THE JOHOR BAHRU DISTRICT CHESS TEACHERS VIRTUAL MEETING

14th JUNE 2021 ~ We used to have meetings at KFC Restaurants to discuss chess-related matters. However, living in the time of the pandemic, we have no choice but to practice the new normal. Ten chess teachers of Johor Bahru district were gathered virtually at 9:00 p.m. on Google Meet to discuss the possible online chess activity that could be carried out in the near future. Guess we will all miss the thrill of organizing chess tournaments as well as bringing the students to state level competitions - and the fun time we spent as a team. On the other hand, we are now preparing to conduct an online chess competition real soon and if the first project is a success, then we might be able to get the chess players together again.

Do wait for the announcement/advertisement!

 

THE TESL UPM CLASS OF 1993 HARI RAYA AND TEACHER'S DAY GOOGLE MEET REUNION SESSION

Another online gathering was organized for the TESL UPM class of 1993 in conjunction with the Hari Raya/Eid celebration and Teacher's Day. And we managed to get more people, from other parts of the country and the world as well, to congregate this time.

The international participants this time were: Mr. Ahmad Yasir [USA], Ms. Lindy Ooi [Singapore], Ms. Renuka Devi [Australia] and Ms. Suseela [Oman].

As usual, we try to keep ourselves updated with the latest and most recent development. Nevertheless, the most shocking piece of news was when one of the group members revealed that she was infected with C-19 and had to spend 4 days at the MAEPS Quarantine Centre. Alhamdulillah, Praise be to Allah, she has now recovered and is virus-free.

The session lasted for two hours - some people joined earlier and a few much later, some people also left earlier and a few stayed on until 11:00 p.m.

Even though we are no longer categorized under the young generation group, and not that IT savvy, we do utilize technology to the fullest. It was a pleasant moment to get to see people whom you used to be surrounded by and grow up with for 6 years - and I must say, we all have not changed much i.e. recognizable. 😀

This was our second Google Meet reunion session this year. Hopefully we could find another slot for similar session in a few months' time. Thanks everyone for the time and company - it just felt like the good old time when we were in UPM many years ago.

Here's the attendance list for future reference

[in alphabetical order]:

Ahmad Yasir Che Ngah
Aida Ahmad Saipiuddin
Aliza Alwi
Anita Abdul Rahman
Aunillah Hilmi
Azwan Shaiza Nizam
Christina Chan
Fairuz Leman
Hanna Sheikh Mokhtar

Hayati Ismail

Jashireen Mohd. Bashir
Lindy Ooi
Maizurfidar Anom Abdullah
Mariati Salleh
Mohd. Azman Awang

Ng Pei Fern

Renuka Devi
Rosliza Mohd. Rosli
Rozana Sani Abdullah Sani
Salmiah Mohd. Ghazali
Shazreen Shah
Siti Rohani Awang
Suhaida Shamsuddin
Suseela Balakrishnan
Suhana Abd. Jamal

Suriana Ali
Wan Aisyah Haris
Wendy Chan
Wong Yat Wah

Zainal Mohd. Yusof
Zur'aiza Abdul Hamid

AN INTERVIEW SESSION WITH UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF UTM

3rd MAY 2021 ~ I was asked by a colleague to be interviewed by a few undergraduate students of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia [UTM], and one of them is her son. They are studying Mathematics in Education, or something like that, and this must be for one of their assignments. It was about "Effective and Professional Teacher". The Q&A session was conducted on Google Meet - the new normal of doing a coursework for university students these days.

I was not actually sure how it was going to happen but it was all too formal, like a TV live recording. There were actually five of them, asking me questions which I simply answered based on my personal opinion and experience and hope I would not be a bad influence for these future teachers in the making.

It was all over in about 30 minutes. I had to thank them for choosing me for their project work and I was glad to be able to see fresh and eager faces of young people [except for one whose cam was not working] instead of the same, old faces I see in school. 😀

THE VERY FIRST UPM TESL CLASS OF 1993 ONLINE GATHERING ON GOOGLE MEET

6th FEBRUARY 2021 ~ This was the very first gathering for the UPM TESL Class of 1993 online. Reunion has now to be done virtually because of the pandemic - living in the new norm. We have been using Google Meet all this while to conduct classes in schools or colleges, or meetings at workplaces. However this time, the Meet apps was utilized as a social network.

Believe it or not, the meeting had been planned 2 weeks prior. The room was opened at 9:00 p.m. with only a few arriving but by 10:00 p.m. there was already a crowd with uncontrollable laughter and noises, something that is always associated to this particular group.

We had someone from San Diego of the USA who was able to join us, immediately after jumping out of his bed in the morning.

The last few people only left the room at about 11:30 p.m.

We were online, chatting, or just listening, for 2 hours but it all went too quickly. I am sure there should be similar sessions that will be organized in the near future and I am so looking forward to it.

Thanks everyone who was present and as the monitor, here's the attendance list, names in alphabetical order:

Adila Ahmad
Ahmad Yasir Che Ngah

Aishah Aboo Bakar
Hanna Sheikh Mokhtar

Hayati Burkhan

Hayati Ismail
Hazlina Aziz
Ismasnizam Jesmaj Azyze
Maizurfidar Anom Abdullah

Mohd. Azman Awang
Mohd Ridwan Abd Wahid
Monaliza Ismail
Narjisah Muhammad

Nor Azlina Abdullah
Nurhanim Hassan

Rozana Sani Abdullah Sani
Shazreen Mohd .Shah
Salmiah Mohd. Ghazali
Siti Rohani Awang
Suhana Abdul Jamal

Wan Aisyah Haris

Zanariah Abd. Shukor
Zarina Ibrahim
Zarinamahnum Hj. Alias

25 people (including me) attended the first virtual gathering and hoping to see more people in the next online event.

GOOGLE MEET SESSIONS ARE BACK

All the schools in Johor Bahru, Kulai and Pasir Gudang districts are instructed to close operation due to the rising number of C-19 cases. However, teaching and learning sessions should resume as usual but in the comfort of the teachers' and students' homes. I personally would just prefer to be in the classroom, having the real students under my nose, as lessons could be delivered more effectively and real human interactions could be established.

So we have to meet in our Google Classrooms with the help of Google Meet. Teaching in front of the cam is like actually talking to the monitor and I do not know what is happening on the other side of the virtual world. Most of the students do not turn on their cams which means either they could be doing something else and not paying attention at all OR they are online but only on screen. The teacher could not expect a high percentage of attendance for the online class as the students have their own valid reasons for not being present. Hopefully schools will only be closed for 2 weeks and I will need to pretend to be a robot, trying my very best not to worry whether the students are actually following the flow of the lesson, and also not to get angry and scold people because of that.

We also had our English Department in-house training today as we won't be able to meet during these 2 weeks.

Online class and meeting sessions tire me easily. I slept right after that and woke up a few hours later. The struggle is real.

Let's just pray things will get back to normal real soon and we can go to school again after this.