A Piece of the Mind

People always think that life is long enough to love, laugh, learn, and many more.
After experiencing life with all it aspects, we conclude that it's too short to waste it in vain.
Learning new things everyday will help stay young and alert.
Integrating Technology in Education was one of the great courses that opened many scopes to this new era of our future.
I believe that although we are confronted with many technological gadgets, we still need many years to come to grasp the BRAVE NEW WORLD awaiting for us.
Everyday is a new day in this titanic field.
Be ready to meet the future.

iEARN
After attending a lecture delivered by Ms. Eliane Metni, I was sure that there is no way we can avoid this wave of technology especially in teaching. The internet and the World Wide Web changed the globe into a small village. Collaborative learning among diverse cultures engages students as well as tutors in an advanced learning and sharing atmosphere. This has alot of advantages because humans learn from different ideas, from sharing and getting to know diverse information. Proponents of collaborative learning claim that the active exchange of ideas within small groups not only increases interest among the participants but also promotes critical thinking. According to Johnson and Johnson (1986), there is persuasive evidence that cooperative teams achieve at higher levels of thought and retain information longer than students who work quietly as individuals. The shared learning gives students an opportunity to engage in discussion, take responsibility for their own learning, and thus become critical thinkers (Totten, Sills, Digby, & Russ, 1991).    
I believe that collaborative learning might be very essential to our students if we really know how to implement it by following these steps:

• Give students a specific task to share their ideas and explain the goal.
• Give time to students to share these ideas and fill out a sheet that shows them.
• Assign a specific speech for every student to express what the group has decided upon.

At the end, most students would be able to come out of their shyness and have a wider knowledge regarding any topic discussed at school .

Future research studies need to investigate the effect of different variables in the collaborative learning process. Group composition: Heterogeneous versus homogeneous, group selection and size, structure of collaborative learning, amount of teacher intervention in the group learning process, differences in preference for collaborative learning associated with gender and ethnicity, and differences in preference and possibly effectiveness due to different learning styles, all merit investigation. Also, a psycho- analysis of the group discussions will reveal useful information.

Technology and Education

It never occured to me that we are overwhelmed by technology to this extent until I encountered this situation.One of my students brought to my attention that he couldn't find any relevant information in books for his research paper. I asked him to log on elibrary website and try to get some information from the immense number of books he can find there.The answer that triggered my attantion was that "I don't need to read any books if I can surf the net".
It's amazing how our students and all this future generation rely on technolgy in everything they do. I encourage the way we are being exposed to science, arts and many other aspects, but I really ask this generation to respect the value of reading books.
We as educators play a major role in this matter. Encourage the students to benefit from the facilities that the technology offers, but try to shun them from abusing it.
Reading widens the scope of the mind.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

Introduction

Plagiarism has always concerned teachers and students at all levels. University students specifically are exposed to an endless space of information via the internet, which in turn encourages hem to download any relevant information needed for any research.  To avoid such an unlawful act The statement is intended to provide helpful suggestions and clarifications so that instructors, administrators, and students can work together more effectively in support of excellence in teaching and learning.

 ( WPA)

 

Problem 1: Students may fear failure or fear taking risks in their own work.

Solution: Build up self confidence through experimental and progressive work.

Problem 2: Instructors and institutions may fail to report cheating when it occurs, or may not     implement appropriate punishments which motivate the students to perform plagiarism.

Solution: Policies should be voiced clearly through the administration and the teachers and dramatic measurements should be implemented.

On Friendship
 Kahlil Gibran
Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.


When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.


And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

Gibran is the man of all times. When he writes he excels, when he paints he surpasses his contemporaries to extend to eternity.
Thinking of my friends I came across the most gorgeous definition ever.
Read and enjoy.

When one thinks of writing, he feels overwhelmed with much information he is exposed to. From this perspective I believe that it is true to say that writing is the basket of  schizophrenic ideas a person can head to anytime and anywhere. Language is the route to these writings.
A writer is someone who can make a riddle out of an answer.  ~Karl Kraus

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.  ~E.L. Doctorow

Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn't wait to get to work in the morning:  I wanted to know what I was going to say.  ~Sharon O'Brien

The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction.  By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.  ~Mark Twain


The wastebasket is a writer's best friend.  ~Isaac Bashevis Singer

English is a funny language; that explains why we park our car on the driveway and drive our car on the parkway.  ~Author Unknown

Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

I personally believe we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain.
Jane Wagner.

Language is the key to various communication threads. Through a language a person can dig deep into different worlds of thinking and communication. If you you read, you will be able to have higher thinking levels that widen your scope of knowledge. Intercultural communication is the key to success; as a result, I would like to share different ideas related to language and its effects on people in various cultures.