If I were to create my own class that utilizes technology to teach, I would come up with an English class that teaches students how to write effectively. It is very important for students to learn how to effectively write. Almost every job requires some writing or effective form of communication, so it is important to be able to communicate with others with clarity and impact. The utilization of technology to help students develop reading and writing skills can help make learning easier, more fun and more convenient. I have come up with a class called Write Right, which will help students do just that.

One of the objectives of the class would be to learn how to effectively persuade people through writing. Everyone will need to persuade people to side with their opinion at some point in their lives or another, and people that can effectively persuade are going to be more successful. Students will look at different persuasive essays, advertisements, YouTube clips and other sources to analyze the different techniques used to persuade. It is important that students go beyond the typical argumentative essay format and look at other forms of persuasion that they may encounter or use more practically, such as commercials or political campaigns.

It is also important for students to learn various forms of expository writing. Students will run into situations where they will need to explain how things work or deliver information to people. They should be able to present unbiased information clearly and succinctly.

There should also be a component of creative writing. Writing combines the left and right sides of the brain. The way ideas are organized and presented is determined by the left region of the brain, while the creative presentation of the ideas and figurative language is controlled by the right side. Students should be encouraged to think creatively and come up with new ways of delivering ideas that are insightful.

Technology would be utilized in teaching students various writing techniques. The course would be taught online, through a course management system (CMS) like DrupalEd or Moodle. Many colleges are already using similar systems, where they can post assignments online, network with the scholarly community, peer edit and do various other things. The network setup would make it easy for the teacher and the students to login and assist each other, contributing to the social constructionist pedagogical approach, where students learn not only from the teacher, but from each other as well. Students will be required to log into their account twice a week to check for assignments and network with the community of scholars (other students).

Students will be required to use the book Readings for Writers, by Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell and Anthony C. Winkler. This text will help guide students through a structured process of learning the new concepts. It will also provide examples of texts that put these writing techniques into use. Students will benefit from honing in on their reading skills while also learning to make connections between the theoretical writing format and real examples of its effective use. They will benefit both as readers and writers.

Readings for Writers is a book that provides over 100 excerpts from reputable texts, that acts as real examples to all the writing techniques outlined in the book. It covers a broad range of topics and genres, and some of the most well known pieces of writing in literature. The general format of the book is as follows: First it explains the writing technique covered in the chapter and provides tips on how to write more effectively. It then goes on to show a few passages and excerpts using the writing technique. There are guides that tell you what to look out for and what you should be asking yourself as a reader. At the end of every section there is a self assessment to check your understanding of the concepts discussed.

Students will be required to read sections of the book to learn how to write properly, then they will be assigned a writing assignment testing their skills at applying the strategies learned. Students will have an open choice on topics to write about, as long as they can properly support and formulate their writing pieces. Students will be assessed on how well they can write, as well as on their responses to the readings from the book, to see how well they understand and apply the concepts taught. Students will also peer review and edit passages and papers and provide constructive criticism.

The goal of this class is to further enrich students' writing skills through the use of technology, so they can write more effectively and learn easier and more conveniently. Eventually, I would also attempt to get Facebook integration with the class, so students can combine social networking with academics and make learning fun.

Posted in 1 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 2:45 AM  

Chapter 2 - The Locked Door

Chapter two is all about the decisions made behind the locked door of the subconsciousness. These decisions are made using the subconscious mind, so it is impossible to consciously use reasoning and logic to come up with an explanation for the decision made.

My dad has a problem with depression, and he has to take medication for the rest of his life to maintain a healthy balance of chemicals in his brain to keep him from getting depressed. One day we decided to try alternate methods of finding a solution to the problem. We visited a hypnosis clinic and my dad was hypnotized. This may sound a little far fetched, but hypnosis simply relaxes a person to the point where the person hypnotizing can reach into the subconscious mind of the person under hypnosis. There, they can unlock the door and figure out what really causes people to feel the way they do and make the decisions they make. My dad was cured of depression for several years after the hypnosis sessions, because the source of the problem was targeted. The unexplainable decisions made are locked behind the doors of the subconscious mind.

People are also primed by their environment and influences, to think a certain way subconsciously. They have no conscious control over these thoughts, but the thoughts largely help determine how they think when making snap judgments. One example of priming that Gladwell uses in Blink is when the sentences he lists include words that are associated with old people, and as a result the people participating in the activity ended up walking down the hallway slowly, which is a characteristic of old people.

Another example used in the book was when African Americans were asked to indicate their race on a standardized test, they ended up with worse results than those that were not reminded of their race. African Americans are primed to think that they are not supposed to be as smart as others due to the effects of racism. They subconsciously think they are not as capable as the average white student. As a result of their subconscious mindset, they end up doing worse on the test.

Speed dating is another activity where snap judgments are made. These decisions are also made behind locked doors. Most people could identify what they look for in a partner, yet the actual people they are attracted to hardly ever match up to the specifications they list initially. Again, people are unable to justify their decisions on why they like one person over another. They just say that they feel a connection, or that it seems right. Speed dating is another instance of decisions made subconsciously.

Due to the fact that these decisions cannot be easily justified or quantified, I believe online dating websites do not work. These sites compare people based on dozens of different dimensions, but if people are unable to identify what they are really looking for in a mate, it is impossible for a computer to accurately match them up to the right person, because computers cannot enter the human subconsciousness. This is why many of the surveys used to determine preference are indirect. They may ask whether you like Burger King or McDonalds better, or whether you like Coke or Pepsi. Although these products may seem like personal preference, a they can be used to profile people and their thought process when it comes to making decisions. They are indirect indicators of a person's personality and preference.

Chapter 3 - The Warren Harding Error

President Warren Harding was one of the best looking, yet worst presidents in American history. So why did so many people elect him to office? He did not have many credentials and he definitely didn't show signs of being a leader. He was, however, powerful looking and healthy. People jumped to the conclusion that he would make a good president. This was an error because they never looked beyond the first impression. They let their misconceptions betray them.

People have all sorts of unconscious associations with different groups of people. Often women are associated with housework more than men, and black people are seen in a negative light over white people. As a DJ spinning music at parties, most people jump to the conclusion that I am not educated well. The stereotypes go on and on. There was a case study done on car salesmen. Most salesmen profile their customers and try to spot the sucker; the person that will pay sticker price for a car. Most often they single out females and African Americans and are stubborn on price for only some groups of people. They end up losing customers because they jump to the conclusion, subconsciously, that these people will not negotiate as much as other groups. This is a dangerous error, because there are plenty of educated people that do not fit the stereotypes, and salespeople will end up losing customers by profiling and ruling out individuals.

To do so would be like a TSA agent to stop everyone that had a beard and looked Arab, because they could be potential terrorists. Terrorists are smart enough to realize that they can't go around looking like Osama Bin Laden, or they'll attract too much attention. Another interesting thing Gladwell found was that most CEOs are tall men. They are about 3 inches taller than the average man, which is no surprise. Tall, well built people appear to be more powerful, so subconsciously interviewers feel a more dominating presence, and therefore believe the person would be fit to do the job.

Chapter 4 - Paul Van Riper's Big Victory

Paul Van Riper's victory was as a result of thinking practically and not over-analyzing. The blue team was so caught up in strategy that they forgot to think practically. They never realized that although communication technology could be cut, the Red team would not need it. They had other plans.

Students at Linworth are expected to think practically. In the traditional high school environment, the curriculum is primarily focused on theoretical application of concepts learned in class. At Linworth, it is just as important to be able to practically apply concepts through using common sense. There are all sorts of smart people in the world that fail at the simplest things. Just a few weeks ago, I had to build a motor for an A.P. Physics project. The motor was built perfectly in theory, but I had a wire in the way that would keep the armature from turning properly. The motor did not work, and as a result there was a 25% deduction to my grade. A large portion of the class could not get their motors to work. Most of these students were the ones that were relatively smart but not hands-on.

One of the reasons over-analyzing can cause people to make ill-informed decisions is that when you have too many options, you end up confusing yourself and going back and forth instead of making a decision. The case of heart attacks in the hospital was a great example of how too much information could actually throw doctors off. Also too many options for the jam at the supermarket confused the customers.

With my consumer electronics website, TheGigStore.com, I once had over 25,000 products on the website. I realized that there were too many options for products. If you wanted a video cable, there would be 5 different brands selling the same thing. There would be 3 different quality levels, and a wide range of prices for each product. The more options the customers had, the more confused they became. Eventually, I decided to select only about 200 products and keep the website very simple. Sales increased dramatically in a short period of time.

So many people wonder: Is it possible to prepare yourself to make the right decision in the blink of an eye? I believe it is possible to be correct most of the time, as long as you set guidelines for misconceptions or stereotypes that my not be true. After passing through a few simple filters, it is up to your instinct, or "gut feeling" to quickly make the right decision.

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 12:06 AM  

The book Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, is about making quick snap judgments without thinking for a long time. It's about knowing when to trust your "gut feeling" and when not to. When people can master the use of these instinctive feelings, they can make quick, powerful decisions without analyzing rational information too long.

This quick thought process occurs in the adaptive unconsciousness. Instinctive decisions come to people in the same way everyone remembers to breathe, sweats when they're hot, or flinches when they are startled. It is a natural impulse, a function of the body to protect itself. The body automatically picks up surrounding details and unconsciously calculates what is best for it to avoid any physical threats.

Although these instinctive feelings can help make snap decisions, they can often be misleading. It is important to learn when to trust these feelings, because humans are hardwired to have many misconceptions and biases that affect their decision making ability. There are many judgments that should not be made instantly. For example, marketing experts make a living off of tinkering with the presentation of their message in order to affect the customers unconsciously, making them want the item based on a snap judgment. Instead of thinking the decisions through rationally, these marketers want customers to buy impulsively.

Gottman decodes couples' relationships based on small cues that show actions performed subconsciously by each individual. He identifies and explains exactly what to look for in a couple's actions, and what actions they cannot control. The uncontrollable actions show a great deal about the couple and the health of the relationship itself. When the couples are analyzed, I don't think they can consciously control what is normally an unconscious decision. It's like trying to control the speed of your pulse, or how much sweat you are giving off.

Gottman identifies contempt as the primary feeling that causes relationships to go bad.
With over 80% guessing accuracy, I believe Gottman has really mastered the snap judgment technique, and knows when he should trust his instinct. I would personally get his expert opinion before getting married, to see if he can identify any problems with the relationship. Obviously I would want to do this early enough into the relationship that it wouldn't cause any pain if the results are not desirable.

There is a lot that can be learned from just an individual's environment, such as their bedroom. The section in Blink that described the surveys people filled out after inspecting rooms reminded me of a show on MTV called Room Raiders. The show is about a guy or a girl raiding three rooms and learning as much about the other person as possible through only what he or she could find in the bedroom. They would decide who to date based on what they learn about the person's belongings in the room.

It is also interesting to learn that medical malpractice litigation is based on how well people like their doctors. If they like their doctors, they are less likely to sue the doctor for medical malpractice because they are under the impression that it is not the doctor's fault. I personally follow a similar approach when marketing my DJ services. Often I get people to like me as a DJ and as a person instead of getting them to like my music. If they like me, they are less likely to complain, or even notice if there are mistakes in the performance of the music mixing.

Posted in 1 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 11:36 PM  

Hand a five-year old a new set of Hot Wheels. Get a quality education and make your parents proud. Live a successful life and have a lot of fun. When any of these things happen, we usually label the feeling as being “happy,” but what is true happiness? I believe true happiness does not exist. Happiness is only temporary.

The problem with this so-called “happiness” in this world is that it is usually at the cost of someone else’s happiness. Anytime this happens, it is not true happiness, because how can you be happy if you are hurting someone else? Eventually, when you gain the knowledge to understand what kind of pain you are causing to the other person, you will not be so happy. Also, since I believe in the karma theory, what goes around comes around. If you are happy now at the cost of someone else’s pain, you will eventually end up experiencing that same pain. Since life is a cycle of temporary happiness and sadness, it is impossible to truly become happy.

The universe maintains perfect balance. For every positive charge there is a negative. For every good action there is a bad action. For every male there is a female. For every day there is a night. The list goes on. This means that nobody can ever be truly happy, because for every happy moment there is a sad moment. The only way to experience true happiness is to escape this universe and world of material possessions. Although it is not possible to physically escape this world, one can at least liberate their mind from the actions of the rest of the world. This can be achieved through meditation and concentration on nothingness. The idea is so abstract it is hard for people to imagine. Perhaps I could relate it to something that more people would understand. If instead of meditating, that person is praying to God, then the question I would be asking is what is God? What does God look like? There is no accurate physical description of the being, so in that sense, if you believe in God instead of karma, you may be concentrating on nothingness as well.

How can a person experience true happiness if they are not alive? They would have to escape this world, and the only way to do that is to liberate the soul from the body. In that case, it is impossible to experience true happiness while living life. One can get close to that experience by concentrating on nothingness.

Posted in 1 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 9:54 PM  

Dozens of innocent people are victim to prosecution of crimes they have never committed. Specifically in Texas, 17 out of 40 criminal cases have been exonerated. That is over 40% of cases with people wrongfully sentenced. This means that the real criminals are still out on the streets, and innocent people are losing years of their lives. Texas convicts have hope, because DNA evidence is preserved for most of the cases, which can now be read and compared with other evidence because the technology is here. The problem is that district attorneys are under pressure to prosecute someone to comfort the public and lead them to believe they are doing their job. The same problem occurs with today's news and media outlets, because they are more concerned about getting the news out first than they are about making sure that whatever they report is true.

The majority of wrongly charged criminals have been African American. This may relate to Gladwell's ideas in Blink, where people relate black to negative things and white to positive. Prosecutors my subconsciously believe that black people are more likely to commit crimes. This does not imply they are racist bigots, but there is a stigma that people associate with black people and crime.

Eyewitness accounts are not substantiative enough to prove whether an individual has committed a crime or not. In the case of James Lee Woodward, he was convicted because he had been convicted of theft as a teenager, so his previous criminal record suggested that he could have committed another crime. After all, according to the 20/80 rule, 20 percent of people cause 80 percent of the problems, so he could've been one of the few that commit multiple crimes. Logically, he could have been the suspect, but there was nothing to prove that he was guilty. I understand why the DA would jump to conclusions as they have in the past, but obviously they have not been putting much thought into their hypothesis, because over 40% of the criminals have been wrongfully convicted.

Time cannot be bought back, so something must be done to prevent so many false convictions. The convictions are a matter of public safety versus personal rights and liberties. DNA testing has been a giant leap in aiding to determine who is truly innocent and guilty. However, there are many states who have not preserved DNA evidence from the scene of crimes that have occurred a long time ago. How will these innocent people be discovered and exonerated?

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 12:53 AM  

I visit CNN.com several times a week to keep up with both national and world current events. Recently CNN started including a t-shirt icon next to select headlines. When the users click the icon, it allows them to see the headline on a t-shirt, select a color, style and size, and order the shirt with the desired headline printed onto it. This service seems a little odd, considering many of the headlines, like "Robbers storm, trash jewelry store," seem irrelevant to wear on t-shirts. This is just another way for CNN to capitalize on news. Instead of informing people of what is going on in the world, they are doing what any business would do: trying to make money.

It is surprising that CNN is doing this as opposed to other media providers. I would expect a newspaper company to start selling t-shirts online, because newspapers are traditionally sold individually, but as technology evolves, more and more news and information reaches us digitally. Since most of the news is now available free online, newspapers are decreasing in popularity. This t-shirt idea would be a creative to push for more revenue, but it seems to be irrelevant and unnecessary. I doubt they are selling many t-shirts with the headlines that are posted. There may be a few historic headlines that people would want to save, but for the most part the everyday news is not going to be remembered. CNN is trying to capitalize on the ever so popular online t-shirt trend. The cost of producing a t-shirt is under $1 (when mass producing them), and the shirts on CNN.com are selling for $15 a piece, plus shipping and handling costs. They are making a hefty profit on each shirt they sell.

I am not personally against CNN's decision on selling headline t-shirts, despite the fact that I believe their marketing efforts are not successful. The only inconvenience for website users would be an additional icon about 3 mm wide, which could distract users and be a severe inconvenience to navigating the website. Some may claim that innocent users are being ripped off when they click on the wrong icon, and may be lead to believe they must purchase the shirt to read the article. Aside from these reasons, I don't see why anyone would object to CNN's somewhat stupid decision of selling t-shirts of printed headlines.

Posted in 0 comments Posted by Umang Patel at 12:02 AM