shaiomaraliportfolio

Current Project: SMPAPHM Learning Management System

2009-09-29T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Virtual Learning Environment for SMPAPHM has been initiated to realistic structuring. So far, the thematic concept has been produced, which include logos and banners. Below are a few samples of the LMS.

Current Project: Brunei Student Union Poster

2009-09-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

Currently working on a poster for Brunei Student Union. I have been producing a few drafts but this one might be the one they opt for.

Microsoft Tech.Ed Europe 2009 - Last Chance to Save 300 Euro

2009-09-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom

2009-09-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Link: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf

This specific heading caught my eye in an e-mail which I received and I immediately thought about the no significant difference phenomenon.

The abstract of the report:

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified more than a thousand empirical studies of online learning. Analysts screened these studies to find those that (a) contrasted an online to a face-to-face condition, (b) measured student learning outcomes, (c) used a rigorous research design, and (d) provided adequate information to calculate an effect size. As a result of this screening, 51 independent effects were identified that could be subjected to meta-analysis. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes—measured as the difference between treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation—was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face. Analysts noted that these blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions. This finding suggests that the positive effects associated with blended learning should not be attributed to the media, per se. An unexpected finding was the small number of rigorous published studies contrasting online and face-to-face learning conditions for K–12 students. In light of this small corpus, caution is required in generalizing to the K–12 population because the results are derived for the most part from studies in other settings (e.g., medical training, higher education). View report

This article will of course be anaylised against the background of the no significant difference debate. Google the no significant difference debate for more information or visit the web site about the topic. One article (and there are many on the topic) "The Myth about No Significant Difference “Using Technology Produces No Significant Difference.” By Diana Oblinger and Brian L Hawkins" is interesting reading material about the topic.

PUBLISHING MY FIRST BOOK

2009-08-16T03:57:00.000-07:00

In a month's time I will be publishing my first book. It will first be internationally available from Amazon and Barnes & Nobles and will eventually end up being sold (and perhaps collect dust) in your nearest book stores.

This is my first in authoring a full-fledged book. The title is 'The Swan Scripts' and it is a poetry book. It is paperback, travel-sized and around 80 pages. It is also the first volume of a three volume set. The other two, 'The War Book' and 'The Soul Scrolls' will be out in annual successions.

The Swan Scripts should be available by September.

SPN YEAR8 ORALS AND DIRECTING A PLAY

2009-07-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

Two major tasks that were done in a week. Well, several more actually. But two comes to mind. One is the first attempt of administering the Oral Exams for Year8 in adherence to SPN21 requirements. That went quite well even though it was a first for everyone. I had a stint in being both an examiner and a chief examiner, as did my other lower secondary colleagues. If this is how the system would be then by all means this would be the easiest way of administering it.

The other big task is directing a play for a stage drama that was recorded live to be aired on RTB on the 7th day of Ramadhan. There. String that around the tongue. Dubbed the Ihya Ramadhan competition, schools are meant to do a play based on a script given at random, with said script having religious connotations and teachings. This had been by far one of the most challenging task I had myself involved in, ever more so as the role I sat for was director of play. Not wanting to take all the credit, I believe it was a super collective effort from the executive committee. Teamwork was the success factor, from the soundman to the props to those who lent extra hand in being directors themselves. Everyone had a part to play and the absence of one would make the play crumble. Great praises should also go for the actors who took professionalism into a new level for teenage adolescents. Overall, it was a team effort that to a highest degree is an epitome of pride.

For those who are interested in watching the end product, the drama will be aired on the 7th day of Ramadhan, half an hour before the scheduled breaking of the fast or 'berbuka puasa' as it is known here. The full script of the play will be available for viewing in my 'Portfolio' section. This was my first ever involvement in directing a play and it is something that I am now keen to do a lot more in the future, provided I have the same hardworking and creative team to support the role.

BRUNEITIMES COVERAGE

2009-06-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

Virtual teaching: Ak Shaiffadillah Pg Hj Omarali talks about the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs). Picture: BT/ Al-Haadi Abu Bakar

Using technology to enhance learning process

BRUNEI-MUARA
Sunday, May 31, 2009

UTILISING the use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) enhances student interaction providing organised spaces, said Ak Shaiffadillah Pg Hj Omarali, a teacher from Pengiran Anak Puteri Hjh Masna Secondary School (Pap Hjh Masna).

In his lecture entitled "Current Trends and Tempos on Using Internet-Based Virtual Environment for Education", he explores the many forms of VLEs used in education, from elaborate systems such as blackboard, Microsoft Edu and GoogleApps being used by universities to those used on a classroom scale such as Ning and Wiki.

In an interview with The Brunei Times, Ak Shaiffadillah spoke of whether the impact of the use of VLEs in the teaching environment made a difference and if technology usage was an advantage.

He said that utilising VLEs was not about making a difference in the course of learning and teaching, but rather making the classroom experience interesting for the students. "It's about keeping it familiar with the students using a traditional processs so that the learning methods that has been ingrained for the past few decades, such as discovery and inquiry-based learning still have the capacity to be performed in virtual worlds," he said.

He also said that humans are only humans; they have been learning for many years, but VLEs enhance the experience with technology.

"However, VLEs do entice educators in creating new methodologies," he said. The importance is on education and not technology in classrooms, he added.

"I used to be a naive teacher and brought technology into the classroom. I realised that it does not make a lot of difference to the teachers, but instead is a burden to teachers in creating this technology," he said. He said that designing a VLE would take a lot of time, a lot of effort to fix and there is a need to make sure that the VLE is better or on par with traditional classroom methods used.

"I spend a lot of time creating technology that was unnecessary, because you have the same procedure in class, whereby instead of using computers, you use pen and pencils because that is part of technology too ," he said.

He said that it was all "just a matter of enriching the experience of the students".

As for the level of students who can utilise the VLEs, he said that it relates more to the learning styles they want to use for their education.

"Nowadays, you have people who are learning at 40 to 50 years old. It's all about the preference they need during learning. If they prefer using motor skills, motions would be recommended, such as learning from videos," he said. He also said that technology can both complement as well as enhance the learning and teaching experience. Although technology was enhancing to a certain extent, he said that he does not see technology replacing classroom education.

"If the technology is there, it might hinder the learning, then it really defeats the purpose of learning itself," he said.

He added, "I would say any learning system would benefit the technology, provided the technology does not overtake the learning system". The lecture was given during the 14th International Conference on Education held at Universiti Brunei Darussalam which ended on May 24. (SHR1)The Brunei Times.

E4BT AND BELTA PAPERS

2009-06-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

I am looking at ending this year with two more paper presentations. The first one that I am enthusiastic about is my Computer-Assisted-Collaborative Learning (CACL) pedagogical research, which I find apropos for the upcoming English for Business and Technology conference (E4BT) in ITB. I remembered my first contribution to conferences occured in this same said event albeit in 2003. It was a paper presentation by my mentor Assoc. Prof David Prescott, with me co-presenting issues of his work.

Another conference which is pending development, is the BELTA-DELAL (or was it with MELTA) Symposium. For this one I have a language culture and education topic that I would like to share.

I would like to end this year with these two papers and then concentrate on finding grants for my proposed large scale longitudinal research.

BRIDGING MINDS

2009-05-25T05:28:00.000-07:00

The recent 14th International Conference on Education was a great success. One, it had the biggest participant count I have ever seen of late. Two, it was well received even though the crowd tapered on the third day. Three, there were many different ideas and solutions thrown around. The only negative review of it was the withdrawal of a number of scheduled speakers, which resulted in the tapering of crowd numbers. I would love to get one or two of the vacant slots to present my other papers but then I am eyeing other conferences across the ocean. I have one paper in line for the ESEA conference but not the one in Manila. I am looking at the 2010 session.

I also met a few acquaintances whose work I was impressed with. To those who wanted copies of my papers, I apologize and request your patience for now as I will not be uploading these papers until I find its feasibility in not submitting them for publication. However, if you have any enquiries regarding them then do e-mail me so we can discuss and ponder the many facets of IT in education.

WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHIN IN

2009-05-23T02:44:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I'm extremely excited about getting all the band equipment soon. They say it will arrive in batches in a week or two. Just imagine, five snares, tenor drums, tom-toms, cymbals and such. Then the brass section with its tuba, saxes, trumpets and horns, then the woodwinds and all. It has been a 3 year wait for me I think but it seems to be materialising in godspeed.

My only knack is my not having my music theory top notch. Many years of leaving the craft I grew a liking to improvisation and playing by ear. Although I did conduct one basic music theory lesson last week, knowing semibreves and 4/4s are just not going to help me with playing by reading.

So I've decided to enrol myself soon in music classes. I dread how many times I would fail then after.

IC3 CERTIFIED

2009-05-22T08:13:00.000-07:00

I apologise for the lack of updates. I have been immersed in a 3 week intensive course on the Internet and Core Computing Certification (IC3), which I have successfully attained with scores of 978, 955 and 978 for each module respectively. IC3 is similar to ICDL.

In addition, I have decided to put my studies in USQ on hold because it is demanded more time than what I have given my work schedule. Good news. I will finally be able to establish a marching band orchestra and will also be involve with music in depth.

Finally, I am currently in the International Conference in Education schedule presenting two parallel papers. So far, the conference looks very promising with many participants.

P.S: Congratulations to Cikgu Suhaila Sulong who has ended her teaching practicum. And my heartfelt thanks for the parting gift even though I didn't have that much skills to share during your practice. Nonetheless, I hope you have learnt many things and become a great teacher. You look the part. Congratulations to all TP teachers.

WEB DESIGNER CERTIFICATION

2009-04-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

I have attained an international certificate in Web Design Concepts, to complement my back-end, scripting and webdesign skills. Web Design Concepts encompasses further knowledge in the social and business side of webdesign and is a platform for working as an establishment.

LINUX?

2009-04-04T06:41:00.000-07:00

Today I am officially an internationally certified Linux (RHEL 5) Administrator.

MUSIC

2009-03-24T06:37:00.000-07:00

Music education. Another field I am very keen in.

PSYCHOLOGY

2009-03-23T07:16:00.000-07:00

But I have little competency of this interesting field. The closest stint I had with formal psychology training was back in UBD when around 400 odd students from a melee of programmes were offered Educational Psychology, and another Psychology course that has managed to slipped my mind. I would love to formally take up psychology, preferrably one that focuses on socioanthropology. I did have sufficient time with sociolinguistics and have for years been embarking in sociopsycholinguistic literature, but there is just so much that one can usurp from texts.

I would like to see in the near future how psychology will be referred to when researching on the social effects of online learning. So far there is a few significant reads on this topic. I myself am not in the position to do much, so it would be a niche that would prove purposeful for educational psychologists.

Sometimes, surveys like the one above can become windows to our psyches.

MY TAKE ON USING COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

2009-03-22T23:40:00.000-07:00

I have been trudging my thoughts for these past two days on where I stand regarding computer technology in education, or as some coin it, ICT in Education. And I have finally made up my mind. Well, to be honest, my mind has been set to the same conclusion for years. It is just that it takes coming into the teaching territory again to finally see its truth.

In my honest opinion, the best way to use technology in education is to use it as sparingly as possible.

There. I've said it. Even though I am an advocate of educational technology, my forte is perhaps in CAL, and my credentials all point to programming and pedagogies of educational technology; I harbor no fear of admitting that technology is beginning to become unnecessary in most contexts of ours. That makes me someone who is not an extremist, a hardline or even perchance a sectarian leftwing of the ICT in education campwagon. Even when my talks and work for the next few years will most likely deal with pitching the ideas of educational technology, I find that I am not in the same crowd as most who put ICT in education on a pedestal. But when I started teaching, I was a part of the crowd.

When I did my teaching practicum I was all about technology. To cut the story short, teaching made me realise how naive I was. Education is not about technology. And technology is not about being overly reliant on computers and gadgetries. What makes a great teacher is not one who uses technology, but one who would not falter in worst case scenarios. So, the best technology is within. Call it conscience call it latent ability. It is that element which makes tangible technology, such as the computer and the internet, work in the education. Without that latent admission of seeing technology as random chalk and paper, then we already have failed.

Teachers are becoming too dependent on technology. Projectors, smartboards, LMSs, internet. We are cyber slaves. And indirectly we are nurturing students to be dependent on technology. Yes, one can argue that the real-life is full of technology. But think again. Is technology the only option available? Well, I can see how it is unavoidable in online and distance education. But really. Do we need to technologise education in haste?

My task is simply providing suggestions on how to use technology as best a teacher, the students and every stakeholder of that education network can deliver. If any student is left behing, technology fails. If other teachers see it as a hindrance, technology fails. If it causes learners to be too dependent on technology, technology fails.

So, it is actually not surprising why teachers and students continually lament about the failure of technology. It is not anyone's fault. It is everyone's fault. Technology is great. In fact it is godsent. But in education, technology must be kept in the background at all cost. The best way to confirm this is when the teachers and students are on task in education, without even having the slighest nuance that they are using computer technology.

This was why, in history, the chalk and board was a huge success. It was not too in-your-face.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN EDUCATION

2009-03-21T02:31:00.000-07:00

Cliffs, I will be presenting two of the three papers that I submitted for the conference. The paper which didn't make the cut was the one I most wanted to share, but there are many other channels to project its ideas through. I am still happy that I will be sharing two papers, one on Secondlife and another on VLEs/PLEs. Both areas I have adequate proficieny in in terms of practicality and functionality. I spent today drafting skeleton frames of what would be touched on during my talks, in hopes of attracting those interested to come for the conference. Having said that, even without my presence, the conference is not an event to miss, with many ideas being thrown hither and tither.

My first paper is entitled "An Introduction to Teaching and learning in SecondLife"

Virtual reality has long been utilised in education where experiential learning is imperative. Pilot training, military warfare, and even engineering, all make use of virtual simulations to certain extents. However, the socializing and interacting activities that routinely occur in classrooms or university lectures, and the discovery learning involved in field-trips, are rarely replicated in virtual reality. Nonetheless, recent technology advancements, particularly in communication and graphics, have made virtual reality into commercially available environments, dubbed as virtual worlds. SecondLife is one such virtual world, and is the closest replication of reality to date, whereby its inhabitants are portrayed as humanoid characters, able to interact verbally, visually and even through gestures. As a result, teaching and learning has been occurring in SecondLife on a daily basis. Not surprisingly, Second Life houses hundreds of world renowned universities and companies, including the University of Manchester and the Microsoft Corporation, some carrying out international lectures, conferences, and workshops within SecondLife. This paper illustrates how SecondLife is used to educate in several disciplines, such as architecture, psychology and language, in hopes of inspiring those who teach these disciplines. Accordingly, SecondLife is an optional environment for educators in general to teach their students if the atmosphere of a class lesson is desired, or where emphasis is put on certain pedagogies such as experiential learning, discovery learning or the socio-constructivist approach.

Keywords : Virtual reality, SecondLife, experiential learning, socio-constructivist, community of practice

Paper two is entitled "Current trends and tempos on using internet-based virtual environments for education"

Imagine an online learner from Fiji, undertaking a graduate degree in Australia, with his lecturer carrying out lessons from Canada. How is learning performed, when considering time zones, geography and even learning culture differences would constrain interaction? Although distance education via post and telecommunication did allow for interaction, virtual learning environments (VLEs) enhance interaction further by providing organised spaces for them to occur in an orderly manner. This paper looks at the many forms of VLEs used in education, from the elaborate systems such as Blackboard, Microsoft Edu and GoogleApps being used by universities, to those used on a classroom scale, such as Ning and Wiki. In addition, the use of common Web2.0 components in the construction of Personalised Learning Environments (PLEs) is juxtaposed against the use of a standalone VLE. Consequently, the significance of several synchronous and asynchronous computer-based communication affordances provided by both VLEs and PLEs, from text-based to video-based, will be elaborated. The accumulation of this information is presented as a dossier from where the best practices of using web affordances could guide educators in making the decisions required for their teaching contexts.

Keyword: VLE, PLE, CMS, KMS, Web2.0, Community of Practice.

OF CHOIR FINALS, MELOR AND FUTURE PROJECTS

2009-03-20T07:45:00.001-07:00

Hello again world of internet journalism. I have been on a long hiatus. In the brink of retirement even. But there is just things that need be updated. So again I grace the rituals of blogging.

So what is new? Last I blogged I was updating people on my life as a Mancunian. I am forever a Mancunian and moreover a loyal Citizen. So what else? I am again working under the same roof that gave me valuable experience. Again teaching the hopes of Brunei in handling the obstacles of the english language. A TESLian I am. Though it seems that my field will soon bifurcate into english and music education.

Speaking of music, the SMPAPHM Choirettes of 2009 did an excellent job in showing others why they are worthy of recognition. Sixth place in the finals is a 'David and the Goliath'-ish achievement. Sixth best in Brunei. Out of 22 that participated. Taking the English Premier League as an equivalent, the girls were like Everton, or Arsenal. A force to be reckoned with and a force they were. It was an honour to coach the choirettes, and in all honesty, the practice sessions we had will surely be missed. Picture is courtesy of Rabi Phm Rad, a choirette.

What else in school? Melor House won the Cross Country. Undisputed winners. So far, every single house I have been in have won major trophies. But the again, it was all the students' efforts. Teamwork, commitment. Though I was there pushing every single Melorian to sprint that last 50 or so meters, it wouldn't have worked if they didn't push themselves. Kudos to Zephryn Loh, Jalilah Jali and a few other early finishers who pushed their all to overtake other runners in the last 50 meters. The battle is half won, now onwards to Sports Day and everything in between.

School holidays mean I can work on my two conference papers which I will present in the International Conference in Education to be held in May. I have been detached from the speaking circuit for a while now so I wonder how I will fare on the floor once more. I will be presenting a paper on the virtual world 'Secondlife', and another paper on Virtual and Personal Learning Environments. My third paper, which was on Educational Tourism, didn't make the cut...so I will bring that to gain a research grant soon from a research centre. In the meantime I am looking for publications and also to contribute as a chapter author for one book in the near future.