(Student writing B2.2) Technology and Accessibility - by Karin

I’ve been visiting the A-Day (Accessibility Day) in Austria for years now and it is still interesting to be there. You may wondering what this has to do with technology. Let me explain.

The “A-Day” is a conference for exchanging experiences and information about diverse topics related to accessibility, from physical disability to blindness and deafness. The whole conference is accessible, and everything that is said is interpreted in sign language and written text.

My first time at this conference was a strange experience. I’d never seen anything like this before and I was deeply impressed how technology has transformed the lives of people with disabilities. Starting from tools like screenreaders over wheelchairs with joystick control and prosthetics up to working on a computer via eye-tracker - all these things were used or introduced during the conference. I was never aware that a simple conversation between a blind person and a deaf person is not possible without technology, and this is just one example.

Here are some key facts about disability:

·      Around a billion people worldwide have a disability - this is one in five people in Europe and America

·      Many of them are excluded from work and social life

·      Their poverty rate is about twice that of other people

So as the conference shows in a very impressive way, for this huge group of people technology is not merely welcome but vital. It can improve their quality of life significantly and help them to contribute more in both work life and social life.

In the listening about facial recognition this week we heard about the risks of this technology. But the same technology can help some people to access a computer screen. There are benefits and risks in nearly every technology. The question is, who takes the responsibility in how to use them? Moreover, how do we make sure that all this creative, innovative and amazing technology is affordable for people, such as the disabled, for whom it will be most useful?

(Upper-Intermediate) I don't need subtitles

Watch:

I don't need subtitles

Class project - create a short comedy play

The class will be split into two groups.

Students need to perform the following roles:

Script writers
Director
Actors
Costume and staging ideas
A technician to do lighting, special effects and sound
A narrator

The story must have

a time (day, night, past, present, future, winter, spring etc)
- could you even add a flashback?

a place (more than one if possible)
- think about atmosphere - a jungle, an airport, inside a train, a prison, at the beach, in the snow, Mars (how can you convey these places - through props and sounds?)
- a writer friend of mine said you should always set your story in a strange place, that way, even if the action is mundane, at least it's happening somewhere interesting.

a hero / heroine
- find the flaw and play it up

a villain
- find the flaw and play it up

make sure you have at least three distinct (and named) characters with motivations

throw in some amusing incidental characters as a side plot

more than one plot line, make these meet up from time to time

dialogue

plenty of incongruity - don't hold back

an inanimate object or animal with human qualities (this character could say ironic things - it could be a computer or a bag or a spider)

a build up (let the story unfold slowly, even put in some things that conceal the real plot)

a conflict (what's the basic problem behind the drama?)

at least one plot twist (something isn't it seemed to be perhaps)

a change in the relationship between the characters (a shift in alliances?)

a climax (something dramatic - a sword fight, a tragedy, a revelation)

a resolution (wrap it up with a final joke or twist)


It must be 5-10 minutes long.

Characters:

Think about types (stupid, hyper-cautious, clumsy, day dreamer, femme fatale, manipulator, innocent, smelly, spoilt brat, superficial, conniving, overly sensitive etc) and opposites (old and young, wise and foolish, short and tall, nerdy and cool, brave and cowardly etc)


It could be on a theme. Choose one...

Secrets
Revenge
Getting a job
Work
Unrequited love
Greed
Power struggles
Adventure


Devices that can help in creating drama and suspense:

A destination (the characters are going somewhere perhaps, or one character is going to be executed or discovered to be not what they seem)
A race against time (adds suspense every time)
A simple motivation of one or more characters that keeps getting thwarted (maybe they're trying to get out prison)
An unexplained object (a "UFO"). Put this is a conspicuous place so the audience thinks "why is that there? How does it relate to the story etc). Then let this object come into the story in a creative way.

It could have a key comic scene (a gag) - this is almost like a play within a play

here are a couple of examples:

Marx Bros speech scene

Down By Law

Most of all...

Have fun

(Upper-Intermediate) Misheard Song lyrics

Watch:

Peter Kay - Misheard Song Lyrics

(Advanced) How big is your deck?

There's nothing wrong with a bunch of guys sitting around talking about the size of their decks...I mean, everybody compares, right?

Watch:

How big is your deck?

Waitangi Day Celebrations

Orakei Domain, 11 Tamaki Drive, Orakei, Auckland

On the 6th of February 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by Rangatira Māori and representatives of the Crown.

In 2019, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei in conjunction with Auckland Council will commemorate the occasion with a free, fun and informative day out at Okahu Bay, Orākei.

The day will begin with a pōwhiri (māori welcoming ceremony) at 10am.

11.00 – 11.20:Te Puru o Tāmaki Kaumātua Kapa Haka 
11.30 -12.00:My Greatest Now 
12.10 -12.40:Ihi 
12.50 -13.20:Maimoa 
13.30 – 14.00:Troy Kingi 
14.15-14.55:House of Shem 
15.00: Karakia (Ka mutu)

Bring a picnic or buy food from one of the stalls. A unique chance to enjoy the hospitality of Auckland's largest iwi (or tribe), Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

Bad Lip Reading - The Royal Wedding

Discuss

Did you watch the Royal Wedding? What do you remember?

Task

First watch a little with no sound. What do you guess people are saying?

Then watch a bit with text only. Ask questions about vocabulary.

Watch with text and sound.

The Royal Wedding

Writing project - Diary

Day One.

Take few minutes to record your experiences today. Don't feel you have to think of something clever or funny to write, just put down whatever comes to mind. Be creative if you like - draw pictures, make it a cartoon - or don't - it doesn't matter for now.



Day two.

First look back to what you did yesterday. There might be other memories that occur to you now: think about the senses in particular (sights, sounds, sensations, tastes and smells) - add them into the mix. Look particularly at the vocabulary. Can you use more expressive words? Can you add any onomatopoeia?





Later on today, write another entry in your diary, this time pay a little more attention to the language you use.


Day three.

Go back over day two's entry, add some more memories and reflections. Keep trying new words and phrases. If you used a colourful adjective, why not add another one next to it? Add drawings or anything to spice your diary up.

Later, write an entry for day three.


Day four.

This will be your last entry. Write it out without too much thought. Reading back over your four entries, is there a kind of theme or story that has developed over the four days? can you help that come through better by changing, removing or altering anything? Can you make the the different days connect? Go over all the entries and write them out again, smoothing out the language, making the whole thing read smoothly and cohesively.


Day five.

Get into groups and read your diary aloud to the others. As a group choose either one person's diary to read to the whole class, or the best excerpt from each of your diaries.