Evaluation of Blog Experience

Level 3 >> Post 10 (week 14) Evaluation of your Blogging Experience

Write about your experience using blogs in the English class.

Say:

> What you think about the experience in general

> How much you feel your writing skills have developed

> What you would like to include in the future

> What else you would like to write about

Wordcount: 200

Make comments on 3 of your classmates' posts and on your teacher's as well.
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Evaluation of My Experience With Students:

As I have always said, when being here in front of a group of people in a class, I feel lucky to have the chance of being able to be their teacher, and I take very seriously and passionately the fact that the work I can make may change History someday – No one knows for sure if some of the people you were teacher’s to, might grow to become a future senator or the future president.

Having said that is time to reflect upon the practices and understand the ways in which the experience of the process of teaching and learning has enriched one’s life. It is time to assess one’s motivations, one’s teaching practice and the learning gained from the students.

By doing the self-analysis exercise, I realize that by being related to the academic affairs of a wide diversity of students from several faculties and majors, this term as well as the former ones, I have learnt and deepened in areas which were unknown to me and so I have learnt about the world of Dentistry and the different functions of the different organs involved in teething. Furthermore I have explored the world of cinema and the many dimensions to it and that are not always displayed for the mere spectator; I have enriched my understanding of the current national affairs just by listening to my journalism students and the discussions they have in the hallways or when just having a coffee with their peers.

From the interaction with my students –in English most of the time, I always insist - I have seen art in a way that was distant to me, I could finally appreciate artistic forms that before seemed sterile to me and needless say that as a whole, when reflecting upon the learning I have obtained from my students, I understand how wonderful my profession is and that from that nourishing feedback we both, teacher and students, receive from each other,  I believe we may endue the world with ways to stop inequity and contribute for citizens to overcome deprivation.

In the future I aim at opening up more to look over students learning styles, to take their ideas and try to include them in class activities that are even more profitable and beneficial not only for the academic endeavor but furthermore for the pursue of happiness.

The "Secret Friend" Trauma

Level 3 - post 9 (week 14) >> THEMED POST 3 

 Write about the national custom of giving presents to random and unknown mates during Christmas. Refer to anecdotes, funny situations, hardtimes finding the present or so.

- The students have to leave comments on at least 3 of their mates' posts  and on their teacher's post. - Wordcount: 190

 

The "Secret Friend" Trauma 

In my country, among all the traditions and cutoms we have, every end of the year, especially in offices and workplaces, people celebrate something we call "The Secret Friend". This is a way of giving presents to each other, without promoting preferences nor considering the rivalry that may exist within the team, it means just to give a present to someone who doesn't know who will be giving them the present.  

The tradition works like this: 

Firstly, one person (most of time the leader of the team) makes little papers with all the names of the people who compose the team. Then, every person gets, at random, one of the little pieces of paper with someone's name and mustn't tell anybody about who's name they got. The person whose name was in the paper is secret (that's why the 'secret friend') and everybody has to buy a present for the person they got.

Most of time, the team schedules a day and a time to give each other the presents, and also they get some biscuits and nice things to make a 'little Christmas' celebration because this instance takes place just before Christmas day, also, in many places, the prices for the gifts are set according to everybody's opinion, i.e. the present you buy must be worth a certain ammount, not usually more than five thousand chilean pesos.

In my life, I haven't played this game many times because it is very unusual that I have to work in a team and it is because the job of a university teacher, although not quite coherent with my teaching standpoint, is quite lonesome and though you work with many people, you don't have colleagues like people working in an office.  

I have tried to play it with some of my students from certain courses, but to be honest, I only want to give everybody a present and in the end, as obvious, I end up giving away small presents to everybody, and finally, that is not a proper 'Amigo Secreto'  game. Maybe in the future I will do it, but by now, I feel quite happy without having to over think a present for someone I don't really know.

A Subject You've Enjoyed.

Level 3 - Post 8 (week 12) A Subject you've enjoyed studying this semester

Write about your favorite subject this term. Among others, include:

> Name
> Describe what you do in classes
> Mention the main contents you have seen
> Explain why you like the subject

> Word Count: 180
> Make comments on 3 of your patners' posts and on your Teacher's.

As a child, I really liked studying but I honestly disliked going to school because I felt I couldn't learn much and I used to see the institution with remorse for being more than a school, a jail to me.

I also disliked the type of things we had to learn, but all amd all,, I started to really enjoy a class where we had to use tools to build pieces of furniture, small robotic devices, etc.  The class does not exist in the school system anymore, it was called "Técninco Manual"

I remember the biggest challenge when I decided to work with metal an welding tools. It was just great! I could share a  lot with my sather, getting to have a very healthy and loving environment for both of us to share and I developed a taste for achitecture I did no have.

Learning to do things with my hands helped me in many dimensions. Nowadays, becuase of all the effort me and my family ans school made, I have a lot of knowledge that is very useful. 

An Expert!

LEVEL 3 >> Session 7 (week 11) >> Career-Related Website OR An Expert on your Field

For this post, the students have to choose only ONE of these  2 options:

Post 1 (Instructions). 
Write about a career-related website that you enjoy visiting.

You have to:

- provide the link
- describe the website (sections, features,etc)
- say how often you visit the site
- explain why you like the site.




>Add comments to 3 of your classmates’ blogs + a comment on your teacher's post
>Word Count: 170

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Post 2 (Instructions)
Who is a person/expert on your field that you admire?

Say:

-Who she/he is. (short biography)
-What she/he has done. (examples of their work)
-Why you like her/him.
-Include his/her image

> About 170 words
>Add comments to 3 of your classmates’ blogs + a comment on your teacher's post.

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Example: The man in the picture is Noam Chomsky, He is a very well known and widely respected Language Scientist. He is american and all his life, he has done research in the areas of grammar and language development among others. The core of his theory lies on that the principles underlying the structure of language are biologically determined in the mind and therefore it is genetically transmitted, in other words, we are born with an innate capability for language development.He changed my perspectives of why people learn a language, on how people learn it and how can that process be reproduced in an adult "learning", or moreover, as he says, "acquiring" a foreign language.He is considered the Father of Modern Linguistics and because of his extensive research, many new methodologies to language study, and also many new areas have been open up, an example of this, is the applications of his language theory into Neuroscience and IT. And still, nowadays, he is a must-study, for every linguistics or language-related-area-student.

THE SOUNDTRACK OF MY LIFE

Level 3 >> Session 6 (week 10) >> 2nd Themed/Free Post

- Number of words: 160
- Students have to leave comments on at least 3 of their mates' posts  and on the teacher’s post.

My Life as a Playlist

Music is without any doubt, one of one's life important aspect, especially in the sense that by listening, even just by chance, to a sound-music-tune that is engraved in your memory, you can go back in time and live memories and feelings, once again.

When thinking about this new blog session, I came accross with this very interesting website: http://www.abc.net.au/arts/playlist/#!/home .In there, by posing a set of questions (perhaps a bit too many for my taste), the author helps you to identify the key songs of your life. In doing so, I had many memories coming back again, some of them, really happy, some others, well.... you know happiness is best valued when not feeling it...LOL

I remembered the 90's, when TV was opening up to new tendencies; nationwise, there was a time of trying to relief old tensions, and I remember there was a soapy that marked my life.

I was starting5th grade in primary school and some of my earliest, school-years memories are joint with these old tracks.

 

I also remember that year was the year I fell in love for the first time and by listening to some of those songs, I remember my childhood intensity...It definetely makes feel somewhat nostalgic, but happy.

The soap opera was called "Adrenalina", it was a group of high-school girls in the new santiago, they all used to go the this disco, where all the characters came together, and the name of this disco was "Adrenalina" (the facilities used in the soapy were the same that of today's Broadway Disco)

Here, I give you some videos from music of the time, I hope you enjoy:

INTRO:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJIf6kJ0Urk

De Kiruza: Bakan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvP0AmlY3Jo

VENUS: ESTAS BORRACHO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNEVNVq3voo

More:............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqzGNAs3h6c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmWDhT-eAW8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCbgktso6OQ&list=PL3B02C81865427FD7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCjM-3KlHgY

A Photograph: Its Story

LEVEL 3 >> POST 5 (week 9) >> A PHOTOGRAPH YOU LIKE

Today: The Story of a Picture.

Hi people: 

·       Today:

-        Write about a photograph you like.

·       Say:

·       Who took it
·       What it shows
·       When it was taken
·       Why you like it
·       Upload it too
·       Include any other information you'd like to mention.
·       Write at least 150 words.
·       Add comments to 3 of your classmates’ blogs and your teacher's as well.

The story of a picture ...

               

This might look a bit naive but , let me tell you, it is alcohol!, it was taken at a pub in Paris, in a bar across from Place Vendome. I was with friends and we wanted to see the non-romantic and alternative side of the city.

This picture is a portrait  in memory my best holiday ever, and even though I haven’t had many superb holidays, because most of time I prefer visiting my family more tan anything else, I have had some memorable ones.

It was the year 2008, if I don’t remember incorrectly; and I was under big stress because I had had several problems at my job. Anyway, to make a long story short, I dropped by the place I used to work for and they told me: “here you are”… it was a NICE, FAT Christmas bonus.

That day, I was with a friend of mine who was leaving on a tour that same afternoon, and after hearing that I had received my present, she shouted at me, from the entrance: “Man!!!! Let’s go together!!!”….

Two hours later, we were travelling around 2 countries, we meant to tour as much as possible, getting to see idyllic landscapes and also, both being teachers, we wanted to share with the locals and not visiting the typical touristic places.

The toured over Amsterdam (red district and all), Brussels (nice beer!) and finally Paris, where the picture was taken. we spent nearly 3 weeks travelling, and from that improvised adventure, there are many stories we can tell, and another thousand anecdotes, I cannot let you know in this blog entry’s extension.

Level 3 - Post 4>>> Themed/Free Post 1

My favourite movie scene:

I am very fan of watching movies, I have watched many but I have a huge problem with my memory. It’s just I cannot remember any movie straight away!, I have to think it over to remember the plot, and this time has not been the exception and to write about my favourite movie scene I have had to go over several movies so as to remember.

Party Monster is a movie depicting the story of rise and fall of the infamous New York City party promoter Michael Alig. It is an American factually based biographical drama film directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, and starring Macaulay Culkin as the drug-addled "king of the Club Kids". 

My favourite scene is when, in the movie, the movement of party-fabulous-kids decided to make a party in the back part of a big truck. As people, all in very fancy dresses, go in the truck, the director shows us a closeup of the driver, who happens to be a drag queen, she is swallowing an LSD and guess what, it’s Marilyn Manson!!! 

There is another scene I love a lot in which Macaulay Culkin is taught on “how to be Fab”, and his friend gives him all the hints and clues on how to become a popular guy in the very competitive New York scene.

I love this movie for its music, for it’s very “light” but yet amusing, and in particular I love this scenes because I find them hilarious and extravagant, just the way I am, well, a little bit.

Here I give you the two scenes I selected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBZzRo2xwak

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aThxBOmGxOk

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- Comments:  leave a comment on your teacher's post + 3 of your classmates posts
- Word Count: 140 words

MY FAVOURITE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY

LEVEL 3 >> POST 3 (week 5) > MY FAVOURITE PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY

*Write about your favourite piece of technology

Say:

What it is.
When you got it.
How you use it.
How often you use it.
Why you like it.
What life would be like without it.




- 130 words minimum.
- Include a picture. 
- don't forget to leave comments on 3 of your classmates posts and on your teacher's post as well.

_________________________________________________________________________

The Apple Without The Worm (130 words min)

 

For some time I had been quite disconnected from all society, I had already spent 6 months without a mobile.
Back then I had started working for a telecommunications company and I had to be on the phone mostly all day long, and that's why I decided, in the end, to get rid of the #cell-phone".

Time went by and some day I had an urgency, I had to hand in a very, very importan document, but with the rush, I left it over my desk at home, and the only way to get it was to call my friend and ask him to drop by and bring it along.
Having thought so, I rushed out the underground to get a pay-phone but guess what, ALL of them were not working, and after several tries, and a big anguish, I managed to contact my friend and get my papers...but it was already a bit late, and the only way I could get in touch was by borrowing a co-worker's mobile!

After that I got a mobile phone, in the 2011, after nearly a year without it. After a while I learnt there were new models, and new apps and the inclusion of 3G, I finally changed to iphone!!!... I use it for everything: to make a call, a free-call, to use wasap, teaching apps, grading apps, ppt creation and many more tools that I have come accross with.

I love my new mobile because of its functionality and the freedom it gives me, because I do not longer need to be behind the desk to do all of the tasks my profession requires. I also love it because it helps me being updated on everything I need updating on, and furthermore, because I might have lots to do, and even though I am very forgetful, with my iphone, I can always be aware of it all!.

Without it, life would be rather the same, perhaps, with the difference that I would be forced to spend less time behind the mobile, but at the same time, forced to spend longer hours behind the desk. If I did not have it, I would be even busier, not being able to work on the run. That's why I now love and use my mobile.

2- Why did you choose this career/study programme?

Level 3 - Post 2 (week 4) Why did you choose this career/study programme?

Write about:

- your dream jobs when you were a child

- other career options that you had at the moment of applying to university

- what made you decide in the end

- your experience at university until now

- the kind of job you would like to have

 > word count: 120 words

 > don't forget to leave comments on 3 of your classmates posts and on your teacher's post as well.

____________________________________________________

Teacher's Example:

The road to what I do now was not straightforward, in my childhood I had many ideas and wanted to be many things. As a child I used to dream of being a great Lawyer, I felt particularly attracted to defending people in need, later, I decided that the world needed more psychologists, and even, being 17 years old, I decided that the road of Arts was going to be the path I would follow.

So, after taking the PAA I applied to the Arts School. I had struggled a lot with my Dad due to such decision, but finally I was ready to go. After the application, the results did not go the best way, in fact, I couldn't enter! I was number five in the waiting list, and guess what!.... in the Arts Programme the lists don't "run".

I felt really demotivated, so I decided to do whatever possible and I started to study Construction Engineering, but I couldn't cope with it, I didn't like it and after a year I was already sure I had always wanted to study languages and after that summer I told my parents I was leaving the engineering programm and that I would take up on language studies.

I had a great time learning English, French, etc. I enjoyed it so very much that the years went by too fast and after some years, I became a Linguist and here I am, already having changed my mind again, I decided to leave Linguistics a little bit behind and concentrate on what I have always liked the most, which is Teaching. 

1ST ENTRY

2nd Term 2016 /

LEVEL 3 >> Blog Session 1 (Week 3) >> My Auto Biography

In week N° 3, and as the first post of this semester,  the students have to write their auto biographies.
They have to include:

- Birth info
- Studies info (elementary/high school/ univ)
- Family Info
- Hobbies
- Others... (pics for example)

> Number of words: 100 (minimum)
> Make comments on three of your classmates posts + a comment on your teacher post as well.

________-

MY EXAMPLE:

SAMPLE:

I was born far south, well, not so far, just 510 km south from the capital.

My home city used to be Concepción, where in 1985 I was born; but when I was 5 years old my Father got a job in another city so we had to move to Los Angeles.

Los Ángeles is a small city, at about 180 km from Concepción, it's a service and pulp-industry town, and it is also the capital city of the Bio-Bio Province.

The city is sourrounded by very green landscapes and because of the pulp industry, the surroundings nowadays, is nearly covered with pine trees and eucalyptus, which are used for the production of the raw material used to make paper.

My father, who is an engineer, and my mother, who is a housewife, took us all with them and I ended up being raised in this new town. I also went to school there. I spent all my life, from 1st primary to 4th high school in catholic institutions.

My hobbies were not many, I used to play volleyball, I took guitar lessons, but finally, I think the most enjoyable hobby was to learn new languages, and because there were not many options, I studied English.

After graduation I went college and finally I got to Santiago where I have been living for the past 5 years.

 I hope my future helps me keep my southern roots and perhaps, I will come back to the south....one day.

Blog Syllabus