Visual illustration and photography on Islamic book cover designs: a semiotic analysis

The publication of religious books recently has been in line with the publication of books of other genres. It is because of the increase in the demands by the readers in addition with the design of the book covers which has been made up more interesting. Hence, this research was aimed to identify the influence of visual illustration and photography displayed on book covers which preferred by the readers. Sign theory by Peirce (1839) and Semiotic Analysis by Stokes (2003) were applied for the purpose of data analysis. A book published by Telaga Biru Sdn. Bhd. entitled Ikon Syabab by Umar Muhammad Noor (2014) has been made as the research data focusing on the taxonomy aspect of its cover. The results showed that the proper use of pictures was undeniably able to attract the readers to buy the religious book currently in the market. This research also was predicted to be able to contribute to the national socio-economic interest, generate a rich cultural society and elevate the percentage of book publication in Malaysia

Readability of COVID-19 information by the Malaysian Ministry of Health

Background and Purpose: COVID-19 pandemic has caused catastrophe to global health. To collectively break the chain of infection, the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MMoH) disseminates information about COVID-19 through its official websites. Since they are intended for the general public, this crucial information must be easy to comprehend. A textual analysis was conducted to assess the readability level of COVID-19 information by the MMoH. Methodology: Out of 661 materials related to COVID-19 from four MMoH’s websites, 14 texts were purposively selected for the analysis. The Formula Kebolehbacaan Khadijah Rohani (FKKR) and Sistem Kebolehbacaan Bahasa Melayu (SPIKE) were then employed to check their reading difficulty. Findings: It was found that most of the texts were written above the recommended level, 6th grade or year 6. The findings suggest that this information is readable to three-quarters (78.7%) of Malaysian adults aged 15 and above. However, the remaining 21.3% of the same population, which equals 5.3 million Malaysian adults, may not be able to comprehend this information due to their illiteracy or minimal education. SPIKE Dyslexia scores revealed that nine texts are categorised as difficult. This could impede those with reading difficulties to understand the COVID-19 information provided by this ministry. Contributions: These research findings are hoped to be useful for the improvement of health literacy among the general public by taking into account reading difficulty of health information

PKP bukan penghalang PDP

Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan (PKP) yang dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan Malaysia yang berkuatkuasa bermula 18 Mac 2020 telah menutup hampir keseluruhan sektor di Malaysia. Sektor pendidikan juga tidak terkecuali dengan penutupan keseluruhan pusat pendidikan bermula dari pendidikan awal kanak-kanak atau taska, sekolah rendah, sekolah menengah sehinggalah institusi pengajian tinggi tidak kira sama ada institusi kerajaan mahupun swasta. Jika dilihat, pusat pendidikan antara tempat yang sangat berisiko dan berpotensi untuk berlakunya penyebaran COVID-19 ini kerana para pelajar dan pendidik akan berkumpul di satu tempat yang sama dalam jumlah yang ramai pada satu-satu masa. Oleh sebab itu, pusat pendidikan perlu ditutup sepenuhnya sepanjang tempoh PKP bagi membendung penularan wabak ini

Penggunaan media dalam kalangan ibu bapa kanak-kanak autisme

Autisme merupakan kecelaruan perkembangan yang membawa impak terhadap kemampuan seseorang kanak-kanak berkomunikasi dan berinteraksi dengan orang sekelilingnya. Statistik terkini menunjukkan peningkatan dalam prevalens autisme iaitu 1 daripada 70 orang kanak-kanak akan menghidap autisme (Center for Disease Control and Prevention of United States, 2018). Hal ini membawa kepada kepentingan kesedaran masyarakat untuk mengetahui maklumat berkenaan autisme. Ibu bapa merupakan golongan paling dekat dengan perkara ini kerana autisme boleh dikesan seawal umur dua tahun. Hal ini menjadi peranan ibu bapa untuk mendapatkan rawatan yang sepatutnya jika anak mereka disahkan menghidap autisme. Maka, keperluan maklumat berkaitan autisme perlu disebarluaskan terutamanya kepada golongan ibu bapa untuk mengesan tanda-tanda awal autisme. Namun, bukan itu sahaja, keperluan penyebaran maklumat ini juga dilihat sebagai satu kepentingan untuk disampaikan kepada orang awam kerana masyarakat dilihat masih belum memahami dengan baik berkenaan autisme dan mula memberi tanggapan negatif terhadap golongan kanak-kanak sebegini. Kadang kala masyarakat terkeliru antara autisme dengan down sindrom walhal dua penyakit ini adalah berbeza sama sekali. Oleh yang demikian, media dilihat sebagai satu medium yang berupaya untuk menyebarluaskan maklumat malah ibu bapa juga turut menggunakan media untuk mendapatkan maklumat-maklumat autisme dalam mengendalikan anak autistik mereka. Jadi, kajian ini ingin meneliti penggunaan media dalam kalangan ibu bapa sama ada bagi mendapatkan maklumat mahupun menyebarkan maklumat berkenaan autisme. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah temubual mendalam dengan menemu ramah 5 orang ibu bapa kanak-kanak autisme yang dipilih secara rawak hasil bantuan daripada Makmal Autisme Fakulti Pendidikan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Ibu bapa yang telah dipilih sebagai informan dalam kajian ini merupakan ibu bapa yang menghantar anak autistik mereka ke makmal autisme tersebut untuk mendapatkan khidmat pendidikan awal kanak-kanak autisme

ACTION VERBS IN ACTION VIA AUGMENTED REALITY (AVIAR)

In Outcome-based Education (OBE), action verbs (AVs) used must be clear and measurable to ensure successful learning experiences. Students who fail to understand the implications of the stated AVs are likely to fail inmeeting their lecturers' expectations. Motivated by the Dual-coding theory, AVIAR is developed to help students and teachers visualise the underlying expectations of AVs through Augmented Reality (AR). Past studies show that AR can help students master vocabulary faster when they are able to visualise the words learned. When the selected AVs scanned using AVIAR, virtual information will appear either in English, Arabic or Malay. Hopefully, AVIAR will reduce mismatches between student comprehension and teacher expectation

Panduan pelajar: kemahiran pembentangan

Buku Panduan Pelajar: Kemahiran Pembentangan ini membincangkan aspek-aspek penting dalam penyediaan pembentangan untuk menghasilkan satu pembentangan yang efektif dan menarik. Pembentangan berbeza dengan pengucapan awam biasa kerana pembentangan memerlukan teknik-teknik tertentu yang perlu diberi perhatian oleh para pelajar. Semoga buku ini memberi manfaat kepada pelajar-pelajar bagi menghasilkan pembentangan yang baik di dalam kelas

Augmented reality (AR) tasrif in teaching and learning Arabic morphology

Augmented Reality (AR) can help students interact with the real world and enhance their learning experiences. However, research is lacking to its use in learning Arabic Morphology (AM) especially for teaching Arabic subjects. This study employed the ADDIE model of instructional design to develop a course for teaching and learning AM. For the first stage of ADDIE, a needs analysis was conducted on 61 Arabic major students from the Centre for Foundation Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia to find out which topics of AM that the students had difficulty the most and what would be their preferences in learning AM via AR. The analysis revealed that Arabic Pattern Verbs scored the most difficult in AM. Based on their needs and preferences, a mobile application, AR Tasrif, was designed