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Friday, April 9, 2010

Additional posting #2




How the power of these green angry eyes freeze you for seconds to interpret their message. This is a famous photograph of an Afghanistan girl, Sharbat Gula by Steve McCurry in 1984. He took her picture in Afghanistan refugees' camp during the Soviet invasion. It was on the cover of National Geographic magazine in 1985 and captioned as “ afghan girl’. McCurry went searching and tracing the real girl of his portrait after 17 years later. He found dread , misery and poverty stole her youth ,so early in the age of 26, and only the green flash eyes highlight her life lines on a leather skin . She got married when she was 13 and now she is a mother of three girls. She doesn’t know that her photo amazes many people.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Posting #1




This is one of the famous annual programs shown in Saudi channel MBC called “ Khawater”. Last September 2009 “ The life in Japan” was its topic that has been presented through 30 episodes by a Saudi crew. Japan is at the top position among the industrial countries. Every year it produces 500,000 technological inventions serving people for having a better life. It’s extremely amazing to see how mobiles can be alternative of …………………?? I prefer you watch the video and figure out the answer.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Prompt #11

After reading Richrdson’s chapter about the social web, I think twitter is very interesting tool to expand and enhance the communicative skills of my students in informal settings. They can exchange ideas, course information, and resources beside their individual expressions or feedback about a certain topic. As other sites, some concerns may increase toward improper input so that a permission only environment has been adapted by some teachers for more appropriate learning atmosphere. So, I may think about using twitter for my ESL classroom as additional tool to strengthen the social communicative experience among students.

What I may consider it useful and instrumental is the social bookmarking. It is, in somehow, valuable for both the teacher and the learner. It saves the time and efforts through providing unconditioned collaborative support to find target subject resources and annotate important sections such as the public Diigo & del.icio.us or the restricted Scutt1EDU. This boosts students to build their knowledge, autonomy and social pyramid. For me, it is avant garde that needs more attention and mastery for constructive use in the future.

Warschauer raises three dimensional issues in terms of “digital divide” which means the imbalances of the effective physical use of technology access among people. That simultaneously explains the unequal acquisition of related knowledge and skills among high socioeconomics and low socioeconomics. His workability, complexity and performativity are the essence of his study towards the challenging of affording the schools with computer technology equally. He says that there should be financial technical supply and a mechanism in preparing well equipped administrations and staff for more academic purposes.

I remember that some over -15-year experience teachers refused to join any educational computer course, to apply technology in learning process, as commanded by the ministry of education. More than 70% in that elementary school claim the un-necessity of inserting technology to their teaching process and these technologies are just accessories.
Is there any penalty for rejecting any technological use in teaching or learning process?
No wonder, more low SES victims will appear and more digital divide will occur
Is the money the magic stick that can survive the technology practice among educational institutions and homes?

I wish
if the administration offices of education set “a training course of how to apply technological strategies in the classrooms” as a requirement for hiring a teacher in any school. Also, organized weekly staff meeting to discuss CALL activities & feedback and solve technical issues.
It is extremely complicated to force hundreds of people while they’re not motivated, isn’t it??
Is the phrase " I have a dream" going to be a banner for CALL educators?
The massive power of technology holds the answers about the future.