Mooc2 1xnewsletter

M O O C

2 . 1 X

College Writing Workshop - Minsk A Newsletter by the students of the Facilitated Sessions at the Pushkin Library

*Check out pages 3-7 to read student essays!

Principles of College Writing

Written by Katie Subra, English Language Fellow

In the past, I have had the great pleasure of being a student in MOOC courses. I have found that they are a wonderful supplement to classroom learning and a great tool to access subjects that you might not otherwise have time or money to study.

So, what is a MOOC? • MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course, • MOOCs are offered in a variety of subjects and at different levels, • People from all around the world participate in MOOCs (Over 40,000 participants registered for this course), • Prestigious Universities, such as UCBerkeley, offer these free courses, • Interested in other MOOCs? Start here: https://www.edx.org/ https://www.coursera.org/

Since MOOCs are distance-learning courses, the participants can get out of them as much as they are willing to put into them. MOOCs for English Language Learners are a new trend, the US State Department offered to help promote this course by offering facilitated workshops vis-àvis their exchange teachers stationed around the world. The workshops support students who may be unfamiliar with the online course platform or who simply wish to have more face time to develop their writing.

We were pleased as punch to meet 18 students from Minsk who took varying degrees of interest in our sessions held at the Pushkin Library – Foreign Literature Department.

During the 5-week module, we had the pleasure of working closely with 9 students in particular, who attended 4 out of 5 of our weekly sessions and completed weekly homework, earning them a certificate of completion. We look forward to meeting new and returning students in the next Module!

If you’d like to join us, register for the next module online and attend our information session in January.

Save the Date for Future Modules!

College Writing 2.2x Information Session & Starting Date: 16 January 2014, 18.00 Weekly Workshops: Thursdays, 23 January – 20 February 2014, 18-19.30 Location: Pushkin Library, InfoUSA

College Writing 2.3x 2.3x starts in mid-spring.

Stay-tuned to the Pushkin Library’s Facebook page for more information.

PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE WRITING

DECEMBER 2013

5 Writing Tips

Written by Kieran Ficken, English Teaching Assistant 1) Leave yourself enough time. Good writing takes time – lots of it. When you are working on a piece of writing, make sure you leave time to do several drafts and let the writing “sit” between drafts – at least 24 hours, but maybe even several days. By doing so, you will be able to be more objective about your editing and proofreading.

2) Brainstorm. If you’ve left yourself enough time to write, you should also have time to brainstorm. Everyone brainstorms in a different way – try as many as you can think of to figure out what works for you. Some people prefer outlines, others like mind maps or lists. Do what works for you.

3) Write. It’s easy to get caught brainstorming or researching for too long, and never get around to writing. Set a timer and just write for 15 minutes. Don’t worry too much about grammar or punctuation at this point; just get some thoughts on the paper. For many people, getting started is the hardest part.

4) Edit. Read your writing through once – do the paragraphs connect? Do you follow a logical argument from start to finish? Read each paragraph – does it have a topic sentence? Does it have supporting details? Does it flow smoothly into the next paragraph? Read it out loud. Have a friend read it.

5) Proofread. Read each sentence individually. Does it have a subject and a verb? Are all your dependent clauses and phrases in a sentence with an independent clause? Are there any redundant words? Any missing punctuation?

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PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE WRITING

DECEMBER 2013

Student Writing from College Writing 2.1x

On capital punishment: why it should be abolished Written by Kate Dorozhkina The society of the 21st century is facing a great number of ethical dilemmas. One of them is the issue on the death penalty. The “eye for an eye” attitude is as old as humanity itself; it has always been there. The idea of an individual paying for his or her wrongdoings has been accepted and seen as something typical and widely accepted; moreover, it was accepted not only by the society but also by the religious institutions. History moves forward and so do we. Having completed a great road, with still a long road in front of us, our society faces drastic changes. We witness institutions, as well as traditional views on life crumble and we see new ideas rising up from the ashes. So should the old biblical “tooth for a tooth” approach be reviewed and the word justice redefined? I believe it is time. Let me walk you through the arguments and facts.

The first argument is based on a vendetta and punishing the wrongdoer. It is also believed that a criminal should not only pay for his crimes, but also when we face criminals, we – in a certain way – face the physical embodiment of evil. That evil comes with all the vile things that are wrong with humanity and all those things that we wish to eliminate, so we eliminate the person, who in a particular place and time becomes this evil. It is true that families of the victims seek closure. For them, it is an opportunity of establishing an equilibrium – death for a death. In this way the death sentence soothes grief and anger. But does it really help? At its base, the capital punishment is a means of eliminating evil or at least deterring crimes. Today, and centuries ago, the idea is not feasible. Looking through a great number of studies and research the most often occurring fact is that the death penalty does not influence the level of crimes. Also, there is no proof that the escalating number of executions does not diminish the number of crimes. Thus we see that capital punishment does not act as a deterrent, meaning that it doesn’t fulfill its main goal.

The second argument is more abstract than the previous one, but it still has a certain weight as an argument. One of the most central issues of today is the violation of Human Rights. As a document, the declaration has made a great journey from 1948 when the Declaration of Human Rights was signed, making it clear how important the observance of such basic rights as “The right to life” or “The right to education.” This is why capital punishment violates the first human right – the right to life. The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane way of treating people, which is also against all the signed Declarations, Constitutions and other international documents.

Another debate is taking place – the replacement of capital punishment with the life sentence. An argument “for” – no one is killed, but at the same time criminals are punished for severe crimes for life.

An argument “against” says that life imprisonment is even more severe than punishment by death. Thus, it is an even more cruel and inhumane way of carrying out justice.

At this point we find ourselves in a dead end, stuck between the two evils although the problem is that neither of these methods actually work. It’s a vicious circle.

We shouldn’t be upset by the impossibility of reaching some abstract ideal, but at this point a simple transition can made – abolishment of capital punishment and the use of the life sentence.

Although, none of the variants will ever help us to exterminate evil completely for evil is unfortunately not external, but internal. So it can be fought only on the level of personal conscience. We yearn for the best changes, but we do not realize what it takes to admit the problems and start changing ourselves. Isn’t that simple? If you want to get rid of violence, look inside. And abolishing the death penalty can be one of the first little steps towards a better future.

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PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE WRITING

DECEMBER 2013

The Problem of Homeless Pets Written by Darya Hrusha Homeless pets still remain one of the most disturbing problems of modern Belarusian society.

Annually more than 70 thousand homeless animals are being killed through injections. Unfortunately, pets are not protected in any way and I strongly believe that neither the government nor people themselves take enough measures to change the situation. This is mainly because people are in charge of pets and if you call yourself a man (or homo sapiens), then you should act accordingly.

Since 2001 the have been 3 attempts to pass a legislation that would protect pets’ rights. Animal advocates stand for forbidding the reproduction of un-pedigreed pets, for cancelling the limitation to have no more than 2 pets in one apartment, for shortening the list of potentially dangerous breeds of dogs (among which there’s even a German Shepherd). But their main demand is to introduce penal responsibility for animal cruelty.

First of all, I believe that it’s people who should change something inside their heads to get things moving. For example, one of the main problems is that people don’t feel responsible for their pets – they take an animal and after some time, get rid of it because they got bored, because no one wants to take care of it, because they face some problems raising it and many more “because”. The other problem that results from the previous one is uncontrolled reproduction of cats and dogs. Animals are driven by their instincts and unfortunately can’t think of the possible consequences. It’s the responsibility people and the pets’ owners in the first place to take care of it either by altering them or by just being more alert while your pet is having a heat.

As for the limitation of the number of pets per apartment, I feel like this is not a fair rule at all.

Primary, because there are hundreds of breed of pets and dogs and they differ from each other on their size, appearance and character. Moreover, if animals are properly taken care of, taken for a walk in time, are clean, healthy and fed, then why should you deprive them of your love? Here comes one more issue concerning the list of dangerous breeds. It’s a well-known fact that some breeds are more aggressive than the others, but on the other hand, a lot depends on the way people bring up their pets. Some breeds just need more attention and even professional help like dog specialists or special dog clubs. Moreover, a friendly and loving atmosphere can never be the reason for aggressive behavior of your animal.

Finally, my last point is the introduction of penal responsibility for animal abuse. It seems strange, to say the least that Belarus, being a developing country in the middle of Europe still doesn’t have a legislation protecting animals. It’s sad to realize that animal haters kill them for their own satisfaction and the biggest penalty that can be applied is a fine. I strongly believe that a killing is a killing, no matter if it’s a killing of an animal or a human being, those people are dangerous and there’s nothing to stop them. So if we stay indifferent, today their victim is a dog or a cat; then tomorrow it can be a child or an adult.

What is more, the authorities are not just being reluctant to develop new legislation; they are not being humane either. There’s not a single one official animal shelter in the country for homeless pets, only those created by volunteers and existing without any governmental support. The only so called animal shelter in Minsk is of a temporary maintenance. Dogs and cats are staying there for a very limited period of time and then are killed by the means of injection (euthanasia).

As you can see, proper measures are not taken – uncontrolled breeding, different kind of limitations and the most importantly the absence of the legislation remain the most vital problems. In the conclusion I’d like to say that through my whole life I had pets living with my family. Right now there are two dogs and a cat living in my house and two of them were taken from the street. They may not be of a sheer pedigree, but they are kind, loving, protective, funny, caring and they show the greatest commitment. For my family and for me personally they are not just pets, but equal family members. And my biggest dream is that for other people it would be a rule not an exception and that people would pay more attention to that problem.

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PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE WRITING

DECEMBER 2013

Waste Management in the Potash Industry Written by Victoryia Hrynko It is a known fact that the Earth gives us all kinds of treasures. One of them, called “Red gold” is potash. It is a fertilizer, which consists mostly of KCl. It is the most popular fertilizer because it’s natural and rather cheap. Potash is used in agriculture to improve soil fertility. The leaders in mining potassium salt are Canada, Russia and Belarus. Potash producers are industrial giants and usually they are cityforming companies.

However, besides all the benefits potash mining gives, this industry produces more waste than many others. And the main problem is figuring out what we can do with the waste heaps.

The need to solve the problem of potash waste disposal occurs due to a number of environmental threats.

Among them are soil erosion, soil subsidence, changing soil structure, pollution of aquifers, flora and fauna changes.

These problems arise because of the high concentration of harmful substances in brine, for example, which is one of the types of the potash industry waste. Brine emerges during potash mining when it has just been pumped from the deposits. It occupies great areas. Since there is no use of brine, companies need to expand brine disposal basins. Moreover, brine causes a changing soil structure. It means that plants, grass and trees do not grow around these areas. Flora changes cause fauna modification. Animals have no food so they just leave the territories. But some companies already know the ways of dealing with this problem.

The most popular method is to put brine into the waste disposal basins. Another one is a deep-well injection with surface storage. But these solutions raise new questions: Where can we locate basins? How can we increase their capacity? How can we reduce the impact on the environment?

First of all, the practice of waste disposal basins is a problem but not a solution. We should locate it in the less precious soil. But it often dramatically increases transport costs. We can also deepen waste disposal basins to enlarge the storage capacity. But it is possible if space permits only.

The best way to reduce the impact on the environment is to do deep-well injections. In this case, we have territories without wastes. Brine locations with surface storage in the goaf and do not influence the environment much.

So today the potash industry is one of the leaders in waste generation. Brine is only one type of the potash industrial wastes. Its disposal raises many questions. Deep-well injection is less minatory for the soil, flora and fauna. But it is the only method considered here. The problem is urgent and requires a deeper study.

Students working hard on their final drafts… …and as if the satisfaction of a multi-draft essay weren’t enough, we celebrated our successes with cake!

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PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE WRITING

DECEMBER 2013

On the Cusp of the Future Written by Andrew Miklashevsky Make sure you ever felt that someone is watching you? Or maybe you felt that your world is not real and all your memories have been changed by someone. Maybe you feel addicted to your computer?

All this problems and questions about reality of our life appeared in ancient times. But in the XX – XXI centuries it has been highly discussed by sci-fi writers and scientists, even mass media sources are talking about this.

Nowadays these problems are more common because we live in the world where most powerful sources are information and technical advantages. When someone has total control over this, he could influence history and people lives. You can see modern gadgets and computers everywhere. Humans use machines to simplify their lives. Modern generations accept it like self-evident things. They can’t imagine how many efforts were put to achieve the modern level of technological development. Young generations can’t imagine their lives without mobile phones and Internet; they can’t live without social networks and services, and of course without different content from Internet and mass media sources.

Every period of mankind’s development is notable for political and cultural revolutions, world wars, great scientific progress, discovering of new horizons like space and so on. And our time is famous for rapid technology development because nowadays we produce more information in one day than we produced in previous centuries. I think that humanity now is one step from the future like in sci-fi novels and movies.

Nowadays, people have all conditions to realize their potential and turn their bravest ideas into reality. We have a high amount of machines and facilities that makes our lives easier. It is simple to get an education today; education is accessible for everyone, but not everyone can get it any time – our world so far from perfect. People have access to knowledge and everyone can easily find any necessary information.

With the help of the Internet you can also receive useful information and make contact with other people.

You can produce results of your work in the web and get feedback from people; you can manage your business through the Internet and a lot of other activities that connect with process of creation or consumption of information. Modern medicine uses implants to help disabled people. And everyone has their own useful gadget in their pocket. There are a lot of other examples of uses of modern technologies.

The main thing is that technologies are a very efficient tool in your hands and if you know how to use it, than you could achieve incredible results.

But every coin has another side, and technologies also have minuses. The problem consists of human nature. The more we use all these machines, the more we lose our feelings, like charity. For example, when people will know how to change all parts of the human body into the most powerful synthetic implants and start change themselves, can we still consider them like “human beings”? What if all knowledge will change by someone to hide the truth? What if machines will try to kill people or artificial intelligence will be the next chain of evolution? Do people lose their humanity with abuse of technologies and should we use it at all? The higher the level of technologies people achieve, the more terrible deeds are possible.

With the help of technologies anyone could be heard in our day. Technologies make our life simpler, complex things, which were hardly achieved by a group of people earlier, are easy to achieve by one person today. Nowadays people are informed about the possible dangers that could be caused by downsides of technologies, but our future is not determined and we don’t know in which way will turn our history. So, we shouldn’t be afraid of using of technologies and we should realize their potential at 100%, especially when you really need it. But people should remember about possible downsides of technologies and try to avoid theirs. Maybe after thousands of years in the future our world will be unbelievably changed, but still people shouldn’t forget how to be humans.

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PRINCIPLES OF COLLEGE WRITING

DECEMBER 2013

We Have to Be Tolerant and Not Ignore Homelessness Written by Volha Y. Many people worldwide are homeless. They sleep on pavements, in doorways, in parks, under bridges, in public buildings like railways or bus stations, hospitals, supermarkets etc. Poor people cannot buy food, clothing and top priorities. They ask for money in public places and hope for luck. Homeless people look ugly, dirty, muddy, hairy, and scary, of course, they are sometimes seen as drunk and stinky.

We do not like them sitting next to us in a bus, passing by at night, incidentally touching us in a subway car, asking for some change and so on. Our society is not really fond of homeless people and such an attitude will be quite hard to change. In this essay I would like to draw your attention to some reasons and causes of homelessness in order to motivate people who read my writings to become more tolerant and kinder to homeless people.

There are many different reasons why people become homeless. First of all, homelessness is caused by poverty and unemployment. Poor people simply cannot afford to buy property or land because the value of flats, houses and rooms continues to increase year after year. If you do not have property and money, it is quite difficult to access affordable housing. Beggars do not carry much political weight and the government may not feel the political pressure to improve their living conditions. Homeless people look shocking to others, so that it is impossible for them to find a job as they simply wear dowdy clothes and cannot draw positive attention to themselves. Under those circumstances it is a vicious circle: no job, no money, no opportunity to change «the bed» and come back to normal life.

The second cause is laziness. Homeless people are lazy to act and change their daily routine. It is normal for them to sleep until sunset and ask for some change or food on the streets. They have no driving force as they have lost it because of abuse of vodka, drugs and disbelief in better times and good people.

For this reason the situation is not going to improve. However, I am referring not only to the laziness of homeless people, but society’s as well. Yes, indeed, many people are very lazy to do something for others.

It is much easier to give some change to a beggar or change a seat on a bus than think up ideas of helping poor people.

We should not be indifferent to this problem. We have to look around and find out what kind of homeless people are around us: nasty and aggressive ones who do not want any changes or unlucky and kind ones who want to change their life. In that case we can find the way of improving somebody’s life. As an example, in order to help homeless people I suggest giving food, bus passes, or clothing to a beggar instead of giving him money. It is better to donate money to charity organizations or churches as these Bodies help homeless people on a regular basis and can provide poor people with all essential things and help them to find a job.

Frankly speaking, now I do not know exactly how to deal with homelessness, but I strongly believe that if all people focus on this particular problem the situation will definitely change and the number of homeless people in the world will decrease. Get back to the point, drawing some attention to the major problem and causes of homelessness I want to motivate people to become kinder and more tolerant to those people who need our help and concern.

A big thanks goes out to our students for their hard work and commitment to this program! Also, we couldn’t have done it with out a global community of support: UC Berkeley and EdX staff; Professor Maggie Sokolik; the staff of the Pushkin Library, Foreign Literature Department; the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Minsk; and the U.S. State Department.

Questions?: Contact Katie Subra (subr0054@umn.edu) & Kieran Ficken (kieran.ficken@gmail.com)

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