Once upon a time

After trying for quite some time on hidden objects games, I'm bored.
So I started reading again. Well, I definately read more than 2 books a year hehe.
I still remember clearly how hard it was to find decent books as we used to live in a kampung where the closest library was about an hour drive away. But once in two weeks, a 'mobile library' (perpustakaan bergerak) would come and I would borrow two books each time I went there.


There would be book rack on each side, opposite each other inside of the bus. The librarian would be sitting in front of the bus, watching us as we flipped through the books. There was a wooden stool at the back of the bus (just in case). I would went alone or sometimes with my bestfriend, Dalila.



I couldn't remember any favourite English books I borrowed from the mobile library as there were many children books mainly in Malay. Writers such as Khadijah Hashim, Usman Awang, Othman Puteh, Ghazali Ngah Azia, Aripin Said were very popular back then. I would borrow any Othman Puteh's storybooks at that time. He was my favourite writer. And he still is. I think I had borrowed some Enid Blyton's books and my parents bought me some too. And yes, I did borrowed the whole Ladybird's Easy to Read series. :D



These days, it is hard to find Malay children books from Malaysian big publishers such as Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP), Penerbitan Fajar Bakti Sdn Bhd and Utusan Sdn Bhd like they used to. Well at least, there are a whole new wide range of Malay children story books in bookstores now published by PTS, Blue-T Kids, Telaga Biru, Pelangi and many more.

And yes, I still very much into children books and young adults books. :)

None

Congratulations to SifuBestari aka Ahmad Kamil on winning the Educational Blog Competition. Hardwork paid off,kan?

And I've been enjoying life..I was so stressed out during ramadhan and raya, meeting datelines and sitting for an exam. So now I'm relaxed and play more games. I think I just sux at playing computer games because it's been 5 days and I'm still at Level 6. ugh. I've tried all DreamDay's games. I'm good at it haha.
So hey, do you think games will benefit school children? Or it is just a plain silly idea?

Art Education

It's hard to find a good Malaysian Art Educational learning website. Sorry to say, the Malaysian National Art Gallery's website is not much of a help. I simply was overwhelmed by its so-called services. There are links to non-existing websites. It's frustrating eventhough the layout design in good.

These links that I've pasted here are examples of how National Galleries contribute to the community especially students.

http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm

http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/index.html

http://www.moma.org/interactives/destination/

http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/smartkids/

CHANGE!! We need change!!

Online Courseware Development

I used to buy a thousand ringgit worth of multimedia courseware and I still use it in my lessons. Does it worth every penny I paid? Yes and No. Yes because my mother bought me the same courseware back in 1990 (VHS, baby), so I kindda have some emotional connection to that courseware. No because the enhanced and extended version that it offers compared to what I once had, was terrible. Now that we have broadband, Streamyx and stuffs, I want to download worksheets, share ideas with educators alike across the globe. But what I have is this 20 DVDs with books.

Liking the idea of an online courseware (suggested by our lecturer), I was hoping that I can develop one for Primary Art Education. I'm pretty much feel sorry for primary pupils, because some teachers are unable to see the importance of Art Education for pupils creativity.
You'd be blown away by Sir Ken Robinson's lecture.




Inspiring, isn't it?

As for my Online Courseware Development Project, I've link a file to my presentation slides that includes the syllabus for Pendidikan Seni Visual Tahun 4.
This courseware is a learning courseware (that means that it is for students) to learn the principles of art by playing online games...yes, games. Then, they can post pictures of their artwork, be one of the Sahabat Rimba members via Facebook, Friendster and Twitter, and get to know local artists such as Yusof Gajah, Awang Fadillah, Emilia Yusof and many more.


http://www.scribd.com/doc/20432156/MTM6013-Pendidikan-Seni-Visual-Tahun-4

'Menu Utama' page. 'Jom, buat!' page. 'Splash screen' page.

These are examples of the interface in the courseware. The 'Menu Utama' page displays the main menu of the courseware. The button will animate when selected. The 'Jom, buat!' page is where students play online games.This page in particular, students will have to select on the character that shows emphasis. Hints are provided.

Long Vacation

Assalaamualaikum and Selamat Hari Raya! Welcome back after the so called longggg vacation. I ate too much, but didn't gain a pound haha and work came right after me. I think I've got time management issues this semester which I hope will be over soon. I read journals and research on educational games and I played games to try some of the games out and I have planned an 'educational games tournament' between classes in my school. Well there's only 6 classes so..its easier to plan and arrange the tournament. Of course students are really drawn to this. This week is the first round of the tournament. I use 'Chuzzle' for Level 1 students and Oberon's 'DreamDay First Home' for Level 2.

So there's a slight chance that I play games too much throughout these weeks. hehe
I'm working on the development of an Art Education online learning courseware. It takes more time than I thought. See you guys in a few days.

Gambate kudasai!

My presentation slides on future classroom.

More educational games

Hehe more games for you and your students!

http://http://gameclassroom.com/