Week 5: Classrooms through the ages

In Singapore, secondary school students spend an average of eight hours in school. With so much time spent in school and such emphasis put on education, the classroom is perhaps one of the most important environments for a student.

As a result, our classrooms have evolved little by little over the ages. I wanted to know how different classrooms looked in the past compared to what we have now, so I googled "ancient classroom" and this image popped up.

"Parthenopaeus! Sit down, this is not drama class."

Ok, perhaps this is a little too far back. But this is probably what the first classrooms looked like- messy, overcrowded, cramped, but filled with dozens of students eager to learn from great teachers. However, there were no women or slaves in the classroom- most of the students were males of higher social class.

They used the good old paper and pencil style, though at that time it would have probably been scrolls and quills.

In the 1900s, we've got a more structured classroom system. Students used paper and pencils, and like before, education was mostly one-way. You sat at a classroom, listened to the teacher and shut up unless you had an important question. 

Fast forward to 2013, the developed world has been inching towards digital media for our learning. We're using computers, iPads and laptops for homework, discussions and note taking. We are now more interactive with the help of digital media.

Just 20 years ago, our learning style was closer to what we see in the 1900s than what we have now in 2013. There were hardly any powerpoint presentations, video making or typed assignments. Students most certainly didn't blog for 15% of their grade, like what we are doing now. 

"Maybe if I look serious enough they won't realize that I'm playing Angry Birds."

But we are also getting increasingly lazy. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen classmates take notes like this: 

"Go back to that slide! I was too busy slapping a filter on the previous one."

 Singapore, with our kiasu attitudes and eagerness to adopt futuristic methods, have also integrated a great number of digital methods of learning. I learnt to create my first powerpoint in Primary Four, which was really nothing more than slides filled with ridiculous WordArt. But it was a small step taken nonetheless. We also had sessions of computer class where we learnt to use interactive software or played educational games.

My first group discussion involved arguing over which WordArt was nicer- the purple one or the rainbow one.

My first taste of e-learning was in secondary school. My parents thought it would make me more tech savvy if I joined the new system where students bought tablet PCs for learning. We were supposed to use the tablet PCs in class in online classrooms.

The exact model of my first laptop- the Fujitsu tablet PC. Ah, the memories.

Here is where I think that digital media also has its disadvantages. Come to think of it, the period of time I had to use my tablet PC for classes in secondary one and two were not particularly beneficial for many reasons.

1) It all boils down to self-discipline and control. Even in my university days, it's common for me (and everyone else- admit it) to drift and occasionally check Facebook or Tumblr during lessons. What about a 13-year-old who has never had a personal computer in his or her life? During class, when we were supposed to be doing an assignment, the boys would play Gunbound or Warcraft and the girls would go on Photobucket to look at pictures of 5566 and SHE. There were 40 kids in a single class- it was nearly impossible for the teacher to control everyone.

2) We weren't given much tech support and we were pretty much tech noobs back then. Within 6 months of purchase, my own tablet PC was so infected with viruses and Trojans and worms that it took me half an hour just for the PC to boot up. 

3) As we used the tablet PC for only a few subjects, we still had to bring lots of other material for the other lessons. The laptop charger, stationery, textbooks, exercise books, notebooks and workbooks... It was like lugging a sack of rocks to and from school. 

4) There were many other more severe disciplinary matters that came with the misuse of the educational tool. Although we had strict rules not to play games on our tablet PC, many boys had so many games on their tablet that it was overly distracting for them. The boy who sat next to me was even caught for having pornography on his PC and his parents had to be called down to school.

***

But then again, e-learning is definitely beneficial if students are guided properly. Here's my list of what could have been done at my secondary school instead:

1) Let the teacher hook up everybody's tablet PCs to the teacher's so that he or she knows what is going on behind that screen. Should someone be interacting with monsters instead of math, the teacher could put that screen up in front for everyone to point at the offender and laugh.

2) This wasn't an option back then, but I guess using Macs should probably cause a little less problems with viruses and games as Macs support very little games. The tablet part isn't a worry- we didn't really use much of the tablet function, except to write nonsense on our screens and flash it across class to our friends. -_-

3) Save our spines by leaving the laptops in school. Have a mix of traditional teaching methods, so the students can take back hard copies of homework instead. It's less distracting as well. 

***

Now that digital media has already invaded the classroom space, what do you think we can do for the future? 

Right now, there's a fairly new mode of teaching- virtual classrooms. The students don't even need to be physically there, and instead, have an avatar substitute their presence. 

I think it looks like The Sims. we can probably even drown class bullies or annoying project group mates in the ladderless swimming pool like in that game. 

"I told you to send me the powerpoint by 12 pm."

That aside, I think that the virtual classroom, too, has both merits and disadvantages. It's convenient and we can even interact with students from all over the world. But there is also the lack of human contact and the fact that not everyone will be engaged in learning. The professor could be teaching but students could just "appear" to be there virtually. 

As such, I think that our future digital classroom should still have students appear physically in a classroom. I would hope that laptops be replaced with holographic images, not unlike what we've seen in Tony Stark's lab (we can dream, right?) 

We can have more transparency this way, too. Pun marginally intended.

Teachers would look like this:

Classrooms are starting to look like this in High Spen Primary School in the UK:

According to Daily Mail, the desks "act like multi-touch whiteboards and several students can use any one desk at once", which allows "all students to take part rather than one individual dominating." The open concept allows teachers to see what students are up to. 

The concept is nicknamed the 'Star Trek' classroom as it resembles the movie's conceptualization of the Vulcans' classrooms (except theirs is a lot cooler):

With technology being this advanced, perhaps our days of holographic classrooms and touch screen whiteboards are not that far from reality.

Week 4: eMarketing

The term 'eMarketing', or better known as online advertising, has been voraciously adopted by all sorts of companies all over the world to send messages to consumers about their products. With tools such as video editors becoming increasingly user friendly, it is becoming too easy to whip up an advertisement you'd pass off as eMarketing.

Anyone can create an advertisement on a software and post it online. But the key to a good advertisement lies in several important details. In class, we talked about the AIDA model:

Proven: I go through these steps a little too quickly whenever I shop online :(

This model illustrates how a consumer goes to a website, and a product or probably the brand attracts his or her attention. Next, the consumer demonstrates interest by clicking on a link to the product. The consumer shows desire when he or she decides whether to get the product. Finally, there's action when the consumer actually purchases the product. Beyond this first visit, there is the loyalty a consumer demonstrates if he or she visits the site again for future purchases.

This AIDA model can also be used for eMarketing. When someone views an interesting advertisement online, it could spur the subsequent actions following capture of attention.

I have personally created my own mantra for what I feel can make an exceptional eMarketing advertisement. With this, I present to you my very own SAUCE model!

With this SAUCE model, I analyzed several popular online advertisements. 

1) Simplicity

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo Da Vinci

When you think of an Apple advertisement, the first word that comes to your mind is probably simplicity. The beauty of Apple's eMarketing is that they are extremely plain and straight to the point. Go to their website and you will be immediately greeted with their less-is-more online ads:

The website is designed to be extremely clean cut, with directions on what to press if you'd like to be directed to a certain product.

Apple appears to keep things consistent by designing very simple looking software and tech as well. Nobody likes a product that is complicated and difficult to use. Similarly, nobody likes to look at a complicated advertisement that does nothing but confuse or irritate you. 

2) Ads that don't look like ads

This one can get a little confusing. An advertisement that doesn't seem like an advertisement? How is it possible?

Take a look at this YouTube video:

At first, I had absolutely no idea that this was an advertisement. What I thought was a really clever and intriguing prank video turned out to be a promotion tactic for the movie Carrie, a remake of the Stephen King classic novel of the same name. I was so impressed by the video that I sent it to my mother. One thing led to another and this weekend my family is going to watch Carrie. 

Online campaigns that disguise themselves as anything but ads are exceedingly attention grabbing simply because the consumer doesn't think of it as trying to sell something. Instead, ideas are being planted subconsciously. This way, consumers wouldn't be overwhelmed or too critical about being sold a product.

3) Unforgettable 

By unforgettable I really mean iconic viral videos. Old Spice, a brand of body spray, released its commercials on YouTube and it was a hit. The advertisement features Isaiah Mustafa and his ridiculous wacky monologues, Old Spice ads have been circulated and viewed nearly 47 million times on YouTube as I'm typing. It even outranked Obama's victory speech on YouTube in terms of viral videos in its first 24 hours.

Old Spice created an unforgettable character with its commercials- now, whenever someone mentions Old Spice body spray, I don't think about the deodorant. Instead, the image of the Old Spice Guy and the catchy jingle pops up in my head. Despite being an old brand of deodorant, Old Spice successfully rebranded themselves and managed to sound both cheeky and manly to appeal to their younger target audiences.


4) Creativity

For your online eMarketing campaign to be seen and remembered, it has to be creative to stand out among the rest of the ads. You would have to think out of the box and present your product or service in the most ingenious way possible.

Last year, Air New Zealand released a truly unique and fun safety video with characters of the Lord of the Rings. As the movie the Lord of the Rings was shot in New Zealand, it was a great way to bank on the related movie characters to create a never-before-seen air safety video to break the monotony of the otherwise boring default ones.

Most recently, Virgin America, another airline carrier, also made the viral video list with their air safety music video. While Air NZ featured hobbits, elves and wizards (and Gollum) from Middle Earth, Virgin America had singing air stewardesses, dancing pilots and a robot dance segment.



The video, which was released on Oct 29, garnered over 3 million views in less than a week. This is an excellent way to increase brand awareness alongside teaching passengers about air safety. We'll definitely be seeing passengers paying more attention to the safety video on Virgin America now.


5) Emotion

A successful ad campaign can also be one that tugs on the viewers' heartstrings or makes them laugh with saturated humor. Thai advertisements are famous on YouTube for manipulating their audiences' emotions, which makes their videos very memorable.

This extremely touching video by Thai telecom True Corporation has had millions of views since its debut on YouTube last month. It was even featured on the famous site Mashable and praised for its tearjerking storyline.



Another trivia point: it's based on a true story!

Although traditional media is still largely relevant, eMarketing is a venue for businesses and companies to reach out to different sets of demographics, such as teenagers and young adults. With the high circulation and reach of the Internet, any company that does not adopt a good eMarketing campaign is missing out on a large chunk of audience.

Week 3: Social Notworking

To break the monotony of an otherwise boring blog, I've decided to add some slightly opinionated blogposts. Since the lecture on social networking, I began to think about my social networking habits.

I am quite the fan of social networking. As mentioned in my maiden post, the first thing I do in the morning is to check Instagram and Twitter for updates of signs of life. I like looking at pictures on Instagram because I follow many of my favorite celebrities' accounts, and nothing is sweeter than waking up to a picture taken by Daniel Henney himself a few minutes ago.

If you see me staring at Instagram on my phone with an unnaturally dazed expression from time to time, here's why

Twitter is also tied with Instagram as another of my favorite social networking accounts. I get to read quick updates from news sites, more celebrities and popular bloggers such as Mr Brown. Twitter and Instagram are the two sites I visit the most. Besides that, I use many other social networking sites that provide other forms of entertainment, such as Tumblr and Pinterest for fashion forward pictures.

But I guess there's a giant black hole here in my list of social networking sites. Yup- where is Facebook?

I'm no longer as active as I used to be on Facebook. Sure, I do look at it now and then out of habit, but I only update my account perhaps once every five days or more.

My top five reasons why I rarely use Facebook:

1) Why oh why did I let annoying people onboard

What do you do when family friends ask you "why you didn't accept my friend request"? You don't say, "Because I don't want aunties and uncles or seven-year-old cousins clogging up my news feed with stupid stuff!" You smile sweetly and say, "Oh, sorry, I forgot to check my account." Then you check your account in front of them and press the Accept Friend Request button while choking back tears and bile. 

2)  I don't want fight your dumb Mafia Wars

I'd rather register for Justin Bieber's official fanclub than your lousy mafia. 

3) Yes, looking at pictures of the fungal infection on your feet or twelve thousand photos of your baby delights me

Sometimes people go overboard with their self-censorship (or lack thereof). They think that Facebook is their diary. From constant, nagging updates that flood your news feed to TMI pictures, I've seen it all. I've seen too much, actually. It gets worse when you're starting to have friends that are of parenting age. You will now log in to read detailed descriptions of their spawn's first solid food meal, first defecation, first breastfeeding moment... You get my point.

4)  Vaguebooking: an intentionally vague Facebook status that prompts friends to ask what's going on, or is possibly a cry for help. (Source)

Examples of attention seeking statuses: "Wondering if it's all worth it." "It hurts... I will never be the same again." "Yeah that just happened." Too many people on my news feed have done that... And I hate ambiguity.

5)  I migrated to Twitter to avoid the people on Facebook

One of the things I love about Twitter is that someone can follow you on Twitter and read your tweets if they like, but it is not compulsory to follow back. Facebook offers no such option. If you accept that friend request from that auntie who wouldn't stop asking you why your bum is fat during that Chinese New Year gathering, you're going to have to deal with her broadcasting said opinions across your News Feed.

To each her own- we can decide which social networking site works best for us. As of now, I'm jumping on the Twitter and Instagram bandwagon because it's simpler, less cluttered and I'm not pressured to befriend or follow anyone against my will. Furthermore, the army of aunties and uncles lurking around my Facebook have yet to figure out how to work Twitter and Instagram.

Week 2: Social Media and Group Communication

Can You Draw The Internet?

Credit

Social Media has invaded our lives in more ways than one. From Blogger to Flickr to Facebook to YouTube, it has become the go-to avenue for social interaction. People can share opinions freely, view submissions and even upload their own content. In fact, 100 hours of material is uploaded onto YouTube every minute.

But social media is not simply just all fun and games. There are other ways we can utilize social media in terms of group communication at work. I personally have used different types of social media to communicate effectively with group members and colleagues.

My favorite way to communicate in a group is through Google Docs. I began using it when I started my freshman year at UB. It is convenient, efficient and even facilitates conversations between members. This is especially helpful when, say, you have a group member who is too shy to speak his or her mind during group meetings.

I feel that the most helpful feature is the one where we are allowed to edit documents on the spot with other team members at the convenience of our own computers. We can all edit the document in real time and exchange ideas in the chat box at the side.

An example of a Google Document shared between my group members and I

Besides Google Docs, there are a whole range of other forms of social media with their various individual strengths waiting to be utilized. 

Week 1: First post

I'm a huge fan of interesting facts, and one of my favorite things to read are infographics. They are lovely and informative, sometimes funny, witty, and they make me think about how I ought to have paid more attention during that Photoshop course I took when I was 17.

Credits

The Internet is a big part of my life. I began utilizing the Internet at the age of eight or nine, although I was strictly limited to educational websites like the now-defunct Sparklepals. Now, I spend many hours on the Internet- probably more hours than I care to admit. Besides surfing sites such as Tumblr, YouTube and Facebook on my laptop from around eight at night till late, I also regularly check my phone for any Instagram or Twitter updates. The first thing I do in the morning, before even getting out of bed, is to check my Instagram and Twitter accounts.

I know it sounds pretty obsessive and silly to spend that many hours on the Internet, but I don't have that many hobbies that most would commonly associate with teenagers these days. When I'm offline, I enjoy reading, hanging out with friends, watching movies and shopping as much as the next 21-year-old girl, but I don't indulge in common teenager-oriented activities such as clubbing. Instead, I use that time to scour the Internet for updates, pictures and videos about fashion, my favorite Korean pop groups and TV shows.

The Internet has certainly come a long way. Take YouTube for example. In the past, I had to sit by the television to wait for MTV to play my favorite Avril Lavigne, N*SYNC or Britney Spears music video . The feeling of being able to catch your favorite song on TV was utterly amazing back then; you would have thought I'd hit the jackpot just by watching my reaction to Westlife belting out my favorite tune on the TV. Today, I simply turn on my laptop and watch the latest EXO or Girls' Generation music video on YouTube, and I would be able to loop the video as many times as I'd like. I can even catch full foreign TV shows on YouTube, like my current favorite To Catch A Predator, which would otherwise never be shown on local TV. I still remember the novelty of MTV back then, but that feeling has been replaced with convenience, which I appreciate.

It is now nearly impossible for me to go a day without the Internet. I once joked to my father that my iPhone's 3G connection was my lifeline, with the 4G-LTE connection being a power up boost. Through this course of COM125, I would like to find out more about the mechanics of the Internet- hopefully in a layman manner that is suited for me.