Would Google Plus be useful in the Classroom ?

For the past month, many of us have heard people around the world, raving about Google Plus--unless of course if you live below sea level or under the rock.  I have to admit that I joined Google Plus fairly early because I have friends who are very active in social networking.  And ever since,  my ride with Google Plus has been very pleasant.  I love it totally.  So far it has been just a social networking site where I interact with friends globally.

My views changed dramatically last Monday night when I over heard a family member having a "hang out" with her peers.  This family member is in her final year of completing her degree in Optometry at Auckland University.  There she was hanging out with her optometry classmates discussing about their assignments.  They were eight of them in the "hang out" and I could hear them talking and discussing about their topics and I could also hear them laughing at times assuming that one had given the wrong answer.  It reminded me of the tutorials that I used to attend when I was at university.  To me, this is just awesome, now people do not have to meet in a room in any particular time to hold any meeting.  The seemingly important "tutorials" can be held after hours outside the institutions.  Imagine how much bus fare or petrol money these students can save over a long period of time.  Needless to say there will no excuses like the bus never came or I have no money for the bus fare.

I came across an article while on Google Plus about the possible ways of using Google Plus in the classroom.  This article gave many useful tips about the ways that educators can use Google Plus.  I personally think that "Circles" and "hang out" would be of great value especially for the classroom.  The "circles" can be used to group the students and the "hang out"can used as a teaching and learning tool.  And of course, this is just the beginning of many good ideas to come!

My First Experience with Google Plus!

I have been wanting to write this post for a few days but got distracted by my busy life schedule as a teacher.  Today seems a perfect day to do it.

I first heard about Google Plus from a Facebook friend by the name of Nicola D. who lives in Italy.  He has a post on his wall about how Google was aiming at setting up a social net work site that is very similar to Facebook.  I was totally intrigued by what he said and after that I did a bit of reading on the net about the whole thing and I left it at the point.  The next day when I got up from bed, I found out that Google Plus was there for real and Nicola was sending out invites.  I was too late as his invites were all gone!  I felt a little disappointed because I want to be part of it.  Two days later, I tried signing up on G+ without any invite and wah la--BINGO! I got in!  What followed that was unbelievable!  I played with it and circled all the friends that I know very well and of course, Nicola was one of them.   It didn't look very user friendly at first but then I got the hang of it and  after that, it was a journey of no return from here.  I have to say Google Plus totally rocks! Awesome! Awesome!

The privacy feature of Google Plus is most impressive!  Now I can add my family members without offending anyone.  I can post stuff that I want to whatever circle that I prefer.  I have a school circle which consists of only educators and a close friend circle that I can share all things about my life and they won't mind.  And more, I have a crazy circle that consists of people whom I think are geeks and nerds that I can learn stuff from.

Inorder to pay forward, I have also send out invites to my good friends who want them and this make feel good because this is what social networking is about!  Thank you for coming by, my courteous readers! If anyone need any invites, please leave a comment or follow me on G+.

The photo below shows the cup of coffee that I had on Friday at a cafe in Auckland.  I requested Melissa who made the coffee to put the Google plus sign on it--just for fun.  Melissa was thrilled to do it.  She said in her 5 years of working there, nobody had ever made any personal requests before me.

The Night When I was admitted to the Hospital.

It was on Monday night on the 2nd May 2011. I was feeling unwell after dinner and while brushing my teeth using my electric tooth brush, I vomited all the food I ate. I said to myself; Gosh! I had inserted my tooth brush too deep into my mouth.--at least that was what I thought was happening. I went to bed after the clean up. At 1 am, I had to rush to toilet and I visted the toliet at least 6 times within an hour. I thought I was suffering from food posioning. The turning point was at 2 am when I vomited a whole lot of blood and this was followed by instant passing of blood as well. I felt very sick and collasped into the couch! I was rushed to the Emergency department of the hospital immediately. Upon arrival, my blood prressure was taken and was given IV straight away. They also put needle on the other hand incase my bleeding wouldn't stop, they could give me blood transfusion. I was very weak but I was fully awake and knew that I was suffering from a bleeding stomach ulcer. They were pumping medicine into my system to stop the bleeding. I was then admitted into Ward 68 and was told that I had to stay there till the bleeding stopped. They also told me that at some point that night, they would give me an endoscopy. Meanwhile I was very tired but I couldn't and dare not sleep. I was afraid that If I slept, I would never wake up.

It was 5.30 am when the nurse came to check on me and I heard the patient sleeping across from me.--calling " Nurse, I lost my wedding ring, can you find it for me ? " The nurse replied ( while taking my blood pressure;) " Forget about your wedding ring and go to sleep! " Gosh! I said to myself; That wan't very nice of the nurse to say things like that. Anyway, I didn't say anything as the nurse was super nice to me and it was a funny time to look for a wedding ring. The next morning, that patient had a visitor and I overheard her asking her to keep her wedding ring for her. So at last, she never lost the ring. She also tod her grandaughter that the DARK nurse was rude to her! Gosh! How racist can one get? She was referring to the Indian nurse that was on duty and the one who had asked her to forget her wedding ring. I found out she was 93 years old. I wonder if she would have said that the YELLOW one was palying angry birds --if she had known what i was doing with my iphone! LOL!

And of course, throughout the night, all sorts of tremor were happening but none as amusing as the LOST WEDDING RING!

I am grateful that I am now well and in good shape and I owe that to GOD who has answered the prayers! Thank you all--for reading and listening and for being here! I am totally touched!

My Dream Has Come True! I Have got my ipad2!

I have finally bought my ipad2. My dream has come true! The satisfaction is immense! Now I am searching for apps to use. I have bought imovie11 for $6.99 and have obtained garageband as well. I love the two cameras and the photobooth is awesome! The fact that I can tweet and facebook is extra bonuses!

I am Dreaming of ipad 2!!!!

I have been think of buying the ipad for a while now! Now that ipad 2 is coming out soon, I am just totally excited! Why ? Well, this time, I am going to get one! A twitter friend tweeted the following video and it made me smile! So I thought I would share it with you! So enjoy!

Why Teachers Should Never give Up on Any Students ?

As teachers, we all have our moments-( when things haven't turned up the way we want them to be--whether it is when the students are naughty or when the team leaders are hassling you to complete your plans when you already have a hundred things to do ), that we might just let it be! Then we will look at those innocent faces that are staring at us and we will give it another chance! This is called " Never never give up! Got it ? ". I love my job as a teacher and the following video reenforces my beliefs that I can make a difference! Cheers, my courteous readers!

What is Life to You ?

For the last few days I have been thinking and reflecting. Time flies!! Life is precious or rather time is precious! Whether we like it or not, people move on and things change with or without our knowledge! I find this pretty scary! In a short period of time, I have lost a few things and gained a few things! The passing of my dear friend, Mata, has a big impact on me! I have tried to stay on top of things by keeping myself busy. I took a trip to Asia visiting Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. I had an awesome time! The trip was planned for me by my family. My brother in Malaysia has been telling me that my father is in ill health and that I should pay him a visit and so I did.

Now that I am back in reality, I find myself looking for inspiration! Then I saw a quote posted on a friend's facebook wall --it says: " The happiest people don't have everything, they just make the best of everything. Live simply, speak kindly, care deeply, love generously. The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.". Well, this is so true and wise. This quote or rather the passage was taken from the video--"Life is like a Cup of Coffee!". Watch it carefully because it has brought smiles to my face and hope it will do the same for a lot of people. So enjoy, my friends!