"MacBook Pro Is the Fastest Windows Vista Notebook"
Link shared by Guilian.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Exporting and importing entries to create a mirror (Wordpress)
This is something I have started to do regularly to save myself unnecessary frustration. However, importing is not enabled in Blogger, so choose another blog hosting service that will allow you to do so.
Steps for Wordpress MU users:
You can access my mirror on wordpress.com here. Wordpress.com has more presentation layouts and CSS functionalities, but Edublogs is friendlier for Edublogging and the prompt support it provides, although it is less stable because of the overwhelming server loads.
Steps for Wordpress MU users:
- Login to your site admin page.
- Go to Manage>Export.
- Export your blog entries. Comments and pages will also be exported with them.
- Save the exported file.
- Go to another Wordpress MU blog, login >Manage>Import. Select the file you have exported earlier.
You can access my mirror on wordpress.com here. Wordpress.com has more presentation layouts and CSS functionalities, but Edublogs is friendlier for Edublogging and the prompt support it provides, although it is less stable because of the overwhelming server loads.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Fun with Vokis
Voki: "Create and customize your speaking character to express yourself, communicate and interact with your friends."
I managed to stick one on my sidebar after much fumbling with the procedure. It can be used like a pod- or vod-cast for class. You can choose to use your own voice or one of their stock voices to read out your message.
Reference
Adding A Voki Speaking Avatar To Your Blog Sidebar
I managed to stick one on my sidebar after much fumbling with the procedure. It can be used like a pod- or vod-cast for class. You can choose to use your own voice or one of their stock voices to read out your message.
Reference
Adding A Voki Speaking Avatar To Your Blog Sidebar
Recruitment of and psychometric testing for teachers
The esteem of the profession may be to an extent compromised by the recruitment process.
If teachers are expected to possess certain skills or aptitudes, should not applicants for the job undergo psychometric testing? If we believe in the importance of these skills and the profession itself, why then do we fall so short of what is being done, i.e. psychometric testing etc., for other professions?
While the academic qualifications of the teacher should let us in on how suited an applicant is in terms of certain aptitudes, it does not tell us how well he/she responds under pressure, works in groups, or communicates. Nor can we equate paper qualifications with proficiency, such as in languages. We cannot discern his/her areas of interest. Although these aspects can be trained, an applicant is still and has to be offered the job on the basis of inherent qualities he/she possesses, or his/her teachability.
By offering the job to applicants with local qualifications who pass an interview, or to applicants with other qualifications who pass both the proficiency test and interview, are we saying that we do not have to assess further the proficiency of the first category of applicants since their former institutions of study are well accredited and accepted? Are we implying that the second category of applicants, who may be better qualified nonetheless, still need to be subject to scrutiny that borders on contempt for their academic achievement?
Double standards like these possibly contribute to complaints about the inadequacies of teachers, and the disdain that encounters any consideration of teaching as a serious profession. We would do well to improve the recruitment process, for the benefit of applicants, current teachers, students and the education sector. It will reduce the number of teachers leaving the profession.
After saying all this I kind of feel weird for not adding a disclaimer somewhere! I sometimes wonder to what extent am I entitled to my opinion without being criminalized. And I find myself often sounding self-righteous.
What's published is published, though it may be published on a personal blog that cannot and will not remain genuinely private. Forums on the other hand sometimes give the sense of safe anonymity - but I would not want to post on My Forum on certain issues.
If teachers are expected to possess certain skills or aptitudes, should not applicants for the job undergo psychometric testing? If we believe in the importance of these skills and the profession itself, why then do we fall so short of what is being done, i.e. psychometric testing etc., for other professions?
While the academic qualifications of the teacher should let us in on how suited an applicant is in terms of certain aptitudes, it does not tell us how well he/she responds under pressure, works in groups, or communicates. Nor can we equate paper qualifications with proficiency, such as in languages. We cannot discern his/her areas of interest. Although these aspects can be trained, an applicant is still and has to be offered the job on the basis of inherent qualities he/she possesses, or his/her teachability.
By offering the job to applicants with local qualifications who pass an interview, or to applicants with other qualifications who pass both the proficiency test and interview, are we saying that we do not have to assess further the proficiency of the first category of applicants since their former institutions of study are well accredited and accepted? Are we implying that the second category of applicants, who may be better qualified nonetheless, still need to be subject to scrutiny that borders on contempt for their academic achievement?
Double standards like these possibly contribute to complaints about the inadequacies of teachers, and the disdain that encounters any consideration of teaching as a serious profession. We would do well to improve the recruitment process, for the benefit of applicants, current teachers, students and the education sector. It will reduce the number of teachers leaving the profession.
After saying all this I kind of feel weird for not adding a disclaimer somewhere! I sometimes wonder to what extent am I entitled to my opinion without being criminalized. And I find myself often sounding self-righteous.
What's published is published, though it may be published on a personal blog that cannot and will not remain genuinely private. Forums on the other hand sometimes give the sense of safe anonymity - but I would not want to post on My Forum on certain issues.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Articles on and ideas for Edublogging
Some recent, noteworthy articles on The Edublogger:
* Tips On Blogging With Students: Practical advice on how to start edublogging with your students. Touches on the element of parental consent for student edublogging.
* Meet the miniLegends — Check Out How They Customise Their Own Blogs: (also see http://alupton.edublogs.org/) A student blog mentoring project initiated by Al Upton, an Australian primary school teacher. Every Year 3 student or "miniLegend" in his class has a blog. His invitation:
It's a project whereby people from all around the world (The Edublogger says, "He would really like mentors for all students from as many different countries as possible") are invited to help students improve by encouraging them.
Very different from the earlier example where a teacher made fun of student essays.
* Tips On Blogging With Students: Practical advice on how to start edublogging with your students. Touches on the element of parental consent for student edublogging.
* Meet the miniLegends — Check Out How They Customise Their Own Blogs: (also see http://alupton.edublogs.org/) A student blog mentoring project initiated by Al Upton, an Australian primary school teacher. Every Year 3 student or "miniLegend" in his class has a blog. His invitation:
If you’re an educational blogger of any kind (or visitor) and would like to ‘mentor a mini’ then please leave a comment on THIS page saying who you would like to be connected with. The idea is to drop into their blogs from time to time throughout the year and leave a positive comment.
It's a project whereby people from all around the world (The Edublogger says, "He would really like mentors for all students from as many different countries as possible") are invited to help students improve by encouraging them.
Very different from the earlier example where a teacher made fun of student essays.
Google Search in alien languages
Check out the Google Search page in the following languages:
You can try running your normal web search on these pages, which are fully functional, just for laughs. You can access Advanced Search, Preferences and Language Tools in these languages as well.
Google Search in these languages can be useful for SCL where students analyze language patterns.
(Discovered through an article in the latest issue of 8 Days)
You can try running your normal web search on these pages, which are fully functional, just for laughs. You can access Advanced Search, Preferences and Language Tools in these languages as well.
Google Search in these languages can be useful for SCL where students analyze language patterns.
(Discovered through an article in the latest issue of 8 Days)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
B4USurf
B4USurf is an initiative by Business Software Alliance, launched in partnership with Ministry of Education, ACS (Barker), Media Development Authority (MDA), and Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS).
Some of the information on Cyberwellness is very useful, especially the analysis of some affordances and anti-affordances of commonly used ICT tools.
(Featured in LHZB, 20 February 2008)
Some of the information on Cyberwellness is very useful, especially the analysis of some affordances and anti-affordances of commonly used ICT tools.
(Featured in LHZB, 20 February 2008)
Monday, February 18, 2008
Hypertextuality and the notion of the work
This is kind of an extended reflection of some issues I discussed earlier.
Wikis and blogs are never finished pieces of work. Like I have written in my dissertation on a film adaptation of Jin Yong's Shendiao Xialu, Brave Archer and His Mate, adaptation fragments the narrative. Since wikis, blogs and other forms of online writing often adapt (in a broader metaphorical sense) other works of the same genre or nature, they echo Bazin's observation that:
Where so-called adaptations and originals are actually how:
The destabilized work, never complete or completed, is well embodied in hypertexts like our blogs and wikis. George Landow, on his Cyberspace, Hypertext, & Critical Theory site, defines one kind of hypertext in reference to Roland Barthes' seminal work, S/Z:
Yet if this textuality is meant to be "ideal," then using such "perpetually unfinished" texts as part of assessment mode would be self-defeating in traditional assessment means, although they certainly tie in with the vision of lifelong learning because of they can be perpetuated, thus allowing also authentic assessment that observes student progress over long periods of time.
References
[1] Bazin, André. “Adaptation, or the Cinema as Digest.” 1948; trans. Alain Piette and Bert Cardullo, 1997. In Film Adaptation, ed. James Naremore. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2000, pp. 19-27.
[2] Cyberspace, Hypertext, & Critical Theory
Wikis and blogs are never finished pieces of work. Like I have written in my dissertation on a film adaptation of Jin Yong's Shendiao Xialu, Brave Archer and His Mate, adaptation fragments the narrative. Since wikis, blogs and other forms of online writing often adapt (in a broader metaphorical sense) other works of the same genre or nature, they echo Bazin's observation that:
[I]t is possible to imagine that we are moving toward a reign of the adaptation in which the notion of the unity of the work of art, if not the very notion of the author himself, will be destroyed.
Where so-called adaptations and originals are actually how:
a single work [is] reflected through [multiple] art forms, an artistic pyramid with only an ideal point at the top of this figure, which itself is an ideal construct. The chronological precedence of one part over another would not be aesthetic criterion any more than the chronological precedence of one twin over the other is a genealogical one.[1]
The destabilized work, never complete or completed, is well embodied in hypertexts like our blogs and wikis. George Landow, on his Cyberspace, Hypertext, & Critical Theory site, defines one kind of hypertext in reference to Roland Barthes' seminal work, S/Z:
In S/Z , Roland Barthes describes an ideal textuality that precisely matches that which has come to be called computer hypertext -- text composed of blocks of words (or images) linked electronically by multiple paths, chains, or trails in an open-ended, perpetually unfinished textuality described by the terms link, node, network, web , and path.[2]
Yet if this textuality is meant to be "ideal," then using such "perpetually unfinished" texts as part of assessment mode would be self-defeating in traditional assessment means, although they certainly tie in with the vision of lifelong learning because of they can be perpetuated, thus allowing also authentic assessment that observes student progress over long periods of time.
References
[1] Bazin, André. “Adaptation, or the Cinema as Digest.” 1948; trans. Alain Piette and Bert Cardullo, 1997. In Film Adaptation, ed. James Naremore. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2000, pp. 19-27.
[2] Cyberspace, Hypertext, & Critical Theory
Monday, February 11, 2008
Notes from QED520 Educational Psychology I
Unmotivated and underachieving students are not the same as low ability students. They underachieve usually due to emotional and psychological factors. For example, they may not see the need to achieve, or face relationship problems.
Thus, there is an emphasis on socio-emotional learning (SEL) which helps to raise self-awareness and the like. Students also need to learn about consequences of their action. If necessary, they may take diagnostic tests that will help determine the kind of assistance needed.
So-called weak students may also be in actual fact better at practical intelligence (Sternberg) than cognitive intelligence. In such cases, a hands-on approach is encouraged.
Thus, there is an emphasis on socio-emotional learning (SEL) which helps to raise self-awareness and the like. Students also need to learn about consequences of their action. If necessary, they may take diagnostic tests that will help determine the kind of assistance needed.
So-called weak students may also be in actual fact better at practical intelligence (Sternberg) than cognitive intelligence. In such cases, a hands-on approach is encouraged.
Safe Assignment - the penultimate submission experience
I have just submitted my final submission online. But before that, because of itchy fingers and unease with having just one chance to submit, I also tried the draft link, to see if it has really expired. After submitting a "draft," the wait for the report finally put me off so much that I submitted my paper to the official link.
What follows really says much after the efficacy of SA. Earlier, during the draft submission phase of e-learning week, SA picked up my reference to Tan O. S. et al., Education Psychology: a practitioner-researcher approach (an asian edition) as plagiarism, once. However, in my final submission, this was not picked up again, but another article title was detected as suspected plagiarism instead. Urgh.
Does this mean that SA is also notoriously inconsistent? : ( I take heart in the presence of human reviewers.
What follows really says much after the efficacy of SA. Earlier, during the draft submission phase of e-learning week, SA picked up my reference to Tan O. S. et al., Education Psychology: a practitioner-researcher approach (an asian edition) as plagiarism, once. However, in my final submission, this was not picked up again, but another article title was detected as suspected plagiarism instead. Urgh.
Does this mean that SA is also notoriously inconsistent? : ( I take heart in the presence of human reviewers.
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