Summary Writing

A Life in Three Acts

     Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford commencement address was both personal and inspirational. He began by avowing not having graduated from college and then let his audience know he would be delivering them three stories about his life. These stories accounted for his first experiences until recent events at the moment of his speech; each of them depicting cornerstones of his existence and transmitting a clear message: ‘never settle.’ The purpose of this paper is to summarise those anecdotes.

     Jobs’ first story was about linkage. He claimed (Standford, 2008) he had been adopted by a working-class family despite his biological mother’s requirement that he be adopted by college graduates. Nonetheless, his adopting parents promised their son would attend college, only then did his mother signed the papers for his adoption as she believed that would guarantee her child a profitable future. He declared he did go to college although he eventually dropped out. He claimed he was uncertain about his future and could not see the point of elucidating it through formal education. According to him, honouring his curiosity and intuition was the best decision he had ever made as it led him to take up the classes that interested him genuinely; in his case it was calligraphy.

     Jobs granted his knowledge did not seem to have any practical use at the moment. However, calligraphy would prove its value years later when Jobs applied it to the Macintosh computer making it the first one to own this kind of design. This connection, Jobs continued, was only possible by relating his past decisions to his present ones.  Jobs finished his first account by pointing out the importance of relying on one’s own decisions and being hopeful they would achieve their purpose in the time ahead. (Standford, 2008)

    Jobs’ second anecdote dealt with ‘love and loss’, as he declared. He described the rise and downfall as an owner of his own company and the consequences of his own forfeiture. Jobs also reported having found his life partner and started a family during this period.

     Even though he was publicly exposed during this time, Jobs argued, he carried on pursuing his passion and proceeded to fund two other successful companies: Next, later purchased by Apple Inc. and Pixar, the worldwide known animation studio.

     He concluded this narrative drawing attention to the lesson that can be gained from failure; that there is a possibility to begin anew. He also reasoned that only by pursuing one’s mission and performing one’s best can someone accomplish personal fulfilment. (Standford, 2008)

     Finally, in his last story Jobs referred to death as an incentive to live life to the fullest. He argued that being certain of death is the best attribute to realise the significance of life. He reported his near-death near death experience as he was diagnosed with pancreas cancer; the way he had become aware he needed closure at a very unexpected time in his life. Fortunately, he declared, he was able to face surgery and was granted hope for the future. He added this episode as a wakeup call for his audience; death is life’s final destination, and this endless cycle should serve as evidence of how imperative it is to be true to oneself. (Standford, 2008)

     In the end, Jobs last made a wish to his audience quoting some words of wisdom which inspired him in his youth, during which he was a reader of the The Whole Earth Catalogue: ‘Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.’ (as cited by Jobs in Standford, 2008).

     All in all, Steve Jobs’ speech is distinguished by its encouragement to trust one’s inner voice when making decisions, no matter how young or inexperienced the person might be; by its acknowledgement of failure as part of a learning process that can lead to new experiences and by its incentive to stay curious during the whole process.

Summary written in collaboration with Prof. Ludmila Ruiz Diaz

 https://developingeap.blogspot.com.ar/

References

Standford, [SU]. (2008, March 8). Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address [video file]  

              Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=533&v=UF8uR6Z6KLc 

 The Whole Earth Catalog ( as in Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address [video file] ) 

Book Review/Critique

Exploring Online Teaching and Learning

A Book Review by Naiman, L. & Ruiz Díaz, L.

The book The theory and practice of online teaching and learning: a guide for academic professionals by Routledge (n.d.) is a free guide which comprises six different books on the matter of teaching online; each of which is summarized by its own author or authors in a separate chapter. This guidebook seems to be directed to any academic professional who might consider starting a line of work in this area, which involves the use of information technology (IT) tools, some designing skills, and appears to offer the same benefits as the onsite and blended teaching alternatives.

Ko and Rossen (n.d.) present the first chapter depicting the basics of teaching online; they describe its differences and advantages and offer interesting words of advice for teachers who are new in this area, and for those who were not trained with technology before entering to the digital era. Next, Vai and Sosulski (n.d.) continue to describe the pedagogical essentials for asynchronous teaching in chapter two; they explore its flexibility to accommodate itself to different types of learners and then suggest a course building period which can help to control time properly since its management can become a cumbersome endeavor. In addition to this, Salmon (n.d.) takes charge of chapter three and coins the term e-tivities, which are activities that could also require students’ collaboration although they are developed online. Generally speaking, there appears to be a common ground agreement among the authors regarding a support to the social constructivist theory of learning since Salmon (n.d.) describes e-tivities as “based on the strong idea that knowledge is constructed by learners through and with others” (p.29).

Later on, in chapter four, Means, Bakia and Murphy (n.d.) introduce a typology of online teaching methods based on context, design, use and outcomes. Means et al. (n.d.) mention how to implement this typology dimensions and illustrate their interconnection and constant feedback. Chapter five is written by Littlejohn and Pegler (n.d.), who delve into the benefits that open resources might bring to the teaching and learning environment for both, students and teachers/instructors. Finally, in chapter six, Laurillard (n.d.) clearly explores the relationship between education and technology and how they interact in the teaching/learning environment making a point regarding the fact that unluckily, there has not been any technological advancement regarding teaching; instructors or teachers are the ones in charge of adapting technology and online applications or tools to the teaching/learning field. Laurillard (n.d.) also states the importance of questioning what new technologies can do for education, and in doing so “[the academic community] have to do that from a position of strength, with a clear and continually renewed understanding of what education requires of them” (p.59).

In addition to the wide variety of information and digital tools that the authors offer, we are invited to explore the book’s web site where we may enlarge our knowledge regarding online teaching and learning by purchasing these authors’ works on the different aspects presented in the guide. Regarding its structure, the book is organized, easy to read, and it presents clear definitions and information in a summarized fashion. Not only do the authors elucidate the benefits of this innovative teaching/learning mode, they also incorporate worthy evidence supporting the rationalizations exposed.

Even though the arguments given are pristinely organized, it would have been enriching if the authors had mentioned some of the B sides of this teaching and learning mode. Not only do the authors seem to take for granted that online resources are available everywhere and cheap, but they also present this choice as a one-size-fits-all system that would meet the needs of all types of learners. Additionally, the arguments regarding the necessary time to be invested in learning and teaching seem to be treated lightly. It would have been more realistic if the authors had made a case of the actual effort and time that takes acquiring different skills to master this teaching and learning mode.

On the whole, we are offered a remarkable account of the aspects regarding online teaching and learning to take into consideration in order to embark on this kind of experience. Moreover, if we are interested in exploring the online universe, we are offered a nice pack of information that summarizes all efforts and that can be obtained cheap and easily on the web.   Whether we decide to become part of this innovative method or not, it is indubitable that this form of learning and teaching is already in progress, and the propositions provided by the authors encompass a complex but inexorable reality.

References

The Theory and Practice of Online Teaching and Learning: A Guide for Academic Professionals.[E-reader version, if applicable]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tandfbis/rt-files/docs/FreeBooks+Opened+Up/Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_FB_final.pdf

Annotated Bibliography

Warwick, L. (2016, November). The use of assessment criteria in classroom speaking tasks.In Cambridge Assessment English (Ed.), Research Notes [ E-reader version, if applicable] (pp. 16 - 21). Cambridge. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/368333-research-notes-66.pdf

      In her article, Warwick (2016) describes her interest in implementing formative assessment to aid students at Bell Cambridge, the school where she works, resulting in interesting outcomes from her students and reflections regarding her own performance. Her focus was particularly set on success criteria as she wished to find out if providing learners with the guidelines for a successful outcome would help them develop their speaking skills. This case study was examined and carried under a process of action research; Warwick is one of the five researchers that investigated different cases under the same approach. This particular case is fairly straightforward as its stages are clearly described and her results and samples are included. Not only is the author genuinely engaged in the investigation, but she also shares information from which student teachers and teachers in praxis can delve into for further understanding on teaching speaking for multicultural groups of students.