Week 6: Throwback with a Video

For this week, we were tasked with uploading and sharing a video we have edited. 

Coming from a communications diploma background, I had numerous videos I had edited in the past, from my free time, previous school projects and internship projects. The only problem was finding it. You see, despite having numerous back-up disks and thumb drives consolidating my creative work, I misplace things easily (hence, explains my lack of an update).  

With a stroke of luck, I managed to find a presentation from my final year project back in Temasek Polytechnic. Under a collaboration between two modules Advanced Media Marketing and Web Design Management, we were given a prompt by a local news company (which shall remain anonymous lol) to attract a younger audience to their website and newspaper. Despite their large/decent readership (then), they had difficulty attracting a younger crowd (age range: 18-25) due to the stigma of "news being boring".

As a marketing group, we had to give several pitches through the last few weeks of my final year in polytechnic. My group's pitch? We thought of a condensed twitter-like/website version emphasizing on the visual content of news + pop culture (both local and international) that can be directed back to the main news websites (should the reader decide to read further). Like our target audience and the nature of news, we envisioned Pause Press to be fast-paced, compact while being interesting or at least intriguing enough for one to take a moment to stop and read.

To differentiate ourselves from our "competitors"/schoolmates, one of our ideas during our pitch was the conceptualized our survey results via a video. But being as we are students ourselves then, procrastination was one of our competitors too. Having less than 2 hours left before the final pitch presentation, I had to compiled the video together to showcase. So, apologies for the amateur, rushed and careless video-editing. I cringe while watching this but it was a nice memory to look back on, considering our team actually managed to win the book prize from the local news company.

Without further ado and from my groupmates' permission, I give you my red-bull fueled, adrenaline-rushed, mild swearing editing skills cum "don't talk, touch or even look at me while I edit this" screams video. Enjoy?

Alternatively, you can watch it on Youtube: Pause Press Interviews

Ps. This video was edited via Final Cut Pro with the background music and sound effects sourced from this royalty-free website. 

Week 5: What has E-learning teach me?

In today's context, technology - more particularly, the Internet - is a force to be reckon with. As the Internet has been integrated in almost every aspect of our lives, the transfer of knowledge; education is no different. 

By definition, e-learning is "learning that is facilitated by the use of digital tools (i.e. electronic devices and the Internet and content, involving some form of interactivity, which may include online interaction between the learner and their teacher or peers." E-learning also comes in various forms:

• Online Learning
• Virtual Classrooms
• Learning Management System
• Rapid e-Learning
• Simulation-based 
• Mobile Learning
• Game-based

With a myriad of e-learning forms, it can impact how teachers teach and how students learn. When used properly, teachers can take advantage of the features e-learning provides to better engage the content and their students. [(or... at least that is what we learn in class (ironically)]

While I cannot deny that the Internet has made learning much more easier and convenient, I remember the days back in secondary school and in polytechnic. E-learning was always seen as a break day from school and not taken seriously. Time that was intended to self-learn via a computer was instead used for leisure and there was numerous of ways to cheat the system. But that was back then... 

So, it came as a shock to me when I learn in class how e-learning systems are tracking "cheaters" now (and thank god, it is brought to my attention LOL) 

1. Proctoring

As a means to verify a student's identity, institutions are implementing online proctoring during examinations/synchronous e-learning* (see footnote). Through the use of webcam, teachers can monitor a student's face and/or the computer screen as the student takes the examination/does the e-learning activity. Examples of online proctoring organisations are: 

• ProctorU
• B Virtual
• ProctorCam 
• Loyalist Exam Services

2. Keystroke Recognition Devices 

Keystroke recognition programs have also been developed to certify a student's identification. In order to authenticate/verify a student's identity, one measure is by monitoring a student's typing pattern. Acting as a 'signature', computer softwares will track and measure the speed and rhythm of a student's typing in order to ensure whether the pattern matches up. Other measures include using  tracking Wi-Fi signals as well as biometric technology such as iris recognition or fingerprint identification.  Examples of Keystroke Recognition Softwares: 

• KeyTrac
• Innovatrics
• GIRIST

3. Plagiarism Detection Software

Ah, aren't we familiar with this one?

There you go kids, be sure to think twice before cheating. Especially so, for sociology majors who are taking SOC 293: Research Methods because there's a CITI training in the syllabus and if you cheat, you might do so well in the written exam. So make use of the e-learning session! Just a fair warning ;)