Today in class and ... university student drinking

Last Thursday we talked about alcohol drinking, designated drivers and some consequences of drinking heavily at this stage of your lives, especially where, when and with whom we drink and what beverages we mix. As homework you will read the text "What happens when you drink?" in the reading guide to know more about the effects of alcohol and alcohol abuse in the human body.

If you want to read more about tips to survive university student drinking, you can check here and more facts about the effects of alcohol you will find here. Don´t forget to write your reactions and thoughts on this topic in the comment area.



Drunk Driving:How To Keep Your Friend From Driving Drunk

Einstein´s biography: Chronology

Here is a 4 minute and a half video about his life. I hope you can undertand it.

Was there something that caught your attention about his life. Write about it in the comment area. Is there information about him in this video that is different from the one you read in you guide last Monday?




Nathalia has recommended this essay by Einstein. Its title is "The World as I see it". Enjoy!!!

The History of the Internet

How much do you really know about the Internet? Can you guess when computer scientists began to develop this project? When was this? Was it in the seventies, eighties, nineties, before that?

Watch the following video and write a comment on what you found surprising, strange, interesting, predictable, etc., about Internet´s history.

Ten NASA inventions in our lives

"In 1958, President Eise­n­hower signed the Space Law, officially creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA. From the beginning, the purpose for the ne­w branch extended beyond space ships and moon boots. The law stipulated that its research and advancements should benefit all people, and in its 50-year history, NASA has certainly fulfilled that role. Although most people today will never set foot on the moon, everyone likely comes in contact with a NASA by-product every day. Partnering with various research teams and companies, NASA continues to create a vast array of new technologies and products that have improved our daily lives."

In this link there are 10 NASA inventions you may use in everyday life. Which one have you used? Which one seems the most helpful? Which one looks most creative? Share your ideas in the comment area.

For vocabulary learning ...

Get ready to learn new words in English. Follow the instructions in this photo presentation and start selecting unknown words from pages 165-167 of your "Focus on Reading" workbook, either from the list for the first vocabulary exam or from yours. This photo presentation is also available in English.

If you would like to see a video in Spanish that explains the principles of this technique, you can click here. It was made by Prof. Noela Cartaya, a colleague from our Language Department.

If you have any questions about this vocabulary learning strategy, ask them here, in the comments area.

To help your brain work effectively ...

Your brain needs you to know certain facts in order to function more efficiently and help you learn. Here is a powerpoint presentation with more information on the subject. After you watch it, write a comment on the information you found most surprising, interesting or helpful to you and why. Try to find at least one example of a process mentioned in this presentation and write about it in the comments´ area

This week there were several people who were not really sure about the difference between main idea and purpose of the author. Here are some reading exercises on biographies (texts of chronology) from Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. where you are required to select the main idea of the texts. There are also vocabulary and inference exercises. I hope they prove useful to you.

I will also include more sites with exercises for practice in the "links" area of the sidebar on the right of this page.

Comments are welcome (let me know if the exercises were helpful, if you learned from them, if they were too easy, etc.)

Do amebas have brains or do they EAT some?

This week in class we read about a telescope "brain", the human brain, artificial neural networks and the conventional computer. I asked you if you thought all living things had a brain and if the ameba had one too. Let´s see.

In this link you will find several living creatures. Which of them have a brain and what is the situation with the ameba (does it have a brain or just neurons according to this text?)

Are there certain animals that seem to have neurons but no brain?

How about the information in this disturbing article of an ameba that can EAT our brain! Here you will find another one that describes how researchers are trying to create living neural networks.

Write some answers or your reactions in the comment area of this post.

Departmental Exams

The first Departmental Exam will take place Friday February 20th at 11:30 (week 6, hours: 5-6)

The second Departmental exam will be Friday March 27th at 11:30 (week 11, hours: 5-6)

The Make-up exam (recuperación) will be on Friday April 3th at 11:30
Remember to bring your USB identity card for the second exam since your teacher will be abroad . El examen de recuperación requiere permiso de la Coordinación del Ciclo Básico, Decanato de Estudios Generales, Edf. Aulas, tercer piso, y es SOLO para quienes pierdan el primero o segundo examen departamental. Tiene un índice de dificultad mayor a los anteriores ya que comprende todas las funciones del trimestre.

How to write comments

In order to write a comment in this blog follow these steps:

1) Click in the word that says "comment" at the bottom of the post you want to write a comment about. A new window will open, like the one in the illustration on the left.

2) there will be four options: a) "Google/blogger" account, b) "OpenID", c) "Name/URL" or d) "Anonymous". You can select the third alternative and write your name in the provided space and make the comment (no need to put website address). If you select "anonymous", write your name at the end of the comment so we know who you are. Click "publish your comment" before you close the window.

Para instrucciones en español sobre cómo hacer los comentarios, presionar aquí.

Welcome to ID1-112

Dear students from ID1-111: This will be the place where we will keep in touch throughout this term.
I hope you get used to visiting this site, try to bring creative ideas on how to read better and more efficiently in English and make comments about our activities, strategies, materials, etc.

Click here to see the evaluation plan.

How well and how often do you read in Spanish, how well and how often do you read in English? There is a saying in English that says: "Practice makes Perfect" ... so let´s do it, let´s start practicing as much as possible, keeping effective learning and reading strategies in mind. All the best.