Weeks 15/16 Tasks (TDIC Project)

Gentlemen, it’s almost over!

In week 15, please make 2+ critical comments on other classmates’ blogs. Do the same in week 16. You should post at least 10 comments in total.

Try to finish your WebCT Vista Vocabulary quizzes by the end of week 15. The deadline for completing all ten quizzes is Thursday, 1 pm, May 29. This deadline will not be extended.

Make a partner. Go to www.tdic.ae and look under “Projects”. Choose one:

1. Eastern Mangrove
2. Emirates Pearl
3. Saadiyat Island & Cultural District, Saadiyat Island
4. Abu Dhabi Creek Business Resort
5. Bridgeway at Zayed Sports City
6. Grand Corniche Hotel
7. Qasr Al Sarab
8. The Lagoon Club Hotel & Residences
9. Desert Islands
10. Al Bateen Wharf

• Read about your project at this website (www.tdic.ae) and any others you can find. Prepare a short (4-5 minute) PowerPoint, arguing that your project is the “coolest” (best). Guidelines: you need a minimum of six slides (1) cover slide/introduction 2) location/definition – what and where is your project? 3) Main reason/feature why your project is the best 4) Another main reason 5) Last main reason 6) Conclusion/review.

• Include a suitable photo on slides 3, 4, and 5 (accompanying each main point). Split the talking time equally between you and your partner. You will present your PowerPoint either Tuesday, May 20, Monday, May 26 or Tuesday, May 27.
  

• Embed your PowerPoint (use scribd.com or another method)

• Make a post entitled: “TDIC Projects”. Write a 200 (+) word comment:

- Paragraph 1. My partner (name) and I researched (Shangri-La Hotel). You can see our PowerPoint about its best features embedded below (copy paste at the end of your essay).

- Paragraph 2. The project I liked the most was (x) because … (include picture)

- Paragraph 3. The least interesting project was (y) since ... (include picture)

- Paragraph 4. Make a general (critical) comment on the TDIC projects in Abu Dhabi.

The deadline for all blog posts is Thursday, June 5, 1 pm. No extensions. I will offer feedback/editing assistance in class.

Shangri-La Hotel - Upload a doc

Read this doc on Scribd: Shangri-La Hotel

Week 14 Tasks

Hello gentlemen! This is a busy week since we have to do reading summary 3. Therefore, other tasks are easier this week.

1. WebCT Vista Vocabulary – finish up to and including quiz 8. The deadline for completion of all 10 quizzes is Thursday, May 29, 1 pm (end of week 16).

2. Blog comments. Add two more thoughtful comments to other classmates’ blogs (2 per week from week 12, so you should have 6+ by Thursday, May 15). Please spell-check!

3. Watch the Cool Cities video about developing cool cities in the UAE. Identify three good changes (adaptations) which could work well and three bad or unrealistic changes which would not work (well) in terms of practicality or environmental impact (global warming) in the UAE. You can find more arguments for and against “cool cities” in these articles from The National: "Cool ideas to beat the heat", "Building a Green Dream", and "Masder's Green Dream is not for all". Need to see the video again? Click on "Cool Cities" in the week 14 tasks of the blog project (a fast internet connection helps!).

4. Post a 140+ word blog entry called “Cool City Comments” and use subtitles “Good adaptations” and “Bad adaptations”. Write 3 main points for each (#1 below is TJ’s example only – change it!).

Good adaptations
1. Covered walkways – would reduce temperatures and not impact the environment.
2. Main point 2 – good because …
3. Main point 3 – beneficial since …

Bad adaptations
1. Using misters (water) to cool the air temperature – could be bad because water supplies are limited. It also takes energy to get water and produce mist.
2. Main point 2 – may be bad because …
3. Main point 3 - might be impractical since …

Suitable images and links to suitable videos or articles are also a plus. Try to finish #4 by Thursday, May 15 (the deadline for all blog entries is Thursday, June 6). This week, I will not be editing your work because you are only asked to write main points and, too, I am more interested in good content and critical thinking than in grammatical accuracy (although that still counts!). Plus, I will have 20 reading summaries to mark!

An Inconvenient Truth: Evaluation (sample)

In the film “An Inconvenient Truth”, presenter Al Gore, a former US presidential candidate, makes a compelling case for global warming as fact, not fiction. On the plus side, he highlights an important issue in ways that both convince and appeal to his audience. Graph after graph with alarming statistics correlating rises in temperature and C02 levels are featured, as are then-now pictures of glaciers. Furthermore, he presents in a serious but humorous manner by, for example, moving up on a machine to illustrate the projected temperature in five decades, and using cartoons throughout. Last, he weaves in sad personal events to make an emotional appeal to viewers, thereby echoing his own repeated pleas to government.

However, Gore may not practice all he preaches. To explain further, one chart on US automobile fuel “inefficiency” conveniently starts in 2002, the year Bush assumed presidency. It does not, however, show that fuel efficiency was even less in the years prior to this, when Clinton and Gore, as vice-president, were in charge. Moreover, this man may well lead a less than environmentally friendly life himself, having lived on luxurious Pennsylvania Avenue 8 years and flown all over the world, albeit for a good cause. He's even shown drinking Coca Cola in China and there’s a can on his desk in another shot. Does he often drink this American-manufactured poison? Did he get money to include it in his film? Finally, although the Gore tobacco farm did eventually close, he was actually still campaigning against labeling on cigarette packages a year after his sister's death from lung cancer and, four years later, still wanted to keep the farm (see real politics link).

To conclude, good on Gore for raising awareness of an important issue, but a few more “gory”, personal truths would make the man more real, the movie more realistic.

Week 13 Tasks

Hi guys!

Week 12 tasks related to "An Inconvenient Truth" were to a) write a summary of the movie (200+ words) and b) evaluate or review it (150+ words). If you've not finished, hurry up! (;

Week 13 tasks are

1) finish 2 more quizzes in WebCT Vista Vocabulary. That means finishing up to and including quiz 6. You also need to post 2 more NICE (but critical) comments on other classmates' blogs. That means 4 posts now -- 2 each week from week 12.

2) measure your carbon footprint at either http://footprint.wwf.org.uk or http://www.myfootprint.org/. You might want to try both quizzes! I did the first one. I thought I was very environmentally friendly but was shocked that my score was 3.59. That means I am living as if there were 3.59 earths and, too, I am above the U.K. average! For the second, my score was a horrible 10.77 (10.7 earths!). My scores were poor for food (I'm eating too much meat) and goods and services (buying too many new things) but good for home energy, transport and housing (I don't heat my apartment much, I travel by bicycle and motorbike, and I live in a small place).

3) Make a post entitled "My Carbon Footprint: Problems & Solutions" (200+ words). You should write 4+ paragraphs. Suggested format:
a) introduction (define the term "carbon footprint" and say what your score is and what it means)
b) body paragraph 1 - problems (identify 3 of your carbon footprint problems. For example, one of mine is that I travel a lot by plane, so this contributes to atmospheric pollution)
c) body paragraph 2 - solutions (identify 3 specific solutions for your carbon footprint problems - for example, I could do more travel by bus within the UAE instead of going to other countries during breaks like Eid)
d) conclusion - brief commentary on carbon footprints/global warming and future statement.

Please included 2+ nice photos to accompany your post. Links to suitable videos would also be a plus. I will check your post (#3) if you finish it by 1 pm on Thursday, May 8 AND let me know -- please e-mail me at teverest@hct.ac.ae by 1 pm.

Enjoy!
T.J.

Adding Links to Classmates' Blogs

The procedure is very simple.

1. Click on customise, then layout.
2. Click on add a page element on the top right hand side, NOT bottom centre, then linklist (add to blog).
3. a) Title: Eng 174 CTA blogs
b) Sorting: Sort alphabetically
c. New Site URL: copy-paste your classmates' blog addresses here (do it alphabetically as TJ has done)
d. New Site Name: # (01-20) + classmate's name
4. Click on add link and save changes.
5. Repeat 1-4 for classmates' 2-19 (do not include yourself). Include TJ as #20.

If you make a mistake, you can log in and edit (change) details.

Week 11/12 Tasks

Hi again guys!

Whooh! By now, your profile, critical thinking summary, and voicethread should be finished. It's time to move on to exciting new challenges.

Week 11/12. WebCT Vista vocabulary is now open! Log into your account, Eng 174, and start doing the vocabulary quizzes. The deadline for completion of all 10 quizzes is the end of week 16, so you should try to complete at least 2 quizzes each week. You need 70% in each quiz in order to receive full marks.

Besides completing 1 and 2 below, you should also add links to your classmates' blogs - I'll show you how in Sunday's class, 28/04. You can find instructions in another post as well. Check your e-mail (28/04) for the newest version of blog addresses. Please make at least two comments on other classmates' blogs EVERY week, including this week. Part of your final mark is based on making critical comments.


We watched "An Inconvenient Truth", featuring Al Gore. I assigned two tasks which you should complete by the end of week 12:

1. Post name: "An Inconvenient Truth: Summary". Write a 200+ word summary of the film. You should organise this like Task 4 in the reading summary (short intro, 2+ body paragraphs) and a short conclusion. Think about what themes are involved - it's not just problem-solution but also has an argument slant as well as autobiographical element.

2. Post name: "An Inconvenient Truth: Evaluation". Evaluate the film in 150+ words. This should be similar to Task 5. You mention your opinion and say what you liked and disliked about the film. Support your ideas with evidence. You can read some other evaluations(commentaries) here:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/inconvenient_truth/?critic=columns

Please spell-check 1 and 2: I will edit 1 or 2 if finished by the end of week 12 (1 pm, Thursday, May 1) but will NOT edit posts after that.

Happy writing!
T.J.

How to share your Voicethread

There are many ways you can share your Voicethread. If you are really tech-savvy, you can even try "embedding" it in your blog. The basic ways, however, are just making it 1) private 2) public. See below.

PRIVATE
1. Sign into voicethread.com
2. Click on the star (right-hand corner) for your Voicethread.
3. Click on “edit”.
4. Click on “add a friend”. Fill in the information.
5. Click on the eye picture (allow), giving your friend permission to view your Voicethread.
5. Click on “Invite”. Send e-mail to your friend (e.g. classmates or teacher: teverest@hct.ac.ae or tjeverest@gmail.com )

PUBLIC
1. Sign into voicethread.com
2. Click on the star (right-hand corner) for your Voicethread.
3. Click on “edit”.
4. Select “This voicethread is public” – choose comments or no comments.
5. Post your Voicethread link on your blog (Note: you MUST choose "public" - if you just copy and paste the link but your Voicethread is private, people will not be able to see it ... unless you invite them. See "private" above). Here, for example, is one of my public voicethreads (notice that I have hyperlinked it): http://voicethread.com/#u82592.b112146

Note: this way could be more fun since everybody in class can then see your Voicethread. However, so can everybody in the world!