Back! Stayin' Alive!

Okay I failed at my New Year's resolution...

But let's get this blog/e-portfolio alive again! This time, for our Materials Development course. Let's do this!

Early New Year's resolution? :D

It's the 14th of December, Friday, the day that our blogs/e-portfolios would be assessed. Don't know if I'll be able to post this in time for the assessment but this is just a short reflection about this e-portfolio.

I had a blog when I was younger and it was fun updating it often. But as time passes, you realise you don't have that passion in you to maintain it any longer. Honestly, I found that I was in that situation again with this blog/e-portfolio. I dreaded maintaining it; having to update it constantly, to maintain it for the sake of  wanting to score.

Then, just that day, when Shyazzwan's group showed us a video on the importance of having an e-portfolio, it made me realise the importance of owning an e-portfolio. It allows us to organise, save and publish all that we've done, I'm sure this will undoubtedly be a good help for the future when we become teachers. I realised people from all around the world will be able to access this e-portfolio of mine. And with this, I really hope that whatever I've posted would be a great help to other teachers out there.

I can't believe it took me this long to realise the importance of having an e-portfolio, and I do somehow regret for not posting more extras besides the tasks Miss Yoon has asked to post. Even if it's the end of Semester 1, and even if assessment has been done, I am going to make sure I'll update this blog often. For the future! :) Here's an early New Year's resolution, eh? :)

Technology is Important These Days....

 Just sharing. :)

Lack of time is a common excuse don't you think?

Inside the Haiti Earthquake

We were introduced to this online game called “Inside the Haiti Earthquake” by Miss Yoon and I must say, this is one interesting game. It was a heart wrenching game too. I have to admit, I never really followed the news when the Haiti earthquake occurred, all I knew was they experienced a major natural disaster and many people were affected. I didn’t really know how Haiti looked like after the disaster, how it felt like being one of the survivors, how everything was like, until I played this game.

They offered three characters to choose from, a journalist, a survivor and an aid worker. I played the game three times as I wanted to know how it felt like being each of them. The footages shown were so surreal and difficult for me to comprehend as I felt the pain of seeing so many people being affected by the disaster. It really allowed you to picture yourself in their position, to see what they see, to hear what they hear, and to feel what they feel. I liked that I was allowed to make my own choices in the game. Also, I liked how they also included footages of people singing and praising God despite what happened. This game is definitely something I would recommend people to play. By committing to the various strategies, we experience the consequences from our choices.

I would definitely use this game to conduct a writing lesson. There are two ways in which I would use, the first would be writing a narrative essay. Students will be asked to play the game and note down whatever they have experienced in the game. Then, I would ask the students to write a narrative essay out of the points they have noted. Students are required to write the essay in 200 words, with titles, "As A Survivor During the Haiti Earthquake", "As A Journalist During the Haiti Earthquake" and "As An Aid Worker During the Haiti Earthquake".

Another activity would be: Students will be asked to play the game and later, write down their thoughts on the game. Students are required to write a passage in not less than 100 words.

One thing I recommend while playing this game? A good Internet connection.

Global Warming?

Good video for teaching about global warming?

Dumb Ways To Die

This is cute.. :) 

Partly Cloudy

Comment Reply :)

I've decided to write a new post to reply Miss Yoon's comment on my Article Review post. :)

One's privacy would be disturbed as the usage of SNSs is not guarded. Take Facebook as an example, teachers are to befriend their students if they want to conduct activities and discuss about “school-related matters”. When students are able to access the profiles of their teachers and vice versa, one’s privacy will clearly be disturbed. As much as it benefits both parties’ academic wise, there are risks to be taken also. The private lives of the students can be observed by the teacher and can sometimes be made an issue in class, like how a student spends more time on Facebook rather than studying. Or, for a teacher, students are able to see what they are doing outside the classroom. Imagine yourself being a teacher, and your friends post something inappropriate that can be seen by your student, how would your reflect your image as a teacher?

In addition, there will also be risks of teachers forging inappropriate relationship with their students. As much as there are rules and guidelines to keep a professional teacher-student relationship, there are some who would abuse the convenience of keeping in contact with each other. Some teachers seek to establish social contact with their students for the purpose of strengthening their relationship with one another; this is not supposed to happen. Teachers are to stay in the boundaries of a professional teacher-student relationship. Hence, one’s privacy, regardless of the teachers’ or students’ will be affected somehow.

I Have A Dream

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

  Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have A Dream