- Websites with disabled in mind
KUCHING: Website designers should implement web accessibility guidelines so that their pages are accessible to the disabled, senior citizens and other special-needs groups.
National Council for the Blind Malaysia (NCBM) assistant executive director Moses Choo said designers should also provide text descriptions for pictures or images on websites.
The screen readers used by the visually-impaired would then be able to read the descriptions, enabling them to “see” the pictures, he said.
“We need people who are providing information on websites to do it in a way which meets the standards that the world is following.
“For example, if you want the blind to enjoy a picture you have put on the screen, you must be able to describe the picture.
“Basically it is putting descriptions to pictures which would mean that even the blind can ‘see’ what you are trying to tell,” he told reporters at a web accessibility workshop here yesterday.
The two-day workshop at Inti College was organised by the state government with Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd (Sains), NCBM and the Sarawak Society for the Blind.
Choo, who is visually-impaired, said another guideline involved putting documents on websites in formats suitable for screen reader software.
“Never put a picture of the document on a website, which is normally a JPG or TIF file.
“You can put it as a text, Word document, HTML or mark-up PDF file instead,” he said.
He also said web accessibility was not about software but the way a webpage was designed.
“It’s purely on logic, basic requirements and meeting web accessibility standards so that blind people and other groups can access the Web,” he said.
Sains chief executive Datuk Teo Tieng Hiong, who opened the workshop, said groups like the visually-impaired should not be overlooked when it came to information and communication technology (ICT), including websites.
“Often the way we do things excludes certain groups of people, whether they are rural folk, women, the urban poor or the disabled.
“This workshop is aimed at helping a particular group of people to be able to access information on the Web,” he said.
Source: Written by sharon Ling, The Star http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp file=/2011/10/14/sarawak/9692181&sec=sarawak
- Pursuing e-education
N a move towards improving online and distance learning in Asia, Asia e University (AeU) jointly organised a seminar with the Indian High Commission Malaysia and Indira Ghandhi National Open University (Ignou).
The seminar titled ‘Open and Distance Learning: Bridging the Knowledge Divide’ was held recently.
“We must pursue e-education proactively to bridge the gap between communities,” said AeU president and chief operating officer, Prof Datuk Dr Ansary Ahmed at the seminar launch.
AeU is a dual mode multinational university set up under the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).
It collaborates with Higher Education Institutions and training centres in the 30 ACD countries to offer academic programmes and training.
From left: Pillai, Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia Ashok K Kantha, Sibal and Prof Ansary.Prof Ansary added that the university has entered into many agreements with other institutions in countries such as Iran, Singapore, Cambodia, Kuwait, India and various European countries for the benefit of students.
“We will also tap on partners throughout the ACD countries to provide Asian-centric courses like Asian history and business,” he said.
Indian Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal, who launched the seminar, believed distance learning is the future of international cooperation between universities.
“The cooperation between Ignou and AeU is a focused enterprise in expanding the wealth of knowledge both possess in different parts of the world,” he said.
“This is the future of dissemination of information.” he added.
He pointed out that like the health system, distance learning can bring education to the people as opposed to waiting for people to come to the institutions.
The problem, he said, would be how to attract the public with the products offered and maintaining quality and standards.
Ignou vice-chancellor Prof V N Rajasekharan Pillai and pro vice-chancellor Dr K R Srivathsan and Wawasan Open University deputy vice-chancellor (strategy, planning and continuing education) Unni Kumaran Menon also spoke at the seminar.
They spoke on topics ranging from the use of ICT and e-Learning frameworks to distance learning resources.
Source: Written by Sarah Chew, The Star, http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/9/education/4310483&sec=education
- Construction and ICT under one roof
UNIVERSITI Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)’s Faculty of Engineering and Science organised a talk on Information and Communication Technology in Construction and Engineering at its Setapak campus recently.
Held to acquaint students with knowledge and application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in construction, it proved an eye-opener for undergraduates from the Construction Management, Quantity Surveying and Engineering programmes.
The speaker, Assoc Prof Stephen Kajewski, is the Head of School of Urban Development, Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering in Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. He has published more than 20 journals and research papers on construction management, project management and information technology in construction.
Kajewski emphasised that success in the construction field is determined by the extent of ICT usage in the development and implementation of a project. As communication in the construction industry becomes increasingly complex, the rapid transmission of information is vital to ensure the success of a project.
He cited an example of a large project, consisting of 50 contracts, five different consultants, 200 tenders and even more numbers of drawings, contract variations and site instructions.
“With such complexities, managing the documentation will be extremely time-consuming and tedious if everything were to be done manually.
“However, with advancements in ICT, the traditional way of project communication has changed tremendously. Email is transmitted at a fraction of the cost of a printed version and they are widely and instantaneously delivered to any location in the world,” he explained.
Kajewski then highlighted emerging trends such as virtual project teams and project web portals. “These are groups of people engaged in a common task or goal communicating through websites. It allows dispersed organisations to maximise their expertise without having to relocate individuals physically.”
“By having virtual teams, decision-making and problem-solving will be faster. Meanwhile, through project web portals, the construction practitioners will be able to improve the accuracy and consistency of documentation and integration of information flow between firms and projects.”
Kajewski concluded his talk by sharing his thoughts on how the widespread use of simulations, robotics and computer-controlled automations will change the face of the construction industry in the future.
After the session, Chia Fah Choy, assistant professor at the Faculty of Engineering and Science commented, “The construction industry involves a large number of activities and parties. Thus, ICT is important for effective and efficient communication.”
UTAR and QUT have signed a memorandum of understanding for mutual collaborations on the sharing of knowledge and expertise, academic support, study visits, student exchange and developing postgraduate programmes.
Several UTAR students have had the opportunity to go to QUT for their practical training stints as well.
Adrian Lee, a Construction Management student who is doing his industrial attachment, revealed that the talk has given him extra exposure.
“In this millennium, construction firms adopting advanced ICT facilities will be at the cutting edge of the industry. This contributes a lot in accelerating the building process.”
Source: Written by The Star, http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2006/11/26/education/16096710
- Lift investing RM50m in Africa to set up training centres
LANGKAWI: Limkokwing Institute for Tomorrow (Lift) is investing RM50mil in Africa to set up a network of training centres to provide free training in ICT and design.
Lift president Tan Sri Dr Lim Kok Wing said training centres would be set up in 30 African countries within 10 years.
Funded by the Limkokwing Foundation for Creative Excellence, Lift would work with local communities and political leaders in Africa to set up and manage the ICT training centres.
“Having gone global, we plan to train at least one million Africans in ICT within a decade,’’ he said.
Dr Lim, who is also the Limkokwing University College of Creative Technology founder, was one of the panelists at the Langkawi International Dialogue session on “Poverty Eradication through Capacity Building’’ at the Berjaya Resort and Spa here on Tuesday.
Dr Lim said plans are also in the pipeline to build more Limkokwing universities in Africa following the successful setting up of the Malaysian-brand private university in Botswana recently.
“With the existing universities in England, Bostwana, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia, we are planning to expand to as many countries as possible.
“We are the first private Malaysian institution to set up universities abroad.
“I am convinced that the eradication of poverty is the first step to creating a safer and more peaceful world, and education is the most effective key to eradicate poverty,’’ he added.
Sorce: written by Sira Habibu and Mazwein Nik Anis, The Star, http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/7/business/20070807142247&sec=business
- ICT research to improve lives
The importance of conducting information communication technology (ICT) research was the aim of a recent competition organised by Sunway University College’s (SyUC) School of Computer Technology and the Education Ministry’s Schools Division.
The Youth@Research Competition 2006 encourages youths to participate in national and international level research by finding innovative and practical solutions.
“Youths today are fast learners of information technology and they demonstrate the greatest potential of using ICT to innovate and improve their own lives as well as future generations,” said Youth@Research patron Puan Sri Susan Cheah.
The competition managed to showcase the potential to conduct ICT research on community issues that will improve the lives of the present and the future.
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SMK Air Merah students were all smiles when they received the grand prize in the Youth@Research competition from Sunway Education and Healthcare chief executive officer Lee Weng Keng. |
Thirty-four secondary schools took part in the competition. Six teams were shortlisted for the finals. SMK Air Merah, Kedah, took home the grand prize with their research paper on “Mathematics In Action”.
The team, represented by Lydia Samasundram, Marcella Maisie William, and Hadi Imran Narzart, all 16, was supervised by their teacher Sharifah Rashidah. The team took home RM5,000 as well as a computer.
“It was two weeks of hard work and many late nights but in the end it was worth all the effort,” said Lydia.
Marcella said that as a result of doing research, the level of understanding on the topic showed significant improvements, making the effort worth it.
The runner-up was SMK Seri Mahawangsa from Kedah, who was represented by Suffian Sani Sayuti, Nurul Huda Shafee, and Nurul Hairunnisa Suhaimi, and supervised by their teacher Zamri Abu Bakar.
Second place was awarded to SMK Bandar Bintulu from Sarawak, represented by students Steward Baba Gait, Tie Suk Sien, Mohammad Fidaus Mustapha and their teacher Ting Tin Chung. The schools received RM3,000 and RM2,000 respectively and a computer each.
Meanwhile, over 8,000 people gathered at Sunway Lagoon Theme Park’s Surf Beach on the eve of Merdeka.
They were there as part of the Ambang Kemerdekaan Countdown celebration, organised by Sunway University College (SyUC). Other participating institutions were Taylor’s College, Politeknik Shah Alam, UiTM, Metropolitan College and Help University College.
Prior to the event, 30,000 free tickets were distributed to students from various institutions and the community.
Sunway students showcased dikir barat, a Chinese peacock dance as well as a choir performance. When midnight struck, Higher Education Ministry secretary-general Dr Zulkefli A. Hassan led the other guests and audience in an enthusiastic cheer.
The Ambang Kemerdekaan Countdown was the culmination of the numerous activities organised SyUC to commemorate Malaysia’s independence which included a Merdeka Quiz, patriotic film screenings, and photo exhibitions on past prime ministers and National Day.
Talks with various patriotic themes were also conducted, such as “Nationalism in the Context of Globalisation” by Universiti Tunku Abdul Razak's lecturer Prof Dr Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid, and “Merdeka: What It Means To Me” by Sunway Group’s corporate advisor Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam.
Sorce: Written by The Star, http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?file=/2006/9/17/education/20060916112922
