Getting to know Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

About a dozen or so teaching members of the college came voluntarily for Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) training resourced by a senior Computer Science faculty Mr. Sangay Thinley. Although VLE has been made available to all the colleges under Royal University of Bhutan for quite a sometime  now, it remains fairly unknown to most of the faculty. One thing is because not many are trained to make use it and also due to heavy academic workload that keeps them away from using it. I have come to know about it and even used it at Samtse College of Education. But that was as a student. Now as a teacher, I have to know how to create a course, post assignments, manage attendance and many more which VLE handily provides. In an attempt to popularize it, Sir Sangay has taken personal initiative to forgo his weekends and teach those who are new and genuinely interested to use.

It was a hands-on training and we were trained on using various features that VLE has, which if made to a full use can be so handy. We assumed a course creator's role and created a new course each on which we added the features such as class time table, work plan, and posted some assignments and quizzes. It was during the time of creating quizzes that we resorted to "GOOGLE" (Yes, who doesn't right? Haha) for suitable questions to be added to the question bank. I don't know what prompted my colleague to search me typing my name on the google search engine, but what he showed me had me taken back to my university life. Its been more than two years since my graduation and had almost forgotten about the photo-shoot that I did once for the University brochure.

If anyone is interested to study at Florida Institute of Technology, Florida, then follow this link: http://www.educations.com/Florida_Institute_of_Technology__b17174.html

Following is the interview excerpt:

Florida Tech

Name: Pema Wangdi

Email: pwangdi2007@my.fit.edu

Country: Bhutan

Major: Applied Mathematics

Tell us about your first visit to Florida Tech.

Florida Tech is a small campus that is beautiful and welcoming. I quickly learned how diverse the student population is and how many fun things there are to do within the campus and around it.

Tell us about your experience with campus life and student activities.

There are many organizations to get involved in at Florida Tech which gives me many different types of activities to choose from. The university itself is such a close community with so many great people. I feel like I am cared for and part of a big family!

Tell us about your major.

I am currently majoring in applied mathematics here at Florida Tech. Initially I was going to major in mathematical sciences, but I am now very happy in my applied mathematics major. The faculty and staff guided me through the major changing process to make it as easy as possible.

Tell us about your professors.

The thing that still amazes me is the credentials that all of the professors in our department have. They all have degrees from highly reputed universities and have established their names in the world of mathematics. Some professors have even been to space! On top of that, all of my professors have been so kind and helpful in my studies!

Tell us about your plans for the future.

Even though there are many opportunities for me here, I hope to teach in my country after receiving a degree fromFlorida Tech. I have done undergraduate research on the modeling of cell growth via functional differential equations under the guidance of my professor who helped me build confidence. Florida Tech has challenged me to do my best which I know will help in achieving what I have always dreamed about.

Tell us any advice you have for future Florida Tech students.

Florida Tech is a safe haven for higher learning; you need to be part of it!

Kanglung comes to life

To the residents of Kanglung and in particular the shopkeepers whose livelihood depends majorly on the students and staffs of this premiere institute-Sherubtse, the summer and winter vacations are their worst period of the year for the obvious reason. As the semester gears to an end, they clear their stocks and get ready to close their business. In a way, they also prepare for a forced-vacation.

No sooner than the students depart for various parts of the country for vacation, the shopkeepers lock their business up and leave the town with a deserted look. This poses some inconveniences for the remaining few who chooses to spend their vacation on the campus itself. 

"We can't even get the basic necessities, such as vegetables, as shops remained totally closed," says a lecturer who prefers to remain on campus.

The otherwise lively Kanglung town with tens of hundreds of students and lecturers comes to an abrupt  halt by the end of the semester. With the closing of the college, the brisk business also comes to a halt and everything looks dry. As if to cover up for the poor or no business during the vacations, the prices for the items during the season climb very high! Yet with a fewer alternatives in the offing, the students and the staff have to live with the soaring prices of the basic commodities.

The dormant lives of the shopkeepers come to a full swing with the picking up of the business as the semester once again set to begin. The mood of the entire town changes and within no time the town assumes a business hub, though seasonal. Packed buses and taxis making their way into the town are a welcome scene for them as they indicate the opening of the college for yet another busy semester. They begin to stock up their goods and once again their busy life restart. Apart from the prospect of their business, they get the sense of the re-union of the family members.

The college is very much a part of their life and they always look forward to the reopening of the college. As usual the Fall semester 2013 officially kicked off with the Faculty meeting held on the morning of Saturday, 20th July, 2013. The ER (Essential Repeat) students have come early to prepare for the paper(s) they are required to clear before the commencement of the regular classes scheduled for 25th. As the day breaks from the dawn, number of vehicles make their way into the town ferrying the students from various parts of country. The provosts remain busy allocating the rooms and lecturers keep busy planning for the semester.

Everybody seems so engaged with the regular duty and thus the Fall Semester has officially started in the Sherubtse College.

My Birthday Prediction!

Today is a very special day for me. I’m all so thankful for this day for I was given this wonderful experience to be this world.

I did not have a luxury of celebrating a cake ceremony with candlelight. I did not have a pleasure of hosting a sumptuous dinner and I did not have an honor of receiving a special call or wishes from the loved ones, either.

But I did have a chance to smile real big with my 1^st grader niece. I happen to share about my birthday to my sister over a lunch along a casual conversation. It wasn’t that difficult to recollect my 25^th birthday, (1^st July2012), when I do so, though, it brings me tears and fears. The last thing anybody would want for the birthday is a sickness/illness! I was seriously ill and bedridden with sudden body pain and muscle fatigue. My parents panicked but all for their desperate effort in conducting sudden ritual, I recovered by the next day! That’s how I remembered my 25^th birthday. This year’s birthday, at least I am thankful, I didn’t fall sick. I am here at Deothang for summer vacation. My niece upon hearing me mentioning about my birthday to her mom, asked me how old I was. I plainly said “26”, but my answer surprised her. For some reason, she doesn’t seem to believe me until her mom’s confirmation.

Having confirmed, she took out a paper and a pencil and sat beside me. She asked me a few questions, and I answered based to my abilities. J The next moment she had the findings of her game. She has a prediction for me on my 26^th birthday:

“You will marry with KZ (short form of my girl choice I’ve given to her, and will go to Tibet, will have one kid and be a carpenter later in life!”

I was amazed by my 1^st grader niece’s prediction. Although it is just a game, I liked her findings, I really did. Haha. She made my birthday special with her prediction and I promised that I would see if her prediction indeed turns out to be true.