有時候想create 一個fillable 的PDF form,給學員填，相對於Google Forms 或Microsoft Forms, 好處是學員填妥後可即時save一個copy, 但最適合的app Adobe Acrobat DC 要HK$108一個月，但我只想偶然玩玩。
最近發現用Jotform 來create 一個form後，除了用link去distribute給人填寫外，也可以save as fillable PDF, download 後便可以分發给學員填寫。它的funtionality雖然不及Adobe Acrobat DC, 但用來create 一般的fillable pdf form, 已綽綽有餘了。而且這個fillable PDF form 填妥後，除了自己save一個copy外,還可以照樣submit！
Just tried this app which is good for extracting a few segments from a Youtube video to play in a lesson. Sometimes, rather than playing a whole Youtube video during a class session, I may just want to play a few parts from it. Of course I can note down the timings of the sections, and skip from section to section while referring to the timings, or add timestamps to the video, but I still have to manually jump from section to section while playing the video. This app, called Vibby, enables me to put the wanted segments into one link, so that in the classroom, the only thing I have to do is to play this link.
The example below contains 5 extracts from a Youtube video. I will start this Saturday's Macao workshop by playing this link and inviting the teachers to listen for the word that pops up again and again, and again.
如果不是因為Microsoft Educator Center要migrate到新的Microsoft Learn Educator Center, 我翻看先前自己的profile ,也不知道原來不知不覺己完成了這麼多MEC的training course!
"Premises", when it means the area around and belonging to a building, is classified as a plural noun by all dictionaries. That's why we say 'these premises' and 'school premises'. Because 'premises' also refers to the land concerned, it is usually preceded by the preposition 'on' ('on these premises'), while in HK, the usual 'error' is to say 'in these premises', or 'in this premises'. (The singular 'premise' has a different meaning.)
That's why the first time I spotted the following notice, I found it odd: 'a scheduled premises', and 'another scheduled premises'! I almost jumped to the conclusion that this was another piece of HK English. To play safe, I googled it, and found, as I had suspected, that 'scheduled premises' is used in Hong Kong law. In fact, the term is also used in legal documents in some English-speaking countries (UK, Australia).
I went one step further to find out how the countability of 'premises' is dealt with in the law in these English-speaking countries. To my amusement, they do say 'a premises' to refer to individual instances of scheduled premises.
I looked up the respective ordinance in HK (Cap. 599). It uses 'scheduled premises' in a general sense most of the time, but in the appendix where it lists out the exact establishments which come under the law, such as fitness centre, beauty parlour, and swimming pool, it uses the term 'type of premises'.
Though the 'a scheduled premises' usage is still quite restricted, it is another example showing that a noun is never inherently count or noncount, something that ESL teachers need to be aware of.
以前要在網頁或desktop app輸入content ，如果要輸入的是screenshot, 便要先把screenshot儲存成image file, 然後上傳至輸入content的地方。
但最近發現愈來愈多app 和platform, 容許你把剛取得的screenshot, copy後即時paste 入要輸入content 的地方，毋須先儲成image再upload。
Desktop app 如WORD, Onenote, 和PPT; web app如Canva, Blogger, Padlet, Google doc, Google Slides, Evernote, Notion, Formative... 等已容許直接paste in剛取得的截圖，最近發現連Facebook也可以這樣做。下圖便是直接把screenshot paste into 這個 post, 而不是upload 自電腦。如果喜歡把截圖加入作品，使作品看起來較visually appealing, 這個功能長遠令我們省回不少時間。
先前我發覺仍然有學生不認識這技巧，於是我screencast了下面3個explainer video, 顯示如何用Lightshot, Awesome Screenshot, 和Windows Snip and Sketch三個截圖app，截圖後插入Facebook, WORD,和Canva。
From Awesome Screenshot to Canva: https://watch.screencastify.com/v/GZ9XpE682Df8HxXWxSmJ
From Lightshot to Facebook: https://watch.screencastify.com/v/LOjwTg68shsNghEKvJVs
from Snip and Sketch to WORD: https://watch.screencastify.com/v/K711crIOuX1gw8VGTuRL
This study on sense of purpose in life by Greater Good Science Center, a nonprofit, may not have been a very rigorous piece of research. But the results analyed according to profession should be encouraging (but perhaps not particularly surprising) to those of us working in Education. Among the major professions, Education came second, just after Mental Health/Social Services, in terms of practitioners' sense of purpose in life.
這學期碩士班Computer Assisted Language Learning一科最後一堂網課三十分鐘前完結了，突然覺得有點失落，這是我很喜歡教的一科，今天之後又要等一段時間才有機會再教了。
教這一科我的得益比我的學員更大，因eLearning的發展實在太迅速，每一個topic都需要我refresh我已知的，和不斷發掘新的Ed tech tools和e-learning 策略，真是何止教學相長。
要成為lifelong learner,要保持心境年青，最簡單的方法就是愛上eLearning。
Today, some ESL teaching materials and websites are still telling us not to use Verbs of Emotion in Progressive form:
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DON’T USE THESE VERBS IN PROGRESSIVE FORM:
ENGLISH VERBS THAT CANNOT BE USED IN THE CONTINUOUS OR PROGRESSIVE FORM
Verbs of Emotion: love, hate, prefer, mind, like, dislike, please, surprise, astonish, impress ...
(https://www.englishcoursemalta.com/.../english-verbs.../)
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But as the following screenshot shows, it's perfectly OK to say 'loving' (not just McDonald's "I'm lovin' it").
Below is an example I like to give in my Language Awareness course to show that even 'hate' can be used in the Progressive:
If a woman says to a guy "I'm hating you for what I've done for you", the guy still has a chance. But if it is 'I hate you for ..." that the woman says, he is in real trouble.
In Hong Kong, any sign that begins with 自助invariably becomes "Self-" in English. As this sign in an Ikea store shows, the prefix "Self-" is often unnecessary. In fact, adding "Self-" when there is no need to can result in funny interpretations. A self-wrapping area is where the goods bought will wrap themselves (which is not impossible given today's automation technology)? An area where customers wrap themselves?
Thank you, Ikea.
Just found out that when starting to create a new formative, I can actually upload an existing PPT from my computer. The slides from this PPT will then be converted to separate pictures in a new formative. From that point onward, I can continue with the usual steps: Add further content; add questions, etc. This is a useful function to me because instead of buidling the content from scratch, I can start with an existing PPT, which I have plenty of.
