New Blog for Cool Cities

Sunday, May 18, 2008 / three weeks to go!
- Be sure to bring your personal blog topics to me for Tuesday! Otherwise it's tough to give you the extra marks...

Week 14 Tasks
Hello gentlemen! This is a busy week since we had to do reading summary last week Therefore, other tasks are easier this week.
1. WebCT Vista Vocabulary – finish up to and including quiz 8. The deadline for completion of all 10 quizzes is Thursday, May 29, 1 pm (end of week 16). 2. Blog comments. Add two more thoughtful comments to other classmates’ blogs (2 per week from week 12, so you should have 6+ by Thursday, May 19). Please spell-check!
3. Watch the Cool Cities video about developing cool cities in the UAE. Identify three good changes (adaptations) which could work well and three bad or unrealistic changes which would not work (well) in terms of practicality or environmental impact (global warming) in the UAE. You can find more arguments for and against “cool cities” in these articles from The National: "Cool ideas to beat the heat", "Building a Green Dream", and "Masder's Green Dream is not for all". Need to see the video again? Click on "Cool Cities" in the week 14 tasks of the blog project (a fast internet connection helps!).
**4. Post a 140+ word blog entry called “Cool City Comments” and use subtitles “Good adaptations” and “Bad adaptations”. Write 3 main points for each (#1 below is my example only – change it!).
**Good adaptations1. Covered walkways – would reduce temperatures and not impact the environment.2. Main point 2 – good because …3. Main point 3 – beneficial since …Bad adaptations1. Using misters (water) to cool the air temperature – could be bad because water supplies are limited. It also takes energy to get water and produce mist.2. Main point 2 – may be bad because …3. Main point 3 - might be impractical since …Suitable images and links to suitable videos or articles are also a plus. Try to finish #4 by Thursday, May 23 (the deadline for all blog entries is Thursday, June 6 - the week of your presentaions). This week, I will not be editing your work because you are only asked to write main points and, too, I am more interested in good content and critical thinking than in grammatical accuracy (although that still counts!). Plus, I will have 20 reading summaries to mark!

See you Tuesday;

the Fox