example, reviewing journals. At the end of the day, students need to give me an individual writen report on their comment of the journals that they have viewed. As time progress, I do not find this technique much useful, as students tend to be lack of resources and the lack of communication/interaction among the students and also with the lecturer eventually deviate the true meaning of what I really want the students to learn from reviewing journals.

Now, I have a better idea in my mind! (thanks for the new gadgets that I have learn in "The New Literacy"!!!) I plan to ask the students the review the journals and ask them to write their comment into their own blog! Besides, I will ask the students to "tag" the topics in the websites which are related to the journals in "delicious", where other students can share these information together. With this, students will tend to get information in a faster pace and they can't give me excuses like short of resources and they do not know where to look for it! Furthermore, extra marks can be given to students who are actively involve in giving comment towards what other students have written in their blogs! This indeed, will mark the first history of the usage of the "new gadgets" in my teaching... and of course I'm eager to know the outcome...

As this is only my first trial and I know I'm still new in it, therefore I'm prepare to face the obstacles along the way... Don't worry, I'm quite determine in it and of course I do know and understand that obstacles and barriers are opportunity for growth and improvement!

My Friendship with Him...

We have been very closed, and I can't really remember when was it started. It ended just a couple of weeks ago, but it seems like ages to me... My friendship with him begins when I needed a friend the most; and it ended without a notice when he just disappeared from my life. I really want to know what actually had happened, and I do hope that he will one day tell me the reason why... But, I know that this day will never come...

I thought that I will be very angry with him, but I'm not. I do know that it was his own judgment in making the decision, in which I might be part of the reason of his leaving. I know I'm just part of his repeated history of what had happened. Maybe, he really needs it to understand himself better! (or I really need it to understand myself better?). Either way, it does make a good part in both of our life experiences.

I do not know what he is thinking now (or he might not be able to understand himself as well), but I do know that we are truthfully cherish each others' company. He might not be able to understand it now,... but I believe that one day, he will know it!

Life is really about being who we really are. But how do we know who we really are? It is by involving and engaging oneself with the environment that we are exposed to, then only we will gain insight to be what and who we want to be,.... The contras in our lives is for us to identify what we do really want, if and only if we know what we do not want! If human can only focus towards what they really want, what an exhilarating life could be,.....

"May the contras we are engaging now provide us the truth insights of who we really want to be..."