Gender Equity Mainstreaming Forum At UTN Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need To Know
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2017 ISSUE #56 JUNE
Gender Equity Mainstreaming
Forum At UTN
Paris Climate Agreement:
What You Need To Know
Desmos Graphing
Calculator
George Orwel
INSIDE COVER PAGE
2 EDITORIAL This month we dedicate our coverpage
UTN NEWS to the most influential English writer of
3 ILE Students Are Part Of Clean The the 20th century, Eric Arthur Blair, better
World Non-For-Proit Organization known as George Orwell, and his novel
Animal Farm. Retelling the story of the
3 Energy Efficiency In University
emergence and development of Soviet
Buildings communism in the form of an animal
4 Gender Equity Mainstreaming fable, Animal Farm allegorizes the rise
Forum At UTN to power of the dictator Joseph Stalin.
4 SMEs And Local Development If you have an awesome picture
Program At UTN you think could be the cover of
one of The ILE Post editions, send
WORLD NEWS it to eherrera@utn.ac.cr. So far
5 Loss Of Culture For Snake Charmers several readers have sent amazing
In India pictures that we will be sharing with you soon. If you want
5 What Is ‘June Gloom’, And Why It’s to know what is happening in ILE, follow us in FACEBOOK.
Photo credit:
Not All Bad https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canvi_Ca_Revolta_02.jpg
6 Paris Climate Agreement: What You
All materials used and produced by The ILE Post are for educational purposes.
Need To Know They can be used and reproduced for educational purposes as long as you
THE ILE ETHOS credit you for the original creation.
7 Scientia Potestas Est
8 To Tweet Or Not To Tweet: Dumbing
Down In The Age Of Social Media CONTRIBUTORS
ACADEMICS AND MORE Sandra Argüello Article Writer
9 It’s All About Millennials – Or Is It? Eduardo Castro News Writer
10 VOX POPULI Jenaro Díaz English For You
THE ATTIC Clare Goodman Academic Editor
11 Zero Carbon Emissions Gladys López Poem Writer
12 WE ARE ONE Gerardo Matamoros News Writer
12 THE REASON OF MY LIFE
Jose Morales Poem Writer
POP WORLD
Merlin Pérez Article Writer
13 Geeks And Nerds :
Kenner Pérez Article Writer
A Terminological Debate
VISITING LANDMARKS
14 Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota
DISCOVERING TECHNOLOGY
15 Desmos Graphing Calculator
LANGUAGE CORNER
16 George Orwel
17 English For You
LOUDER THAN WORDS
18 The Holy Family Cathedral
https://www.facebook.com/TheILEPost?fref=ts
1
EDITORIAL
World Environment Day (June 5th
)
by The Ovi Team
World Environment Day is an annual event that is
aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrat- The Green Economy Initiative
ed global day for positive environmental action. World The UNEP-led Green Economy Initiative, launched
Environment Day activities take place all year round in late 2008, provides a comprehensive and practi-
but climax on 5 June every year, involving everyone cal working mechanism, through analysis and policy
from everywhere. World Environment Day celebrations support for investing in green sectors and in greening
began in 1972 and have grown to become one of the environmental unfriendly sectors. The Green Economy
main vehicles through which the UN stimulates world- Initiative has three main activities, which are to pro-
wide awareness of the environment and encourages duce a Green Economy Report and related research
political attention and action. Through World Envi- materials, which will analyse the macroeconomic, sus-
ronment Day, the UN Environment Programme is able tainability, and poverty reduction implications of green
to personalize environmental issues and enable ev- investment in a range of sectors; to provide advisory
eryone to realize not only their responsibility, but also services on ways to move towards a green economy
their power to become agents for change in support in specific countries; and to engage a wide range of
of sustainable and equitable development. World Envi- research, non-governmental organizations, business
ronment Day is also a day for people from all walks of and UN partners in implementing the Green Economy
life to come together to ensure a cleaner, greener and Initiative.
brighter outlook for themselves and future generations.
Everyone counts in this initiative and World Environ- Green jobs
ment Day relies on you to make this happen! We call So why the fuss? Regardless of the environmental ben-
for action – organize a neighbourhood clean-up, stop efits and options for sustainability, investment into a
using plastic bags and get your community to do the Green Economy is captured in several reports as in
same, plant a tree or better yet organize a collective an agent for creating millions of new jobs, such UNEP’s
tree planting effort, walk to work, start a recycling drive Green Jobs report. One of the main engines for eco-
. . . the possibilities are endless. nomic growth is a higher rate of employment, which
both reduces a burden on the economy and gives con-
Green Economy sumers the purchasing power to sustain lives through
The global financial crisis that began in 2007, and is still supporting industries. By 2008, over 2.3 million people in
resonant today, is considered by many economists as just six leading countries in green jobs were employed
the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of in this low-carbon sector (China, Denmark, Germany,
the 1930s. One of the key lessons we can draw from this India Spain, and the United States). The Green Econ-
experience is that running economies the way we’ve omy is therefore not just a passing environmental fad
always done, doing business as usual, is clearly not an but is one of the best solutions available for sustainable
option. The new Green Economy is therefore a propos- economic growth
al for an alternative and far more sustainable way of that recognizes
doing business. A green economy is described as one the social compo-
that results in improved human well-being and social nent.
equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks
and ecological scarcities. In other words, we can think
of a green economy as an economic environment that
achieves low carbon emissions, resource efficiency
and at the same time is socially inclusive.
Editorial taken from: http://www.ovimagazine.com/art/8721
2
UTN NEWS
ILE Students Are Part Of
Clean The World Non-For-Profit Organization
By Eduardo Castro and Gerardo Matamoros (ILE Professors-San Carlos)
mental waste. that day as well to provide more
The distribution of these and oth- hands. Our students took the ad-
er donated products to impov- vantage to talk and share with
erished people prevents millions them in their mother tongue:
of hygiene-related deaths each English. As a single team, all
year, reduces the morbidity rate of them worked together and
for hygiene-related illnesses, with the same conviction: they
and encourages vigorous child- helped to clean the world and
Clean the World was founded hood development. prevent illnesses.
in 2009 by Shawn Seipler. As the Twenty-one students of the En- The morning was over and they
Vice President of Sales and Mar- glish as a Second Language felt so proud about this big op-
keting for an e-commerce tech- major from San Carlos were able portunity they had. Now they
nology company, Shawn trav- to be part of this prestigious pro- know they provided support for
eled several days a week. The gram in Orlando, Florida. USA some poor people around the
idea for soap recycling came last March. world and contributed to pre-
about after Shawn noticed the ILE students got involved in re- venting diseases among them.
barely-used bars of hotel soap ducing a negative impact on
he left behind each morning the environment. They had the
that ended up in a landfill. That opportunity to contribute to
led to Clean the World, a Florida change the life of others and
not-for-profit corporation under be part of a global hygiene rev-
501(c)(3) of the Internal Reve- olution. They spent the whole
nue Code. morning, folding, setting clean
Their mission is to collect and re- towels, separating and classify-
cycle soap and hygiene prod- ing soap and hygiene products.
ucts discarded every day by the Elderly people from closer com-
hospitality industry and other munities as well as other stu-
sectors that generate environ- dents from Orlando showed up
Energy Efficiency In University Buildings
In accordance with the prin- standard of lighting. Replacing
ciples and commitments on traditional lighting systems with
environment and sustainable LED technology provides finan-
development set by UTN envi- cial benefits in the form of low-
ronmental policy objectives, er utility bills and maintenance
over the past couple of years costs. Since the sustainability
UTN has been upgrading out- initiative began the university
door lights on buildings across has seen a significant saving
campus and replacing the old of about 30 000 KWH. UTN is fo-
metal halide bulbs with more cused on reducing energy use
energy efficient light-emitting resulting in lower emissions and
diode (LED) bulbs. The replace- help sustain the environment.
ment of these lights is part of a Using less electricity overall re-
larger energy saving initiative duces the pollution caused by
that also includes the retrofit- energy production, and saves
ting interior light fixtures with valuable energy resources for
more efficient bulbs across the future.
3 campus to create a unified
UTN NEWS
Gender Equity Mainstreaming Forum At UTN
One of the main mainstreaming soon will be seen
objectives of this as a natural part of operations,
forum was to and not only as a project or fo-
support the de- rum, said Research and Tech-
velopment of an nology Transfer Vice Chancellor
inclusive culture Francisco Romero.
throughout high- One of the presenters during the
er education forum was UNA Women’s Studies
through enhanc- Center Researcher Zaira Carva-
ing the student jal Orlich who spoke about the
experience, and different experiences universities
promoting institu- in Costa Rica have had.
Last June 2nd, UTN Teaching tion-wide under- UTN expects that little by little,
Vice Chancellor Department standing of equality issues and these kinds of efforts would lead
together with the Curricular responsibilities. to that gender equality becom-
Planning and Assessment De- I really hope that these initiatives ing mainstream in turn helping it
partment organized a forum on: contribute to show how we can become a natural part of daily
Gender Equity Mainstreaming. systematically work with these work at UTN.
issues, so that gender equality
SMEs And Local Development Program At UTN
After several months of conversation and agree- ented findings and practice-relevant experience
ments with the Italo-Latin American Institute (IILA) regarding the management, promotion and de-
and two prestigious Italian universities: Università velopment of small and medium-sized enterprises
degli Studi di Padova and Università Ca’ Foscari (SMEs). Some of the main topics that the program
di Venezia, UTN will host a major program on Small will include are: SME promotion in a globalized
and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Local world, innovation and technology promotion,
Development. and rural development network management.
SMEs play a key role in transition and developing
countries. These firms typically account for more
than 90% of all firms outside the agricultural sec-
tor, constitute a major source of employment and
generate significant domestic and export earn-
ings.
On May 31st, IILA International Aid Project Direc-
tor Mauro Camicia visited UTN to continue talking
about all the details this major will include.
The idea is to offer a program dedicated to con-
veying theoretical knowledge, application-ori-
4
WORLDNEWS
Loss Of Culture For Snake Charmers In India
In India, snake charming has been a from our roots,” says a man called
popular form of entertainment since Badri. “These performances here can
ancient times. It has also been the sustain a few us for a few days, but
only source of livelihood for hundreds what after that? And what about the
of thousands of snake charmers. rest of the community?”
But several years ago, the practice Snake charming was banned under
was declared illegal, leaving snake the Wildlife Protection Act in the late
charmers in dire straits. Bismillah Gee- 1990s. The law prohibits catching,
lani reports on how the community is owning and performing with snakes.
now struggling for survival. Initially, the government didn’t en-
snake charmers living in India. Many
At the Surajkund Craft Fair on the force the ban, and snake charmers
switched to other occupations, like
outskirts of Delhi, a group of local carried on with their work. But a few
rickshaw pulling, street vending and
folk musicians is entertaining the vis- years later, animal rights activists pres-
working as construction and agricul-
itors. Wearing orange dresses with sured authorities to clampdown on
tural laborers. But an overwhelming
matching turbans, they play melodi- snake charmers.
majority remain jobless.
ous tunes of popular Hindi songs on “They basically dehydrate them; they
Some, however, refuse to give up
the gourd flute – or Been. Their per- stick them in a box and forget about
the tradition. Birju Nath, one of them,
formances enthrall the audience them, use them whenever they want
says unless the government invests
and many break into dance. But the to make a performance or beg some
in preserving the history and music
musicians themselves don’t look very money from people,” explains Kar-
of the snake charmers, within a few
enthusiastic. tik Satyanarayan, from the conser-
decades the centuries long practice
“Snakes and snake charmers have vation group Wildlife SOS, who says
will disappear without a trace. And
been together from time immemo- the charmers abuse the snakes, and
without cultural preservation, the
rial. This is the only thing we and our there’s been a noticeable decline in
very instrument with which they’ve
ancestors have known and lived on their numbers.
plied their trade – the Been – could
for centuries. Now it has been taken But nnake charmers strongly deny
become extinct.
away from us. We have not only lost the charges of animal cruelty. The
our livelihood we have been cut off ban affected an estimated 800,000
Information taken from: https://fsrn.org/2017/04/snake-charmers-in-india-lament-loss-of-culture-following-outlawing-of-their-practice/ Image teken from: Photo credit: Parag Sankhe via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-
What Is ‘June Gloom’, And Why It’s Not All Bad
When you think of the US state of Cali- nounced in southern California. It is The clouds forming to produce this
fornia, you typically conjure up imag- when the entire coastline is shrouded phenomenon are called “actino-
es of beautiful beaches, palm trees in a layer of low-lying cloud, blocking form”. It was not until the dawn of the
and mountains, all set off by perpet- out the sunshine and lowering tem- satellite era that these clouds were
ual sunshine. However, if you were peratures to damp and chilly values. seen clearly for the first time, as they
thinking of heading to the “golden During the month of May, the air typically cover an area too large to
state” for a vacation in June, you starts to warm up and areas inland observe in any other way. The first
could be sorely disappointed. such as the Central Valley and Mo- recorded detection of actinoform
“June Gloom” is seen all over the jave Desert undergo some intense cloud occurred on August 16th, 1962,
Pacific Coast, but is especially pro- heating, setting up a broad area of southwest of Hawaii.
low pressure known as a thermal low. As the day wears on and the mois-
The waters of the Pacific Ocean ture evaporates, the grey, foggy start
are still relatively cold and with high will give way to mostly sunny skies,
pressure developing over the cooler although even during the gloomy
waters, a pressure gradient develops mornings, further inland, about 12
and pushes the cooler ocean air in- to 16km away from the coast, the
land, which creates this marine layer gloom tends not to appear at all, as
of low-lying cloud. the air is so much drier.
This cloud develops overnight, creep- June Gloom also means extra mois-
ing over the coastal land during the ture for plants and vegetation in
early morning hours, so that day the mountains and hills which could
breaks with a damp, foggy and mean a late start to the fire season,
gloomy beginning, giving rise to the and that has to be a good thing.
name June Gloom.
5 Based on rnformation taken from: http://mwcnews.net/news/americas/66051-what-is-june-gloom.html
Photo credit: barefootsong via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
WORLDNEWS
Paris Climate Agreement: What You Need To Know
In December 2015, after years of climate change. first place, saying it was too weak.
negotiations, 195 nations made a The agreement as a whole is not le- Russia said it will stay committed to
new commitment to work together gally binding and does not penalise backing the deal, state news re-
to address global climate change. nations who fail to meet their com- ported.
This agreement, signed in Paris and mitments. Is climate change real?
seen as a turning point for global But it does impose an obligation on The temperature of Earth’s air and
climate policy, came into force on countries to implement their plans, the quantity of heat trapped in its
November 4th. and includes a review process de- oceans continue to grow, with 2016
As of June 2017, 195 UNFCC (The signed to shame them into com- declared the hottest year on re-
United Nations Framework Conven- pliance, while putting pressure on cord.
tion on Climate Change) members them to increase the scope of their Climate change could lead to po-
have signed the agreement, and efforts every five years. litical instability, increased socie-
148 have ratified it. However yester- Is the Paris climate agreement bad? tal tensions and could place new
day, President Trump announced Trump described the Paris climate burdens on economies and gov-
the US would withdraw from the accord as an “agreement that is ernments, an AAAS report stated.
agreement and his intentions to disadvantageous to the US to the Large numbers of people will likely
seek a new deal. exclusive benefits of other coun- be displaced due to famine and
“So we are getting out, but we will tries”. drought.
start to negotiate and see if we can Trump said he could not “in good A NASA-funded study said that
make a deal that’s fair,” he said. conscience support a deal that global industrial civilisation is head-
The withdrawal also includes the punishes the US and that poses no ed for a collapse in the coming
cancellation of all US contributions punishment for the world’s great decades, blaming unsustainable
to the Green Climate Fund, which polluters”. resource use and increasing wealth
Trump said was “costing the US a Continental Europe’s three biggest inequality.
vast fortune”. economies - Germany, France and The study cited examples of the rise
According to the rules of the 2016 Italy - criticised Donald Trump’s and fall of civilisations throughout
Paris deal, stepping out of its provi- decision to quit the Paris climate history, including the Roman Em-
sions will be a lengthy process that agreement and said the pact was pire, and said cases of “precipitous
could take up to four years. “not renegotiable”. collapse - often lasting centuries -
What is the Paris climate agree- Catherine McKenna, Canadian en- have been quite common”.
ment? vironment minister, said her country Among the most important factors
It is an agreement within the UNF- is “deeply disappointed by the US that explain the decline of civilisa-
CCC dealing with greenhouse gas decision on the Paris accord”. tions are population, climate, water,
emissions mitigation, adaptation And Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says agriculture and energy, according
and finance starting in the year US decision to pull out of the climate to the report.
2020. accord “is a mistake with dramatic They can lead to collapse when
The aim is to limit global tempera- consequences”. coupled with overuse of resources
ture rise to 2C above pre-industrial What countries are not in the Paris and economic inequality.
levels by 2100. climate agreement?
This level is considered a crucial tip- The US will
ping point, above which there will join only
be serious consequences for global Nicaragua
food production and more frequent and Syr-
and dangerous climate events, ia as the
such as flooding and drought. countries
To achieve this, global greenhouse to have
gas emissions will need to be cut not signed
by an estimated 40-70 percent by onto the
2050, and by 2100 the planet must a g r e e -
be carbon-neutral. ment - Nic-
Under the Paris accord, each aragua
country must submit its own plan declined
to reduce emissions of greenhouse to sign the
gases and deal with the impact of deal in the
information taken ffrom: http://mwcnews.net/news/europe/65855-paris-climate-agreement.html
Picture takenfrom: https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/oes/climate/cop22/index.htm
6
THE ILE ETHOS
“Scientia Potestas Est”
By Merlin Pérez (ILE Professor)
Have you ever thought that learning academic things are overrated?
If you are the kind of person society. It takes the shape computerized informa-
who thinks that it is hard to read tion, advertising, software, news, tutorial, anec-
a book, to sit in classroom for dotes, graffiti, art, music, and more.
hours and question what you Knowledge accounts for the success of people.
are being taught, then you have The more knowledgeable you are, the more ad-
to convince yourself about the vantage you have over the other people. If we
fact that knowledge is a strong think about the world we live in, then we know
weapon that you need to un- that it is easier to find the right balance in know-
derstand and use to fight for ing what to do or how to do it than asking for
your future and welfare. help since everybody is in a hurry. Imagine that
The first years of instructions we don´t know anything about processes, pro-
open your eyes to what your academic life will tocols, laws, procedures or simply the differenc-
be about. As a child you are in love with learning es between safe or danger then our existence is
because it is the key to understand every spoken oriented to extinction . Human beings are able to
word around you, then you start school and you develop, supply or acquire knowledge by con-
have to face new subjects such as reading, writ- ceptualizing and interpreting the components of
ing and arithmetic and above all of this you are competences.
told what to learn and how to do it; therefore you It is necessary to differentiate between knowl-
lose the pleasure of discovering the knowledge edge acquisition and knowledge production, in
and you feel trapped in your episodic or seman- the first one there are many factors or aspects in-
tic memories. Once you finish your elementary volved, we can talk about voluntary learning in
phase, a nightmare takes over since you have to which the individuals want to experience the sce-
deal with emotional situations you are not ready narios of knowledge meanwhile the involuntary
to face because of your lack of education relat- learning comes with contextual influence.
ed to socio relational context, communication In the second one, it is necessary to research, to
apprehension, intentionality, perceptual context know what we want to achieve and find the way
and world awareness. to make it tangible or accessible to our under-
When you start your studies in superior level then standing.
you discover how powerful knowledge can be, if Education and knowledge must be linked in spir-
well-known and applied. To most people, mod- itual and scientific way since both are meant to
ern society is characterized by its worldwide con- help us to grow in fields in which our material and
nectedness. There were many places people spiritual needs must be satisfied in order to fit in
could not reach a century, or even just a gen- a natural and social order in the universe. Every
eration ago. But now, we can reach almost ev- single student hopes to find in the educational
erywhere. Human beings have had the chance process an answer to his or her questionings and
of being informed about everything that is hap- desires or expectations.
pening around the world and it has had a strong Knowledge has led the world to despair since ev-
impact on the view of every single student all erybody feels powerful when knowing or having
over the world acknowledging that if you have control of something. Men ambitious of power
the right information and knowledge you have have provoked chaos and catastrophes, but it
the power over many situations that might be has also been the source of knowledge in many
controlled or not depending on how well you use circumstances the most important thing here is
your skills and abilities. to embrace the idea that more than anything,
Knowledge is being produced at many points in knowledge must be put to good use.
7
THE ILE ETHOS
To Tweet Or Not To Tweet:
Dumbing Down In The Age Of Social Media
By Sandra Argüello (ILE Professor)
In a poll presented by Gallup, “42 Of course educators can play a significant role
percent of Americans still believe in contributing to this topic. How can we prevent
God created human beings in students from falling down the dumbing hole?
their present form less than 10,000 Here are some ideas:
years ago.” This appeared in an 1. When assigning a research activity, make
interesting article about anti-intel- sure to ask students for three resources to
lectualism in the United States writ- validate their points. Also, make sure
ten by Ray Williams, a leadership students understand the difference
expert. Are we as a race becom- between the website endings (org, edu,
ing dumber? I would argue about that statement; com, etc.) and request for different
what he calls the dumbing down of America is a sources on any assignment.
global phenomenon exacerbated by the wide- 2. When using Tweeter for the classroom,
spread misuse of digital technologies. tweet a question that can be developed
Technology is not “bad”. I won’t get all patron- during the next class period. In this way,
izing here; I do love my Facebook and Pinterest, students must think beyond the wordcount
and in my teaching practice I like to make use limit and be prepared for further discussion.
of social media for educational purposes. The 3. Use the Socratic seminar for deep
problem is, basically, the most of us have had to discussions. This is mostly used to dissect
learn to navigate internet and the overflow of texts for discussion in small groups. Students
information it offers. For instance, I recently goo- must sit in small circles and talk to each
gled William Shakespeare looking for a sonnet, other, not the instructor. The idea is to listen
and around 56 million entries appeared. If we are to each other’s points of views, use
not teaching our students to process information, references from the text to support one’s
we cannot expect them to move beyond Wiki- points and respecting everyone in the
pedia or Rincón del Vago. But many times, edu- group. In ESL, the Socratic seminar is great
cators don’t know how to do it themselves. There for reading courses.
is so much information out there that people get 4. When using Facebook for a course, ask stu
bored or simply overwhelmed by the numbers. It dents for a specific amount of responses a
is easier then to just go to Wikipedia for anything week, and even wordcount. It also helps to
from literature to how to boil an egg. ask students to comment on another
Twitter is the classic example of this anti-intellectu- person’s comments at least once a week.
alism with its 140-word count that does not allow 5. Free writing exercises are great to get
for deep discussions and elaboration of thought. students thinking. Provide a relevant topic
Say it and say it fast. For deeper understanding, or questions at the beginning of the class,
it is required that people sit down and talk. Or and then allow students to write freely for
write. Or read. But with the purpose of process- 5-10 minutes. Then, ask for volunteers to
ing and then discussing. In the past, families sat share their writing. These writings can also
down to the table to eat and actually talked; we be incorporated as part of a final portfolio
even have a beautiful word for that concept: so- or as another type of assignment.
bremesa.
Works Cited
Williams, Ray. Anti-Intellectualism and the “Dumbing Down” of America. Retrieved October 26th, 2016 from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201407/anti-intellectualism-and-the-dumbing-down-america.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-success/201407/anti-intellectualism-and-the-dumbing-down-america
8
ACADEMICS AND MORE
It’s All About Millennials – Or Is It?
Who are the ‘Millennials’? – one needs to be careful in inter-
This is a term used for those born be- preting this argument in education.
tween the mid 1970s to early 1990s Research has shown that skills de-
inclusive. Other terms used for peo- veloped in one context (e.g. solving
ple born in these years are Genera- problems in video games) do not
tion Y, the Net Generation, or digital necessarily transfer to other contexts
natives. The term is used to describe (e.g. problem-solving in business). In
learners who have grown up with particular, students’ use of the Inter-
technology such as computers and net for social and personal purposes
the Internet all through their life. They does not necessarily prepare them
are assumed to be technology-sav- adequately for academic applica-
vy, are able to multi-task, have de- tions of the Internet, such as search-
veloped specific skills such as video ing for reliable sources of information
Accommodating to differences in
games playing, and are sometimes (CIBER, 2008).
learners
described as having a sense of en- Also, there is a danger in stereotyp-
Nevertheless, it is important for in-
titlement (‘it’s all about me’) – after ing. Not all ‘millennials’ behave the
structors to take into account the
all, they are the children of ‘boom- same way or have a total immersion
needs of all learners they are deal-
ers’ (Alsop, 2008). in technology. Nor are all students
ing with. Young people see technol-
More specifically, with regard to these days millennials. An increas-
ogy much the same way they see air
higher education, Oblinger and ing number of students are ‘pre-mil-
and water – part of everyday life. It is
Oblinger (2005a) identify the follow- lennial’, being older and returning
natural then that they will see tech-
ing characteristics as being typical to study or entering post-secondary
nology as a ‘normal’ component of
for millennials: education later in life. Lastly, there
teaching and learning.
•digitally literate in the sense of are some inherent requirements in
Full-time Millennial students on cam-
being comfortable and familiar education – such as a disciplined
pus though have frequently reported
with digital technology approach to study, critical thinking,
that they do not expect technology
•connected to friends and the evidence-based argumentation,
to replace face-to-face contact with
world through technology for example – that cannot or should
their teacher, and they they expect
•‘immediacy’: rapid multi- not be abandoned because they
teachers to help them to know how
tasking, fast response to do not fit a particular student’s pre-
best to use technology for learning.
communications ferred learning style.
There is not an automatic transfer
•experiential: they prefer to
of technology skills from social and
learn by doing rather than The need for student engagement in
personal use to academic use, and
being told learning
most students are aware of this. The
•highly social: ‘they gravitate Lastly, Prensky and others argue that
important issue here is that instructors
toward activities that promote teachers need to change their strat-
need to understand how technology
and reinforce social egies, because Millennials are used
can be appropriately used for study-
interaction’ to being stimulated and engaged
ing, and need to ensure that teach-
•group work: they prefer to outside school, and therefore need
ing makes the best use of technolo-
work and play in groups or to be engaged inside school. This
gy possible. Some students will need
teams may be true, but why is it special to
more help than others in their use of
•a preference for structure Millennials? Should not all our stu-
technology for learning, but all stu-
rather than ambiguity dents be engaged and challenged,
dents need to learn how to integrate
•engagement and interaction: stimulated by learning, and find the
technology successfully within their
an orientation towards action joy and excitement of discovery? In-
subject discipline.
and inductive reasoning rather telligent use of technology can help,
than reflection certainly, but it is not sufficient on
All students are important
•a preference for visual its own; it needs to be harnessed to
Although the argument has
(i.e. graphics, video) and effective teaching strategies, such
some merit that students entering
kines thetic learning rather as collaborative learning, problem-
post-secondary education now are
than learning through text and project-based teaching, and
qualitatively different from previous
•active engagement in enabling students to take responsibil-
generations of students – some com-
issues that matter to millennials ity for their own learning. This should
mentators go so far as to argue that
apply to all students, not just the Mil-
their brains are ‘wired’ differently
lennials.
9
Original article taken from: https://www.tonybates.ca/2009/09/10/its-all-about-millennials-or-is-it/ Images taken from: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/rd/projects/learner-experiences-of-technologyVOX POPULI
The UTN community includes professors, administrative staff and students. Each
individual has something to say about everything. In this section, we give the
university community the opportunity to express what they feel about different
school, country and world issues that in one or another way affect or impact our
lives, feelings and opinions. This month we asked students:
Where do you see yourself 5 years from today?
If yo. as a professional I hope that by that
I see myself I see myself
engineer in industrial pro- moment I would I see myself working as a
Sthephanie Espinoza
duction, working in a have done finishing my food and
prestigious company in something import- veterinary beverage
which I can grow and im- ant in my life, with bacherlo degree manager in a
prove my knowledge. a good job using so that I can hotel, and will
everything I am work and help probably be
Melissa Torres learning now. my family . married.
Jose Carlos Alvarado
Jessica Garzón Mariano Aguilar
I see myself working In five years, I will be working for a
hard, helping people, good company; I will be finishing my In five years, I will be
and studying more to studies in medicine, and I will be teaching English in a
become a great pro- travelling around the world taking school. I will be a
fessional. If I had the pictures and listening to music. happy professional, and
chance, I would like also travelling with my
Ana Ynacy family.
to go to Africa.
Elena Jiménez Xochitl Cambronero
I am not sure, but I would like to have
my own business, with my own clothing
brand and travel to show my collections in
different countries.
Priscila Quesada
10THE ATTIC
Zero Carbon Emissions
By Kenner Pérez (ILE Student-San Carlos)
Nowadays, carbon emissions rise at an unprecedented rate since people do not
stop contaminating the environment. This situation has caused a big impact on
climate change, and we see it on the news when they talk about ice melting,
unexpected high or low temperatures and unusual catastrophic storms. With this
view, the idea of reducing greenhouse gas emission to achieve zero carbon emis-
sions soon is the only way out. Teaching about how to achieve this goal is very
important because in that way human-beings could live in harmony with nature,
but the problem is that people are not conscious regarding the real amount of
pollution that companies are producing, so many take it for granted.
The first step to take is education. It is a priority that more and more schools and
governments worry about teaching recycling, reducing, and reusing; otherwise,
our planet will become a huge garbage dump. One of the places that is highly
contaminated is the ocean. There is a vortex in some part of the Pacific Ocean,
which is a concertation of debris and especially plastic bags and bottles.
In conclusion, the idea of looking for zero carbon emission policies is the best
solution people can find to decrease greenhouse gases, and in this way, try to re-
vert this horrible situation. Governments with awareness campaigns, schools with
recycling programs, and above all individuals with understanding about their key
role in this planet are the ones with the means to combat climate change.
11THE ATTIC
WE ARE ONE
ByJose Morales (ILE Student)
Because it is not just a simple game,
It is more than a game with a ball
Around the world, the feeling is the same.
You have to beat the goalkeeper
Who sometimes is like a wall.
Eleven players with one passion.
Chinese, African, Australian...
People from everywhere get together
In one sacred place as if they were one nation.
Because soccer is a sweet addiction.
Watch the world combine two sides.
One sweaty fight catch the attention
Of a million eyes and
Hands raised up towards the sky,
Just for one reason: We Are One.
.
THE REASON OF MY LIFE
By Gladys López (ILE Student)
You are the light of my life,
You make me feel alive.
Now, I don’t feel alone
Because you make me feel strong.
I don’t want to be away,
And I know how to obey.
I want to hear your voice.
I swear, this is my choice
Everything you have done
Has shown me your loyal love.
From the beginning until the end,
Forever you will be my best friend.
12POP WORLD
Geeks And Nerds : A Terminological Debate
NERD
A nerd is a person seen as over-
wardness and social ostracism to
an allegedly more widespread
in a geek show in a circus, trav-
eling carnival or travelling funfair
acceptance and sometimes even sideshows. The 1976 edition of the
ly intellectual, obsessive, or lack- celebration of their differences American Heritage Dictionary in-
ing social skills. Such a person cluded only the definition regarding
may spend inordinate amounts of geek shows.
time on unpopular, little known, or
non-mainstream activities, which
GEEK The 1975 edition of the American
Heritage Dictionary, published a
The word geek is a slang term orig-
are generally either highly techni- decade before the tech revolution,
inally used to describe eccentric or
cal, abstract, or relating to topics gave only one definition: “Geek
non-mainstream people; in current
of fiction or fantasy, to the exclu- [noun, slang]. A carnival performer
use, the word typically connotes an
sion of more mainstream activi- whose act usually consists of bit-
expert or enthusiast or a person ob-
ties. Additionally, many so-called ing the head off a live chicken or
sessed with a hobby or intellectual
nerds are described as being snake.” The tech revolution found
pursuit, with a general pejorative
shy, quirky, pedantic, and unat- new uses for this word, but it still
meaning of a “peculiar person, es-
tractive,[4] and may have difficul- often conveys a derogatory sting.
pecially one who is perceived to be
ty participating in, or even follow- Today, Dictionary.com gives five
overly intellectual, unfashionable,
ing, sports. definitions, the fourth of which is “a
or socially awkward”.
Though originally derogatory, nerd carnival performer who performs
Although often considered as a
is a stereotypical term, but as with sensationally morbid or disgusting
pejorative, the term is also used
other pejoratives, it has been re- acts, as biting off the head of a live
self-referentially without malice or
claimed and redefined by some chicken.”
as a source of pride. Its meaning
as a term of pride and group iden-
has evolved to re-
tity.
fer to “someone
who is interested
Etymology
in a subject (usu-
The first documented appearance
ally intellectual or
of the word nerd is as the name of
complex) for its
a creature in Dr. Seuss’s book If I
own sake.”
Ran the Zoo (1950), in which the
narrator Gerald McGrew claims
Etymology
that he would collect “a Nerkle, a
The word comes
Nerd, and a Seersucker too” for his
from English di-
imaginary zoo.
alect geek or
The slang meaning of the term
geck (meaning a
dates to the next year, 1951, when
“fool” or “freak”;
Newsweek magazine reported on
from Middle Low
its popular use as a synonym for
German Geck).
drip or square in Detroit, Michigan.
“Geck” is a stan-
By the early 1960s, usage of the
dard term in mod-
term had spread throughout the
ern German and
United States, and even as far as
means “fool” or
Scotland. At some point, the word
“fop.”
took on connotations of bookish-
In 18th century
ness and social ineptitude. Some
Austria, Gecken
measures of nerdiness are now
were freaks on
allegedly considered desirable,
display in some
as, to some, it suggests a person
circuses. In 19th
who is intelligent, respectful, inter-
century North
esting, and able to earn a large
America, the term
salary. Stereotypical nerd quali-
geek referred
ties are evolving, going from awk-
to a performer
Based on Information taken from NERD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd
Based on Information taken from GEEK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geek
13 Images taken from: https://thegeekanthropologist.com/2012/09/19/geeks-and-nerds-a-terminological-debate/VISITING LANDMARKS
Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota
the right rock and lighting for the
carving. In 1925 Congress autho-
rized the Mount Rushmore National
Memorial Commission and in 1927
Borglum and hundreds of workers
start sculpting the faces onto Mt.
Rushmore. Gutzon Borglum contin-
ued to work on Mt. Rushmore until
his death in 1941 and then his son
Lincoln finished the work.
As you follow the trail around the and that Washington has a coat
monument you see the familiar with buttons. The original plan had
carved heads from many differ- been to carve each figure to the
ent angles and can get some very waist. However, as funding dried up
good views of each head as sepa- they only completed the heads.
rate sculptures. WEATHER
The original plan was to have Wash- While January and February may
ington with Jefferson at his right be the coldest months, with tem-
shoulder and Lincoln on his left peratures in the 30s Fahrenheit,
shoulder. However after they start- winds can sometimes warm the
ed sculpting Jefferson it was found area by 20 to 30 degrees. Snow
that the rock in that area wasn’t generally falls in the March and
going to work so they changed the April. Occasional thunderstorms oc-
Mount Rushmore is as iconic an plan. cur during spring with the tempera-
American place as I can think of. The plans for the design changed ture ranging from the 40s to the 70s.
Three million people each year 9 times and each time Borglum Fall is drier than spring, however,
make a pilgrimage to the South Da- would build a new model, so that temperature ranges are the same,
kota Black Hills to see the carved the carvings on the mountain could making it the most hospitable time
faces for themselves. It truly is one be made to scale. Borglum had of year to visit Mount Rushmore.
of those places that you have to been a personal friend of Theodore During the summer--the park’s bus-
see for yourself to get an idea of Roosevelt and decided to add him iest season--temperatures may rise
just how big this carved mountain is. to the mountain. In 1937 there was into the 90s.
Each head is 60 feet high, but read- a movement to add Susan B. An- Parking Fees are between $10 and
ing that and looking at the pictures thony to the mountain, but the bill $13 dollar per car and motorcycle.
just doesn’t give you the impact of never got out of Congress.
the size. You will notice that in the model
The National Park Service offers au- above the Presidents have hands
dio wands that explain the history
of Mt. Rushmore. They also have a
museum and films about the con-
struction of the carvings. Mt. Rush-
more was first conceived in 1923 by
Doane Robinson as a way to bring
tourists to South Dakota. Apparently
he had the right idea sine 86 years
later it still is the number one tourist
attraction in South Dakota. Robin-
son contacted a well known sculp-
tor Gutzon Borglum, who was work-
ing on the Confederate Memorial
being carved on Stone Mountain
in Georgia. Borglum visited the
Black Hills in 1924 and 1925 to find
Information taken from: http://birdingrvers.com/2009/08/south-dakota-mt-rushmore.html Images taken from: https://pixabay.com
14DISCOVERING TECHNOLOGY
Desmos Graphing Calculator
Desmos is the next generation of the are really easy, though you wish Des-
graphing calculator. The Desmos Graph- mos would display more decimal plac-
ing Calculator automatically solves and es. Creating graphs to use on homework
graphs equations for users. The calcula- assignments and assessments is a lot
tor can plot a variety of different equa- easier to do with Desmos than with other
tions, from lines to parabolas and more. software, as well—the images come out
It can take a set of data and create a cleaner, and are relatively easy to crop
graph. It supports functions and inequal- or edit.
ities; it can graph exponents and logs, Explore math with Desmos! Plot func-
trig functions, precalculus and calculus tions, create tables, add sliders, animate
problems, and even statistics and prob- your graphs, and more -- all for free.
ability. The uses of Desmos are unlimited
in the math class.
Features
Graphing: Plot polar, cartesian, or para-
With Desmos, students don’t have to
metric graphs. There’s no limit to how
download anything, and they find that
many expressions you can graph at one
the online calculator is easier to use than
time - and you don’t even need to enter
the handheld or software, once they get
expressions in y= form!
past the initial learning curve.
Desmos can be used primarily by teach-
Sliders: Adjust values interactively to
ers for creating graphs to show students
build intuition, or animate any parame-
solutions to problems. Teachers can also
ter to visualize its effect on the graph. Try
give students this link so that they can
typing y=mx+b and adding sliders to get
check homework on their own.
started.
Desmos can used in teaching by giving
the students certain practice problems
Tables: Input and plot data, or create an
containing linear equations to graph.
input-output table for any function.
The students can be asked to examine Points of Interest: Touch a curve to show
the graph and answer certain questions maximums, minimums, and points of in-
Statistics: Find best-fit lines, parabolas,
based on the graph. Students can able tersection. Tap the gray points of interest
and more.
to see that a line can be the same even to see their coordinates. Hold and drag
if the equation you are given looks dif- along a curve to see the coordinates
Calculus: Graph derivatives (d/dx) and
ferent because it could be in a different change under your finger.
explore key concepts by building se-
form. This can be a great opener for the
cant and tangent line sliders. Graph Ma-
students to learn to translate lines from Scientific Calculator: Just type in any
claurin Series (okay, all kinds of Taylor
point-slope form to slope-intercept form, equation you want to solve and Desmos
Series, but that guy gets no love...) Eval-
and finally to standard form. will show you the answer. It can handle
uate a definite integral (int) in an instant,
One of the easiest aspects of Desmos to square roots, logs, absolute value, and
or plot an integral with varying bounds.
use in the classroom is the slider feature. more.
You will also be able to graph different
Zooming: Scale the axes independently
relations and functions without having to Inequalities: Plot cartesian and polar in-
or at the same time with the pinch of two
navigate menus, and just using the key- equalities.
fingers, or edit the window size manually
board. Finding zeros and intersections
to get the perfect window.
15 Information taken from: https://www.educationalappstore.com/app/desmos-graphing-calculatorLANGUAGE CORNER George Orwel (1903-1950) Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 over social life. In 1984, Nineteen January 1950),[1] better known by Eighty-Four and Ray Bradbury’s his pen name George Orwell, was Fahrenheit 451 were honoured with an English novelist, essayist, journal- the Prometheus Award for their con- ist, and critic. His work is marked by tributions to dystopian literature. In lucid prose, awareness of social in- 2011 he received it again for Animal justice, opposition to totalitarianism, Farm. and outspoken support of demo- Coming Up for Air, his last novel be- cratic socialism. fore World War II is the most “English” Orwell wrote literary criticism, po- of his novels; alarms of war mingle etry, fiction, and polemical journal- with images of idyllic Thames-side ism. In 2008, The Times ranked him Edwardian childhood of protagonist second on a list of “The 50 greatest George Bowling. The novel is pessi- British writers since 1945.” mistic; industrialism and capitalism Orwell’s work continues to influ- have killed the best of Old England, ence popular and political culture, and there were great, new external and the term Orwellian – descrip- threats. In homely terms, Bowling tive of totalitarian or authoritarian posits the totalitarian hypotheses of social practices – has entered the Borkenau, Orwell, Silone and Koes- Orwell’s health had continued to language together with many of tler: “Old Hitler’s something differ- decline since the diagnosis of tuber- his neologisms, including cold war, ent. So’s Joe Stalin. They aren’t like culosis in December 1947. In mid- Big Brother, Thought Police, Room these chaps in the old days who 1949, he courted Sonia Brownell, 101, memory hole, newspeak, dou- crucified people and chopped and they announced their engage- blethink, and thoughtcrime. their heads off and so forth, just for ment in September, shortly before During most of his career, Orwell the fun of it ... They’re something he was removed to University Col- was best known for his journalism, quite new – something that’s never lege Hospital in London. Orwell in essays, reviews, columns in news- been heard of before.” had requested to be buried in ac- papers and magazines and in his Orwell was an atheist who identified cordance with the Anglican rite in books of reportage: Down and Out himself with the humanist outlook on the graveyard of the closest church in Paris and London (describing a life. Despite this, and despite his criti- to wherever he happened to die. period of poverty in these cities), cisms of both religious doctrine and The graveyards in central London The Road to Wigan Pier (describing of religious organisations, he never- had no space, and fearing that he the living conditions of the poor in theless regularly participated in the might have to be cremated against northern England, and class division social and civic life of the church, his wishes, his widow appealed to generally) and Homage to Catalo- including by attending Church of his friends to see whether any of nia. According to Irving Howe, Or- England Holy Communion. them knew of a church with space well was “the best English essayist Orwell’s writing was often explicitly in its graveyard. since Hazlitt, perhaps since Dr John- critical of religion, and Christianity in George Orwell’s grave in Sutton son.” particular. He found the church to Courtenay, Oxfordshire Modern readers are more often be a “selfish ... church of the land- David Astor lived in Sutton Courte- introduced to Orwell as a novelist, ed gentry” with its establishment nay, Oxfordshire, and arranged for particularly through his enormously “out of touch” with the majority of Orwell to be interred in All Saints’ successful titles Animal Farm and its communicants and altogether a Churchyard there.[103] Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. The former is pernicious influence on public life. gravestone bears the simple epi- often thought to reflect degener- Orwell was a heavy smoker, who taph: “Here lies Eric Arthur Blair, born ation in the Soviet Union after the rolled his own cigarettes from strong June 25th 1903, died January 21st Russian Revolution and the rise of shag tobacco, despite his bronchi- 1950”; no mention is made on the Stalinism; the latter, life under total- al condition. His penchant for the gravestone of his more famous pen itarian rule. Nineteen Eighty-Four rugged life often took him to cold name. is often compared to Brave New and damp situations, both in the World by Aldous Huxley; both are long term, as in Catalonia and Jura, powerful dystopian novels warning and short term, for example, motor- of a future world where the state cycling in the rain and suffering a machine exerts complete control shipwreck. Information taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell Images taken from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Orwell_press_photo.jpg 16
LANGUAGE
LANGUAGECORNER
CORNER
“English For You CR”
presents,
Pronouncing the /TH/ sound
in English
One of the most common problems for Spanish speakers is pronouncing the
words that
include /th/ in English. These very important and common sounds are easy, but
they can be difficult or confusing for many people.
In order to pronounce correctly words such as mother, father, thanks, or three,
you need to place the tip of your tongue between your teeth, and then blow air.
This will sound like the words “cereza” or “acidez” when pronounced by a person
from Madrid. Using a mirror will help you see the tip of your tongue.
Keep in mind that the vibration of your vocal cords is also important. So, we have
voiced /th/ in words like mother, brother, this, they. Or voiceless /th/ (no vibra-
tion) in works like: three, think, mouth, author.
Good luck!
You can listen to our podcast including this section, music in English, news, and more in:
http://www.EnglishforYouCR.com and www.facebook.com/english.foryoucr
17LOUDER THAN WORDS
The Holy Family Cathedral (Barcelona)
The Sagrada familia is a very large and smart piece of architecture. It was started
march 19th, 1882 but even after that long period of time it is a little over halfway
done. Only eight of the 18 towers have been completed and those are the main
attraction. The big Jesus statue in the middle isn’t even started and that is the big-
gest part of the church. They expect it to be done within the time range of 2026 to
2039. There are 18 towers, 12 of the towers represent the apostles. each one has
the apostle’s name on it. All of the towers have a pinnacle on the top. A pinnacle
is a top of a building. They have the words “excelsis” and “Hosana” on them. Their
will also be one tower in the middle that is 180 meters or 560 feet that has a cross
with Jesus on it. He will be surrounded with 4 small towers of the evangelists and one
small tower for the Virgin Mary. There is also a cypress tree near the front that has a
“T” on the top that stands for god. They call it the tree of life and it symbolizes the
host and angels of Eucharist. On top of the “T” is a dove that stands for the trinity
(Jesus, God, And the holy spirit).
To give a virtual tour inside this magnificen church go to Sagrada Família, Barcelo-
na, Spain.
Information taken from: https://7goldspanish.wikispaces.com/La+Sagrada+Familia+9 Photo credit: SlapBcn via Foter.com / CC BY
18You can also read
