Brain Development: Can Teaching Make a

Difference?

It has long been known that different regions of the brain have specialized functions. For example, the frontal lobes are involved in abstract reasoning and planning, while the posterior lobes are involved in vision. Until recently, it was believed that these specialized regions developed from a genetic blueprint that determined the structure and function of specific areas of the brain. That is, particular areas of the brain were designed for processing certain kinds of information from birth.

New evidence suggests that the brain is much more malleable than previously thought. Recent findings indicate that the specialized functions of specific regions of the brain are not fixed at birth but are shaped by experience and learning. To use a computer analogy, we now think that the young brain is like a computer with incredibly sophisticated hardwiring, but no software. The software of the brain, like the software of desktop computers, harnesses the exceptional processing capacity of the brain in the service of specialized functions, like vision, smell, and language. All individuals have to acquire or develop their own software in order to harness the processing power of the brain with which they are born.

A number of studies support this view. However, all were carried out on animals, because it is not possible to do such research with humans. Caution is called for when extrapolating these findings to humans.

These findings may have implications for language educators: for one thing, that teaching and teachers can make a difference in brain development, and that they shouldn’t give up on older language learners.

Source: http://carla.umn.edu/immersion/acie/vol5/Nov2001_

BrainResearch.html (Edited.)

Read TEXT 3 and answer question.  

TEXT 3  

THE PAPERLESS CLASSROOM IS COMING  

Michael Scherer

Back-to-school night this year in Mr. G’s sixth-grade classroom felt a bit like an inquisition.

Teacher Matthew Gudenius, a boyish, 36-year-old computer whiz who runs his class like a preteen tech startup, had prepared 26 PowerPoint slides filled with facts and footnotes to deflect the concerns of parents. But time was short, the worries were many, and it didn’t take long for the venting to begin.

“I like a paper book. I don’t like an e-book,” one father told him, as about 30 adults squeezed into a room for 22 students. Another dad said he could no longer help his son with homework because all the assignments were online. “I’m now kind of taking out of the routine.”, he complained. Rushing to finish, Gudenius passed a slide about the debate over teaching cursive, mumbling, “We don’t care about handwriting.” In a flash a mother objected: “Yeah, we do.”

At issue was far more than penmanship. The future of K-12 education is arriving fast, and it looks a lot like Mr. G’s classroom in the northern foothills of California’s wine country. Last year, President Obama announced a federal effort to get a laptop, tablet or smartphone into the hands of every student in every school in the U.S. and to pipe in enough bandwidth to get all 49.8 million American kids online simultaneously by 2017. Bulky textbooks will be replaced by flat screens. Worksheets will be stored in the cloud, not clunky Trapper Keepers. The Dewey decimal system will give way to Google. “This one is a big, big deal,” says Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

It’s a deal Gudenius has been working to realize for years. He doesn’t just teach a computer on every student’s desk; he also tries to do it without any paper at all, saving, by his own estimate, 46,800 sheets a year, or about four trees. The paperless learning environment, while not the goals of most fledgling programs, represents the ultimate result of technology transforming classroom.

Gudenius started teaching as a computer-lab instructor, seeing students for just a few hours each month. That much time is still the norm for most kids. American schools have about 3.6 students for every classroom computing device, according to Education Market Research, and only 1 in 5 school buildings has the wiring to get all students online at once. But Gudenius always saw computers as a tool, not a subject. “We don’t have a paper-and-pencil lab, he says. When you are learning to be a mechanic, you don’t go to a wrench lab.”

Ask his students if they prefer the digital to the tree-based technology and everyone will say yes. It is not unusual for kids to groan when the bell rings because they don’t want to leave their work, which is often done in ways that were impossible just a few years ago. Instead of telling his students to show their work when they do an algebra equation, Gudenius asks them to create and narrate a video about the process, which can then be shown in class. History lessons are enlivened by brief videos that run on individual tablets. And spelling, grammar and vocabulary exercises have the feel of a game, with each student working at his own speed, until Gudenius – who tracks the kids’ progress on a smartphone – gives commands like “Spin it” to let the kids know to flip the screens of their devices around so that he can see their work and begin the next lesson.

Source: TIME- How to Eat Now. Education: The Paperless Classroom is Coming, p. 36-37; October 20, 2014 

                                                            Words that went extinct

                                                                                                                                           By Kimberly Joki

Dictionaries incorporate new words every year. Some are pop culture inventions like jeggings, photobomb, and meme. Other words, like emoji and upvote, spring up from technology and social media. Dictionaries respond by creating definitions for anyone who cares to know what a twitterer is. And thank goodness they do; you can learn what an eggcorn is simply by turning a few pages in your trusty updated dictionary.

    Interestingly, not all newly added words are recent developments. The Oxford English Dictionary June 2015 new words list included autotune, birdhouse, North Korean, and shizzle! North Korea was founded in 1948. The initial release of the autotuner audio processor was in 1997. Before adding a slang term like shizzle, dictionary publishers weigh the current popularity, predicted longevity, and other factors. Just this year alone, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary welcomed about 1,700 new arrivals.

    With more and more words coined every year, dictionaries couldn’t possibly add them all to their existing word banks. Can you imagine a dictionary containing all the words ever used in English? It would be impossible to lift! With each yearly edit, dictionary editors must discard some words to make room for new ones.

(…)

    The Sami languages, spoken in Finland, Norway, and Sweden, reportedly include more than 150 words related to snow and ice. In the 1590s, the English language had a word for recently melted snow—snowbroth. Now, English speakers simply call it water or melted snow. In fact, words that are markedly specific seem more vulnerable to extinction. A 19th-century dictionary included Englishable, a term to describe how appropriate a word is for the English language. However, English is a dynamic language, always accepting and abandoning words. Apparently, Englishable itself isn’t Englishable; it’s now obsolete.

    Do you favor any infrequently used words? If so, use them now and often. . . A word’s best defense against extinction is regular use.

(Source: http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/words-that-went-extinct/)

Atenção: Considere o texto para responder à questão.

Does an Email Hacking Software really Exist?

  With my experience of over 10 years in the field of ethical hacking and information security, all I can tell you is that there exists no such ready-made software program (as shown and advertised on many websites) that can break into the service provider’s database and hack email passwords. This is just a myth! This may seem a bit disappointing for many, but this is the fact. However, it is still possible to easily hack email passwords using some of the alternative programs and ways as discussed below:

  Working Ways to Hack an Email Password:

  Even though it is impossible to hack the database and instantly crack the email password, it is still possible to trick the users so that they give away the password by themselves. This can be done using a handful of methods like keylogging, social engineering or phishing. However, the easiest and most effective way is by using keyloggers.

  A keylogger is a small program that records each and every keystroke a user types on the keyboard of a specific computer. So when you install a keylogger on the computer from where the target person is likely to access his/her email, it is possible to capture the password. Though keyloggers are not designed to hack email passwords, they can still be used to accomplish the job. Here is a list of some of the interesting facts about keyloggers:

  EASY TO USE: A keylogger does not require any special skills. Anyone with basic computer knowledge should be able to use it.

  REMAINS UNDETECTED: A keylogger will remain undetected after installation and operates in a total stealth mode. So, you need not worry about being caught or traced back.

  REMOTE INSTALLATION: In addition to installation on a location computer, keyloggers also support remote installation. That means you can also install it even on those computers for which you do not have physical access.

(Adapted form: http://www.gohacking.com/email-hacking-software/) 

What are the biggest Windows 10 problems Microsoft needs to fix?

by Edward Chester

03 July 2015

      Windows 10 is shaping up to be a good upgrade over both Windows 7 and Windows 8, but with the release date of 29 July mere weeks away, there are still some issues that need sorting.

      So, while there’s still just about time, here are some of the biggest Windows 10 problems that we’re hoping Microsoft will fix before the Windows 10 Technical Preview is closed and the final version is released to users.

      1. Tabs in File Explorer

      One of the longest-running requested features for a new Windows is simply to allow the File Explorer to have tabs. Just as web browsers can have multiple tabs open at the same time but all contained in a neat single-windowed view, we want the same thing for File Explorer.

      It seems like it should be a simple thing to add, but seemingly Microsoft is against the idea, as it's already made considerable adjustments to File Explorer in Windows 10 without including this feature.

      2. Finish updating icons

      Windows 8 saw a new, more sharp-lined, high-contrast style brought to Windows, but it didn’t do a very good job of maintaining consistency throughout the OS, with many features still using the old style. Windows 10 has improved this, tweaking the majority of system icons and features to fit in with the new look. ...I... , the task still isn’t complete, and while it doesn’t make a huge difference to the day-to-day satisfaction of using your computer, it does speak to the apparent difference in philosophy between Apple and Microsoft.

      When the former overhauled the look of iOS, it did so in a much more complete manner than Microsoft has managed over two major iterations of Windows.

      3. Stability issues

      The most obvious issue that Microsoft needs to address is simply making sure it really does solve any further performance and stability issues in Windows 10. While our experience has largely been smooth, we've nonetheless had moments of the system completely falling over while doing nothing particularly challenging, and there are many other reports of instability.

      Microsoft certainly can’t be complacent when it comes to core stability. The company does need to ensure that what customers are buying at least works reliably out of the box.

      (…)

                                               (Adapted from: http://www.trustedreviews.com) 

TEXT II

World Work Worker Workplace

Does your workplace offer affordances for #wellbeing? Natural light, movement, a view, informal areas to socialize or collaborate? 40% say no.