Our chair suggested to have a video for Eid celebration. Normally, we just take a group picture with UTM scenery as our background. That’s it. But since COVID-19, we can no longer have a photo shoot, so we just gave our own pictures instead. The video is HERE.
Category: COVID-19_Teaching and Learning
COVID-19: How does UTM prepare its academicians to use online platform to teach during MCO?
There are so many training courses and workshops provided by UTM since early April. I missed a lot of the courses and workshops because of the stolen cable incident. So, what I do is I ask my colleagues to attend the courses and they share with me what they have learned. But most of the time, I learn on my own at my own pace. I know my own capability to digest information at once especially relating to the technology stuff. One thing at a time. Indeed.
But nevertheless, there is a, official link where I can refer to and find information that I need to improve my skills to teach using online platform.
COVID-19: Unleashed your creativity_Part 10 (Evaluating my students’ assignment)
There are variety of assessments that I give to my students. I always improvise the instructions from time to time based on my own evaluation of my teaching of previous semester and feedback given by previous students. So, this time around since my students can no longer conduct physical face to face presentation due to the MCO, I need to improvise the way they do the presentation. I discuss my predicament with one of my colleagues who is a techno savvy person and she teaches courses on multimedia in education. She gives examples of her own class. It gives me an idea on how to improvise my assignment.
Another colleague suggests that I should look at my rubric when improvising. Do I need to change the rubric or can I still use the same rubric to evaluate? If I change the rubric, I might jeopardise the course learning outcome as I might evaluate students differently because the mode of their report presentation (traditional mode – written and PPT presentation VS video mode). I look at the rubric. Alhamdulillah it does not state anything about the mode of presentation in specific but rather the content and clarity of the presentation of the content. In both modes of reporting, the students need to present orally (and for those who opt for video mode, actually they have to prepare a script – written report in which in this case they don’t have to submit. I can see that some of them were looking down a few times during recording).
So, even if students opt for the first option (traditional mode), they can still get high marks if they are able to present their idea clearly and the content is accurate. Likewise, if students opt for the second option (video mode), they might get low marks if they are not able to present clearly and there are misconception in the content of their presentation. In this case, I am using the same rubric to evaluate both mode of reporting.
So what are the criteria of my rubric? It is based on the programme learning outcome that I want to address for this particular course.
For the communication skills, I divide the criteria into verbal and non-verbal parts. The verbal parts include enthusiasm, elocution and such, whereas the non-verbal parts include poise, fluidity and so forth. Poise can be detected from audio recording (from the tone of voice – the way student speaks whether it is in a hurry, relaxed mode and such). There is also criteria which relates to cognitive aspect such as organisation of information, creativity and subject knowledge.
In short, the criteria in a rubric that I have prepared and given to the students is still the same even though the mode of presentation of the report has changed: written or non-written versions. Alhamdulillah with the unchanged criteria, students are not confused with the expectations of the quality of the assignment that I gave to them.
International Webinar on Education 2020
The current COVID-19 pandemic makes each of us to be teachers. Parents who are not teachers by profession are teachers in which they have to monitor their children learning at home. Monitoring in this case also includes the aspects of providing physical face to face scaffolding to their children, reinforcing behaviour and evaluating their children performance (even though it can be informal, yet it is important to ensure their children are not left behind).
Learning from home can be considered as informal learning (with no school facilities such as labs and teachers physically available). More often than not, parents are caught in the situation where they are unprepared to be teachers. On one side, they replace teachers in a physical sense. Teachers on the other side, still teach the best they could plus giving virtual support that they can provide to students. Yet, we cannot deny that distance learning through virtual mode is not something that can easily be done. Yet, teachers are doing their best to ensure their students will still be able to learn what they suppose to learn in the best condition they could.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach in this case.
This webinar gave me an opportunity to learn about teaching and learning practice and experience from my colleagues from Indonesia and Thailand in terms of how they conduct their teaching (what are their challenges) during this trying time. But from Malaysia, Assoc Prof Jamaluddin Harun, he shared about UTM practice on online learning.
COVID-19: I am proud to be a Malaysian
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown us into uncharted journeys (why journeys and not journey? Each of us has our own journey). When you think that you are adjusting well to the changes, another set of challenges come and necessitate you to adjust again, be it your plans, aims, goals and such. Adjustment and readjustment process that keeps on occurring is inevitable. No doubt that many of us are struggling with current event. But it is really important to help each other, stay calm and vigilant, be responsible and sane during this trial time. I don’t know which is the hardest part to do but whatever it is, seek Allah guidance and just do it.
I got this video from one of my friends entitled “15 ways that Malaysians did the impossible”. This makes me proud to be a Malaysian.
COVID-19: A tough time indeed for all of us
I was feeling a bit down because I realise how unemphatic people can be during this trial time. Indeed. I don’t expect to be understood with all the predicaments that I am facing at the moment, but being those with certain privileges do not give any of us the right to downgrade, belittle others on the predicaments they are experiencing.
It is frustrating at times but I guess each of us have so many things going on at the moment and all of us are struggling to deal with the challenges that we are facing and thus, it could lead us to appear as less emphatic at this moment. This is the way I see it.
Some students PM (private message) me letting me know about the challenges that they face in other courses when their requests, needs and device capabilities are being ignored. What does this has to do with me? I am not teaching the course. It is challenging to be the mediator and it might backfire at times. But I know that I need to do something about it.
I try to ease their concerns the best I could. Sometimes, all I do is just lending them my ears because I don’t know how to help them with the technical glitches that they experience (I am no expert in this myself). After some time, I realise that all they need is someone who is willing to listen. Someone they can share their burden. It does not take much other than few minutes (or hours if you have large class like mine) to be a good listener.
But, being a listener to others and yet having little support myself does take a toll on me. In adjustment psychology class which I took with Amber Hague, I learn that we have a choice to define the situation that we are experiencing. In this case, I perceive this as a challenging situation. It is temporal. I might struggle to face it but it is ok. I need to be aware about myself and things around me. Whatever it is, Allah Will ease the path. Being patience is rewarding.
One of my colleagues suggested that we need to do daily muhasabah. To help me doing this activity, I ask my students to give comments about my teaching during this tough time. Indeed. We support each other to face this challenging time.
COVID-19: Unleashed your creativity_Part 8 (What went wrong with Webex video conference?)
We had a proposal defense of a PhD student yesterday. All went well for a while (around 30 minutes) and after that, glitches started to happen on my part. Even though I had permission to come to UTM and use my (uhuk uhuk unreliable) wifi in my office, but I have this urging feeling to test the speed and bandwith of my mobile modem that I bought last week. It has never been tested for Webex video conference where I would be involved actively as one of the speakers since I would be one of the examiners of this proposal defense. So, I decided to stay at home and participated in the Webex webinar or video conference using the mobile modem. (By the way, what is the difference between a webinar and video conference? I will explore the differences later)
So, what make the technical glitches to happen? This is the question that I ask myself (still finding more information to understand the glitches better). I started to google information about the required bandwith and devices capabilities to ensure a smooth webinar. I find out there are many factors that could influence Webex video conference. Here is the summary of some of the factors:
- For any webinar (Zoom, Webex etc.), it has different requirement for bandwith consumption of sending and receiving videos. Since I used Webex yesterday, what I share here is refering to my experience of glitches while using Webex (so others might have different experiences). So, I don’t know if others might experience similar things when they were using other platform like Zoom, Google Meet and such.
- For high quality video, it requires 90-130 kbps per video participant (minus screen sharing). Meaning, if you have many participants in the webinar that turn on their video and speakers (or in unmute mode), the bandwith consumption will be higher than 130kbps. So, for those with weak or low bandwith, they will experience glitches like not able to hear or see the host or the screen sharing
- Sender-receiver traffic also can influence the smoothness of a webinar or video conference session. I am not an expert in this. So, I don’t know how to calculate the sender-receiver traffic to minimise glitches. I need to find out more about this.
- Data sharing such as video or file sharing (Words, Powerpoint, PDF etc.) can also influence webinar session. If we use screen sharing, Webex webinar or video conference can require anywhere from Kbps (low-quality) to Mbps (immersive three-screen telepresence suite ). I got this information from here. But the rule of thumb is if there are many active participants in the session who turn on video and file sharing, the higher the bandwith consumption.
- Device capabilities refer to the device that you have in terms of the support provided by your device such as management provider, site requirements and such. This may be varied and influenced by the model of your devices. The rule of thumb in this case is the older device that you have, the less capabilities your device might have. In a much simpler explanation: Not all devices have equal capabilities in terms of its video and such.
How to minimise or rectify webinar glitches?
- Non-active participants need to turn off their video and mute their speaker.
- Limit your participant (IF you can)
- Don’t use screen sharing (at all, IF you can)
- Participants with low bandwith may try out some of these suggestions from Webex team.
But all seem impossible if you want to have active and interactive session with your students, right? So, what should you do?
COVID-19: Unleashed your creativity_Part 7 (Microphone with earpiece or microphone with headset?)
We had a trial/testing session for a PhD proposal yesterday at 2pm. Something went wrong with my microphone/earpiece. So, they suggested that I should go to UTM (my office) to ensure the session can be conducted smooth and steady. I did the necessary (fill in a medical declaration form and staff movement form).
On top of that, thinking that I might have a faulty earpiece/microphone, I went to Toppen and bought another set: microphone/headset. The price is similar with the earpiece version though. Below RM100. I had a chance to test the headset version when I attended our MPPU1024 class yesterday afternoon. Even though it is not my session (Dr Narina’s session), yet I had just tried my luck to test if it is working or not. Alhamdulillah. The students and Dr Narina can hear my voice clearly.
Let’s see how it goes with the proposal session today with the new headset/microphone. I have tried it for creating a video note using Prezi after sahur. I am still in the practising mode/period. I will give it a try several times more. This is the preparation for next semester’s classes. In sha Allah I will do bits by bits. One thing, one step at a time.
Dialektika [COVID-19 ]: Peluang Menyusun Semula Negara?
Pandemik COVID-19 membuka peluang dan ruang untuk penambahbaikan dari segi ekonomi, sosial, politik, pendidikan dan pelbagai aspek kemanusiaan. Mencari satu titik yang menyepadukan pelbagai dimensi ini perlu diberi tumpuan terutamanya dimensi kemanusiaan tidak dizahirkan. Krisis nilai seolah dipinggirkan apabila dimensi yang lebih senang disukat seperti ekonomi diberi keutamaan.
Kemajuan negara tidak dirujuk dan diukur pada dimensi ekonomi bahkan dimensi kemanusiaan seperti kesepaduan, integriti dan sebagainya. Sukatan holistik perlu dititik beratkan akan tetapi malangnya aspek KPI menjadi sukatan utama kerana ianya lebih bersifat objektif dan dapat diukur dengan sukatan berbentuk fizikal.
Bila diperingkat universiti, kepelbagaian sepatutnya diraikan bagi memberikan warga universiti menjadi lebih kreatif dan dapat memberikan peluang, ruang dan pilihan yang pelbagai bagi menyelesaikan masalah yang berbeza. Akan tetapi, universiti terikat dengan KPI yang menyebabkan semuanya mempunyai ciri yang sama dalam melaksanakan sesuatu perkara. Ianya meningkatkan satu “redundancy“.
Kelaziman baru (new normal) adalah satu istilah yang perlu dirujuk kepada budaya dan norma masyarakat. Adakah tidak bersalam itu satu kelaziman baru? Dalam Islam, tidak bersalam diantara individu berlainan jantina adalah satu kelaziman. Ianya bukan sesuatu yang baru. Menjaga jarak antara satu sama lain adalah kelaziman dalam Islam bagi bukan Mahram. Akan tetapi kelaziman baru yang diuar-uarkan oleh pihak barat dalam menangani pandemik COVID-19 seolah ianya menjadi satu acuan yang datangnya dari mereka.
Penggunaan istilah dan amalan tentang cara hidup perlu dilihat dari sudut budaya dan masyarakat tanpa mengambil bulat-bulat atau mengimport dari pihak tertentu. Contohnya jarak sosial (social distancing) merujuk kepada jarak fizikal (physical distancing). Istilah jarak sosial mengelirukan kerana ianya boleh menunjukkan ketidakperluan kita untuk bersatu padu atau saling bantu membantu sedangkan pandemik ini menuntut kita meningkatkan kesepaduan dan empati dalam kalangan masyarakat. Jarak fizikal tidak semestinya menyebabkan kita kurang bersepadu di antara satu sama lain.
Apakah proses yang kita perlu laksanakan untuk memastikan masyarakat kita kekal sejahtera dalam menghadapi pandemik COVID-19? Pemodelan mencari satu formula dalam menangani masalah yang dihadapi perlu dilakukan berdasarkan norma budaya kita dan mengikut acuan kita sendiri. Keseimbangan antara kebendaan dan kerohanian bukan mudah tetapi boleh dilakukan sekiranya kita tidak terlalu fokus tentang aspek yang boleh dinilai dan diukur dengan menggunakan sukatan dan ukuran berbentuk fizikal dan objektif meskipun aspek kerohanian adalah satu subjektif dan tidak boleh diukur dengan ukuran berbentuk objektif.
COVID-19: Unleashed your creativity_Part 6 (Webex or prerecorded powerpoint video)
Which is which? Webex or Zoom or Bigbluebutton VS preprecorded video notes (powerpoint).
Personally, it depends on your students and your own preference and conditions.
Option 1: Online synchronous meeting
It might be perceived as the best alternative to substitute face to face interaction because the element of “interaction” is still present. You can ask students questions, use polls to get their response and so forth which allow you to identify and rectify certain things immediately. For example, if your students do not understand certain things, they can ask questions there and then. In return, you can answer their questions immediately too.
Option 2: Prerecorded video (one type of asynchronous method)
If you prefer to have a more flexible work from home hours, prerecorded video such as powerpoint video might be the best choice even if you have strong internet connection. In addition, you don’t need to set a Webex/ Zoom/ Bigbluebutton meeting.
But option 1 is ONLY possible if you have unlimited dataplan and speed (plus if there is no internet outage). Even though I subscribe to unlimited dataplan for the internet, but the speed of my internet connection is varied (and unpredictable). I need to minimise glitches during online meeting especially if I am the host. So, I don’t have much choice other than using prerecorded video.
What is the difference of the size of different recordings?
- The size of the prerecorded video (using Powerpoint) and Webex meeting that you save in MP4 format is not similar. When I looked closely two different files (1 – a Powerpoint video note, 2 – a Webex meeting), Webex meeting is in Megabyte. Powerpoint video note is in Kilobyte. Megabyte is bigger than Kilobyte.
- A Megabyte is one thousand times bigger than a Kilobyte.
- If I could rank it: Large (Webex or Zoom recording) -> Medium (Powerpoint video recording) -> Small (Powerpoint with audio narration)
Note: Both are still larger as compared to Powerpoint slides with audio narration. So, students need to be aware about this too. Another alternative, you can upload the prerecorded video on Youtube and just give the link to students. But watching Youtube video will deplete your dataplan (unless you subscribe to unlimited dataplan).
Using online method to teach is costly. No doubt about that. Other than the infrastructure and tools/gadgets that needed for online learning, there are other things that need to be taken into consideration such as dataplan, internet bandwith and so forth. But how far we can rely on online learning when there is always the possibility of unforeseen internet outage that can happen any time due to the increased users regardless of the internet providers? In that case, nothing beats face to face learning.