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/