Crisis of identity.

                                                

If I define the word "Identity" then I simply say “One thing that would differentiate you from the rest of the world.

But for me identity is something more than that.

It reflects who I am?

For what I am living?

What are the goals of my life?

My whole life and my each and every decision depend upon this. Why this issue of identity is so thoughtful and important for someone?

We often come to a stage where something really bother us like wealth, status, popularity etc.

Here I am using wealth, status, and popularity etc. as my reference to a thing which are most of our points of comparison with others. And here I Am not taking about good thing that we adopt from others our parents or elders. But why the wealth of other person or simply a person inspires us just because he is being appreciated by a certain number of people or his work is being admired.

Identity is something which ones need to be explore by himself. Because its make you "YOU".

Why I used the alarming word like crisis with identity is because now a days this thing is largely ignored. Or treated with little importance and we seriously need to look upon this issue.

Career, future goals, decisions perception, nature, confidence, point of view, logic, the way of thinking. Point to decide to whom with we stand and to whom we ignored, attitude etc. are directly or indirectly related to this word identity.

Try to re imagine the situation when someone says you copycat or hits you saying why are you copying me or why you always copy the others?

Or when we really feel ashamed of what or our peers says “Is you don't have any choice or something which you can do at your own?

Often we explore ourselves with what we really like and what we really like and what we really hate? What thing which really suit to me or which not?

I think these are some questions which help us fine the questions like

Role of religion identity?

Role of education in identity?

Role of society?

Who am I?

Religion, society and education can help us to find the identity?

Answer to these questions varies from person to person upon choice of religion, society and education.

If I use some poetic words then I would explain it like.

“It is Destiny or a long journey to find a treasure which you know what it would be but you are lacking one thing is the way that leads to this sacred treasure"

This self-exploration continues during the whole life.

Sococation

                                                   Social Media in My Class.

Socializing is one of human instinct. That’s why today we see a large number of social sites. But

Think for a moment!

 Why we need to socialize?

What we need to socialize?

Is the social media is meant for sharing useless comments, good photos about which others does not cares. And the most hot in these days to spread a rumor.

Despite of the fact social media is almost gained the power equal to electronic media. My feeling towards the social media is to use it to increase my performance in the class.

That’s why I hit upon with this idea of social media in my class.

As all of us have a Facebook account so we should make our class social page a discussion form in which we discuss our problems relating to our new assignments. But this cannot be done without the teachers initiatives. They should have to accept the responsibility to run Facebook in a positive way.

This way can also be helpful to special students who feel shy to give their opinion or share their thoughts in the ongoing class project or in group discussion our teachers pays special intention or tries to encourage students to take part in class discussions.

But. where they are lacking. They don’t understand the physiological condition of the students some students not have enough confidence to speak in front of class or some take this by the way only and don’t try to use today's very commonly used social tools.

The whole idea may lack one thing that this may cost an extra time. After the project and new topic is introduce in the class then each student response to it as a home work.

My suggestion in this matter is we should provide or arrange for devices through which students get connected to the social media. That we create a class with student their phone or I pad or what they easily have connected to social page or this could also be done other way around. After introducing the project in the class then students have to reply as a home work which teachers can easily check before the upcoming class.

                      This way can also be facilities by developing a special software which is meant to share their view like Cu online.

Twitter and face book pages are highly considerable in this regard. But there are many ways which promote or can help us to aid in our classroom education and to grip better understanding of the concepts.

In model making class (one of the subject in architecture course). While some of my peers trying to make a video clip of what our sir was explaining by making a model to small square box. I come to realize sir would make a video of what he has taught in the class and share with us through our social page then each student has a chance to see one or two or many time to see until he understands maximum of the idea what the sir actually wants to deliver to us this would definitely works. YouTube, daily motion , tune pk and many more sharing free websites are always there to serve you one just one click !

 I always interested to know what other school of mind same field or doing like what kind of subjects are being taught to them? What are their own going assignments ? what are their new projects ? Etc. This helps me to say seen thing from different perspectives as I think if you are able to see one thing from different views your definitely come up with new or a many solutions for a same problems.

Blogging websites like goggle blog can help us to serve this purpose this thing will help us to share our new ideas that we discus in the class room plus gain the opportunity to share with world and even come to know what other think of about this.

At the end Skype or other video chat tools ones during my second semester when we are doing our final project some vocations were announced unexpectedly many of the students insisted they want to go home and come up with the final project. Fortunately sir agreed and he said the students who wants to complete their work can do in the class and other those want to go home can leave but they have to show me their daily progress though Skype in this way I can guide them.

Although we are using social sites in our class like sharing notes and important dates or events  but what in think  they are in indicate and our not running in proper channel. This can only be done a both teacher and students play their role sincerely.

Serious Gaming

                              

                  Serious Gaming

    Whether I should explain the word serious or Gaming? Because a usual perception about both the words seems to be contradictory as serious means boring or doing something positive while gaming like that of video games  has a view of doing something for the sake of fun or simply a waste of time.

This is what happens with me, when I am playing game. My parents generally ask why I have involved myself in games. They ask me to name out any benefit that I get from it. They say if I read books, novels or something else then at least I may gain some knowledge. After few seconds of thinking I again set up my head phones and start playing games.

It is right?

Why I play games?

Or someday I feel sad. Did I waste up my so much time in virtual space playing?

These are some of the questions I usually have in my mind while playing games.

But games are also being used excessively as a tool for education. 

MIT Boston, USA

Here students are investigating how to make games more effective for education. Students and professors are working in their game labs for serious gaming.

Zachary Sherin, an undergraduate student shares his views.

"Certain types of education, the old one using text books are being shoved aside by new interactive media. Games have an incredible potential to gather people’s interest in topics that they might not otherwise enjoy."

Zach helped develop “A slower speed of light” a video-game which explains the theory of relativity by enabling games to experience it.

He shared his experience, “It’s very hard to understand how the world would change by traveling at the speed of light. The game does a good by letting us see how it may look like.”

 Students and professors believed that, millions and millions of people playing game could be an easy target to teach if they become able to develop attractive educational games.

Virtual space

Usually the virtual space is being used just for accomplishment of individual’s desire by living in the world of fantasies.

                                         

But some people used it as a tool for training their staff then they developed a concept of “Virtual Supermarket”.

They developed a game in which they trained their staff by asking questions about the customer’s queries.

Like, how would they explain that the ripe is good?

Felix Walter, the supermarket Sales Manager says,

“It’s a real incentive that people can develop and have a virtual career pathway during the game. They enjoy playing it and get involved in it and of course, it makes learning fun as well.

I think that an idea can work especially in those countries in which we have large number of people who are working in super markets, super stores or are employed by the other companies because they need workers whose education doesn’t matter.    

Healthcare vs. gaming

We have some games that help us to live a healthy life by guiding us to know about various aspects of healthcare.

 These kinds of games give us a clue that how games can play a vital role in our life.

 Target audience for the games is both the patient and professionals.

On the one hand it helps by providing professionals like physicians, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, and many other people relating healthcare fields, a chance to increase their knowledge and to practice in their respective fields.

On the other hand games like

 Bartholomew (2000) created “Watch, Discover, Think and Act”

 “Packy and Marlon”

                       

“Full Spectrum Warrior”

Baranowski (2002) using “Squire’s Quest”,

are designed for educating the people about the common diseases they may encounter. With objective chronic diseases, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular problems and also related with sexually transmitted diseases.

Besides these few names, there are number of games available online for free that are designed with a concept how a patient can individually get aware of self management and how a professional can do his practice.

Politics vs. games

 Every child at the age of 14 or 15 dreams of becoming a president . Now games are playing a role in completing this wild desire.

Hearts of Iron and Angel five are the kind of games that have their agenda including political, social, and governmental sector to educate in the respective fields and somehow to train participants in these sectors.

 I got a review about “Hearts of iron” from my cousins. They said,

First of all this game helped us in remembering the map of the world, secondly inspired by the Hitler’s strategies they got control over the entire Africa(In game).

So what they got from games is Knowledge of the history, Knowledge of geography and most importantly, they had fun.

So these can be the best example of Edutainment (my favorite word) Education+ Fun.

“Angel Five”, developed by Visual Purple, is a game for training the agents in crisis management. Angel five counter terrorists attack and have to coordinate between federal state and local agencies. This game runs with variations in severity, locations and different strategies.

Similarly we have “Peace Maker” a game which deals with Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a turn-based strategy game.

Player can be the leader of any country, with accepting the social, political, and military situations. This game also develops ethics by reflecting players of their actions.

We will fallow the discusion in the next articule.

Person who helped me...

Fakhar Iqbal 

 Signup_entry@hotmail.com

Hoping for your positive feedback...

thank u.