E-learning x traditional classroom

In traditional course:

1) the classes are focused on the teacher

2) the learning process is 'passive'

3) students who are more outgoing participate more than quiet students

4) teachers use computer as a tool, but it is not the key element.

Online Courses:

1) totally focused on the student,

2) instructors have to guide the student, not only pass the knowledge on

3) even shy students talk because the classes have to be 100% 'active'

4) with the use of the computers, students can explore different kinds of resource and the teacher uses a variety of learning methods.

National Geographic video: CIA experiments

How would you feel if you found out that you were part of a CIA experiment?
How would you feel if you knew your mind was being controlled?
Can tests be done without one's consent?



At the height of the Cold War, the CIA launched a highly classified, top secret reserch program taht exposed Americans to biological agents, hallucinogenic drugs and psychological techniques aimed at mastering the art of mind control. Entire cities in America were contaminated with bacteria, exposing millions to germ warfare. NGC's CIA Secret Experiments examines what happened.

Watch the video: CIA Experiments

How much water can you save?

Take a water tour with National Geographic through your home, garden, diet, energy use, and your stuff!

Here is the link: Water Footprint Calculator

Enjoy it!

Curious facts

So, here are some curious facts:



A giraffe can clean its own ear with its 21 inch tongue.




Months that begin on Sunday will always have a Friday, 13th.




You are born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult you have only 206.




The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!

Sinkhole

How does it happen?

A sinkhole happens when water erodes solid bedrock, carving an underground cavity that can then collapse.















Sinkhole in Guatemala

Heavy rains from tropical storm must have triggered the collapse of this huge sink hole.
Much of Guatemala's city rests a top a layer of loose, gravelly volcanic pumice.
Some geologists say that leaking pipe - not nature - must have created the recent sinkhole.
















Sinkhole in Florida

The sinkhole in Winter Park, Florida, opened in 1981 underneath the city's public swimming pool.















Sinkhole in Belize

Sinkhole can happen anywhere water can erode a vertical channel that connects to a horizontal drain, a situation that allows a column of solid material to wash away, Missouri State's Gouzie explained.





















Sinkhole in Mexico

Sinkholes occuring at sea level will fill up as high as the water table, creating a famous clear blue pool. This one was used by the Maya royalty for both relaxation and ritual sacrificies.
(read: Mysteries of Sacrificial Maya Blue Pigment Solved)

National Geographic

June,04th2010

Hubble's mytic moutain

A colorful, craggy colunm of dust and gas dubbed the Mystic Mountain stars in the newest picture from the Hubble Sapace Telescope. Released on April, 23 as part of celebrations for Hubble's 20th anniversary, the picture highlights the result of star birth in the Carina nebula.
Hot young stars are constantly emiting radiation and charged particles that sculpt the cosmic cloud from the inside. Columns like this one are regions of matter dense enough to stand up to stellar erosion.

Published in April 27, 2010
National Geographic

False Friends (Portuguese,English)

What are false friends?

False friends are words which have similar writing, or even identical in both distinct languages, but their meanings are different.
Take as an example the word exquisite. In portuguese it would easily be misunderstood as exquisito(weird), when it really means requintado, refinado.
The most appropriate denomination of false friends in portuguese would be 'cognatos de sentido diferente'. Cognates are words which contain the same root as another language, but as languages developed apart their meanings may differ.

Here are some of them:

English Portuguese
actual verdadeiro, real
cobra Naja(uma especie de cobra)
eventually finalmente, no final, por fim
legend lenda
library biblioteca
pretend fingir
realize perceber


There is a pocketbook you can buy to get you started:
Easy Way False Friends by José Roberto A. Igreja