Tag: technology

Fast Japanese Train

B2 – Upper Intermediate

It is known that transportation in Japan is modern and highly developed.

Let’s look at this fast Japanese train. Be ready to talk about the different modes of transportation you have in your country.

Read the article then watch the video included.

http://www.newsinlevels.com/products/fast-japanese-train-level-3/

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on these fast trains in Japan?
  2. What is the most common form of transportation in your country?
  3. Do you think your country needs a fast train like Japan’s maglev train? Why or why not?
  4. Talk about how you normally get to work.

Do We Need New Internet?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Some internet experts are saying that the worldwide web has become unsafe that the best thing to do is to start all over.

Read the article below and share your thoughts about Internet safety.

http://www.english-online.at/media/new-internet/do-we-need-new-internet.htm

 Discussion Questions:

  1. How useful is the Internet to you?
  2. How common is Internet fraud in your country?
  3. Internet experts say that the whole net has become so unsafe that it would be best to start all over again. Do you agree or disagree with this? Explain.
  4. Talk about the good and bad things about the internet.
  5. How can we keep ourselves safe when using the internet?

Human Microchips

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Office ID cards are a thing of the past. With this futuristic office in Sweden, you wouldn’t have to worry about forgetting your ID at home ever again. You won’t even need some cash to buy coffee in the cafeteria.

Listen and read as Neil and Harry of BBC’s 6 Minute English talk about this ultramodern identification system.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/persian/features/6-minute-english/ep-150319

*Click the title to watch a video of similar topic: Microchip Implants for Employees

Discussion Questions:

  1. Are we on our way to being part human, part machine?
  2. Would you be interested to try this ID system in this office?
  3. How can we benefit from this kind of technology?
  4. What are the dangers of this technology?
  5. How do you remember all your passwords?

Children Spend Six Hours on Screens

_81934166_babieswithtabletsC1 – Advanced

Although TV viewing has dropped, the dramatic increase of children glued to a screen has been observed. They are even using multiple screens. This phenomenon can be accounted for the availability of different media.

Read the article below to know more about the facts regarding children and their screen time.

Children spend six hours or more a day on screens

Discuss:

1. What are the popular tools being utilized by children these days?
2. Do these media post greater threat than good?
3. In your country, how are kids now different from kids then?
4. Do you have any rules for your children when using gadgets?

 

A Personal Air Vehicle

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The future is now. That is, if we go by the timeline set by the iconic sci-fi movie “Back to the Future.” So where are all the flying cars? According to Professor Missy Cummings in this BBC feature, there are only a few hurdles to the development of personal air vehicles. And technology is not one of them.

Watch the video then read the article and be ready to express your thoughts about the topic.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20131031-a-flying-car-for-everyone

Discussion Questions:

1. Would owning a personal air vehicle simplify or complicate our lives?
2. What are the hurdles that prevent the full realization of the flying car?
3. If personal air vehicles will essentially be robots, what can be done to ensure that they will be hacker-proof?

Building a ‘Halal’ Internet

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Officials in Iran are planning to build a completely separate Internet called Yooz. Its purpose is to filter objectionable information just like China’s “Great Firewall”, the largest web filtering and censorship operation in the world.

Read the article below to know more about Yooz then express your opinions.

http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/iran-next-step-in-building-hala-internet/2676579.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. How often do you use the internet?
  2. How important is the internet to your day to day life?
  3. What is your opinion about filtered and censored internet access
  4. Do you think that Yooz will do its job in filtering and securing?

Runcible: A Circular Smartphone

B2 – Upper Intermediate

We live in a world of quadrilateral architecture and design. Gadgets may have developed curve corners, but they are still predominantly four-sided.

Has living in a world of four-cornered tangibles affected the human thought process? Would developing a circular smartphone be the first step toward rethinking?

Read the article below and express your thoughts.

https://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/12/tech/mci-runcible-smartphone/index.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on circular smartphones?
  2. What could be Monohm’s motivation in working on the circular “anti-smartphone” called Runcible?
  3. The article suggests that the shape of an object’s frame impacts its use. Can you think of an everyday object that people would approach differently if it were round instead of rectangular?
  4. The author notes the rise of circular avatars in apps and various interfaces. Does this design choice make any difference at all to gadget users? Why or why not?

Riding a $10,000 Hoverboard

B2 – Upper Intermediate

It’s safe to say that startup companies have been working on creating a hoverboard for the past few years now, bringing in a sense of nostalgia from the film ‘Back to the Future’.

Read the article below to know more about Arx Pax and their hoverboard design.

https://www.engadget.com/2014-10-21-we-rode-a-hoverboard.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. Would you buy or try out a Hendo Hoverboard? Why or why not?
  2. Aside from being another form of transportation, how else do you think the Hendo Hoverboard can be useful?
  3. For what other things could levitation technology be helpful?

Microchip Implants for Employees

B2 – Upper intermediate

Implanting Microchips has always raised issues worldwide.  Is it ethical and are we really ready for it? In Sweden this year, the newly opened Epicenter office complex in Stockholm makes this chip implant possible.

Check the video and share your thoughts.

Discuss:

1. What do you think about being chipped? Is it ethical?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a microchip implant?
3. Would you voluntary have one under your skin?

*Click the title to listen to an audio of a similar topic: Human Microchips

 

Robotic Firefighter

C2 – Proficient

Some elements of science fiction are turning into science facts. Case in point,  the use of machines that have humanoid form to do tasks too risky for their Homo sapiens counterparts is slowly but steadily changing operations in various industries.

One such robot is SAFFiR. Read about this firefighting mechanical wonder and watch the video as well.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/12/tech/mci-saffir-robot/index.html?iid=ob_article_organicsidebar_expansion&iref=obnetwork

Discussion Questions:

  1. Describe the robotic firefighter.
  2. What might be its pros and cons?
  3. How do you feel about robots saving human lives in dangerous situations?
  4. Do you think robots would do a better job than human beings in search and rescue operations? Elaborate.
  5. Why do you think some robots are engineered to resemble humans physically?
  6. Should we dread or look forward to the further rise of the machines? Explain.