EduBlog.NET v3

after near 7 months of work, from conceptualising to engaging vendor to put things together in machine-understandable language for human-comprehensible output, The ICT Connection was finally launched last week at the iCTLT 2010. let’s not think abt the work ahead for a while cos in actual fact, the real work of populating the portal with ICT lesson examples has just started. here’s the video of the launch scene, and the launch animation to mark the moment

as part of the on-going promotion of the portal, “do visit us today ” *hehe*

today is one of the happiest day of the year （最开心的日子）, where ex-students gather at our place, to meet up with their 老teacher, as well as with each other all of us have clocked several years since the schooldays, and as i told them, it’s really 心境 that matters *haha*

the facebook photo album is available here.

thanks to all who managed to make it. if you din make it, there’s always a next year to come (:
恭祝大家“虎年行大运，事事顺意，岁岁平安！” oh yes, and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ALL, cos it’s 初七人日 today

it’s the start of the chinese new year once again, 一年又过，今天是庚寅年的大年初一，一会儿就要出去拜年了。 the eve of cny in singapore is extremely boring, compared to in shanghai, and not even comparable to malaysia just across the straits and viewable from my flat. 新加坡的除夕真是无聊透顶，一点气氛都没有！ if the government is serious abt retaining the Chinese culture, allow our youngs (and olds too!) to light fireworks (some singaporean might gasp on hearing this) and firecrackers. this would bring the mood and atmosphere of cny back, as well as the opportunity to tell the stories/traditions behind why we do it at all. this is a teachable moment for culture, not learning dead culture on textbooks, learning it as told by a teacher who hasnt seen or light any firecracker his/her own life *duh* of cos, the word “dangerous” will always be used as an excuse. well, singapore is world-renowned for its rules and order, just set some rules, and allow singaporean to play safely we simply do not stop cooking or play soccer becos there’s a risk of explosion or breaking the nose, do we?

anyway, this cny i received 3 cny cards in my snail mailbox, 2 from my teachers, 1 from my students my tuition teacher 素卿姐 i’ve known her for 26 years now, my chemistry teacher mr poh mah see 傅妈思师 i’ve known him for 20 years, and Si Hui 斯惠 6 years now. notice any ‘pattern’ here? yes, it all revolves around teacher-student relationships, something that has been missing from my life for 5 years now. a tug at my heart on where i should belong. shall work towards it and see if there’s any good news to report come cny 2011? (:

last but not least, may i wish all my teachers, students, and friends: 一元复始，万象更新。新年快乐，万事如意！ 恭喜恭喜！ Gong Xi Gong Xi!

when’s the last time u changed your wallpaper? citing this para off smashingmagazine:

Desktop wallpapers can serve as an excellent source of inspiration. However, if you use some specific wallpaper for a long period of time, it becomes harder to draw inspiration out of it

it’s time to change your wallpaper and smashingmagazine.com is offering you a nice SEVENTY 70 choices! (:

heard of ADE? if your answer is no, you’re like me anyway, this is really something nicely put together, by Sabrina, a 六语人才 (yah i know, video only says 5, but i defined one more). ENJOY! (:

ADE 2010 from Sabrina F on Vimeo.

this afternoon received an email from 张豫峰师 and i was told our article, 《以元认知为主导信息科技为辅的口语教学模式探索》 (A Metacognitive and Information Technology Integrated Approach to Teaching Speaking in Chinese Language), was selected and republished in the prestigious 中国人民大学书报资料中心《语言文字学》， aka 人大复印资料《语言文字学》。

期刊简介 (source: http://ipub.zlzx.org/ )
这是一座精挑细选的文献资料宝库。它以涵盖面广，信息量大，筛选严谨，突出学科热点焦点问题而成为国内同类期刊中具有权威性专题文献资料宝库，也成为国内外了解中国语言文字学研究最新成果的最集中、最权威、最精华的信息出版园地和专题文献资料库。在这里您能将看到编者以敏锐、独特的视角为您精心挑选的有关语言学、语言文字规划、语言文字规范、推广普通话、社会语言学、语言教学、对外汉语教学、计算机多媒体辅助教学、计算语言学、面向中文信息处理的现代汉语基础研究等等多方面的前沿研究成果。

这是一片属于语言学文字的精神家园。是一本面向所有语言文字研究与教学工作者的重要刊物。不论您是语言文字研究部门、信息处理部门、文秘系统的专业人员，还是高校中文系、计算机系、外语系和对外汉语教学专业的师生，或是中等师范和中学的语文教师、各级语委的业务干部以及其他语文爱好者，您都会重视它，需要它。

while it felt good for a while, i was asking myself when can i possibly work towards another such publication? it’s nowhere in sight

these few days were in and out of major meetings reporting and demoing on the upcoming The ICT Connection website, and was guided to think of the website’s next phase of development. the idea of building a community among teachers who are interested to come together to work and improve on existing ICT lesson examples. and saw this post by Christopher D. Sessums defining web2.0:

Web 1.0 = me
Web 2.0 = me + you

Web 1.0 = read
Web 2.0 = read + write

Web 1.0 = connecting ideas
Web 2.0 = connecting ideas + connecting people

Web 1.0 = search
Web 2.0 = recommendations of friends/others

Web 1.0 = find
Web 2.0 = share

Web 1.0 = techies rule
Web 2.0 = everybody rules

part 2 and 3 probably’s the way forward for The ICT Connection. but again, are our teachers ready and have the time to embrace this Web2.0 culture or perhaps i should say “Web2.0 lifestyle“. it’s like owning an iphone, it’s not abt the physical device, it’s abt adapting to and owning a new lifestyle.

saw this piece of drawing within Christopher D. Sessums’ post on 150+ Resources for Teaching and Learning:

particularly attracted by the “MONSTROUSLY LARGE BLIND SPOTS”. dun ask me why, the brain’s quite dead after running 8.5 hrs of afterburners for 2 consecutive days. it’s simply a feeling of 渺小, especially if you are doing some research or lit review lately, you’ll likely feel likewise

of cos if u would like to find out abt the exact context of the drawing, go back to the source (:

if you often like to use little graphics/icons in your presentation, student handouts etc, and you’re recycling ms clipart too often, check out these nicely created FREE icon sets by IconEden (:

open source has done it again, iTALC – Intelligent Teaching And Learning with Computers is a free opensource computer lab classroom management software. and funds can be spent in obtaining other resources for learning and teaching