Challenge the known. Embrace the unknown.

We shall be conducting a basic training session for parents who are new to Apple and the MacBook. We shall cover basic notebook care, creating multi-user accounts, internet & email setup and skim though the iLife suite (iPhoto, iMovie, Garageband, iTunes, iWeb).

It is by no means a comprehensive coverage of what the Macs can do, but it should get you started on the right foot.

Venue: Sri Cempaka Damansara IT Centre
Time : 10.00 – 12.30pm
Date: Saturday 9 December 2006

VERY IMPORTANT:
Please register by sending an email to Puan Zaihasriza at zaihasriza@cempaka.edu.my. Please indicate if you are coming alone or with your spouse. (I’m afraid this session shall remain strictly for parents only. No children/friends/relatives). There are limited places available. Puan Zaihasriza will inform the confirmed attendees beforehand. We need your cooperation to stick to this strictly as we will be unable to cater to non-registrants who turn up. There will be another training session next month, so not to worry.

If your registration is confirmed, please bring your child’s fully-charged MacBook with you!

Yes.

Our main focus is on effective delivery of teaching and learning at school. It is crucial that our teachers and students focus on this, and not bogged down by unnecessary “technical” hiccups: mainly (but not limited to) compatibility issues, viruses & spyware. So, first of all, we decided that we were going to stick to just one platform.

We decided on Apple because, from past experience, we found that this was a safer (in terms of network attacks – Macs are far less susceptible to viruses, etc) and more manageable platform. Furthermore, we were able to do amazing things right out of the box (ie with whatever came with the machines). Macs have historically been more innovative and been better with creative work, which are qualities that are important to us and how we’d like to bring up our students.

We have a long association with Apple (dating back to when we first opened our doors in 1983) and our technology team is more than adequately trained to provide the technical support (which any techie knows is key to the success of any technology programme).

Also, Macs are more fun

For further information, please visit http://www.apple.com/education/whyapple

What is 1 to 1 Learning about?

The aims of the learning environment is detailed in the About page. The aim is really, about empowering each student in terms of their learning and self-expression. It is about equipping our students with 21st Century Literacy skills (critical thinking, communication, collaboration, self-organisation skills).
It is not about getting rid of textbooks altogether. Or is it about doing homework and examinations on-line, although some element of that is a by-product. There will be some game-playing and even surfing (inadvertently, of course) into sites of dubious nature. Whether we like it or not, this is all part and parcel of the world in which our children are growing up today. This learning environment is about guiding students and teaching them how to navigate the internet and its vast resources effectively and critically, and how to express themselves responsibly and safely.

Too often, adults underestimate what our children can do. They are capable of some really amazing things, if given the opportunity, exposure and empowerment. We’ve seen this year in and year out at the School.

We know what Cempakans are capable of. Our children are, quite literally, a selected group of children, right from entry into the school, which requires examinations and interview. It might also well be true that our children are privileged in their exposure to the world: they travel, meet people from all over and all have ready internet connectivity at home. This is further added by the interaction, learning and sharing in an environment of this collective exposure and experience at school.

We shall continue to create and provide a supportive culture where student growth and creativity can flourish. The new 1 to 1 learning environment will take Cempakans and Cempaka to a whole new level.

For further information regarding 1 to 1 Learning, visit: http://www.apple.com/education/k12/onetoone

If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast of this blog, just copy and paste the following URL into your podcatcher (eg iTunes).

http://www.talkr.com/app/cast_pods.app?feed_id=23242

If using iTunes, here is how you do this:
1. Launch iTunes.
2. In the iTunes menu bar, click on Advances>Subscribe to Podcasts
3. Copy and paste the URL above into it.
4. Go to the Podcasts section in your iTunes Library.
5. You will find that your subscription is now there. Choose entries to download!

Considering it is read using a computer-generated voice, the intonation is pretty impressive.

They are certainly not compulsory, but will prove to be extremely useful for 2 reasons:
1. They will allow students to listen to podcasts (which are an amazing educational resource) on the go, when their computers are not with them. Sure, they will also be listening to music and watching videos (if it’s a video iPod), but I don’t think that’s not a solid enough reason to avoid getting one.

2.  The iPod is also a hard drive and will act as a good back-up device. If anything – this is reason enough to get one. (External hard drives of similar capacity are cheaper of course, but will not be able to play podcasts, display calendars, contact, notes, etc).

If parents wish, iPods may be ordered at the School – we have some which we can spare for about RM100.00 less than SRP. They’re te 30GB iPod Video model and brand new (unopened). My advice, if you’re thinking of getting one, is to get one with the largest capacity you’re willing to pay for.

Absolutely. To help with weight burden, we are adjusting the time-table to reduce the number of textbooks required in a day.

All students in Form 1, 2 and 4 at Cempaka Damansara must start the 2007 academic year with an Apple notebook. It does not necessarily have to be a MacBook. It could be an iBook, PowerBook or a MacBook Pro. But it does have to be Apple and run on Mac OS X.

This is an essential tool. Just like before with textbooks, the Apple notebook is a compulsory item for the first, second and fourth formers next year. The rest of the secondary school at Cempaka Damansara as well as all secondary school students at Cempaka Cheras and Cempaka Ladies’ College will follow suit in 2008.

Challenge the known; embrace the unknown.

A little dramatic?

This is actually a quote from Guy Kawasaki, one of the key pioneering engineers at Apple, who was addressing a group of students at their high school graduation. Here’s an excerpt:

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in life is to accept the known and resist the unknown. You should, in fact, do exactly the opposite: challenge the known and embrace the unknown

Let me tell you a short story about ice. In the late 1800s there was a thriving ice industry in the Northeast. Companies would cut blocks of ice from frozen lakes and ponds and sell them around the world. The largest single shipment was 200 tons that was shipped to India. 100tons got there unmelted, but this was enough to make a profit.

These ice harvesters, however, were put out of business by companies that invented mechanical ice makers. It was no longer necessary to cut and ship ice because companies could make it in any city during any
season.

These ice makers, however, were put out of business by refrigerator companies. If it was convenient to make ice at a manufacturing plant, imagine how much better it was to make ice and create cold storage in everyone’s home.

You would think that the ice harvesters would see the advantages of ice making and adopt this technology. However, all they could think about was the known: better saws, better storage, better transportation.

Then you would think that the ice makers would see the advantages of refrigerators and adopt this technology. The truth is that the ice harvesters couldn’t embrace the unknown and jump their curve to the
next curve.

Challenge the known and embrace the unknown, or you’ll be like the ice harvester and ice makers.

The next curve is happening now. And we want Cempakans to remain ahead.

It’s no secret that, in most places world-wide, the way students are generally taught today is far removed from the way they want to be taught. Schools can certainly be more relevant and engaging. The way students are expected to learn in at school is totally different from the way they receive and process information outside of school, in real life. In school, it’s textbooks, exercise books. They may even be projected images or a presentation on a screen and odd computers in the classroom where they “do research on the net”.  Outside of school and “schoolwork”, they learn differently and from a whole lot of different sources. Sure, there is experiential learning through hands-on activities, but a lot of the other portion of learning is from the internet. Not just from information archives, but also through communication with their peers via blogs and forums. They multi-task most of the time, with SMS-ing, surfing, listening to music, IM-ing and watching TV, at the same time. This is the world they live in. This is the world that engages them.

There is no reason why we cannot engage them in the same way at school. And embracing the 1 to 1 learning environment is the first step.