Life, Take 2

June 18, 2009

Technology: A Tool for Schools in the Wake of A(H1N1)

Many mothers like me here in the Philippines are growing more and more worried by the day as the number of people becoming sick with the A(H1N1) virus increases. Classes have just began in our part of the world and in the first week, some students were found positive resulting in classes being suspended and moved by about 10 days.

In the university where my girls go to school, there were initially 3 high school cases but another case was confirmed yesterday. So far, the school where my boys study has been virus-free but as more and more schools confirm cases of their students getting sick, I worry.

However, I have suggestions for school administrators and teachers especially in schools that are well-equipped to use technology and the internet. You can have a back-up plan to ensure that in the event you will be forced to suspend classes, your students do not lose too many days out of school. This will require a paradigm shift in the way you conduct classes but it can work.

You can shift to the web.

Of course, many of these moves may require coordination with DECS but just think of the possibilities:

1. Email addresses and mobile numbers serve as point-to-point contact – Many schools, as part of information sheets during enrollment, ask for the email addresses and mobile numbers of parents & students. Take this to the next level. Use your database of email addresses of all your students/teachers/administrators/parents and create mailing lists now. One mailing list for faculty, another for parents, another for students (by level). This will be one of your ways to disseminate information.

2. School websites are not just for information; they can be transformed into online classrooms. – A few days ago, the boys’ school held parent orientations. I did not go. I was feeling under the weather and chose to stay away from crowds. But I heard that the orientations did not last long. The class advisers went through powerpoint presentations to introduce the line-up of teachers as well as answer a few questions from the attending parents.

Now this got me thinking. If that was all it took during orientations, why could we not have put this same information up on the website of the school, giving access to parents via some form of security code?

I remember the inauguration of Pres. Barack Obama. CNN created a Facebook page linked to its website. Any Facebook users who subscribed to the page could literally jump into a chatroom as the inauguration was going on and add his/her comments to the global community. Bring that down to a school community.

Could we create a smaller version of a chatroom so that parents could do conferencing with the school administrators/faculty as they are viewing a presentation?

Could Powerpoint presentations be simply uploaded to the website for parents to access?

Could the teachers have made podcasts/videos of what they wanted to say to parents as well?

Can lessons be broadcast via podcasts or YouTube?

3. Think ONLINE QUIZZES!!! – Yes, there will be issues like: Do we really know if it is the student answering the quiz or not since he is not visible to the teacher? But maybe with proper sanctions in place for those found cheating, or with appropriate security codes/log-in requirements, students can take quizzes online. Cheap webcams can be required so that a student would be visible via webcam to his teacher while taking an exam. Grading would be a cinch too since the correct answers can be keyed into a program that does instantaneous checking of papers.

4. Collaborative tools make team-based projects easy online. – Google Docs is one example of a collaborative tool. Word documents, spreadsheets and presentations can be created and shared online. Team members can all view the same document, make changes, chat online about it and essentially, collaborate. No need for face-to-face interaction.

5. Use Mobile broadcasting for important announcements – Many schools in Metro Manila utilize this tool already. Parents/students/faculty subscribe to the service and important announcements from the school are pushed via SMS to the subscribers. While mobile broadcasting nowadays is in the form of school cancellations, event announcements and the like, this can be used also to alert parents and students to check the school website for newly posted classroom activities.

This internet mode of schooling is, of course, a temporary measure and can be utilized only in extreme cases when the school is forced to suspend classes for long stretches. But if the DECS accepts this as an alternate mode of schooling, cases like the A(H1N1) pandemic need not interrupt school days drastically.

At the moment, I also realize that it is the private schools that would have the advantage in implementing this over public schools due to their access to technology and computers but we can start from here.

Leave a comment if you have other ideas as to how classes can be conducted online to reduce the interruptions.

June 12, 2009

111 Years of Philippine Independence + the First Ever Filipino Google Doodle

Today, June 12, 2009 marks the 111th year of Philippine independence. And what a way to begin the day! At the first stroke of the day, shortly after midnight, Google Philippines posted its first ever Filipino Google Doodle on its page, www.google.com.ph.

First Philippine Google Doodle

My heads-up came from Aileen (Google’s country consultant for the Philippines) who sent out the news via Plurk. The Plurk thread became viral with many midnight plurkers reposting the doodle over and over on their own timelines.

Everyone knows the Google logo on its search homepage. But a Google Doodle is a fun twist to the logo which Google does on special events such as Christmas, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, other international events or special days commemorating celebrity personalities like Albert Einstein. Click on THIS LINK to meet Dennis, the guy behind Google Doodles and THIS LINK to view past such doodles.

ABS-CBNNews.com wrote this about the Filipino Google Doodle and how it came into existence for this day:

“This is the first-ever Google doodle for the Philippines so we wanted to make it very classic and meaningful for Filipinos. We created a special doodle on the Google Philippines homepage for June 12, 2009 to commemorate the Philippines’ Independence Day,” said Jay Trinidad, Regional Product Marketing Manager, Consumer Products, Google Asia Pacific.

“Google doodles also celebrate important local events and holidays such as this one. It is our honor to celebrate more than a century of national excellence and achievement with all Filipinos in our own creative and Googley way. On behalf of Google, I wish my fellow Filipinos another century of increasing prosperity and success. Mabuhay ang Pinoy!”

Trinidad said Google designers used the sun with its eight rays, which represents the eight Philippine provinces that pledged their support to the revolution, and used it as the first ‘O’ in the Google logo.

“We also used red, white, and blue, the Philippines’ national colors, which stand for patriotism, equality, and justice, respectively. We also incorporated the flag’s three stars in the design, symbolizing the three major geographic regions of the country,” he said.

On June 12, 1898, revolutionary forces under Emilio Aguinaldo, the country’s first and youngest President, declared independence from Spanish colonial rule. The Philippine Independence Day doodle is based on the country’s current national flag, which is very similar to the one Aguinaldo raised 111 years ago.

The Filipino Google Doodle will only be up on the search homepage today so I am making this post to preserve its significance forever on my blog.

I want my children to see how important it is to preserve and continue to love this independence that had cost so many lives in the past and which we must preserve with our own lives too for the future generations.

I experienced the Martial Law years as a college student and as a first-time working girl. I met Charito Planas as a student in the United States and listened intently as she spoke about her escape and self-exile together with Ninoy and others, the small-time job in a pizza parlor she had to hold to eke out a living, and her love for the Philippines. I remember feeling the despair and hopelessness of the nation when Ninoy Aquino was murdered — ominously, on my birthday, August 21. I joined NAMFREL as a volunteer for Operation Quick Count during the 1984 and 1986 snap elections. My siblings and I went out into the streets during the EDSA Revolution just to be among the crowd supporters. And I was there in EDSA II as a mother, this time bringing along one of my daughters so she too could witness history and what it was like to fight for the right to democracy.

I love my country. I love the Philippines. And I fervently hope that my children will grow up to once again see it led by people who truly and sincerely love it too. Way beyond personal/vested interests. No politicking. No corruption. Plain and simple HONEST government service to the people.

June 10, 2009September 29, 2013

An A(H1N1) Flu Booklet from the UN

The Philippines is now counted as one of the countries affected by the A(H1N1) virus. As of last count by the Department of Health, there are already57 people who contracted it. Thankfully, we have had no deaths yet.

What is worrisome to parents like me is its timing with the opening of classes.

When De La Salle University was first hit with the news of 2 foreign exchange students testing positive, my first thoughts were with our nephew who had just come to Manila from the province to begin school as a freshman there. We checked up on him and had him go home immediately.

Yesterday, I was at Ateneo with my 2 girls to enroll and get our car stickers as well as meet up with a cousin whose daughter (my niece) was also an incoming freshman in the school. We were in and out of the school and only heard the news in the evening that 3 high school boys of Ateneo had likewise tested positive.

There are also confirmed cases in a Paranaque school and DLSU’s sister school (College of St. Benilde).

My boys (at another school) start school next week after a parent orientation. I know that many families in this school travel abroad during summer. I am now having second thoughts about attending the parent orientation. Maybe the school can use technology, do a podcast or video of what they intended to tell us, upload it into their website, and just have us view it from there. That way we avoid personal contact and still get the same information. I am very happy though that this school is such a proactive one and this week, is having thorough pest control done prior to the boys coming in for classes.

Other private schools should probably look at the use of technology likewise to keep parents, faculty, students and staff informed about their school’s actions to keep them all virus-free.

I have been cutting out newspaper clippings on A(H1N1) but these seemed inadequate. The non-medical one simply listed the symptoms, a few treatments, contact numbers of designated hospitals and some precautionary measures. Another clipping listed down the alert levels for schools (but this was not applicable to me as a parent).

Thanks to a heads-up from Dine and Noemi (on Facebook), I became aware of this document over at Scribd.com. It is an easy read, pleasant to the eyes, uses simple language, and readily understandable to non-medical people like me.

Please feel free to pass this link to your family and friends. The more people who are aware of this document, the more people we can keep healthy and virus-free.

Let’s also continue to pray that our country and our families are kept safe and healthy, not just from this virus but from dengue also, which has actually claimed more lives since the onset of the rains.

View this document on Scribd

June 9, 2009

Kenny Rankin (1940-2009)

Feb. 10, 1940-June 7, 2009 (courtesy of AP)

Sad, sad news for me today.

I have my iTunes open now listening to all the songs in my music collection sang by Kenny Rankin, singer-songwriter, who passed away from lung cancer complications at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His voice carried a certain timbre that was so suited to love songs and ballads. He will surely be missed by the music industry and music fans like me.

One of the most touching songs ever rendered by Kenny is this one which I found on YouTube. It so aptly describes how life should be lived by everyone. I hope that I could live my life according to the lyrics of this beautiful song.

What Matters Most

It’s not how long we held each other’s hand
What matters is how well we loved each other
It’s not how far we travelled on our way
Of what we found to say
It’s not the spring you see, but all the shades of green

It’s not how long I held you in my arms
What matters is how sweet the years together
It’s not how many summertimes we had to give to fall
The early morning smiles we tearfully recall
What matters most is that we loved at all.

It’s not how many summertimes we had to give to fall
The early morning smiles we tearfully recall
What matters most is that we loved at all.

What matters most is that we loved at all.

May 31, 2009

Sandbox – My New Playground

A few months ago, a group of bloggers (including myself) were involved in a closed beta project to test Sandbox. Media practitioners and some internet celebrities also joined in during this test phase.

Now, Sandbox is launching into open beta and I would like to invite you to check it out. Most of my blogger friends were in the closed beta with me so it was not difficult to start off as I already had a community of friends in it.

A few things about what Sandbox is:

1. Sandbox is an online platform that connects people together through microblog posts, photos and videos. More than just being a social networking site, Sandbox also has an online content store where you can purchase games and music. The developers precisely chose the word “sandbox” because it is meant to be the place where one can play around.

2. The user content is locally developed, meaning it is Filipino through and through. And because it is Pinoy, those of us in the Philippines have access to ongoing raffles, giveaways and chances to win prizes.

My friend Jayvee cites 5 good reasons to join Sandbox.

1. Your friends are most probably already there
When Sandbox launched in April it had a few hundred beta testers who were members of mainstream and online publications. Communities have been growing at a steady rate across all spectra — video gaming, anime, tech, love, blogging advice, photography, food and dining .. the list goes on. And, if you can’t find a group that fits you, why not create your own?

2. It is built as a one stop shop
There are two components to Sandbox – the user generated features that’s composed of the social network aspect, blogging platform, and photo / video uploads and an online content store where you can download games and music (P30.00 per song, cheaper than iTunes). Sandbox integrates what’s on your web browser with your mobile in your account creation page thus when you order items from your desktop or laptop, the information is pushed to your phone.

3. It has tangible benefits
Not that I have anything against other social networks, but this is the first locally developed one that actively gives out rewards and benefits to its members. So apart from the fulfillment you get with connecting with your friends, there are true offline benefits for participating in promotions and campaigns.

4. You can make money
Because Sandbox is locally developed, there are more interesting opportunities for you to make money through the system. Apart from an advertising platform within Sandbox that is currently being developed, there are going to be other engagements that will allow Sandbox netizens to build their online real estate such as the mobile site development. During the beta brief, Anton discussed the feasibility of growing your community. Just like with blogs, your real estate inside Sandbox values over time, especially when you grab potentially high ranking keywords.

5. It is continuously being improved
So really, the most exciting thing about Sandbox is that it is continuously being improved based on the feedback from the community. I’ll be the first to say that what you’re currently seeing is still the tip of the iceberg and the team led by Rezza Custodio has been actively looking into feedback. Of course, change doesn’t happen overnight but the plans for the future of Sandbox will take a stronger stance on Web 2.0. So yeah, tell your friends!

Personally though, I have been using Sandbox primarily for microblogging and the phone I am using specifically fits this purpose. Of course, this competes with the likes of Twitter, Plurk and Facebook where I am on so it behooves the developers to find features and niches which will appeal to the local folks.

Smart is at the helm of this project so I am sure that with the proper feedback during this open beta phase, they will be able to tweak it.

To start off, I have a few things lined up as feedback for the people behind Sandbox:

1. Improve internet connection uptime.

The trick to get people to mobile blog is excellent internet connection (meaning, no dropped connections) and easy access to the blog site itself. The thing going for Smart is that it is using a new technology called HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access). But I have had several experiences while traveling when the internet is interrupted (sometimes as it changes from HSPA to 3G mode or vice versa). I am just imagining that if people had to pay P10 every time they connect to the internet, unstable internet connection can be a deterrent.

2. Make mobile blogging easier.

Mobile blogging must be so easy that you need not to have to log in and out before you can do so. I have an ipod touch and I find mobile plurking quick on the fly. As soon as I activate the app in a wifi zone, I am ready to plurk because my username and password are saved on the device. Sandbox is currently easier to view on a computer rather on a mobile phone. I have tried navigating via my mobile phone and it gets frustrating because I need to scroll left/right, up/down constantly just to go through the content and find my way. While I have done some posts via mobile, I find it easier at the moment to do so via the web. A mobile Sandbox interface would be great.

3. Create easier access to historical blog posts and activities by my other friends.

Yes, the concept is microblogging and we were told that anything posted is just for that moment. But as we are normally not online via a mobile phone all the time, friends’ activities remain unknown to me. I cannot see beyond the most recent 5 Happenings. If friends created a group, posted a microblog post, added a video, added friends, etc. these would all be lost if I do not catch them within the top 5 Happenings.

4. Make photo/video uploads painless.

Blog posts look better with a photo or two. Mobile bloggers would also love to send videos on the fly as news/events occur. So why is it so difficult now? First you have to go through the entire log-in process. Then the photo/video has to be uploaded first into Sandbox before it can be used in a blog post. All these take up so much time to do and if the internet connection breaks down through all that process, one has to start all over again. Sandbox has to be able to allow uploads via MMS (because isn’t that what mobile phones are great for after all?).

Don’t get me wrong. Sandbox has a future as a mobile blogging platform.

This is actually an exciting venture because just about anyone with a mobile phone (and in the Philippines that is the great majority of the population) is a potential mobile blogger. It just has to be tweaked fairly fast by the developers so it becomes a truly handy medium to get the news out into the online world as things happen.

In order to help them out, why not join Sandbox’s open beta now and give them your share of feedback. After all, once this is up and running effectively and efficiently, we will be the ultimate beneficiaries in terms of blogging mobility! To register, go to the Sandbox registration page.

This is my Sandbox profile.

Hope to see you there. And do join the groups I created:

1. Anything Yoga

2. Pinoy Humor

3. Raising Teens and Tweens

May 29, 2009

A Mother’s Day Clinique Day

I enjoy doing “girl” things with my daughters and mommy bloggers. And summer is really the best time to bond with them as there are no pressures of work or school.

So it was indeed an opportune time when Clinique put together a blogger event very close to Mother’s Day and invited my 2 girls as well as some of my mommy blogger friends.

When we got to the 5th floor of Rustan’s, I had no inkling whatsoever of what was in store. May Samson just hinted that it was going to be a very nice experience so, having enjoyed my last experience with them during my skin typing session with Noemi, I thought it would be similar. I wanted my girls skin-typed because they have a history of skin asthma and as a Clinique user while a student in the States, I knew that Clinique products were safe for them to use daily.

The first signs that this was no ordinary skin care event met us. The Clinique area was festive in green. Very cool to the eyes! I could not wait to take pictures…and take a bite of the varied hors d’ouevres they also had laid out for us.

The girls went through their skin typing activity with the Clinique consultants available. I was their official photographer since I already had my skin typed. And guess what! We all turned out to be Type 2 (combination skin) so the 3-step Skin Care products we would eventually buy can be shared! Like mother, like daughters.

Posterity photo showing our common skin type — Yey, we're all Type 2!

While waiting for my girls to finish their skin typing, Malou Gagarin (who had previously done my skin typing) explained the foundation line of Clinique. Wow, they indeed came prepared with the different shades of foundation in large, plastic bottles for testing.There were also tiny green sample containers so we could take home foundation samples best suited for our skin tone.

Malou suggested I use foundation the color of my neck so that I just had to apply the foundation on my face in order to match the neck color. Yes, I used to apply foundation on my neck and try to even it out all over my face, neck & shoulders. Her suggestion saved me time and use of foundation. Now why did I not think of that before!!!

The best was yet to come, though.

In one corner of the area was a closed-off area, which I found to my delight, was an instant spa experience. All of us were treated to special pampering. We took turns on the bed as the consultants first took our makeup off, then went through a facial and arm massage using Clinique’s newly launched products from their Turnaround line: the Turnaround Body Smoothing Cream and the Turnaround Instant Facial Masque.

I was curious about the Turnaround body smoothing cream since I still had a sample of an older product of Clinique’s (the Body Sloughing Cream) which I would use sparingly to rub on my knees and elbows while taking a bath. That older product continues to serve me well till now so I was happy to find out they were now offering it locally via this new Turnaround cream. The difference between my old sample and this one? The new body smoothing cream was cool to the touch. The grains I felt as the cream was rubbed on to my arms assured me that it was exfoliating and smoothening my arms at the same time. This product is great on shoulders, arms, elbows, and knees that need extra attention.

Facials are something I am extra careful of in salons because I watch the kind of products put on my sensitive skin. But I had no hesitation trying the Turnaround Instant Facial Masque, as Clinique is known for its hypoallergenic and non-acnegenic ingredients. No regrets. The facial mask tightened my skin and after they had removed it, my face felt so squeaky clean and soft.

Watch out for these products as they will be available this coming July 2009 in all Clinique counters.

Getting a facial and arm exfoliation at the same time. HEAVENLY!!!

My girl after the facial mask was applied

My girl with Malou Gagarin applying makeup on her after her spa experience — My girl with Malou Gagarin reapplying makeup on her after her spa experience

Here’s a big shoutout to Clinique (thanks to May, Malou and the other consultants that day) for making this event not just a wonderful skin care one but something I was able to do with my girls. After all, fashion and makeup are common bonding conversation pieces with them and it allowed me to be both a MOTHER and a FRIEND to them that day.

Our day did not end there. We headed down to Clinique’s product counter to check out their Mother’s Day promo where I ended up treating myself to one of the available promo packages.

Clinique launched other product lines as well this May:

1. Derma White – six (6) products that help the skin become more resistant to UV rays, environmental and other external irritants while preventing future darkening.

2. Sun – a definite summer must-have line of products to protect the skin against the harmful rays of the sun that also includes a Self-Tan product for a sunless tan look.

3. Comfort on Call – a new product that helps the skin protect itself against external environmental irritants. Available by June 2009.