Learn By Soft

Jack Toe's "Cleaning Hang Out"

2012-03-11T21:24:00.001-07:00

15 May Today, I helped my friend's group clean the classroom. My friend requested that we stayed for a few more minutes as it was Friday and we would not be seeing each other for the weekend. We stuck around some more to chat while cleaning. In the end, the "few more minutes" turned out to be a whole extra ten minutes. This wasn't my first time staying longer than planned while on cleaning duty.

Jack Toe : Winner Of The Bag Race

2012-03-03T20:19:00.000-08:00

16 May I have always been a slow runner. Whenever the class had a race during P.E., I would usually come last. I wanted to improve my running skills but not by hard training. I thought "There must be another way to run faster other than training." This morning, while walking to school, I had an excellent idea. During recess, I challenged my classmates to a different kind of race. The

Jack Toe And His Father's Math Problem Generator

2012-02-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

14 May During the last fifteen minutes of our Math remedial today, our Math teacher gave us a worksheet with two "challenging non-routine" sums. Most of my friends took a long time to solve it. Some, like me, could not even complete them before dismissal time. As for me, I solved the first question but was stuck at the second question. When I went back home, I showed my father the second

Jack Toe's Sex Education Bursary

2012-02-11T19:22:00.000-08:00

Hi! My name is Jack Toe. I am a Primary 5 student studying in New City Primary School. Since I could not have gotten my funny genes from my mother , Maggie "My Best" Sein, the only normal member of our family, I must have gotten them from my father, George "Thinking" Ba. Whenever I try to talk to my father, he would say "I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" and shoo me away. Once, I got the chance to

When Aliens Attack -- Part 4 : Destruction Of Zerlosia

2012-02-04T19:22:00.000-08:00

When Aliens Attack -- Part 4 : Destruction Of Zerlosia After a few months, the scientists had made chemical missiles that would only kill Zerlogs with no effect on humans. I was chosen to lead a squadron of bombers equipped with special chemical bombs as I had experience with Zerlosian worm holes. We positioned the bombers directly above the Zerlosian capital and prepared to launch the bombs. "

When Aliens Attack -- Part 3 : Retreat From Earth

2012-02-02T01:12:00.000-08:00

Part 3 (of 4) : Retreat From Earth The humans realized that they would not be able to win the war on Earth as the Zerlogs' weapons were far more advanced than theirs. They decided to move all of Earth's inhabitants to another planet suitable for life. Fortunately, scientists had found many planets with signs of life. The governments of the world built many space craft that were filled with

When Aliens Attack -- Part 2 : Attack Of The Zerlogs

2012-01-27T01:41:00.000-08:00

Part 2 ( of 4 ) : Attack Of The Zerlogs The Zerlogs took the landing of Traveller as an offensive sign and prepared to attack. They sent a few drop ships and an entire squadron of bombers to destroy Earth. Once the bombers were inside the Earth's atmosphere, they started firing their plasma cannons. Chaos broke out. Buildings crumbled under the massive impact of the blasts, trapping many

When Aliens Attack -- Part 1 : The Worm Hole

2012-01-24T18:44:00.000-08:00

Part 1 ( of 4 ) : The Worm Hole As our space shuttle plunged into the darkness of the black hole, I regretted not listening to Michael's warning earlier. Now, all four crew members on board would perish because of my mistake... I was the commander of Traveller, the first space shuttle sent to Mars to collect rock samples. Data collected from previous Mars rovers had shown that humans

The Time Zapper

2012-01-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

Name: Alan and Scott Class:P5-1 Date: Jan 11, 2012 When I first saw the device lying on my bedroom floor,I assumed it was my sister's new watch and decided to pull a prank on her.She had been disturbing me for the past few weeks."Payback!"I said to myself as I picked up the watch and set the time to fifteen minutes earlier so that my sister would be late for school the next morning. Suddenly,

Ambush At Grazy-324

2012-01-16T19:41:00.000-08:00

Name: Alan Class:P4-1 Date: June 29, 2011 "Incoming!", Lieutenant Fizz yelled. We were on the planet Grazy-324 counting the casualties of the battle that had happened a few hours ago. We were proceeding to the specific area of the battle when droids suddenly ambushed us. "Keep on firing, men", I yelled back as I unslung my rifle and returned fire on the droids. A few droids fell but more

Settling Old Scores for New Years, for New Lives

2012-01-13T22:03:00.000-08:00

I have settled these scores unconsciously many decades back. I have talked about this settlement within my family many months back. Only now I'm discussing this settlement publicly. If I Had Done Well in Medical CollegeThen I became a doctor. Then, I would gradually admire those who sell blood-purification herbal powders, balms, cough syrups, itching powders etc -- yes, there are solid reasons

Calculus Advantage

2011-12-25T21:11:00.000-08:00

Even if you got 100% for Maths in the nation-wide high-school-leaving examination, you may not be allowed to study any Maths at the Burmese universities in my days. Strange, awkward, but true and sad. So when I read in Singapore in the early 2000's that if you knew Calculus 1. You can calculate how much paint you would need to paint an awkwardly- shaped floor. 2. You can calculate how far you

Fu Mingtain

2011-11-23T00:02:00.000-08:00

Everyone is talking about Fu Mingtain these days in Singapore. What can she teach your kids? Here are a few good things various people have talked about her. 1. She's tough. 2. Never say die. 3. She's a fighter, warrior. 4.“She has excellent fighting spirit and mental strength. She really deserves the gold medal,” said Singapore’s chef-de-mission, Dr Tan Eng Liang. So, you can ask your kid

Future of Blogging : Our Methods and Madness

2011-11-06T21:57:00.000-08:00

Polonius(in Hamlet) says of the Prince : "Though this be madness, there is method in it". Let's see how much that applies to our blogging style here. Is there a madness? Is there a method? Is there only one, none or both or something else altogether? Some years back I read lots of how-to blog books. I still update my knowledge base in this area on a continual basis. But then, I use my

Clear Writing, Clear Thinking, Clear Loving

2011-11-02T01:16:00.000-07:00

"Clear Writing comes from Clear Thinking." A cliche, so boring. Is thinking clearly alone enough for clear writing? Are language, words, grammar, syntax, tone, voice, diction, intonation accent, stress, enunciation, phonics alone enough for clear communication? Just 3 examples. 1. When a Physic/Maths/Chemistry teacher finds many students confused who do you think s/he usually blame? Contrast

Change Management and Resilience for Kids

2011-10-20T20:26:00.000-07:00

Just 3 perspectives should be enough. InvestmentA maxim in this field is, there is nothing new but history we do not know. MilitaryAll successful battle field commanders cannot do without a firm spiritual faith. Entrepreneurship80/20 Rule: If you are sure about 80% of your business or If you are sure about your business 80% of the time, you are okay. Or else, you need to do something about it,

How to Use Intuition

2011-09-27T00:52:00.000-07:00

Intuition is important in arts, science, business, war and politics. Let me give an example of its importance. A noted American general has said that if you are about 40 to 70% confident, you should act. The founder of Alibaba Group has said that in strategic decisions, intuition takes about 60% and the statistical analysis and rational evaluation take the remaining 40%. Then, say, I am about

Stability or Adaptability, and Truth

2011-09-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

"The world is changing. The times are changing. New technologies are emerging at a breakneck pace. New markets, new economies. new careers are emerging at a breakneck pace." "A new grad has to keep 6 or more careers before s/he retires." "Changes are coming more frequently than in the past. And their impact and ramifications are far deeper and more wide-ranging than in the past." "Our age is a

How to Criticize Education

2011-07-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

I used to be a university teacher. At that level( and maybe in our country), the main pressure came from the management and the government. I think that that is true in most countries. How lucky to be a uni teacher? Except in US and UK. In US, a few Nobel laureates, esp, the economists, would keep complaining that uni degrees and diplomas are tickets to jobs that don't exist anymore, so-called

Nothing Special

2011-06-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

Please read this nicely, kindly, attentively if you are to be nice, kind, attentive to your own children/students. Conclusion1. Scoring in football is Nothing Special. 2. Scoring in a maths olympiad is Nothing Special. 3. Scoring in a violin contest is Nothing Special. A few decades down the road, your kid, like James Watson and Kerry Mullis, will say that getting that prize form Sweden is

Let Your Children Play Real games

2011-05-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

Conclusion1. You want your child to excel at something. Then you need him/her to practice a lot. 2. But then, you want him/her to train on their own, not with you training them minute by minute, face to face, as in an animal training program designed by Skinner or Pavlov, or their modern-day proponents. 3. Then you need to design the activities as a game. 4. The 2 key appeals of games are

Creating Original Software and Humor

2011-04-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

The Weekly Internal Announcement"Our company is in a deep crisis." So began the weekly internal announcement. No, no, not the customers were complaining about the bugs or the features, nor were they switching sides to the competitors' in droves. Not Google was staging a hostile takeover, nor was Oracle, Apple, Microsoft or Cisco. No governments had stipulated new regulations against the use of

Role of IT and Software in Education, Learning and Training

2011-04-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

The more things change, the more they stay the same. This is the voice of the customers, the consumers. This is also the voice of the software industry insider who can stay attuned to the heartbeats of the end users. Just a few years ago, we didn't have iPad, iPhone, Facebook, Bing. We didn't have 3GL, 4GL programming languages such as Python, Ruby, Lua, Erlang, Scala etc. We didn't have

Vision for LearnBySoft

2011-03-31T01:30:00.000-07:00

In the middle of the 1990s, I started my IT career with the following visions. At that time, I was a greenhorn, a noobi, a rookie in IT matters. "(1) Extract information and create knowledge from unstructured data. (2) Represent human beings in computer/virtual worlds, all in terms of BDI (beliefs, desires, intentions), model/world-views, and approaches." Now they look a tad too academic,

Seasons of Life

2011-02-17T19:03:00.001-08:00

I travel a lot. On foot and by trains mostly. Travelling on foot has a purpose, so no problem here. Traveling by train has no purpose, no meaning, and therefore hard to understand. Am I taking a train ride to Mandalay? A town I love so much, a town good for fun and music and nothing else for me? Or am I going to Yangon? A new place, a new town that invokes the fear of unknown as well as

Ability and Practice | Our New Year Gift - 2

2011-01-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

The New Year season and New Year mood isn't over for us here as we belong to the English, Chinese, Myanmar and many other New years, or in the sense that today is the New and First Day of the rest of our life. And here is a gift for you and your children. And as usual, the gift is the best of this planet or the Universe. Exaggerating? It sure beats Talent is Overrated, or 10,000 Hour Rule, or

Changing Hearts and Minds, Our New Year Gift

2011-01-03T21:09:00.000-08:00

We're posting this as Our New Year Gift to our readers. This is one of the best stories of the world, and here it is given a unique and so far, the best interpretation. There are 3 important books in Taoism: Lao Tzu, Chwang Tzu and Lieh Tzu. Our story comes from Lieh Tzu. There are many translations and I've read at least 3 translations of the story. The StoryOnce there were 2 men. Each has his

How to handle procrastination

2010-12-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

Laziness vs ProcrastinationLaziness = no desire/ambition and no action Procrastination = some desire/ambition and no action Both of them lack action, but they differ in presence of desire to succeed. Causes Commonly Found in BooksThrill-seeking Residual Teenage Rebellion against parents and other authority figures Perfectionism Anxiety Fear of failure Fear of success Causes Recently Found in New

Do you still want your children to be smart and clever that way?

2010-11-28T00:39:00.000-08:00

A Series of Paradox: 1 In Straits Times, November 25, 2010, issue, on page.36, Mr Robert J. Sternberg has said this about some people who have done well in schools and universities: "They are smart but foolish." Here he even discusses five characteristics of such smart-foolish people: unrealistic optimism, egocentrism, omniscience, omnipotence, and invulnerability. Shall I just say such people

'Wine Tasting' Training

2010-11-24T18:11:00.000-08:00

Mr Ngiam Tong Dow needs no introduction in Singapore, but for non-Singaporeans, here is his profile. In Straits Times, November 21, 2010, issue, on page.34, he's has said this about current training programs: Skilling up is also his prescription to raise wage levels and to narrow the income gap. He opposes the idea of a minimum wage. 'That is namby-pamby thinking,' he says. 'You get higher

Invitation to Programmers

2010-11-21T00:25:00.000-08:00

We are going to develop an application for primary and secondary students all the world over. It's a free app with premium services for paying users. We will do it Python(Django or Google App Engine.) If your team have experience in the language(Python), please contact us. Platform/framework experience is not that really necessary since the learning curve there is not that steep. However, if

Invitation to Web Marketers and Promoters

2010-11-21T00:23:00.000-08:00

We are developing an application for primary and secondary students all the world over. It's a free app with premium services for paying users. We want as many students themselves and their parents as possible to become aware of it and to try it out. 1. Can you help us locate where they are? 2. Can you spread our message among them: email, direct mail, flyer, social media groupings, Youtube,

It should be easy to do web applications : MVC in Python

2010-11-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

This is MVC (Model View Controller) in Python in action. The feature implements logging into a site. It isn't terribly clever and that's the point. Average people with average skills should be able to implement such features flawlessly. Super-heroes, cowboys, geniuses may be overkills for such features. Controller to welcome the guests import os import sys import logging import

It should be easy to do web applications : MVC in PHP

2010-11-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

This is MVC (Model View Controller) in PHP(plus CodeIgniter 1.7.2) in action. The feature implements logging into a site. It isn't terribly clever and that's the point. Average people with average skills should be able to implement such features flawlessly. Controller to welcome the guests

Polyglot Programming, Polygamous Programming

2010-11-18T19:40:00.000-08:00

This is , in part, in response to the comments for our Ruby Tutor's Ruby Meta-programming series. Many commentators have suggested that we also try out their favorite programming languages such as Lisp, F#, Scala, Clojure etc. Polyglot ProgrammingWhen you are in Munich, speak German. When you are in Paris, speak French. When you are in Osaka, speak Japanese. All very fine. We have no qualms

Conceptual Blockbusting : A book review

2010-11-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

I'm referring to Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide To Better Ideas by James L. Adams. I have adapted the key ideas of the book to my audience here : primary and secondary or high school students. Perceptual BlocksFailure to see correctly the boundaries and constraints of the problem Failure to use many different points of view Emotional BlocksFear to take risks, make mistakes etc Fear of chaos,

Meta-programming in Ruby : Part 16 : instance_eval

2010-10-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

There are altogether 16 posts on this topic of meta-programming in Ruby language. Our approach encourages hands-on experimentation. The exercises here are specially designed to facilitate self-study and other independent modes of learning.Provided we can find time amidst our busy schedule(well, who is not busy these days?), we will also discuss meta-programming in other languages such as Lisp and

Meta-programming in Ruby : Part 2 : Method Missing

2010-10-15T18:27:00.000-07:00

Code 1class Hash def method_missing(m,*a) if m.to_s =~ /=$/ self[$`] = a[0] elsif a.empty? self[m] else raise NoMethodError, "#{m}" end endendx = {'abc' => 123}p x['abc']print "\n"x.foo = :bazx.goo = "duh"x.x&z = 10p xResult 1[root@localhost ruby_tutor]# ruby method_missing1.rb123{"abc"=>123, "foo"=>:baz, "goo"=>"duh"}Code 2class Hunt

Meta-programming in Ruby : Part 1 : Alias

2010-10-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

There are altogether 16 posts on this topic of meta-programming in Ruby language. Our approach encourages hands-on experimentation. The exercises here are specially designed to facilitate self-study and other independent modes of learning. Provided we can find time amidst our busy schedule(well, who is not busy these days?), we will also discuss meta-programming in other languages such as Lisp

Holistic Education

2010-10-07T20:02:00.001-07:00

In some countries, some people are clamoring for a holistic education. They complain that some children develop narrow outlooks because of their focus on a mere handful of subjects. Their expectation is that the more subjects the children are exposed to, the more holistic they will become. From this, we can draw two conclusions. Possibility 1. Some kids focus on just a few subjects and they

How to do Research by Proxy, or Open Innovation

2010-10-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

"Open Innovation" is a famous book, deservedly so. And here is the story of The Double Helix. It's about how a young American -- 23 I think -- and a fellow British researcher, decoded DNA ahead of their rivals. The young American was James Watson and the Brit was 35 year old Francis Crick. They were barred from doing their own experiments somehow. Anyway they were behind their rivals in terms of

My Visions for Software

2010-10-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

I'm referring to IT's Great Power to Spark Changes by Nayan Chanda. Because I have taken time, this post will be very short. Collaboration is getting better. Soon, we will be able to teleport ourselves to any part of the world for a few cents Distribution is getting better. You just write your content/app on your PC, phone, pad, watch, or shirt. Then, just press a button, and the world's

Movie-Like Software and Our Chances

2010-10-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

People and organization seem to have an incurable amnesia. One day they say, "Software is king". The next day they say, "Software is commodity". And this pendulum swings go on and on. What is the truth behind this hype and reverse-hype? Drucker's PredictionsDrucker has famously said that the IT Revolution has not even started yet. He described how printing business gave rise to publishing and

Cheat Sheets | Write Your Own

2010-10-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

I find it fun writing cheat-sheets. They have stood me in good stead throughout my school days from high school to uni. When I became a teacher and later a tuition teacher, my cheat sheets were popular with the students. My cheat sheets got me good jobs at interviews too. I have shown my crib-writing skills in many posts in this blog. e.g. study skills summaries. If you believe cheat sheets

PayPal IPN, Google App Engine, Python Integration, an Example

2010-09-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

References1. PayPal IPN Python Code from Django Aware blog. 2. A Google Group discussion 3. Pro PayPal E-Commerce. I recommend this book. 4. Professional Web APIs with PHP. This book is good for non-PayPal stuffs too. A good book. My Tutorial(1) Make a sandbox/testing account with PayPal. (2) Log in to that account. Get to IPN Simulator at the bottom of the page. (3) In the form that shows up,

Taking Notes

2010-09-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

"How to Be a High School Superstar," by Cal Newport, 2010.Make good notes to save time and effort later. 1. For non-maths subject, order your notes like: question ---> Evidence, raw facts---> Conclusion Thus, you imbue the middle section with meaning and motivation. 2. For maths-related subject, order your notes like: problem ---> steps for algorithm, explanations---> Answer, solution Again,

Taking Breaks During Your Study

2010-09-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

"Secrets of Getting Better Grades," by Brian Marshall, 2002, 2nd edition.15 min --------> 2 min break 50 min --------> 10 min break (same as in "How to Win at College," by Cal Newport, 2005.) 3 hours -------> a half hour break ("How to Be a High School Superstar," by Cal Newport, 2010 ) "Ace Any Test," by Ron Fry, 2000, 4th edition.1. Study when you are fresh. 2. Use time blocking. 3. For a

Memory

2010-09-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Mike Evans, in "How to Pass Your Exams" 3rd edition, 2009, recommends developing your memory through active revision: 1. Make sense of the key ideas in what you read or hear. 2. Recall and review periodically. "How to Be a High School Superstar," by Cal Newport, 2010 1. Quiz yourself and answer loud. LearnBySoft's Memory PrinciplesArouse desire for what you want to remember. Chunk and

How to Read Difficult Stuffs

2010-09-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

When you have to read difficult stuffs, remember this useful advice, by Geraldine Price and Pat Maier in "Effective Study Skills," 2007, page. 271. You should "assess the knowledge you bring to" the text you're using now. Is your background knowledge, prior knowledge sufficient for the reading task at hand? Instead of persisting too much, too long, you should switch to "a text which gives you

"How to Be a High School Superstar"

2010-09-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

"How to Be a High School Superstar," by Cal Newport, 2010. I am surprised to find that this book discusses politics unwittingly. The superstars know how to play politics at a premature age! Step 1: CutbackHave a stop-work point eg. In this blogger's experience at the Graduate school, 4:00 p.m. Reduce your study time so that you get more time for other steps below, for instance. Step 2:

"How to Win at College"

2010-09-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

"How to Win at College," by Cal Newport, 2005. Time managementBlock out obligations. Assign hour-blocks to specific projects. Set aside at least 1 block for slack and emergencies. When knocked off your schedule, re-organize your blocks. Time blocking is more effective than daily todo lists. When to quitProductive = effeciently accomplishable + in a now amount of time. If you're sure you won't be

Learning Styles

2010-09-24T04:01:00.000-07:00

What Styles are there?Left-brained, right-brained? Prefer to see, hear or do?visual,auditory,reading/writing-preference, kinesthetic/tactile? Deep vs surface Holistic/Integrative vs atomistic/itemized Single/alone vs team/social/cooperative learning Converger,Diverger,Assimilator,Accommodator Field Dependent or Independent Concrete or Abstract "What is my style?" "Do we have more than one style

"Study Smarter, Not Harder"

2010-09-24T03:53:00.000-07:00

"Study Smarter, Not Harder," by Kevin Paul, 2009, 3rd edition. No stress, full emotions ------> good learning Meditation ---> gamma waves ---> good learning MemoryCauses of good memory are : Learning through multi-senses, multi-chanels e.g. see, hear, do, touch, smell Similarity Association, links Emotions Intensity, vividness, sharpness Repetitons Menmonics Chunking: primacy effect (you

"Ace Any Test"

2010-09-24T03:50:00.000-07:00

"Ace Any Test," by Ron Fry, 2000, 4th edition. What Parents Can Do?1. Set up a study routine for the kids. 2. Convince them of reality and real life. If You Must CramSet realistic goals. Be modest, don't be greedy, ambitious. Go for selective depth, not breadth. Use mnemonics. Decide when to go to sleep. Get up early. In the exam room, write down things during the first few minutes. Taking Notes

"Secrets of Getting Better Grades"

2010-09-24T03:48:00.000-07:00

"Secrets of Getting Better Grades," by Brian Marshall, 2002, 2nd edition. Note-taking during ClassLeave some thinking space. Organize: Outline. Use sub-headings etc. Use mindmaps. Use circles, arrows, blocks, etc.. Use numbering. Use colors. Capture the essence. Listen for word clues, emphasis, repetitions, what's written on the board. Reading PurposePreview: Select, look for structure. Skim:

"How to Study " by Ron Fry

2010-09-24T03:47:00.000-07:00

"How to Study " by Ron Fry, 2005, 6th edition. Reading PurposeTo grasp a certain message. To answer a specific question. To evaluate what you are reading. To find important details. To aplly what you are reading. Technical Text ReadingConcentrate on: Definitions, terms, vocabulary. Examples. Visuals. Relationships e.g. classifications, contrasts, cause and effects, etc. Tie up often. Review and

Reading Maths

2010-09-24T03:45:00.001-07:00

When you have to read maths textbooks, workbooks etc, remember this useful advice, by Randall S. Hansen and Katherine Hansen in "Idiot's Guide to Study Skills," 2008, page. 130. Read in order. Pay attention to illustrations, formulas, proofs, theorems, definitions, etc. Work sample/example/practice problems.

"Study Less, Learn More"

2010-09-24T03:43:00.000-07:00

"Study Less, Learn More" by Benson Soong, 2006. Format of the input determines the ease of absorption, understanding and recall. To memorize numbers, replace numbers with letters, words, or some other symbols. To aid memorization, put key words and phrases into acronyms. To undersand concepts, well, ... I still can't differentiate between the three kinds of levers. If a book contains little

"Teach Like a Champion"

2010-09-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

"Teach Like a Champion," 2010 by Doug Lenov.T 13Name the steps.T 14Make what you write on board look like what you want your students to write down in their books.Model good note-taking behavior.T 16 : Break It DownProvide an example. Provide a context. Provide a rule. Provide a missing step or a first step. Roll back.Eliminate wrong choices.T 23 and 24Groupwise recall, review, chorus,

"What Smart Students Know"

2010-09-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

"What Smart Students Know" by Adam Robinson, 1993 is still fresh and relevant for today students.What to Focus while Reading?PurposeYour existing knowledgeThe big pictureKey ideas, definitions, termsYour summaryYour organizationYour mental pictureYour hook/cue/mnemonicsWhat if you get confused while reading?Return to the big pictureBacktrack. Retrace your steps to note the wrong turns you've

"Pass Your Weak Subjects"

2010-09-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Are you struggling with some subjects at school?There is a book specially written for such struggles, titled "Pass Your Weak Subjects," by Richard Palmer, 2008.BiologyUse mindmaps, diagrams, flow diagrams.ChemistryMaster the vocabulary.Use graphs.Use mnemonics.EconomicsUse mindmapsUse revision notes e.g. Cliff, BarronPractice active recall.MathsRevisit the topics constantly.Do lots of examples.

Doing Maths --- Part 1

2010-09-22T21:49:00.000-07:00

Heather Cooke's "Success with Mathematics," 2003page 100-101Pin down your fleeting and ephemeral thoughts and possibilities.Stablilize them: "What do I know?" "What do I want?" "I wonder if ...." "Maybe ...?"Writing them down help you clarify them,And it affords you access to them again later.page 99, 101Wait before you draw/sketch. Wait before you have formed an image in your mind.page 101,

Find More to Study Less

2010-09-18T02:25:00.001-07:00

Find More"Find More" means "finding more meaning in what you see, hear, read". When a lesson makes sense to you, you can remember it with less effort, you can apply it with less effort to solve a problem, and thus you can get higher marks with less effort. Books and teachers will make effort to help you understand. But it is your duty to make this effort. If you don't understand a thing, don't

Study Skills | Problem Solving | Start With the Doable

2010-09-15T03:14:00.000-07:00

Mathematical MethodsWe have reviewed so many books, principles, methods and techniques for doing Maths for school examinations. We have tried them out with our classes and have found some of them useful and practicable. Here we are sharing those battle-tested. proven methods with you. This week, we're discussing the method of starting with the doable. When reading a maths problem, sometimes you

Let jQuery Beat Me But ...

2010-09-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

Topics: software architecture, software thinking, javascript, jQuery and convenience as one of our brand features. Old Style JavascriptA web page is a simple concept to understand, and that is why it caught on so fast in the first place. And our desires to interact with it are also simple. Say, there are a number of thingies ("a", "b", "c", "d", and "e") on the page and I want to take some

What do you want to be remembered for?

2010-09-07T23:02:00.000-07:00

This is the late Peter Druckers' famous question. I want to be remembered as someone who successfully digitized several aspects of teaching and learning, as someone who has reduced wasteful learning of all kinds at all stages of life-long learning journey. As Bill Gates once remarked, many people before us had tried and failed: radio, TV, CD, elearning, ecourses. They were perhaps too