WHAT IS THINK QUEST?

What Is ThinkQuest?

ThinkQuest is an online program that challenges students to develop educational Web sites for K-12 curriculum. Students can win great prizes for themselves and their school.

The ThinkQuest resources featured in Teacher Tacklebox represent only a small portion of the many great educational resources developed by students available at the ThinkQuest Library of Entries.

We encourage teachers to inform their students of this opportunity and to encourage them to enter the ThinkQuest challenge.

VISIT THIS SITE : http://www.thinkquest.org/en/

KODU

What is Kodu ?
Kodu is a new visual programming language made specifically for creating games. It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone. The programming environment runs on the Xbox, allowing rapid design iteration using only a game controller for input.

Integrating Kodu and gaming into the classroom

Anthony Salcito

Being a gamer myself, I’ve always been attuned to the potential for gaming to become more than just an entertainment device. I think leveraging video games in the classroom can not only stimulate thinking and help develop problem solving and logic skills, but also inspire and excite kids about learning. That’s why I’m thrilled Kodu is now officially available on the Xbox Live Community Games channel. Created in Microsoft Research (MSR), Kodu is a new visual programming tool that allows you to create video games on the Xbox 360, but it’s also a really interesting way to help young children learn the basics of computer programming through a visual and familiar interface.

If you are with a school or an educator interested in using Kodu in your curriculum, you can sign up here to get involved in the academic beta program on the PC. Space is limited, and it requires an Xbox 360 controller for Windows and a reasonable graphics card. You can read more about Kodu’s potential use in the classroom here, and how kids at a Michigan elementary school took Kodu for an early test drive during the development phase here. Also, check out the demo video below from Alfred Thompson, one of our K-12 Computer Science Academic Relations Managers here at Microsoft. The Kodu forum also has lots of chatter if you need programming tips, want to talk to the community building games and keep up on product developments.

The potential for Kodu in the classroom is huge. There are three core elements schools should think about in terms of how to maximize the potential of gaming from a learning perspective. Most schools think about gaming in relation to creating simulation-based experiences in a visual or interactive way that enable collaboration (think Second Life). I blogged earlier about how avatars can help get students more engaged in their learning experiences.

Gaming is a great way to inspire kids to get exposed to and to understand core skills. Kodu can help kids understand the fundamentals and principals of software development. We can make learning experiences more relevant. If we can get kids interested in gaming concepts early, then hopefully they will think about their potential career aspirations and develop skills early.

I think there is also potential for incorporating gaming into the way we do assessments. Kids respond to the gaming culture. There’s this notion of achievement and winning in games that incent players to accomplish certain tasks in order to get recognition. Wouldn’t it be great if we could leverage those core concepts for learning? Using elements of games to have rich interactive learning management systems where kids are incented, rewarded and recognized to complete quizzes, to do lesson plans, or to share information and collaborate on a subject.

I’d be curious to hear if your school is receptive to incorporating gaming in the classroom, and what innovative projects you are assigning your students…

The Government Transformation Programme (GTP)

The Government Transformation Programme (GTP) was introduced by the Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak in April 2009 and is led by him. The objective of GTP is two-fold – first, to transform the Government to be more effective in its delivery of services and accountable for outcomes that matter most to the rakyat; and second, to move Malaysia forward to become an advanced, united, and just society with high standards of living for all. This is in line with the national mission of achieving Vision 2020 – for Malaysia to become a fully developed nation.

The National Key Result Areas

The six National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) identified to spearhead the Government’s transformation are:

• Reducing crime
• Fighting corruption
• Improving student outcomes
• Raising living standards of low-income households
• Improving rural basic infrastructure
• Improving urban public transport

Enhancing accountability with Ministerial KPIs

Areas not covered by the NKRAs are still important and will continue to receive attention from the Government at the ministerial level. These areas – MKRAs – include targeted outcomes that the rakyat can see and feel (e.g., responding faster to public complaints and reducing the number of road traffic accidents). Similar to the NKRAs, these MKRAs and Ministerial KPIs (MKPIs) are a beginning and will continue to be refined and improved over time Accountability for delivery rests on each respective minister. The Prime Minister has also committed to reviewing the progress of all ministers every six months to ensure their performance is on track. The first reviews took place between November 2009 and January 2010.

Click here to download Chapter 12: Enhancing accountability with Ministerial KPIs

Ensuring performance now

In order to achieve this level of performance, we acknowledge that the Government needs a new way of working – from the top leadership down through the entire civil service. The Prime Minister has led the way by requiring all ministers to set clear KPIs, which they must then report results against regularly. This practice is in the process of being cascaded throughout the Government.

We are also enhancing the transparency of our objectives, targets and plans – beginning with the GTP Roadmap. We expect to be held accountable for delivering targets we announce, and we will publish a progress report on an annual basis, starting in the first quarter of 2011, so that our achievements can be evaluated over time.

In addition, we have embarked on a series of reforms to enhance our capacity to deliver.

Click here to download Chapter 13: Ensuring Performance Now

Transforming Malaysia

In our history, we have often taken the road less travelled and pragmatically charted our own course. We are doing it again. No other government in the world has undertaken such a bold transformation programme. However we understand that delivering these outcomes will not be easy. There will be setbacks along the way, including missed targets, initiatives that may not work, stakeholders who push back, resistance to change and new challenges we could not have foreseen. In transformation programmes of this scale it is also quite common for things to get worse – or feel like they are getting worse – before they get better. Despite these inevitable challenges, we must deliver.

When the Government Transformation Programme hits inevitable challenges and setbacks, we the Government and all Malaysians must remind ourselves of what is really at stake here and continue to stay the course. What is at stake is the achievement of Vision 2020, making a difference to the lives of all current and our future generations of Malaysians and further enhancing our nation’s reputation and position in the world.

Pls visit

MyWork Life

WHAT IS i7 Processor?

BEST-IN-CLASS PERFORMANCE

2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processor

The Intel® Core™ i7 processor delivers best-in-class performance for the most demanding applications. This quad-core processor features 8-way multitasking capability and additional L3 cache. With adaptive performance and built-in visual capabilities this 2nd generation processor brings more intelligence to your PC.

2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7 processors feature Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0◊ and Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology◊, enabling required security applications and protocols to run efficiently in the background without compromising productivity.

Today's more visually sophisticated communication needs will be met with Intel® HD Graphics 2000 Technology, integrated into 2nd generation Intel Core processors. This eliminates the need for a discrete graphics card, reducing power consumption and system cost.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

With 2nd generation Intel Core i7 processors, you get the following features built in:

• Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0◊ dynamically increases the processor frequency as needed by taking advantage of thermal and power headroom when operating below specified limits.
• Intel® HT Technology◊ allows each core of your processor to work on two tasks at the same time.
• Intel® Smart Cache is dynamically allocated to each processor core based on workload, which significantly reduces latency and improves performance.
• Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions add hardware acceleration to AES algorithms and speeds up the execution of AES applications.

21st Century Skills

1^st Century Schools, LLC recognizes the critical need for developing 21^st century skills. However, we believe that authentic education addresses the “whole child”, the “whole person”, and does not limit our professional development and curriculum design to workplace readiness.

21^st century skills learned through our curriculum, which is interdisciplinary, integrated, project-based, and more, include and are learned within a project-based curriculum by utilizing the seven survival skills advocated by Tony Wagner in his book, The Global Achievement Gap:

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Collaboration across Networks and Leading by Influence
• Agility and Adaptability
• Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
• Effective Oral and Written Communication
• Accessing and Analyzing Information
• Curiosity and Imagination
  

Please visit this site :
What is 21st Century Education

Framework for 21st Century Learning

The Framework presents a holistic view of 21st century teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student outcomes (a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies) with innovative support systems to help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century.

The key elements of 21st century learning are represented in the graphic and descriptions below. The graphic represents both 21st century skills student outcomes (as represented by the arches of the rainbow) and 21st century skills support systems (as represented by the pools at the bottom).

While the graphic represents each element distinctly for descriptive purposes, the Partnership views all the components as fully interconnected in the process of 21st century teaching and learning.

The elements described below are the critical systems necessary to ensure 21st century readiness for every student. Twenty-first century standards, assessments, curriculum, instruction, professional development and learning environments must be aligned to produce a support system that produces 21st century outcomes for today’s students.

Twenty-First Century Student Outcomes and Support Systems

• Download a brief PDF version of the Framework here.
• Download the full P21 Framework Definitions document.
• Visit Route 21 for an interactive view of the framework here.

Twenty-First Century Student Outcomes

The elements described in this section as “21st century student outcomes” (represented by the rainbow) are the skills, knowledge and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21st century.

1. Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes

2. Learning and Innovation Skills

• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Communication and Collaboration

3. Information, Media and Technology Skills

• Information Literacy
• Media Literacy
• ICT Literacy
  

4. Life and Career Skills

Twenty-First Century Support Systems

The elements described below are the critical systems necessary to ensure student mastery of 21st century skills. 21st century standards, assessments, curriculum, instruction, professional development and learning environments must be aligned to produce a support system that produces 21st century outcomes for today’s students.

1. Twenty-First Century Standards

2. Assessment of 21st Century Skills

3. Twenty-First Century Curriculum and Instruction

4. Twenty-First Century Professional Development

5. Twenty-First Century Learning Environments

Please visit this site for more info

The Partnership for 21st Century Skill

iPAD 2

How is the iPad 2 different than the original iPad?

The iPad 2 is different from the iPad in several ways, both inside and out. The most noticeable difference is the new design. Apple has incorporated the same unibody design principles which we have seen on the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops into the iPad 2. This means the iPad 2 is 33% thinner than the original iPad and also comes in .2 pounds lighter. The iPad 2 measures 8.8mm thick and weighs in at 1.33 pounds.

The iPad 2 also comes with two cameras, one on the front and one on the back, which can be used to take pictures and video as well as support FaceTime and video calling. The rear camera is capable of recording in 720P at 30 frames per second and can also take still images with a 5X zoom. The front facing camera is designed mainly to support video calling and supports a VGA resolution at 30 FPS as well as the ability to take still images of VGA quality. You are able to control the exposure by tapping on the screen and the photos can be geotagged when connected to WiFi so that you know where you took them.

Another exterior difference is the availability of a white iPad 2. Previously the iPad was only available in black. With the launch, users will now be able to choose from black or white.

Inside, the iPad 2 has a new, faster, dual core A5 processor which delivers two-times the performance of the original iPad and nine-times the graphics performance. The new processor will allow developers to create richer, more immersive, applications that provide even greater visuals.

The iPad 2 will also be available with a Verizon 3G connection, a change from the original iPad which was available with a mobile data connection from AT&T.

Also inside the iPad 2 is a three axis gyroscope which has previously been added to the iPhone 4 and allows for more sensitive motion controls in apps.

Hidden inside the iPad 2 are a number of magnets which allow the iPad 2 to be used with the Apple Smart Cover and eventually third party cases that connect to the iPad with magnets, allowing for protection without giving up a slim form factor. The Smart Covers can also be used to place the iPad 2 into positions for typing and viewing content.

iPad 2 Features:

The inclusion of two cameras on the iPad 2 brings photography to the Apple tablet and Apple is including two new apps that will allow user to take advantage of the cameras. The first new app is FaceTime which allows you to video chat with other iPads, iPhones, iPod Touchs and also with Mac users.

Apple is also including Photo Booth for the iPad. Photo Booth makes it easy to take pictures of you and your friends and edit them in fun, and funny ways. There are a collection of built in filters, ranging from X-Ray to Light Tunnel, to tweak your photos and then you can share them via the mail app, in a slide show or in your photo library where you can share photos using other iPad apps.

Like the original iPad, the iPad 2 has a 9.7″ IPS display which is LED backlit. The display provides a very crisp image for both photos and videos. The IPS (in-plane switching) technology offers a wide 178 degree viewing angle, which means you can share the screen with a friend.

The iPad 2 has a multitouch screen which is how you interact with the iPad. Users can flip through images, pinch to zoom or flick across the screen to control the iPad 2. When you need to type an onscreen keyboard pops up and allows you to compose documents and emails. When you’re done, the keyboard slides off the screen until you need it again.

The iPad 2 ships with iOS 4.3, Apple’s latest operating system which is what powers the iPad experience and includes access to the 65,000 iPad apps. There are a collection of new features in iOS 4.3 including faster browsing, access to your iTunes content over your home network, improvements to AirPlay streaming and the ability to have the iPad switch control the orientation lock or to act as a mute switch.

iPad 2 Apps:

The iPad 2 ships with a collection of built in apps including the new FaceTime iPad app and the Photo Booth iPad app. The FaceTime iPad app allows you to make FaceTime video calls to other Apple devices and the Photo Booth app makes it easy to make fun edits to photos you take while hanging out with friends, as if you were in an actual photo booth.

Other built in apps include the Safari web browser which is now faster than on the original iPad and allows you to visit anywhere on the web. You can have several webpages open at a time with support for tabbed browsing.

Notably, it does not support Flash, so you won’t be able to play every online video, but most websites now support a video format that the iPad 2 can play.

The Mail app allows you to check your work and personal email accounts with support for major web email services, and Exchange which is used at many companies. The Mail App can connect to Pop3 and IMAP accounts as well. There is support for reading, responding and opening attachments right on your iPad.

iBooks, Apple’s eBook and PDF reading app is also installed giving you access to a wide variety of books. You can also install many other eBook reading applications like the Kindle iPad app or the Nook iPad app.

The iPad 2 ships with the Videos app and Photos app which allow you to watch your purchased or downloaded videos as well as those you take with the iPad. The Photos app can be used to play a slideshow on the iPad, or wirelessly to your Apple TV.

The iPad 2 also has a built in iPod app, which is where you control your music, choose playlists and flip through your albums. You can be playing music in the iPad app while you use the iPad for other activities.

For purchasing content and apps you can use the iTunes and App Store apps which provide access to movies, music and TV shows as well as over 65,000 iPad apps.

Rounding out the included apps are Maps, YouTube, Find My iPad, Game Center, Notes, Calendar and Contacts. The Find my iPad app can help you track down a lost iPad. Game Center will keep track of how you are doing on the numerous iPad games and compare your progress to your friends. The rest of the apps so pretty much what the name implies; Map, show you YouTube videos, allow you to take notes, and display your calendar and contacts as synced from various online accounts.

In addition to these built in apps you have access to over 65,000 iPad applications already released. The iPad apps made for the original iPad will work with the iPad 2, and you can use iPhone applications on the iPad 2. If you use an iPhone application though, the app will either take up a portion of the screen, or will be scaled up to fill the screen.

Apple announced two new apps today that will launch with the iPad 2. First is iMovie which is a portable movie editing studio that will let you edit the video you take or import to your iPad and then share it with your friends. Next up is Garage Band which can help you learn how to play music, or be used to create tunes on the iPad 2 with up to 8 tracks mixed in.

7th ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL INNOVATIVE EDUCATION FORUM 2011

SELANGORS' SMART TEACHERS COMMUNITY

The success of a school in the teaching and learning in the classroom can be influenced by several factors. Among the factors that will be recounted here is the role of the State Education Department to ensure the teaching quality, teacher and student performance.

Selangor State Education Department has introduced the concept of Smart 3C : Communicate, Collaborate and Building a Smart Teachers Community.

In these concept teachers guided to use effective skill to use face to face and online collaboration to be better teaching in the classrom.

Used theory of Edward De Bono "Six Thinking of Hats", these 3C skills if applied effectively can produce excellent teachers and excellent students result.

Six Thinking Hats is a simple, effective parallel thinking process that helps people be more productive, focused, and mindfully involved. And once learned, the tools can be applied immediately!

You and your team members can learn how to separate thinking into six clear functions and roles. Each thinking role is identified with a colored symbolic "thinking hat." By mentally wearing and switching "hats," you can easily focus or redirect thoughts, the conversation, or the meeting.

The White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the facts."

The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.

The Black Hat is judgment - the devil's advocate or why something may not work. Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong. Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if overused.

The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes, loves, and hates.

The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas. It's an opportunity to express new concepts and new perceptions.

The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It's the control mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats® guidelines are observed.

What Should A Good Teacher Be Like?

A good teacher must have a good character, good attitudes, good teaching skills, and have a good relation with the students. The teacher must have a good teaching skill means that the teacher must make the students to understand easily what the teacher is teaching.

The teacher must be creative in order to make the students can easily understand or to make the study hours are enjoyable, so that the students are not bored. Rather than just speaking and explaining in front of the class, the teacher can also have some experiment or other fun activity like researching about weather to increase the student’s knowledge by doing something, not only by listening.

The teacher must also have a good relation with the students in order to know if the students can understand the teaching so that the teacher can do better.

●The most important in a good teacher is the desire to be a good teacher. This means the one who succeeds in every aspect of teaching, just like the teachers recognize students who really try to be good students, Students also recognize teachers who really want to be good teachers.

●A good teachers will always take risks. Sometimes, teachers that do not take a risk was not respected by the students so that the teacher can’t teach the student.

●A good teacher must have a positive attitude. Teacher who falls into the trap of bad attitude will never be positive about teaching. Good teachers meet all challenges with a positive attitude.

●A good teachers never have enough time and never finish their work, but a good teacher don't complain about the long hours because they love what they do.

●A good teachers think of teaching as a form of parenting. Teacher use the principles of good parenting in many times, including caring about their Students, knowing when to be firm to the students, and apologizing when it is needed. Good teachers, like good parents, know the students'' problems, and the students’ potential.

● A good teachers give their students a confidence. A good teacher realize that what the students learn is less important than the learning process by the teacher.

●A good teacher able to keep his or her students in balance. The students that are not active in class are a bored students. A creative teachers force their learning when their students try new techniques and introduce risks.

●A good teachers will always try to motivate students by working within their own learning system. Teachers who know their students' likes, dislikes, problems and personal issues are more likely to be able to motivate students to learn.

● A good teacher must be creative. The creative teacher also force a learning of knowledge. In a technical field like health care, teachers should be interested in more than just what students know. A creative teacher will be an active teacher. This means that the teacher will not only explain something in the class, but with some experiment or some project to do to increase students’ knowledge.

● A good teacher must have a good characteristic. This means the teachers’ ability to work together with students and treat them as partners.

● A good teacher must be caring. One of the part of caring is trust. For good teachers, one way to build trust is by allowing students to get to know them. Teachers who share about themselves give their students an appreciation for their knowledge. Teachers can also involve students in discussion groups and professional activities.

More About : what should a good teacher be like?
Visit this site : http://www.shvoong.com/books/1733641-good-teacher/

Learning Theories and Teaching Strategies

# Experiential Learning
Definition: Teachers provide opportunities for real-world experiences based on students' prior knowledge.
Rationale: Brain-based research suggests that students who engage in real world experiences will attain and assimilate information effectively because the activities are meaningful in their day-to-day life experiences.

# Direct Instruction
Definition: A highly structured, teacher-centered information delivery method that may rely on drills, repetition, and scripted materials.
Rationale: Provides the teacher with a framework to impart information.

# Social Learning
Definition: Teacher-guided cooperative learning that facilitates student interaction.
Rationale: Strengthens students' ability to retain information through social interaction involved with cooperative learning within socially appropriate norms.

# Problem-based Learning
Definition: Teacher/student initiated inquiries that promote critical thinking and problem solving.
Rationale: Develops student ability to problem solve and think critically.

# Constructivist Instruction
Definition: Teachers apply brain research results and extend student learning by building on students' prior knowledge.
Rationale: The context in which an idea is taught as well as students' beliefs and attitudes affect learning.

# Thematic Instruction
Definition: Teachers provide cross-curricular learning on a central theme.
Rationale: Students are able to make coherent connections among disciplines and acquire an integrated knowledge base.

# Non-graded, Multi-age
Definition: Teachers implement curriculum based on students' individual learning progress rather than grade level.
Rationale: Students' chronological age and mental age do not always correspond. In a multi-age program students develop self-direction, responsibility, tolerance for others, social skills, self-assuredness, and positive attitudes toward learning and school.

# Multiple Intelligences
Definition: This theory, developed by Howard Gardner, suggests that intelligence based on IQ testing alone is far too limited; therefore, he proposed eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential.
Rationale: It identifies students' abilities in other areas of intelligence and does not limit intelligence to strength in the logical-mathematical and linguistic areas.

# Miscellaneous Instructional Ideas
Definition: A list of ideas designed to stimulate teachers' thoughts and assist in expanding lesson plans.
Rationale: It provides a resource for the busy, time-challenged teacher.

# Additional Learning Theories
Definition: Some other generally accepted theories of learning with resource connections. This list is by no means exhaustive.
Rationale: Justice to all learning theories is not possible due to the vast number. This link supplies information on additional theories

Please visit this site for more info :
http://www.journeytoexcellence.org/practice/instruction/theories/

Talian Internet Di Sekolah tempoh INTERIM 2011

Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2011

Gartner, Inc. today highlighted the top 10 technologies and trends that will be strategic for most organizations in 2011. The analysts presented their findings during Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, being held here through October 21.

Gartner defines a strategic technology as one with the potential for significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years. Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, the need for a major dollar investment, or the risk of being late to adopt.

A strategic technology may be an existing technology that has matured and/or become suitable for a wider range of uses. It may also be an emerging technology that offers an opportunity for strategic business advantage for early adopters or with potential for significant market disruption in the next five years. As such, these technologies impact the organization's long-term plans, programs and initiatives.

“Companies should factor these top 10 technologies in their strategic planning process by asking key questions and making deliberate decisions about them during the next two years,” said David Cearley, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.

“Sometimes the decision will be to do nothing with a particular technology,” said Carl Claunch, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “In other cases, it will be to continue investing in the technology at the current rate. In still other cases, the decision may be to test or more aggressively deploy the technology.”

The top 10 strategic technologies for 2011 include:

Cloud Computing. Cloud computing services exist along a spectrum from open public to closed private. The next three years will see the delivery of a range of cloud service approaches that fall between these two extremes. Vendors will offer packaged private cloud implementations that deliver the vendor's public cloud service technologies (software and/or hardware) and methodologies (i.e., best practices to build and run the service) in a form that can be implemented inside the consumer's enterprise. Many will also offer management services to remotely manage the cloud service implementation. Gartner expects large enterprises to have a dynamic sourcing team in place by 2012 that is responsible for ongoing cloudsourcing decisions and management.

Mobile Applications and Media Tablets. Gartner estimates that by the end of 2010, 1.2 billion people will carry handsets capable of rich, mobile commerce providing an ideal environment for the convergence of mobility and the Web. Mobile devices are becoming computers in their own right, with an astounding amount of processing ability and bandwidth. There are already hundreds of thousands of applications for platforms like the Apple iPhone, in spite of the limited market (only for the one platform) and need for unique coding.

The quality of the experience of applications on these devices, which can apply location, motion and other context in their behavior, is leading customers to interact with companies preferentially through mobile devices. This has lead to a race to push out applications as a competitive tool to improve relationships and gain advantage over competitors whose interfaces are purely browser-based.

Social Communications and Collaboration. Social media can be divided into: (1) Social networking —social profile management products, such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Friendster as well as social networking analysis (SNA) technologies that employ algorithms to understand and utilize human relationships for the discovery of people and expertise. (2) Social collaboration —technologies, such as wikis, blogs, instant messaging, collaborative office, and crowdsourcing. (3) Social publishing —technologies that assist communities in pooling individual content into a usable and community accessible content repository such as YouTube and flickr. (4) Social feedback - gaining feedback and opinion from the community on specific items as witnessed on YouTube, flickr, Digg, Del.icio.us, and Amazon. Gartner predicts that by 2016, social technologies will be integrated with most business applications. Companies should bring together their social CRM, internal communications and collaboration, and public social site initiatives into a coordinated strategy.

Video. Video is not a new media form, but its use as a standard media type used in non-media companies is expanding rapidly. Technology trends in digital photography, consumer electronics, the web, social software, unified communications, digital and Internet-based television and mobile computing are all reaching critical tipping points that bring video into the mainstream. Over the next three years Gartner believes that video will become a commonplace content type and interaction model for most users, and by 2013, more than 25 percent of the content that workers see in a day will be dominated by pictures, video or audio.

Next Generation Analytics. Increasing compute capabilities of computers including mobile devices along with improving connectivity are enabling a shift in how businesses support operational decisions. It is becoming possible to run simulations or models to predict the future outcome, rather than to simply provide backward looking data about past interactions, and to do these predictions in real-time to support each individual business action. While this may require significant changes to existing operational and business intelligence infrastructure, the potential exists to unlock significant improvements in business results and other success rates.

Social Analytics. Social analytics describes the process of measuring, analyzing and interpreting the results of interactions and associations among people, topics and ideas. These interactions may occur on social software applications used in the workplace, in internally or externally facing communities or on the social web. Social analytics is an umbrella term that includes a number of specialized analysis techniques such as social filtering, social-network analysis, sentiment analysis and social-media analytics. Social network analysis tools are useful for examining social structure and interdependencies as well as the work patterns of individuals, groups or organizations. Social network analysis involves collecting data from multiple sources, identifying relationships, and evaluating the impact, quality or effectiveness of a relationship.

Context-Aware Computing. Context-aware computing centers on the concept of using information about an end user or object’s environment, activities connections and preferences to improve the quality of interaction with that end user. The end user may be a customer, business partner or employee. A contextually aware system anticipates the user's needs and proactively serves up the most appropriate and customized content, product or service. Gartner predicts that by 2013, more than half of Fortune 500 companies will have context-aware computing initiatives and by 2016, one-third of worldwide mobile consumer marketing will be context-awareness-based.

Storage Class Memory. Gartner sees huge use of flash memory in consumer devices, entertainment equipment and other embedded IT systems. It also offers a new layer of the storage hierarchy in servers and client computers that has key advantages — space, heat, performance and ruggedness among them. Unlike RAM, the main memory in servers and PCs, flash memory is persistent even when power is removed. In that way, it looks more like disk drives where information is placed and must survive power-downs and reboots. Given the cost premium, simply building solid state disk drives from flash will tie up that valuable space on all the data in a file or entire volume, while a new explicitly addressed layer, not part of the file system, permits targeted placement of only the high-leverage items of information that need to experience the mix of performance and persistence available with flash memory.

Ubiquitous Computing. The work of Mark Weiser and other researchers at Xerox's PARC paints a picture of the coming third wave of computing where computers are invisibly embedded into the world. As computers proliferate and as everyday objects are given the ability to communicate with RFID tags and their successors, networks will approach and surpass the scale that can be managed in traditional centralized ways. This leads to the important trend of imbuing computing systems into operational technology, whether done as calming technology or explicitly managed and integrated with IT. In addition, it gives us important guidance on what to expect with proliferating personal devices, the effect of consumerization on IT decisions, and the necessary capabilities that will be driven by the pressure of rapid inflation in the number of computers for each person.

Fabric-Based Infrastructure and Computers. A fabric-based computer is a modular form of computing where a system can be aggregated from separate building-block modules connected over a fabric or switched backplane. In its basic form, a fabric-based computer comprises a separate processor, memory, I/O, and offload modules (GPU, NPU, etc.) that are connected to a switched interconnect and, importantly, the software required to configure and manage the resulting system(s). The fabric-based infrastructure (FBI) model abstracts physical resources — processor cores, network bandwidth and links and storage — into pools of resources that are managed by the Fabric Resource Pool Manager (FRPM), software functionality. The FRPM in turn is driven by the Real Time Infrastructure (RTI) Service Governor software component. An FBI can be supplied by a single vendor or by a group of vendors working closely together, or by an integrator — internal or external.

DS Teknologi Maklumat Dan Komunikasi

What is KSSR Year 1 : 2011

KURIKULUM STANDARD SEKOLAH RENDAH (KSSR).

Bermula tahun 2011, semua sekolah akan menggunakan satu kurikulum baru yang dikenali sebagai Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR). Kurikulum ini akan dijalankan secara berperingkat di seluruh Malaysia bermula tahun 1 2011. Kurikulum ini selaras dengan perkembangan dan permintaan semasa yang menuntut modal insan yang lebih berkualiti sejajar dengan zaman yang serba maju dan canggih kini.

Ketua Pengarah Pelajaran Malaysia berkata, KSSR tidak akan menggantikan tetapi beriringan dengan Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah (KBSR).

Melalui KSSR katanya, pengajaran dan pembelajaran akan menggunakan modul yang akan menggantikan buku teks oleh itu guru-guru sedang disedia dan dilatih untuk KSSR.

Ia diharap dapat meningkatkan penguasaan murid-murid sekolah rendah khususnya dalam bahasa Melayu dan bahasa Inggeris.

Pendekatan teknik pengajaran dan pembelajaran (P&P) akan menjadi lebih menarik dan interaktif di mana ia melibatkan penggunaan dua bahasa tersebut serta meningkatkan penguasaannya bagi guru-guru untuk mengajar dalam subjek Matematik dan Sains sejajar dengan matlamat kerajaan.

KSSR membahagikan mata pelajaran kepada tiga modul iaitu Modul Asas Teras, Modul Asas Tema dan Modul Asas Elektif.

Tahap satu sekolah rendah (tahun 1 hingga 3) akan tertumpu kepada penguasaan 4M (membaca, menulis, mengira dan menaakul) serta kemahiran asas teknologi komunikasi dan maklumat (ICT), perkembangan sosioemosi, kerohanian, fizikal, kognitif, sikap dan nilai.

Sementara tahap dua sekolah rendah (tahun 4 hingga 6) akan tertumpu kepada pengukuhan dan aplikasi 4M, kemahiran asas ICT, perkembangan sosioemosi, kerohanian, fizikal, sikap dan nilai.

Selain itu, kementerian juga akan memperkenalkan Kurikulum Standard Prasekolah Kebangsaan (KSPK) bagi murid-murid prasekolah berumur lima dan enam tahun seluruh negara.

Pada peringkat ini pula, tumpuan akan diberikan kepada perkembangan sosioemosi, kerohanian, fizikal, kognitif, sahsiah, persediaan ke sekolah rendah serta pendedahan awal mengenai kemahiran 4M.

KSPK akan memudahkan lagi murid-murid prasekolah ini untuk menyediakan mereka memasuki alam persekolahan selain pendekatan yang lebih mesra dan menarik digunakan bersesuaian dengan peringkat umur kanak-kanak prasekolah.