Changes to My Blog

Hi guys,

Now I will be posting on how my blog has improved over last year's. I admit that my

previous blog was a little plain, boring and dead. So that is why I want to prove to you that my blog is better now!

(Firstly, if you happen to think that this is my personal blog, you are gravely mistaken. :D Do not take me as a "mugger"!)

Blogskin

I have adopted a new blogskin because many of my classmates feedback that the old Blogger blog template was too plain, boring and not eye-catching enough. This new blogskin features a interesting image in the background of the Earth being submerged/drowned. My world is now drowned in many things, whether good or bad. I want to share my thoughts in this blog, hence the cool new image.

I also like this blogskin because:

1. the font is not too small
2. The picture is not behind the words, thus it does not cause difficulty in reading
3. There is a clear colour contrast--Black background and white words
4. there is a large enough sidebar to fit my widgets

These improvements will be especially valuable to my blog because, though most of us do no believe it, we DO judge a book by its cover. The first impression one receives when he/she enters the blog is the blogskin. With this cool new, exciting blogskin, I am sure that people will be more interested in my blog.

Widgets

There is not much change to the widgets, except the change of music and the change of the blog visitor counter.

I changed the music to feature livelier songs that I think will help "hype-up" my visitors. These songs are not so common on other people's blogs because they are not that famous songs, but still quite nice.

The new blog visitor counter allows me to check my daily visitor traffic. This will help me better know when to write new blog posts, check back for comments etc.

Blog Slogan

I have already posted on this issue, which is available under 'older posts'. However, I wish to clarify that my blog slogan is my ASPIRATION, not what I already am.

I did not like my blog slogan (These words will change the internet) because it sounded very egoistic and proud. This new blog slogan is a little more humble, I would say. I chose to put an aspiration because I do not want to remain at what I already am, but rather I want to continually improve myself, climb higher than the highest peak!

PS. In case you have not realized, my blog slogan is an awesome alliteration!

Blog Content

I am still working on this but, I will try my best to post about things that are fresh and new, such as SLC. I try not to post about cliche topics like inconsideration on buses, what I did for the weekend etc. (If you really want to know about these topics then go visit some other boring blog.) I will also add more picture onto my posts to make my post more eye-

catching.

What I Plan To Do?

Well, I aspire to be the best I can, so no blog post about how I have improved is complete without how I will continue to improve, right? From another perspective, no reader actually would like to know how you have improved, since the end result is already right before their eyes. But rather, they would like to know how you would be in the future, and this part of my post is specially dedicated to that.

I will try to find a better font such that the paragraphs do not seem too cluttered. The current font is a little messy. I will also include more humour in my post, as well as videos to captivate visitors.

I will try to find more interesting issues to talk about, as well as decrease the amount of bias in my posts. This will be important as I want my blog to be as reliable as possible, though I do admit that there is no such thing as 'zero' bias-ness.

Is there anything else I can improve on? Please comment.

Why I LOVE IT Home Learning

Hi,

Well, as most of you probably know, next Mon and Tue will be our IT home learning days. Yes, that means there is no need to go to school! All our work and lessons will be prepared by our teachers and posted on the internet, and we have to finish it by a given time.

Personally, I like this method of teaching because I would have the opportunity to learn for ourselves, instead of having a teacher teach me everything. This will train my self-discipline NOT to play games, watch anime etc. during the Home Learning period.

On a usual day, where I have to wake up at an insane 6am, I would have lost my concentration by 11am. Hence, I would be nodding off to sleep during the second half of the day. The good news is that we only have to wake up at 8am during the two IT Home Learning days. (I know most people will just sleep two hours later, right?) This is really, really important because only then will I have the energy to work. The end result of this extra boost will be increased efficiency during my studies.

To some people, learning from the internet is easier and more efficient than learning from a real life teacher. I do not know why, but somehow an inanimate object can answer their questions and teach them better than a real-life teacher. Perhaps its because they prefer anything that is related to technology and computers. (I do)

However, everything has two sides of the story. (quite sad, huh?) There is this dark, looming, sinister temptation that threatens to seize you anytime during those two days-- Electronic Entertainment. Almost everyone in the world can be distracted with games, songs etc available in the internet. Even when in school, many people use their laptops to access Facebook, Youtube and computer games, sometimes during lessons. This problem will be worse when students are at home without the watchful eye of teachers, and are required to use the computer throughout the lesson. Work done might not be of top quality.

Also, we cannot clarify our doubts with teachers in those two days. questions directed through the forums will only be answered a few hours later. By then, student will be late for their submission of homework. There is also the possibility that students may not get their doubts clarified on the day itself and forget about the issue when he returns to school.

Lastly, if students do not complete their work properly or are unable to learn effectively during the two days, teachers would have to spend more time correcting the students' mistakes in class or revise the topics. This will waste precious curriculum time.

Verdict

It is alright to have IT Home Learning for a week at most to ensure that the students do not forget their questions and have a chance to voice them out. Also, it allows students to get a first-hand experience of independent learning, and is long enough to effectively develop self-discipline. Students can play computer games if they want to, but they have to make sure that they do not neglect their studies. Those who do not finish the work assigned may be punished by their teachers in school. (It is also like a holiday for us students!)

However, students who are unable to learn well with this system will still exist. There is no avoiding it. However, I feel that they can consult their parents or tuition teachers to teach them about what is being taught, if possible.

I LOVE IT HOME LEARNING! (who doesn't?)

Happy Chinese New (torturous) Year

Hi Guys!

Firstly I would like to wish all of you a very happy Chinese New (torturous) Year!

I am sure many of you detest the large stack of homework that is on the table/in you bag right now. (yes, even the night before school reopens) Well, my teacher once forbad us to wish her 步步高生 because it sounded a lot like 簿簿高生。The first one means constantly improving but the second one means more and more books. In other words, she does not want more books to mark. Similarly, I also strongly dislike homework during the CNY holidays.

Here are some Facebook Updates I found:

"I am overwhelmed by the heap of things to do. 4 times I have tried to sleep, 4 times homework reminded me I cant."

" is trying to do homework and watch tv at the same time..."

"it seems that the long weekend wasn't long enough..."

These are just some of the many posts complaining about the not-so-long Chinese New Year weekend. This overwhelming amount of homework has DESTROYED our Chinese New Year!!! Well there is a deeper implication to this seemingly small issue- Should our present societal norms outweigh our culture?

This issue is rather prevalent in the world today. This is because in today's society, there exists one generation of people who grew up about 60-80 years ago, therefore are deeply rooted to traditions and culture. The younger generation in today's society live in a world where culture and traditions still play an important role, but modern trends/customs threaten to overwhelm them.

If you are still confused about what I am talking about, think of it as:

A Red Packet VS A Black Packet

The reason for the usage of red as the colour for a red packet is because red is considered an auspicious colour for the Chinese. However, some people give "red" packets of other colours such as pink, orange, brown, and worse of all, black because many of the younger generation feel that red is a little boring and want to explore different alternatives. Sad to say that the usage of Black is regarded as inauspicious, a total contradiction with Chinese traditions.

The question at issue now is whether modern customs should replace old traditions and cultural customs. Let us now look at both sides of the argument. (We will be using the Chinese New Year and homework incident as an example)

For homework:

- Termly tests are just around the corner, if students do not revise their work, they will fail.

- CNY is a long weekend. Students will lose out on a lot if no work is done.

- CNY is not all about celebrating There are times to be serious and do work too.

- This is today's society. There is no escaping from homework.

- CNY is just a celebration. It is not against the law to do homework during CNY.

Against Homework:

- CNY is for people to enjoy, meet up with relatives and friends.

- Students should not be bogged down with homework during a festive season as it will cause them not being able to enjoy the festive season.

So what do you think? Which one is more important? Comment!

End of part 1

SLC 4 Weeks down the Road

Hi Guys

Sorry for not posting for so long. I know this may sound like an excuse but I have been reaching home at 10pm for a few days already, and the rest of the days are 'homework-packed' days.

So far we have started on the publicity part of our work. We need to create a publicity video, a brochure and website. Our first proposal was rejected so we are currently working at 150% trying to come up with some more by next week! I am in charge of the video. I have to say it is one of the most challenging of all, mainly because it was started only this year. That means that there are no resources from past SLCs to refer to.

SLC so far has been a cross-country run. Long hours spent in school and at home trying to dig out new ideas has left me a little tired. But this is just the beginning, still 5 more months to go! Stop and rest, and the deadlines will catch up with you. (our OS will also get to us) This mere 4 weeks is like the run from the track to the JC for Hwa Chong's cross-country run.

Just like a cross-country run, it is not just torture. There is still fun and experience gained. Just as running improves your stamina, this SLC-run has given me valuable skills and experience, such as teamwork and punctuality. I have learnt many miscellaneous things such as formality for our product, video editing etc. I have no doubt that this will come in useful in the future.

Finally, every run cannot be successful without the help of the organizer in the background. Similarly, this 4 weeks would not have been possible without my teachers, parents and friends. Thank You for all your help, and I hope you will excuse me if I am unable to complete any work.

Samuel Ng