Impact of failed satellites

An article on the website BBC Future asks “what would happen if all satellites stopped working?”

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130609-the-day-without-satellites

The author, Richard Hollingham, writes a scenario of what could possibly happen throughout the day – at 8:00, 11:00, 16:00 and 22:00. The way it is written is a classic impact analysis; that is, a step-by-step description of the domino effect started by such an event.

At my university, we like to teach engineering students impact analysis so that they can be more aware of the possible impacts of their future work. So I will definitely use this article next semester.

Students can be asked to brainstorm the effects of all satellites no longer working, and then compare their ideas in a class discussion. In small groups, they could put their in chronological order, or in the order that each would impact the others, and from this decide how they would write their list as an impact analysis.

The article presents each possible scenario written in the past and past progressive tenses, as if the effects are being reported after they happen. For extra language work, students can change some of these sentences into a form of the conditional. For example: A pilot squadron lost contact with the armed drones they were flying over the Middle East would be changed to A pilot squadron would lose contact with the armed drones they were flying over the Middle East.

Finally, at the end of the article, readers are asked: “Do you agree with Richard? If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on Future, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.” Instead, students can write their comment in class or as a follow-up homework assignment. A message for Twitter would be particularly interesting, because they would have to limit their comment to no more than 140 characters (which requires a clear focus on word choices).

Readlang: a website to help learn vocabulary

Readlang is a website created by Steve Ridout that helps you learn foreign languages (35 languages possible!) by reading and translating words you don't know.

http://readlang.com/ 

There is also a video to see how it works. It is said to be now out of date, but more information is on the website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qabaf3QumB8&feature=youtu.be 

On the website, first you set your native language, then set the language you’re learning. Then insert a text. A text can be cut and pasted onto the website, or a link can be uploaded. You can even upload an entire novel. I tried it with the first paragraph of an article I used with my students this past semester (see my last blog post, Self-parking automobiles), marking German as “my language” and English as the language I’m learning.

When the text is on Readlang, you can put your cursor on a word, and it is translated into your own language. The only problem I had with this is that you can only translate one word – not a lexical chunk (like “according to”) or idiomatic phrases (“just around the corner”). And, as we all know, one-to-one translation doesn’t always work very well. But for a fast and easy vocabulary check, my students will probably like to use this.

A useful feature is that all the words that you have chosen to translate are then stored in the area called “Learn”, where you can test yourself (like using flash cards). There’s also an area called “Words”, which gives more information about each of the words chosen. The text itself is stored in “Library.”

The site also has a blog where Steve Ridout gives more information about how to use the site, and gives further updates on the site’s progress.

The blog: http://blog.readlang.com/

Self-parking automobiles

There was an interesting article in The Economist last week about Volvo’s new feature that allows a car to park itself.

Link to article:
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21580134-autonomous-vehicles-are-arriving-piecemeal-more-and-more-driving-tasks-are

My students are usually interested in anything to do with cars, so the topic would catch their attention. Information about innovation is always useful in lessons, and this article also compares this innovative feature to other car-parking systems. Students can discuss the pros and cons of each one. 

In addition, there are a number of interesting language features. For example: 

• Use of adverbs, including slowly, steadily, recently, completely, easily, conversely, fully, highly, etc. (there are 13 different ones, and 5 are repeated twice)
• Use of comparatives and superlatives
• Conditional clauses
• Linking/transition words
• Relative clauses 
• And many phrases indicating future change, for example: 

• …are just around the corner 
• …car will arrive 
• …five to ten years from commercial deployment 
• That, too, is coming. 
• A number of carmakers are developing… 
• …expects to see…from around 2020.

Exercises focusing on any of these features could be part of the lesson, or given for homework.

Pizza vending machine

How about an innovation about pizza to catch students’ attention? A new vending machine, Let’s Pizza, has been developed to completely create a pizza while you wait. Inside the machine the process starts with flour and water to make the dough, it kneads the dough, puts on the chosen toppings, and bakes the pizza – in less than 3 minutes. If the ingredients are not used after 24 hours, the machine disposes of them so that the pizza is always fresh. Among the innovative features of this vending machine are “technical solutions to guarantee” that the food would be safe and hygienic.

Link to Design News:

http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=247072

The article about this innovation is rather short, but there is also a video showing the process. Students can discuss the technical aspects of this machine, and consider whether they would want to try this pizza (can you really trust food made in a vending machine?). The CEO of A1 Concepts, the distributor, says he “wouldn't be surprised if the Let's Pizza's success spawns imitators.” Students could brainstorm other food items they could imagine being made from scratch in a vending machine.

The plan is to have Let's Pizza where food vending machines are usually found: at train stations, airports, schools and universities. The article (written in July 2012) says that "the machine has been available in Europe since 2009," but I haven’t seen one yet. Maybe this summer I'll come across one on my travels. It would be fun to see how it works, but I'm not sure I want to try one.