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On correct use of e-devices in the cyber age
By Justin |
April 1, 2013, Monday
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DEAR Mr Wan Lixin,
I'm impressed by many of your discerning articles in Shanghai Daily, especially those on literacy and critical thinking, for example, "Will a literary prize save a nation of nonreaders?" (October 19, 2012). I have translated that article into Chinese and posted it on my blog to share it with some thoughtful, though very few, students, since most don't seem to care about our country's present plights and defects in various aspects.
And here I shall offer some of my suggestions.
Most people today are not ready to fully utilize the convenience those e-gadgets usher in. They are seized upon as a way of giving vent to user's anxieties and killing time.
As far as I myself am concerned, I use my Nokia phone as a dictionary. Some extremely quality apps can be downloaded, among them Webster's Unabridged International Dictionary, Duden Deutsch Universalwoerterbuch, and Mobi Reader. My point is that the usage of a gadget all depends on who's using it.
But the worldwide web is another issue. It's like finding gemstones in a cesspool to surf the Internet, which out of sanitary concerns, I seldom do. Computers are innocent, as long as they remain "a device for analyzing information."
To my disappointment, a multitude of flippant teachers use the aforementioned devices to CHEAT, not to TEACH. Now it's easier to conceal their lack of talent and insight, for they can just copy and paste with a few clicks, which of necessity further degrades the already much-maligned education.
Along with the loss of ability of critical thinking is the distortion of language, as it more and more reflects personal whims, rather collective wisdom.
People are desperately aspiring to something by turning their attention to unreal and phantasmagoric fragments.
Recently Qian Liqun, a retired professor from Beijing University, remarked that education in general has lost its value, and in the ashes of which we shall rebuild our own classroom and courses of instruction.
One way to save the situation might be through the good work of newspapers.
You've already played a part by being outspoken, and responding meaningfully to problems that confront us.
Justin, a senior high school student
I'm impressed by many of your discerning articles in Shanghai Daily, especially those on literacy and critical thinking, for example, "Will a literary prize save a nation of nonreaders?" (October 19, 2012). I have translated that article into Chinese and posted it on my blog to share it with some thoughtful, though very few, students, since most don't seem to care about our country's present plights and defects in various aspects.
And here I shall offer some of my suggestions.
Most people today are not ready to fully utilize the convenience those e-gadgets usher in. They are seized upon as a way of giving vent to user's anxieties and killing time.
As far as I myself am concerned, I use my Nokia phone as a dictionary. Some extremely quality apps can be downloaded, among them Webster's Unabridged International Dictionary, Duden Deutsch Universalwoerterbuch, and Mobi Reader. My point is that the usage of a gadget all depends on who's using it.
But the worldwide web is another issue. It's like finding gemstones in a cesspool to surf the Internet, which out of sanitary concerns, I seldom do. Computers are innocent, as long as they remain "a device for analyzing information."
To my disappointment, a multitude of flippant teachers use the aforementioned devices to CHEAT, not to TEACH. Now it's easier to conceal their lack of talent and insight, for they can just copy and paste with a few clicks, which of necessity further degrades the already much-maligned education.
Along with the loss of ability of critical thinking is the distortion of language, as it more and more reflects personal whims, rather collective wisdom.
People are desperately aspiring to something by turning their attention to unreal and phantasmagoric fragments.
Recently Qian Liqun, a retired professor from Beijing University, remarked that education in general has lost its value, and in the ashes of which we shall rebuild our own classroom and courses of instruction.
One way to save the situation might be through the good work of newspapers.
You've already played a part by being outspoken, and responding meaningfully to problems that confront us.
Justin, a senior high school student
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