Image retrieved from http://bottom-of-the-glass.blogspot.com/2010/04/bitter-end.html
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Thanks~
Finally, I would like to grab this opportunity to express my gratitude to all who have helped me throughout this course.
I would like to thank our course coordinator, Dr. Stit Fatimah Mohd. Yassin, for guiding us along the way. Her willingness to sacrifice her valuable time on us, despite her busy schedule. Thank you.
I would also like to thank our course lecturer, Mr. Fariduddin for his concern and care. His undivided attention and advice has help us through all the hardships. Thank you.
To my highly committed partner, Ting Suk Hua. Together we figure out solutions to problems, and finally managed to go through all challenges we encountered. I whole-heartedly appreciate her efforts. Thank you.
To all course mates who helped me when I have problems which I do not understand. Their selflessness in providing helpful information is something that I would always remember in heart. Thank you.
I would have not finished all the assignments in time without the support of my family who has always been there for me whenever I need them, the love and encouragement they give are important sources of motivation that keep me going. Thank you.
I would like to thank our course coordinator, Dr. Stit Fatimah Mohd. Yassin, for guiding us along the way. Her willingness to sacrifice her valuable time on us, despite her busy schedule. Thank you.
I would also like to thank our course lecturer, Mr. Fariduddin for his concern and care. His undivided attention and advice has help us through all the hardships. Thank you.
To my highly committed partner, Ting Suk Hua. Together we figure out solutions to problems, and finally managed to go through all challenges we encountered. I whole-heartedly appreciate her efforts. Thank you.
To all course mates who helped me when I have problems which I do not understand. Their selflessness in providing helpful information is something that I would always remember in heart. Thank you.
I would have not finished all the assignments in time without the support of my family who has always been there for me whenever I need them, the love and encouragement they give are important sources of motivation that keep me going. Thank you.
Once again, thank you. =P
CHONG XIN TXIN
B. Ed TESL IPGKS-UKM
GGGE1155
Computer in Education
Faculty of Education
Tel: 0198759717
E-mail: cxintxin@rocketmail,com / cxintxin@gmail.com
Yahoo!Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/XinTxin_A135741/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/cxintxin
Thursday 18 August 2011
Reflection (Week 7)
Time flies. In just a glimpse, we have come to the final week of our short semester. Our last two assignments will be Assignment 8a and 8b: Spreadsheet and Assignment 9: Database. This time we are going to explore about the use of OfficeOfice Calc and OpenOffice Base.
First of all, in Assignment 8a, by using Calc, we are required to create a monthly financial record, which can be used to record our monthly income and expenses. The balance for each month must be linked to the next month and added to the new balance. To link the balance, we must first copy the amount > Paste Special it in the next worksheet (where you are going to calculate your new balance) > Select link and add. Since I personally keep a record of my daily expenses using Excel, it did not cause me much problem in this particular assignment.
While in Assignment 8b, we are to create a record for students' scores. This skill is very important especially for teachers who need to keep a record of our students' examination results. By using Calc also, we can analyse our data and come up with statistics from the scores recorded. Teachers who mastered the use of Excel would be able to prevent loss of time as all calculations can be done automatically by inserting the correct formulae.
Finally, it is Assignment 9. We learnt to create a database to record students' details on their name, parents' information, curriculum and co-curriculum activities.
Xin Txin
First of all, in Assignment 8a, by using Calc, we are required to create a monthly financial record, which can be used to record our monthly income and expenses. The balance for each month must be linked to the next month and added to the new balance. To link the balance, we must first copy the amount > Paste Special it in the next worksheet (where you are going to calculate your new balance) > Select link and add. Since I personally keep a record of my daily expenses using Excel, it did not cause me much problem in this particular assignment.
While in Assignment 8b, we are to create a record for students' scores. This skill is very important especially for teachers who need to keep a record of our students' examination results. By using Calc also, we can analyse our data and come up with statistics from the scores recorded. Teachers who mastered the use of Excel would be able to prevent loss of time as all calculations can be done automatically by inserting the correct formulae.
Finally, it is Assignment 9. We learnt to create a database to record students' details on their name, parents' information, curriculum and co-curriculum activities.
Xin Txin
Friday 12 August 2011
Reflection (Week 6)
Reaching the sixth week of our course, we will be working on Assignment 7a and 7b: Presentation Skills. In this assignment, we are required to prepare a presentation kit on our topic "Original and Licensing Software" using OpenOffice Impress. For my previous experience, I have always used Microsoft Office Powerpoint. Hence, it would not be a problem for me to use Powerpoint to create a presentation kit. However, our assignment's requirement stated that we should be using Impress instead, to create the presentation. I have never used Impress to create a presentation before. Hence, it will be something new to explore on.
It is indeed time-consuming for us to create a presentation using Impress. Eventhough both Powerpoint and Impress share a large amount of similar features, the organisation of icons and certain functions are different. Thus, it takes time for to explore functions by functions. Besides inserting the content of our presentation, we created hyperlink in between slides for the convenient use of users.
It is indeed time-consuming for us to create a presentation using Impress. Eventhough both Powerpoint and Impress share a large amount of similar features, the organisation of icons and certain functions are different. Thus, it takes time for to explore functions by functions. Besides inserting the content of our presentation, we created hyperlink in between slides for the convenient use of users.
Assignment 7a involves creating a presentation kit while assignment 7b requires us to add on multimedia materials into out slides of presentation. Therefore, we moved on our next task that is to create an authentic video clip. We created our video clip using Window Movie Maker, where we edited the flow of pictures and to match our background music with our video presentation. Before we put them together in one piece, pictures are edited in combined using Paint while the background music for the clip is cut and recombined using Audacity. To do so, I downloaded the software Audacity. After I finished editing the music, only then I found that it cannot be saved as MP3 file. I consulted Mr. Fariduddin with my problem and he told me that I will need to download another converter to export the file from Audacity to MP3 files. I googled for the type of converter needed. It is LAME MP3 Encoder. I appreciated my coursemate, Vanessa Cordilia, who kindly helped me out with the search. After continuous attempt, everything turned out fine and I was able to continue with my work.
In the video, we did a mini interview regarding our topic of discussion with some of the teacher trainees from IPG Kampus Sarawak. Unluckily, it was raining the day when we did our recording. The sound of the rain interferes with our voices, thus causing the recording to be unclear. Besides that, there was not much problem in the process of creating. The video was later being inserted to the presentation in Impress. The file is uploaded to google doc.
Xin Txin
Sunday 7 August 2011
Reflection (Week 5)
Moving on to Assignment 6a and 6b this week, we were required to create a brochure using Microsoft Publisher (Assignment 6a) and a booklet using Microsoft Word (Assignment 6b).
In order to create a brochure using MS Publisher, go to Publisher > Brochure > Template Design > Create. A brochure outline was shown for further editing. We inserted pictures which we created earlier on using Paint. At the same time, we also added in suitable text to our brochure. Pictures and texts were organised in a desired presentable manner. Eventually, we have problems editing pictures using photoshop, thus we chose to use paint instead. It really took time for us to explore and edit for our most desired pictures which were appropriate for our brochure. Our brochure concentrated on the idea to promote original software. Therefore, the content of our brochure was about a campaign organised to promote the use of original software in Malaysia. To view our brochure, please click here.
The next task was to create a booklet using book fold in MS Word. Through this particular task, we found out that it was easier to insert and edit the location of pictures by using text boxes. Like creating brochure, we added in pictures and texts to design our booklet. Our booklet contained 9 pages altogether. It was basically a summary of our literature review in Assignment 4 related to original licensed software and pirated software. We did not have much trouble upon completing our booklet as we were used to the features in MS Word. Our booklet looks like this.
Xin Txin
In order to create a brochure using MS Publisher, go to Publisher > Brochure > Template Design > Create. A brochure outline was shown for further editing. We inserted pictures which we created earlier on using Paint. At the same time, we also added in suitable text to our brochure. Pictures and texts were organised in a desired presentable manner. Eventually, we have problems editing pictures using photoshop, thus we chose to use paint instead. It really took time for us to explore and edit for our most desired pictures which were appropriate for our brochure. Our brochure concentrated on the idea to promote original software. Therefore, the content of our brochure was about a campaign organised to promote the use of original software in Malaysia. To view our brochure, please click here.
The next task was to create a booklet using book fold in MS Word. Through this particular task, we found out that it was easier to insert and edit the location of pictures by using text boxes. Like creating brochure, we added in pictures and texts to design our booklet. Our booklet contained 9 pages altogether. It was basically a summary of our literature review in Assignment 4 related to original licensed software and pirated software. We did not have much trouble upon completing our booklet as we were used to the features in MS Word. Our booklet looks like this.
Xin Txin
Saturday 6 August 2011
Reflection (Week 3b & 4)
Basically, this week we will be learning about surveys and how to analyse data using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software in Assignment 5. Tasks in Assignment 5:-
When the form was ready, we need to have at least 10 respondents for us to come up with the analysis. Hence, we urged fellow coursemates (teacher trainees from both IPG KS and IPG KDRI) to answer the survey forms via e-mail and facebook. Only then we were able to proceed to our next task which was to analyse data using SPSS. There was a problem that we encountered upon completing the task. Not everyone of our coursemates cooperate in completing the survey sheets. Thus, this affected the pace of our assignment. Luckily, we managed to obtain 16 different response from various respondents to start our analyis and interpretation of data.
Before I started to use SPSS, I downloaded it before hand. However, the download was a failure. I was not sure with the cause of the problem, but the files just cannot be downloaded to my laptop, no matter how hard I tried. Thanks to Mr. Fariduddin who passed around a soft copy of the software for us to have a copy of it. The SPSS software from Mr. Fariduddin is a version of SPSS 14.0. Window 7 in my laptop seemed to be incompatible with some of the functions of the software. Hence, some features of my window was forced to be changed in order to suit the SPSS software. Anyhow, the software worked properly without causing much trouble afterwards. As SPSS was a total stranger software to me, I was quite lost when I first handle it. Once again, I really appreciated our course lecturer's help by guiding me through all the problem I faced.
In order to analyse the results from the survey we conducted, we would have to first download the data from google docs. Following are the steps to analyse data using SPSS:-
Xin Txin
- Create survey forms using SurneyMonkey (Pilot Test) - 10 Questions and Google Docs - 30 Questions
- Using SPSS, analyse the results obtained from the surveys.
- Write a report in journal article form which include:
- Title
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Literature Review
- Research Approach
- Finding
- Discussion
- Recommendation and Conclusion
When the form was ready, we need to have at least 10 respondents for us to come up with the analysis. Hence, we urged fellow coursemates (teacher trainees from both IPG KS and IPG KDRI) to answer the survey forms via e-mail and facebook. Only then we were able to proceed to our next task which was to analyse data using SPSS. There was a problem that we encountered upon completing the task. Not everyone of our coursemates cooperate in completing the survey sheets. Thus, this affected the pace of our assignment. Luckily, we managed to obtain 16 different response from various respondents to start our analyis and interpretation of data.
Before I started to use SPSS, I downloaded it before hand. However, the download was a failure. I was not sure with the cause of the problem, but the files just cannot be downloaded to my laptop, no matter how hard I tried. Thanks to Mr. Fariduddin who passed around a soft copy of the software for us to have a copy of it. The SPSS software from Mr. Fariduddin is a version of SPSS 14.0. Window 7 in my laptop seemed to be incompatible with some of the functions of the software. Hence, some features of my window was forced to be changed in order to suit the SPSS software. Anyhow, the software worked properly without causing much trouble afterwards. As SPSS was a total stranger software to me, I was quite lost when I first handle it. Once again, I really appreciated our course lecturer's help by guiding me through all the problem I faced.
In order to analyse the results from the survey we conducted, we would have to first download the data from google docs. Following are the steps to analyse data using SPSS:-
- Go to google doc where the survey spreadsheet is created.
- Download it as excel.
- Save the file.
- Open SPSS.
- In SPSS, go to File > Import "Data".
- Choose the file saved in excel previously. Variables are being copied.
- Change all the variables to codes as SPSS is unable to read words. For example, for YES/NO questions which consisted of only 2 choices, the 1st choice will be 0 and 2nd will be 1.
- As for multiple questions which as 3 choices or more, the 1st choice will be 1, 2nd is 2, 3rd is 3 and so on.
- Data in scales need not to be changed as it is already in numbers.
Xin Txin
Monday 25 July 2011
Reflection (Week 3a)
This week we moved on to our 4th Assignment (Literature Review using online materials) on the THINK, PAIR, SHARE activity. This assignment is related to the topic for assignment 1 -- Original and Licensing Software. Following are the guidelines to complete the assignment:-
From this activity, I have learnt to search for reliable online materials from google scholar, google books and the UKM online library. Materials are available in various forms of articles, reports and journals. Before this, I only used google search most of the time instead of going for more choices of articles from google scholar, google books and the online library. When we first registered ourselves for the degree program, we are informed about the use of UKM's online library. However, we are not provided with the username and password. We tried with our student ID and the password given for SMPWeb but it was not accepted. Finally, I can now have access to it with the username and password provided by our course coordinator, and I find it extremely useful as there are numerous types of journals and articles of various courses can be used as references. Online library enables self-learning and encourages people to become independent learners through reading.
I read and picked up some relevent sources as my references. Later, my partner and I came up with a report about our findings on the issues of original licensed software and software piracy in Malaysia. This time, we are required to use OpenOffice, an open source software to write our report. Before writing, I downloaded OpenOffice 3.3 software from its official website http://www.openoffice.org/. It took me few minutes to finish downloading and to install as well. After that, I started to work on our report. I found it almost the same as Microsoft Office except for certain features. Since some may not be able to afford the licensed Microsoft Office, they can consider using OpenOffice as an alternative instead. The software is free after all. OpenOffice is not only available for text documents but also others such as spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database, etc.
By the end of this week, I was able to produce a critical report on Issues on Original Licensed Software and Software Piracy in Malaysia with proper citation. With these further readings from various journals changed my previous thoughts on the issues concerned. I began to see both perspectives from different authors. Looking forward for further explorations in Computer in Education. =)
Xin Txin
- Literature Review:
- Online material: Plan, search, evaluate and select 2 journal articles from UKM subscription research databases; 1 article from google scholar; 1 books.google.com.
- Topic related to Assignment 1.
- Using OpenOffice Writer, write a report on what should be done in Malaysia (identify the research problem).
- The report should cite the references you use to support your argument.
From this activity, I have learnt to search for reliable online materials from google scholar, google books and the UKM online library. Materials are available in various forms of articles, reports and journals. Before this, I only used google search most of the time instead of going for more choices of articles from google scholar, google books and the online library. When we first registered ourselves for the degree program, we are informed about the use of UKM's online library. However, we are not provided with the username and password. We tried with our student ID and the password given for SMPWeb but it was not accepted. Finally, I can now have access to it with the username and password provided by our course coordinator, and I find it extremely useful as there are numerous types of journals and articles of various courses can be used as references. Online library enables self-learning and encourages people to become independent learners through reading.
I read and picked up some relevent sources as my references. Later, my partner and I came up with a report about our findings on the issues of original licensed software and software piracy in Malaysia. This time, we are required to use OpenOffice, an open source software to write our report. Before writing, I downloaded OpenOffice 3.3 software from its official website http://www.openoffice.org/. It took me few minutes to finish downloading and to install as well. After that, I started to work on our report. I found it almost the same as Microsoft Office except for certain features. Since some may not be able to afford the licensed Microsoft Office, they can consider using OpenOffice as an alternative instead. The software is free after all. OpenOffice is not only available for text documents but also others such as spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, database, etc.
By the end of this week, I was able to produce a critical report on Issues on Original Licensed Software and Software Piracy in Malaysia with proper citation. With these further readings from various journals changed my previous thoughts on the issues concerned. I began to see both perspectives from different authors. Looking forward for further explorations in Computer in Education. =)
Xin Txin
Original Licensed Software and Software Piracy
A Report on the Issues of Original Licensed Software and Software Piracy in Malaysia
By: Chong Xin Txin & Ting Suk Hua
Moving towards the computer era, the use of technology becomes a necessity and it is inevitable in our everyday lives. As a result, the worldwide use of software increases as well. In fact, software is divided into three major types: original licensed software, open source software and pirated software. In this report, we are going to concentrate more on original licensed software and pirated software in Malaysia context.
Software is an immaterial property created by an individual or a company. Hence, laws are implemented in certain countries to protect the owners’ rights towards the original software they created. It is known as the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). For example, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are international organizations that enforce laws to protect copyrights of original software against pirates.
However, due to the different cultures and believes between countries, not all countries agree to oblige to the Western versions of IPRs which are mostly practiced by the First World countries. Countries such as Brazil, China and other Second World countries have tried to oppose the enforcement of foreign IPRs as they consider acknowledging foreign IPRs as being detrimental to their own development (Kai K, Kimppa, 2005). On the other hand, societies in the developing countries, see the need to spread innovations in the society as being more important than granting IPRs (Steidlmeier, 1993; Spinello, 1995). For instance, Malaysia sees the importance for society to override IPR holders' rights in certain situation. Thus, pirated software are allowed in Malaysia to encourage the general use of computer and also for educational purposes in the year 2002 (Weckert and Al-Saggaf, 2003). Even though conflicts exist among countries regarding the issue of IPR, we should respect whatever method that is chosen by the countries.
However, policy changes with time. Recently, on February 15, 2011 Malaysia has come up with a 2011 Special Report on Copyright Protection and Enforcement for the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA). In other words, our country Malaysia, has risen her concern towards the issue of copyright and piracy with the development of technology. Software piracy has thus, become a popular issue of discussion. Yet, it is a complicated problem for the government to curb. For instance, in 2006, about 61% of the computer software used by Malaysians are pirated software. Malaysia has among the highest piracy rates in the world and has been listed on the United State Trade Representative's watch list. The government is trying to reduce the percentage of pirated software used by implementing different initiatives.
Gan and Koh and Van Belle, Macdonald and Wilson suggested that piracy is highest among young people especially of those who are studying in universities (Linda Spark, 2010). These students do not have affordable income to support them with the use of their desired licensed software, yet they often have the knowledge and tools to pirate them. From the survey suggested by Gan and Koh and Van Belle, Macdonald and Wilson, we may therefore place our target on universities' students to carry out our effort to reduce piracy in Malaysia. When considering about the ways to overcome, we will need to understand the reasons why computer users tend to use pirated software rather than the original licensed ones.
First of all, original and licensed software are usually expensive. For example, Window 7 Ultimate cost RM655. Even Window 7 Home Basic, which is the cheapest among all, cost a minimum of RM279. This is not a price which is reasonable and affordable for all computer users, especially for young users. Young users such as teenagers and young adults will not be able to afford a few hundreds just to buy an original and licensed software. Unlike original licensed software, pirated software is free. Since pirated software has the same features and functions as original licensed software, computer users think that it is unnecessary to spend a large amount of money on original software.
Most importantly, pirated software is much easier to obtain when compared to original and licensed software. Pirated software is always available online for free download. It is also available from computer shops when one requests for the reformatting of laptop with pirated software.
As long as there is a demand there is always a supply. Hence, in order to encourage Malaysians to use original licensed software, the government may consider subsidizing it. For instance, the government can provide a 5% subsidy on original and licensing software. Not only that, the government has ongoingly cracking down shops which are involve in the sales of pirated software. For example, software and hardware retailers in Low Yat Plaza, KL and Digital Mall, Petaling Jaya no longer sell or install unlicensed software.
Another reason is that computer users are not aware of the consequences of using pirated software. Most of the computer users only know that software piracy is a crime in Malaysia. The lack of awareness leads to the ignorance of users, especially students. They have a misconception by believing that it is reasonable to pirate and also legal to make and distribute copies of software. Users do not seem to realize the severity of piracy. For example, “Under amended Malaysia Copyright Act 2003, the offenders who found guilty can be fined up to RM 25000 for each copy of illegal software seized and offenders can be jailed for up to 5 years.”(Malaysia Copyright Act 1987).
In this case, the government could increase the awareness among Malaysians through the emphasis of education on original and licensed software as well as the negative impacts of pirated software towards our nation and society. For example, computer users should be readily informed that installing pirated Window Vista or Window 7 usually causes users’ files to be corrupted once it is caught by the owner's company. Moreover, the use of original licensed software can be promoted through posters and campaigns around Malaysia. It is also an applicable way for the Ministry of Education to include certain topics regarding original and licensing software in the subject English for Science and Technology so that students are expose to these awareness at an earlier age.
The study by International Data Corporation (IDC) said that Malaysia could look forward to about new 2,600 jobs, approximately RM2.1 billion in economic growth and RM432 million more in tax revenues when its software piracy was reduced by half in 2011 (The Malaysian Life, 2008). Thus, by reducing software piracy is a way to kill two birds with one stone. The government should update national copyright laws and implement the World Intellectual Property obligation to achieve a desired result.
In conclusion, software piracy is a two-sided issue. Certain research indicated that piracy helps in the diffusion of software worldwide, which indirectly supports in the coping of technology for developing countries. It is for the good of the society. However, other research showed a totally contradicting idea. It is said that piracy restrains diffusion and also obstructs the growth of these developing countries as they tend to ignore the ethical value of respect. In our opinion, there is no absolute right or wrong on any side of this issue. It all depends on the views of different individuals. Some creators who are willing to share their software without payments, created open source software, where computer users are free to use, modify as well as modify the software. And because of this, three different software (original licensed software, open source software and pirated software) exist at the same time. Last but not least, regardless of the choices made by individuals, we have to respect them.
References:
Journal Articles from UKM subscription research databases
Kimppa, K. K. (2005). Socially Responsible International Intellectual Property Rights in Software and Other Digitally Distribute Material. IFIP International Federation for Information Processing, 2006, Volume 195, The Information Society: Emerging Landscapes, pg. 37-50.
Spark, L. (2010). The Demographic Factors Affecting University Students' Intention to Pirate Software. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology Volume 328, 2010, pg. 22-32.
Google Scholar
Gantz, J. F., Christiansen, C. A., Gillen, A. (October 2006). White Paper: The Risks of Obtaining and Using Pirated Software. Retrieved on July 17, 2011 from http://www.teksys.co.uk/teksys/events/IDCROCWhitepaper.pdf
Google Books
Rosen, L. (2005). Open Source Licensing: Software Freedom and Intellectual Property Law. Journal of High Technology Law. Retrieved on July 17, 2011 from http://books.google.com.my/books?id=HGokAQAAIAAJ&q=Open+Source+Licensing:+Software+Freedom+and+Intellectual+Property+Law+By+Lawrence+Rosen&dq=Open+Source+Licensing:+Software+Freedom+and+Intellectual+Property+Law+By+Lawrence+Rosen&hl=en&ei=MjMsToTtGcWHrAe856myDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA
Google Search
Malaysia Copyright Act 1987. (n.d.). Retrieved on July 18, 2011 from. http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/details.jsp?id=7603
Maayongiligan: Stop Using Pirated Software. (May, 2011). Retrieved on July 17, 2011 from http://www.maayongiligan.com/2011/05/stop-using-pirated-software/
LiewCF Tech Blog: No Pirated Software in Low Yat Plaza. (March, 2007). Retrieved on July 18, 2011 from http://www.liewcf.com/no-pirated-software-in-low-yat-plaza-2827/
Managing Intellectual Property: Malaysia To Use Pirated Software In Schools. http://www.managingip.com/Article/1326885/Malaysia-to-use-pirated-software-in-schools.html
The Malaysian Life: No More Pirated Software. (February 15, 2008). Retrieved on July 18, 2011 from http://themalaysianlife.blogspot.com/2008/02/no-more-pirated-software.html
Thursday 21 July 2011
Reflection (Week 3)
Within this week, we are required to continue with another THINK, PAIR, SHARE activity on Assignment 1. The topic is about Learning Management System (LMS). From this activity, I gained more understanding about what LMS is and how it works. Basically, LMS is a set of software tools used to control and manage online learning, in other words, e-learning. It is able to keep track of learning efficiently. At the same time, evaluate learners' progress and also their performances on certain sectors. It is also commonly used by companies to train their employees.
In order to produce a critical essay on this particular topic, my pair and I read up for further information from available online materials. After we had individually read up, we sat down and discussed about our findings and jotted them down in point form. We exchanged ideas as well. Finally, we came up with a brief introduction of LMS and also compared the differences between Learning Management System (LMS) and Content Management System (CMS). Then, we are required to write a report using Google Doc. The list below shows tasks to be completed within this week:-
Everything goes on smoothly until our course coordinator, Dr. Siti Fatimah Mohd Yassin notifies me that my document is set to private and it is not shared among peers. Hence, I quickly check the setting of my google document and change it so that anyone with the link can see it. Another interesting thing about google document is that documents that are being shared can be viewed by members at the same time and users are notified for others' presence. Both parties can edit the text as well.
Looking back to the previous discussion topics on our Facebook accounts and groups which I have created as well as commented on, I find several issues worth reflecting. First of all, it is about the issue of e-learning and also to promote the use of ICT in Malaysia, especially for rural areas. Our discussion did touch about the inadequacy of facilities in schools, including the lack of funds to support technology based learning since we are still in the lack of these experts. How far can the government support to increase computer literacy in students?
I believe that to learn by exploring or through experimenting is more permanent and effective. Hence, students must be given enough exposure to ICT. Only that, they will be able to learn more easily. To let them learn, we have to start by creating a suitable environment for them. From my personal experience, I was quite a computer idiot. When I was in my school days, laptops were not as popular. Although I know the basic usage of computers, I only use it once in awhile when it comes to projects. I am considered lucky because at least ICT is not of total stranger to me. Until I walked into my tertiary education, when most of my time is spent with my laptop. I get to know it bit by bit, getting use of typing instead of writing, saving soft copies instead of handwritten hard copies, what to deal with viruses, how to install and uninstall software and so on. Until today, I cannot imagine my life without laptop and internet.
At the same time, technology can be quite troublesome when one does not know how to operate it. Problems such as documents not saved, files corrupted, etc arise. One will get frustrated and find it time-consuming. Still, I feel that we should grab this opportunity to improve so that we are equipped with the skills and knowlegde. Not to forget to keep on updating ourselves as well. Internet, the modern battlefield
Xin Txin
In order to produce a critical essay on this particular topic, my pair and I read up for further information from available online materials. After we had individually read up, we sat down and discussed about our findings and jotted them down in point form. We exchanged ideas as well. Finally, we came up with a brief introduction of LMS and also compared the differences between Learning Management System (LMS) and Content Management System (CMS). Then, we are required to write a report using Google Doc. The list below shows tasks to be completed within this week:-
- Using any search engine and study What, Why, Where, Who and hoW: of course / learning management.
- List the advantages of C/LMS.
- List the open souce software for C/LMS.
- Write a report using Google doc (use your google/gmail account to open http://docs.google.com/) and you can share with your peers, course lecturer and coordinator. The peers can give feedback.
- In google doc, save (download) the file as odt, pdf etc.
- Upload that file to your yahoogroups File.
Everything goes on smoothly until our course coordinator, Dr. Siti Fatimah Mohd Yassin notifies me that my document is set to private and it is not shared among peers. Hence, I quickly check the setting of my google document and change it so that anyone with the link can see it. Another interesting thing about google document is that documents that are being shared can be viewed by members at the same time and users are notified for others' presence. Both parties can edit the text as well.
Looking back to the previous discussion topics on our Facebook accounts and groups which I have created as well as commented on, I find several issues worth reflecting. First of all, it is about the issue of e-learning and also to promote the use of ICT in Malaysia, especially for rural areas. Our discussion did touch about the inadequacy of facilities in schools, including the lack of funds to support technology based learning since we are still in the lack of these experts. How far can the government support to increase computer literacy in students?
I believe that to learn by exploring or through experimenting is more permanent and effective. Hence, students must be given enough exposure to ICT. Only that, they will be able to learn more easily. To let them learn, we have to start by creating a suitable environment for them. From my personal experience, I was quite a computer idiot. When I was in my school days, laptops were not as popular. Although I know the basic usage of computers, I only use it once in awhile when it comes to projects. I am considered lucky because at least ICT is not of total stranger to me. Until I walked into my tertiary education, when most of my time is spent with my laptop. I get to know it bit by bit, getting use of typing instead of writing, saving soft copies instead of handwritten hard copies, what to deal with viruses, how to install and uninstall software and so on. Until today, I cannot imagine my life without laptop and internet.
At the same time, technology can be quite troublesome when one does not know how to operate it. Problems such as documents not saved, files corrupted, etc arise. One will get frustrated and find it time-consuming. Still, I feel that we should grab this opportunity to improve so that we are equipped with the skills and knowlegde. Not to forget to keep on updating ourselves as well. Internet, the modern battlefield
Xin Txin
Tuesday 19 July 2011
THINK, PAIR, SHARE (Learning Management System)
Learning Management System (LMS)
What?
Learning Management System can be defined as a set of software tools for delivering, tracking and managing online training and education. With a powerful Learning Management System (LMS), organisations can manage learning content effectively. Besides that, organisations can deliver learning contents to students and also track the progressing and performance of learners.
How?
Learning Management System distributes courses over the internet, offer features for online authoring, keep the record of learners automatically, registration of employees for classroom and online interactive courses. Several ways of learning can be carried out through Learning Management System. Examples of various ways to learn are Instructor-Led Training (ILT), e-Learning or online training, On-the Job-Training (OJT), discussion forums, video conferencing and virtual classrooms.
Where and When?
When learners enroll on a course under Learning Management System, there is no limitation for venue and time. It is web-based and practice anytime at anywhere learning process. In other words, regardless of the learners’ locations on the globe, the virtual classroom remains to be a meeting place where learning activities are carried out according to their own choice of time and pace of individual learners.
Why?
The virtual learning classroom is designed for the application of any of the known pedagogical approaches namely instructivist, constructivist and socio-constructivist pedagogical approaches.
Learning Management System is very popular among organisations because of its numeral advantages. With a powerful Learning Management System (LMS), organisations can efficiently manage the content of learning content and track the progress of learning without doing face-to-face interactions. Besides that, learning progress can be recorded automatically. Thus, educational institutions choose to use Learning Management Systems (LMS) as it does not only enhance or support classroom teaching but at the same time facilitate the distribution of courses to large learner populations across the world.
Open-source software for LMS
There are several open source softwares used in Learning Management System. These include:
· Moodle
· Saba
· Docent
· Ingenium
· Teamscape
What is the difference between Learning Management System and Content Management System?
People often get confused about Learning Management System and Content Management System. Below is a table showing the differences between LMS and CMS.
Content Management System (CMS) | Learning Management System (LMS) | |
Definition | Content Management System can be defined as a system which is basically designed to support educative or academic courses. | Learning Management System can be defined as a set of software tools for delivering, tracking and managing online training and education. |
Features/ Functions | · Online posting of course material · Learner assessment · Discussion forum · Communication · Allotment of lock boxes · Review of statistics | · Registration of learners · Tracking participation in courses · Testing · Conducting follow-up discussions · Transferring information to other systems including the HR and ERP · Fee processing and fee transfer among departments · Scheduling courses · Managing skills · Managing blended learning |
Drawbacks | · Less flexibility · Inefficiency in providing interactive e-learning · Inefficiency in testing and tracking | · Expensive · Rapid leapfrogs in technology · Customization problems. |
References:
(n.d.). Immedius Learning: What is a Learning Management System. Retrieved on July 14, 2011 from http://www.inmediuslearning.com/c_general/what_is_lms.html .
Shankar, V.(2007, February). CMS and LMS-A Comparison. Retrieved on July 17, 2011 from http://www.contentmanagementnews.com/contentmanagementnews-82-20070220CMSandLMSAComparison.html.
Ting Suk Hua
Monday 18 July 2011
Reflection (Week 2)
After we have registered ourselves into Yahoo!, Google and Facebook accounts, it is time for us to move on to THINK, PAIR, SHARE activity. I have chosen the 6th subtopic of discussion: Original and Licensing Software. The reason for me to choose this particular topic is to differentiate more distinctively between original and licensing software. Before this I am quite vague with the idea of both softwares. This THINK, PAIR, SHARE activity requires us to look for our own materials in order to gain more understanding before we proceed to our pair discussion on the same topic. Hence, I went to google search engine to look for suitable articles and journals as well. I read and started to build up a clearer view about both softwares.
Basically, to make a summary out of it, original software is the one created and designed by an individual or a company. Hence, they have the ownership of it as their intellectual property. As for users like us, we can choose to use either licensed software or pirated software. Licensed software is a copied version from the original software. It is legally distribute with the permission of the owner. On the other hand, pirated software is a version of the software which is not legally distributed, just like stealing. Thus, to conclude, the relationship is like below:
Original Software --- A person's property,
Licensed Software --- Permission is given to the user to use the
property of the owner.
Pirated Software --- To steal without permission or knowing
of the owner (theft)
I came across the issue of software piracy which generated me to think more critically. I later paired up with one of my coursemates, Ting Suk Hua to discuss on the topic that we shared. We have different views and opinions here and there. After a precise discussion with additional information found, we came out with a complete idea of original and licensing software (shown in the earlier post). Next, we produced a piece of writing on that particular topic so that it can be shared on facebook as document in my facebook group. Besides that, we were also to comment on others' essays posted on their group, which were related to other topics. By having an online discussion on facebook, we were able to learn more as we can listen to others' point of view toward a certain topic.
Throughout the process of carrying out this activity, I encountered several problems as well. Understanding could sometimes be hard when it came to professional terms which I was not familiar with. Matters became worse when the wireless in our campus was unavailable and my broadband was not working as it should be. My work was delayed since I was unable to go online in search for materials needed. One last thing that has became a problem is that our campus' wireless only allows facebook to be unblocked after office hour. However, regardless of these problems, I tried my best to catch up with my work and completed it as soon as I can,
Xin Txin
Basically, to make a summary out of it, original software is the one created and designed by an individual or a company. Hence, they have the ownership of it as their intellectual property. As for users like us, we can choose to use either licensed software or pirated software. Licensed software is a copied version from the original software. It is legally distribute with the permission of the owner. On the other hand, pirated software is a version of the software which is not legally distributed, just like stealing. Thus, to conclude, the relationship is like below:
Original Software --- A person's property,
Licensed Software --- Permission is given to the user to use the
property of the owner.
Pirated Software --- To steal without permission or knowing
of the owner (theft)
I came across the issue of software piracy which generated me to think more critically. I later paired up with one of my coursemates, Ting Suk Hua to discuss on the topic that we shared. We have different views and opinions here and there. After a precise discussion with additional information found, we came out with a complete idea of original and licensing software (shown in the earlier post). Next, we produced a piece of writing on that particular topic so that it can be shared on facebook as document in my facebook group. Besides that, we were also to comment on others' essays posted on their group, which were related to other topics. By having an online discussion on facebook, we were able to learn more as we can listen to others' point of view toward a certain topic.
Throughout the process of carrying out this activity, I encountered several problems as well. Understanding could sometimes be hard when it came to professional terms which I was not familiar with. Matters became worse when the wireless in our campus was unavailable and my broadband was not working as it should be. My work was delayed since I was unable to go online in search for materials needed. One last thing that has became a problem is that our campus' wireless only allows facebook to be unblocked after office hour. However, regardless of these problems, I tried my best to catch up with my work and completed it as soon as I can,
Xin Txin
Friday 15 July 2011
THINK, PAIR, SHARE (Original and Licensing Software)
Original Software
Original Software can be defined as a privately held company providing automatic software testing products and service (Wikipedia).
Examples of Original Software are Microsoft Office, Window Media Player, and Internet Explorer. In Malaysia, original software is not very popular among personal users. This is because we hardly get the original software for free and we need to pay for them. Personal users always download the pirated software from internet or get it from friends. Research shows that [ 25% of the Web sites we accessed are offering counterfeit product keys, pirate software, key generators or crack tools attempted to install either malicious or potentially unwanted software. ]1
However, business and company users prefer original software due to its effective and quality management of data. Besides that, original software has higher level of security compare to pirated software. Original Software can be also designed or modified according to company’s special needs.
Many of us may ask since we can get the same software for free, why must we purchase the original software? Since we are just personal users, why don’t we just download the pirated one? Actually, there are several benefits that we can gain from original software. First of all, unlike pirated software which can cause a lot of trouble to the users, original software offers a solution focused completely on the goal of effective quality management. For example, some computers may rebel towards pirated software and it results in the users’ files to be corrupted and so on.
Apart from that, Microsoft Original Software comes with the assurance that it will not inflicted by any virus. Also, original Microsoft Windows Vista comes in-built with a number of features that can prevent the misusing of internet. For example, parents can decide which website should be blocked from their children by just adjusting its setting. Besides that, restricted Internet Access Filters allow the user to specify the time and day that internet access is used. Another thing is that we should always remember, using pirated software is a kind of guilt and it is wrong from the aspect of moral and religion.
Licensed software
Have you ever come across advertisement which persuades users to buy certain software for certain functions such as Antivirus software? Or you have in some ways downloaded a software trial which is available only for a few days and required you to pay in order to continue using it? If your answer is yes, do you now own the software because you paid for it? The answer is simply a no.
As it is mentioned earlier on, original software is privately held by a company. In order words, the company owned the particular software. Even though we have paid for the software, we only paid for the right of using it but not owning it. The owner will still be holding the copyright. With this copyright, a software owner has the authority to legally sell, distribute, copy or change the content of the software. Hence, users need to comply with the terms and conditions in the licensing agreement, or EULA (End User Licensing Agreement) which they have agreed upon using the software. This agreement protects the original software owned personally by an individual or a company from being copied, sold or changed the original content of the software illegally. In short, certain rights towards manipulating the software are reserved by the software publisher for proprietary software, also called licensed software.
A dishonest act against the law of copyright in the world of software is known as piracy. This refers to the unauthorized duplication and use of the computer software (Webopedia, 2004). Software is considered as a kind of intellectual property and owners have the right to protect it from misusing. Thus, it is protected by copyright laws in most countries. How are software publishers going to prevent themselves from software piracy?
In fact, there is no way to completely prevent software piracy. It is an ever-present problem. The only way we can do is to minimize the occurrence of it. One of the ways to fight software piracy is to educate consumers by stating the negative effects of software piracy to the country and also globally. As software piracy brings a large impact to the software industry, it delays the on-going new development efforts and product improvements. As a result, it not only affects the industry financially but will also result in the short of technical experts. Besides that, we can also curb software piracy by implementing software protection schemes that increase software security.
Finally, users must always bear in mind that it is against the law to illegally obtain and use pirated software. Immoral users will end up in significant legal fines and consequences. Although pirated software is free, they often contain viruses, trojans and other kinds of malware which will attack the operating system and also cause files to be corrupted. This is because pirates habitually modify the files with malicious code. Hence, it is a reminder to all to stay away from pirated software.
In conclusion, the only difference between piracy and theft is the form of carrying out the crime. We should respect others' will of keeping the authority of distributing or altering the contents of the software to themselves. To all owners of software, always register yourself a copyright. This is because, registration of a copyright will allow you to track any damages when an intrusion occurs.
References:
Sep 1, 2010. Is Software Ownership the Same as Licensing? Retrieved on July 11, 2011 from http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2004/OwningSoftware.asp
(n.d.) Why You Should Copyright Your Software. Retrieved on July 11, 2011 from http://www.developer-resource.com/why-to-copyright-software.html
(n.d.) Software Piracy. Retrieved on July 11, 2011 from http://www.developer-resource.com/software-piracy.html
(n.d.) Preventing Software Piracy. Retrieved on July 11, 2011 from http:// www.developer-resource.com/preventing-software-piracy.html
Chong Xin Txin
Original Software can be defined as a privately held company providing automatic software testing products and service (Wikipedia).
Examples of Original Software are Microsoft Office, Window Media Player, and Internet Explorer. In Malaysia, original software is not very popular among personal users. This is because we hardly get the original software for free and we need to pay for them. Personal users always download the pirated software from internet or get it from friends. Research shows that [ 25% of the Web sites we accessed are offering counterfeit product keys, pirate software, key generators or crack tools attempted to install either malicious or potentially unwanted software. ]1
However, business and company users prefer original software due to its effective and quality management of data. Besides that, original software has higher level of security compare to pirated software. Original Software can be also designed or modified according to company’s special needs.
Many of us may ask since we can get the same software for free, why must we purchase the original software? Since we are just personal users, why don’t we just download the pirated one? Actually, there are several benefits that we can gain from original software. First of all, unlike pirated software which can cause a lot of trouble to the users, original software offers a solution focused completely on the goal of effective quality management. For example, some computers may rebel towards pirated software and it results in the users’ files to be corrupted and so on.
Apart from that, Microsoft Original Software comes with the assurance that it will not inflicted by any virus. Also, original Microsoft Windows Vista comes in-built with a number of features that can prevent the misusing of internet. For example, parents can decide which website should be blocked from their children by just adjusting its setting. Besides that, restricted Internet Access Filters allow the user to specify the time and day that internet access is used. Another thing is that we should always remember, using pirated software is a kind of guilt and it is wrong from the aspect of moral and religion.
Licensed software
Have you ever come across advertisement which persuades users to buy certain software for certain functions such as Antivirus software? Or you have in some ways downloaded a software trial which is available only for a few days and required you to pay in order to continue using it? If your answer is yes, do you now own the software because you paid for it? The answer is simply a no.
As it is mentioned earlier on, original software is privately held by a company. In order words, the company owned the particular software. Even though we have paid for the software, we only paid for the right of using it but not owning it. The owner will still be holding the copyright. With this copyright, a software owner has the authority to legally sell, distribute, copy or change the content of the software. Hence, users need to comply with the terms and conditions in the licensing agreement, or EULA (End User Licensing Agreement) which they have agreed upon using the software. This agreement protects the original software owned personally by an individual or a company from being copied, sold or changed the original content of the software illegally. In short, certain rights towards manipulating the software are reserved by the software publisher for proprietary software, also called licensed software.
A dishonest act against the law of copyright in the world of software is known as piracy. This refers to the unauthorized duplication and use of the computer software (Webopedia, 2004). Software is considered as a kind of intellectual property and owners have the right to protect it from misusing. Thus, it is protected by copyright laws in most countries. How are software publishers going to prevent themselves from software piracy?
In fact, there is no way to completely prevent software piracy. It is an ever-present problem. The only way we can do is to minimize the occurrence of it. One of the ways to fight software piracy is to educate consumers by stating the negative effects of software piracy to the country and also globally. As software piracy brings a large impact to the software industry, it delays the on-going new development efforts and product improvements. As a result, it not only affects the industry financially but will also result in the short of technical experts. Besides that, we can also curb software piracy by implementing software protection schemes that increase software security.
Finally, users must always bear in mind that it is against the law to illegally obtain and use pirated software. Immoral users will end up in significant legal fines and consequences. Although pirated software is free, they often contain viruses, trojans and other kinds of malware which will attack the operating system and also cause files to be corrupted. This is because pirates habitually modify the files with malicious code. Hence, it is a reminder to all to stay away from pirated software.
In conclusion, the only difference between piracy and theft is the form of carrying out the crime. We should respect others' will of keeping the authority of distributing or altering the contents of the software to themselves. To all owners of software, always register yourself a copyright. This is because, registration of a copyright will allow you to track any damages when an intrusion occurs.
References:
Sep 1, 2010. Is Software Ownership the Same as Licensing? Retrieved on July 11, 2011 from http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2004/OwningSoftware.asp
(n.d.) Why You Should Copyright Your Software. Retrieved on July 11, 2011 from http://www.developer-resource.com/why-to-copyright-software.html
(n.d.) Software Piracy. Retrieved on July 11, 2011 from http://www.developer-resource.com/software-piracy.html
(n.d.) Preventing Software Piracy. Retrieved on July 11, 2011 from http:// www.developer-resource.com/preventing-software-piracy.html
Chong Xin Txin
Ting Suk Hua
Friday 8 July 2011
Reflection (Week 1)
In just one week time, I gained a lot of new knowledge about Yahoo! account, Google account, Facebook and Blog as well. Before this, I have none of the above accounts since I am using hotmail as my only personal e-mail. Hence, by grabbing this opportunity, I get to know the process of registering for an official Yahoo! account, Google account, Facebook and Blog. I noted the process and has posted them on my earlier post in this blog.
Besides using these accounts as our e-mail addresses, the most important part of it is to share information online. With these agents, people are able to stay connected even though they are away from each other at different parts of the world. Files can be shared and discussion can also be held. These functions are commonly known as electronic group discussion. As it is required in the course GE1155 Computer in Education, I joined the course's Yahoogroups with my official Yahoo! account. This yahoo group benefits me from getting information and files regarding the course as my guideline to complete my task. In addition, it is also convenient to all especially to spread news among members. With only one e-mail sent, every member will receive it. Documents can be attached too.
Yahoo! is not the only place where you can create groups. Facebook, now a popular social network, enables it members to form groups too. It more or less carries the same function. However, Facebook differs from yahoo group in various ways. Yahoo! groups are meant for files in the form of documents, powerpoint or pdf but Facebook is more to instant messages and less on sharing of documents.
Finally, I learnt to create a blog by signing up using my Google account. I explore and slowly know how to post a new post, to customize the design of the blog and also to personalize some of the settings available in this blog. Blog is now commonly use for individuals to express their thoughts freely through words. Normally, a blogger will have a fix group of readers or so-called followers who are interested in their writings.
Nowadays, it has become a necessity for us to be tech savvy. At least, it is a must for us to know about the basics of Yahoo! and Google account in order to keep in touch with things that happen around us. Via internet is the fastest way to get news updated. To cope with the pace of the society, there is no other way but to learn their way of life.
Besides using these accounts as our e-mail addresses, the most important part of it is to share information online. With these agents, people are able to stay connected even though they are away from each other at different parts of the world. Files can be shared and discussion can also be held. These functions are commonly known as electronic group discussion. As it is required in the course GE1155 Computer in Education, I joined the course's Yahoogroups with my official Yahoo! account. This yahoo group benefits me from getting information and files regarding the course as my guideline to complete my task. In addition, it is also convenient to all especially to spread news among members. With only one e-mail sent, every member will receive it. Documents can be attached too.
Yahoo! is not the only place where you can create groups. Facebook, now a popular social network, enables it members to form groups too. It more or less carries the same function. However, Facebook differs from yahoo group in various ways. Yahoo! groups are meant for files in the form of documents, powerpoint or pdf but Facebook is more to instant messages and less on sharing of documents.
Finally, I learnt to create a blog by signing up using my Google account. I explore and slowly know how to post a new post, to customize the design of the blog and also to personalize some of the settings available in this blog. Blog is now commonly use for individuals to express their thoughts freely through words. Normally, a blogger will have a fix group of readers or so-called followers who are interested in their writings.
Nowadays, it has become a necessity for us to be tech savvy. At least, it is a must for us to know about the basics of Yahoo! and Google account in order to keep in touch with things that happen around us. Via internet is the fastest way to get news updated. To cope with the pace of the society, there is no other way but to learn their way of life.
CHONG XIN TXIN
B. Ed TESL IPGKS-UKM
GGGE1155 Computer in Education
Faculty of Education
Tel: 0198759717
E-mail: cxintxin@rocketmail,com / cxintxin@gmail.com
Yahoo!Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/XinTxin_A135741/
Facebook: http://facebook.com/cxintxin
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