Achievements in Masterplan

As aforementioned, the school has achieved administrative and pedagogical efficiency through the use of powerpoint presentations during lessons to students. There are also computer labs and this meets the Masterplan 1 where ICT made the school administration and educational management to be more efficient. It has also met some of the objectives of Masterplan 2 whereby there is sufficient penetration of ICT for students and teachers. Students and teachers are competent in the basic ICT tools like internet, email, word documents etc. In addition, teachers also use such tools in their teaching and assigning of homeworks. It has met Masterplan 3 whereby teachers have been able to deliver ICT enabled learning experiences for certain subjects and lessons (for e.g. Mother Tongue) Finally, the school infrastructure and IT support also makes ICT possible.

Thoughts on ICT

Why is it important for MOE to develop the three Masterplans for ICT?

This is essential because ICT is a powerful tool that helps teachers continue to provide the best quality education through improved efficiency and effectiveness in pedagogy and administration. ICT also empowers teachers to further improve our creativity in designing content and pedagogy for students and further our own learning goals.

Has any of the ICT impacted me as a student?

In NUS, webcasted lectures allowed me to catch up on lessons if I had to miss them due to sickness or other critical reasons. In addition, it allowed me to re-watch my lectures again, allowing me more time to understand certain concepts and gain a better understanding of content material. The use of videos and powerpoint slides were effective to the extent that they supported the teacher's role in teaching and not distracting us from the teacher's delivery of the lesson.

Based on my enhanced school experience, how would the Masterplan 3 affect me as a beginning teacher?

The vision of masterplan 3 in ICT is for both teachers and students to be learners, both individually and collaboratively, anywhere and everywhere. Therefore, as teachers, I will be using ICT to benefit myself as well as students through the online resources. In addition, I will also teach the students how to research for information themselves through the internet and library resources, in order to complete the assignments I give them. Finally, I can also incorporate blogging and the use of eportfolio as tools for charting each student's learning as well as myself. ICT will also be particularly useful for certain subjects such as Project Work in Junior College. I will also be wary of the dangers of ICT, whereby students may post unfavourable content on their blogs or social networking media.

How ICT is being used by school teachers in CHIJ Katong Convent

In CHIJ Katong Convent (KC), each classroom is equipped with an overhead projector, a computer with internet access, basic software such as microsoft office, a camera connected to projector for the use of transparencies or word document.

Both of my CT teachers made use of powerpoint slides to teach their students, sometimes showing videos or making use of applets to elucidate certain scientific concepts. For the Normal Technical students, the use of powerpoint presentation (PPT) and videos kept them engaged and entertained, while for the express students, the use of powerpoint slides made the delivery of content-heavy lessons faster and more efficient. For example, instead of writing notes or questions on the whiteboard, the use of PPT saved the teacher much time and were able to illustrate certain macroscopic representations of physical instruments such as the cathode ray tube in a secondary 4 physics lesson.

After lessons, a physics teacher communicated her assignments and requirements through a facebook group of students in her class. These students also submitted holiday assignments online to teachers in soft copy, making it easier for teachers to determine which student did not complete her assignment on time. Some assignments, such as multiple-choice questions could also be marked online instantaneously through use of programming, easing the teacher's workload in marking.

In addition, there was also a television screen in KC's school canteen, whereby important announcements are displayed to staff and students to futher remind everyone. This achieved goal 4 of the first masterplan, improving the efficiency of school administration and communication.

Reflections on ES2007S

ES2007S is a module unlike any other I've taken in this course. If a university education is about preparing ourself for the future workplace, then ES2007S has achieved far more than any other module-it has led me to venture further in communication and other essential skills that will be a boon for life.

Communication

I have been exposed to effective writing and speaking. In terms of writing, the 7Cs is a fundamental principle which I will base all my current and future writing on. In this respect, I have learnt to be more concise and clear in consideration for my audience-an aspect I may not have focused on sufficiently before. In my first blog post, when my sentences were too loaded and insufficiently clear, I thank Brad and my fellow classmates/friends for pointing it out, both online and in person.

Through the writing of a proposal, cover letter, group editing, presentations and mock interviews, I have learnt how to be more persuasive and effective, both orally and in writing. For example, I appreciate Brad for personally spending time to teach me how to choose my words carefully in crafting an effective cover letter, that it may more likely appeal and impress the reader without sounding pompous. Both Brad and my my fellow classmates/friends have also pointed out to me so many fine details about presentation skills that it is unlikely I will be able to learn all this on my own. In fact, the experience of preparing for a presentation, to be critiqued honestly and constructively may surpass years of experience of giving presentations, because the former both accounts for and empowers one to see our blind spot. Last but not least, without the experience and skills of an effective and engaging educator like Brad, the advantage of his well-structured lessons may not have been fully leveraged upon.

Interactions in Class

Lessons by Brad have been fun, stimulating and amidst the rowdiness of a motley group of students, a deeper camaraderie within my project group, the Dandelions(pun unexpected but intended), has blossomed. Once again, credit should be given to Brad because as a teacher, he delicately treads the line between creativity/freedom of expression and regimented/structured. In doing so, he has achieved a fine balance. I respect Brad for being flexible enough to allow the class to air their opinions but without overdoing so that his lesson objectives are not met. I also recognise that Brad leads the way in diligence and being proactive. No other lecturer at NUS has entertained me with as much personal anecdotes, email reminders and a palpable sense of enthusiasm about his/her module!

My classmates have also been incredible, and even with differing personalities and expectations, we have learnt to work effectively, take calculated risks, and compromise when needed. It should therefore come to no surprise why Brad's class is different. Part of it is Brad's effectiveness as an educator; part of it, perchance, is the uniqueness of the dynamics of this class.

Blogging

In blogging, I have gained valuable new perspectives and ideas. I reckon that the greatest advantage of this medium of communication lies in the meticulous and creative planning and crafting of thoughts and ideas. I remember Brad, wee boon and yongxin's blog as particularly insightful as they highlight to me interesting perspectives of daily life. Brad's writing nearly epitomises efficiency in writing. Among so many well-written blogs, I remember Brad's one as being concise, clear, coherent and above all, it remains a highly interesting read. A good yardstick of the effectiveness of any blog is this-my willingness to read the blogs of ES2007S even after the academic motivation of scoring a better grade for this module is over.

And yes, I will read, almost everyone of the blogs in my ES2007S class. In fact, it has already been bookmarked in my browser!

Thank you Brad for excellence in education, and to everyone else in ES2007S for this journey in learning tools of the trade in effective communication. The friendship of this class remains~the 'makan session on Facebook' ;)

[Edited (grammar)]

Impressions of my Oral Presentation

These are my views on the oral presentation on 1 Nov 2010:

In terms of preparation, I am really proud of my team's unity and perseverance. I recall countless online and physical meetings to edit the proposal, powerpoint presentation, and rehearsals. Some days we just had to grit our teeth and press on amidst all the lethargy, heavy workload or even sickness. In doing so, I felt we have done our part in preparing diligently for the oral presentation.

With regards to content, I feel that I have sufficient control of delivery over the content, but the act of memorising made it slightly less natural. Content was also delivered in a creative and interesting manner with the use of short stories to illustrate certain principles. On hindsight, I realise that memorising the content was not the wisest thing to do as it made me much more nervous on a whole.

On presentation effectiveness and style, my voice projection and pace was alright, I feel that I commanded the attention of my audience, however I could have done better by stepping up further in front a little and engage my audience a little more. One thing I noted was how nervous I was of forgetting my script, that my arms were literally locked and froze.

In terms of persuasiveness, I agree with Brad that we could have pitched our agenda clearer at the introduction. In terms of my part~implementation of plan, I have put in effort to explain the plan and also use stories to allow my audience to come to their conclusion, which is effectively persuading as well.

Thank you Brad indeed for spending so much time to critique and point out the areas we can improve on and thank you fellow audiences for giving comments so that we all can learn from each other.. =)

[EDITED to include Preparations]

How an intercultural communication taught me a lesson on life...

“The trouble with the rat race is even if you win it, you’re still a rat.”~Lily Tomlin

I recall an interesting discussion between my Malaysian friends and Singaporean ones in NUS, and what began as small talk proceeded to encompass discussions about life in Singapore, and a comparison of the education system here versus that of Malaysia’s. The mood was generally light-hearted with a sprinkling of jokes and heartfelt sharing and I did not sense any unsurpassable communication barrier between the malaysians and singaporeans. At first, it seemed that both cultures were either too similar or that the Malaysians were simply too well-acculturated in the Singaporean society

One of the Malaysians shared about how life in Yong Peng, a small village in Johor, was different from the larger, bustling metropolitan city like Singapore. She mentioned that life was simpler and of a slower pace, with entertainment centres like cinemas, shopping centres and arcades virtually non-existent. The high life and material pursuits were generally not sought after. Then, a Singaporean asked, albeit rather insensitively, if that was a boring and mundane existence compared to life in Singapore… I may not remember as vividly how the conversation proceeded thereafter, but what was shared had already struck a chord in my heart-the rat race. Is this how Singaporeans have become so different from Malaysians??

Like a rat in the maze,

The path before me lies,

And the pattern never alters

Until the rat dies

~Patterns(Simon and Garfunkel)

The Singaporean society is one that is brutally competitive and the education culture is generally extrinsically-motivated[1]. In that instance, I felt a sense of guilt and unease about my life, for in the process of striving for a greater material standard of living, I found myself short-changed for having sacrificed precious time that could have been used to forge stronger relationships[2] with family and friends. I have observed as society progressed, how teachers have gradually lost the authority they once had in schools, merely from the short span of time I was still a student to the recent experience from a teaching stint in other schools.

The conversations of many are centred around the cars we drive, the monthly paycheck we receive, and the restaurants we patronise. Men of presumably high moral or religious standing, TT Durai, Father Joachim Kang, Ming Yi have also been tainted by the lure of money.

All this time, our material standard of living has risen steadily, yet has this occurred at our moral/spiritual/relational standards of living?

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[1] Extrinsic motivation refers to external factors that drive the individual, rewards such as money, grades or coercion.

[2] “What makes us happy?” An article published in the Psychology section on a study of 268 men from Harvard university by George Vaillant examines this question. He concluded that lasting happiness is found in relationships-loving ones.

Mock Cover Letter for Job Application at IBN

Job Advertisement: Taken from http://www.ibn.a-star.edu.sg/careers_at_IBN_0.php?postype=research&grptype=Drug%20and%20Gene%20Delivery#Lab Officer/Senior Lab Officer (Biomaterials) :Drug and Gene Delivery

If you have a passion for innovation and the desire to be at the forefront of scientific research, send or email your curriculum vitae to the following address. Please include a cover letter and three references.

Professor Jackie Yi-Ru Ying
Executive Director
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
31 Biopolis Way
The Nanos, #04-01
Singapore 138669

Please send your CV to recruit@ibn.a-star.edu.sg

Lab Officer/Senior Lab Officer (Biomaterials)
Reference No. IBN190510/R/MK

Responsibilities
• Conduct biomaterial research using polymeric materials for drug delivery and tissue engineering

Requirements
• BSc/Msc degree in materials/polymer science, bioengineering or a relevant scientific discipline.
• Passion for conducting novel biomaterial research in a team.

Cover letter

Mr. Chiah You Sheng

77 Amarantine Drive

Singapore 246810

1 September 2010

Professor Jackie Yi-Ru Ying
Executive Director
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
31 Biopolis Way, The Nanos #04-01
Singapore 138669

Dear Prof. Ying,

I refer to the job application opportunity presented on the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) portal. I am currently a Year 4 chemistry undergraduate and I wish to apply for the position of a Lab Officer (Biomaterials) in the Drug and Gene Delivery group. I have deliberated at length, and I am certain that IBN is the organisation where I have both the desire and the ability to spearhead scientific innovations and technological breakthroughs, especially in the field of polymer chemistry and nanomaterials.

Foremost, I believe that in IBN I can contribute passionately to inter-disciplinary research that is more than mere fundamental curiousity, but one that has direct applications for commercial viability and the betterment of our society[1]. This desire has been cultivated since I was a youth, when I participated in co-curricular activities(CCAs) such as PRIMER[2], a Science Research Project in Temasek Junior College. In addition, my project in search on the genes responsible for myopia was awarded silver in the Singapore Youth Science Festival-Science for Enterprise 2004, which was jointly organized by (A*STAR) and the Bioinformatics Institute. I understand how IBN has consistently been spearheading research that bridges scientific discoveries to practical applications, such as the licensing of IBN’s Microkit to Dyamed Biotech Pte Ltd, and I eagerly anticipate the commercial products I can develop with the team of talented and passionate individuals at IBN.

Moreover, it is a well-established opinion that the working environment at IBN is a conducive, nurturing and vibrant environment for both budding and established research scientists. I have had the benefit of a first-hand working experience at IBN from a Youth Research Programme(YRP) stint in 2008 and I remember fondly the days of discussing research and learning valuable skills from my mentor Dr Khan[3]..He has been a great supervisor and this experience has bestowed me with a tenacious and diligent spirit for research, which allows me not to be easily discouraged even by the numerous experiments that go awry initially. In addition, the permanent, administrative staff and fellow interns are just as friendly, helpful and encouraging to me and many of us still keep in contact till today. Eventually, I was able to present a polymer with promising results(relatively high transfection efficiency) for gene delivery.

As a lab officer, I will do my best in research and support my superiors(the PIs) as well as other research staff in their research endeavours, bearing in mind how this warm and stimulating environment sustains productivity, which makes the numerous achievements and accolades of IBN possible. I will also encourage and share my expertise with the YRP interns.

I have also enclosed my resume for your perusal. Thank you for your careful consideration, as I await a positive reply.

Yours Sincerely,

Chiah You Sheng

Hp: 92980520

Email: cys86@nus.edu.sg

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[1] This is the main reason behind my decision of working for the Drug and Gene delivery team.

[2] Information on my project has been indexed on the google search engine and can be easily retrieved.

[3] Majad Khan, Drug and Gene delivery group