On the 28th of June, marked a new step in my life. I'm about to be a college student. Although it sounds very wonderful to most of the students as they think that college life is full of freedom, no more bound by discipline or scoldings by teachers, a college student need to be very self-disciplined in the sense of academic as well as their responsibility.
My new college or also known to all JPA scholars as our Preparatory Centre before we fly to various destination to continue our studies is called INTEC (International Education Centre). It is one of a campus under the wing of UiTM. I would say that INTEC is a very condusive place for students to study there especially thier new RM 11million-worth library. O.O
Alright, let's get back to the first day I registered myself as a student in INTEC. All our activities on the first day were located in our hostel only which is Kolej Cendana in Seksyen 6, Shah Alam. There were a mixture of fear, worries and anxiety when I was in the Kolej waiting patiently for the registration to start and for my friends to arrive. As soon as the registration started, my friends and I went to the appropriate counter to register for our apartment unit, get the INTEC's T-shirt and many more. We get to choose our own roommates as long as all are from the same programme. I am in the A-Level Medicine (ALM) Programme. This year marks the 10th batch of ALM so we are all categorised under ALM10.
The next day, it's the official opening of the MMS (Minggu Mesra Siswa). We were all divided into groups during the 'group-binding' session. I was grouped under ALM16 and that's God's mighty power that bring me and others together and be friends for the rest of our life. Throughout the whole MMS, we played games, attended psychology talks and listened to speech by JPA officers as well as the director of INTEC. The Fa-C (facilitator) were very helpful and friendly in terms of clarifying our doubts and made us feel like at home. They were also very entertaining such as they thought of the funny 'tepukan senyum malu'. xD The most important was the Malam MMS. It can be assumed as the end of the MMS. There were sketches, dance and cheers by various programme and all of them really rocks.
I am now studying in the class called 10M9. There are about 60 students that will be going to Manipal University studying in INTEC. My classmates could mix up well with everyone and it makes me easier to befriend with them. The lecturers are very friendly as well. The condusive study envionment, friendly lecturers and helpful classmates really boost my mood to study in INTEC.
Last Thursday, Manipal Univeristy even came to give us a talk about our study route and some introduction to the university. From there only I knew that our first angkasawan, Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor is an alumni from Manipal University as well!
Overall, it's nice to be in INTEC as I could learn to be independent and become more responsible and mature in my thinking as well as in whatever I do. I won't be updating this blog very often until my mid-sem break which is on the 22nd to 31st of Aug. See ya all then!
P/S: I miss Penang's food so much!!!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Can Second Life help teach doctors to treat patients?
At Imperial College London (WALAO, my dream place to study medicine), medical students navigate a full-service hospital where they see patients, order X-rays, consult with colleagues and make diagnoses.
At Imperial College London, virtual game-based education could supplement face-to-face training.
It's an interactive, hands-on learning experience -- and none of it is real.
These prospective doctors are treating virtual patients in Second Life, the Internet world where users interact through online alter egos called avatars. The third-year med students are taking part in a pilot program for game-based learning, which educators believe can be a stimulating change from lectures and textbooks.
"The aim is to develop a more engaging learning environment, rather than just replicate what you have in real life," said Maria Toro-Troconis, a senior learning technologist at Imperial College London. "Game-based learning plays a very important role."
From a real-life classroom, students sit at computers and enter a virtual Second Life hospital whose detailed grounds are designed to resemble Imperial College London. There's a 3D replica of the landmark Queen's Tower and signs pointing students toward the respiratory ward.
The students pair up for the study, but they are allowed to collaborate only through their avatars. "Don't talk to each other in the physical world," Toro-Troconis told them.
After the avatars enter the computer-generated hospital, they check in at a reception desk, put on an access badge, and then stop by professor Martyn Partridge's office to get their assignment.
Partridge's online likeness bears an eerie resemblance to his real-life appearance.
If students forget to wash their hands before visiting a patient, their investigation is halted.
Then students enter a patient's room and their work begins. Because their assignment takes place in a respiratory ward, they can access recordings of real-life patients' breathing to help with their diagnoses. And if students decide that X-rays are needed, they can stroll down to the radiology department and order them.
All these steps are designed to reinforce lessons about responsibility and hospital protocol.
"This sort of research is vital if we're going to make sure tomorrow's doctors are as well-trained as you and I want them to be," said Partridge, professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London.
Created by Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life is a free, 3D virtual world where digital personas travel, work, play and socialize through chat rooms and other online gathering places.
Millions of users enter Second Life daily to meet friends, play music and even buy and sell property, while many companies, universities and organizations have an online presence in Second Life.
Medical students at Imperial College London began their Second Life training without knowing what to expect. Most of them had heard of Second Life, but none were current members.
The students unanimously agreed they preferred walking the wards of real hospitals and interacting with real patients. But the novelty of this new way of learning wasn't lost on them.
"I've had two years of just lectures and books," said third-year medical student Khayam Sheikh. "I think this is a nice way to break it up."
"It's a bit like playing a game and less like learning," agreed fellow student Jiexin Zheng.
Such game-based education is not intended to replace traditional face-to-face training. In fact, it's not part of Imperial College London's official curriculum. But educators see the program -- which is available online 24 hours a day, seven days a week -- as a way of connecting to today's wired, computer-savvy students.
"You'd like to say this makes learning fun and easy," says Jenny Higham, Imperial College London's head of undergraduate medicine, "[but] at the end of the day, there's still a basic requirement to learn the facts."
Toro-Troconis is looking into possible partnerships with other universities around the world. She envisions a day when nursing students from Australia use Second Life to collaborate with physical therapists from Japan and medical students from the U.S. -- all of them playing, and learning, together in a virtual environment.
"We have to recognize our students come equipped with incredible computer skills," Higham said. "It's a new way of learning for them."
CNN (1 July 2009)
At Imperial College London, virtual game-based education could supplement face-to-face training.
It's an interactive, hands-on learning experience -- and none of it is real.
These prospective doctors are treating virtual patients in Second Life, the Internet world where users interact through online alter egos called avatars. The third-year med students are taking part in a pilot program for game-based learning, which educators believe can be a stimulating change from lectures and textbooks.
"The aim is to develop a more engaging learning environment, rather than just replicate what you have in real life," said Maria Toro-Troconis, a senior learning technologist at Imperial College London. "Game-based learning plays a very important role."
From a real-life classroom, students sit at computers and enter a virtual Second Life hospital whose detailed grounds are designed to resemble Imperial College London. There's a 3D replica of the landmark Queen's Tower and signs pointing students toward the respiratory ward.
The students pair up for the study, but they are allowed to collaborate only through their avatars. "Don't talk to each other in the physical world," Toro-Troconis told them.
After the avatars enter the computer-generated hospital, they check in at a reception desk, put on an access badge, and then stop by professor Martyn Partridge's office to get their assignment.
Partridge's online likeness bears an eerie resemblance to his real-life appearance.
If students forget to wash their hands before visiting a patient, their investigation is halted.
Then students enter a patient's room and their work begins. Because their assignment takes place in a respiratory ward, they can access recordings of real-life patients' breathing to help with their diagnoses. And if students decide that X-rays are needed, they can stroll down to the radiology department and order them.
All these steps are designed to reinforce lessons about responsibility and hospital protocol.
"This sort of research is vital if we're going to make sure tomorrow's doctors are as well-trained as you and I want them to be," said Partridge, professor of respiratory medicine at Imperial College London.
Created by Linden Lab in 2003, Second Life is a free, 3D virtual world where digital personas travel, work, play and socialize through chat rooms and other online gathering places.
Millions of users enter Second Life daily to meet friends, play music and even buy and sell property, while many companies, universities and organizations have an online presence in Second Life.
Medical students at Imperial College London began their Second Life training without knowing what to expect. Most of them had heard of Second Life, but none were current members.
The students unanimously agreed they preferred walking the wards of real hospitals and interacting with real patients. But the novelty of this new way of learning wasn't lost on them.
"I've had two years of just lectures and books," said third-year medical student Khayam Sheikh. "I think this is a nice way to break it up."
"It's a bit like playing a game and less like learning," agreed fellow student Jiexin Zheng.
Such game-based education is not intended to replace traditional face-to-face training. In fact, it's not part of Imperial College London's official curriculum. But educators see the program -- which is available online 24 hours a day, seven days a week -- as a way of connecting to today's wired, computer-savvy students.
"You'd like to say this makes learning fun and easy," says Jenny Higham, Imperial College London's head of undergraduate medicine, "[but] at the end of the day, there's still a basic requirement to learn the facts."
Toro-Troconis is looking into possible partnerships with other universities around the world. She envisions a day when nursing students from Australia use Second Life to collaborate with physical therapists from Japan and medical students from the U.S. -- all of them playing, and learning, together in a virtual environment.
"We have to recognize our students come equipped with incredible computer skills," Higham said. "It's a new way of learning for them."
CNN (1 July 2009)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)