Reflection Week 10

         

MOOC

           For this week, Miss Amreet asked all of us what the learning trend nowadays is. Besides, she also asked us whether we need teacher or not. After that, she told us that myguru is Learning Management System (LMS) which is also a type of learning trend. She said that she will lock the door next week as many of my classmates came late to class. After surfing the net, I have learnt that eLearning and mobile learning are learning trends used nowadays.

Later, she showed us a video on mobile learning. It was interesting and worthwhile watching. In the video, children with autism can’t speak but with mobile learning, they can communicate using their mobiles. I have never thought that it would be essential and useful for children with autism. I learned not to take things for granted and appreciate the little things in life.

            Again, she asked what the other trends of learning are. One of it is Open educational resources (OER). At times they are free. Other than that, blended learning is a type of rends of learning where everything is mixed. Lastly, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) where the teacher will post the videos online and students do the exercises. The platforms of MOOC are Coursera, Udemy, Khan’s Academy. Furthermore, Coursera is free of charge. Later, every leaders of the storyboard group met up with Miss Amreet to tell her the updates of the storyboard.

            My group members and I have already written the script so all we have to do now is to find a platform to complete this assignment. I am truly grateful to have such cooperative members that are willing to spend their time thinking of the storyline and doing the script later.

Reflection Week 9

          After the Prezi presentation that ended last week, our lecturer gave a lecture on the important styles for informative websites. Informative websites include online newspapers, journals and online magazines. The three types of informative websites are academic, scientific and technical. Miss also explained on the style in academic writing which are front matter,body,back matter.

Next, miss talked about the abstract in academic writing. An abstract should be written in a paragraph. Results can be classified into two which are qualitative and quantitative.   Quantitative contains number and statistics while qualitative presents findings and discussions about a certain topic.

Miss Amreet asked us what the differences between reference and bibliographies are. Well, sadly, none of us managed to answer this question. Finally, she told us the difference. For bibliography we do not necessarily have to cite everything but we need to cite everything for references.

Technical, academic and scientific style uses extensive explanatory footnotes. We can also use bulleted lists rather than paragraphs. This way, the reader will be able to understand what is being written better. Thus, I have learnt many new things regarding this topic. This lecture will benefit my classmates and I in the future as some of us  might need to write academic papers when furthering our studies later on.

Reflection Week 8

           

Hazwan presenting on Measat satellite.

            This week, Miss Amreet assigned us a task which is to find three good and bad websites. Miss has sore throat and in the process of recovering. That is why she wasn’t able to talk much because it is bad for her. My course mates and I are very lucky to have Miss Amreet as one of our lecturers as she is such a dedicated person.

            Before completing the task, two of my friends presented in class. Hazwan presented about Measat satellite while Rashidah shared on the popular types of coffee beverages. Rashidah prepared interesting images when presenting.

            Back to the task given. I find it easy to find good websites, while it is rather difficult to find the bad ones. However, later on, as I browsed the Internet, I found a few bad websites. We are to post our answers in a website called wikispaces. After that, miss randomly picked a few of them to state the reasons why they chose those websites.

            The next day, miss taught about the important styles for commercial websites. Commercial websites is about business websites. There are three commercial styles which are business style, database style and marketing style. The features of business style are precise and correct. There are no rooms for error regarding profits and contracts. It must also be blunt and straight to the point.

            I also learned that passages should be condensed by replacing long-winded section to point forms. In this way, it is easier for the readers to understand the information. Search engines and new sites are database systems to store and retrieve information. Miss will continue the lecture on marketing style on the following week. 

Essay #1-Is Facebook Good? (Argumentative)

      In this era of modernization, social network sites have become a common thing for people of all ages. Children as young as 8 years of age have Facebook and Twitter accounts. Social network site like Facebook founded by Mark Zuckerberg is being used by almost everyone. What makes Facebook so special? There are certainly many advantages of having a Facebook account. That is why I strongly believe that Facebook is good.

      One of the advantages of Facebook is it is a channel for information and news from all around the world. For example, a Facebook user likes a page say The Star Online. So, every time there is news or information about something, it will appear in the user’s newsfeed. That way, one will be able to have an access to the information and news based on the page a person likes. Users of this useful social network have gained general knowledge and new insights by just using it.

      Besides that, Facebook can be used as a medium to send files and links. For instance, in completing assignments, one can send their documents and files in a group chat. Facebook has made students’ life easier by providing this application. Group discussions and meeting regarding assignments can be done via Facebook by using group chat where all of them can share files and carry out their discussion there. Time and energy can be saved by having the group discussion online.

Furthermore, this social network site has enabled users to get in touch with people from all around the world by just a click away. By just accepting other people’s friend request, you will be able to chat with him or her. You can also express your feelings and emotion by posting your status. For example, if you want to express your gratitude for all those who have wished you happy birthday, you can post it in your status. That is why, you do not need to call and tell them but rather just post it. Therefore, you will not have to spend your money for calling them.

      To sum it up, I strongly believe that Facebook has many advantages and is good for everyone. However some may say that it brings more harm than good but having a Facebook account has really made our lives easier and more interesting.

           

Essay#2- Living in a Rural Area to Living in the City (Comparison and Contrast)

      What is the meaning of the word “rural?” According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, rural means connected with or like the countryside. It can be clearly seen that city means the opposite of rural. Many of us now stay in the city rather than the rural areas mainly because of the job opportunities provided in the city. However, there are many advantages living in a rural area rather than in the city. While most of us settle down in the city, they are still some who are still living at the countryside. There are clearly many differences of living in a rural area to living in the city.

      One of the differences is there are more facilities in the city. For example, there are many shopping malls of different sizes in the city compared to the rural area. There are also more gymnasiums and sports centre in the city. People are encouraged to go to the gymnasium despite their hectic lifestyle in the city. In rural areas, there are fewer facilities like shopping malls, cinemas and gymnasiums. The people living in a rural area are not exposed to the modernization and the lifestyle led by city dwellers.

      Besides that, the cost of living in the city is very different from the one in the city. For instance, in the city, one has to provide a large sum of money to buy houses or even to eat simple meals bought outside whereas in a rural area, the cost of living is much lower. In a rural area, we can just buy a meal with a low price. Those living in a rural area do not usually need to spend much for their expenditures. In most of the restaurants in the city, tax and customer service is charged unlike in a rural area. Therefore, the facilities and convenience provided  in the city, one must in return pay back according to the lifestyle they lead.

      Furthermore, the air is cleaner and fresher in a rural area compared to a city. This is because there are more trees and greens found there. In the city, on the other hand, has countless of skyscrapers and less trees are present. This in turn causes the air to be dirty and crisis and air pollution and hot weather tend to happen unlike in the rural area. One is less stress and more relaxed in a rural area due to the absence of road congestion caused by too many cars. In the city, there is constantly traffic jam which cause drivers to feel stressed out. It causes the city dwellers to lead a life without happiness and satisfaction.

      To conclude, there are certainly many differences of living in a rural area to living in the city. Living in a rural area clearly has more advantages compared to living in the city. However, it is based on an individual’s preference whether living in a rural area is better or living in the city. 

Essay #3- Smartphone Addiction (Problem- Solution)

     The enormous growth in the use of smartphones has led to radical changes of the phone world. Nowadays, people all around the world has at least two smartphones in a family. It has become a norm to own a smartphone because of the convenience it brings. By owning a smartphone, one can have access to a wide range of information around the world. Besides that, smartphone enables users to connect with the people from all over the world with just a touch or click away by using social media like whatsapp, weChat and kakao talk. Therefore, most of us are addicted to our smartphones. Having a smartphone has drawbacks and problems. Nevertheless, there are solutions to these problems.

      One of the problems is the ease of users to access social networks applications like wechat where one might have the risk of being in contact with people of bad intention. For example, the person might chat with you and ask to meet up in a certain place. That may be harmful to the user if the person has bad intention. Therefore, the user might be in danger for meeting up with he or she. Another major problem is the easy accessibility of information and sites. This may result in the addiction of smartphones and eventually cause the deterioration of work performance in schools or at workplace. They will not be able to concentrate during work and school hours because of constantly checking and looking at their smartphone. They are basically glued to them.

      However, there are ways to overcome this problem. One of it is governments should ensure that smartphone addictions do not occur in the country by implementing rules and restricting time to use their smartphones. The government can also carry out campaigns and activities to curb smartphone addiction.Moreover, parents play an important role too. They should set a rule about when to use the smartphone. That way, their children will be able to use less smartphone and thus, are able to do better at school. Mass media, on the other hand should not encourage the usage of smartphones in anywhere. Advertisements can be put up in television to share about the drawbacks of having a smartphone. In doing so, the public will be aware of the disadvantages and dark side of owning a smartphone.

     

     In conclusion, although having a smartphone has many benefits, it also has drawbacks that cannot be ignored. As we know, having a smartphone is inviting new problems into an individual’s life. Therefore, all of us play an important role in curbing smartphone addictions in this country. All the measures mentioned above are necessary to avoid having smartphone addictions.

Essay #4-Why Do people Keep Pets (Cause and Effect)

     What are pets? Pets are animals that human beings care for. There are many different types of animals that people keep as pets. However, the common types of animals that we rear are cats and dogs. My mother once told me a story of a boy and his dog. She told me of how the boy took care of the sick puppy he found by the roadside. He would feed it after coming home from school every day. Finally, after persuading and pestering his mum, he was allowed to keep the dog. To cut the long story short, the dog died after ten years due to cancer. The boy was devastated but as time passed, he was able to accept it. He knows that his dog is irreplaceable but instead he is training other dogs from all over the world now. He was called a dog whisperer back then. I soon found out that she was talking about my father.

      There are many reasons why people keep pets. One cause is pets act as a good companion for men. For instance, when you feel lonely, you know that there is someone or something right there beside you. Pets especially dogs are loyal animals. They will not forsake or leave your side unless you tell them too. Dogs will look into your eyes with such loving eyes that all your troubles seem to fade away when you look into them. Even when you scold them, they will still come back to you. As the saying goes “dogs are men’s best friend.”

      Besides that, keeping pets can relieve stress. Nowadays, we are very busy with our personal affairs like work, school and assignments. That is why pets are here to relieve stress. Studies have shown that having pets reduce the risk of getting depression. Pets like dogs need exercise . We can even take them for walks around the park. The pet owners will be healthier by exercising with their pets too. When the pet owners take their dogs for walks, they will also be meeting other pet owners. So, this will benefit both the pets and the owners. It is a win win situation for the pets and owners.

      Furthermore, keeping pets require us to be responsible. We can see that many parents allow their children to have pets in order to teach them how to be responsible. By keeping pets, we are actually caring for another living thing. We have to feed and clean them. Pets also need love besides food and shelter. In having pets, we become more loving and responsible not only towards animals but also towards other people.

      In conclusion, it is very obvious that there are many reasons why people keep pets. Animals will love you unconditionally unlike some human beings. They will not judge or discriminate you based on your looks whether you are fat, ugly, short or tall. They accept you just the way you are. Some of them think that having pets is enough to make them happy. They are able to talk and share their problems or worries tot heir pets. Pets will listen and not be judgmental. That alone is a  true act of love that human beings fail to do. Orhan Pamuk once said that “dogs do speak but only to those who know how to listen.”