Kokusai Teki ...... and etc...

 

(http://www.ukznpress.co.za/portal/ukznph_db1/UserFiles/SysDocs/bb_ukzn_books/346/Global%20Village_lo%20res.jpg)

             During our second meeting of EDHI 9040, we were assigned to teams of 3-4 that would remain for rest of the semester. The main task for this group was the Team Tech Talks (TTT). One would be an hour long and the other a shorter one of half an hour. Well, every team needs a name, all would agreed on that :). After deliberating for a few minutes we did decide the name. That was "KOKUSAI TEKI". 
            and how?
             We were from four different departments- that did'nt help much....We tried the first letters of our departments, our names  and what not.... and then it clicked... we were from four different countries- Global village huh!! So we were the only truly Global team in the class. Global team was a give away and maybe an ok name, but we went Japanese !! cos we had a team member who actually taught japanese. No prizes for guessing his country :p, anyways we were happy with the punch our name had...
             So the Kokusai Tekians are getting ready for the first TTT which is on this Tuesday and the topic is Virtual Demonstrations. It'll be interesting to hear what everybody feels about Virtuals demos and their role as a pedagogical tool. I can see that it could be very useful in the life sciences, but would it be relevant across all disciplines? I'm interested to hear opinions on that.
              Going back to last weeks class, it was interesting to hear about Sakai as a Learning Management System (LMS) apart from few tips on our very own Blackboard - e Learning Commons. What made it interesting to me was firstly the amount of resources that went into an open resource to suit the requirements of the customer. Often, it could be misunderstood that open resources are free, but not here. What I heard here was new information with respect to the technology and everything non technological that was associated with its use. In a few years when we are on the job market, it just would help to know that there are different systems in use and just to be able to ask the right questions would be a great feeling.
                In another class, I overheard couple friends talking about the overwhelming speed in which knowledge is being produced and how we as students/scienctists/teachers need to keep up with that. Technology is one field that keeps updating itself at an alarming rate, and to keep up ... Good luck with that. But we ought to try :)