Task 4 - E-Kom National Conference '09

Dear all,

Here I am again, posting but this posting is slightly different from the other postings as I actually attended a conference with my tutorial mates. It's "E-Community National Conference - Bridging Digital Device" which I translated from "Seminar Kebangsaan E-Komuniti '09 - Merapatkan Jurang Digital". I hope I translated it correctly. Hee.. Basically it was a conference about finding a way to make sure that not only people who are living in the city get to know and use ICT, but also the one living in rural areas like in the fisherman's villages and so on. Well that's only from my understanding but they were also discussion about other things like OPSP which stands for Online Practicum Placement System from UUM, Bridging Digital Device in SKMM perspective by Dato' Jailani and also Tele-centre Transformation by our one and only Assoc. Prof. Datin Dr. Norizan. So, I've chosen two papers which have caught my attention to be shared here.

1. Reducing Writing Apprehension Through Blogging Activities
This paper was presented by Madam Azianura Hani Shaari from UiTM Penang. Thanks to her now I know what does 'apprehension' really means. To those who still doesn't know, 'apprehension' means worry or fear that something unpleasant may happen. Let's get back to the paper. The issue that she pointed out was; what are the factors contribute to writing apprehension. Apprehensive writers basically have negative attitudes and perceptions towards writing like anxiety, fear and worry. Sounds so like me but not when writing, but when presenting. Guess I am having 'presenting apprehension' then. LOL. The symptoms for this writing apprehension are:

• Scared to write
• Hands cramp
• Hate writing
• Produced shorter essays
• Ideas hardly developed

Hmm so guys, is there any of the symptoms above that you're having? If so, please consult your written communication lecturer ASAP for the 'cure' okay and in my case, it's Dr. Zaini Amir. There are also some factors that result in writing apprehension:

• Culture - face saving
• Proficiency level
• Lack of confidence
• Examination
• Teachers' comments
• Lack role models
• Audience

And this is when blogging comes in handy for those who are having writing apprehension. There are some reasons why blogging can help which are:

• Student-centered
• Face-saving
• Huge audience - native speakers
• Boost up confidence and motivation
• Increases involvement among passive students
• Promote brainstorming and peer review activities

So, there's no reason for us to be scared to write anymore. Practice writing everyday as "Practice makes perfect". I'm totally agree with Madam Azianura Hani because as a student, when I have my own blog, It's more flexible as I can write anything that I want, but still finishing my required posting for Language and ICT. I were given the freedom on how to decorate my blog and it makes writing more interesting and enjoyable. Besides, it can also enhance my knowledge about networking and stuff like HTML coding as I have to learn in order to be able to decorate my blog. For example like how to insert picture or video into my post and how to adjust their width and height.

This paper also got a very surprising feedback from the members of the floor as blogging is something that is very popular among people all over the world nowadays. Even our former prime minister own a blog. A lady from MIMOS express her concern towards blogging by saying that blogging can also make the students to get use to using bad languages in academic writing as well. For me, it's not a problem because we are mature enough to know when to use and when to not be using bad language. We wouldn't want our marks got cut up just because we won't bother about the language we are using in academic writing. I'm agree with Dr. Sufian's comment when he said that we have to look on what is the purpose of writing in blog first. If we want to concentrate in fluency, then the usage of bad language is allowed. If we want to concentrate on the rules of writing like grammar and such, then the students have to use a proper language. In short, blogging really helps in coping with writing apprehension but further research is needed. Who knows maybe I can use this matter for my thesis in my third year.

2. Rural Communities' Information Needs
The second paper that I choose to share here is on Rural Communities' Information Needs which is more related to the conference-bridging digital device. This paper was presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Huda Ibrahim. As presented by her, the most important key lesson on the use of ICT for development in rural areas is before launching any ICT initiative, the information needs of a community should be thorough assessed.

The problem statements are:

• 85% of the population in the state of Kedah resides in the rural areas
• ICT penetration and usage programmes have not been very successful

And the reasons behind all this are:

1. Do not have computers - income less than 400 MYR
2. Do not have basics ICT knowledge and skills
3. Do not aware about the existence of online applications
4. Do not have interest in using ICT and online applications (Zulkhairi et al, 2008)

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Huda Ibrahim, there are ways to convince those in the rural areas to be more interested to acquire knowledge and to use ICT. Based on her research, the villagers there basically are working in some sectors which are fishery, paddy, palm-oil and also rubber. With the knowledge of ICT, of course they can get to know about weather, types of boats that are available and licenses for those in fishery sectors. And for those who are in other sectors they can use the internet to know about land, fertilizers, pesticides, plantation, subsidy, latest price and many more easily and this can help them to make their lives better. They need more information about business, ICT and computers and career opportunities to improve their lives. It's a win-win situation between the researchers and also the villagers.

Wow, what a long post I have here. I hope you are not tired reading. Hee, just kidding. Well, overall, I really enjoy myself there at the conference although at first I thought it might be on something that is not related to me but I am totally wrong. Actually we can join the conference again the next day but since I got lab test and a group presentation that day, I could not go. Such a waste not only because of the delicious food, but also because of the knowledge and priceless experince that I got from the conference. Thank you so much to Assoc. Prof. Datin Dr. Norizan for inviting us to the conference worth 200MYR per student for free. We really appreciate it. Hope Datin will invite us again for the next conference. Till the next post.
Enjoy some pictures from the conference!!!

Truly,

Task 3 - Search Engines

Dear all,
This week, for our third posting, we have to discuss about search engines and compare and contrast between the search engines that are available in the net. Basically, as being told by my tutor, Assoc. Prof. Datin Dr. Norizan, we are required to discuss about these four popular search engines; mamma.com, google scholar, eric digest and yahoo.com. I'll go through briefly one by one first.



I've been introduced to this very powerful search engine, mamma.com during Language and ICT tutorial. Mamma.com is a metasearch engine, which is a search tool that sends user requests to several other search engines and/or databases and aggregates the results into a single list or displays them according to their source.(wikipedia). Plus, momma.com only collects the top results from the best search engines on the internet. Can you imagine you can get the results of ten search engines by only using one search engine. Before this, I thought mamma.com can only be used for academic purposes, but it is more than that. There are many search options that I can choose like web, videos, jobs, shop, yellow pages and also white pages. I've tried to find some videos on my favourite movie, "Twilight", and guess what, the videos are separated into their own categories like viral videos, movie trailers, music, games and so on. So, it is easier for me to specify my search. Just like google.com, there is a way to make my search more powerful. Here is the screenshot on how we can enhance our search. The one I've circled is the "key" part.


ERICDigests.org
Even after using a very powerful search engine, I still couldn't find any logo for ericdigest.org. So, if anyone has one, please do share with me. My first impression when I opened ericdigest.org is, "dull". No offence. Well, it's 100% for educational or academic purposes, how can I expect it to be colourful right. Let's talk about what is ericdigest.org. According to the website itself, ericdigest.org is short reports on topics of prime current interest in education. There are a large variety of topics covered including teaching, learning, libraries, charter schools, special education, higher education, home schooling and many more. Ericdigesr.org is designed to provide an overview of information on a given topic, plus references to items providing more detailed information. This search engine is very useful for students and teachers especially in English Language field like me.



Next is Google scholar. I bet all of us have heard about "Google", but not google scholar. The first time I bumped into google scholar was when I was using google search engine, to find information for task completion. One of the search results highlighted was, "Google scholar". In short, google scholar is a search engine that provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature such as peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, universities and other scholarly organizations. Google scholar helps the user to identify the most relevant research across the world of scholarly research. For example, when I typed "Twilight", none of the result is on the famous movie, "Twilight", but all are articles related to the word "twilight". Google scholar even stated on the first hand for each articles on how many citations, from where the article is and how many versions does the article has. How useful isn't it for students and teachers or lecturers.



Last but not least is yahoo.com which is a very popular search engine for all the internet users all over the world, be it children or grown-ups. Yahoo.com has its own sentimental value for me. The first time I was introduced to internet, I only know and use yahoo.com and I really like it. I like yahoo.com because everytime I typed something in the search box, it will appear no matter what, unless I typed it wrongly. For a primary school student like me during that time, I felt like yahoo.com is a miracle and I don't really use google because it has less colours compare to yahoo's websites. What to expect from a little kid right. And now, I'm almost turning 20, and I am barely able to count how many times have I used yahoo.com per year. I prefer google because it is not distracted by other elements that are featured in yahoo.com like news, advertisements, services provided and many more which make the page looks very crowded. I don't really explain what yahoo.com is since I believe that most of us know what it is and basically, yahoo.com is another search engine apart from google and mamma.com.


Simmilarities

• All are used as a search engine whether to find informations regarding academic, entertainment or just simply searching for something or pictures.
• For yahoo.com and mamma.com, we can use these two sites to not only find information about academic information, but also for entertainment.
• Google scholar and Ericdigest.org are search engines for academic purposes only. Here I am talking about "Google Scholar", not "Google" if in case anyone is confused with my explanation.
  
• For google scholar and mamma.com, we can specify our search so that the hits that we are going to get is less and precise.

Differences

• Not all search engines can be used to search for everything like ericdigest.org and google scholar, which are for academic purposes only.
• Only yahoo.com provides e-mail service and once again I emphasise, I'm not talking about "Google".
• For me, yahoo.com is not very user friendly because the whole thing is put into one page, including news, advertisement, services provided by yahoo and also search box. It is very crowded and I choose not to use it because it is a bit slow to finish loading.
• Mamma.com is the only metasearch engine among these four search engines that I have to discuss. Of course it's search result is the best.

That's all a little bit about some powerful search engines. But still, I prefer to use Google.com because it has all in one. You just have to know the correct way to use it like what have been lectured today on "Google-Fu" which is something new, very informative and useful. I'm not saying that other search engines are not good. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. That's all from me, hope to hear others view also. Till the next post.




Truly,

Task 2 - How blogging can assist language learners

this is an article that i found related to how blogging can assist language learners to improve and enhance their writing skill

Blogging for language learning

This post is part of my Chinese learning experiences series but is not tagged as such, it is something I can pull out and link to so that my next post on the first three months is not too long.

Almost immediately after starting to learn Chinese I started blogging about it, that was deliberate, there are many reasons for and styles of blogging, this one was part of my objective to learn a language primarily from the Internet, also a loose record of my thoughts and discoveries, on the whole it has been a success. I think that blogging about language learning can be very helpful and an aid to the process, reading and commenting on blogs of other language learners is also very useful particularly if you don't have time to blog yourself.

This blog doesn't attract enough comments to be a really useful place to test new ideas and engage in heated discussion or to refine/test beliefs (some are though, but I only average around 30 visits a day which isn't quite enough) but there have been some surprising side benefits, many people have approached me with resources and ideas via email and two Chinese speakers local enough for local language exchange have approached me resulting in some very helpful exchanges :). Besides that some of the comments I have had have been very useful. I had to engage moderation recently though as there were a number of thinly disguised adverts.

Looking back, I can see how much I have missed out, see how rushed many posts were, but I don't regret that, I am time poor, I need to leave some time for learning Chinese (although there is nothing stopping me from listening to Chinese whilst I blog :))

Blogging has made connections attracted help and helped me organize my thoughts. On occasion blogging has represented a statement of commitment that may have helped me through sticky patches.

A blog is a commitment of time, but the connections, feedback and reflection received have more than payed me back, I am convinced that I would have not have progressed as far with my learning without it and like an iceberg much of what I have gained has not been visible on the surface. A long time ago I was even interviewed by the Financial Times(I was that 39 year old programmer) although I was slightly misquoted and they missed out some key points (I am told that is par for the course though)

Reflection is useful, I have tidied up a few old posts that had duplicated first paragraphs and realized I need to make a blog roll of other learners blogs.

Reference

This comment was made by Chris, an English man who was studying Mandarin. He finds that blog really helps his Mandarin language since he gets two Chinese local, I mean the native speaker of the language, to actually review his writing and assist him and guess what?? It's totally free!! As we all know, "Practice makes perfect" right. With the latest technology today, almost every university student posses a laptop or a desktop complete with internet connection including me. Having a blog meaning I will be updating my blog every now and then. So, the writing is continuous and blogging is so much fun compare to writing using conventional way; pen and paper. How bored and tiring.

In order to write about anything, for example like what I'm doing right now, I am forced to read some articles to get some ideas and facts to support my opinion. At the same time, I get to widen my knowledge, improve my grammar and vocabulary, and compare my writing with others. For those who use blog as their online diaries can also benefit from it. They can share their stories, exchange ideas and gain many network friends. If I am too lazy to update my blog, I still can read others blog and give comments to them.

"Sharing is Caring". Some blogs that I frequently visit are used to share things. For example songs, recipes, tips, wallpapers and many more. Some are used as a platform for business like selling something. You see how useful blog is? The question is how can sharing or selling things on blog can improve your writing skill? It's simple, like it or not, you still have to write isn't it? Just like online reading whereby in order to browse through the websites, I have to read, I must read. Furthermore, this way is so much fun. Like if you are selling things on your blog, then someone is interested to buy it, for sure they will leave a comment to you on your blog and you are required to reply it. Besides helping you with your writing skill, it can also help to improve your communication skill because you are dealing with real people. And once your business is successful, you can start advertise for other big companies and gain money every month.

Here are the list of the blogs that I frequently visit:

• iGoogle Gadgets and Blogger Widgets Collection - blog that shares a lot of widgets for blog
• Mama Leza's Recipes Collection - since I love cooking, this is the right place for me.
• Recipes collection from the internet - another very helpful recipes blog.
• Sharing is Caring - this blog shares everything. (Software, wallpapers, widgets, etc.)
• Boonga Art Shoes - a blog that sells custom made shoes whereby you can design your own.
• Gunting Store - a blog that sells selendang, of course for girls only.
• Aremean - a blog that I manage on "aremean", and indie nasyeed group.

If you have the time, why not try some of the links above, they are very interesting blogs.



Truly,

Task 1 - Online Reading

As for our first posting, we are required to discuss about online reading.

Well, this is the article that I found when i was searching for information for my Written Communication assignment. We are suppose to write a cause and effect essay. Since the lecturers allow us to put references, so I decided to "Google" about my topic for more information and examples to support my points. This article is mainly about the negative effects of allowing the students to bring their hand-phones to school, in this context, secondary school students.

This is one of the articles that i found when i was searching for information regarding hand-phones and students. The best thing with online reading is I don't have to go through page by page to get to the content that I want. Even if the article found on the internet is quite long, I can use word processor like Microsoft Word to search for the key word and I can straight away find what I need in the article. Plus, it is faster and cheaper in terms of the source of knowledge.

If I were using newspaper and magazines to search for the article about hand-phones, for sure it'll cost me a few Ringgit. Some says that in order to read online, we have to read it from the monitor screen, which can damage our eyes. For me, as long as I keep the safe distance between my eyes and the screen, it won't harm my eyesight. And one more thing, do not use your computer or laptop in a dark room because this will effect your sights badly. It's quite hard to explain but it is true. I've studied it in biology class when I was in Form 5. hehe..finally there is benefit for me attending the biology class.

Back to Online Reading, despite of how useful Online Reading is, there are still some bad sides of it. First, for me, I prefer to underline or highlight or jot some notes on the text that I read because it's easier to memorize and understand. Yupe, it's true that some might say we can do the same thing with Online Reading by using word processor but it is just not the same. Like what Datin had asked us few weeks ago whether we are ready or not to go paper-less. It is only a matter of time. Because I've been used to use both ways, be it Online Reading or the Conventional Reading, then I am comfortable of using both ways.

Maybe students in the future find it very hard to read conventionally. Who knows in the future there might be some kind of robot read everything for you whereby you dont even have to read anymore. In my opinion, it depends on the individual. Some may feel more comfortable in one way and some may not. I am kind of confused wheter this is a sample of reading for information or reading for task completion. It can be both but it is more to reading for task completion as the reason I read this article is because I need to complete my writing assignment. Below is the article that I used. Happy reading

December, 2008
The Issue Of Handphone in School

Handphone has become indispensable gadget, an absolute necessity for both adults and children. Like every other invention of man, whether or not to allo the use of handphones in Malaysian schools is not an easy yes-or- no issue. This is the dilemma of the authorities.

If properly used, the handphone can bring more benefits than harm especially to children. When television first made its debut in the 1960s, everybody imagined that it would have a negative effect on children. Parents fret over their children's addiction to the 'idiot box' and the neglect of their studies. Their fears were unfounded as they soon found that if strictly contolled, the television was as harmless as the radio or the gramophone.

In more recent times, the same anxiety greeted the advent of computers, especially the Internet. Today, the Internet has becomean essential tool and we cannot imagine a life without computers. Like the computers, the handphone has many advantages, while an abuse of it can have disastrous results. Handphones are useful tools of communication. Parents and children can keep in touch with each other and any last mintue change of plans can be conveyed easily without any trouble to either party. Some children however, cite this as a loss of privacy as parents will have a 24-hour access to their children

Parents say the handphone is more than a convenience-it is an essential item that can function as a tracker divece. With it they can monitor their children and check on their whereabouts via satelite. Thus, from whereevr they are, paretns can ensure the safety of thier children and avoid incidents like kidnapping and such crimes.

Education Ministry officials, school authorities and many parents believe that allowing handphones in schools would only widen the disparity between the haves and the have-nots among students. Handphones come in a variety of shapes, colours and function:from generic ones to highly sophisticated ones that double up as camers, video cameras and palm tops. Not every child in school comes from middle or upper class families that can afford to buy each child a handphone. The self esteem of children who do not own a handphone or who possess a basic one wii be affected. Low esteem among students would cause a rift among children. Cliques, jealousy and rivalry would result. This unhealthy situation should not be nurtured in a school. Instea, the school environment should promote equal opprotunities and equal treatment.

Another reason for the strong outcry against allowing studentsto bring handphones to school is the distraction it poses. SMSes, games and ringing tones are some of the distractors that take the students' attention away from the lesson. Children being children will not be able to resist the temptation of answering calls and sending messages when they should be listening to the teacher or classes, the games available on the phone is something the students would resort to after classes to overcome boredom.

Apart from diverting student's attention, the handphones can threathen the validity of school examinations. Students may cheat durin examinations via text messages. Information or answers can be passed from one student to the next while examiners may be totally oblivious of the cheating that happen.

Finally, even adults find it hard to exercise social etiquette and discretion in the use of handphones, therefore children cannot be expected to do any better. Despite explicit messages in movies threatres, at meetings and at formal meetings, we still hear phones ringing away. School administrators and discipline teachers would find it difficult to to effectively prohibit students from using their phones during lessons.

If Ministry of Education lifts the ban on handphones, schools may come up with new rules or guidelines to control the use of the handphone. Inevitably, teacher will be burdened with the task of monitoring the use and misuse of the handphone. All this is additional stress for teachers who are already loaded with heavy responsibilities. The Malaysian school system has thrived so far even with handphones being banned from schools. Why sudden change of heart?

retrieved from :

The Issue Of Handphone in School – Windows Live (9.35 pm, 1/3/2009)

truly,

moshi~ moshi~

hye everyone!! welcome to my errr don know how many blogs i have already..hahaha.. dats da problem when u r not really serious in blogging. but recently, i've decided to stay on dis one blog, more to my online diaries or we call it "niki" in japanese.

enuff about dat..lemme tell u a bit about myself. name given is N.A.J.I.H.A.H. as simple as dat.i'm always grateful to hv such a short name coz it's easy to write..hahaha lame is it?ppl call me "gha" pronounced as "jiha" not "gaa" as ppl always do. i was born on 11th of April 1989 which mean i'm turning 20 dis year...oh nooo..i'm dat old already..hee no offence..it's just dat i like da word "teen" at the back like "9teen" not "twenty"...i'm from kelantan n previously i studied in kedah matriculation college takin physics. now now,dis is interestin.why on earth wud a science stream students take arts or to be more specific English Language Study?? well, simple, coz i love English..!

i'll tell more about my family in the next next post.. talkin bout my personality.. i'm a very quiet person but not sombong okay.it's just dat i need some extra time to get close to other ppl. n once u know me well, u cn see da difference, another side of me dat is never revealed to da public.hahaha..ask ying if u are curious coz she's been with me 24/7 ever since da first day i registered here.she knows me best,right ying? hee...

about dis blog. actually Datin asked us to come up with a theme, or something dat we wanna challenge. hmm i don hv any particular thing dat i like coz i juz randomly like anything. i like cooking. i like photo editing. i like blog-hopping. i like blogging. i like movies. since i've decorated my blog with da so-called girlish layout, i think i'll make my blog as a "all about girls" blog.. yaaaa.. since a girl can cook.. a girl can edit da photos.. hahaha.. anything related to girls i'll post 'em here..sorry boys but u cn still learn something about girls

truly,