COVID-19_Teaching and Learning | Hadijah binti Jaffri

Program Kerohanian FSSH bagi Siri 22: Kemuliaan memberi dengan Ikhlas – Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 265-269

Tarikh / Hari : 10 September 2020 (Khamis)

Masa : 8.15 pagi

Pembimbing : PM. Dr. Ahmad bin Che Yaacob

Tajuk : Kemuliaan memberi dengan Ikhlas – Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 265-269

Intipati ayat Surah Al-Baqarah

Ayat 265-269

Allah SWT menggunakan analogi orang yang ikhlas memberi seperti ladang atau kebun di tempat yang tinggi (selalunya tiada sungai atau sumber air), yang ditimpa hujan lebat, lalu mengeluarkan hasilnya dua kali ganda. Dengan hujan itu, ladang itu dapat menghasilkan buah yang banyak.
Syaitan sentiasa memujuk untuk kita tidak memberi sumbangan. Akan tetapi kita perlu melatih diri untuk mempunyai pendirian yang teguh untuk tetap memberi

Ayat 266

Allah SWT menggunakan analogi orang yang tidak ikhlas atau tidak mahu memberi seperti ladang yang mempunyai pokok yang pelbagai dan terdapat sungai yang mengalir, tetapi akan datang ribut taufan yang memusnahkan ladang itu dan akhirnya ladang itu tidak berhasil.

Ayat 267

Sekiranya ingin memberi sesuatu, tidak boleh dari sumber yang haram seperti barang haram, dari riba’ dan sebagainya.
Sumbangan perlu dari sumber yang halal dan dalam keadaan terbaik. Contoh: Jangan beri baju-baju yang terkoyak untuk disumbang atau makanan yang hampir basi atau tidak elok untuk dimakan.

Ayat 268

Syaitan akan sentiasa menakut-nakutkan dengan kemiskinan dan kepapaan dan akan sentiasa menggalakkan pekerjaan keji.

Ayat 269

Allah berikan kebijaksanaan/hikmah (wisdom) kepada sesiapa yang dikehendakinya. Sesiapa yang diberikan hikmah akan dimendapat kebaikan (ganjaran) yang banyak.

COVID-19: More workload?

Off lately, I notice that there are so many task forces that I involve in. There are times when I feel suffocated. Not in a physical sense. Emotionally, I feel suffocated. I try to change my routine. I come to work as early as I could. I find that I am able to get more things done when I come early. But I find it difficult to stay focused after Zuhr, as if my “battery” needs to be recharged. I try to sleep a bit before Zuhr but often than not, without noticing the time, it is already Zuhr and I miss the chance to have a quick nap.

Since the leaking pipe incident, I admit that it takes me quite a long time to settle down. Being a nomad for a while certainly gives me a different perspective on certain things but I realise that to get myself adjusted to new routines are not as fluid as before. Am I getting older?

Sometimes, when I feel too overwhelmed with things, what I would do is to have a priority list of what I should do urgently. Most of the times even though it is not easy to put certain things under “not urgent” category, I know that I have to be firm in this. There are times when I say “NO” and can’t hardly remain patient due to indecisiveness of certain people. Yup. My patience is running thin.

Yet, I would ask myself “If others are indecisive, what I should do?” There are times when I ask some seniors what they want from me or what is the direction of a certain task because I just cannot tolerate with indecisiveness any more.

I might be appeared as rude but in this case, I hate the culture of lots-of-talking-yet-doing-less or what I called as “Pung pang, pung pang”. How I wish I have one solid uninterrupted week!

COVID-19 cases are increasing today (Tuesday, 8 September 2020). 100 cases. Do I have to work from home again? Why do I secretly wish that ………. (fill in the blank).

COVID-19: Another spring clean project

I find it hard to find face mask connector at shops or malls. Perhaps I don’t go out that much and find any that I fancy. One of my seniors gave me the face mask connector that she made using an elastic and buttons. But it is too big for me. I cannot use it for myself. I keep it in my bag with extra unused face mask just in case somebody might need it.

It has been a while since my last upcycling project. As I look at left-over fabrics that I have from my last projects, I find some that I can use to make as a face mask connector.

Here are some of the face mask connectors.

I don’t have enough button. So, I use brooch instead. The buttons that I used here were taken from my old PJs. I cannot use the old PJs fabric, so I just take the buttons.

COVID-19: Spring clean and upcycling project

This fabric was from the orientation week baju kurung of UUM circa 1994. Yup. Not mine though. It was from my sister’s baju kurung. She upcycled it long time ago into a pillow case. But some parts of the fabric were torn.

When I was “cleaning” my late mom’s cupboard, I found this old pillow case. She kept the torn pillow case and here I am turning it into another product: a pouch that can fit a passport.

The batik fabric is Noor Arfah Batik. It is fully cotton. Unfortunately, there is no any left-over that I can use to make a face mask though.

Program Kerohanian FSSH bagi Siri 20: Surah Al-Mulk Ayat 1-5

Tarikh / Hari : 27 Ogos 2020 (Khamis)

Masa : 11.00 pagi

Pembimbing : Dr. Aminudin bin Hehsan

Tajuk : Keagungan Kerajaan Allah – Surah Al–Mulk, Ayat 1-5

Surah Al-Mulk akan menjadi syafaat kepada orang yang membacanya

Intipati ayat 1-5:

Ayat 1:
- Surah Al-Mulk dimulai dengan perkataan di mana Allah Membesarkan Dirinya dari sudut pemberian keberkatan dan nikmat yang tidak dapat terkira meskipun nikmat dan keberkatan diberikan kepada semua individu adalah berbeza
- Berkaitan dengan Surah Al Tahrim: Ayat 10-11. Hati manusia itu di tangan Allah. Kehebatan dan keagungan di bawah kuasa Allah SWT. Dua ayat tersebut menunjukkan 2 contoh isteri kepada 2 orang Nabi. Ia menunjukkan bahawa nikmat hidayah Allah dikurniakan kepada siapa yang diinginiNya, bukan yang diingini oleh manusia. Manusia mempunyai had kekuasaan dalam merealisasikan keinginan.
- Pandemik COVID-19 digeruni oleh semua orang. Ia menunjukkan kekuatan dan kekuasaan Allah SWT yang tidak dapat ditentang dan dihalang oleh manusia atau ciptaanNya yang lain.
Ayat 2:
- Surah Al-Mulk banyak nilai-nilai berbentuk ancaman dan juga amaran tentang balasan terhadap dosa. A wake up call surah. Ayat kedua ini menekankan tentang aspek kematian (sebab itu kematian – al maut – didahului oleh kehidupan – al hayat).
- Kehidupan merupakan ujian yang diberikan kepada individu. Ujian yang diberikan berbeza mengikut kategori manusia. Contoh: Ujian seorang Nabi berbeza dengan individu yang bukan Nabi. Setiap daripada manusia akan diuji, dan tidak terlepas dari ujian besar mahupun kecil yang berbeza antara satu sama lain (Rujuk Surah Al Fajr: Ayat 15-16). Allah SWT memberikan ujian berdasarkan perkadaran yang diketahui oleh Allah SWT. Kekayaan merupakan ujian seperti kemiskinan. Dengan ujian kekayaan, seorang insan boleh sama ada menjadi lebih jauh dari Allah SWT atau istidraj atau menjadi lebih dekat kepada Allah SWT. Dengan ujian kemiskinan juga, seorang boleh menjadi mulia di sisi Allah dan sebaliknya.
Ayat 3:
- Allah SWT mencipta 7 lapisan langit. Allah SWT melontarkan soalan (mencabar) untuk manusia fikirkan: Adakah ketidakseimbangan, ketidaksempurnaan, kekurangan dan kecacatan pada ciptaanNya?
- Allah SWT mencabar untuk manusia lihat kembali (berkali-kali) tentang ciptaanNya.
Ayat 4:
- Allah SWT mencabar untuk manusia lihat kembali (berkali-kali) tentang ciptaanNya. Ayat ini mengulang kembali cabaran Allah SWT untuk manusia untuk mencari ketidakseimbangan, ketidaksempurnaan, kekurangan dan kecacatan pada ciptaanNya.
- Allah SWT menegaskan meskipun berkali-kali kita mencuba mencari ketidakseimbangan, ketidaksempurnaan, kekurangan dan kecacatan pada ciptaanNya, kita tidak akan berhasil dan malahan berasa hampa.
Ayat 5:
- Allah SWT mencipta alam lain yang sangat banyak (dikiaskan sebagai bintang-bintang di langit – yang kita sebagai manusia mampu lihat sebagai bintang yang kita lihat sebagai perhiasan langit, panduan kepada pelayar, alat merejam syaitan – Rujuk Surah Al Saffat: Ayat 6-10).
- Alam yang dicipta Allah SWT amat banyak dan manusia tidak mampu untuk mengetahui kesemuanya. Oleh yang demikian, patutkah sebagai manusia, kita berasa sombong dan berasa kita berkuasa? Kita patut sentiasa muhasabah tentang diri kita. Tiada jaminan tentang kehidupan kita kecuali ianya bergantung kepada Allah SWT.

Perkara yang patut dilazimi

Baca surah Al Sajadah dan Al-Mulk sebelum tidur (amalan Rasullullah SAW)

COVID-19: Youtube creator? Youtube Training? Me?

I got this email from Youtube (I never thought that they will send you email and stuff). In the email, it gives me a summary of my channel and some tips on improving the visibility, interactivity and attractiveness of my future video(s).

These are the 5 tips I can do to shake up my channel that Team Youtube gives me.

Know your Analytics tools. Notice any patterns? Find out what’s working and what isn’t.
Quality over quantity. Create a release schedule that works for you and your fans.
Get inspired. Keep your finger on the pulse–watch what other creators are doing, take cues from current events, and stay in tune with pop culture.
Program with purpose. Set goals, build out a content outline, and remember, do what you love.
Test, learn, repeat. If it’s working, awesome. If not, try something new!

Youtube also has trainings on various things: Gaming, Collaboration with other Youtubers and such. Collaborating with other Youtubers? I have few names that came across my mind immediately but it has been a while since I see any new stuff from them (they are getting busier I guess off lately to create new videos).

As I browse further on the whatever links that Youtube gives me, I realise that there are serious stuff going on. The training has assessment ok! Man, I should take this thing seriously. I know some of my colleagues might say that I am wasting my time learning this new thing whereas I already bog down with so many other stuff: research, publication, teaching yada yada yada…. the list goes on. But, I should keep myself updated with new ICT skills, right?

Being someone who hold on to the belief of “slow professor“, I need to give myself a chance to learn new thing at my own pace. Some of my colleagues also notice that I am a bit slow in learning ICT. Hey, at least I am trying my best here!

So, should I participate in the Youtube training provided by Youtube Creator Academy? Should I give it a go?

How to use Jamboard?

One of my friends told me that using Jamboard is easy and we can see students “interact” with each other when they post their ideas. It is like having a digital mahjung paper. But in this case, we don’t need a physical paper, but digital “paper” i.e. computer screen.

So, how to use Jamboard? If you google it, you will find Google Support website.

But being me, I need some visual (pictures).

1. Log in to your google account (need to do this first).

2. At the board, tap Menu (with the dots), select Jamboard settings (you need to scroll down a bit).

3. Create or open a jam (the term used for the board is Jam), click the Plus icon (bottom right).

4. On the toolbar (left side), you will see variety of options:

Pen
Erase
Select
Sticky note
Add image
Circle
Text box
Laser (if you use Google Meet – synchronous session)

5. You may start the task/question that you want to assign the students to work on or answer by using the options available. As a start, I use Sticky note.

6. Once you have completed with the task/question, you can share the Jam with your student. Click SHARE button (the blue button on the top corner – right side). You may need your students email account to share the Jam with them.

For more information, you may watch a video about Jamboard on Youtube. I like this video. How to Use Google Jamboard for Remote Teaching

What I like about the current working style?

Previously (before COVID-19), there are many events conducted through face to face like the monthly engagement with Datuk VC. Now, we use online form such as FB live. So, at the comfort of my colleague’s office, I can do my work such as writing a post here, finishing a newsletter article and attending (listening) the monthly engagement. 3 in 1. I like my current working style: online plus physical format.

Note: Some might wonder why I am still using my colleague’s office but the thing is my office is still not in a suitable condition for me to use it (not for long). I will need to clean it first, get rid of the weird smell and so many things to be done. Some might wonder why it takes me so long to clean up my room. Well, the ceiling was finally replaced yesterday (10 August 2020, Monday) after more than one month since the unforeseen incident.

This picture was taken on 8 August 2020 (Sunday). Yup. There were more than 10 ceiling plates that need to be replaced. So for safety reason, I don’t even dare to enter my room for long, just in case anything fall from the ceiling (uhuk uhuk.. there might be rodents lurking somewhere).

My to-do list:

1) Get rid of the moldy shelves

2) Get rid of some of the books (I have tried to salvage it. I sent it for repair. But it cannot be done.)

3) Shop for new books (I need to replace few books that are not mine too. I borrow from my friend)

4) Spring clean (I will do it bit by bit)

Am I becoming a Youtuber?

It is never in my wildest dream to be a Youtuber. Nope. But with COVID-19, I was challenged to learn new skills or to upskill my existing knowledge and skills. I was feeling hopeless, helpless and frustrated with myself. Indeed.

But, I take a baby step. Some of the video editing is learned from training. But I also learn from watching countless hours from Youtube. I follow the tips and step by step process.

Here are some of the videos that I have created so far

Brian Little, you make my day. Thank you

After a short stint of professional training at school in 2018, I determine to change the activities that I do in class. But clearly going to secondary school for professional training does not give me a better idea how to teach university students. It is a fact.

There are certain things about my teaching that I decided to change. One of it is my class note. No more Powerpoint. So, I use Prezi which I subscribe for USD60 annually. It worth every penny that I spend. Based on feedback that I got from students for the past few semesters, they like Prezi notes as compared to Powerpoint because they can control which part they want to read or focus based on themes that I use as a means to organise my notes.

Other than my notes, I decided to “upgrade” my class activities. This is challenging. One of it is because I have little idea about how to do it. I don’t want the activities to be a burden to my students and they don’t learn much from such activities. So, what I normally do when I am struggling to get some ideas about the activities that I want to implement in class, I would put everything aside and just focus on reading. I have read and reread the books that I already have. I was a little bit lazy to go to the library to borrow books. So, I went to Popular bookstore (I still prefer to go to the physical bookstore, rather than shopping online).

As I browsed books on the Psychology section, I saw this book. The title is intriguing. My first thought was “Another autobiography book?” But it is not. As I read the book, I imagine Brian is my mentor. Even though I don’t know him personally, but I have watched his TED Talk. I got some ideas that I think I can try in my own class. In this case, I am thinking about in what way I can make my students enjoy and appreciate what they learn in class. It is not about me, but rather what they learn in class.

So, I tried one of the activities that Brian had used in his class. Even though I don’t have any clear idea about how he did it, but based on what I understand reading his book, I gave my students a question. A question that will prompt them to explore about their own selves. But unlike Brian, I gave my students other activities too. So, I combine the question based on what I find in Brian’s book with the class activities that I normally do in class.

Then, COVID-19 happens. Nobody ever thought how challenging teaching and learning would be. I was worried in the middle of the semester. I hope and pray that things will go well despite the challenges that we have to face. To know how my students were coping, I gave them a chance to let their feelings known. So, I asked a simple question “What they want to let me know as their instructor?” The following are some of the feedback that I got from the students.