Su, do we use 'we perspire during PE lesson' or 'we sweat during PE lesson'?
That was the question that a colleague asked me a few weeks ago. I told her that we would usually use the word perspire instead of sweat. Why she asked? Dictionary said it's fine to use both she continued. I didn't have an answer. It was something that I had been taught. 'Animals sweat while humans will perspire' I told her it was what I remembered my teacher said.
Is that a valid explanation?
Not anymore because I now know better.
Corpus. It was very Greek to me. Is it about some language that is at its death bed? Is English dying and ill....like a corpse that is no longer useful in this digital age? Really amusing. I wonder where the word 'CORPUS' is derived from.
Anyway, it is a set of data of words which has been gathered from the many many conversations of or spoken by people. It has been said that language is fluid, it changes over time etc etc etc. Its like a lightbulb lighting up when I learnt about corpus.
When dictionaries uses corpus to explain certain meaning or usage, I am wondering if I can be confident of its usage. Hmmmm...do humans sweat or perspire? Which is more scientifically correct or does it really matter?
About Me
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Second Life?
Second Life. That name perked my interest in the discussion that we had today in MAE812. It is about a virtual world.
I was initially confused about the idea of learning in technology. What did it mean? How can I learn in technology? The term often used was 'learning with technology'. I understood that as much as that has been the way I have been teaching to my students. I have used Audacity to help my students learn to speak and pronounce. That's learning with technology.
I went on the web to find out more about it and below are links to three articles regarding this virtual world.
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=77713
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=76368
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=72990
All three are newspaper articles. Each of them very different.
The first is about how junior colleges and polytechnics in Singapore have used this virtual world to help students become more meaningfully engaged in their General Paper (GP) lessons through the realistic discussions or real world scenarios. It was a point raised by Phillip in today's discussion. Immersing students in this virtual world helped them to be able to see and experience situations that could previously only be a pigment of their imagination. Issues of poverty, environmental concerns, starvation when discussed in GP lessons are based on ideas that are generated from a student who is not able to see the actual situation. I can recall with clear trepidation how much I abhore GP lessons. Lessons were dry and my tutor expected us to be experts about issues that we have never dealt or experienced. With a virtual reality world, this could change tremendously. Ideas could developed more easily and a more active and lively exchange can happen in the virtual world unlike a two-way conversations in a classroom situation.
The second is about how three government bodies have bought stakes in the virtual world. Each government body may have their own agenda in pursuing a plot in cyberspace. My two cents on this is that they may have aspired to be ahead of the game when cyberspace overtakes the world wide web in the next decade. My hope is that by being more aware of the action in cyberspace, these agencies will also be more prepared in tackling the negative aspects of virtual reality.
The third aricle is the most interesting to me as it talks about the advanced world that exists. It is a revelation of how far behind I have been in keeping myself updated of the virtual world and cyberspace which may even be far more advanced that the 'real world' we live in. Imagine! A world that has 7.6 million residents buying and selling in their virtual homes, in their second life. It also speaks of the unsavoury elements that exists and its laws. However, inorder not to tamper with creativity, each different countries is left with their own interpretations of what is illegal in their own virtual world.
I have to stop here. It is really overwhelming to learn of how ignorant I have been. It is going to be a challenging task to work with such advances. It is absolutely frightening. I need a SECOND LIFE!
I was initially confused about the idea of learning in technology. What did it mean? How can I learn in technology? The term often used was 'learning with technology'. I understood that as much as that has been the way I have been teaching to my students. I have used Audacity to help my students learn to speak and pronounce. That's learning with technology.
I went on the web to find out more about it and below are links to three articles regarding this virtual world.
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=77713
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=76368
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=72990
All three are newspaper articles. Each of them very different.
The first is about how junior colleges and polytechnics in Singapore have used this virtual world to help students become more meaningfully engaged in their General Paper (GP) lessons through the realistic discussions or real world scenarios. It was a point raised by Phillip in today's discussion. Immersing students in this virtual world helped them to be able to see and experience situations that could previously only be a pigment of their imagination. Issues of poverty, environmental concerns, starvation when discussed in GP lessons are based on ideas that are generated from a student who is not able to see the actual situation. I can recall with clear trepidation how much I abhore GP lessons. Lessons were dry and my tutor expected us to be experts about issues that we have never dealt or experienced. With a virtual reality world, this could change tremendously. Ideas could developed more easily and a more active and lively exchange can happen in the virtual world unlike a two-way conversations in a classroom situation.
The second is about how three government bodies have bought stakes in the virtual world. Each government body may have their own agenda in pursuing a plot in cyberspace. My two cents on this is that they may have aspired to be ahead of the game when cyberspace overtakes the world wide web in the next decade. My hope is that by being more aware of the action in cyberspace, these agencies will also be more prepared in tackling the negative aspects of virtual reality.
The third aricle is the most interesting to me as it talks about the advanced world that exists. It is a revelation of how far behind I have been in keeping myself updated of the virtual world and cyberspace which may even be far more advanced that the 'real world' we live in. Imagine! A world that has 7.6 million residents buying and selling in their virtual homes, in their second life. It also speaks of the unsavoury elements that exists and its laws. However, inorder not to tamper with creativity, each different countries is left with their own interpretations of what is illegal in their own virtual world.
I have to stop here. It is really overwhelming to learn of how ignorant I have been. It is going to be a challenging task to work with such advances. It is absolutely frightening. I need a SECOND LIFE!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Is it the End?
Welcome to the Digital Age. World Wide Web, Friendster, Facebook, Youtube, Maplestory,Digital Gaming, E-mails, MSN, Google, Yahoo....etc etc etc. "TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT." This is my concern. Can I adopt such attitude towards these new changes to technology. The face of communication is changing. Modernisation has moved by leaps and bounds by the improvements in technology. We are now in this digital age.
If you ask me, I have tried as hard as possible to avoid the nudging from friends inviting me to join Friendster. Time and time again, I had ignored the calls to be in the digital community. Why? Time is precious. It is not important for me to get connected to the hundreds and thousands of people who are online. I have a steady job and keeping it may not be an issue. But I do not think it is avoidable any longer. I have now, in 2008, has a Facebook account and a weblog! I have succumbed to the peer pressurre to do the IN thing.
It is easy for me to nudge and avoid as I was not born into the digital age. My son, on the other hand, is born into the world of computers, msn, telecommunication, video gaming. By the age of six months, he has been introduced to the computer and the internet. I have introduced him to baby games that did the PEEK-A BOO by the press of the button. Should I be worried? For my son, I think he needs to be savvy of the technological advances and to harness its strength to his benefit.
He may need to be in Friendster and MSN etc, but most importantly, he needs to get connected. Digital resumes may be way in the future where jobs are temporary and one has to be ahead of the competition in this fast-paced world to succeed.
However, there is the flip side of the coin. I need to protect my son from the unsavoury websites on the world wide web, I need to ensure that he understand that that there are tricksters who also harness ICT to clean a person's bank account in a matter of minutes. The key to protecting him is information.
Youths today cannot avoid how ICT may influence the way they think and learn and live their lives. It does not matter that sentences will become disjointed, with vowels becoming redundant, and language is 'polluted' with incorrect grammar rules. Language is not a static commodity and it has been evolving to meet the demands of communication.
But we must prepare our youths for the challenges of this digital age. We need to provide them with the correct values that is required in using digital information. We need to teach them about copyright infringements, online piracy, illegal downloadings, spamming and the list goes on.
While I understand the important role ICT play in shaping the way our youths learn and think, I am more concern if we are actually doing enough to prepare them for the challenges ahead. If you ask me, I have not at all.
If you ask me, I have tried as hard as possible to avoid the nudging from friends inviting me to join Friendster. Time and time again, I had ignored the calls to be in the digital community. Why? Time is precious. It is not important for me to get connected to the hundreds and thousands of people who are online. I have a steady job and keeping it may not be an issue. But I do not think it is avoidable any longer. I have now, in 2008, has a Facebook account and a weblog! I have succumbed to the peer pressurre to do the IN thing.
It is easy for me to nudge and avoid as I was not born into the digital age. My son, on the other hand, is born into the world of computers, msn, telecommunication, video gaming. By the age of six months, he has been introduced to the computer and the internet. I have introduced him to baby games that did the PEEK-A BOO by the press of the button. Should I be worried? For my son, I think he needs to be savvy of the technological advances and to harness its strength to his benefit.
He may need to be in Friendster and MSN etc, but most importantly, he needs to get connected. Digital resumes may be way in the future where jobs are temporary and one has to be ahead of the competition in this fast-paced world to succeed.
However, there is the flip side of the coin. I need to protect my son from the unsavoury websites on the world wide web, I need to ensure that he understand that that there are tricksters who also harness ICT to clean a person's bank account in a matter of minutes. The key to protecting him is information.
Youths today cannot avoid how ICT may influence the way they think and learn and live their lives. It does not matter that sentences will become disjointed, with vowels becoming redundant, and language is 'polluted' with incorrect grammar rules. Language is not a static commodity and it has been evolving to meet the demands of communication.
But we must prepare our youths for the challenges of this digital age. We need to provide them with the correct values that is required in using digital information. We need to teach them about copyright infringements, online piracy, illegal downloadings, spamming and the list goes on.
While I understand the important role ICT play in shaping the way our youths learn and think, I am more concern if we are actually doing enough to prepare them for the challenges ahead. If you ask me, I have not at all.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
ICT?? What on Earth is it?
ICT- What is it actually? With the barage of technology stuffed down your throat, I am now not sure anymore. I am no technology geek so my confusion arises from m
y own desire to be ignorant. You can't really blame me for that. It is hard to keep up with the pace of changes in technology. I remember that when I started working, I was able to buy myself my first video camera. It was kind of big but because it was affordable, I bought the video camera. It was the kind that uses the tiny video cassette like the one you see in the picture. Little did I know that that piece of technology that I had purchased was going to be obselete in the next months. The next phase was moving in. The age of digital videos and tiny CD-roms -not video cassette. I really felt cheated....although I was ignorant, I would expect the shop assistant could at least provide more information, don't you agree?
Is everything concerning technology can be considered a tool for ICT? Like the digital video cameras? Or is it just limited to the Information Communication Technology tools like handphone, e-mail, web pages, blogs, internet, web cams which facilitate one's communicate. I mean is ICT about the way we use technology to interact? Somehow, I have this feeling that it is not so.......
y own desire to be ignorant. You can't really blame me for that. It is hard to keep up with the pace of changes in technology. I remember that when I started working, I was able to buy myself my first video camera. It was kind of big but because it was affordable, I bought the video camera. It was the kind that uses the tiny video cassette like the one you see in the picture. Little did I know that that piece of technology that I had purchased was going to be obselete in the next months. The next phase was moving in. The age of digital videos and tiny CD-roms -not video cassette. I really felt cheated....although I was ignorant, I would expect the shop assistant could at least provide more information, don't you agree?Is everything concerning technology can be considered a tool for ICT? Like the digital video cameras? Or is it just limited to the Information Communication Technology tools like handphone, e-mail, web pages, blogs, internet, web cams which facilitate one's communicate. I mean is ICT about the way we use technology to interact? Somehow, I have this feeling that it is not so.......
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