Singapore budget - Design pamplet form.

Find this year's Singapore Budget bears a unique presentation.There seems to be an overall design emphasis. Am wondering who did the infographics. But I'll let the pictures do the talking.

 

[A] Front Page

Grow and share. A nice front page from the Ministty of Finance.

 

[B] the map of the budget

Opening up the pamplet, the bright infographics clearly illustrates the various benefits that different income groups would receive. The poorer ones get to paid out more. But I feel that this is only a temporary solution. What could be far more permanent is the supply of good jobs.

 

 

[C[ Other benefits

The back of the folded pamplet highlights the other benefits -- ranging from providing for the elderly to needy and onwards to enhancing skills and professional upgrading. Mostly targetting towards the lower income group which is most effected by the global economic downturn.

 

 

[D] Lower income group

 

Find this a little hard to swallow when you know how much a typical 3 room flat costs these days: anywhere around US$ 250,000 and up. With a monthly family income of only about US$1500, the government aims at slashing thier tax contribution and adding in training subsidies.

 

 

[E] The middle class...

 

A tyical middle class family is illustrated as having a US$4500 per month income, with financial assistence for education.Wondering where is the upper class but I doubt they need any help at all

 

[Enlarge details of the budget map]

 

 

 

enjoy the singapore budget 2011...looks like change has come.. Combating global inflation isn't going to stop here. I expect bubble burst in the property sector, with a new round of economic woes unless we make some proper leeway. Cheers for now. - Karen Fu

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Learning Via Play: Creative Announces PlayChinese Pedagogy System

Creative Announces PlayChinese Pedagogy System

Creative Announces Innovative PlayChinese Pedagogy System with the New ZiiO Shenbi Tablet and Content Applications that Make Mastering the Chinese Language Fun and Easy

Creative today announced the PlayChinese Pedagogy System, featuring the new ZiiO Shenbi tablet and content applications that make mastering the Chinese language a fun and easy experience. The Chief Architect of the PlayChinese Pedagogy System is Sim Wong Hoo, CEO of Creative. He leads the way in pioneering a new pedagogy that will revolutionise the way people approach the Chinese language, helping to eliminate fear of the language and enabling people to master Chinese through fun and play.

The PlayChinese Pedagogy System is the direct result of Creative’s cutting-edge digital technologies combined with its vast knowledge in the field of Chinese language education. Sim, who was English-educated, discovered long ago that the greatest obstacle to mastering Chinese is the fear of the language. The PlayChinese Pedagogy System is designed to help eliminate this fear and unlock the ability to master Chinese through these four key pillars:

• ZiiO Shenbi tablet - all-new handwriting enabled Android-based tablet pre-installed with Sim’s revolutionary PlayChinese software and a whole host of Magicware applications, together with fanciful colour MagicPens
• iFlashbook online learning portal
• WaWaYaYa children’s educational content
• ZiiBoook - the online library with access to over 1 million books, plus 3D flipping software and unique collaborative sharing technologies

 HansVision, a Chinese productivity software, is the super-pillar that enables anyone to enhance their proficiency level in Chinese with minimal effort. Other features of the PlayChinese Pedagogy System include the PlayChinese 14-book series in hardcopies, the PlayChinese Magic Cards and other Magicware.

The PlayChinese Pedagogy System promises a “no tests, no stress” approach to mastering the language. Anyone, regardless of proficiency level, can master the Chinese language through this fun and easy system. A PlayChinese Marathon Contest will be launched at the inaugural Creative PlayChinese Expo where Sim will offer up to S$2 million in cash out of his own pocket as prize money, and participants can win up to a total of S$3 million in cash and prizes. Contest terms and conditions apply.

The PlayChinese Pedagogy System will be on showcase at the Creative PlayChinese Expo during the period of 11 – 20 March 2011, from 12noon – 9pm, at Creative Resource in International Business Park. The Creative PlayChinese Expo is a 10-day long festival of innovative technologies, dynamic content and exciting showcases that are the culmination of years of research in innovative technologies.

 

via hardwarezone.com.sg

When I read this in today's Saturday's papers in the Straits Times, I was reading it intentively.So I went online to look for more information on the tablet. I have not tried it myself, but if I have the opportunity to do so, I will. We are facing dire situation where many students here either hate the language or fear it. Most do not favour the traditional way of rote learning that is fraught with plenty of memorization of idions, phrases, proverbs and poetry. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had also mentioned the boredom of 'Ting Xie' (Listen and Write -- aka Spelling); and Mo Xie (Memorize and Write -- aka dictation) which dull the entire learning process further.Hence I do think that play learning has a unique place in teaching . What I do realise in the current teaching style  that we appear to have at present in schools tend to keep to the old Chinese style, though there are some teachers who do try to design better lesson plans where games are inftroduced.We are seeing a declining number of local trrained Chinese teachers teaching the Chinese language, as the general local population itself has a heavier tendency to turn to the English language at work and even at home. Hence many Chinese teachers here actually come from PR China, ROC Taiwan and Malaysia. This actually poses another problem where students do not find comfort when listening to lessons that carry an accent that they are unused to.

To be really critical about the entire Chinese language standard, I earnestly feel it is way too low. Even the current Higer Chinese level doesn't seem to live up to the old Chinese level at First langauge levels back in the 70s and 80s. (which is already below par from what the older generation had learnt). Play learning can certainly help improve the dislike for the Chinese langauge, but I think another really strong way to push it forward is to pay a far more serious attention to the quality of Chinese language by bringing back some of the learning literature that is lost for the last 40 years or so. We may be overseas Chinese whose success lies in the fact that we learnt English as a first language since independence, but culturally speaking Chinese is still the mother tongue of ethnic Chinese here. Whenever I talk to the Mainlanders and the Taiwanese, they often point out the low quality of the Chinese language here. It is almost pathetic.

Hopefully a change in policy and a change of teaching style will rectify this looming problem. -- Karen Fu

 

 

reference:

 

1. MM Lee wants learning to be fun on AsiaOne Education

2. PlayChinese Pedagogy System 

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Singapore Budget 2011 Lego Style, My Read in Free Swing

Budget 2011 from ST Pix on Vimeo.


Life should be as easy & smart like Lego
where complex matters are expressed in cheerful style;
where war of words could be saved
and time spared for better play.

Life should be as free.

Wee in the colours
be as smart as Lego;
for its bricks are atoms
and its molecules are wonders.

Via play and fun,
it creates its own universe
that defines a unique legacy
redefines innovation
recreates a united world.

Life should be creative
where different people meet
without self inflicted paranoia or prejudice
that makes the world a divided place.

Lego, I admire your wicked brilliance
for you dominate the world without a winch.
in both happy & dire times.

For you, like me;
play is fun
and fun is cute.
Life's a peach with roses bedded in your yard
'cos you've fully understood the quotient of the
human mind!
-- Karen Fu

PS: Generally I like the budget and I wish I have a play in it too. Adios for now!! For change has come.

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