'中國一定強'已經實現了

在首爾街上逛街時,發現每一家化妝品店(如Etude House, Natural Republic, The Face shop, It's Skin, Skin Food等)都有很多會講中文的店員,與他們聊天發現很多中國大陸,台灣還有香港的觀光客有愈來愈多的現象,日本人對這些化妝品更是瘋狂,我看到有些人拿著雜誌型錄與印出來的清單,瘋狂掃購.而在明洞餐廳裡,用中文也是暢行無阻,我覺得比英文好像好用. 當然太座也對韓國經濟成長貢獻一些力量.

再度到訪首爾,不過這次是完全自助行的,不像三年前的官式接待.　晚餐前往東大門附近的烤肉店(照片攝於烤肉店),吃到一半,服務的老闆娘突然拿了一條冰毛巾放在我的肩膀,她知道我吃的滿頭大汗,飯後也很貼心到一杯水給我,首爾今天亦很熱,跟台灣差不多. 吃完飯後,在東大門附近的商圈逛, WOW! 到處都在賣衣服,首飾配件,而且有些開到凌晨五點,終於知道為什麼台灣那麼多人來韓國批貨回去賣.老婆大人也在逛過程中取得一些戰利品.

The Lost Symbol

花了好久的時間，終於讀完Dan Brown的The Lost Symbol(失落的符號)，真得很佩服作者的想像力與歷史知識，讓我讀了都覺得好像是真實的故事，不過我覺得一句話蠻值得思考，那就是人類是創造者，而不是被創造者，如果神看到人們的科學、藝術等各方面的成就，絕對會感到驚訝。這讓我想到信念的力量，歷史上許多偉人，就是憑著堅強的信念，凝聚許多人的支持，發展出集體的智慧而出偉大的發明、事蹟與成就。

再次回到澎湖唱起錨歌

再次到澎湖已經間隔十多年,過去因任務需要在此服役時,不會特別去注意一些風俗民情,但今天與當地人聊天與自己的觀察發現,在相對劣勢環境居住的人,對於大自然與鬼神都特別的尊敬,在西嶼幾乎每一個聚落都有寺廟,而且家家戶戶都掛著寺廟的旗幟.這與過去台灣本島鄉村社區中,都有一座守護居民的宗教殿堂一樣,是凝聚居民的精神與集會的重要場所.舊地重遊,少一份新鮮感,但多一份不同的體會,我想跟年紀與心境有關吧.

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish~求知若飢(渴),大智若愚!!

蘋果電腦創辦人賈伯斯在史丹佛大學的一場15分鐘超棒超棒的演講值得一看再看 細細品味
正值畢業季,分享給即將邁入另一個階段的學子也給在職場的我們,再重新檢視一下自己的理想.
Stay Hungry Stay Foolish~求知若飢(渴),大智若愚!!

最近讀的一本書-零極限

過去在讀哲學時，讀到唯心論，一直不太能理解它的意涵。不過讀了這本零極限後，覺得它的理念有點像唯心論，人們所有負面事情的發生，都是由心而生，因此一但碰到困惑與問題時，只要能把他歸零，就能清理而產生靈感，進而會有所行動而找到解決。有四句話能幫助我們清理自己，解決問題，此四句話為: 我愛你、對不起、請原諒我、謝謝你。

領取韓國學領域研究論文獎

昨天到韓國駐台北代表部領取韓國學領域的論文獎，中午午宴時，很榮幸坐在駐台代表具大使的旁邊，他是一位慈祥的長者，因四十年前曾在台灣留學，因此對台灣有濃厚的感情，他也一直推崇學習漢字的重要性。很感謝韓國政府能頒授這個獎給我，我是唯一一位得獎者中，為非韓文系的老師(其餘兩位皆為韓文系老師)。我想一定要講此研究做好，對台韓兩方的學術交流有更深一層的實質幫助。

AMAZING iPad

iPad!!! 走進舊金山的蘋果專賣店,看到好人留連在iPAD前面,真的是令人愛不釋手的新科技產品.

造訪母校

再次回到舊金山,造訪母校San Francisco State University,有些地方我都不認得了. Francisco 的F也掉了.

DAY 4 at Denver

參加過AERA後覺得台灣的教育界很多需要也可以學習的地方,應該所有教育相關科系聯合起來,將所有的經費集中起來,辦一個大型的研討會,我想這個效果會比較好,若能像AERA常態性的舉辦,資源集中,自然而然會形成嚴謹的組織,有一定的志工,AERA的所有文章與場次的主持人與評論人,都是自願性,大家對組織有向心力,也都很盡職做好的答應接任的工作.
今天下午參加了一個多變量分析的付費工作坊,參加的學者分佈于世界各國,坐在我旁邊的老師任教於荷蘭阿姆斯特丹VU university.下午四個小時腦袋裝了好多東西,學得愈多,愈覺得自己懂得實在很少,這個世界厲害的人實在是很多.
圖片為丹佛街道上的公共藝術.

收穫的一天

攝於發表的會議室前.

今天早上起床,打開電視,預告丹佛這幾天會較冷,果然早上只有華氏31度,換算成攝氏已經低於零度了,更預期週二還可能會下雪,這邊的天氣跟過去居住在愛達荷州相比,的確有過之而無不及,早上抽空參加研討會舉辦的丹佛市區半日遊,主要參觀了molly brown house 博物館,"molly"她是美國歷史上一位傳奇的人物,她經歷鐵達尼號的沉船,並幸運生存下來,由於具有領導與會多國語言的才能,做了很多推廣女權與幫助兒童的公益,因此被美國人尊重.下午參加會議一直到近七點半才離開,AERA由於組織龐大,因此所有有關教育的研究都聚集在此一盛會,會議時間也安排的較晚,下午一場有關網路科技研究倫理的演講,讓我感受深刻,演講者提到第二人生(Second Life)的平台上,每一個人都虛擬了一個替身,而這個替身與替身後面的人物,往往表現出不同的個性與認知,據她調查發現,很多第二人生上的替身後面常是未成年的兒童,而有些以兒童為替身背後是他們的父母,因此她提出研究倫理在網路虛擬世界,已經面臨嚴峻的考驗,身為教育研究者我們更有責任對此現象多觀察與研究,讓教育研究更能符合時代與科技發展的潮流.

論文發表

今天早上,不到五點就醒來,可能是因時差的關係,起床後趕快練習今天要發表的論文,由於是第一次以圓桌方式發表,因此有點感到緊張,練習過兩次之後,就前往會議的地點,AERA真的是一個很大的會議,光是地點就分了三個場所,早上與下午都在喜來登飯店聆聽有關線上學習的論文發表,其中有一篇探討web2.0的文章,很引起我的興趣,我的發表是在科羅拉多會議中心,不到下午四點我就到達,總共有四位發表人,一位從芝加哥大學;一位從德州大學;一位從俄亥俄大學,主題是有關自我導向學習,現場有一位主持人,並有一位成教領域的老師,經過90分鐘的發表與討論,我得到很多回饋,也了解到竟然有另一個詞可以用來形容自我導向學習(autodidactic),參加國際研討會每次都覺得老美的確有幾把刷子,也對討論相當熱衷,更是會不吝分享,實在是值得好好學習.

到訪一哩高的城市 (Mile high City)丹佛

經過漫長的航行與轉機(東京與舊金山),算算大約十八小時,終於到達科羅拉多州的丹佛,記得過去曾經在此轉機,但從未在此停留,此行又增加我在美國去過州數的數目,目前大概只剩八州沒去過,丹佛的天氣還算冷,只有攝氏八度 ,在旅館小歇片刻 便前往市中心的科羅拉多會議中心,也是AERA研討會的地點,進去之後,我想大部分的人都會喊一句wow,真的是很大的會議場所,有好多的會議室與展示場地,我覺得它比舊金山的MOSCONE中心還大,由於到達時間已近傍晚,因此大部分活動都已結束,回到旅館準備好好休息,明天需上場發表論文.















停留的旅館














AERA場地














晚餐後上超市去買的黑莓,2.5美元一盒

另一本有關社交科技工具的書

利用片段時間讀完網客聖經-成功擄獲人心的社群媒體行銷，不由得再次佩服WEB2.0的影響力，在教育、選舉、行銷、管理等各方面，如果不懂得利用社教科技，那真的是嚴重落伍了

西拉雅風景區

趁著剛從西拉雅風管處簡報中得到的訊息，利用這個週末帶著全家人至烏山頭水庫一遊，記得上次來烏山頭已是近三十年前的事了，我一直回想當時我跟爸媽是坐在哪裡? 真希望那時能有拍一張照片。希望三十年後，我兒子看到這張照片能想到曾經到此一遊。

落枕

這幾天飽受落枕的困擾，上週接待國外的學者時就感到有點感冒的癥狀，也沒特別去注意，直到週五，頭只要左轉及上下動，就劇烈的疼痛，周六勉強排了外出一個下午的行程，到了週日便受不了去看醫生了，經診斷是感冒引起的落枕(斜方肌發炎)，打了二針的止痛，便大大感善了。不過不適的感覺還是未消失，真得平時要多保重身體，尤其步入中年，身體開始退化，更是要特別的留意。

低IQ的時代-近期閱讀的一本書

最近每天利用一些片段的時間，讀完了大前研一的"低IQ時代"，有些論述與見解非常令人省思，他指出現在的年輕人大過於安於現狀，以至於都變成不會思考的低IQ個體，任由國家政客主宰、亂開願景之支票所迷惑。他也提到WEB2.0的共創智慧的精神，是所有國家與組織經營者必須要具備的思維。大前先生指出，現在人必須具備的三項神器為英語能力、金融素養、IT知識。看了他的書之後，我想我的確在某些層面還是固守在過去的一些思考模式，不過我認為自己藉由閱讀也漸漸培養出一些思考的技巧。

A good book that tells you how powerful the online community can be

3300萬人的聊天室：如何利用社群網站創造十倍、百倍業績？

剛讀完這本書，或許對於想了解社群經營的人會有一些啟發！！！

再次與美國同步線上上課

記得第一次以線上同步上課是在2002年初，當時因為擔任助教所以寒假期間在台灣利用WEBCT的平台與美國的老師及同學上課。其實，我一直認為線上學習的效果不亞傳統教室上課，在擔任線上教學助教與帶領線上學習課程的經驗中，我了解到老師也需要花很多時間準備，而學生在線上學習過程中須不斷的丟出問題與完成作業，而且都是有時效限制的，也因此學生反而會更加用心去準備與複習。週六時，我請求在UI的學妹邀請之前的口委老師Jerry與幾位美國學生跟暨大的四位學生做同步線上討論，我想這對雙方都是一個不同的體驗，也讓我們的研究生能藉此練習英文。期待，之後能再安排類似的線上交流，我想對暨大與對美國的學生都會有幫助。

10 years. Time really flies like an arrow.

BOOKS-I recently read.

Facebook, Twitter, plurk, and Youtube have changed the world. I strongly recommed teachers to read this book for the purpose of understanding the Net generation kids.

Informal learning and scoial software

(picture form Gettyimage)
Web 2.0 has brought huge impact to the Internet surfers. Many social software have been widely used for communication and sharing ideas. Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, Second life, and Wikis have attracted thousands of users to be a part of the web 2.0 community everyday. These software software have really changed the world. Many companies don't rely on TV to promote their new products. Instead, they use blogs, facebook, and Twitter to announce new products' features.

Following is a link that introduces the use of Second Life at school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R1SrZua5ww&feature=related

Celebraing my first Father's day

Typhoon MORAKOT disappointed many people this year, especially those who prepared to celebrate Father's day. We did not go out to have meal together. Instead, we cooked couple dishes and invite my father, mother, sister, brother-in-law, and their daugher to our home. Although my son doesn't give me any gift (he even doesn't know how to say daddy), he does enjoy couple hours fun wih grandpa, grandma, and his cousin who is 9 days older than him.

Shanghai's skyline

I stayed in Shanghai for couple days during an official visit in July. It's my first time to visit China's biggest and modern city. Shanghai is really an international city and it is changing rapidly. I saw many skyscrapers and traditional Chinese style buildings in the city. The world EXPO will be held in Shanghai next year, and it shows that Shanghai has proved its unique and important role in the world. The economy booming in China attacts tremendous amont of money to invest the countryand people are getting rich. In Shanghai, people will observe what is called CHANGE in a short period of time.

The Great Barrier Reef

Everyobe should visit the Great Barrier Reef once in his/her lifetime. It is truely a wonder!!!

LAMS(學習活動管理系統)的應用

LAMS是一種基於活動導向與學習設計概念應用的平台，其中文翻譯名稱為學習活動管理系統，它是設計與管理線上學習活動的數位化工具，LAMS提供教師視覺化與簡易的操作介面，讓教師在很快的時間就可以設計出課程的教學活動的序列(sequence)，學習活動的安排可包含個人或群組合作學習的作業，LAMS提供多項工具可以讓教學者設計出多元化的教學活動，例如線上小組討論、投票、聊天、問題提問區、辯論、課程維基(wiki)、Google map等工具，LAMS本身是一個可獨立執行(stand alone)的軟體，可以在任何伺服器安裝執行，並可與各主要的商業化與開放源碼的學習管理系統(Learning Management System, LMS)整合，成為其中的一項工具，目前LAMS可與Moodle、Sakai、.LRN、WebCT及Blackboard等學習管理系統整合使用，目前最新的版本為2.2版。

LAMS的操作介面非常容易上手，它的操作方式有點類似Macromedia公司的Authorware (如圖)，操作方式是採用拖放(drag and drop)的方式來建立學習活動的序列，教師可將整個學期或單元課程所安排的活動以視覺化規劃設計出來，例如教師可以利用LAMS來建立一整學期的教學進度與每節課程的教學活動，使用LAMS讓老師可以全盤思考與仔細規劃課程活動的細節，透過視覺化的介面讓教學者能將課程活動的架構以概念圖方式(兼顧左腦的邏輯與右腦的圖像思考)呈現出來，同時LAMS亦提供許多教學設計的模板(template)，教學者可以利用內建的模板快速建立課程計畫，並能針對需求加以客製化，而LAMS所提供的多樣教學工具更是可迎合各種教學法(pedagogy)，設計出符合學習者需求的學習活動。此外，教學者設計者可將教學活動序列可以分享給其他的使用者，並可重覆使用。

Enjoy a day outing at Shitou

We took our son to visit the famous tourist spot, Shitou. He was pretty excited and curious about all live plants around him, but we felt tired because we had to watch him from time to time. Thus, we didn't go to see the giant tree and sky walk. During the past few months, I have realized that it is really not easy to raise a child. However, it is really a wonderful experience to be a parent when I see my boy growing up everyday.

Kangaroo

袋鼠的尾巴可以支撐整個身體的重量。澳洲的Taronga 動物園裡，只有母的袋鼠，原因是公袋鼠會攻擊人類的男性。

A rewarding visit in Australia

終於結束在澳洲的短期訪問，現在在香港的機場準備搭機返台，此次澳洲之旅，跟以前每一次旅行與學術訪問一樣，都讓我感到豐收。澳洲是一個很大的國家，面積是台灣的200多倍，人口比台灣還少，只有2100萬人，此行讓我深入了解澳洲的歷史、自然景觀、文化與科技的發展，最重要的是我認識了很多朋友在工作上或在旅行中。尤其，我在Macquarie大學的數位學習中心，認識了不同國家來的工作夥伴，同時也學習到開放源碼軟體在澳洲的發展過程與應用在教學與研究的情況，在這段時間我也翻譯了LAMS軟體的中文介面，雖然只完成百分之三十八，但我相信我會繼續將所有的中文化工作完成，並且號召一些有興趣的同儕共同推廣LAMS軟體。

此行碰到很多友善的澳洲人民(Aussies)，對於他們提供的協助與幽默的個性，讓我待在澳洲期間非常的自在與愉快。非常感謝Macquaire大學的夥伴們與台北駐澳洲代表處的曾組長，讓我有機會到澳洲來學習，也再我的人生中留下一段美好的回憶。

Ready for new semester

Australia's universities are ready for new semester, and freshmen are coming to school to attend orientation and search apartment. Macquarie univeristy's campus set up many information booth to provide assistance and answer new students' questions. The city buses also run through campus, so students can catch bus to the train stations and city center.

Working on the LAMS project

I spent most of time translating and learning to use LAMS at MELCOE. It is not an easy task. However, I do feel the joy of learning. I think learning is the happiest thing in my life.

Blue Mountain National Park

Blue Mountain National Park is a World Heritage site. It is not too far from Sydney. This picture is the most famous spot, three sister rocks, in this beautiful park.

Heatwave hits Australia

It has been really really hot since I arrived in Australia. Today's news said that 84 people died because of this devastated bushfire caused by the heatwave. BBC's report is as follow.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7877243.stm

Sydney fish market

This weekend, we visited Sydney fish market. I think every tourist who loves sea food must visit this place. People can order any local catched fish, crabs, prawns, oysters, lobster, and abalone(鮑魚), and eat them raw or cooked. Some seafoods are expensive and even hard to eat in Taiwan, but we find them incredible cheap and taste are so good. Sydney has been very hot these couple days, and temperature sometimes reach 40 degree Celcius. On the way return to our apartmrnt, trains were delayed due to the electricity problem caused by the heatwave. It is nice to enjoy summer, but I think it will not be fun if I sweat a lot every day.

澳洲的Macquaire 大學

自從在美國讀書、工作返台後，我就認為美國雖然是世界的強國，但它並不一定是最好的，因此我就把握休假與進修的機會到美國以外的國家去。這次來到澳洲，讓我對澳洲有更深一層的認識，也了解到澳洲學校與研究有很多地方其實比美國還好，在我待的Macquarie大學，在2005年曾被選為世界的百大大學的第67名，台灣政府花了很多錢，但到目前為止沒有一所學校能進入，我想這跟大學的的制度有很大的關係，例如我在的MELCOE是一個獨立的研究中心，裡面聘請了30位左右的員工，這些人都來自不同的國家，有東歐、加拿大、非洲、日本、中國大陸與香港，中心的主管是一位教授，負責管理中心的營運與整合計畫，學校給了他很大的人力資源，也吸引了全世界優秀的人才，而在中心工作的員工每天只需上班七小時，每年還有30天的年假(不包括假日)，他們只要將工作及時完成即可。

Ibis birds (朱鷺)

在雪梨各地都常看到朱鷺(Ibis)，我在Macquarie大學內的同事告訴我，他們就像鴿子與海毆一樣普遍。

Doing LAMS project at MELCOE

LAMS software was developed at MELCOE, Sydney, Australia. In fact, Australia is probably the most advanced country in developing E-learning infrasture. Many software were invented and developed here, such as Moodle and other open source softwares. Since I arrived at Macquarie University, I have finished three modules' translation of the LAMS software. It really suprised me that China has finished most of translation works of LAMS, and they are using it widely in the higher education settings. I really hope I can introduce this excellent tool to Taiwan after I master the use of this software. It will be beneficial to the schools at various stages.

Taronga Zoo Sydney

Many Australian animals can be seen at this beautiful zoo located near seashore of North Sydney.

Darling habour

Today is the first weekend of our Australia trip. We went to another landmark of Sydney-Darling Habour. We got on ferry at Circular Quay and got off at the pier neer Darling Habour Aquarium. This place is really a paradise to relax and suitable for family with children. I really like the friendly facilities in Sydney's tourist spots. Tourists will not have trouble to find toilets which is really important for seniors and children. Also, the toilets are really clean. I think most backpack travellers would agree with my opinion. I feel I can really relax at this moment. Sydney is the right destination in January.

Korean restaurant at Eastwood

We decideded to go a little bit further after work this afternoon. One of the colleagues at MELCOE told me that Eastwood has large aisan population and genuine asian foods. We chose a restaurant close to the station. The meals were excellent and really a taste of Korean from my point of view.

MELCOE的LAMS軟體

此次來到澳洲雪梨的Macquarie University的數位學習中心，主要是來學習LAMS電子化課程設計運用，LAMS為一個視覺化介面的課程設計軟體(看起來有點類似Macromedia的Authorware)，它的主要功能是提供教師與學生將課程設計編製成一個模組，而此模組是利用編程(SEQUENCING)的方式設計，並可重複利用與分享給其他的使用者或教師。我跟中心的主任James談過希望將這套系統介紹到台灣去，因為它是開放源碼，所以完全免費。不過目前並沒有繁體中文介面，因此James請我幫忙將它翻譯為中文，因此在中心的第一天，我除了學習基本的操作外，就利用一個小時將其中的一項功能翻譯成繁體中文。

Sydney Opera House雪梨歌劇院

I got off from work around 4:30 pm. We decided to go to visit one of the world's most famous landmarks-Sydney Opera House. It is really a gorgeous and magnificent building. From the Circular Quay, I can see the habour bridge which is another famous spot in Sydney. I really enjoyed to have couple hours off and walk along the pier.

MELCOE-開始在麥格里大學的數位學習中心進行研究

I begin my offical visit at Macquarie University’s E-Learning Centre Of Excellence (MELCOE)today. It is my primary goal to understand how LAMS (learning activity management system) is being used and applied at the education settings. Following is a introduction of MELCOE.
"Macquarie University’s E-Learning Centre Of Excellence (MELCOE) is an international focal point for e-learning infrastructure and standards development. The Centre consolidates Macquarie University’s position at the leading edge of best practice in e-learning. MELCOE is a recognised leader in implementing global standards and specifications for learning technology. Through collaborations with educational organisations, government and commercial partners, MELCOE fosters the adoption of the next generation of distributed e-learning and information systems. MELCOE’s unique approach fosters innovation and creativity in e-learning software development and implementation driven by open standards."

A long flight to the south hemisphere

It took about 14 hours fly from Taipei to Syndeny. We flew to Hong Kong to cath the Qantas airway to Sydeny. It was really a long flight because I coundn't get sleep during the flight. We arrived at Sydney Kingsford Smith airport around 8:40 AM, and the custom inspection took so long because they scan most people's luggages even they have nothing to declare. I think it must be terrible when the Olympic game was held in Sydney in 2000. My host Leanne Cameron asked us to take train to Burwood station. It was not a problem for us to find the station, and we met around 11:00 am outside the station. We then took shower and slept for a while. Around the evening, we had our first offcial dinner in an Italian restaurant at Concord shopping center. We ordered a pizza that is pretty unique. It came with figs (無花果)(see the picture on the left). I am a big fan of Italian foods when I studied in the States. I also had an Italian beer which is similar to Stella, a Belgium beer. It is really nice to enjoy summer in Australia.

Going to Sydney, Australia

I begin my offcial visit to Australia today. I am pretty excited about to visit one of the biggest coutries in the world. This visit will be rewarding and productive.

early bird or early worm?

Oh if you’re a bird, be an early bird and catch the worm for your breakfast plate.If you’re a bird, be an early early bird. But if you’re a worm, sleep late.

Recall life in San Francisco

I visited my alma mater (San Francisco State University) in April last year. It was nice to go back to the place I was familiar with. I spent 3 hours to see all the buildings on campus, and I especially pay attention to the classrooms and computer labs I used to stay and work. San Francisco is really a place inspiring me in many ways. I found my career goal here, and my language skill improved when I studied at San Francisco State University. Also, I got my first “good paid” job in the Bay area too. I had so many good memories in San Francisco. A famous song's name “ I left my heart in San Francisco” (by Tony Bennett) really describes my feelings toward San Francisco.

Happy moment

We celebrated my father's birthday on Sunday. Grandpa (my father) and Grandma(my mother) enjoyed spending time with my little boy and my sister's choppy girl. My son's weight is 6 kgs, and he is more than 2 months old. He really brings joy to my family and, of course, he has received loves and blessings from friends and relatives.

Growing up

My son is growing up fast . A Taiwanese folk song describes that a bay grows up one inch every night. Although it is not true, its metaphor perfectly illustrates the speed of babies' growth. Taking care of a child is not an easy job, and it requires certain amount of energy and patient. Someimes, I really hope my son can grow up quickly when I feel tired of changing diapers.