wasd is the team from Commonwealth Secondary School that never expected to make it to the Top 10. But made it they did and they’ve got an exciting animation story idea to vie for the top prize.
wasd is one of two teams from Commonwealth Secondary School that entered this year’s installment of the N.E.mation! competition, and the lucky one to make it to the Top 10. The fourth member, Niger Lim is not in this photo as he was not present during the visit.
The N.E.mation! competition is a yearly inter-school animation competition for students from secondary schools, junior colleges and centralised institutes to express their thoughts on Total Defence.
Lim Xun Yi from wasd. The team’s motto is “Expect the unexpected”.
This year’s competition is the ninth iteration since the inauguration of the series in 2007.
More than 11,500 students have participated in N.E.mation! thus far with participants comprising mostly secondary school students aged between 13 to 16 years old.
These students form teams of 3-4 members and have to go through multiple rounds of pitching and selection to beat hundreds of teams from other schools to make it into the Top 10.
wasd registered for N.E.mation! 9 some three months ago in August and it has been an incredible journey for them ever since.
The new multi-purpose projector models in the series are targeted at classrooms and mid-sized meeting rooms. Prices ranges from S$1,369-S$1,899 and is listed below.
NEC’s new projector models include the M322X, M322W, M362X, M362W, M402X and M402W projectors.
NEC Asia Pacific, a leading provider of commercial display and projector solutions, added today six new digital projectors to its M Series, from 3000 ANSI Lumens to 4000 ANSI Lumens with resolution at either XGA or WXGA.
Projector
Price
Brightness
M322X
S$1,369
3200 ANSI Lumens
M322W
S$1,429
M362X
S$1,669
3600 ANSI Lumens
M362W
S$1,729
M402X
S$1,799
4000 ANSI Lumens
M402W
S$1,899
NEC offers low TCO through the projectors’ filter free design with sealed DLP light engine.
This series of ultra-durable, filter free projectors promise very low cost of ownership (TCO) and advanced multimedia capabilities.
These features, together with clear picture and full connectivity, make the DLP-based M Series projectors suitable for use in classroom and mid-sized meeting room environments, where budget and performance are equally important.
A large number of input terminals including 2 x HDMI with 3D support and 3 x USB inputs provide flexibility and future proofing of investments made by businesses and schools.
N.E.mation! 9 has begun. Registration is now open and all it takes are three simple steps to start your journey that may win yourself and your team a trip to USA. Deadline for call for entry: 15 August 2014.
Are you feeling excited? Then take action now and register online at https://nemation.sg/.
The central idea for this year’s N.E.mation! is “Because We Believe”. Below is the synopsis.
“Singapore is what it is today because our pioneers believed in Singapore and were united by a determination to build a strong, secure and cohesive nation. As we mark Singapore’s 50th year, it is a good time to reflect on the values, principles and convictions that will continue to shape the nation and the home that we want for Singapore and our future generations.”
To give you some motivation, here’s a video featuring the trip of last season’s champion to the USA visiting some renowned animation studios and famous attractions.
Not sure how to start crafting a winning story? No worries, here are some resources to help you get your creative juice flowing – view the free online Story Workshop.
Intel is showcasing opportunities for partners at the 2014 Intel Solutions Summit at the Resorts World Convention Centre in Sentosa, Singapore.
Tablets, 2 in 1s, reimagined desktops, servers and the Internet of Things (IoT) represent key growth opportunities for partners over the next twelve months, Intel has told a gathering of leading technology channel businesses.
Ferhad Patel, director, reseller channel organization (RCO), Asia Pacific and Japan at Intel said the computing industry is undergoing rapid transformation, and that this presents a diverse and growing range of opportunities for the company’s channel partners.
Intel NUC powered by Intel Atom Processor E3815
Intel’s “Thin Canyon” NUC
Intel today launched the newest offering in its Next Unit of Computing (NUC) product line – the first to be powered by an Intel Atom E3815 processor (based on the company’s “Bay Trail” architecture).
The new NUC, model DE3815TYKH, is designed with thin client applications in mind.
It features a fan-less design, on board eMMC memory, and the space savings of a 4”x4” motherboard.
With the ability to directly power a LCD monitor through an onboard eDP connector, the new NUC is a great solution for kiosks, point-of-sale and digital signage.
It also is expected to be relevant to the space-constraints of modern Asia’s urban homes.
The new product is available in distribution starting today.
Intel Education 2 in 1 device
Intel also announced the first APJ partners for its recently-introduced Education 2 in 1, Intel’s first ever education-targeted reference design using the 2 in 1 form factor.
Intel’s Education 2 in 1
A learning tool designed with students in mind, the Intel Education 2 in 1 has the flexibility and mobility of a tablet plus the performance and productivity of a laptop, giving students the best of both worlds in one device.
The Intel Education 2 in 1 is a powerful learning platform that features affordable tools such as a snap-on magnification lens and a temperature sensor, which work with the Intel Education Software suite to enable experiments that inspire student curiosity and promote inquiry.
Came across an interesting educational implementation that combines the interactivity of an tablet-based app with the big screen delivery of educational content to captivate pre-school children.
ZooMoo has been available on StarHub Channel 306 from 1 April 2014, and will be free for 6 weeks. The app is available completely free on App Store and Google Play.
ZooMoo is an educational programme on StarHub Channel 306 that is “All about animals, all the time”.
ZooMoo will be presented to the public during AFCC 2014 in Singapore.Simply head to t the Plaza on Level 1 of the National Library Building for one of two sessions.
30 May 2014, 4:00pm – 4:30pm
1 Jun 2014, 12:30pm – 1:00pm
Targeted at children aged three to six, the programme uses a combination of puppets, high-production animation, narrative techniques and wildlife footage developed in collaboration with Wildlife Reserves Singapore.
The channel is designed to help children explore the animal world in ways that are entertaining, interactive and enriching.
Extending the ZooMoo experience
The free ZooMoo App is an interactive companion to the ZooMoo channel.
It is a unique second screen learning application that allows children to explore a world of animals and a range of educational content.
A rich diversity of habitats for children to explore.
The top 10 teams have completed their animation clips which are now available for viewing at www.nemation.sg. Vote for your three favourite clips, and stand to win attractive prizes like the iPad Air 16GB (WiFi + Cellular).
Today is the last day for voting for your top 3 N.E.mation!8 teams. Go view the 10 clips and lend your support to your favourite three – and win some attractive prizes for yourself along the way!
There are four ways to vote and each person is only allowed to vote on each of the voting platforms.
There are four methods to vote.
Prizes for N.E.mation!8 voters include the iPad Air 16GB (WiFi + Cellular), Canon IXUS 132, iPad mini (Retina, WiFi), Canon Selphy Printers, Nintendo 3DS XL, Universal Studios Singapore passes and more! (more…)
“Because you played a part” … in 30 years of Total Defence!
That’s the theme for the eighth installment of the series of annual “N.E.mation!” competition that has seen more than 9,500 students participating since its inauguration in 2007.
I visited the Top 10 teams for this year’s N.E.mation!8 and came away with a sense of awe at how articulate and convicted these youths were in our Nation’s Total Defence message.
The top 10 teams are hard at work at Nanyang Polytechnic producing their 1-minute animation that will vie for the top spot – which will earn the winning team a fully sponsored trip (worth more than S$15,000) to the US.
N.E.mation!8 main theme: “30 Years of Total Defence: Because You Played A Part”
“30 years of security and stability as a nation was built upon everyone’s efforts.
We stood with each other through the good times and bad, overcoming challenges and celebrating our successes.
We are able to enjoy what we have in Singapore today because each of us has played a part, in building this nation, our home.”
The top 10 teams are now in the final week of the 3-week production period when they work from 9am to 9pm daily to churn out the main animation for their submission.
After the 3-week period, they go off to enjoy the rest of their school holidays while their animation mentors and instructors put in the finishing touches and add in the music in post production.
The winning entry will be determined in February 2014 by a panel of judges (comprising NEXUS and animation industry experts) as well as voting by the public, which will account for 50 percent of the points.
The Partta Kappa Team (from SotA) uses an innovative combination of shadow-silhouette and real people for their animation “It Takes More …”
Last week, I popped down to Canberra Primary School to take a look at how Dell works with the school and Playware Studios Asia to design an educational platform for immersive learning in the digital edge.
The interior of the 4Di Lab at Canberra Primary School.
During the visit, we checked out the 4Di Lab which is powered by Dell solutions and Playware Studios Asia’s 3DHive technology.
Impressions:
This is an interesting collaboration between the public sector, a hardware supplier and a software solutions provider.
HP is collaborating with Singapore Asia Publishers (SAP) and onSponge to introduce new freeprint apps that allow direct access from web-connected HP printers to print out assessment and test content.
Sang Hoon Park describing how the free print apps will deliver quality educational content directly to web-connected HP printers. He is the Printing Category Director, Printing & Personal Systems Group, Singapore.
With the overwhelming choice of supplementary education options on the market, and the overwhelming volume of school-work already on young learners’ plates, parents are often unsure about how to help.
This new approach to supplementary learning – daily or weekly “bite-sized” education materials that are in-line with Singapore’s Primary School curriculum – reinforces learning for young students by focusing on quality and consistency instead of quantity.
Complement In-Class Learning
SAP is a leading publishing group specializing in academic materials such as supplementary workbooks, guidebooks, textbooks, reference books, dictionaries and other educational materials.
Availability
The SAP print app is now available for download free of charge for owners of HP Web-connected printers.
The onSponge print app will be available later this year.
The print apps are available on HP’s web-connected printers including HP Officejet Premium 6700 e-All-in-One and HP Photosmart 5520, 6520, 7520 e-All-in-One printers.
The SAP education print app offers content which has been handpicked from SAP’s own range of primary school assessment books, delivered on a daily and weekly basis.
Focusing on understanding key concepts through commonly tested questions in examinations, students and parents have direct access to bite-sized practice materials, all aligned to the latest curriculum taught in Singapore’s classrooms, that focus on understanding key concepts through commonly tested questions in examinations.
Children from all over the world have correctly answered more than 8 million questions on Skoolbo since its release in June. Average improvement rates are exceeding 22%.
Skoolbo is free and growing. Check out its website.
“… it is the ability of the program to adapt to the skill levels of each individual child that has proven to be so attractive to us as a school,” said Sue Pike, Head of Junior School, Australian International School, Singapore.
The free Skoolbo is the world’s largest educational game and currently targets literacy and numeracy for 4 to 10 year olds.
Skoolbo is increasing users by more than 10% a week with many schools using the program in their class activities.
In mid-2013, Skoolbo will launch 52 different language learning apps as well as additional content in Geography, Science and History.
About Skoolbo
Skoolbo is a team of educators and developers spanning the globe that commit to creating innovative and free educational game for children.
The company believes that technology can drastically improve learning outcomes for children by recognising and harnessing the way children learn.
