Shifting house...

Dear all,

I've shifted to Wordpress... find me there...

enochng.wordpress.com

Cheers,

Of Google Labels and Docs

Even though I've used gmail for awhile already. It's only after edumail changed to iCON that I've realised the full 'power' of google apps.

Labels

Have you tried using labels? If you haven't you don't know what you are missing! Welcome to the world of organised mail. Having problems finding old mails that you need? Then look no further than labels.

Just by labeling important emails, you can easily track go to those emails by clicking on the labels. As HOD IT, I receive tons of emails from vendors promoting their products. Although I may not need it now, it doesn't mean I may not need it in the future. If I don't label it, I may not know how to search for it as they all come from different vendors with different subjects. So all I do now is to group them all under the same label (I called it ICT External Scan) and viola, all emails from vendors promoting their products!

Google Docs

Now this is priceless! It is not just the fact I can store documents online where it is accessible anywhere, anytime. What's better is the collaboration capabilities. With Google Docs, I can share documents with others and they can even update the document stored in my account. So I don't need to keep track which is the most updated copy of the document. It will automatically be updated. You don't even need to save, it automatically saves after you type in it!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, the best way is to go try it for yourself.

Surveys

This is also under Google Docs, by just creating a form, you have the power of surveys in your finger-tips. The best part is the survey form can be sent directly to your colleagues' email and they can fill in the survey form straight from their email. No more additional log-ins or going to other websites just to fill in the survey form.

Results? It is sent directly to your Google Docs all nicely collated for you. One word to describe all this, WONDERFUL!

Don't you just love Web 2.0!

My first Prezi presentation!

This is my attempt at creating Prezi presentation.

This prezi is a proposed ICT Curriculum for BLGPS.

I initially thought it would be difficult to create something so stunning but I was wrong. It took me less than 10 min to create this and I did not have to use any pictures.

Enjoy...

ICT Curriculum on Prezi

iCTLT '10 Conference Day 2 - The Excitement Continues...

 Hi all,

Today was the 2nd day of iCTLT '10 conference and a lot more things to learn from all these incredible presenters. I'll attempt to summarize all the salient points that hit me hard.

Personal Learning Network (David Warlick)

I personally love hearing David speak. He speaks with such great insight and clarity (Prezi is an amazing presentation tool btw).

Anyway, David mentioned that as master learners (which all teachers should be), we should have our own Personal Learning Network (PLN). Now, this can be as easy as just going to your colleagues or friends nearby for help. However, with the internet, our learning network becomes almost boundless. Thus it is possible and important for us to find grow a network of people that can help us do our job.

So, how do we grow our own PLN. We start by looking at the tools available to us that we can use to collaborate and network with others.

Here are the list of possible tools we can use:

• Blogging - great way to share your ideas and learn what others have to say as well
• Podcast - some good podcast that talks about IT in education are edtechtalk.com, ted.com and epnweb.org.
• Social Networking - like Facebook, Twitter, etc

Essentially, how we can grow our PLN is just start by paying attention to a few good writers. Soon you'd realise those good writers also pay attention to other good writers. If you feel it is worth paying attention to them as well then you will now pay attention to them (get it?).

Now with so much conversations going on, what you need to do next is to Mine the Conversations. By using websites like technorati, which is a search engine for blogs, and search.twitter.com, which is a search engine for twitter, you are able to mine for the right conversations.

After mining the conversations, it is good to start Mapping the Conversations. One good way is to use RSS feeds and netvibes.com so ensure that you get the latest information.

I was totally blown away by David's sharing because I never saw the use of these tools in such a manner. He really used these tools so differently and to his advantage. It really showed me that learning is not difficult at all. It gave me a new perspective to the use of applications like twitter and blogs. I will blog and tweet more often as it will now be used for learning rather than just chatting with friends.

Problem Based Learning with Real Life Scenario (Michael Furdyk of TakingITGlobal)

This session really gave me better insights into how we conduct problem solving for our pupils. Do we just give them fantasy or outdated problems to solve? Or do we give them authentic and real problems to solve.

What are the real problems of today? Things like global warming, Tsunami, Earthquakes, Teenage Pregnancy, Drug abuse, etc. The list goes on and on. So why not get the pupils to look at these problems and think of ways in which they can help solve or create awareness.

"Problem Based Learning should be fertile, open-ended questions that is rich, real and relevant to pupil's life."

Michael's company TakingITGlobal is doing just that for pupils all around the world. With numerous projects and contests, pupils can look at these problems and try and do something about it. Michael suggests using the Guide To Action, found in the resource section of his website, to kick-start Problem Based Learning for our pupils.

I personally felt that this is just what our pupils need. They need to see that what they are learning is relevant to the real world. I think it's time we get our pupils to start making a difference in where they live and play. If we don't prepare them for the real world, then we are not teaching them anything worthwhile.

Conclusion

It has been a great two days at iCTLT '10. I will look back at this conference with great fondness. This conference has helped me formulate a lot of my thinking and planning. I can begin to effect some changes and set clear directions for my department to prepare our pupils for the 21st century!

I hope to go for iCTLT 2012.. hehe...

iCTLT '10 Conference Day 1 - The Excitement Begins...

Hi all,

Today marks the first day of the iCTLT conference. First we had a keynote session by David Warlick. Check out his sharing and handouts here.

Keynote by David Warlick

The main message he put across during his keynote session can be summarized in three points

1. We are teaching a new generation of learners,
2. living in a new information environment.
3. We are preparing them for an unpredictable future.

He mentioned that it is sad that while our pupils are 21st century citizens, yet they are stepping into a 19th century classroom everyday. We, as educators, have the responsibility to teach them how to teach themselves. We should not teach literacy but teach literacy habits. We should build in a learning lifestyle. Therefore, we should be master learners.

What does it mean to be literate in this day and aged? It means to:

• Read to expose what is true
• Express ideas compellingly
• Employ the right information

We really need to look at the way we teach our pupils in this day and age. What worked for us cannot work for them anymore.

Spotlight Session

I went for several concurrent sessions after that. The first was a spotlight session on Web 2.0. What is exciting is the fact that the speaker is compiling a list of Web 2.0 projects. I'll publish the URL of his e-book as soon as it is ready. Look out for it!!

Private Tutor for learning Maths for Foundation Pupils

myHomeTutor Maths CD was used to improve the grades of Foundation pupils. This was interesting and it can be something we can do for our Foundation pupils.

IPW (Huamin Pri)

Huamin Primary has their own IPW programme which cuts across all subjects. Each level would have its own theme and at the end of the project, there would be an end-product which they would showcase during their IT and Innovation Carnival. End-product would be something they create with ICT (e.g. animation, powerpoint, word document, etc) Different subject teachers would grade the relevant parts of the project.

The project would span 1 term where there would be 4 weeks of teaching the content and application. The next 4 weeks would be done on their own time after school. Pupils would be allowed to go into the labs after school to complete the work on their own. This promotes self-directed learning and for them to collaborate on their own.

Game for Grammar

Programme was done 1 hour each week for 6 weeks. Pupils used a literature text as the context of their game. The text gave them the story behind the game while they had to come up with the grammar questions on their own using grammar guidebooks and their textbook.

Game was created using Game Maker which is a freeware. According to the presenter, the software was quite easy to learn as they used only 2 sessions to teach it.

Pupils were very excited creating the game and it made learning grammar that much more interesting.



Had a great first day learning from the presenters as well as from the other delegates. Looking forward to Day 2!!

iCTLT '10 Pre-Conference Learning Journey Day 2

iCTLT '10 Pre-Conference Learning Journey Day 1

Hi all,

It was an interesting day. Taking a break from the daily routine of life is always great! I went for two different trails, one to Hort Part and the other to Sungei Buloh. These trails were developed by iDA together with their industry partners.

Hort Park

HP was the industry partner who helped iDA develop the learning trail in Hort Part. They used HP iPAQ and GPS system to enable learning. Each of us were equipped with an iPAQ each. Each time I reach a location, the iPAQ should detect my location and load the correct content.


Honestly,I was disappointed with the learning trail. I would never recommend this trail to anyone.

Firstly, the iPAQ's screen was hard to see under sunlight. GPS is really unstable. Half the time we were just waiting for the iPAQ to prompt us of our location. In the end, we just switched the GPS off and manually indicated our location just to see the content.

Now, the most important thing about any trail is the content and pedagogy and this was where the trail left me wanting. The content was too simple and it wasn't up-to-date at all. Reason given was that Hort Park is still updating its displays. The content wasn't appealing at all. Too little information was given, the activities were just a simple MCQ question for each location.

I felt that more have to be done to improve on the content and use another form of technology before we should seriously consider Hort Park as a place for learning trails using technology.


Sungei Buloh

iCELL was iDA's industry partner for this trail. This trail was a much better one, given also the fact that this trail was developed a few years ago and it has been tried and tested by numerous schools.

For this trail, they used Intel Classmate as the learning device, 2D barcodes and Wifi for content downloads.

It was interesting as the 2D barcodes work very well and it is almost like a personal tour guide who will explain what we see there.

The only drawback was the Wifi. It was good for the most part but there were certain locations where I lost the signal. Like what one participant said, "With technology, you always need a back-up plan". How true...

Reflections

Although the trails were rather disappointing. I gained a lot by talking to the other participants, especially those from other countries. Through them, I got a brief insight into how they use IT in their country for teaching and learning. I talked mainly with an Australian teacher, Martin, who teaches Geography and doubles up as an IT coordinator of some sorts in a girl's school. Their school recently went 1-to-1 and thus they needed to block facebook access. I also met a South African Maths teacher.

I realized that actually, we are all going through the same path. Most are starting to integrate ICT into their curriculum with the emphasis of using IT as a support to learning and not an add-on. Most have problems trying to get the buy-in from teachers, especially from older teachers. It's interesting to see how different school try and get the buy-in from their teachers.

All in all, it was a rewarding experience talking and getting to know the other participants well.

Here's Martin's blog for those who are interested.

That's all for now, stay tuned for Day 2!

MP3 Briefing Reflections

Having gone through a briefing on mp3. I must say it has given me much clarity into what mp3 is all about and the thinking behind it.

Having moved from mp1 to mp2, we have come a long way in ensuring our pupils are well equipped to take on the information age. However, we are still not seeing the results as desired.

I believe the main problem lies with us, teachers. We are not digital natives and so it is not our natural inclination to be using IT. Thus the main crux of mp3 is to push the use of cutting age pedagogy through ICT. It is interesting to note that we are not pushing for the latest technology, rather we are pushing for the best way to teach using ICT.

Thus the conception of IT mentors who will be trained to be the gurus of how to develop or enhance pedagogy of teaching using ICT. These mentors will be very strong in their pedagogy first and not necessarily the most tech savvy.

Cyberwellness is another main strand in mp3 because without the proper use of ICT, pupils will only put themselves in grave danger.

Finally, to top it all, ICT Connection. This is a platform where teachers get to share all their best practices so that everyone can benefit.

I'm excited because this will really shape the way we teach. It is my dream that every pupil will be a confident user of ICT who uses ICT to learn independently and collaboratively with other students from all over the world.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hospital Window

A friend mentioned this video clip yesterday and I went to take a look at it. It really touched my heart. I want to share it with my class to inspire them to always look on the bright side of life.

Online reflections

First question that will be asked, "why online reflections?". I say, "why not?". I believe we have to keep up with the times, blogging is so common nowadays, almost every child owns a blog. So since the platform is there, why not use it to our advantage. This helps us understand our children better too.

Having said that, let me explore the advantages and disadvantages of using blogs to submit reflections.

Advantages

• Paperless. Save the trees
• There will be a record of past reflections.
• It is secure, I can allow only authorized persons to view it.
• Ability to post comments. So this allows for two way communication between JH and RO.
• Very much in line with BY(i)TES where teachers use IT in collaboration and sharing.

Disadvantages

• Less tech savvy teachers will have problems using it (can overcome with training)
• Fear of breach of security. (but blogger has capability to set blogs to be private)

In conclusion, it seems like using online blogs as a way of doing reflections has much more advantages than disadvantages. I believe some NIE lecturers have already been doing that with their trainees so why not us trained teachers?

Reflections: Term 1 Week 5

Another eventful week has passed. It has been five weeks since school started and I am still as busy as ever. It's a challenge to juggle between teaching and my duties as a HOD. It's a constant tug-of-wall within me, should I focus more on my teaching and neglect my duties as a HOD? Or should I do well as a HOD but allow my pupils to suffer? It's really not an easy question to answer. To sway either way is not right. The best answer is, of course, to strike a balance, but it is easier said than done. I learned to purposely set aside time for both. Like on Mondays and Tuesdays, I would dedicate the majority of my time to my teaching duties. Since it is the start of the week, it is a good time to prepare for my lessons, mark and set assessments for my pupils. The rest of the week would be devoted more towards planning and creating structures for my department.

Though it has been a busy first month, it is really exciting to think of the possibilities I can set in place for the pupils to benefit from. The introduction of iPad means a whole host of possibilities and innovative ways of learning. Meeting with Lead's sales executive today showed me a possibility of using iPhones on their TRAILS. This got me very excited as pupils are all really excited about the iPhone since its the "in thing" now. So if we can allow them to use it as part of their learning. I am sure they would take it seriously and benefit much from it. Some teachers were concerned however, that the lower ability pupils might not be able to use it properly and effectively. I choose to disagree with this view point. I firmly believe our pupils are all "digital natives" and when you leave technology in their hands, they would know how to use it. We need to move away from that mental model and believe that our pupils can achieve their best. But what they say about weaker students having difficulties using technology to learn holds some weight still. So how do we balance it all?