5 Reasons why Malaysian Graduates are Unemployed

from M'sian Insider...KUALA TERENGGANU, Feb 27 — Lack of industrial training and poor English are among five factors why graduates are unemployed, according to a study conducted by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).

Other factors are low problem-solving skills, job-hopping and lack of self-confidence, said Higher Education Ministry student development and affairs director Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi Ramlan.

He said as graduates were bogged down with poor communication skills in English, they should improve their command of the language.

“They have themselves to blame if they fail to convince employers on their potential,” he said when closing a two-day graduate etiquette programme at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu here today.

He said graduates should also avoid being choosy about jobs and shrug off bad attitude of preferring to work in ones’ hometown. — Bernama

Classroom Bullying

Elona Hartjes shares two stories on bullying :

1. "A student is trying to bully me"
2. "Stop bullying in my classroom"

Easier to teach Compliance than Initiative

A short note from Seth Godin:

Compliance is simple to measure, simple to test for and simple to teach. Punish non-compliance, reward obedience and repeat.

Initiative is very difficult to teach to 28 students in a quiet classroom. It's difficult to brag about in a school board meeting. And it's a huge pain in the neck to do reliably.

Schools like teaching compliance. They're pretty good at it.

To top it off, until recently the customers of a school or training program (the companies that hire workers) were buying compliance by the bushel. Initiative was a red flag, not an asset.

Of course, now that's all changed. The economy has rewritten the rules, and smart organizations seek out intelligent problem solvers. Everything is different now. Except the part about how much easier it is to teach compliance.

Frank McCourt podcasting "Teacher, Man"

If you haven't read the book,

you can hear McCourt read it (whilst you go and buy a copy, *grin*).

Five sites beyond Google

"I’d never argue that Google is always the fastest, most effective way to find facts, seek advice, take actions, or simply satisfy your curiosity about the world around you. Actually, there are more viable Google alternatives than ever. For the most part, they don’t compete by trying to out-Google Google at basic Web searching. Instead, they do useful things that Google doesn’t."

Harry McCracken shares some brief thoughts about Bing, Siri, Twitter, Aardvark and Wolfram/Alpha.

Jamie Oliver Against Obesity (TED Talk)

Self-Control on the Web?

Need an application to help you overcome the temptation to surf whilst working? Try this.

"SelfControl is an OS X application which blocks access to incoming and/or outgoing mail servers and websites for a predetermined period of time. For example, you could block access to your email, facebook, and twitter for 90 minutes, but still have access to the rest of the web. Once started, it can not be undone by the application, by deleting the application, or by restarting the computer – you must wait for the timer to run out."

"Learning" from the SLATT Team (Jan '10)

Any questions?

Prezi for Lectures and Presentations

Have you heard the buzz or seen the new zooming alternative to boring old PowerPoint? Check out this presentation to MassComm students at KDU. Just click the arrowhead at bottom to start, then at bottom right ("More"), click "fullscreen" and "autoplay" for easier navigation.

With a little practice, you can create similar presentations yourself, for your own classes with your own material. You can learn and browse the showcase of presentations at Prezi.com. Students and teachers are loving it! At the site, you can create a free account, design, and download your presentation for use offline. Educators and students qualify for the middle level of usage for free.

TLC will offer training in the near future. Stay tuned!

Warning: after I introduced Alwyn to Prezi, he says the learning, playing, and designing can be a bit addictive.

Teachers' TV

New website recommended by Cambridge International Examinations - check it out!