Monday, September 28, 2009

Weakness of English Language in Sudan:Our Friendly Clichés (s)


When will the time come when all the Clichés and trite words about the reasons of the deterioration(another cliche!)of English language in Sudan will end??
In an investigation(a Cliché?) about the reasons of weakness of English language,Alrayalam, a daily newspaper, listed the usual friendly:-) Clichés which we have been living with for more than 19 years. Teacher training, syllabi, number of students, the learning environment and the unclear pedagogical vision.Who listened/will listen and started/will start to act? NO ONE!! Let's beleive that the time will come soon, inshaa Allah!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

FEEDHIT Live Traffic Map for my blog


I haven't checked Feedjit recently. I am amazed of how Web 2.0 tools update and add new features everyday. The Live Traffic Map for the blog subscribed was before when I started using the tool, but it was not sophisticated like the one I have seen today (below).I believe that the new features of RSS and aggregation software have added to the this. Feedjit gives you "Today's Popular Pages for Map Area" in %. The ones whcih got the biggest rate are Suda-Cyber-Sailing 2.0 [50%, Sudaneseonline is back today! [7%],Teaching Values, Unconsciously! [7%], British Council Sudan Workshop at Rotana [3%],Sudanse music خلي العيش حرام - السمندل [3. It also shows "Country Page Views for Map Area". It's interesting to know that for my blog, USA got[32%](biggest number of bloggers)
United Kingdom [8%]
Philippines [4%]
Canada [4%]
Germany [4%]
India [4%]
Netherlands [3%]
Denmark [2%]
France [2%]
Ireland [2%]
South Korea [2%]
Saudi Arabia [2%]
Colombia [2%]
Argentina [2%]
Brazil [2%]
Jamaica [1%]
Hong Kong S.A.R., China [1%]
Malaysia [1%]
Serbia [1%
Sudan [1%](Pity:-)
Sweden [1%]
Morocco [1%]
Kuwait [1%]
Algeria [1%]
Egypt [1%]
Belgium [1%]
Tunisia [1%]
Taiwan [1%]
Belarus [1%]
Russia [1%
South Africa [1%]
Moldova [1%]
Turkey [1%]
Macedonia [1%]
Finland [1%]
Romania [1%]
Jordan [1%]
United Arab Emirates [1%]
Thailand [1%]
Israel [1%]
I am here now, procrastinating from preparing hundreds of tasks for the new term.
Ahhh! At least I am not wasting my time. I am not Twittering, but exploring and blogging:-)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

What does the web think of you?




This simple graphic illustrates one way the internet can be used to get an insight into a person, by analysing publicly available information associated with a name.You can enter your own details into the Personas tool here. If you feel uncomfortable watching the process of this tool scouring the web for information about you, that’s the idea. It was designed to show you have a publicly available profile which you cannot control.
Here is what I got when tried this out: Type Hala Fawzi, tells you its charactiriaing Hala Fawzi and then tells your story with the web, in few letters. Wow! Education is the biggest piece of cake I am in!!

Talks John Lloyd inventories the invisible

Eid Al-fitr in Khartoum


How great it is to drive around in Khartoum these days! It feels wonderful to see streets empty of Hays(es), rakshat and amjad(at). WowW! My kids told me today that they wish if it was like this All year:-)Again, I miss my cell phone for taking pictures!So, I Googled and found the photo belowwhich was taken on a very quite Friday in Khartoum.
Eid Mubarak.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Dad's Digital Identity: Soon!





Dave Comier writes:"There is a sense in which we are storing the memories of ourselves, of our friends, of the ways that we are all connected to each other. Of our love".So True!
Now, I am thinking seriously, a part from adding his photos to a bubbleshare album and making a movie using Windows Movie Maker, to write and document my relationship with my dad, whom, the minute I read this post, I was missing so much. Four years has passed(23-9-2005).
George Siemens, on his blog, highlights a post for Dave Cormier who "offers an insightful (and touching) post on how identity and memory are preserved online. He compares the passing of a colleague (last year) and his brother (20 years ago) and how they are remembered today. The identity people create online today is, in a sense, a gift to their children and future generations. I know my grandparents through a few black and white pictures. As Cormier notes, his children/grandchildren will know him through rich media. Memories preserved in full colour. Too often, when discussing identity, the focus rests on "don't post this online, you'll regret it in the future when you're [running for office, interviewing for a new job, etc.]". The flip side of this argument is aptly expressed in Dave's post.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

He takes good care of me!


I am having a problem these days. My priorities are shifting dramatically.I don't need to open up to the ideas and energies flowing around my life. Life to me becomes much easier when I trust that Allah will take good care of me.I need to be in touch with that certain part of myself. I believe that will help me align with my higher purpose, and I will be able to keep on driving the vehicle...to continue the journey which, hopefully, will lead me, and the ones I hold tightly to, through a path of health, wealth and happiness. Inshallah:-)

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

The last ten days of Ramadan



Starting from today, in a trial to take full advantage and benefit from the last ten blessed days of Ramadan, I will be away from the Internet until the first day of Eid. All will be Seeking Laylatul-Qadr,the holiest night of Ramadan, the night of destiny, the Night of Decree or The Night of Power. I hope I will be amongst those deprived people who miss this night.
Tagabal Allah miny wa mikum, wa kulu sana wa all the Islamic world bikhair!
All praise is to Allah.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Worldwide Moment Project for Peace.Sudan is in!


I have been trying to participate in this project for hours, but failed to. I sent an email, got a response in less than 5 minutes.Surprising? maybe no. This is what's the project about, as it's written on their homepage:
Can you imagine people from every country in the world participating in a simultaneous moment of peace?
Can you imagine the photographs this moment would produce?
Can you imagine the impact? ... We can... Please join us.
Worldwide Moment is a non-profit arts organization which encourages people around the world to celebrate peace and international collaboration by taking simultaneous photographs and sharing their stories. 2009's Moment occurs when the time is Wednesday September 9, 2009 at 9:09AM in the +09GMT time zone, or 09.09.09+09GMT@09:09.

My topic intertwines so well with my mentor's.WoW!!


My mentor, Vance Stevens, who writes on his posterous blog that he is "passionate about helping others to learn by getting them to help me to learn", refereed his colleagues to my wiki's workshop for extra information because "our topics intertwine so well". WoW! How can help myself of not being happy, and confident! I am copying=pasting two paragraphs of his post here as they are so true, and applicable to my context too. You are right Vance!
Vance writes:
These technologies are so exciting yet so difficult to get across not only to students but especially to one's colleagues. That's the real choke point, but when approached correctly, not condescendingly but in a spirit of assistance, and when they are ready, colleagues might just come around. How do we improve our world? One person at a time.
It's a real challenge to write materials that are approachable to both these cohorts, teachers and students (where is my mind today? Who just completed a survey asking 10,000 teens why they were turned off to Twitter?).

Saturday, September 05, 2009

How do we live these day?

I miss my old cell phone very much these days. It was stolen three months ago. It was my cell, my digital camera, my recorder, my notebook, alarm, mp3, etc. It it was here, I would have taken lots of photos for how my front door looks, my car, our neighborhood and how the streets look.Here is how Khartoum looks these days:
From africa news Posted on 03-Sep-2009:Floods spread misery in poor suburb of Sudan"s capital