E-Learning: Spider Lily

Spider Lily


I think the flower is a representation of a particular stage in life where a person has reached a stage of contentment with things around him.

White is considered to be the color of perfection and usually have a positive connotation[i]. Indeed when one has reached the peak of his life, he is to be seen as someone who has perfected his life and has managed to accomplish his “tasks” in life successfully and at peace with himself. This reinforces the representation of the flower as “peak of someone’s life. “

The stamen (the stick-like orange part) can be interpreted as the different facets in lives such achievements/ experiences/ aspirations a person. These include having family, career, education etc.

The withered flowers at the background, seems to suggest another stage of life where death is inevitable.

From what had been mentioned so far, I feel that the life cycle of the spider lily, from a bud to a fresh flower and withered one, closely depict that of humans’ too. We start of as a baby, before maturing to an adult and then move on to grow old before death comes.


It is important to note that these interpretations are based on my point of view which has been influenced socially and culturally. This is especially true for the interpretation of the color white. In different culture, white may be interpreted differently.


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[i] http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

Week 4 - Introducing Social Semiotics - van Leeuwen

When we talk about semiotics, the thought of signs comes to mind. However drawing on Halliday’s definition of grammar as a resource for making meaning, semiotics should similarly be seen as a “resource” for communication to take place.

Signs is said to be a union of signifier. This means to say that signs should be an observable form. And together with what it signifies or means it puts meaning to it; the denotation and connotation of the signifier. For instance, when you see tears rolling from someone’s cheek (crying), that can be considered as a sign. And generally, it means that the person is upset or unhappy. If i may use the term, the theoretical semiotic potential. However, the act of crying does not always mean sad. A person could also “cry” when he/she is extremely happy and overwhelmed with emotion or even trying to gain sympathy – actual semiotic potential. So from here we can see that what a sign stands for is not fixed but dependent on the social context for a more accurate interpretation.

With this example, it is apparent that a semiotic resource should not be seen as a preconceived fact rather as an affordance in which its meanings are yet to be discovered. The association of meanings to a signifier will then be dependent on one’s experiences in order to look at it in a different perspective.

Based on the fact that a sign has many semiotic potential, it is interesting to uncover how text maker uses semiotic inventories to make meaning. The use of segregation, separation, integration, overlap, rhyme and contrast and even typography can be employed to create meaning potentials.

The use of the semiotic inventories can be seen at play in movie posters and product advertisements to optimize reader’s engagement to the advertisements.

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For this movie poster, notice the use of similar color, blue, for the movie title to create connection between the top and bottom picture.

Week 3 - Evolution of Literacy seen from my lens!

According to Scribner, literacy should not be seen as an attribute of individual but rather a social achievement where culture plays as important factor in influencing one’s literacy. Literacy is needed for an individual to be socialized into a domain and for interaction to take place.

As literacy is an abstract concept, by using metaphor one hope to be able to allow others to see literacy in a more tangible way. To illustrate this concept, I would see literacy as a bridge. Firstly, since literacy should not be seen as an attribute of individual, indeed it should be seen as a product of social interaction. This means to say that if a person is stranded alone on a deserted island, the need for literacy is redundant as there is no social activity. However, if a person is illiterate and belongs to a social community, he/she might find him/herself alienated from the community due to the breakdown in communication. From here, I see literacy as on of the aspect of bridging communities in a society together. Another aspect of literacy as a bridge is when religion comes to play. As mention by Scribner, religion such as Islam has the Koran written in Arabic. And for someone to be literate in the language of the Koran, one is perceived as being holy and thus is respected by others within the same social group. This too, illustrates the nature of literacy functioning as a bridge that brings two different domains together.

Putting it into perspective in Singapore’s context, literacy here encompasses more than to bridge communication. Literacy here goes beyond the concept of writing and speaking. Literacy has evolved and now digital literacy is a prevalent in the country. Instead of the snail mail that we used to send to our friends, it has been replaced with emails, blogs and even networking websites such as facebook. Literacy now should be seen as a necessity that not only promotes communication but seen as a tool to live. With the evolvement, literacy is now the way of life and not just as a bridge!

Week 2 - Reflection on "A pedegogy of multiliteracies - NLG"

The world is changing fast. What may seem relevant years ago might be obsolete now. The article discusses three aspects in which the changes are taking place.

This is evident in the NLG’s article where working lives now are no longer the same as compared to the Ford era. Workers then were comparable to an industrial production; mindless and repetitive unskilled work. In contrast, workers now are expected to fulfill an array of responsibilities. A worker has to be committed, responsible and also motivated. This results in the worker becoming “multiskilled” and well-rounded to meet the increasing demand of the job.

The article also mentions on the changing of public lives in which differences in a society are acknowledged. This mean to say that civic pluralism is getting recognized now. States should now recognized the variety of ethnic differences which should also include the languages used and not just promoting one culture and a standard language. The roles of schools, the place where ideology can be infused in easily, have changed too. Instead of imposing national standards, the language of the colonizer is assimilated to the people.

Due to the diversification of society, the personal aspect of life has changed too. People’s life who were once private are now publicized due to the exposure by mass media. The increased diversity has made boundaries in the lifeworlds blurred. Even the definition of community has been distorted. These has led to individuals having multilayered lifeworlds.

Having said that, what has these changes got to do with us, teachers? Teachers need to keep themselves abreast of the literacy pedagogy and affect them in their classroom. This could be achieved through the “Designs of meaning”, “Available Designs” and “Redesigned”.

This is important for teachers to understand as it helps in their teaching. For example, during my practicum, I had the opportunity to infuse the use of IT in my teaching. Students were asked to complete and submit a task online. I feel such activities allows different modes of delivery of information that not only provide information for the students but also engage and motivate them into learning.

Week 1 - First Lesson

Dear All,

Welcome to my blog...having a headache trying to sort this blogger out...


...Naz