A few weeks left

Hello all,
This is a gentle reminder asking you to publish your final blog entries latest by January 2, 2012. I'm on vacation (youhoo!!!) just like you, so I wont be publishing any more posts. I know the one on the Amish is a little difficult, but I urge you to work on it nonetheless. I know you guys are capable of it, or I would never have suggested it.
Here's wishing you a very merry Christmas and a great start to a super year ahead.
See you next year!!

After your final status update

"What comes after life?" This is just one of the many questions Adam Ostrow asks in his talk during a TED conference. Watch the video here and answer the following questions-
1. Which are the other questions Adam Ostrow raises in his talk? Paraphrase them in your own words.
2. Where is technology taking us, according to this speaker?
3. Ostrow says (1 min 54 sec.) "But today we're all creating incredibly rich digital archive that's going to live in the cloud indefinitely, years after we are gone. I think that's going to create some incredibly intriguing opportunities for technologists." 
I would like you to think about this. What use will this "incredibly rich digital archive" actually come to, according to you, after the death of its author(s)? 

Discovering a new culture

We're going to look at a completely different way of life this week. Your task will take more time than normal so you can take up to two weeks to accomplish it, but please do it well.
You will first watch a recent BBC news video : Amish held over community attacks. Pay attention to who is responsible for these attacks. Why have these attacks occurred ?
Now, you will question yourself about this community and do some research online. The following websites should help you to gather enough information about them : 
The Amish and the Plain people
Three pages on the Amish on About.com
The History of the Amish in the US and Canada
When you think you have got enough information on the culture and the way of life of the Amish, you will attempt to write a journalistic article on the attack that took place in Ohio. You will use the cultural information that you found interesting about them to explain their way of life. Your article will thus be split up into 3 paragraphs : 
Paragraph 1: A brief overview of the attacks
Paragraph 2: Who are the Amish and what are their beliefs? You could choose any aspect(s) of their life that you found intriguing. The culture is different, so you will evidently have a few aspects that you will agree or disagree with. Your article must, however, be as objective as possible. You must try not to allow your own feelings to hinder your objectivity. 
Paragraph 3: Questioning the attacks on a community like this. 
You could also read other sources if you wish to make your article more interesting, but make sure you copy-paste the URL links (liens) at the bottom of your article under the heading "Online references".
Give a suitable title to your article. 

8 secrets of success

For this week, I'd like you to listen to the 8 secrets of success researched and brought to you by Richard St John.

1.Which are the 8 secrets of success according to him?

2. Choose any one 'secret' that you think is your secret to success. Giving suitable examples, explain why you think so, in no less than 200 words.

HAVE FUN ;)

Informal letter

Write an informal letter to your friends in France telling them about the English-speaking country you visited during your last vacation. Choose any three-four aspects that you have researched on about the country in order to make your letter interesting. 
Please don't copy-paste boring facts from Wikipedia or other websites (yaaaaaaaawnnn!!!) You could post pictures that YOU have taken or NAME THE WEBSITE WITH THE WEB-LINK FOR THE PHOTOS YOU HAVE COPIED FROM THE INTERNET. 
Your letter should be at least 150 words long.

Top tips for freshers

A first-year student at college or at university is referred to as a "fresher" or a "freshman". 
A few students from Nottingham and Southampton universities in the UK decided to ask their colleagues if they had a few tips for freshers. Watch the following short videos filmed in 2009 : Nottingham university, Southampton university.
Now that you have spent four weeks at Stendhal, you would have learn't a lot about how things work at a French university. What tips would you like to give to freshers? You can speak from your own experience or from your friends' experiences or something you have observed. You could state your point of view using photos or videos that you have taken yourself at the university.

Where can I go ??

1. Update your profile page : speak about yourself.

2. I've got friend coming to Grenoble this week and since both she and I wouldn't know much about Grenoble, why don't you give us some ideas about where we could go? It could be a restaurant or an interesting museum or just a great walk we could take. You could also suggest someplace on the outskirts of the city.
Please give exact instructions about how we could get there and a bit of other complimentary information like costs ;) and also why YOU think we should go there !
Please don't copy-paste something from Wikipedia. I can do that myself. Let it be a place YOU know, that YOU have visited and that you like.
Make it as interesting as you can. You could upload a photograph that you've taken or a video that you've shot. Let your text be at least 120 words !

Let's start blogging !!