EduwebTV, hello again.

After a seven-month sojourn in the multimedia Nextgen e-content development section of the office, I was reposted to my old hunting ground – EduwebTV- in early March 2012. Being an obedient civil servant, I had no qualms about the move. I take it as a challenge to improve EduwebTv. With BestariNet in full swing, we cannot fall back on the connectivity excuse anymore to explain low usage. Despite the latest hits statistics indicated that we have registered 482 million hits, posted 4,232 videos  and 32,000 downloads, it is not an impressive achievement as Alexa’s ranking statistics showed that EduwebTV has gone from 17,600th to 23,000th in the country. Having said that, I must congratulate the dedicated TVP team on  their continuous  perseverance despite limited resources. I take it as a challenge when the audit people said we cannot handle EduwebTV as good as the company. Usage statistics showed that, viewership is comparable to ZHTS era. In fact on certain months, viewership in our reign is higher. But we have to really position ourselves in this 1BestariNet era. The linkage to the FROG VLE  was completed recently and we need to be sure whether EduwebTV videos can be directly parked in the FROG or it is just another link. My recent foray into the Frog showed that, videos from EduwebTV cannot be stored in the widget store. It can only store the link page. That is not very impressive. I was under the impression that, videos can from EduwebTV can be stored in the widget store and  can be dragged to the main page as and when needed.  Anyway our main task now is to produce enough quality materials to enable teachers to prepare at least 80% of their lessons using materials from our widget store. That much has been stated in our KPI for this year. I wonder how we can effectively measure that 80%.

EduwebTV home interface. We need to revamp this. It has been static for a year.

 

After all the effort that we put in to promote EduwebTV as anywhere, anytime, anyone source of educational videos, they are still thousands of teachers with scant knowledge of it. Most teachers attribute the invisibility to lack of connectivity and time.

It was a bitter sweet experience leaving the NextGen e-Content team. As I have been with that team a few times before, the camaraderie is very strong. This is the team that I can remotely asked to stay back till 7pm without so much of a hiss of protest. Despite their protestations about the viability of the NextGen e-content, they still ploughed along to ensure it is a success. I can understand their attachment to the e-bahan. The process has been with them for almost a decade. It is a tried and tested process that has garnered ISO certification. If it ain’t broken, why fix it one may asked. Then again, we have to keep up with times. Actually there aren’t much difference between the process standards of the NextGen e-content with e-bahan. So I say give it a go this year. If things do not quite work out we can always revert to e-bahan. After all the e-bahan has all the characteristics of the NextGen e-content. To my successor in that department, I wish him luck. You have a very strong team. I will always feel that I am still very much a part of the team. The key part of the NextGen e-content is the establishment of the Community of Practice (CoP). I am really banking on this CoP to drive teaching and learning into the new era.

Jalan Doraisamy revisited

Jalan Doraisamy - come after 5pm

The mere mention of Jalan Doraisamy, a little backlane conjoining Jalan Dang Wangi an the Heritage Row in Kuala Lumpur conjures up an image of colourful clubs and of course – soups.
I have not been to this part of the world for quite a while now, especailly at night. Normally, when my brother or my brother in law come to town, inevitably they would suggest that we visit Jalan Doraisamy for our dinner. Actually there is no particular restaurant, just a few tables along the footpath and the soup come from the proprietor in the back lane of Jalan Doraisamy. If you think McD or KFC are fast food, I am sure you would think again after your Jalan Doraisamy’s experience. The service is lightning quick. The waiters would rattle off myriads of soups and as soon as you make your choice, steaming bowls of thick oily and aromatic broth would arrive. I cannot describe the taste. It is out of this world, with loads of calories. Unless you are health concious, this is the place to be.

Soup kambing, sup daging, soup international, soup ayam, soup torpedo,.... you name it

Last night, in the drizzle we went to Jalan Doraisamy for dinner. It is our family bonding time. With yours truly extremely busy in the weekdays and nights, weekend nights are the time I can gather the family to catch up with things. Not that there is much to catch, but it is the only time I can get to connect with them physically.

 The place was rather quiet and the corner restaurant has become another branch of Syed Bistro and the otak-otak seller wasn’t there, neither was the busker and the blind beggers. But the mountain of nasi lemak packets were still around and the soup were still tasty and the service is still fast.

If you think eating out at the stalls in Jalan Doraisamy is cheap, think again. For eight packets of Nasi lemak, six bowls of soup, two packets of roti benggali, two teh tariks, one barley panas, one nescafe tarik, one teh o halia and one teh c kosong, set me back sixty ringgit! I think Jalan Doraisamy is fast becoming a playground for the rich who prefer street ambience, just like NZ Centre in Wangsa Maju. Never let the laid back and simple ambience fool you. The cost maybe as steep as McD and KFC.

Jeollanamdo chronicles (VII)

The host, Jeollanamdo Office of Education bent over backwards to accommodate our needs. Even to the point of veering the coach away from its  route just to show us the Gwangju F1 Race track.

 

The police patrol car in Seoul National University

Our last night in Korea was spent here - a good one hour away from Seoul City Centre.

In the studio - lets check what sort of light they are using...

Malaysia on my right, Korea on my left

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeollanamdo chronicles (VII)

It is not all about technology but some fun too.

The welcome sign in Shinan Education Office

Park your bicycle here to save space.

The Gwangju Biennale - a bi annual design exhibition

These are real people not puppets, mind you

Jeollanamdo Office of Education - very modern and slick

View of the Namak area/Mokpo from the Jeollanamdo Provincial tower - a newly developed area

Sarange....sarange .. - the singing tour guide in the bamboo village

Jeollanamdo chronicles (VI)

 Korea make full use of its internet capabilities to provide home tution to students in what they called Cyber schools. Research have shown that, the effort had reduced the percentage of money spent by parents on private tution from 19% to 14% within 5 years.

The English is highly American.

With a petite teacher like this as interpreter, the slowness of the pace is somewhat a consolation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the maharaja and.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The chair at the reception is really huge. 

…his food spread.

 

 

 

 

 

 Simple breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Dot during the nightly debriefings: "Ok guys listen, your report should include the seaweed. The smartboard needs a good old marker"The Kia K7 hybrid

 

 

 

 

 

pretty, this K7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeollanamdo chronicles (IV)

In terms of technology in schools, Korea and Malaysia is about equal. But their implementation is way ahead. This is mainly due to their amazing internet speed (about 100Mbps is normal in schools).

Korean conceptual framework of smart education

They have remodelled their Smart school concept and will implement it

in 2013.

Shinan Education Office where Remote Education System provides education to the remote islands.

Video conference equipment

 

 

 

 

 

And we managed to talk to a school 2-hour boat ride away

Participants of the vid con. I don't know whether this is a common occurence.

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The school's roll still using good old chalk and blackboard. Fit for purpose?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is she a Kim, a Lee or a Park something?

 

 

Jeollanamdo chronicles (III)

The hotel where we stayed is really remote. It is about an hour’s bus ride to the nearest city, Mokpo. Probably they did not want us to get distracted.

Hotel lobby. Very graphic.

Window view from the 7th floor. Pity the water theme park is closed for autmn/winter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the class starts...

The Opirus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She says..."The Hangeul is a scientifically sound alphabet system"

 

Photo Chronicles of the Jeollanamdo sojourn (I)

 

Waiting in Gate C11, 11pm 4th October

Koreanair AK671, the carrier that took us to Incheon

Landed at Incheon, eager to get off the plane

After 25 years, we did it again. Congratulations SDAR

If you remember in my previous posting I wrote about the PPM. I had the privilege of attending the final on Saturday afternoon in Hall B, PICC.  The parliamentary style debate, which is rather different from the debate that we normally associated with in our school days. These days the debate simulated a parliamentary style committee stage debate, where one party represented the Government would propose a motion and the opposition would do their utmost to  reject the motion. The motion yesterday was rather apt and current ” UPSR and PMR wajar dihapuskan”.  SDAR as the opposition managed to out debate the INTEGOM team and declared the winner of the Bahas  Bahasa Malaysia for the PPM 2010. To put icing on the cake, the best debater also won by a SDARIAN. The last time we won the debate was way back in 1985. Of course the supporters were ecstatic, yours truly included. These words kept ringing in my ears long after the prize giving ceremony ended.
We are proud to belong to a school that is strong;
That’s our our dear good ole’ SDAR;
We are taught to promote with our studies and sports;
That’s our dear good ole’ SDAR.
The joy we have and the sorrow we share, it’s a part of our unity;
Our feeling is strong to the school we belong;
Thats our dear good ole’ SDAR

I was still humming the song all the way back from PICC. Fortunately I was driving alone, or else somebody might whack me on the head for being repetitive. Then there was this road warrior kind of rap that  provide the adrenalin rush to us SDARIAN young and old every time we hear it

Wherever we go;
people want to know;
who we are;
where we come from;
So we tell them, we are the SDARIANS;
mighty-mighty SDARIANS;
rough tough SDARIANS.

I am quite surprised at myself that I still remember those lyricss even after 33 years. That is attachment for you.

Of Mat Libut, Husin Pecah Kepala, Mat Saja, Teh Jelusui and Timah Rongak

Yesterday, after a meeting in Ipoh, I took the chance to trek home to my ole kampung in Ulu Kuang (or Kuang Hilir rather). Not much has changed since I last came back, except the Ipoh – Padang Besar electric train railway bridge crossing is being built. The underpass is a major bottleneck for Chemor – Tanjong Rambutan – Kuang – Sungai Siput road. Not only the road under the railway bridge is narrow, it is also very low. So low that normal bus cannot pass through let alone those big trucks or the double-decker buses. In order for the bus to get through, the companies had to use mini buses or cut about 20cm of the roof truss and reattach it to the bodies of the bus. So only those pigmified busses can ply this route. After 52 years of independent, finally a new bridge is in the horizon. Mind you our area is under the jurisdiction of the Second Finance Minister.
I met my long lost kampung mate Mat Labu along the way. Meeting him remind me of the various Mats, Dins, Minahs, Timahs that I have come across all these years, especially in my kampung. Even till today I still cannot get the reason why he is called Mat Labu. Typical of kampong folks, they always give endearing nicknames to people so as to quickly identify them. With so many Mats, Dins, Minahs, Kassims, or Sallehs around they were assigned with nicknames normally as an extension to their normal names. My dear cousin had Muhammad as his name and he is known as Mat Saja – meaning his name is only Muhammad. Sometimes these nicknames can be very amusing or down right degrading. Pak Yop Misai actually had no moustache but a long flowing beard! My mother in law almost had a heart attack when we told her of a certain gentleman named Pak Husin Pecah Kepala. She kept asking what happened to his head. I am yet to find out why he was called as such. I can understand Mat Dagu Panjang had a rather longish chin on his Arabic looking feature, but Isa Koko has neither owned any cocoa plantation nor affinity for the hot cocoa drink. He was actually suffering from wooping cough and constantly coughing with ko..ko.. sound emanating from his throat.Then there was this Pak Ngah Rabit – a name given to him due to one of his ear torn off when he was fighting off with a tiger, and Leman Rabun with a terrible shortsightedness. Timah Rongak is not actually Timah, but a a boy. He had no broken teeth either, I did not understand why people called him Timah Rongak. I guess I just follow the tide in calling him Timah, maybe he is a bit sissy, poor Adnan – his real name. Of course then they were Din Meriam, Teh Jelusui, Lan Afrit, Dolah Hantu Raya, Din Geduak, Arif Bundek, Haji Mangkok…and the lists goes on. It goes to show, we give people names for easy identification and as terms of endearment without even thinking whether the person like the name or not. Boy, surely my journey back this time brought back a lot of memories with all those crazy but endearing names.

P/S:
My brother informed me that, the fela that I met the other day on my way back home is definitely not Mat Labu since Mat Labu died in an accident many years ago, but actually he is Mat Libut, son of Pak Sahak Pot Pot. Mat Labu was a unique one since he had three fingers on his left hand stuck together, from the middle finger to the little finger – a sort of birth defect. We used to teased him about it in school. An affable rotund boy frequently bullied by us. All in good fun, anyway, nothing serious. He took it jovially. How could I have forgotten about him and confused him with Mat Libut anak Pak Sahak Pot Pot who lived near Pak Dolah Hantu Raya. May Allah bless his soul.