LEARNING JOURNEY: The underlying driving force... Satisfaction... generated from... Positive Impact on Others... through the course of actions and interactions...
It's a rare opportunity to visit a temple of another race. What's more, the Sikh Temple, when the Sikh community is not big here.
Went to the Central Sikh Temple at Towner Road (near Boon Keng Road) this morning to understand the religion or I would say, to know the ethnic group better.
Thanks to Mr Baljit Singh (I hope I got the name correct) for his patience and a very detailed explanation of the practices that many of us (outside the community) do not know.
Here are some thing(s) that I learnt this morning:
When entering a Sikh temple, one is supposed to cover the head (with a scarf, at least) and to remove their shoes. This is to to show respect to the teachings of the gurus. Why cover the head? Head being the most important and sacred part of the human body.
3 key beliefs: (1) The teachings of the gurus (2) Hard work (3) Sharing
The Sikhs do not pray to any symbols or idols, but they listen to the teachings in the holy book, which was a compilation of 10 great gurus.
One interesting observation was that all the devotees who after they performed the prayer rituals, they would receive a spoonful of paste that was supposedly blessed (from the prayers, etc) - which was a paste made up of flour, sugar and ghee.
It seems like, there are several practices that revolve around equality:
All the devotees were to sit on the floor for their prayers, etc... which is lower than the main altar. Certainly, it's to show respect to the teachings of the gurus. On the other hand, it's also symbolic when everybody is on the same level ground - to symbolise equality.
Similarly, this applies to having a common 'name' in all the names - all men have "singh" in their name; similarly, all women have "kaur" in their name too - which symbolises brotherhood and sisterhood respectively; as well as equality in all.
The spirit of sharing is shown through the monetary donation made (be it 10 cents or a significant amount) as well as contribution of grocery and food to be used for meal preparation for the devotees who visit the temple.
Indeed, felt the hospitality of the community... not only Mr Baljit Singh, but also, in particular, the lady volunteer who served us the meal, getting the hot tea for us and keep checking if we were fine :) Thank you for the thoughtfulness :)
Googlemap has been one of the most popular sites amongst those I use to plan my travel. Not just showing me the place 'visually' (as it comes with numerous features), but also planning of the route. That's why, in the recent travelogues, without fail, I included googlemaps to illustrate my journey in a more graphic manner :)
Saw this retweet (by HumanJenz) that aroused my curiosity, it said "Get instructions leading from China to Taiwan, and look at instruction #55".
I think, I said this twice in my tweets (which were re-directed to one of my Facebook accounts) - I was impressed!
It's about the capability of our students, especially when it's demonstrated through 13-year-olds. The self-directedness and 'professionalism' exhibited when they were entrusted with the task that usually adults would do. I guess that's what's meant by leadership; of course, it's also about leveraging the opportunity and providing the right environment to nurture.
Leadership - it's NOT JUST something that one brings with them, but it MUST be COUPLED with the right attitude, so that it's demonstrated in the right light, to bring out its best :) Unfortunately, it's not something that all could 'understand' - including adults, who strive to become leaders.
That's one word that we seldom mention when talking about leadership - Professionalism. Yes, one might possess the leadership qualities; however, when not conducting himself/ herself in an appropriate (and relevant (to the context)) manner - such unpolished leadership would not be able to create the desired level of influence and impact.
Professionalism includes looking into areas that one usually take for granted.
Preparation is one of them. More often than not, people ride on their own experiences (which is built over time) and become slack in their preparation - because they thought they could speak off the cuff and 'think on the feet'. Nevertheless, no matter what, preparation is necessary, and sometimes over-preparedness helps to boost one's confidence and helps to handle unanticipated situations. Look around - sometimes, I think adults get into this problem - because of the 'experience' and therefore take things pretty lightly; and when faced with the issue, problem doesn't lie on them, but on others. This is not uncommon.
Thinking - in depth and breadth. It's not difficult to find adults who do not think deep enough. Hm... Shallow? Sometimes we would say, but sometimes it's because of one's "narrow point of view". It' just like the frog in the well, with their point of view determined by the size of the opening of the "well". Thinking deep is not enough. What's important is being able to articulate the rationale behind the thinking, and the ability to link issues to the action in order to bring out its importance!
Well, well... just within 6 hours in a day, I saw a 13-year-old being able to demonstrate this kind of maturity & fluency; while I interacted with an adult who was unable to make the connection to substantiate. So, what does that tell?
The topic our group presented is on the Evolution of Identity of Singapore Women.
More shall appear in the Course Blog. Some resources (media) that we used - series of songs identifed during the session are as followed. Indeed, it brings out the distinguishing difference (and progress) across the eras:
The Development of Education in Singapore since 1965 Background paper prepared for the Asia Education Study Tour for African Policy Makers, June 18 – 30, 2006
Singapore’s female entrepreneurs – are they different? Int. J. Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 5, Nos. 3/4, 2008
It's a very nice and close-to-the-heart analogy... literally, from the bowl of rojak... it reminds us the 'good taste' in the hands of a good chef - to bring the different 'foreign entities' together.
I like the simple approach.. where the different 'components' that make up the rojak... isn't it the same as the different nationalities that make up our nation?
However, it does not necessary mean that we could just mix any fruits together. Good taste only come about by the appropriate portion of paste and the chef who mix the paste with the fruits, and the finishing (sprinkle peanuts on the rojak)!
Put it across in a simplistic manner: The paste resembles the programmes that are to be implemented while the chef is really the 'implementor' of the programme - the outcomes depend largely how it's delivered.
So, don't take for granted the 'uniquely' made in Singapore rojak :)
This was shared by the Group 9 - to conclude the day of presentation (that lasted for 5 solid hours today. The topics revolved no other than topics on Identity & Multiculturalism.
This clip was an interesting one... which I think, it clearly illustrates what's going through in our youths' minds today. In fact, it touches on what another group talked about "Assimilation" vs "Multiculturalism" - what's happening today?
In the advertisement, the 4 young men actually 'adopted' what they considered as "hip". And that included creatively 'adopted' a new name "Andy" and "Sam". However, they were spotted by grandma who brought them back to reality!
Well, initially, I thought "Andy" would either run away or rudely replied his grandma to 'mind her own business'... haha... that's how I would stereotype those 'hip-hop' guys! Nevertheless, the storyline has proven me wrong! And grandma has no fear to correct "Sam"! (not anticipating any rude responses from him?), and she added "What a divine name!" hahaha....
There's hidden and deeper values to a seemingly entertaining advertisement.
ME: have a good breakfast... that helps :) er... not a too heavy one... else zzzzz monster will visit u
ACE: my breakfast is coming later....
ME: Have a cup of beverage that wakes u up :) into my 2nd cup of coffee this morning :)
ACE: O_O i tot it's not too good to have so much coffee O_O
ME: hehehe.... hm... proportional to age (I guess) hahaha.... it follows a linear graph hahahahhaahha
ACE: hahaha.. linear graph O_O eeek i wonder if i still rmb the way to do it ==
ME: oh... understanding what it means (esp the equation) helps :)
ACE: hmm
ME: hm.... y = mx + c. So, imagine the equation that represents number of cups of coffee we drink per day is.... y = 0.005 x where x is the age. oops! one could only drink a cup of coffee when reach the age of .... 200!!!! hahahaha..... oops! hope that's not confusing to you :)
ACE: O_O ooh i think i understand
Loh: hahah... Hm... maybe a more realistic equation would be y = 0.05 x (where y represents the number of cups of coffee) and x is the age
ACE: we must make y = 1. Is it O_O
ME: ah... then at what age, theoretically speaking when one is eligible for 1 cup of coffee
ACE: according to the equation or...
ME: .... (waiting for the "age') hehehe.....
ACE: 20
ME: :)
ACE: ooh i see...
ME: hahah... pretty easy hor
ACE: hmm then while drawing the graph i know c is the y-intercept and m is the gradient.. but what is y and x?
ME: x and y are any items that we want to create a relationship... ok... it sounds a bit vague. Use the earlier example, u notice we want to describe a relationship between age and no. of cups of coffee?
ACE: yup
Loh: so, we let y represents no. of cups and x represents age. So, to describe how x and y are related there are some 'facts' (that could be discovered through research). So, people realised that when one gets older, the number of cups of coffee also increases so it becomes y (no. of cups) = a description times x (age)
ACE: hmm..
Loh: the description is 'how fast'
ACE:i see.
ME: so, maybe research shows that it's 0.05 times the age then we describe it as y = 0.05 x
ACE: so the relationship is the when y increases x also increases.
ME: yes....
GRACE: ooh
Loh: remember the graph of y = 0.05x is moving upwards (from left to right of the graph paper) so, it's a positive relationship hm... we can also describe something else like...
ACE: oh
ME: amount of hair one has... as one ages.... ok... this case, we'll have something like from the age of 40 to 100 so guess how the graph would look like if y represents the amount of hair and x represents the age (age starting from 40) hahahah.....
ACE: hm... what is m ?
ME: :) of course, we are not talking about exceptional cases like those who shave their head.... hm... m is to describe how fast the hair drops... hahahhha.... or the rate that hair grows?
ACE: ...... so i can replace it with any number?
ME: 'cos as one gets older... the rate of hair growth also significantly reduced :) ah... u can place it with any number... then test out to see if it's logical
ACE: hmm... y=20x ?
ME: but before that, we'll have to ask ourselves... is the number going to increase or decrease as age increases
ACE: ok
ME: hm... so, if you look at y = 20x. it means as one grows older, the amount of hair would increase? (this is true when we look at... starting from baby to around the age of 40?)
ACE: ok. So if we change 20 to -20?
ME: good suggestion :) - implies getting lesser and lesser... however we can't have negative number of hair on the head. Hahahha..... the most we could go to is zero hair
ACE: so decrease the number? oh
ME: :) so... hm... here, the y-intercept might come in useful
ACE: O_O then now what O_O
ME: use what you have... maybe we can try something like y = -20x + 400. we add the y-intercept to make the relationship more realistic so, if one is 10 years old, does he have any hair?
ACE: hmm yeah 200
ME: :)
ACE: oohhh
ME: so, by the age of 40.... haha... nothing's left.
ACE: yup
ME: so it could be a special scenario whereby someone was struck with some sickness and the equation could be used to describe the hair loss... which is, y = -20x + 400 well... this is a very simplistic way of describing relationships
ACE: i see thanks xD
ME: in real world... more complex... that's why we move into quadratic equations, etc.... :) Enjoy :)
The 2 invited speakers for the forum were Dr Larry Johnson and Dr Stephen Breslin
Some things that the 2 experts shared: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Larry Johnson, CEO, New Media Consortium
7 Patterns of Technology
1. Computing in 3 Dimensions
e.g. Models that are generated and only possible to create 'virtually' and not realisatic in real world.
2. Games in Reality
Learning moves through games (this has been adopted in some countries for military training).
3. Keyboards are for Old People
Observation of more youths are using sms than email to send messages.
Communication is no longer limited to devices that come with keyboards.
Speech-to-text is one technology that is likely to take off in the very near future.
Touch technology has become more ubiquitous - e.g. use of multi-touch surfaces as well as iPad.
On the other hand, I agree with what Larry shared: The choice of device really depends on the purpose and/ or the kind of activity one carries out. For instance, the iPad could be an ideal device for reading because of its portability and storage. On the other hand, a decent device like a tablet or a laptop would still be the more appropriate device when keying in lots of text (e.g. preparing a report) despite the fact that iPad comes with a (virtual) keyboard. Every device has its natural fit. Another example: While a phone would allow one to access pages of text or read information from the websites, however, when it comes to reading books of hundreds of pages, the iPad would probably be the choice.
4. The Machine is US
The latest development was showcased in the 2009 TED show (Sixth Sense Technology)
Personally, I think the Sixth Sense technology is amazing, and it definitely possesses lots of potential mobile (or outdoor) learning. In particular, the ease to access information and the 'portability' of 'devices'.
5. Collective Intelligence is the new knowledge
The example given was about citizen journalism - when news is no longer dependent on one source, but people become participative and contributes to the virtual community via various means and platforms (e.g. twitter, facebook).
Moreover the latest news does not necessary come from the news station or reporters, but could be reported by anyone out there. Especially first hand footages (videoclips, photos, etc)
6. The Network is Everywhere
Networks are created in multiple platforms; serving different purposes.
The point I gather from this point is, information is embedded everywhere; it's really up to one's creativity and resourcefulness to tap on the information around and turn them into knowledge.
This is clearly illustrated in the example about the use of the photos posted in Flickr to help 'define' the boundary of the country.
On the other hand, by analysing the photos posted at the various locations, and using the timestamps, experts could analyse the photos to study certain migration patterns.
Well, the examples are amazing, isn't it?
7. The People are the Network
It's about social networking, if I remember correctly.
Using Facebook as an example, again, it's about teasing useful related information from the network of responses. Hm... unfortunately but still, can't quite make out the link between the advantage of the looking through those who share the common interest (through the 'like' button') to teaching and learning yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stephen Breslin, CEO of FutureLab
(a) Emerging Technology Trends
1. Continuation of Moore's Law
Massive decrease in cost and massive increase in computing power
2. Once per decade disruption
shift from networked to ubiquitous computing
3. Computing as BioScience
4. Cosmetic psycho-pharmacology
Smart drugs and cognitive enhancement
5. Invasive and non-invasive brain/machine interfaces
6. 3D printing and printable electronics
the capacity to print bespoke mechatronic devices
7. Artificial intelligence remains hard
Semantic web technology augments capacity of intelligent analysis and synthesis of information
8. Large scale systems of systems
complex system less well-understood, cost of failure increases
(b) Beyond Current Horizon (BCH)
Stephen also shared some of the implications of the findings from the research:
1. Education is a futures facing activity
assumptions about the future underpin all levels of education activity
2. Challenging Existing Assumptions
e.g. continued progress towards a universal technology-rich, global knowledge economy.
3. Explore alternative Future
Possible - what could be
Probable - what is likely to be
Preferable - what ought to be
4. Education futures work should aim to challenge assumptions rather than present defintive predictions
5. The future is not determined by its technology
6. Thinking about the future involves politics
7. Education has a range of responsibilities that need to be reflected in visions of its future.
In a way, I fully agree with the point that we need to challenge the assumptions - the assumptions of how future looks like, and what is needed in the future - in terms of the skill sets that's needed for survival in the future. When the set of 21st century skills were drawn up, it's based on the trends and the 'extraplotted' 'predications' which are based on our experiences. So, how close is it going to be?
On the other hand, Stephen also reminded us that "We are the Agents of our Own Future". So, we determine how the future looks like, what the future needs... and then we engineer it accordingly.
Haha... well, both points seem to contradict each other a little, but also complement each other!
Another important reminder from him... I thought it was very useful: The emphasis should be "What makes good learning" rather than looking at technology. Fully agree! We could have the best technology in hand, however, without sound pedagogy, it would not be able to put to good use to bring about the desirable change or impact. So, its success still lies in the hands of the curriculum designer!
He also gently shared the UK government's effort in building schools of the future - the key to the entire exercise is... People Matters - Practice and Mindset determine what changes and eventually unfolds - in terms of the learning experiences of the learners.
3 challenges were posted:
Should education continue to be organised around the unit of the individual learner?
Should schools retain its dominant position in assumptions about educational futures?
Should preparation for competition within a knowledge economy remain a primary goal for education?
Quote directly from Wikipedia: The digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology, and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalance both in physical access to technology and the resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. knowledge divide, both reflecting the access of various social groupings to information and knowledge, typically gender, income, race, and by location.
"Digital Divide" was first used to describe the gap, the difference in terms of accessibility to technology. I think it started off as a comparison between countries where technology - in terms of availability and accessibility to computing devices; and it's more often than not, between developed and developing countries.
Lots of effort have been put in to narrow the digital divide - philanthropic organisations and even technology companies to come up with solutions for countries that face issues like electricity so that children are not deprived from access to technology and the world wide web.
On the other hand, today, digital divide no longer just refers to the provision and accessibility of the devices or internet, it's looking at how technology is deployed and how it is used!
Indeed, I think we are now at a juncture - to widen or to narrow the "digital divide". At least 2 things to look into, in terms of addressing to today's "digital divide" - How we use technology, in particular, our learners; and What devices are we using?
To remain ahead of the rest... I guess, one has no choice, but to create the "digital divide"...
Thanks to Mr Baljit Singh (I hope I got the name correct) for his patience and a very detailed explanation of the practices that many of us (outside the community) do not know.
