Christmas

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Did you know that the word "Christmas" comes from the old English term "Cristes Maesse", and as such means Christ's mass. It is celebrated on 25 Decemeber in most countries. The tradition of decorating a tree at Christmas is from the 16th century and started in Germany - it can also be said that earlier than this people had evergreens over their doors and windows in order to keep out ghosts, witches and evil spirits. Anyway, I just wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas and a lovely, delightful, very pleasant, very nice, very agreeable, marvellous, wonderful, sublime, superb, fine, magical, enchanting, captivating, terrific, fabulous, fab, heavenly, divine, amazing, glorious holiday.

The War in Syria

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The civil war started in 2011 and an estimated 500,000 people have been killed in addition to the millions injured. Most of us would be dumbfound and overwhelmed, but not the people in Aleppo. In this article in CNN 15 November, 2016, you can read about truly innovative people who really make the idiom "necessity is the maker of invention" come true.

Presidential Election in the USA

Coming up very soon is the presidential election in the USA, which is always on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Why on earth couldn't it be just the first Tuesday? The reason is simply because people who had the right to vote (men only - women were given the right to vote in August 1920) had to travel quite some distance to get to the polling station. Back in the old days travel took a long time compared to today, and because of not wanting conflict with the church service, travel should start on a Monday, not on a Sunday. Most Americans were agrarians and therefore November was a good month to waste time on election.

In November 2008 Obama was elected president - this was the first time an African American had such position in the USA. This year maybe a woman, Hilary Clinton, will replace him - if so, that will also be historic because no woman has ever had that position in the USA before.

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People around the world wonder what will happen if the other candidate, Donald Trump, representing the Republican party will win. He has said many unforgiveable and unforgettable things which will make it difficult for him running the country.

The third presidential debate between the two candidates will take place 20 October. I will post a link here as soon as I know where it will be shown.

How can WE help?

This boy shows us how to care, but what can we do? Two days ago in the news a man and a father in Aleppo, Syria, asked the world for help. He said his children were asking when it was their turn to die.  Read today's news from Aleppo here. How can we as humans tolerate what is going on in Syria? Many NGOs such as Medicins sans Frontieris, the Red Cross, and the NRC do what they can, but still it is not enough...

Sustainable Growth

According to the World Bank, India  is now predicted to be the largest country in the world when talking about population. It is estimated that in 2030 India will pass China as the most populous country in the world. By 2030 we will be 9 billion people on earth, and 11 billion in 2050! If you go the earth clock you can see that every second babies are born and people die. The question is how many people will survive when we become so many? Will there be enough food, clean water (638,422,222 people with no access to clean water resources so far, ie 14:00 p.m. 14 September 2016), work? Will more people migrate and how many can so-called developed countries take in? Maybe it is time different religions consider their stand to contraception?

Welcome to a new school year! The first thing you should do is to create your own blog - choose between blogger.com and wordpress.com. Think about layout and colours - choose something that you like to look at (makes it more inviting and fun for you to work at). I recommend you to look at other people's blogs to get ideas and inspiration. However, if you happen to regret your choice, you can always change it later.

All information about what is going on in lessons is found in the right toolbar under the heading Pages\Autumn2016. In addition, there is a page called "Curriculum - what - when" which roughly sketches out what subjects to study when.

Education - How?

One thing is for sure, future education will not be what it used to be, or what it is today. The question is whether teachers will be redundant or not? George Siemens, the executive director of the Learning Innovation and Networked Knowledge Research Lab or LINK at the University of Texas at Arlington says, "In a networked world, learning is a network forming process. Knowledge is a network product." Thus, what will be important is to know how to access necessary information, and to have a range of sources and social networks to ask and discuss problems with. This is what connectivisme aims to achieve, every student should have their personal education network consisting of persons as well as social media such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Snapchat… Massive open online courses (MOOCs) offer all kinds of education for free or a small payment compared to university tuition fees. The teacher is not the only source of knowledge any longer and should definitely be aware of the changes and take action, ie develop his or her technological knowledge and build social networks in order to survive in the future – which in fact is here today!
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx5VHpaW8sQ (Dr George Siemens discusses connectivism)

Why Use Blog with Students?

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I have been asked to comment upon blogging with students. As I said in my first entry on this blog in August 2014, "I have been inspired by Ann Michaelsen, Sandvika vgs, to start using blog in International English this year. So, I'm about to descend in deep water - where I trust my students will help me survive." If I now go back to my first posts, I can see a development in my blog, but also in my students' blogs, which are now much more interesting to watch and read than at the beginning of the year. In my opinion, blogging has a positive impact on students' written work; when they know that everybody can see it, they consider more closely what they publish and they try to get the grammar right. It is a space for learning, not just for the students, but for me as their teacher too. I get the chance to write about topics that interest me and challenge my writing. If you follow this link, you will see that Ann Mikaelsen and I are not the only ones using blogs with students.

3D Printing - Additive Manufacturing - the Fourth Industrial Revolution

This Pizza is in fact printed! Could 3D printed food be the answer to how to end starvation in the world? Could it be the answer to finding medicine that will cure life threatening diseases? Could it give people who need it a new organ? The Fourth Industrial revolution is here and who knows where it will take us - the future is here already and you had better hang on to it - if not, you will probably end up on the dole or on a "basic universal income". Watch my Prezi which you will find to the right under the heading "Useful Links" to learn more.

Happy Easter?

opp.no

In Norway the word Easter brings images of sun, oranges, "Kvikk lunsj" (a norwegian chocolate similar to KitKat), skis and family to mind. In other words, a tranquil and peaceful environment accessible to a majority of the population. However, numbers from The Statistics Norway show that 84,300 children under 18 years old are categorized as poor. In fact, the numbers are up 6K from 2012. 50,2% of the children, ie 42,319 of these are immigrants. According to nrk.no the reason for this is lack of work and large families. Thus, integration and work permit for immigrants are essential for avoiding further increase in numbers of children living in poverty in Norway (NRK, 2015)

Source: NRK. (2015, February 12). 6100 flere barn ble fattige i Norge. Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.nrk.no/norge/6100-flere-barn-ble-fattige-i-norge-1.12201866

Will Europe Manage without Immigrants?

The World Economic Forum says that "Europeans must not see refugees and migrants purely as a threat to national politics or EU internal unity. It could be a great opportunity for an ageing continent. By 2030, the EU countries will have 16 million fewer people of working age (even with steady net migration)." However, to be successful countries need to integrate migrants quickly in order for them to get jobs and start paying taxes. On the mentioned web page there is a graph showing "Economic impact of refugees in Germany", and even the most pessimistic line shows a positive trend in a couple of years. Consequently, language training as a crucial part of integration will need a boost.

Promising Future for Students?

According to Google+ students who score high on these qualities will be the first to become employed in 2020. However, being Norwegian can be a drawback because according to BBC Norwegian students are number 22 on the OECD's ranking list in reading skills and number 30 in mathematics. Asian students score way higher, ranking as number 1-6 in both topics.

What to Do in 2016?

Joel Sartore/National Geographic's Photo Ark

Taking care of our environment will be crucial. Joel Sartore says that, " 'The Sixth Mass Extintion' is upon us." He also claims that it is our fault and tells us what to do to save as much of the planet as possible. How can we believe that extinguishing half of all species will not affect the human race? Sartore continues and says that "whether you're an individual or the leader of a global conglomerate" all the decisions you make concerning how to use your money will either affect the planet in a negative or a positive way. He also tries to make people think by showing studio portraits of threatened species around the globe. Read the whole article here!

Happy New Year?

We have turned 2016 with a freezing cold wind from Russia. However, looking at the situation in Syria where there is  snow and no food several places, and ordinary people look like those who were released from prison camps after WWII, we in Norway have nothing to complain about. Yes, we have more people out of work, and our government predict that 2016 will be a challenging year concerning our economy, but still, this is just peanuts compared to eg what people in Yemen have to endure. Humanitarian aid to Syrian towns is promised, but when is the question; today? tomorrow? For many people it is already too late, they have starved to death.

Many NGOs do an extremely important job and really make a difference for people in need. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is one of them. So why bomb them? For the second time in four months, hospitals run by MSF have been hit by bombs even though their coordinates are well know by governments. What a waste killing doctors saving lives.

So, is it really a happy new year? Well it all depends where you are and who you are. Try to make a difference if you can, it will definitely make you happier.

Source photo: https://media.msf.org/Docs/MSF/Media/CMS3/e/7/5/8/MSF157752.jpg