Macbook VGA adaptors at co-op

I bought a couple of mini DVI to VGA adaptors that MacBooks need for the laboratory projectors. Some student groups with MacBooks in my Animal Behaviour class turned up all eager to project their presentations but learnt that they needed an adaptor for the MacBooks. These are not issued with MacBooks but only with MacBook Pros.

The MacBook Pro adaptors are not mini-DVI so one group had to use my MacBookPro - I quickly setup a new user account as Yezdi suggested at the last meetup. Unfortunately the other group was presenting at almost the same time so when i went over, I found out they had opted to export their presentation to powerpoint for use on the lab pc.

Sacrilegious and all, so I bought two adaptors just now at lunch when I popped in to the pc co-op at YIH. Staff price was $36.10 a piece. Should have ordered from Apple Store instead ($32), rats.

Now to keep it in a safe place.

95 drive-bys outside University Hall

The absence of the SBS bus No. 95 is a bother on most days. After exam invigilation, its tiring. Students pour out of exam halls and the buses are few and far between. By the time it reaches University Hall, the buses are so full they just drive by.

I had reached department by 7.30pm after script verification, dumped everything and grabbed my new load of scripts and high-tailed it out of there. I was actually eager to get back to recapture my momentum of the morning’s marking. After 20 mins, I was drenched in perspiration from the humidity of the still air and left with the ominous feeling that the situation was not going to improve. So I SMSed Ladybug for SBS’ IRIS data. The reply said “7 mins more.” And 7 minutes later, I watched yet another student-filled 95 breeze by.

At 8pm, some admin staff emerged from University Hall. They’ve probably seen it all before and immediately started calling for cabs. But most cabs in the vicinity were already booked. Labour Day eve compounded the usual problem. So everyone waited, although I am sure most felt the next 95 would be a drive-by too.

So I gave in and called for rescue - Ladybug came before the bus in a borrowed car. We grabbed three others from the bus stop - one lady in particular had been waiting far longer than me, for more than an hour. She looked pretty far gone, and I found out she had been spring cleaning all day today. She’s from my department.

I felt guilty about the rest we had abandoned but wished on them an empty 95.

I went home and cooked. Will resume marking tomorrow.

CPR and AED familiarisation

Last Wednesday I attended a CPR and AED familiarisation course at NUS’ SRC Dance Studio. I went partly to decide if it should be suggested to the biodiversity group.

The relative incompetence of the class (myself included) dissipated during the two hours spent on CPR and AED. The 30 mins of practical training with a mannequin and AED device helped considerably and the fact everyne was serious. There was one joker who probably felt awkward about the drills but my group simply ignored him and kept their focus.

The practise sessions were conducted in small groups at a 1:5 ratio due to instructors from OSHE, Wellness and a few other places. It made for a modest but effective session with all objectives achieved.

While this was definitely not a first aid course the two hour session equips individuals to provide proper CPR assistance to family or lab members - correct administration of CPR pushes blood to the brain in lieu of a pumping heart and improves the chances of victim survival. Furthermore the supportive role of AED is clarified to the class as it does not replace CPR. The person conducting CPR really needs to stay focused until the AED is setup, and the patient prepared before the AED users informs him its setup. Improper use or knowledge may impede assistance and possibly even contribute problems so even this short training is critical.

Bondi lifeguards apply CPR and use the AED - the whole sequence right to recovery position.
And what a relief when they say, “It’s okay mate…” and Takahiro Ono remembers his name!
Taken from Bondi Rescue Series 1, Ep 4 (2006) and Australian Screen’s Teacher’s Notes.

I recall Keropokman went for an AED introductory session last November. That was not enough so he needs to go for a session like this one :-). Just like we intend for the staff and graduate students in the biodiversity group to attend this as well.

Collectively the instructors who conduct the training are able to effectively answer all the queries posed, which were certainly varied! Doesn’t the plastic suffocate the patient? Sessions are comfortably conducted at the SRC Dance Studio, opposite YIH in groups of 20. NUS staff can book a session through this webpage. You’ll find yourself much more confident after.

There have been two casualties of heart failure of some sort in NUS last year. One to whom first aid was applied but it was just his time, and another who did not receive any CPR assistance. We regret their loss and the CPR and AED course is one step in improving the capability of colleagues.

The AED unit near my block is located in the loading bay between S2 and S1A.

In the video above, it was lucky the lifeguards all happened to be nearby; it’s used for teaching in many schools now, including this NUS course! For further inspiration, read about our own Esther Tan: “Student saves heart attack man in Holland Road,” by Ong Rui Lin. The Electric New Paper, 26th February 2006. ‘I was still shaking back in school’. And see “When Hearts Stop: CPR & Defibrillators”.

Dealing with stress

NUS’ Counselling Centre highlights their Exam Anxiety webpage in the weeks leading to the exams.

Besides the peak period focus, students under excessive stress aren’t out my mind the rest of the semester. I adopt strategies in each module, integrate those into the teaching. A balance has to be struck with module standards but it is usually complimentary.

To maintain my awareness and alertness, I talk to teacher-friends armed with case study histories, discuss some aspects with friends on my mailing lists, reflect on past incidents and read some journal papers. This helps me to maintain an appreciative grasp of the issue over the years. Now that I actually have time to prepare my teaching, I want to consult the pros!

So after the Faculty of Science workshop, “Teaching is OUR Priority” last Friday, I way-layed the Counseling Centre’s head for a quick chat. I will drop in after clearing the exams so examine strategies and get advice about those and profiles. I am certainly looking forward to the consult - my previous session was a long time ago at Changi Village after a Pedal Ubin ride. One of the staff attended the ride and I ran a bunch of stuff by him - the benefits of being a guide!

It’s important to think about and review pre-emptive measures every year, just as we should do for fire and field safety. And you have to try look for loopholes. I find that exercise useful for teaching methods as well. Since I have field safety guidelines to pen, May is going to be safety month!

See “Struggles of Students Today,” by Ann-Marie Lew. Alumnus, Apr 2007.

Talk to NUS librarians on lecture preparation

“Digital library, web2.0 and shareware contributions to LSM1103 Animal Behaviour lectures.”
By N. Sivasothi, Dept. Biological Sciences. Wed 23 Apr 2008: 3pm - 5pm.

Abstract – LSM1303 Animal Behaviour is a cross-faculty module for students with no ‘A’ level biology. The class of 200 students are exposed to the diversity and complexities of animal behaviour and the scientific process behind this relatively young science. Digital resources have contributed significantly to the story-telling approach employed during lectures.

In the absence of a suitable textbook, the lectures are built on a foundation of classical and recent case studies from academic papers obtained through NUS’ Digital Library. The approach is softened by material from a variety of web2.0 contributions which increase each year. The catalyst facilitating this use is a host of shortcuts and shareware that radically increase ease of use. I will illustrate the typical lecture preparation process involving various tools and methods and discuss practical issues affecting design.

An NUS Module Blog compliments this course and after experimenting with five blogs, we embarked on a student blog assignment. Kenneth Pinto and other CIT staff were instrumental in this attempt and he will join the discussion as well. See:
Module Blog - http://moduleblog.nus.edu.sg/blogs/lsm1303/
Student Module Blog - http://moduleblog.nus.edu.sg/blogs/lsm1303students/

Tools used that will be featured – NUS’ Digital Library, Google Scholar, AcidSearch, Creative Commons, Flickr, delicious, Tooble, Youtube, TubeSock, iTunes, podcasts, rss feeds, NetNewsWire, Textpandr, MarsEdit, Google Earth, Skitch, a variety of browsers, tabbed-browsing and sessions (most of these are either platform independent or have pc equivalents).

About the speaker – Sivasothi teaches biodiversity and ecology at the Department of Biological Sciences. He is an enthusiastic macintosh and web2.0 proponent and has numerous blogs and mailing lists dealing with macintosh, cycling, biology, nature and the environment. See http://blog.sivasothi.com

The Naked Librarian

NUS Librarians are blogging! Yep, hop over and visit LINUS and read the ponderings of Maggie Yin, The Naked Librarian. She/he blogs in the style of “A day in the life of…” featuring actual stories.

And it looks like The Naked Librarian is ending most posts with an one liner afterword. Neat!

Update - correction courtesy of Maggie - The Naked Librarian is the persona of someone else, not Maggie; how interesting!

Kermit in Mos Eisley

The Bornean flat-headed frog, Barbourula kalimantanensis is all the rage in environment news sites and blogs right now. It hit the wires a MONTH in advance of publication release and because this paper announces the crazy fact that this critter does not have lungs, it set the net alight!

I was preparing lectures at YIH when Marcus buzzed me so I made a quick post. I just asked David for pictures and boy oh boy, if Kermit was marooned in Mos Eisley, this is what he’d end up looking like!

See The Biodiversity Crew @ NUS for larger pictures and links!

Have a cuppa

I was one of two examiners for three UROPS students this semester. The students arrange to present to us, usually as a Keynote (=powerpoint) presentation on their laptops.

I usually greet the news with mock dread since it comes when we are up to our necks reading drafts and conducting oral exams besides lectures, practical and CAs. Its a crazy time until the recess week!

However, when the (usually) 3rd year students finally present, I find I recognise all the faces from their shadows in the corridor during the past semester while they were hard at work. And they are are illuminating to listen to. After having applied themselves to a specific question, they do end up educating their examiners about the specific topic.

Its important to spot and highlight loopholes not just for the exam, but some of them will be writing papers after the semestral exams. So the session functions as an oral review as well. Its invariably easy to spot issues and rattling their cages is a time-honoured tradition that provides them a challenge to think on their feet and expound. They have to cope with alternative perspectives and new ideas and we evaluate that too. They in variably help nail their own coffins while fighting to keep the lid open! But its the engagement not the outcome which is important so they do okay and its a warm up for the tougher session during honours.

Its not unique to fumble, I’ve seen PhD students in the final exams who would have profited likewise. Had we retained the practise of afternoon tea, they would have experienced this more often and during casual conversation as they would have been exposed to their seniors and even their peers more.

We used to chat about our projects with academics from other biological disciplines witin the department in the 90’s. And they used to tell us about the good old days in Bukit Timah campus when they could exchange ideas with a wider variety of practioners; the advantage of a small campus. Well, these days we’re pretty happy even to meet our colleagues! The collegial tea rooms of the former departments of botany and zoology were all converted to offices and labs during the hustle and bustle of the life science transformation.

So I told the students to ask people out for tea, that they’d actually be delighted. In the absence of the tea room, that table outside the Ecology Lab has always been the site of a wide variety of discussions. And it still profits from the passing biologists. Its just that they aren’t strolling much anymore…

Best nasi padang stall in NUS?

Apparently its not just me that favours the nasi padang stall in YIH (a.k.a. Central Square, apparently). Photo by Laurence Gwee.

Where to keep all those exam questions?

Twice a year we have to set exams, and that’s when I re-examine my security measures. This means no Auto-login (password always required upon startup), the mac is set to sleep in 15 minutes and a password is required to wake from sleep or the screen-saver (System preferences> Security). This is practically symbolic since students have no access to my computer and the mac is never left unattended behind unlocked doors.

If I am away even for seconds, my door is locked. It’s something we have had to practise since the late 90’s when many labs in the department were hit by a spate of thefts; you see, in the old days, every door was unlocked!

The mac is not turned on overnight. If I am called away I have no worries; an automatic shut down is executed every evening (System preferences> Energy Saver> Schedule). I do have to ensure my open documents are all saved before leaving since a shut down can be cancelled by a dialog box querying the absent user if he wishes to save or discard his unsaved document!

Since OS X 10.3, Mac users have had the use of FIleVault which provides encryption for the entire home folder. File Vault may prevents backup by Leopard’s Time Machine when logged in, so if I switch from SuperDuper to TimeMachine, I’ll sort that out.

I don’t leave sensitive material on my laptop, even though no one is allowed to use it. Staff members don’t exchange sensitive information via email, even encrypted files - although the real truth may be simply that many are clueless about these options! Instead of passing around soft copies, I use hard copy for exam originals and these are never left unattended or in full view.

When frequent access to exam files are necessary during the question setting and review process, I encrypt the specific folder using OS X’s Disk Utility. You can create an encrypted disk image in which to store files; it’s lovely! This excellent option is explained very clearly in this Flickr photoset by Derek K. Miller.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

You can also encrypt the final version of your documents as pdfs for Preview provides this option in the “save as” dialogue box.

Midnight break-ins are ruled out by camera surveillance and probably more importantly by the ever-present graduate student researchers, many of whom stay overnight. Since the biodiversity group occupies just two floors, strange faces stand out.

Its not that I worry about my students ever attempting to peek into my computer, they are an honest bunch. But I have a responsibility to to ensure they are well protected from any possibility of suspicion, if ever a breach in security occurs. Exercising good security means thinking about possible scenarios and plugging the loopholes early. And then reminding yourself about it every six months!