Recap my 2nd year 2nd semester life, halfway to complete of degree program, progress 50%.

Hi everybody, Ah Wong is back, after so long time of being idle from blogging. Apparently, we are now in the midst of battling against the pandemic, which is known as Covid-19 spreading across the globe. This pandemic has caused me and even, I believe, everyone’s lives were going on miserably especially this first half quarter of 2020. Luckily, our country, Malaysia had successfully curbed the pandemic from spreading like wildfire in Malaysia. For example, the no. of cases of people getting infected with covid-19 daily was in declining trend as overall although the trend was fluctuating from time to time, where it sometimes may be high or even low (find out more statistics of COVID-19 in Malaysia). All thanks to people abiding to social distancing method and highly practising hygiene SOP provided by the government when it comes to some industry or business. Certainly, classes of lectures and other higher education activities weren’t spare from the impact of the pandemic. We, as the university student, had to change our lifestyle in order to suit with the online learning trend too. Obviously, it may be seen as a boon for majority of us, the students who have the stable connection around, however, there are some people aren’t that fortunate as we to have a stable connection and there is one even climb up to the tree just to get a stable connection for her study… Well, without further ado, I will talk more about my life in this semester amid this special time being.

Random captured Sunrise picture around 7:30am

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (Source: TheStar Malaysia)

Online lectures, different methods of e-learning.

            As I had said in the earlier on the first paragraph, this semester (2^nd year 2^nd semester, Sem 4) was quite special for me as compared to my previous semester (2^nd year 1^st semester, Sem 3 about my first attempt of vlog), since everything was online now. Obviously, regardless of public or private universities in Malaysia, the lesson too still need to be continue amid the face-2-face teaching method is unfeasible for the time being. For example, UKM let thestudents and teachers to have a month preparation since the MCO was announcedin to be comfortable of using e-learning method before the lesson resumed on 27thof April (in which, the date was set by our university’s Vice Chancellor). 

The video of VC made an announcement the sem will be delayed to 27th April to resume.

Meanwhile, our University - UKM online learning method was different as according to the discretion of lecture. Some prefer to use Microsoft teams as recommended by the management of UKM to conduct the class, while some opt for different online virtual meeting apps like Zoom and Cisco-WEBEX. However, these medium of conducting lectures were too common for me as they are all just the same. These online class, although, couldn’t really make us as focus as before in the physical class, but we can replay the recording of online meeting lectures to understand back what the lecturer was teaching before. Meanwhile, the separate thing, some of the lecturers were unique as they opted to us unsynchronized method of teaching by sending us the podcast and we can listen to it anytime and everywhere. Thus, MCO and social distance makes us to need to be self-discipline and self-learning much when it comes to online lectures since we can play back the recording of the online meetings and podcasts anytime.

Different way of doing assignment and presentation

            Upon reading the title, you will know what I want to convey about right here. Indeed, everything is online even the discussion of assignment and presentation since the physical classes and university life was halted since 18^th of March 2020 till uncertain upcoming date. In fact, some lecturer also making us to be convenient in order to accomplish the assignments given. For instance, there is a lecturer of mine changing the method of doing the assignment into online research from the previously method of interviewing for the acquaintance. This is in line with the social distance practice to avoid interacting with the acquaintances whom they might have the potential to spread the disease in that particular time, especially in the month of March and April. Apart from that, there is also another lecturer who just made a suppose-to-be groupwork assignment into individual ones. That’s a bless for me, in fact since I could do my own assignment without have to wait for the progress of the other member to finish their parts respectively in order to do compilation. Thus, it greatly saved up my time to finishing up these burdens in academic since the main burdens were still the examination (which I will talk later about related continuance method of examination). Meanwhile, there was a mandatory university subject - TITAS (Islamic and Asian Civilization studies), had substituted the final examination into the method of summarizing an article. At the first glance, I am blaming why the lecturers who are teaching this subject need to replace it (the final exam) with an individual assignment. However, looking at the bright side, I maybe can defined my own timing to complete summarization of article in the short time of period instead of have to waiting to get prepare for final exam in which we may not know when will it be given to us. In short, for me, MCO had made our students’ lives, perhaps, to be slightly convenient and time saving when it comes to do assignments.

an example of online version of presentation by using PowerPoint video of group of mine.

Continuous Online Examination Method

There are plenty ways of methods that UKM offered for us to opt. According to one of the academic circulars that had issued by UKM, it said that there are 3 types of examination mode such as the online assessment with time limit, open book method with longer time frame and lastly the conventional approach, if the situation permittable. However, most of the courses stick to the first two modes but not the latter one since the period was still in the transition from MCO to CMCO (Conditional Movement Control Order on 4^th of May before it turned into RMCO, Relief version). Besides, travel ban across the states was only lifted by around 15^th of June 2020, which was about the end of the semester in 2^nd session of semester in 2019/2020. In fact, within the online assessment method, there was even the “subbranch” of the version method. For my course (Accounting course), there were few lecturers opted to use weekly or fortnightly assessment method. Every syllabus was basically subbed out into smaller chunks in each of the weeks. For me, the drawback for this kind of method is making us a little of time to prepare for the exam. Meanwhile, this kind of method also making me to be numb and indifferent to the examination after going through many of it. “Huh, Examination? Tests? I had no feeling already…” However, on the bright side, this method makes us to be study consistently even though the topics for each of the exams were fewer now. Apart from that, I personally felt this kind of method made me to feel ease in the almost end of the semester since I’ve finished multiple miniature version of exam and left and just a little topics to cover for the upcoming topics. Oh yah, lastly, this method did have an open secret (time is constraining but if you could do it in online assessment, you're pro.) – which was enabling us to search online and discuss with course mates or friends through social media platforms. So, in short, this examination mode had been used in this critical time being enabling us the student to be creative and enhancing technological literacy as well as collaborating with course mates to solve any kind of problems in academics. Perhaps, these skills somehow needed in the working field, who knows…

Open book method of exam is challenging too you need to really have a good grasp of knowledge that you require to answer the question.

Islamic Civilization mandatory course final assignment - 6 pages article that need me to write and paraphrase and summaries to 10-15 pages.

Leisure activities

Well, my leisure activities were divided into three sections. Firstly, when the Malaysia was still in the phase of MCO (18^th March till 3rd of May), I was stuck at home and doing nothing. Basically, that time frame I was totally indulged in inactive mode. Literally eat, sleep, browse memes and read newspaper with little or no movement. I gained much weight at that time. However, I started again my workout and morning walk at the park since the class started by the late MCO phase and the starting of CMCO phase from 4^th of May. This is mainly because stuck at home for a long time made me to feel uncomfortable, and I finally got found some excuse to do some exercise and breathing fresh air as that time some light recreational activities like walking and jogging in the public were allowed by the government. Then, the subsequent phase, RMCO commenced on 15^th of June till 31^st August, enable us to “hit” the gym by practising the tight SOP. Therefore, I go for the gym whenever I had no tests or no lesson on that day. I remembered once I quickly ran to gym right after finishing my exam an hour earlier from the time given. This is because of the timing of the test was not a good timing (11am – 1pm) and it was disrupting my workout timing with my friends, in which we usually ‘hit’ the gym at 11am till 1pm. Fortunately, I managed to score well for that mini test. On the separate issue, I’ve found my strength was stagnant was the same level as before MCO’s workout session after recovering my muscle memory for the heavy lifting and trying to push for personal record. Therefore, as the movement control order was getting relaxed, I am going to do much of the physical activities in which consider as leisure activities to fill up my boring time.
A series of the photos taken by me when I went for jogging...

Autumn season?

As overall, MCO has disrupted our lives as all. However, some even took this opportunity to learn something new or spend more quality time with family, especially in the critical time of MCO. I am glad that those frontliners and society as well in contributing to curb the pandemic from spreading wildly. This is owing to with these efforts as all, we can gradually being free to conduct any activity outdoor and indirectly each of the economy sector with gradually recovering back to the normal level. However, right now pandemic has hit hard on many economy sectors and leaving some companies had to enforce a series of entrenchment. Hence, in this critical time being, some were forced to make some changes in life in order to suit with the flow, such as tighten the month expenditure budget or pathing out the new creative road by selling some homemade delicacies or even consigning some other products. For all of us who still manage to live on as usual, be grateful with whatever we are having right know, and embrace to some changes in life as well. For example, being creative in using resource on internet and adapting to the new norm – everything online. The difficult time will vanish by its own, it take time, so once again be prepared.