E-learning on communism

Dear HS1102 students,

Welcome to Mrs Lim's personal geography blog. I'm hosting the HS1102 E-lesson instructions here for the time being until I work out one entire integrated humanities website for 2010. Yes, it will be a website, not a blog. I've lost my interest in blogging as a teacher after 3 years of trying to make it work well for teaching purposes. I still think a website will be better in the long run. The good thing is, all my resources are here in this blog. My website will be like a long content page next time...

Today's E-lesson (intro lesson to alternative development)

Today's lesson is a self-directed learning on communism. The purpose of this lesson is simple. It is simply to find out what information is available on the Internet on communism. As this is self directed, you can choose to explore communism in the following 3 ways.

Get to know who else is in the same topics as you so we can form expert groups (members are have the same topic) and jigsaw groups (mixture of members with different topics) in the next lesson.

1. Communism and politics

A. Start off read about communism, socialism and capitalism on wikipedia.

B. Go to The Chairman Smiles website: http://www.iisg.nl/exhibitions/chairman/ and write down your responses on reading and looking at the posters that comment on communism as a political system.

2. Communism and Socialism: What are the differences?

A. Start off read about communism, socialism and capitalism on wikipedia.

B. Visit this socialism website: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~dmcm/Articles/nutshell.htm and first: do not believe everything you read there. Try to figure out what he is saying and what is his purpose in presenting socialism in the way he is doing on his website. Write down your responses.

3. Socialism Today?

A. Start off read about communism, socialism and capitalism on wikipedia.

B. Read this article that argues that US President Obama is not a socialist. Link is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/13/AR2009031301899.html. What is socialism? According to the article, what are the key characteristics of socialism? Write down your responses.

4. Communism and development

A. Start off read about communism, socialism and capitalism on wikipedia.

B. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_communist_states to know which are the current communist states/countries in the world today. Do you think they all have similar stages of development? Visit http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/east_asian_history/103959 to read about the achievements of Communism in East Asia and Poland's case in http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/polish_baltic_history/66634. What can you conclude about communism as a alternative form of development?

Come to class next lesson to be prepared to do discussions in expert groups and jigsaw groups.

Welcome to HS1102

Dear HS1102 students, a short and quick welcome to this module. We will be focusing on development and how it affects countries. We will be using Singapore and regional countries as case studies throughout the module and also employing critical thinking you came across in HS1101.

To start some thinking - here are some questions for you to prepare for the first lesson of this module.

1) What is development? 

2) How long do you think it has been happening?

3) How has development changed Singapore?

Plate Tectonics and Fossil Evidences

Video Essay assignment (in place of proposed 24 hour test)

Dear Litho students,

This video critique essay is officially released on 3 March and is due for submission on 30 Mar on Espace. This gives you a window of 27 days to do this essay.

Extension: This essay is due on 3 April 2009 on Espace.

The clip is now shorter (about 3:26) but should not affect your analysis.


Background:

Dante's Peak is a fictional volcano set in the state of Oregon where Dante's Peak is part of the mountain chain of volcanoes in the United States known as the Cascade Range. This clip shows the first eruption of the volcano in the course of the movie.

Essay Question (30 marks)
Refer to the clip below.


*Disclaimer: There are inverted scenes in this clip but it is not intentional and should not be part of your analysis.

(A) Explain the extent this clip is representative of the destructive nature of acidic lava type volcanoes.

(B) Explain how volcanic hazard management has failed in this movie clip and explain how you will go about setting in place a volcanic hazard management program for a town like the one portrayed in the movie.

Notes:

Research into Dante's Peak via the internet and use information and ideas we have learnt in class (especially from the Merapi and Earthquake Watch Centre's presentations) to answer (B).

Requirements of Essay:

• MAX number of pages: 6
• page margin: 1"
• Font size: 12
• Font Face: Arial or Times New Roman
• Include a cover page indicating your name, mentor group and lesson time slot. E.g. "Tuesday, 4 to 6pm".
• Include references, please include last accessed date if referencing internet websites.

Date Due: 30 March 3 April 2009 on Espace Workbin > Video Essay

Essay Assessment Rubrics - Each section carries a max point of 5 marks (1,2,3,4,5)

1. Analysis
2. Grammar
3. Critical thinking
4. Creativity
5. Pragmatism
6. References

There is an additional bonus mark of 5 marks for significant improvements between your first submitted video critique and this essay

Feedback on Journal Entry 1 - build up on critical thinking

Dear students,

Entry 1 is about asking questions in this module, especially with the first 2 lectures that has passed. Now, while we are in our Help! Indonesia lesson series, please do take the time to 'level up' your critical thinking abilities. I believe critical thinking can be nurtured over time but you need to be more self-aware than what I am seeing in your 1st journal entry.

How can you be a more critical thinker? Here are some ways in brief:

1. Use “Wasted” Time.
2. A Problem A Day.
3. Internalize Intellectual Standards.
4. Keep An Intellectual Journal.
5. Reshape Your Character.
6. Deal with Your Ego.
7. Redefine the Way You See Things.
8. Get in touch with your emotions.
9. Analyze group influences on your life.

Please go to http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/sts-ct-everyday-life.cfm and read up there. A critical thinker needs to start thinking before you can train yourself to be more critical.

Ask questions that will create new knowledge and understandings.

Help! Indonesia Project

Where do you get resource maps to show the extent of seismic activities in Indonesia for your in-class project? Look out for this:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/hazmaps/products_data/images/SEASIA-SeismicHazards_Sep07.pdf

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/hazmaps/products_data/images/WIndoSH.pdf

Assessment Rubrics for Help! Indonesia Project

Dear Litho students,

Please note the assessment rubrics for each watch centre aka groups.

Criterion:
Organization of information
Verbal techniques/ Presentation style
Design of presentation
Subject knowledge as demonstrated in presentation
Subject Knowledge and articulation as demonstrated in Q&A.

1 - Poor
2 - Average
3 - Good
4 - Very Good
5 - Excellent

Watch Centre that wins full funding: extra 6 points, partial funding: 3 points.

Regards,
Mrs Lim

It is possible to have an excellent presentation and 'score' full points, please do a good job regardless though.

Mount Saint Helen

This is a useful video on the history of mount saint helen. Look in particular how mafic/acidic lava erupts and build up in the caldera of Saint Helen. The lava solidifies very fast and erupts mostly as cooling rock when it is pushed up to the surface. Mount Saint Helen is found in the Cascade Range on the North American plate.

Help Indonesia PBL lesson series

Dear class,

Here are some resources for our Volcanoes lessons.

USGS: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Indonesia/framework.html

USGS Map of Indonesia volcanoes:
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Indonesia/Maps/map_indonesia_volcanoes.html

Merapi Volcano Observatory:
http://www.vsi.esdm.go.id/mvo/

Decade Volcanoes Map:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/01/volcano-culture/decade-volcano-map-interactive

The Lusi volcano:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/01/volcano-culture/drowning-in-mud-text

Comments on Lusi from other sources:
http://geology.about.com/b/2008/05/28/watch-lusi-collapse.htm

USGS: Plate boundaries

Check out the USGS resources on plate boundaries! Good revision page to keep as a bookmark for the earnest physical geographer!

Link: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html

yorrike.com's take on continental drift / plate tectonics

Neal Adams' argument

Yorrike's argument

2 video clips for points of discussions during the lesson on continental drift theory in GE4102/3102.

Neal Adams's argument that Earth is growing. Okay, I am biased against this guy quite abit. Yorrike is one guy who is arguing to debunk Neal's 'growing earth' theory.


Link: http://www.yorrike.com/pangea


Here's what we do in class:

Points of discussion:
1. What is Neal's argument on pangea?
2. What evidences did Yorrike draw to debunk Neal?
3. Do you have other evidences you think you have to debunk either party's arguments?

Pay attention to each other in class! We will have a Neal vs. Yorrike debate in class!


One side of the class willbe pro-Neal while the other can be pro-Yorrike. Do research now while you can.

Plate Tectonics (BBC Clip)

This clip explains the mechanisms behind the formation of the continents as well as describes the crustal movements.