NEW BLOGGERS

We all know that women represent at least half of the world population. It is also said that men and women have the same rights and the same possibilities. Is it true?
We can think of Spain as a “modern” country if we take into account the number of women government ministers. Or perhaps you don’t think we are “so” modern and things are as they used to be 10 years ago.
In our lesson you have been interviewing your classmates about these and other issues concerning how much gender roles have changed in the last years.
Please, send your conclusions here. It will be very interesting to read your findings.
Remember to follow the example we worked with in our lesson.

Once upon a time there was a little girl who in a dark Autumn evening decided to go to a Halloween party. She was enjoying herself a lot, but a few hours later she had to leave because she had gone without her mother’s permission and she had to be home before she was back from work.

Not to waste time, she took a short cut through the forest. Everything was right until she realized she was lost. When she was at her wit’s end a bright well appeared in front of her. She was so desperate that she wished the well was magic so she could ask for a mobile phone to call her mum. Her wish came true and she felt overjoyed. But, everything was too perfect… Suddenly, a witch who was hidden in the bushes cast a spell on her: “As you are a really spoilt girl, you won’t move from where you are standing and you won’t see your family again.”

The girl thought: “I’m much more intelligent than this fool witch.” And she had a great idea. Using the mobile phone she called her best friend and asked him to search on the internet for a way to break the spell. In a few minutes he got the solution: she had to dance three times around the wishing well saying: “I won’t do this again”. She did it and she found the right way back home and ran so fast to avoid being punished. Fortunately, her mum was so exhausted when she arrived home that she felt asleep on the sofa without noticing her daughter wasn’t at home.

Daniel. Elena e Irene

Once not-so upon a time, there was a beautiful princess…well, in fact the princess is still alive. She lives in a high tower not too far from a housing estate. Our sweet princess, instead of wearing shiny clothes or a crown, usually wears a pair of Dolce & Gavanna jeans and a pair of fashionable sunglasses.

One day, a wicked wizard, who lives in the housing estate, envious of our princess’s stunning tower, casts a spell on her: She wouldn’t be able to leave the tower again. With this purpose the wizard cuts the telephone line and hires a furious dragon, which does not admit bribes, to control the main door of the tower.

In the face of this situation, our intelligent and witty princess (against all conventionalities) comes up wirh a nifty plan: by using the Wi-Fi connection she e-mails a friendly witch. This kind woman sends her a magic sword by urgent post. Thanks to this, she manages to defeat the dragon and gets out of the tower to breathe fresh air, as she likes doing. After that, she decides to change all the locks of her tower into safe ones with a very modern key.

Since then, she lives happy and secure in her beautiful tower and it is rumoured that she is dating a blue charming prince.

Carmen, Manuel, Javier y Sonia

Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful princess called Naomi whose father had died. She inherited a big fortune which included a “magic cash card” and a book of spells with which she would be able to make all her dreams come true with the help of some recipes.
The princess spent part of her life travelling all around the world buying exclusive clothes, fashionable shoes, accessories, etc. She was very happy for some time, but there was something she missed: LOVE.
She realized that the perfect man for him should be a fashion designer. Then, she remembered “the book of spells”. She put into practice one of the recipes in the book in order to find the perfect man for her. Suddenly, she found herself facing a very handsome young man who was a gorgeous Italian fashion designer called Gianny.
Since then, he spent the rest of his life very happily designing wonderful and exclusive clothes for his princess, and she showed his creations in the most important and glamorous parties around the world till the end of their lives.

Katia y Yolanda

Once upon a time an unsuccessful politician called Gaspar was walking through a forest and thinking of his problems at work when he bumped into a medieval tower. As he was looking for the door to go inside, he noticed a frog staring at him. Surprisingly, the frog started to talk.
o Hey, Who are you? What are you looking for in this remote place?
o I was just walking for fun… but… wait for a moment…Am I really talking to a frog or am I going crazy?
o Don’t be afraid of me. I’m a magic frog and if you want to change your life listen carefully, I can help you. On top of the tower it is said that a magic i-pod which can solve all your problems is hidden. In order to reach the closest window and reach the i-pod, you have to sing and dance “chiki-chiki’s” song chorus. While you are singing, the i-pod by itself will throw the magic headphones to you so you can climb up and get it.
o But… I’m not tall enough to reach the headphones.
o Don’t worry. You can jump on me and I’ll help you.
Unexpectedly, the frog blew up like a balloon.
o Come on. Sing, dance and jump. And you’ll clutch your target.
The ambitious politician did it so he could get the magic i-pod that could solve his problems. When he had the i-pod in his hands, he looked out of the window and the frog said:
o Now, if you want to get down quickly let the i-pod fall.
Then, the poor politician followed the instructions and when the frog had the i-pod in its hands, it started to laugh at the politician and said:
o Ha, ha, ha, don’t trust a talking frog again.

Covadonga, Chema, Rhea y Marina

Once upon a time, very far away, there was a yuppie prince. He was the most handsome prince in the kingdom. All the girls there had the same dream: become his yuppie princess.
But, a wicked witch also lived in the kingdom. She hated the prince because she knew he would never fall in love with her, so she wanted to ruin his life. And Magic was the only weapon she had.
One day, while the witch was walking through the forest, a wolf appeared suddenly and she had a nifty idea. “What about turning the wolf into the most beautiful girl on earth? Just a shot would be enough. My ray gun is the most powerful weapon in the world.”
On the prince’s birthday a mysterious woman arrived in the kingdom. She had a strange beauty and he was captivated by her smile. It was love at first sight, so a few days later they got married.
Everything seemed to be alright but the wettest time of the year arrived. It was then when the prince discovered the truth: his wife was a wolf. He has been the victim of a cruel plan to deceive him.
In the end, he put an end to his life and his body was found floating on the river.

Julia, Laura y Sofia

Do you remember the times when the idea of having a computer at home was science fiction? And what about text messaging or videoconference?
We may be familiar with new technologies or not, but we cannot ignore them. They are in our daily lives and we have to cope with them.
Now think, who has taught you to use a mobile phone, an ipod or a computer? What do you use them for? How have they changed your life? How often do you use your computer? What do you use the Internet for? Do you remember the time you first downloaded a song? Have you ever entered a chat room? and I could be adding more and more questions…
My “ICT-mentors” told me about this video and suggested a brilliant idea. It is about 21st century university students: how they learn, what they need to learn, their expectations for life, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime…
And this is your task: you watch it and give your opinion. You can use these questions as guidelines if you want: Is teaching up-to-date or is it still something from the old times? Are ICTs useful tools for students? How have ICTs changed teaching and learning? or any other ideas that cross your minds.
Then you write your conclusions in no more than 150 words and, needless to say, you post your comment here. After all, we are using the so-called “Information & Communication Technologies”, aren’t we?
Deadline to post your comment: 28th February

And as always, thank you CL and MV.

There’s no need for words. This is what Chema wrote. 

Lydia’s Christmas tale.

This is a story based on and taken from a little girl’s diary.

That cold afternoon little Lydia, roughly 5 years old, was sitting in front of her little plate, next to an almost desperate sweet Mom. The plate, as usual, was full of food; to be precise just two or three spoonfuls of that tasty purée, made with love by her mother, had travelled into her mouth. And at that very moment, Lydia felt she’d eaten enough and was full of energy to go and play with her two brothers for the rest of the day. This had been happening during the last months, and her mom’s patience was running out. Besides, Christmas time was coming and little Lydia’s health could be affected by cold weather if she continued eating so little.

One day Grandpa and Grandma phoned. They said they were to move in a month’s time and they were asking for help to start cleaning their attic. Mom was not just glad, but overjoyed: it could be so exciting!The following day Mom wrapped Lydia up in her warm winter clothes, got the car and headed for Grandpa’s house to start the cleaning. It was an old big house where they had lived for decades. When they arrived, Grandma was already waiting impatiently for them. She hugged Lydia and they kissed each other in a secret play of complicity that could only be stopped by a fit of laughter. Before their arrival, Grandma had been watching TV because she loved the Christmas National Lottery Draw. This was part of the tradition since she considered that Christmas time started with it. And as she used to tell Lydia: “Good feelings and actions dwell amongst us at this special time of the year making life a bit warmer and with it The Good Magic comes: Santa Claus, the Three Wise Men… and all the good things can come true. You only have to desire them with love and for a good reason.”

Nowadays Lydia still remembers the day when she discovered the magic at Christmas time and this is how she wrote it in her diary:“After a while Mum and Granny decided to go to the attic and I followed them. I had never been in such a wonderful place before. It looked like a marvellous secret world in which magic could be waiting for us, hidden anywhere. They were sorting out “adult things” in a corner and I wandered around until I found a nice trunk. I felt as if I had found a treasure chest. I tried to open it and, although I was a tiny bony five-year-old girl, I managed. Inside it there was a wooden box full of colour pencils and some drawing books, full of colourful designs. All of them were wonderful, some with rabbits, bucolic forests or romantic little streams of water and many other things. They looked as if they had been painted by Beatrix Potter herself, so marvellous they were. And at the bottom of the trunk I could see a diary… a little girl’s diary, but an adult had written some words on it. I started reading: “This diary belongs to…” to Mom! It had been written by her when she was my age! And on the first page there was an inscription by her mom which said:  “I give you this diary desperate to see if I can find the way to feed you…” I was absolutely flabbergasted. Mom had had the same problem as me! I concentrated very hard wishing my dream came true! After a while I could feel something inside me. Yes, there it was… it was true! I could feel the good magic inside me. After all it was Christmas! I was shivering… I opened the diary and turned the pages guided by my instinct until it finished: January 22^nd. And there it said: “A month after having miraculously found that magic box of colour pencils I realise that the lack of appetite that had gripped my baby has disappeared. I’m full of joy!”After that, the rest of the book was blank. I closed it overwhelmed with happiness, and I could see that at the very bottom of the chest there was an empty drawing book. It had been waiting for me for thirty something years. At that very moment I could find something different inside me: a feeling of hunger. I stood up holding my wooden box and turning back I saw Mum and Granny looking at me moved by the joy of the moment. I had achieved my secret desire: I had found “my hunger”. From that moment on, I have believed in the magic of Christmas.” 

Inspired in my three-year-old daughter Nuria and dedicated to her… with all our patience. 

 Yes, it’s true. Time flies and here we are again surrounded by all the usual paraphernalia of Xmas. We see it in the streets, in our homes, on television and, specially, we see it in shopping centres. But, where are the true values of Xmas? Or better still, have these values ever existed? Some will say that Xmas is the period of the year when you see your family, a time when you share feelings… and, of course, a time when you exchange presents! But, I see my family whenever I want and I don’t usually hide my feelings. So there’s only one thing left: Presents! As a result, I’ve turned into what could be called  “a Xmas sceptic”. I want to get the Xmas feeling back. And I want you to help me. Tell me what you like about Xmas and what makes it a special time for you… Because you have the Xmas feeling, don’t you?