Sunday, August 07, 2016

The new Board of Directors of IGovTT

The new Board of Directors of IGovTT was presented with congratulatory letters by The Honourable Maxie Cuffie, Minister of Public Administration and Communications. The members are as follows:
Ms. Esther Le Gendre (Chairman)
Dr. Sean Rocke (Director)
Ms. Jacqueline Morris (Director)
Mr. Deepak Maharaj (Director)
Ms. Anastacia Samuel (Director)
Ms. Vashti Maharaj (Director)

Image may contain: 6 people , people smiling , indoor

I was recently appointed to this Board. Looking forward to serving the nation as best I can.

Monday, July 18, 2016

T&T minister congratulates the CTO for its new strategic goals

July 18th, 2016
Port of Spain, 18 July 2016 – The Honourable Maxie Cuffie, Minister of Public Administration and Communications for Trinidad & Tobago has congratulated the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) for its new strategic goals in areas such as ICT regulation and Cybersecurity.

http://www.cto.int/news/trinidad-tobagos-minister-of-public-administration-and-communications-welcomes-the-strategic-direction-of-the-commonwealth-telecommunications-organisation/

Shola Taylor, Secretary-General, CTO and Honourable Minister Maxie Cuffie, Minister of Public Administration and Communications, Trinidad & Tobago.

Minister of Works calls to establish computer codes of practice in Trinidad and Tobago

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Establish-computer-codes-of-practice-257253951.html

Such idiocy.

But it goes beyond. What exactly is this "computer code of practice" about the use of computers? Where? My personal computer, that I bought and paid for? The Govt is to tell me what to do with it? That is censorship. In a free country, Dr. Rambachan would use his computer the way he wants to, and we will all use ours they way we want to.

<< Rambachan said codes of practice “might have to be developed for the use of computers and technology that is not inimical to progress, but at the same time it does not destroy the value systems in society”. Rambachan said the nation had to “behave like a developed country” so that people will not be “short changing” themselves. >>

Shortchanging themselves? By using technology how they wish to? The shortchanging would be if they allowed the Government to implement central control over personal technology use. Developed countries - do we want to be like Russia, which recently implemented restrictive laws against bloggers? This curtailment of individual rights is happening more and more, and it's not a path we should be going down.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Presentation at TTASCD Annual Conference 2012

The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Social media is redefining how we relate to each other as humans and how we as humans relate to the organizations that serve us. It is about dialog – two way discussions bringing
people together to discover and share information (Solis 2008).

Learning needs to be relevant to today’s students, and as social media becomes more and more central to students’ lives, it is important to consider its use in the classroom.

This presentation will discuss the use of social media tools with first and second year students in the Bachelor of Education programme at the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s Centre for Educational Programmes. Several social media tools were used, and student perceptions on the use of one, Facebook, were studied in detail.

A copy of the presentation can be downloaded here

Friday, August 31, 2012

Thoughts on our 50th Independence

I was listening to Dr. Eric Williams' speech to schoolchildren on the eve of Independence, and I realised that adults of today probably wouldn't understand it, far less most children. He used big words. He spoke of large dreams. He used literary references. He spoke in English, and he spoke in a rational and almost quiet voice.
I listened to speeches last night. I heard no big words, I heard no big dreams, rather, I heard small petty ideas and a rush to "own" OUR Independence. I heard petty politics. I also heard mispronunciations, malapropisms, "green" verbs and misuse of terms. I heard all these at volumes that started at a level above shriek and went higher.
I love the idea of this country, but more and more I'm not loving the actuality of it. It's becoming more and more loud, crude, hard, unpleasant.
On this day, I would like us all to vow to bring back civility, erudition, critical thought, love of art and beauty to this country. We need to see what is good, what potential we have, and support it. We need to fight to prevent mediocrity, corruption and pettiness taking over.
That's my Independence wish. I hope that on the 100th Independence day, in 2062, we'll be what I know we can be. Or even better!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy and Strategy Conference Day 1

The first day of the National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Policy and Strategy Conference was focused on the first two themes of the National ICT plan (smartTT):

Innovation and Human Capital Development
Access and Digital Inclusion

Following a short opening session (1 hr) where all the dignitaries made their speeches about the importance of the plan, we headed into the first plenary, which focused on an overview of ICTS for development, and a summary/executive review of the National ICT Plan Refresh - smartTT - by the Chairman of iGovTT, Atiba Phillips.

History of LACRALO

At the ICANN meeting in Costa Rica, I sat down with Carlton Samuels to explain the history of LACRALO to Glenn McKnight who's documenting the history of ICANN's At Large community.

Friday, December 02, 2011

I AM! Wendell Manwarren's TEDx PortOfSpain Talk

I think, therefore I am.
I AM...
Wendell talks about who we are, how we find ourselves

Monday, July 18, 2011

Grammar rant for the day - Correct use of personal pronouns

"They gave my friend and I a gift." WRONGWRONGWRONGWRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good way to test:
Break the sentence up, for example:
"They gave my friend a gift, and they gave... what? They gave I a gift?"

People PUHLEEZE!

Correct usage is "my friend and ME".
"They gave my friend a gift, and they gave me a gift. "

"Me" is used when it is the object of the sentence, "I" when it is the subject.

"I went to the party", "My friend and I went to the party" gives us "My friend and I went to the party"
"They gave my friend a gift, and they gave me a gift. " gives us "They gave my friend and me a gift"

I heard not one correct use of this for the ENTIRE WEEKEND. Then I came on G+ this morning and the first post I read had "my wife and I" as the object. I just got really really pissed.

Do people not learn English Grammar anymore in school? Or is it that so many people use this incorrectly that it's being seen as correct?
I know English is a living language and changes, but I think the difference between subject and object in a sentence is one of the fundamentals of comprehension. This should be used correctly.

END RANT. :)
If you want to check it out yourself, here's a link from the OED online.

Monday, December 06, 2010

Web designers vs Web Developers - Which one R u?

Web Designers vs Web Developers is brought to you by Wix.com
Use creative design to make a Free Website
You are most welcome to share this infographic with your audience.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Australia to ban ultra-skinny models

Hmmm - I think that they should ban unhealthy models, but there is a range of healthy, including some naturally very skinny. I think that we need to tell people that whatever they are naturally is good, and they should not try to change, as long as they are healthy. Banning people because they are "too skinny" comes from the same philosophy as banning them because they are "too fat" or "too short" or "too tall". All are judgmental and do not support a philosophy of supporting diversity, healthy and normal body ranges. I was very healthy and active in my teen years, but my ribs showed (back and front), and I could have been called unhealthy, but I certainly wasn't.

But I do like the bans on those stupid weight-loss adverts. If only they could mandate them to be replaced by adverts for healthy choices, including diverse models.

Australia to ban ultra-skinny models | News.com.au

Monday, June 14, 2010

Philosophy Factory: A good Ph.D. advisor...

Very good advice. Especially about the disagreements and the ownership of the project! I want mine to be like that.

Monday, May 17, 2010

OpenBook Searches Your Facebook Status Updates

http://www.switched.com/2010/05/17/openbook-searches-your-facebook-status-updates/

I did a search, and wow! My status updates seem to be safe, but so many Trinis are wide open!

OpenBook Searches Your Facebook Status Updates

BY AMAR TOOR — MAY 17TH 2010 AT 12:40PM

If you're an open tweeter, you know that whatever you tweet is available for general, public consumption. Facebook, by contrast, is a less intrinsically public forum, meaning that even if you update a status on a completely public profile, you can usually rest assured that it won't pop up on some random person's news feed, or in some random person's keyword search. Not anymore, though, thanks to a new site that aims to remind us how open our information is... by exposing it.

Called OpenBook, the new site allows users to search through every single public status update on Facebook, effectively providing lonely Web voyeurs with newfound hours of creepy entertainment. By default, and for no apparent reason, the search engine automatically searches statuses for the term "playing hooky," but also suggests that users try searching for other terms like, "don't tell anyone," "HIV test," and "rectal exam." Fun for the whole family!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Updates from the Old Hilarians' Association

OLD HILARIANS' ANNUAL AGM

This is just a gentle reminder that the that the Joint General Meeting of the Old Hilarians' Association and the Foundation will be held in the staff lounge in New Anstey Building at Bishop Anstey High School on Wednesday 21st, April 2010 starting at 5:00pm.

The agenda is as follows:

1. Welcome and Opening Remarks
2. Presentation of St. Hilary’s Foundation Financial Report
3. Minutes of the Old Hilarians’ Association Annual General Meeting held on Wednesday 29 April, 2009
4. Confirmation of the Minutes
5. Presentation of Hilarians’ Reports
a). President’s Report
b). SHIP’s Report
6. Presentation of Audited Accounts
7. Election of Officers 2010-2012
8. Appointment of an Auditor
9. Other Business

This is an opportunity for those Hilarians who are in Trinidad to be updated on the OHA's activities for the last year and to meaningfully inform the future of the Alumnae Association.

In order to participate, Hilarians who are not members will be required to pay membership dues ($100).

Light refreshments will be served.

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2) GRIOT PRODUCTIONS - JESTINA'S CALYPSO

Griot Productions is a new theatre production initiative of which the crew is an All-Hilarian Team – Isoke E Najeeullah, Efua Elisha Bartels, Tracey Michelle Lucas, and Tonya Evans.

Griot Productions is launching and producing Earl Lovelace's Jestina’s Calypso with a Gala Opening of the presentation on this Saturday (April 17th, 2010). The advertisement for this production is currently displayed as the Alumnae Group’s profile picture.

Tickets : Saturday 17th April, 2010 - GALA NIGHT - $150 - 8PM ; Sunday 18th April, 2010 - $100 - 6PM
Location: University of the West Indies Open Campus on Gordon Street, St. Augustine (opposite Hugh Wooding Law School)

For further information on Jestina's Calyspo you can e-mail griotproductions@gmail.com, call 780-4127/ 762-0181/ 322-7643/ 478-4366 or check the Facebook event page:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112613962089127&ref=ts

This presentation is OWNED, PRODUCED and DIRECTED by Hilarians. So come out and support our Hilarian sisters!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Jazz Artists on the Greens 2010

The eighth edition of the premier open-air Jazz Concert in Trinidad and Tobago, Jazz Artists on the Greens, presented by Production One Ltd., will be held at the Centre for Creative and Festival Arts, U.W.I., St. Augustine, on Saturday March 20th, 2010. The 2010 edition of the event will highlight Local and Caribbean Jazz performers, and further expand the repertoire for jazz lovers on the island. Prior to the 5PM main stage event WOODBROOK PLAYBOYZ will perform on the lawn and also as a new highlight, the HOLISTIC MUSIC SCHOOL YOUTH ORCHESTRA will perform a couple jazz standards on stage . Starting at 5PM the featured performers on the main stage are:

* Caribbean jazz group KALABASH, based in Canada featuring Anthony Pierre of Trinidad and Tobago.
* AFROLYPSO featuring steelpan master Jason Baptiste
* Cuban violin sensation William Roblejo performing with his trio,
* Hot young jazz vocalist, R'kardo St'von
* Powerhouse vocalist Brenda Butler
* The Jazz Artists On The Greens All Stars 2010 comprising Ming, Russel Durity, Dean Williams, Modupe Onilu, Richard Joseph and BROWNMAN.

Internationally acclaimed jazz trumpet player BROWNMAN comes to Trinidad & Tobago as a featured guest performer for the Jazz Artists On The Greens. Born in San Fernando and schooled in New York City under Grammy winner Randy Brecker's personal mentorship, Brownman now resides in Toronto, Canada and has been captivating audiences around the globe in recent years with his dynamic and fiery playing style. He is heralded as "Canada's preeminent jazz trumpet player" by New York's Village Voice magazine, and is widely considered to be a vanguard for the evolution of jazz in Canada. Has been the featured soloist for the legendary jazz-hip-hop group GURU's JAZZMATAZZ for the last 3 years, having replaced Donald Byrd in that legendary ensemble, and tirelessly leads no less than 6 award-winning ensembles of his own.

This is outdoor festival styled seating. The Centre for Creative and Festival Arts provides a concert experience like no other. We encourage JAOTG-goers to bring your lawn chairs, hats, sun screen, and blankets to sit on the ground so as to enjoy the festival up-close and outdoors on the gently-sloping lawn.

Ticket price is $250.00 in advance. Entry is more at the door and there will be a VISA/LINX machine available for these purchases.

Advance tickets for Jazz Artists on the Greens 2010, TRINIDAD are available NOW online at http://jaotg2010trinidad.eventbrite.com.

Paper tickets are on sale NOW at the following locations:
Bewil & Co. Ltd., 5-7 Philips St., POS, (868) 625-4206
WMJX 100.5FM, 9 Long Circular Rd., St. James, (868) 628-5644
Stecher's, Gulf City Mall, San Fernando, (868) 657-6993
Stecher's, Long Circular Mall, St. James, (868) 628-0987
Kanhai Raghubir Jewellery, 13 EMR, Curepe, (868)-663-1672
Kanhai Raghubir Jewellery, Trincity Mall, Trincity, (868)-640-2522
House of Chan, Emerald Plaza, St. Augustine, (868) 645-0347
The Medical Dispensary, Main Road, Chaguanas, (868) 665-5889

Visit our website for more, http://www.productiononeltd.com/jaotg/trinidad/2010

Contact us at 620-6920, 681-7879, 320-7028 and 754-9709
Jazz Artists on the Greens 2010: www.jaotg.org - A Production One Ltd. Event
www.productiononeltd.com

Jazz Artists on the Greens 2010

Thursday, November 12, 2009

UTT 5 Minutes of Fame 2009 presentation notes

I teach Educational Technology to pre-service teachers. They are full time students, and this TECH110E course is given in the second semester, first year. Given that we are supposed to teach the students how to use technology tools in the classroom themselves, a major part of the course is to use the tools ourselves! So we set up Blackboard shells.

But...

We were not getting great enthusiasm for the Blackboard 6 installation. We knew that our students were techno-capable and even techo-philes from their activity on public sites. Students were very much into the social networking sites, such as Facebook, Tagged, Hi 5, Tubely, etc.

In an attempt to get our EdTech students to all use one site for management of course materials and student-created work such as videos and podcasts, etc, we determined that we should try using the social network features of a site to attract the students, and to see if they would interact with a work/study-related website in the same way that they interacted on a private site.

We had 2 classes participate.

One class was directed as to how they should interact with the site - a private group was created for them, and they were directed to upload files at specific times, etc.

The other class was turned loose on the site without any direction as to how it was to be used, but they did get an intro as to the features and the functions available on the site.

Instructor interaction on the site was quite intensive, but we found that other students were taking on a tutor role, answering questions, posting resources and taking the initiative before we managed to get to the questions! Students did additional work that was not requested - such as videos beyond what was required for the class. They posted all their practice materials and got really good feedback and comments from the other students.

There was a lot of online discussion and commenting that fed into and out of class discussions. We did notice that commenting seems to a be an activity that the students really seemed to like. Discussion forums were less popular, and chat features weren't popular AT ALL. Videos and photo uplaods were very popular.

Only problem was that some students posted inappropriate profile pictures - bikini shots, etc. But even that led to a teachable moment, as they did reasearch on and discussed internet safety and personal information on the internet, internet stalking etc.

To see the video of the presentation, click here

Monday, October 26, 2009

Swine flu vaccine raises troubling questions? Does it REALLY???

I saw this article in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian on Sunday, and the total lack of balance and logic in it annoyed me so much, I had to write in.

Swine flu vaccine raises troubling questions

Really, what questions are so troubling? To me, the fact that people are asking questions is good, BUT the fact that their questions are so basic and that they do not look for or believe the answers from the CDC and other professionals is what is troubling.

Why are random people on Facebook quoted and their opinions given the same weight as medical professionals who have studied this stuff for years and have reams of scientific evidence on their side?

"the vaccine was rushed through development — many vaccines take years to make, while the swine flu shot was made in response to a virus that reared its head only months ago. They argue it hasn’t been properly or thoroughly tested"

"shooting myself up with an experimental drug that has not really been given enough time to find out the side effects"

Whoa - experimental drug? Maybe when vaccine technology was being developed in the last century, it might have been considered "experimental", but let's get real! We've eradicated smallpox by the use of vaccination. Polio - remember that?

Vaccines take years to DEVELOP, not to MAKE. The flu vaccine was developed ages ago. Different strains of flu come out every year.

H1N1-A is just A STRAIN of flu. Every year they determine what strains of flu are likely to hit, and make the flu vaccine for them. So, there's no "new" vaccine, no "new" process. It's what they've been doing every year, for OVER 40 YEARS, for the seasonal flu (other strains of infuenza, remember?)

Are we really seriously comparing the state of the art in medical science in 1976 - over 40 years ago - to that now? Flu vaccine might have been experimental then, but somehow, with BILLIONS of doses administered worldwide in the past FORTY years, think maybe that it's by now been properly tried and tested?

And of course, Wayne O'Brady on Facebook doesn't know of what this vaccine is composed. Guess he didn't look very far - a simple Yahoo! search turned up the following information provided by Dr. Richard Besser, former head of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

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9. What are the ingredients in the H1N1 vaccine?

Again, there are two different vaccines. The nasal spray is what is called a "live attenuated vaccine." They take the virus and change it so that it can’t cause the flu, but it can infect the cells in your nose and cause an immune reaction. The injectable vaccine has a surface protein in it called hemagglutinin. All vaccines contain trace amounts of ingredients that are used in its manufacturing, as well as stabilizers so that the vaccine remains effective.

Also, if your vaccine comes from a multi-dose vial, it will have a very small amount of a preservative called thimerosol. It is important to remember that both vaccines can have trace amounts of egg protein in them, because the viruses that are used to make the vaccine are grown in eggs. People with egg allergies can’t receive either vaccine.
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The level of basic scientific ignorance that is displayed when anything science-based is discussed is just appalling. This does not bode very well for the future of this country.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

<< BELMONT EXHIBITION >>

"What do you know about Belmont? When did it become an official part of Port of Spain? Do you know that Belmont has contributed many of Trinidad's greatest sporting and cultural heroes?

Trinidad Theatre Workshop is hosting the Freetown Foundation's presentation of 'Golden Memories of Belmont's Glorious Past.' Photos and artifacts line the walls of Playwright's Theatre, showing off Belmont like you've never seen it before!

The Exhibition runs Monday to Friday, until the 30th of October from 10am - 4pm.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn about one of Trinidad and Tobago's most amazing and influential communities!"

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Domain tasting report shows massive drop

Got this from Alan, whose hard work started and pushed this initiative through the complex processes of ICANN. Congrats to Alan, ALAC and ICANN, for actually following through on an ALAC advisory and proposal!

http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-12aug09-en.htm

ICANN posted today about the impact of the AGP Budget Provision and the AGP Limits Policy on Domain Tasting.

In short, the changes are dramatic. There were 17,668750 AGP deletes in June 2008. Following the ICANN budget levy on excessive deletes, the number decreased to 2,785,605. With the implementation of the AGP limit policy in April 2009, the total number of AGP deletes was 58,218, an overall decrease of 99.7%.

Put another way, in June 2008, for .COM, there were 2,122,794 net new domains added, and an additional 15,738,292 domain names added and then AGP-deleted for an AGP delete rate of 741%

In April 2009, there were 2,084,868 net new domains added, and an additional 37,519 domain names added and then AGP-deleted for an AGP delete rate of under 2%.

Under the policy, an AGP-delete rate of 10% is allowed without financial penalty, per registrar, to allow for exceptional conditions. It was expected that few registrars would exceed this 10% and in fact in April only 22 registrars exceeded 10%, and there were only 432 excessive AGP-deletes.

As the organization that started this entire policy process, At-Large and ALAC can be proud of the results.