Posts

The Final Post

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 Dear FAU Bloggers, Here we are, we've arrived at the final post. As is customary, I'll like your final post to be a review of your Blog writing experience this semester. Please tell me: What you most enjoyed writing about, and why, What you least enjoyed writing about, and why, Whose blog you enjoyed reading, and why, What aspects of English learning the blog work has helped you with? Whether or not you will blog in the future, and why, why not. Write as much as you can. Mention anything else you think is interesting or important. Leave a comment on your teacher's blog and on the blogs of at least 3 classmates. 

A Piece of Technology

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 Hi FAU Bloggers! Today I'd like you to write about a piece of technology. This could be a digital camera, a drone, a phone, a computer or a kitchen appliance like a mixer. In my case I'm going to write about a sampler I use to make music. The machine in question is an Akai MPC ONE. It's a sampler with a bit in sample library, lots of instrument plug-ins, and powerful effects. Actually, it's a little complicated to use and even though I've had it for about 2-years, I[m still in the learning phase. I've had other MPCs before but this has so many additions that it only really resembles the older MPCs in looks.The MPC has 4 banks of 16 pads that you can assign tracks to. You can also sample up to about 20 minutes of live sound and modify and reuse it "on the fly" (in real time). This "instrument" was designed in the 80's (I think) but really catch people's attention when hip-hop artists started using it creatively - not the way it was de...

2 Photos

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  Hi FAU Bloggers. This week I'd like to talk about 2 photos. I guess the world was very different when I was younger. Not many people I knew had a camera. Photos were for special occasions. We'd have a school photo or photos when cousins came to stay or if we went on holiday. When I was a child, photographs were taken on reels of film that needed to be developed. It was usually a couple of weeks before you could see the photo, way after the event had happened. Nowadays, everything is instant:) This photo must be from the 1960's. I guess I must be about 7 or 8 years old but I can't be 100% sure. It's taken outside the house I grew up in from the age of 6 years old in Abbot's Nook, Chester. If I remember rightly, we were just playing in the street outside my house. My eldest sister, Terri, is in the background on the right hand side. I'm not sure who the other person is. Possibly a cousin. I think my eyes look like "anime eyes", sort of dark and ups...

An Ideal Job

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Today I´ve asked you to write about an ideal job on paper. Once you´ve finished that task, please answer the following mini-post: Write about a song you are listening to at the moment. Say: Who it´s by, What genre it is, When you heard it for the first time, Why you like it, Mention anything else you think is important or interesting. Try to write at least 100 words. Leave a comment on your teacher´s blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.  The song I have been listening to recently is Little Foot Big Foot by Childish Gambino. It´s a R n´B infused rap song with an amazing video. I guess I like the production of the song and the amazing choreography in the video. I first heard it about 2 months ago. I like it because it´s a catchy tune with a fun video (a special kind of humour). I think there is a definite message behind all the Childish Gambino videos that try to show modern reality and how it can impact poor, especially black, people in America. I like most of the Childish Ga...

Your Semester So Far

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This has been a busy semester for me so far. I usually teach 3 English courses and an a cross-curricular elective n Manga & Anime which I participate in with FAU Academic Diego Vallejos However, this semester, I started teaching a pilot of a new CFG FAU called English for Work Purposes. Also, for the last 12-months I've been the coordinator of Home Working (teletrabajo) in FAU.  The English for Work Purposes course has been very time consuming because I'm creating all the materials from scratch and trying to teach career-related content to students from the 4 careers in FAU. I enjoy doing this sort of thing but I think I'm going to get a teaching assistant or do some co-teaching next semester. The teletrabajo work was very busy in August and September but it's been a little quieter since fiestas patrias.  On a personal note, life in general has also been busy. It was my wife's birthday in September and her sister visited (she's from Santiago but she lives in...

A Newspaper Article

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 Hi Blogheads! I just read the article ¨Herd of tauros to be released into the Highlands to recreate the aurochs effect¨ by Patrick Barkham. It was published in today's Guardian. The main theme is the introduction of an animal in the wild to improve biodiversity and ecotourism by a company called Trees For Life. Basically, some bull-like animals called tauros will be released in a rewilding zone near Loch Ness in Scotland. They are similar to ancient animals called aurochs that became extinct. The tauros have been bred to be docile towards humans. This project is similar to other projects in other European countries such as the Netherlands. The key argument is that this move will be beneficial for the natural environment. The article includes quotes from Steve Micklewright, the chief executive of Trees for Life. The article includes some photos of tauros. I would recommend this article as I think rewilding is an important topic as it helps our natural environment and quality of lif...

A Newspaper Article

 Visit The Guardian newspaper (https://www.theguardian.com/uk) Choose an article. Fill in the worksheet your teacher provides. Link the article you read in your post and upload a screenshot/mobile photo of the article. Leave a comment on your teacher´s blog, and the blogs of at least 3 classmates.