世界行蹤-我所拜訪過的國家

visited 16 states (7.11%)可以上這個網站去建立自己的世界行蹤地圖
Create your own visited map of The World

Ready to go home

在美國紐約與紐澤西短暫的探親行程很快的結束了,見到了許久未曾見面但曾經很照顧我的親人, 也與他們在一起享受快樂的相聚時光 ,對於他們我一直由衷的感謝, 記得在美國唸書期間,他們的支持還有幫忙,讓我在美國很快的適應與成長. 此張照片是我在明尼蘇達州的明尼阿波利斯-聖保羅機場轉機所拍,這個機場是西北航空的重要據點(Hub).

Stay in New Jersey and New York

I arrived in Newark New Jersey on July 26th. It has been 4 years since I visited last time. When I first came to the States, I stayed at my aunt's home in Summer and Winter holodays. It's really nice to see them again.

A rewarding trip in Canada

在加拿大溫哥華的短期研究到今天告一段落,許久未曾一個人在國外呆上這麼長的時間,在這幾個星期來的所見所聞的確讓我更深一層的認識加拿大,除了秀麗的天然景觀外,加拿大多元化的移民社會以及政府對新移民的照顧措施,都讓我印象深刻,很感謝加拿大駐台北辦公室提供這個機會讓我來溫哥華短期研究,也感謝溫哥華圖書館的Chris, Ann, Kay, Tami, Susan, Julie以及英屬哥倫比亞大學的Dr. Saltman和西蒙菲莎大學的Dr. Cheryl Amudensen的幫忙, With their assistance, I do have a rewarding visit in Canada.

溫哥華圖書館的成人讀書會

我在溫哥華成人圖書館參訪時,看到這個告示板上有發貼參與成人讀書會民眾的心得,基本上圖書館的規劃人員將讀書會的書籍分為小說與非小說部份,小說部份選了非常有名的書籍如[達文西密碼]等,非小說部份有[在天堂上遇見的五個]人等書,甚至有其他語言的書(加拿大是一個移民的國家),我就看見有日文,法文,西班牙文的心得.

史丹利公園(Stanley Park),溫哥華

史丹利公園是溫哥華的著名景點,幾乎所有觀光客都會到此停留,尤其是在圖騰柱前面留影,在史丹利公園也可以很清楚看到整個溫哥華港口以及連結西溫哥華的的綠色獅門大橋(lions gate bridge),溫哥華水族館也在此公園裡,我已經造訪過此處三次了,每次都很享受在此停留感受的優閒與舒適.

Burnaby public library

I visited Brunaby Pulic Library this evening. It is pretty close to the Metrotown shopping mall. It is a mid-size library comparing with Vancouver Public Library. The library also has a lot of Chinese books and other languages. Canada is immigrant country, so visitors can see a lot of ethnic groups in big city like Vancouver and Toronto. It is good experience to see how Canadian libraries make efforts to meet the needs of new immigrants from different countries.

指導教授Melvin Pedras來訪

我在博士班就讀時的指導老師Melvin Pedras知道我在溫哥華短期研究,特地開了四小時半車從西雅圖來溫哥華看我,因他本身是葡萄牙裔,他太太Catherine為義大利裔,因此他們對外國學生總是特別的關照,唸書期間每年的聖誕節與感恩節都會邀請我們到他家去享用晚餐,Catherine的拿手義大利千層麵更是讓我難忘,我帶他在溫哥華的Chinatown吃了港式飲茶以及到一些景點逛逛,真的很幸運能碰到這麼好的指導老師與建立長久的友誼.

Sequim Lavender Festival

I was in the State of Washington this Saturday. My lanlord(a couple) invited me to go to Sequim to visit the Lavender Festival. Vancouver is pretty close to the US-Canada border, so a lot of people, epecially BC and Washington residents, spend weekend on another country. In addition, because Canadian dollar is so strong now (1 cdn:1 usd compare to 1cdn: 068 usd 5 years ago), so many Canadian go down to the States shopping. Follwing is a brief introduction of the annual Lavender festival in Sequim. "Sequim is located on Washington State 's Olympic Peninsula cradled in the "Rain Shadow" of the Olympic Mountains and the world-famous Olympic National Park. The Sequim-Dungeness Valley has an ideal microclimate for growing lavender. With less than 20 inches of rain per year, the area is similar to the Provence region of France where this amazing herb is native. Because of the unique conditions and dedicated farmers, Sequim lavender has received national recognition for its superior quality. Our farmers have over 200 years of combined experience cultivating lavender, determining ideal varieties, developing the best planting and growing practices, and creating lavender products. Visit eight beautiful Farms on Tour in the stunning Sequim-Dungeness Valley. Growers share their techniques for cultivating, drying and using lavender, and visitors experience the perfume and beauty of this captivating herb. See dozens of varieties with colors and scents from sweet whites to crisp purples, while enjoying the sunshine, mountain views, scented breezes and open spaces of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley."

Official visit to SFU

I offcially visited Simon Fraser University Burrnaby campus today. Dr. Chery Amundesen talked to me about an hour. She is a very very nice person. I got chance to know about the Educational Technology program at SFU and in Canada. I strongly agree some of her viewpoints about the use of Technology in learning. "Every technology can be effective, it just depends on how you use it." Thus, we cannot only pursue fast and fancy technolgy. The most important thing is to focus the nature of learning and teaching.

Circque Du Soleil-Corteo

I finally saw the Cirque Du Soleil (太陽馬戲團) show. Its venue is located at Concord Pacific place which is about 10 mins from the place I saty in Vancouver. The show, Corteo, is super good. No wonder people keep saying that "everyone should see the Cirque Du Soleil show in lifetime." This amazing circus is going to Taiwan to perform next year. I am sure it will attract a lot people to wintness the gorgeous circus in human history. The following is a piece of information from the Cirque du Soleil website.
"Corteo, which means "cortege" in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.
The clown pictures his own funeral taking place in a carnival atmosphere, watched over by quietly caring angels. Juxtaposing the large with the small, the ridiculous with the tragic and the magic of perfection with the charm of imperfection, the show highlights the strength and fragility of the clown, as well as his wisdom and kindness, to illustrate the portion of humanity that is within each of us. The music, by turns lyrical and playful, carries Corteo through a timeless celebration in which illusion teases reality."

Chinese characters on the famous Stationery store

I saw this store sign in Richmond. People can see Chinese characters everywhere in this city. The cencus shoews that 6 out 10 people are Chinese reside here.

Granville Island

I went to south part of the city-Granville Island. I walked on the Granville street, and I decided to walk over the bridge to enjoy few hours view at waterfront park. Actuaaly, I don't really enjoy this place. The reason is probably I have been similar place that had better view that this waterfront pier.

Uuniversity of British Columbia(UBC)

UBC is one of the Group of Thirteen(G-13) in Canada. According to Wikipedia (2008), the G13 (or G-13), is a group of leading research-intensive universities in Canada. Formed over 10 years ago as an informal biannual meeting of university executive heads, the grouping is similar to the Australian Group of Eight. The G13's primary activity is in joint research programmes. The chairmanship of the G13 rotates among the executive heads of the thirteen universities. There are currently 428,000 students enrolled in the 13 universities. In terms of endowment wealth, UBC ranks 2nd place in the 13 schools. I saw this bell in fornt of UBC's Asia study center which is donated by Mr. Choi Cheung Kok, an oversea Chinese business man.

A seagull scavenging for food

I saw this hungry seagull eating a plate of leftover at Longsdale Quay.
Every morning, I woke up because of their loud yellings. It is very typical to see seagull everywhere in coast cities.

Capilano suspension bridge, North Vancouver

Capilano suspension bridge is one of the must-visit place that all visitors would go when they are in Vancouver. It is located at North Vancouver. I went there to spend a afternoon after church service. This is not the first time for me to visit the huge suspesion bridge. I expected to see something different and new this visit. Yes, I saw the treetop advanture and took a walk to explore the life on the top of forest. While walking on the pathway, I remeber Chi-Tou(溪頭) forest recreation area in Taiwan. I think the treetop advaanture has more beauty to show than Capilano.

West Vancouver-Light house park

I went to West Vancouver to visit two famous spots today. They are Lighthouse and Amberside park. I got chance taking to a local people living there. He said that I choose right time coming to visit Vancouver in the year. Summer is really pleasant, but Winter will be raining season. From the lighthouse park, I saw Mt. Baker (in the State of Washington) pretty clear. Also, I enjoy moment of quite sitting and staring at English bay.

British Columbia: the best place on earth

British Columbia is celebarting its 150 year anniversary this year. A lot of celebration activities are going on at different locations across BC. Actually, Vancouver has been elected as the most suitable place to live on earth couple times. I guess most visitors will nod their head when they come to visit the city for few days. I took this skytrain picture at Joyce station where is close to the place I stay.

Terry Fox, a Simon Fraser UNiversity graduate, British Columbia

I visited Somon Fraser Univeristy (SFU) at the city of Burnaby today. SFU is mid-size university, and it actually is a well-known university in Canada. I was impressed by a huge complex on campus. Ir seems to me that most colleges and offices are located in a one huge building. I also saw a sculpture of Terry Fox, a Simon Fraser graduate. His story really touches me. Here is a brief introduction form Terry Fox foundation. " Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.
While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. It was a journey that Canadians never forgot. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22. The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning. To date, more than $400 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world. "

Official Visit to Vancouver Public Library

I offcially conducted my reseach today at Vancouver Public Library(VPL). I really appreciate Chris's (left on the picture) arrangement. She invited 6 staff coming to a meeting room. We then had 90 mins focus group section to discuss my research questions with regard to Information Literacy taining at BC's public libraries. It was really helpful. I will go back to VPL again to get more in-depth understandings and tour the library next week.

New Westminster

I took a stroll on the broadwalk along the Fraser river in New Westminister, a satellite city of Vancouver. It was lovely and enjoyful, especially I saw those cozy houses on the river side and people jogging on broadwalk. This city is the first city eastblished in the province of British Columbia according to the tour book of Candada traveling. "New Westminster has a wonderful history and heritage. In 1859, it was selected as the first capital of the new colony of British Columbia and officially named the "City of New Westminster' by Queen Victoria, after her favourite part of London. From this naming by the Queen, the City gained its nickname, "The Royal City", and became the first city in Western Canada." Nice to have a walk before sunset!

Wellingdon Church

Sunday is the day that Christians pay tribute to God. I went to the Willingdon Chursch at Burnaby. It is a big church in terms of the number of worshiping people. The pastor delivered a powerful message this morning, especially he talked about a story of Fred Smith, the founder of Federal Express (聯邦快遞). His dream to form a deliver compnay was almost an impossible work, but he did it and became a very successful business man. We should never measure people by his/her strength. The most important thing is how big our heart is and it will help us to reach our goal.

North Vancouver

I decideded to visit North Vancouver today. Although I have been there twice, I still think those spots are worth to visit again. I took bus to Cleveland Dam and Grouse Mountain. The Cleveland Dam was bulit in 1954, and it named after Ernest Albert Cleveland, LL.D., first chief commissioner of the Greater Vancouver Water District (1926-52), the Cleveland Dam sits atop the Capilano River Regional Park blocking Capilano Lake, which supplies approximately 40% of the Lower Mainland's fresh drinking water. I walked down to the viewpoint at the bottom of the hill to see the water fall and giant fir. It was a good walk on Saturday afternoon. Grouse Mountain was the next stop. I took the Red Skyride(it costs 37.60 Canadian dollars--it is pretty expensive) to the top of the mountain. I was regret to do that becuse it was foggy on the top. I couldn't get good ariel view of the city and its surroundings. However, I made this decision, and I should enjoy the consequeses. I saw a movie and took walk in the park for about 1 hour. It was dark when I got home. Nice to have a day out and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Going to Canada

I began my Canada visit on July 4th. I didn't choose this day for any reason (July 4th is the Independence Day in the States). After 12 hours, I arrived in Vancouver. It was a long fly, and I barely slept for about 1 hour. May be I get used to take long distance flight. I still felt awakening when I passed the custom inspection. It didn't take me long to find the guest house that I will be staying for 3 weeks. However, it reauired to change bus and train 2 times. It was not a challenge for me, and all I need was to read sign and ask questions. After I got the guest house, I had a dinner at a Vietnanmese restaurant. Then, I hit the bed to rejuvenate my body for the next day's schedule.

第二人生(Second Life)

Second life is a popular virtual game. Actually, we can't call it a game. It has become a platform of learning, entainment, communication, and so on. what is the seconf life? Below is a description you may find on the second life offcial websiet.

"Second Life® is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.
From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.
You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow Residents. Because Residents retain intellectual property rights in their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other Residents.
The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the inworld unit of trade, the Linden™ dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden dollar exchanges. "

an honorable moment

I officially received my Canadian research award from Mr. Leonard reil, the deputy director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei. I guess i was lucky enough and may be I picked a good topic that the jury really like it.

加拿大研究獎助金頒獎, 右為Leonard Reil加拿大駐台北辦室處政策暨文化處副處長

ACE 10 years

My department celebrated 10 year anniversary last Saturday. It was a lovely and joyful celebration.

提問問題與線上學習

西方哲學家培根(Francis Bacon)曾說過：「謹慎的提問能顯露其人的智慧。」(A prudent question is one half of wisdom)。在線上學習時，提問是學習過程中很重要的一部份，一般線上學習的課程皆提供了多元的問問題管道，例如e-mail、討論區、即時聊天平台、私人問題提問區等，藉由問題的提問，可以讓學習者或老師對於課程的內容能深入鑽研，深入的鑽研將會使學習者對學習內容有更清楚的瞭解。因此，建議線上學習者務必多提問，並在提問問題之前將每個問題的重點整理並修飾文字的內容，好的問題才可引起同儕或老師的興趣，並能深入或廣泛的討論主題，進而引起學習者的共鳴。

參加SITE2008年會心得

一、參加會議經過

SITE2008研討會於3/3至3/7在美國Las Vegas的Riviera Hotel的會議中心舉行，本人於3/3下午抵達Las Vegas，首日的活動多半是需付費的workshop，正式的開幕歡迎會於3/4早上舉行，在SITE總裁Ian Gibson主持後，特別安排了一個Keynote演講，受邀講者為來自SRI International公司的 Dr. Barbara Means，主題為「Analyzing Instructional Artifacts as a Strategy for Evaluation and Professional Development」，主要介紹線上學習評估策略的發展趨勢與新思維，在Keynote speech結束之後，大會也特別安排一個聚會讓所有首次參加SITE會議的參與者彼此認識，主席除了介紹組織的活動之外，並也歡迎與會的學者與實務界工作者加入所屬不同的Special Interest Group (SIG)。本人的發表安排在當天的早上(10:15-10:45)於Riviera hotel會議中心的Capri 114研討室，本人與另一位來至加拿大Mount Royal College的學者Dr. Norm Vaughan一起發表，他的主題為〈Supporting Deep Approaches to Learning through the Use of Wikis and Weblogs〉，到場聆聽的聽眾約有30人，發表完後聽眾提出相當多的問題並也提出他們自己的看法；同時，聽眾也分享了美國目前利用Blog與Wiki來輔助教學所開發出的工具，透過對話與討論讓我獲得一些研究上的啟發。本人全程參加當天的會議，大會也在當晚在Riviera hotel的頂樓舉行歡迎晚會，在晚會中與多位美國的學者交談並也交換關於數位學習工具的發展與應用的趨勢。3/5日除了到場聆聽論文發表之外，也擔任下午一場短篇論文發表的主持人(session chair)。大會於3/5、3/6與3/7都有安排keynote演講與panel discussion，除此之外，中午也都有安排SIG的聚會，讓志同道合的研究夥伴能有機會交流，探討學術社群合作的機制與機會。Poster session則安排在3/5下午6:00至7:30於大會的主要會議廳舉辦，本人於Poster中也看到了美國國家太空總署(NASA)基金會贊助研發的科學教育數位學習軟體，製作的相當精良且互動性高，由於是開放源碼(open source)，因此是完全免費，可見美國對於開放源碼的教材開發十分積極，有利數位學習的推動與普及。

二、與會心得
本年度SITE會議中，與會學者發表有關web 2.0工具的研究的文章數不少，由於本人發表的文章亦是屬於這個領域，所以特別注意到關於此方面的發展，其中有關利用部落格、維基百科、線上影音分享平台(如Youtube)、第二人生(Second life)互動遊戲等工具來輔助教學的研究，都有學者提出新的理論與實際應用的最佳模式。另一方面，本次會議中對於TPCK(Technology, Pedagogy, Content, Knowledge)模式的探討也有大量的論文發表，約占了30%以上，在大會安排的Keynote speakers與Invite panel的演講也都談到了TPCK的整合方式與對學生學習與教師專業發展的影響，未來國內應也可多著重對TPCK的研究，尤其是在針對教師運用資訊融入教學的實務。此外，開放源碼的線上學習平台發展也有數篇的研究發表，尤其是來自澳洲學者特別介紹的針對線上學習教學設計所發展出的工具－Learning Activity Management System, 簡稱為LAMS。透過此工具可以幫助教師發展線上教學的技巧。事實上，開放源碼的線上教學工具也被美國許多高等教育單位採用，台灣目前也有多所學校亦是使用開放源碼的平台（例如:Moodle系統），由此可見未來開放源碼將會是一股趨勢，從此次的研討會中，可以觀察出開放源碼相關之研究與新工具的發展勢必會逐漸成長。

在本次會議中，本人除了與國外的學者會實務界專業人士的交流之外，也遇到多位來自台灣的學者與研究生，尤其是對來自成功大學、台灣科技大學與師範大學的學生，皆能以流利的英文發表論文或用poster討論感到驕傲。國科會近年來獎助碩博士生出席國際研討會，的確增加國際對台灣學術發展的了解，同時也拓展了研究生的國際視野。

三、建議
SITE研討會從1992年第一次舉辦以來，今年已經是第19屆了，參與的人數也不斷的再增加中(今年有1400多人)，基本上整個大會的內容相當的緊湊與充實，但還是有些地方，本人認為可以再改善，對於今年SITE的主要建議為：部份Invite panel的演講的聽眾太少，我認為可以再多加以宣傳並避免在同時段中排入太多其他的活動。此外，對於論文發表的類別，SITE已將論文的屬性作分類，如：文章屬於Web 2.0應用，SITE將其歸類為New Possibilities with Information Technologies(NPTI)，若文章內容為數位學習績效評估，則列為Assessment and E-folios，但本人建議大會可在針對論文研究的對象再加以說明，如高等教育、中等教育或企業等，這樣更方便參與者可以選擇欲參加討論的場次。
SITE研討會的收費相當的高（每人360美金），因此能請到多位重量級的Keynote speakers與辦理workshop。國內對於國際研討會辦理應可多朝此方向發展，如果內容充實且能勾勒未來在此專業的發展藍圖，我想必定能吸引多人前來分享與學習，並樂意付費。

Las Vegas

I was in Las Vegas for a convention from 3/3 to 3/7. The conference was held in RIVIERA casino & hotel. I was pretty lucky to present my paper on 3/4, the sencond day of conference. Thus, I could relax myself to enjoy the rest of meeting and, of course, play couple hands of game without too much stress. I have been Las Vegas three times, so basically I am familiar with the city of sin. I didn't go to those luxurious casino and hotel on the Las Vegas Strip because I visited them three years ago. It is really a good experience to attend conference. I believe I have got some idea for my next research project.

追憶永遠的大舅舅

今天是進入鼠年的除夕夜，但是卻是失去一位我摯愛長輩的日子，我的大舅舅在除夕下午與世長辭了。小時候，大舅舅每次從台北回嘉義時，都會帶玩具給我，而且都是很棒且最新的進口玩具，有時他因忙碌時無法返嘉，如有親友要回來，他也會拖朋友帶回來給我。每年過年他給我的紅包都是特別的大包，而且是一直持續到我結婚前(他說還未結婚都是小孩子)，他對我的疼愛與關懷，讓我一直感恩在心裡。在剛到台北唸書時也曾先短暫寄住在他的家裡，更了解他的為人與個性，他是一位省吃儉用且很認真賺錢的長者，除在銀行上班外，那時也在多所專科學校兼課，他賺錢很少自己享受，但對他的家人還有親友都非常的慷慨。記得他帶他家人移居荷蘭的那幾年，他每個月都會定時寄錢給我外婆，回台時也都會請所有的兄弟姐妹的家人聚餐。雖然他不善於會用言語來表達他的內心的愛與關懷，但是他對親友家人的關心從他細膩的一舉一動，我都可察覺到。
自從兩年多前知道他罹患癌症後，每次看到他逐漸消瘦的身軀與發黃的臉，我都會不由得擔心，也數次主動到台北去找他並與他用餐，他總是挺起精神跟我談論政治(他是深綠的支持者)與社會發生的事情還有我的工作，但他對他的健康情形總是輕描淡寫帶過，從不願多講他的身體狀況，即使到醫院去也都是一個人自己去，我知道他似乎隱藏了很多生理與心理的痛苦，卻也不願與人分享與傾訴，怕別人擔心。
記得在美國唸書期間，打電話回家時，他如果剛好在我父母親的家，都一定會跟我聊上幾句並勉勵我。每次我做生涯上的重要決定，他也一定支持我的決定，並鼓勵我正向思考。

小年夜那天，我跟父親與妹妹到台北去看他，他已陷入昏迷，我了解情況不是很樂觀，當我在離開醫院時，我握著他的手並在他的耳邊大聲呼喊他請他加油，他似乎聽到我的呼喚，頭突然轉向我並發出聲音，我想他在對我們說告辭了。據大舅媽說他走得很安祥，他在意識清醒時，簽名不接受插管急救，因此辭世前並沒有受到太多痛苦的折磨。
大舅舅，您好走，您永遠是我摯愛與尊敬的大舅舅。我相信您在天堂一定會過得很快樂，我相信外公外婆也在那裡快樂的生活著，您可以多跟祂們聚聚了，也請您在天堂上繼續看顧您在人世的親人與您所關愛的朋友，上帝會保守與帶領您邁向永生的。我們會永遠記得您! 再次感謝您對我的愛與關懷。