No Comments// Posted in Blab, talk by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 09.26.15.
Do check out my first Blab at 10.30 a.m. today on the potentials of Blab for lifelong learning. I’ll be touching on my experience learning from Blab as well as having discussions with other Blabbers on the impact of Blab in enriching their knowledge and passion for lifelong learning.
No Comments// Posted in Blab, e-classroom, ICT, learning, m learning, reflection, speaking, talk, writing by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 09.23.15.
Do you Blab?
It’s never too late to check out Blab, the latest live online streaming platform that’s catching netizen’s attention worldwide. If you’re familiar with Periscope and Meerkat, then jumping onto the Blab’s bandwagon would be a breeze as they share similar concept of live-stream communication.
I was introduced to Blab a week ago when Zaid shared about it via the Learning Innovation Circle (LIC) that I co-manage on Facebook. I checked it out and discovered you could simply log in using your Twitter credentials. Easy peasy aye! I love the Space Owl mascot, so apt with its heightened senses and acute association with brilliance and wisdom. Little did I imagine, Blab had turned me into a nocturnal being too!
In short, Blab enables live online streaming of public discourse, conference and discussion up to 4 speakers. Unlike Periscope & Meerkat where just one speaker could address the audience, Blab promotes multilateral communication. I know many would compare it with Google Hangout as Google Hangout enables up to 10 speakers and large number of participants. However in sense of interactivity and engagement, Blab has the upper hand due to the fact anyone can just click and join any live discussions on air (called Blab) compared to Google Hangout which has rather closed discourse ambience. When I’m on Blab, the engagement is elevated and less sterile, IMHO.
Components of Blab
I’ve been using Blab for almost a week now and I’m hooked! What I like about Blab is that is a user-friendly live streaming platform with great GUI & interactivity features. You can either participate as a host, pre-selected/impromptu speakers (where you can jump in to any empty seat on blab) or contribute your ideas on the comment section. I like how you can give props (it looks like giving hi-5 to me) to the speakers on each respective speaker’s panel. You could share and advertise the blab effortlessly on Twitter too. Love that feature as albeit serious topic being discussed, Blab sensitizes nonchalant & laid back learning ethos that’s so addictive, you would want to check out more Blabs and be part of the community!
Tweeted blabs
From the perspective of an educator, I see high potential of Blab in engaging massive open online learning as anyone can simply join and learn from myriad topics discussed (computing / business/ personal growth/ education/ graphic/ music/ social skills etc.) It’s good for focus retention too as each blab would normally not last more than 3 hours.Definitely more interesting than watching boring, pre-recorded lectures. I was enthused to learn because of high engagement and collaborative knowledge sharing of the discussions. I think this is a major aspect that needed to be stressed in global education system, where learning should happen via real-time social engagement where we provide an outlet for learners to choose what they want to learn. The Blab topics albeit rich in diversity, could be synthesized to prepare for a holistic paradigm of 21st century teaching and learning. We need to prepare competent learners who can master various skills& disciplines in enhancing knowledge capital for future job market.
I’m planning to host a Blab on the potentials of Blab in education as well as how it can be optimized for learning engagement. I was glad Shaan Puri, the CEO of Blab gave a positive response on this initiative as I wanted to create awareness on how live online streaming platform can be a potent tool for knowledge sharing and fostering lifelong learning. I’ll post more on the scheduled Blab upon confirmation.
Tweet convo with Blab CEO
If you’re interested to try it out, it is available on desktop and iOS. Do check it out!
No Comments// Posted in e-classroom, english, johor, learning, reflection, teaching, writing by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 09.03.15.
I did Project Based Learning and Design Thinking method in my Writing class recently where students set up an editorial team for their own mini magazine. I called this the E-MAG Project which stands for English Magazine Project (duh!) and gave them the rubrics and guidelines in completing their projects. They were given 2 weeks to plan, research, design and present their output and I would say, the final outcomes are simply breath-taking! I’m so proud of my students for going the extra miles in making their debut magazine fun, engaging and scintillating for their peers to read and check them out. I always believe the best way to motivate students to write is by providing a simulation of real-life situation. Being a journalist is no easy feat so I hope these students have learned ways to refine their writing skills as well as have fun along the way.
No Comments// Posted in conference, DESA, ICT, learning, malaysia, reflection, seminar, talk by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 06.20.15.
This is not the first time I’ve heard of the Digital Education Show Asia (DESA) but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I wasn’t able to attend the event (mainly due to the pricey fee, haha). Thank you to BTP, MOE for giving me the opportunity to present at DESA 2015 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. Although I had to rush from school to take the evening flight, I regard this as a wonderful way to revive my passion for learning and nurturing my students’ fervour for engaging lessons. Things people do for things they’re passionate about!
Some of the speakers at DESA 2015.
One of the highlights of DESA 2015 is the Sketch Post illustrations. I find this an awesome novelty as the visualisation of each presentation is encapsulated in vivid visual representations. For visual learners like me, I find it a great way to catch up with the gist of some presentations that I might miss due to clashing schedules. I actively tweeted my experiences, soaking the knowledge and experience captured during the two-day event.
Wonderful new friends that I’ve met during the event. Glad to meet you Ms. Wai, Shobana and Kak Yus. They are passionate educators who shared similar wavelength like moi! That’s what I like about joining knowledge sharing event, networking with great individuals who inspire you to learn, unlearn and relearn 🙂
I was gobsmacked to meet and greet Prof Sugata Mitra, the pioneer of Self-Online Learning Environment. Such a down-to-earth person, most amazing persona de grata I met are like that! Thank you for your words of encouragement, hopefully I can emulate your passion and dedication.
I’ve presented on Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) in Malaysian schools where I conducted the research back in late 2013 to early 2014. I am elated that I received e-mail, messages and feedback from others who would like to start using mobile learning and create their own app for classroom learning. I’m still learning but I’m glad the sharing session encourages other to explore the unchartered waters.
I’m so excited to meet up members of Learning Innovation Circle (LIC) whom I corresponded online prior to this meeting. Glad to meet you Prof Karim Alias, Prof Hanafi Atan, Prof Alwani, Zaid Alsagoff (well, I’ve met him twice LOL) and Anita Adnan. They are distinguished academics in their fields yet their passion and humble demeanours lessen my inhibition in sharing my ideas. Thank you for being an inspiration for a humble teacher like me!
No Comments// Posted in conference, MJIIT, MOOC, PhD, reflection by Nor Fadzleen Sa don on 06.07.15.
Alhamdulillah, I was given the opportunity to share my research at the World Conference on Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WOCTINE) in Istanbul, Turkey from 28-30th May 2015. It was my first visit to Turkey and I count my blessings that I could represent UTM and network with other researchers in their respective fields.
I presented my research on MOOCs in Malaysian Higher Education: Stakeholder Analysis which I co-wrote with my supervisors, Prof. Rose Alinda Alias and Associate Prof. Naoki Ohshima. In this paper, I’m analyzing the correlation between stakeholders’ needs and wants to the core competency of MOOCs implementation in Malaysian higher educational institutions. It was great to network with other academics who are carrying out research on MOOCs too and we shared the boons and banes of MOOCs in transforming the openness of higher education, especially in developing countries.
Majority of the presenters are European and Middle Easterns and quite a handful of SEA presenters .I’m the sole presenter from UTM and I always perceive conference as a great platform to network, build rapport with fellow researchers as well as refine my research with constructive comments and feedback from the audience.
