Moleskine Bags animation

An awesome animation using tonnes of Moleskine, pointed out to me by a colleague. Enjoy!

Moleskine Bags in Hyper Stop Motion from Moleskine ® on Vimeo.

The hospital that 'Pees'

Taken from: http://bit.ly/lQBfTi

My colleagues and I had a meeting with some representatives from the newest hospital in Singapore, the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, and came away impressed with some of the health ideas and philosophies that they have infused, or trying to infuse, into their daily operations.

On a very macro level, what I love and find refreshing is their idea, or approach to what, and how should, a hospital be. Instead of just looking at a hospital as an institution to cure the sick and needy, the evolutionary idea that was surfaced is that the hospital should be a centre for health too, and in fact, should be a catalyst for healthy living. And this idea should be propounded beyond the 4 corners of the hospital, into the immediate community that resides close by. This idea of getting the hospital to be part of the community just sounded like the proposed idea of how mosques in Singapore were supposed to operate within this multi-racial and secular society of ours. Each mosque was supposed to be a leader, or take ownership in matters related to Islam and other family-related issues and matters, whilst of course, taking into account national and other religious agenda.

On an architectural level, the design of the 3 blocks that makes up the hospital is indeed functionally impressive. Their 3-step approach towards customer orientation, their time-limited consideration for patients/visitors to be able to be at a certain location, within the hospital complex, their integrative approach towards 'integrating' the water body next door into their overall landscaping works...all these seems to be really an excellent testimony about their seriousness towards achieving a more holistic and evolutionary idea about what healthy living is all about....and more importantly, about how health should be approached and how a hospital is supposed to operate, currently and for the future!

I also loved their idea of the 3P's...especially in the areas of geriatrics. The first P, being PRODUCT, looks at the most basic and perhaps, 'superficial' level....that some problems or situations could be resolved by designing and making A PHYSICAL PRODUCT. Beyond this, the second P being PROCESS, is somewhat pitched at a more conceptual level. Perhaps this is something similar to what I am trying to infuse into my lessons...that sometimes problems should be identified beyond just the symptomatic or superficial levels, into its root cause! So perhaps process here involves beyond just the mere physicality or tangibility of products as solutions or probable solutions; beyond that there could be process-related issues that are best resolved in order to achieve the most complete or effective solutions. On the last level of P, being PEOPLE, I thought is somewhat true as beyond just the manifestations of a product or a process, it is indeed people that would be the true changers and perhaps, solutions to most problems. Changes in attitudes, lifestyles, perceptions....all these are people-related situations that are complex in nature, but not necessarily impossible to achieve a change in, in order to realise a win-win outcome.

I walked away from the meeting still feeling floored and amazed at the ideas that they are working on, and I hope that the programme that my team and me are currently working on with them could bear even more 'fruits', to enable my students to understand better, about what is at stake for them, in their 'Elderly Challenge' journey.

Would iPad 2 revolutionize education?

It has been about 3 weeks since I had my iPad 2, and I must say it has been a value-adding experience for me. But rather than just to use it to read books, entertain myself with games and video clips, and perhaps take notes, I do believe that the second version of this tablet has truly more potential that is still untapped. And I believe nothing is further from the truth when it comes to the main reason why I bought this...to see its potential in education.

Some online articles mentioned about the revolution that the iPad 2 would bring into the classrooms. Well after having tried it, I think more than just about the iPad 2, the true revolution would come when a teacher actually uses it to enrich the learning (and teaching) experiences. I applaud the idea that the iPad 2 can be a catalyst, but I would also like to hold my horses back and say that the evolution and revolution in the classrooms must be seen as more than just about the emergence of A product, and for that matter, any products at all. At the end of it, IT IS about how a teacher can masterfully weave the tool, into his or her teaching experiences, and get the students to really learn.

Yes, perhaps I'm just being a wet blanket, but the truth be told, teaching is all about that added human touch by a teacher, about how he or she can skilfully and effectively encourage the students to learn...and more importantly UNCOVER the intended, or sometimes even unintended knowledge. Much like how the great innovative companies have a 20% work time policy that allows employees to work on something non-work related, I truly believe that sometimes it is that 20% of what is not the intended knowledge, that sometimes could make that difference between making a lesson, good...or GREAT!

So am I still a firm believer in using the iPad 2 to revolutize my teaching. More than just about revolutionizing, I am more of a believer in 'evolutionizing'. Yes, there is still learning that needs to be achieved, but with the tablet on our side, I believe that it just added one more tool to our arsenal, and what an arsenal it is so far!

I am still having my share of fun with the apps and possibilities available in this second variant, and my first order of the day for a real evaluation would be to 'field-test' it for my learning trip to Vietnam. The media angle definitely opens up to a wider possibility with the addition of a camera/video capability, but how can I then leverage on this to deepen the learning experiences would be something that I am looking at, thinking of, and would definitely experiment on, during the trip. But alas, there's only so much that a single mind can think of, so if you think you can help me out with apps or possibilities that I can try out during an overseas trip, please do give me sound out, be it in the 'Comments' section on this blog post, or to my email.

Cheers...

An AutoDesk Film Preview

I thought that some of the portrayals here are really what ought to be happening in the classrooms right now, and even in the very near future. Not that I am for any specific software/hardware, but seriously this should be the direction that we should be heading towards if we really want to see change in the education landscape! Thankfully I am doing my bit too, albeit one step at a time.

The Future of Design and Design Thinking...

A conversation with IDEO's Tim Brown...