English paper. A take home examination

If you have a strong hunch. Follow it. It could save your life.

That is how I would describe my OUMH1203 English for Written Communication exam paper. It was in essay format and before the exam date, I have printed out the sample questions a week in advance and attempted it. It was quite an OK trial paper to be completed in about 2 hours plus.

However, format has changed in view of the new norm.

The exam question is readily accessible online from 10am on Sunday and the answers are to be handed in before 10am on the Monday. Candidates have 24 hours to complete the paper. In my mind, I had this thought of why lar paper keluar hari ahad.. why not a monday. Turns out there was a good reason for it.

Initially I had wanted to attempt the paper at night once the kids are asleep. It was a coincidence however, for that particular Sunday – my husband did not have to go to work or collect rent and run errands. Instead he was so free that he just wanted to stay indoors and cook lunch. So I thought it would be great if he minded the kids whilst I download the paper.

I WAS SO GLAD I DID THAT AT ABOUT 11AM.

For I was in shock when I read the questions. In gist, I have to write 4 different essays with about 800 -1000 words each! I tried hard not to panic although I knew that if you have no inspiration, you can’t pen down your thoughts. My 4 essays are about;

1. MCO ; its cause and effects
2. social networking application imposing a negative behaviour on children and teenagers
3. saving the environment
4. adult workers pursuing higher education and its effects on the economy and family

I was technically in my study area for the rest of the day with few interruptions in between. Things like going to the loo, having lunch, washing my daughters no 2, distracted by Shopee, resting my brain on the couch etc. Can you imagine how I would have felt if I decided to attempt the paper at night? Sedangkan assignment 3000 words pun I need about a month to complete, what more these in 24 hours. Now I worry if we are required to cite our references in the essay. That would be a bummer because I surely did not cite any. Mana nak ingat.

I finally completed my essay by 1am in the morning and dreaded going to work today. My head is still woozy at this hour. By the way, I have just completed my online MCQ exam for the Principles of Management subject a few minutes ago. That was a timed session of 90 minutes. Terpaksa basuh berak Ninie laju2 sebab tak nak rugi masa. Masa Mummy tengah amek examlah dia nak berak jugak.

I am making a mental note that for the next exam season, I will try to apply for leave. This is because next semester I will be having 4 subjects. Boleh stress macam ni. Terus jadi gemuk balik after all my Biggest Loser effort. Its hard to tell if I did well for both subjects. I am crossing my fingers to at least pass the courses. My last subject for examination will be Psychology this Wednesday.

Wish me luck.

Registering for 2nd semester

My semester is supposed to start in May 2020. however, with COVID-19 still at large and CMCO ongoing, classes have yet to start. I have sat for my TITAS exam last Monday and am awaiting results for my 1st semester as a whole. No idea when it will come out. I am quite anxious to know as it will somehow help me know whether what I am doing right now is on the right path or otherwise.

These are the subjects I am taking for May 2020.

In other words, it translates into;

Sejarah dan Falsafah Psikologi

Principles of Management

English for Written Communication

Registration is still open. It is from 10 March 2020 – 07 June 2020. My fees for this semester is RM1602.00. Alhamdulilah.. I have more than enough to pay for it. Keeping the Study Fund going. Saving what I can.

I am hoping other part time students are doing OK too. It can be a challenge to work and study at the same time especially if you have other family commitments be it to your parents, siblings, partner and kid/s. Yet, there is no day in which you learn something is a complete loss. Good Luck.

Using Kindle in Malaysia – I wish I knew earlier

Let me just make it clear. I have no regrets at all buying Kindle. It does has an added value to my life. I only wish to caution potential buyers of things to look out if you decide to invest in a Kindle.

Owning a Kindle in Malaysia needs a bit of work and digital literacy if I could put it that way. I for one am not super awesome when it comes to technology. So, I was a bit dumbstruck when I got my Kindle. This is what happens when you do not do enough research and proceed with an impulse purchase. It should have triggered a thought in my little brain when we have people establishing websites like Kindle Malaysia. It is not just a support group or a Kindle fan club – it is actually more than that. But of course, I was oblivious to that fact.  Naive.

When I came across Kindle and saw the lovely blogger Audrey of fourfeetnine.com using it some time ago, I had thought that it will be as easy as buying a book from Google Play/Amazon and reading it on the ebook reader. I was mistaken.

I bought my Kindle from Shopee seller [x3838] The after-sales service is commendable. Defo getting a 5 star rating from me. My e-Reader is the 10th Gen (black) glare Free with WIFI and built in audible. It comes with a USB2.0 charging cable (only). Kena beli the kepala. Price is RM480. Shipping costs was another RM4.77 and since I bought it during a promo period, shipping cost was almost free cause I got RM4 off. HA HA HA.

Back to what I was saying about being naive. Turns out to buy books off Amazon, you need to have a US-based account. You need an address, a credit card and what not. There are a few articles that wrote about hacking it but I fear if it would be illegal to do that. Or maybe super smart for being able to work around a loophole. But fret not because the seller I bought this Kindle from, sent me a special guide on how to enjoy Kindle despite not having a US based Amazon account. Legal, FREE ebooks are everywhere.

The guide and bonus E books came through after a week. Prior to that, I was using my Kindle to read my existing pdf documents and ebooks which I procured for free at various legal sites. I also bought some off Shopee. There are a handful of local ebook sellers that offer to find academic book titles for a fee. I also find it easier to find a bookseller’s top list on these platforms. I later learnt that the best ebook format to read on Kindle is the .mobi or the .kd8. The fonts are easier to enlarge sort of thing.

COVID-19 has pretty much affected the way I choose to learn. At the beginning of my semester, I had hoped to utilize the library at OUM and have physical books shipped to my learning center since they have these services. But the idea of going through a roadblock just to collect my books seem like a nuisance. Furthermore, 21st-century learning skills are pretty much online. I just need to dig into this method slowly to sow its benefits. I just need to find a proper e-bookstore and get my textbooks from there.

The Kindle is not a white elephant so far. I am using it to its near best potential. Since I put in on Airplane Mode, the battery usage is very minimal and I read on a blog somewhere that it could last up to a week or more depending on your reading habits. I was a bit annoyed at the refresh page screen appearance but I have learned to accept it as it is. It’s a tolerable disadvantage. Forget about downloading from Google PlayBook Store because I find the browser really really slow. Or is it because I have not got the hang of it yet. The easiest way to get the ebook to your Kindle is to transfer it with the cable provided from your PC/laptop. Damn fast.

We hope to be a reading nation by 2030. I have just created an account on GoodReads with hopes that it will spur my reading stamina. Feel free to recommend me good accounts, articles or groups.

Revision. In progress

Online learning is great if you know what you are doing. It is pretty much self-directed like the Problem Based Learning (PBL) I did in medical school whilst at Manchester University. Of course, we still need to have face to face tutorials to keep us on track and to clarify topics that are best explained when we sit together.

My psychology exam is next week. It contributes 40% of my total marks for the course. The other 60% is from my coursework. For this semester, our psychology coursework includes 4 Tasks and MCQ quizzes. If I were to answer all of them correctly, I could actually get 60% just like that. With 60% I have enough to pass the course. I aim to not only pass but to achieve my best potential as a psychology disciple. I hope to further my studies in Masters and maybe Ph.D. InsyaAllah.  To do that, would it not be great if I could prove to my superiors that I can do this?

As for my other subjects, TITAS has a heavier weight of 70% on its coursework with a remaining 30% during the final MCQ exam. As for the Learning Skills for 21st Century subject, THAT is 100% coursework. I really hope they like my essay on GCED and biodiversity because I enjoyed the write-up process too.

Amidst the COVID-19 situation, our learning process has shifted 100% online. This is my 1st semester and there are only 5 of us in the class. HAHAHAHA. I had hoped we could become close-knitted coursemates but have yet to forge a bond in our class since we only had 1 physical class with only 3 students turned up. Maybe we could become closer next semester.

I did not receive a reading list for the course. Maybe there isn’t one. So I have been searching for an academic list online. To be honest, I am not quite sure if the books recommended were academically suitable or more like pop psychology. I still took note of these recommendations and tried to search pdf versions of it. If you’re a psychology student and have a textbook list, do let me know. Thanks.

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My study techniques are not perfect. I have yet to discover if the methods I used during PBL would be suitable for psychology but I am tweaking them as I go through the lessons. I would start by reading my handbook and extracting notes from it. I find that the references at the end of the topic more useful than ever because this is where the supplementary reading comes in. However, the biggest help of all comes from my E-tutor on the forum. Bless him!

For each lesson, he creates sub-topics on the forum with links of materials to read up on. I was also learning from the more enthusiastic and diligent students who replied to his questions on the forum. I used the sources he suggested to further add on to my notes. Not only that, since the exam is next week he is now posting up learning prompts to enhance our study. I thought that was great. It would have been excellent though if we students could meet up on ZOOm maybe and discuss briefly our notes and such. But like I said, we did not get to bond. 🙂

By the way, I purchased a Kindle. Will review on that later.

Wish me luck for the exams.

Planning my study time

I envy how some StudyGrammers outline their study progress. Not to mention the aesthetics of doing it all in a very organized manner. I am still intrigued as to why Korean students especially, use timers during study hours. Perhaps it is to log their time or something on a spreadsheet? Or more for personal satisfaction? Enlighten me. I really want to know.

I am still quite manual when it comes to making a timetable. I feel that I achieve more when I cross out the list with my colourful pens. This is basically how mine look like for this 1st semester in February. Perhaps next month or next semester’s timetable would be more pleasing to the eyes.

My 3 subjects for this semester are;

1. ABPG1103 – Introduction to Psychology
2. MPU3323 – Tamadun Islam & Tamadun Asia
3. OUMH1603 – Learning Skills for 21st Century

For psychology, part of my assessment is Task-Based and via online MCQ. I have a handbook to guide me with supplementary Face To Face tutorial and an E Tutor on the portal. If I read enough and keep up with my tasks, I would be able to get at least a pass.

Tamadun Islam is a mandatory module for every student. For this subject, I have an assignment to complete and handed in. So far, I don’t have online quizzes to complete. Will blog about that once I’ve completed it. InsyaAllah. 

Learning Skills sounds basic BUT when you organize a branch of knowledge in a systematic manner – you later find out that there is so much more to know. IT is not just IT. There is a process to it. I feel very humbled about the vastity of this subject. For this module, I also have an assignment to complete on top of online MCQs to answer.