Strange interest and capability

Often, we would stereotype a person as being interested in either science, or arts (humanities etc.). This is generally how we would look at people's interests or their inclination. Perhaps this is even more true for us in Malaysia due to our intense segregation of the fields of arts and science early in our high school education system. The divide is almost like the incompatibility between quantum physics and general relativity, or the ancient cities of Rome and Jerusalem. 

But strangely, I find myself interested in both science and history. I read books on the elegance of universe and at the same time magically drawn to ancient histories of civilizations long forgotten in the minds of the modern society, engulfed by the huge tidal waves of popular culture and post modernistic thinking. 

It made me think about what is the connection that links my interest to both science and history. Is there an element that connects these fields at a general level? I would think that I would dread to look at the mathematical equations needed to prove and understand all the scientific theories. I think I would dread learning mundanely, the vocabulary and grammar of ancient languages, although in this aspect, I think I will survive and evolve better than learning the arcane equations of mathematics. 

Or, perhaps, the human mind is capable of learning almost everything the human soul puts its energies to? Perhaps learning is more about the intensity or passion of the soul rather than the objectivity and logical reasoning of the mind. Perhaps, learning is utterly subjective in this sense. So, does it make sense to switch to the concepts of personal learning environment  (PLE) and open education. Is there a revolution at hand on the existing educational structures that have become mental barriers limiting our learning or interest to a stereotypical field of either arts or science?

Leaders really need to learn

I was reading the business section of a local newspaper which I seldom do, it dawned on me that perhaps one of the reasons why we are facing so much of bad results in our business or organization operations is because our leaders or decision makes do not listen to those who are below them. Perhaps this should not be generalized, but I think Asian leaders are more susceptible to this flaw because of our culture where respect is automatically given and demanded from once you are placed in the position of leadership. I am not saying that leaders should just do what is popular with the crowd, but they seriously need to learn how to listen to the feedback of those who are actually on the ground, be it their employees or customers. 

Game-based learning

Quite often, when I listen to presentations on game-based learning, it is touted as the magical and potent solution for learning innovation. I have never actually question this perception before until I started playing RPG games on Facebook. These games have a tendency to encourage you to gather and link up with other users of Facebook (most likely for the financial gains of the developers) to accomplish the missions or quests. I do not complain about this because I always keep the games from taking anything out of my pocket. ;-) I also like the idea of having a common interest which I can share with peoples from different countries and background. It's kind of like a virtual United Nations.

What I notice from the nature of the gamers is they have different tendencies and methods to solve any gaming tasks or issues they face. These methods and solutions are not much different from what we do when we learn or study for a course as a student. Some are generous and share in detail what they have learned to the point of preparing extensive manual guides to all other gamers. On the opposite end of the spectrum will be those who are quick to start a totally new forum just to get quick answers without even bothering to check whether the questions raised have already been answered by others in earlier forums. Therefore, the knowledge base generated for the benefit of all is not utilized. There are those like me who would take the time to look through the forums to check for possible answers and contribute in meagre ways what we know to the general audience and feeling satisfied and happy when we are given a praise or two.

On how the game is played, some will actually study the details and do the mathematics simply for the fun of learning about the game. These are usually the ones who would also be eager to share what they have learned. On the opposite, some are in it just for the rush of the moment, to complete all the missions and get the emotional high out of it. Knowledge about the game is not important, only the fun element is essential. Of course, sandwiched in between the two opposite ends would be the in betweens like me and many others.

This observation gives me an anecdotal conclusion that despite what is often said about game-based learning, the games do not actually dictate how the gamers will respond. The characteristics and tendencies of the gamers still play a large role on how they will learn from the process. Not doubt, gaming will enhance positive elements of learning but it can also do the same for the negatives. Getting the right mix and hoping for a correct response from the learners will still be an elusive solution that most of us in the educational field hope to achieve.

Resistance against new Facebook?

I am actually quite surprised by the negative reaction from a substantial group of people judging from the number of groups set up just to protest about the Facebook layout and features. Personally I find the new layout extremely practical and easy to use e.g. the ability to make comments to updates as you see it on your wall or in the news. I thought this is really a very quick and good way to directly communicate with the person who has just updated and posted something.

I love the new wall so much until I could no longer remember how the old wall looks like. It allows me to do sending, writing and sharing quickly and efficiently. It tempts me to rethink again why I need to keep my own blogs in another place when the wall itself can function as an effective replacement to my blogs. Writing this note itself feels like I am blogging already. I could easily syndicate feeds from my existing blogs and display them in this area. To me it is really great. The tabs are great too, both at the profile and home page. The location of bookmarks on the right side of the hompage personally works better for me than the old one. And the ease to configure my settings for each application is also great. The applications drop down menu has its strength and weaknesses but overall it works well with me.

So this brings me to think what could be the reason for so many Facebook addicts rejecting the new layout and features. I am contemplating one reason in particular. I am relatively new to Facebook which makes me less difficult to unlearn all the things which one would have picked up after using the old Facebook for sometime. Sometimes what we have learned can be so ingrained in us that we could find it very difficult and uncomfortable when asked to change, especially when we can have no say in the situation or decision making. Could this be the reason? It could be one of the many reasons I guess.

Short note on assessment

I was pondering over the concept of assessment for the last two days. The usual scenario when I was still lecturing was I would try to create final assessment which contained 'difficult and tricky' questions to determine whether the students are prepared to provide answers for something which they not learned directly from the classes. Now, since I am no longer teaching, I have the chance to rethink about this. Based on the literature that I have been reading, the question asked is "Is assessment meant to test what the students know or what they do not know?" I relate this to the purpose of learning or education. If learning is the focus of education, then we should be setting assessment that would test what the student have learned and not what they have not learned. Perhaps this is the reason why we are getting the so-called 'bell curve' for so many years. By doing so, we could actually be discriminating or excluding some students who might otherwise be perfectly all right to perform different vocations as adults in the employment market. Perhaps a better form of assessment would be projects and assignments compared to examinations. With the advent of e-portfolios, I think this can be a better choice.