I. Warming up
1. Do you agree that computers can harm our physical and emotional condition greatly? In what way?
2. From your point of view, which group of people is susceptible to the negative effect of computers most of all?
3. Do you get angry or start panicking when your computer fails to work properly? Do you take it as a serious problem at all?
4. Do you try to sort things out on your own or call the tech support?
II. Reading
Text 1
Read the text and consider the questions below.
The Effects of Cyberbullying on Children
By R. Pandita
Cyberbullying can lead to various psychological problems in children apart from hampering their education. In this article, we will take a look at the effects of cyberbullying on children .
Cyberbullying can be defined as the act of harassing or threatening someone through an electronic medium like the internet or a cellphone. Cyberbullying is commonly used in the context of children who are being harassed through digital media. Traditionally, bullying has emerged in every society where the high and the mighty have tried to dominate the weaker sections of society. But internet and mobile phones have taken bullying to the next level, as these have the ability to permeate our safe boundaries and torment us. The situation is more appalling as in most cases the victim does not even know who their tormentor is and why is he being victimized. Children, in the development phase of their life are at high risk of being victims of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can have severe effects on your children, and there have been instances where children have taken their own life to escape the suffering. Let us know more about the effects of cyberbullying on children.
Cyberbullying and its Effects on Children
Cyberbullying can lead your children to be frightened and can cause mental problems such as depression and anxiety. Most cyberbullies are anonymous which can cause severe trauma to children as they are being tormented by a stranger. Cyberbullying can make your child remain in isolation and they may shun all kinds of socialization. This can have long-term effects on their mental set-up and can cultivate an anti-social behavior in them. Continuous cyberbullying can also lead a child to lose his self-esteem and he may acquire a pessimistic attitude. The biggest threat that cyberbullying poses to children is the impact it can have on their education, and the sad part is that most parents fail to gauge this and often blame lack of effort and dedication for a child’s academic failure.
Extreme cyberbullying can cause a child to take his own life as has happened in the case of Ryan Halligan and Megan Meier. Ryan Halligan was a student of Essex Junction, Vermont, and he committed suicide on October 7, 2003 after being constantly harassed by his classmates through instant messages. He was being taunted and threatened, and was accused of being gay. Megan Meier a teenager from Missouri committed suicide after she was being humiliated through a social networking website. These two cases are a grim reminder to all of us about the threat cyberbullying poses to our children. It is important on the part of parents to look out for possible signs in your children, so that they do not suffer in silence. If your child is suddenly avoiding using a computer or his cellphone, there are chances that he is being cyberbullied. Other signs can be a sudden change in behavior, nervousness when receiving a call or a message, and non-involvement in family activities.
The Role of Parents
Parents have an increased responsibility to ensure that their children are not being victimized. Some steps that parents can take to deal with cyberbullying are:
· Talk to your children about the uses and abuses of technology. If you are gifting a laptop or a cellphone to your child, make sure that you have a word with him on how those can be used effectively, and what are the potential abuses that should be avoided.
· Be a support system for your kids and make them believe that you are there to take care of any eventuality. Sometimes kids may fear telling you about cyberbullying as they may perceive that they are putting their parents in danger. So, it is important to create a belief in your children that you are there to help them if someone is threatening or harassing them.
· Educating your children on how to keep their email and social-networking accounts safe can ensure that your children are at a reduced risk of cyberbullying. You can teach them the various security and privacy settings that help in keeping the personal details of an individual confidential.
· If you feel that there is an ulterior motive behind cyberbullying, you can take the help of law-enforcement agencies to bring the culprits to justice. It is important that you save the threatening messages or emails, as these can be used as an evidence.
These were some ways in which parents can ensure that their children are not being victimized. Cyberbullying has no longer remained a “bit of banter”, and it is important that we take this issue seriously. Ignoring cyberbullying can have vitiating effects, which can hamper a child’s development. If you feel that your child or someone you know is a victim of cyberbullying, spread the message that they are not alone and there is a way out of this debilitating situation.
1.What does the notion of cyberbullying stand for? In what way is it different from bullying in general?
2. What signals the fact that your child is being cyberbullied?
3.What steps can parents take to assist their children in case of cyberbullying?
Text 2
Read the text and consider the questions below.
How to Overcome Computer Rage
By S. Kale
Most computer users today frequently face the problem of computer rage. Let us see what exactly is computer rage and how you can overcome it .
You are busy working, and all of a sudden, your computer crashes. What’s your first reaction? Do you feel like smashing the keyboard, banging your mouse, and kicking the monitor? If you have answered “yes” to any of the questions above, then you are a victim of computer rage. We are increasingly dependent on technology in today’s world, and hence, instances of computer rage are on the rise. Venting out anger and frustration on the computer and other related devices when they do not function properly is known as computer rage. When the user cannot fix the problem, verbal abuse against the PC is a common way to let out the anger, and in extreme cases, the user can even get physical and bang the mouse, keyboard, or the screen itself.
Computer rage is also very common among players of computer and video games, when the user repeatedly loses or is unable to reach his/her game target. One of the most common causes of computer rage is the appearance of the blue screen of death, which occurs when MS Windows encounters an error that is critical and non-recoverable in nature, and which usually leads the system to crash, and it has to be rebooted.
Ways to Overcome Computer Rage
Computer rage, caused by computer trouble, frustrates workers, causes interruption in the work schedules, ultimately leading to deadlines not being met, which can further anger clients, and result in financial damages. Let us see how to tackle this problem.
· Always keep a backup of all your files. Store files online or transfer all necessary data onto CDs and DVDs. So in the event of a system crash, you can always retrieve your files even if the hard drive has to be formatted.
· Keep your cool. If you encounter an unexpected system error, do not use swear words or do something like hitting and smashing your PC that could actually harm the hardware. This will do you no good. You could physically hurt yourself and your actions may also cause monetary loss. Instead, get up, and walk away. Breathe deeply. Splash cool water on your face. Take a stroll, have a chat with your coworkers and friends and return only after you feel you have calmed down. You may even realize that you do not feel so frustrated after all. Try to look at things from a different perspective. You may be surprised to find the solution was right there in front of you, but you did not realize it because your mind was so clouded with anger.
· Call for help. Make a call to the tech support or IT help desk of your organization, and ask them to come and have a look at your PC. If you are home, ask for help from a friend or an acquaintance who is good at troubleshooting such problems, or take your laptop to the store to get it repaired or call a tech support company and hire their services.
· Do not shout and express your anger at the people around you. It is not their fault that your computer crashed. If you have the tech support working on your problem, make use of the free time by completing unfinished paperwork, making urgent calls, or just chatting up with a coworker. Diverting your mind from the problem at hand can sometimes be beneficial. It will help you to think clearly and logically.
· If you face the same problem regularly, get to know the correct debugging and troubleshooting techniques. A little IT knowledge will always prove helpful, and you could even solve the problem yourself, instead of waiting for the tech support to show up.
With computers being used in practically every industry, hardware and software troubles are bound to be on the rise. It’s up to you to keep a calm mind and not get perturbed by computer problems. Do not let computer rage control you. Learn how to control it so it does not interfere with your day-to-day activities.
1. What is computer rage? How is it manifested?
2. What is “the blue screen of death”?
3. How can you avoid computer rage?
III. Focus on the language
March the following words to make up useful expressions you will need to speak about the negative effects of computers:
|
to permeate to hamper to acquire to vent out to remain non-involvement to interfere with to have |
education anger and frustration in isolation day-to-day activities a pessimistic attitude in family activities safe boundaries vitiating effects |
IV. Problem solving
1. Agree or disagree: You should get some IT knowledge even if you are not an IT professional.
2. Role play a conversation between a computer addict and a psychologist.
3. Role play the situation: You are the tech support person in a department whose workers have recently encountered computer trouble.
Give recommendations to the employees on how to solve the problem and overcome computer rage. In your speech you may refer to the following issues.
Connection error, slowdown (running slowly), crash, failure, fault, hanging, error report, error code etc.
4. Agree or disagree: Children should know how to protect their personal details and learn the necessary security and privacy settings themselves, without their parents’ help.
5. Role play a conversation between a parent and a child about cyberbullying.
V. Useful tips for your presentations
To prepare and deliver a successful conference speech, consider the following tips.
Making a Good Conference Speech
For a lot of the very thought of talking in public can send shivers by means of their bones, and cause a chilly sweat to type instantly. For these with careers that demand the odd conference speech on occasion this could cause some difficulties. However, with somewhat creative flare, some humour and loads of preparation any one could make a killer conference speech.
As with every business undertaking or activity the drawing board ought to always start with planning. Take time to dissect and evaluation what it’s your being requested to do. What’s the convention for? What have you ever been requested to speak on? Why have YOU been asked to speak? These are all questions that once answered will assist you formulate some initial concepts and content material on your speech.
The next step needs to be to take your preliminary ideas and break them down. This will enable you to understand each facet of your speech and uncover any invaluable points, details and knowledge that in the first place look you may have over looked. Another good thing about breaking down your content material is that you will turn out to be more and more accustomed to it, constructing information and confidence in the direction of it. It’s often those that rush this initial part that end up in a large number come the day they need to give their speech.
Once you have the essential content material of your speech and you’re confident that you simply understand it you can start to add the X-Factor. By this I mean the points of your speech that will make you stand out and depart your viewers engaged, impressed, entertained and wanting to listen to more. For this you must really let your inventive side shine through. Use your skills and skills to your advantage. This may include using movie, music, photographs as an instance points that you are making. Make references, references to common tradition all the time help to create relationships between your viewers and your content. Be humorous, a good joke firstly will calm down each yourself and your viewers, making the remainder of your speech far simpler to get through.
On the day there are numerous preparations you may make to ensure that your convention speech runs smoothly and successfully. Relying on the formality of the event, wear garments that are snug and mean you can stand at ease. Being snug is half the battle gained, relating to public speaking. Don’t go over and over your speech, the data will already be retained, over considering issues may cause nervousness and that is much more likely to make you stumble and forget. Discover a moment to clear your head, go outdoors, get some recent air, and be alone to assemble your thoughts. Lastly make sure you have a glass of water at hand, the most typical symptom of nerves is a dry mouth, and this can be devastating when making an attempt to make a speech.
Public speaking needn’t be the bane of your career. The key to success is in your preparation. By taking the time to strategy your speech in an organised and properly planned manner, you’ll set yourself up for success.
http://www.sharepointconferencecentral.com/making-a-good-conference-speech.html
VI. Working on the project
As a children’s psychologist, deliver a speech at a conference on the problem of cyberbullying. Follow the useful tips above.