Curse of Chucky

It's Halloween night and I want to be scared hehe... so I watched the "Curse of Chucky." Since I was a child, I have been a fan of this slasher film about a "Good Guy" doll possessed by a serial killer, Charles Lee "Chucky" Ray. 

This film is so much closer to the first three installments. A straight-forward horror, lesser comedy and more killing actions and fight scenes. The story traced back how the human Chucky was killed and transferred his soul to the doll. He was really insane and obsessed with Sarah, who was pregnant with Nica. He kidnapped Sarah and he was haunted by the policemen. He escaped after stabbing Sarah's stomach (that's why Nica was paraplegic). The policemen shot him to death. Since he was a voodoo practitioner, he was able to transfer his soul to a doll in the toy store.

His frustrations to transfer his soul to a child still persist in the film, this time his target is Alice, Nica's niece. At the end of the film is the epic cameo of the adult Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) pointing a rifle to Chucky's forehead.

Great film! 

Curse of Chucky Movie Poster

My horror movie marathon is not yet over, tomorrow I will watch Insidious 1 and 2, and Carrie. :D

"Wicked" The Broadway Musical in Manila 2014

Great! They extend the dates for the "Wicked" The Broadway Musical  next year.

But still the Ticket World website is giving me a pity stare 'cause I can't buy a ticket yet... -__-

I hope I could get my mid-year bonus sooner, because every time I visit this site to check the availability of the dates many bars are turning from green to red (excellent to limited)! I can never forgive myself if I will miss this one. I am a fan of the classic "The Wizard of Oz" and its parallel novel "Wicked"... Stories about wizards, adventures and magic always fascinate me... Also, it's been a dream for me to watch a musicale show, so I will really consider this as a treat for myself. I hope I can invite some friends to join me in this geekiness hehe...

Throwback Thursday (#TBT)

If you are also active in social network sites like Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you might be very familiar with Throwback Thursday. I don't know how this digital trend started or who has the credit of coining these words and spreading it as a viral hash tag (#TBT), but one thing for sure is that it is becoming part of our weekly social media routine. There would be no Thursdays that I wouldn't see a post with this hash tag. Most of the times, it's really flooding my news feed, and I bet you're also experiencing the same or perhaps you are already hooked to this installment. Is this just a fad? I don't think so...  It seems that #TBT is here to stay. 

But what is this hash tag? How can we participate with trend correctly?

Based from the different articles that I've read online,  I consolidated the rules or etiquette in using this hash tag and came up with the following five pointers:

1. Throwback Thursday is meant to be fun. Choose a picture that will amuse your friends.
2. The picture must be more than 3 to 5 years ago. But the more vintage your photo is, the more it has the right to be posted with #TBT hash tag. So dig in your photo albums, and start scanning your non-digital photos. 
3. Alright, so Flashback Friday is trying to steal the limelight, then use the #FBF every Friday that you feel nostalgic! But please, it's a big no-no to use #TBT to any other days of the week. I think this rule doesn't need further explanation. 
4. Consider your friends' sensitivity in posting an old picture with friends and tagging it with them. If you think the person won't be happy about it (a captured picture of his awkward moment). Try to seek his permission first before posting and tagging it.
5. Do not overuse #TBT. I think posting two throwback pictures every Thursday is enough... posting more than two is already nostalgia overdose. 

It's not even Thursday yet, and I'm starting to see photos with #TBT here in my feed... trying to be an early bird for tomorrow... Wait... I'm seeing a #WackyWednesday tag! What's this? Do we have to set another rule for this? 

Edmodo: Where Learning Happens

Edmodo is emerging as one of the frontiers when it comes to Content Management Systems (CMS) for education. Teachers and learners call it as the Facebook for school. Its features are similar to the said social network site. 

Edmodo Welcome Screen

Nic Borg and Jeff O'Hara designed this 21st Century learning tool with the goal of closing the gap between how students live their lives and how they learn in school. Although, most schools block social networks to avoid distraction while learning, these two IT experts clung to the  idea of harnessing the power of a safe and secured social networking to connect teachers and learners anytime and anywhere. It is also designed to support the K-12 curriculum that is why it is very timely that all Filipino teachers should also learn and practice this tool.

What are the features of Edmodo that we can maximize to connect ourselves with the learners and to other people and resources? While visiting their site, I immediately checked their about section and learned that there are four key features of Edmodo that would really convince us to use it. These features are as follows:

1. Engage - Edmodo is designed to engage students and take an active role in their own learning. Interactions between the teachers and learners can be extended through online discussions, polls and surveys. Giving feedback to the learners' output is also possible. There are even badges that students can collect after a remarkable performance and behavior. 
2. Connect - Teachers will act as the center of powerful networks of students, fellow teachers, administrators and even parents. The moment that you signed up for an account in Edmodo, you will be asked to create groups for each of your class. Each group will have a group code that you can distribute to your students. The students will use the group code to sign up for an account and become part of your group. Emails are optional in signing up for a student account.
3. Measure - Edmodo has its very effective way of measuring the progress of our students. The teachers can create online quizzes with automatic scoring and grading system. You can also pulse the student reactions to the quizzes, assignments and discussions. Cool badges for great performance and nice behaviors are easily available. You can even create and share your own badges. 
4. Personalize - To amplify an effective learning plan, there are many applications that can be integrated as supplemental to normal online class instructions. The teachers can access both free and premium applications in Edmodo Store. 

I would say that Edmodo is a very promising learning tool. There is no doubt that both teachers and learners will benefit from this. It is just that teachers should have the right attitude towards technology used to improve education. But probably many are still skeptic about Edmodo and even other ICT tools integrated in teaching and learning. However, like many progressive countries, we need to revolutionize our education and emerge with best practices integrating technology to produce graduates that are competent enough to face this fast-changing world. 

It just needs your little time and effort to learn this very powerful ICT tool. 

So sign up for a FREE ACCOUNT (yup, it's true ... the best things in life are FREE!) 

Here's the link: http://www.edmodo.com

Philippine Holidays for 2014

Proclamation No. 655, s. 2013 was published last September 25, 2013 at Official Gazette. President Benigno Aquino declared the following regular and special holidays in 2014:

Sources: 

http://www.gov.ph/2013/10/01/list-of-nationwide-holidays-for-2014/

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/09/30/1239872/list-philippine-holidays-2014