JOURNAL SET 2 ( MULTI-MEDIA ENTRY )

                                                     
                                                       CELL PHONES IN SCHOOL

       In this video, there is a debate over whether cell phones should be brought to school or   not. While the guy in the middle and lady on the right stand up that there is absolutely no    need for students to take their cell phones to school at all, the lady on the left supports that students should be allowed to take their mobile phones to school. She says how they going to get in touch someone if something bad happens on the walk home or on the way to school, so it will be much safer for the kids carrying their cell phones with them to school. As a response to her saying, the guy says that every teacher has cell phones and if god forbid in case of an emergency the teachers will inform students' parents. He thinks such a thing would be a distraction for students. As for the lady on the right, she supports what the guy told and thinks it would be a big problem. Also, the guy indicates that they can bring the cell phones to school, but they should keep them in lockers till the end of the day. Moreover, he says the kids have not cell phones, they have smart phones and during classes they log on facebook and tweeter, download and google something, and surf on the internet. However, the lady sitting on the left states that she just thinks they should bring them to school for emergency purposes, but not use them during lessons freely. 

       I liked this video having a debate over use of cell phones in schools as it explains all possible aspects of it both in a positive and negative way. That is, these people argue about why cell phones are necessary and unnecessary by giving rational reasons and examples; thus, they throw light on this matter and unclutter the confusion on people's minds. As for my opinion, I am of the opinion that they should take their mobile phones to school in case there happens an emergency situation, but they should either give them authorities while entering the school and then take back while leaving or they should keep them in lockers during classes.

JOURNAL SET 2 ( REFLECTION ENTRY )

                                                BRINGING MOBILE PHONES TO SCHOOL

These days, more and more students bring their cell phones to school and it has been a controversial topic recently. I believe that students should carry mobile phones in case there happens a bad thing, but I object to phones being used at school particularly in the classroom. Many students travel to and from school without their parents and they might need their mobile phones in the event of an emergency. Therefore, students should be allowed to carry their cell phones with them to school, but at the entrance of the school, they should be made to submit them to authorities and while leaving from the school, their cell phones should be given them so that they can call their parents in case of something bad on the way to home. I said that they should leave their mobile phones while entering the school because in an educational institution whatever disrupts or spoils the class should be removed out of the classroom. In this regard, nothing can be more disruptive during a lesson than the sound of a mobile phone ringing or playing an annoying tune. Moreover, there is one more point to underline that students who have mobile phone in class do not pay attention to the lesson. Instead of focusing on the lesson, they make something on the phone such as playing games, sending messages, and surfing on the internet during the lesson, which prevents them from getting what is told about that course.  On the whole, cell phones may be brought to school, but should not be used during lessons.

JOURNAL SET 1 ( MULTI-MEDIA ENTRY )


                                                             WHAT IS BEAUTY ?

        This video is about true beauty. It says people assume that beauty is only skin deep; therefore, they want to be called beautiful with regards to physical appearence. However, the real truth is much more far for those who think that gloss is necessary to be beautiful; that is to say, people are ignorant of what the beauty is, it indicates. For a while, the woman who shot this video turns her camera to some posters on the wall on which there are pictures of some fashion models who are called beautiful and  and she says she is not beutiful like them, she is beautiful like her. Furthermore, as far as I understand from what she wrote, she thinks that like those mannikin, to be skinny and have pretty face, long hair, big bust and perfect smile are not indications of being beautiful. She points out that one can never see true beauty with a mirror, which means beauty is not on outer appearence of people. She says beauty is not in the face, it is a light in the heart.
         I liked this video so much because it indicates that beauty is not like people assumed; it is in one's heart and I am of the same mind with it. I think people should not be valued with their beauty and outer appearence. If I have to speak for myself, I can say one is valuable for his/her hümanity, thoughts, ideas, perpectives of life, intentions, and beliefs for me; not for his/her gloss. Every person deserves to be respected and valued by others because of being human. However, today beauty concept is misunderstood and given so much importance that in every field we can see traces of it.

JOURNAL SET 1 ( REFLECTION ENTRY )

                                        THE INCREASING INTEREST IN BEAUTY

Day by day, the importance given to physical appearance is increasing. I think this results from people's desire to win recognition or respect from the others. This lead them to be more and more beautiful as they think that when they are beautiful, their friends or companions will accept them easily. Indeed, it is true; that is, everbody is drawn by the outer beauty. For instance, surely you had such experiences in elementary or secondary school that a beautiful girl or a handsome boy has so many friends and their thoughts or ideas are regarded as more important from that of the others. You can always see a lot of people around such people because of their recognition resulting from their beauties. It also might be the desire to be admired by the opposite sex. It is a fact that a person who is beautiful or handsome, and has a good-looking is admired by the other because one's having beauty creates a good impression on people on the first look. For example, the guys always look for the girls' beauty first of all, and the girls are same, too. If a girl has uneducated or not smart, rude but she is beatiful there are still many guys want her and if a guy is a bad person but he has good-looking, so the girls still like him. Moreover, I am of the opinion that if one is beautiful, he/she has more chance in work life in terms of being hired as most of the employers are influenced by the appearance of the candidates in job interviews, and of course their decisions are also shaped in this way. For instance, what I realize in every company is that all staff members or employees are good-looking people and generally the managers are handsome or beautiful, too. As far as I understand, it is important to have a charisma in work life for every stage. That is, outer beauty is also important for work life. The beauty is gaining more and more importance, and if you have outer beauty most of the doors in life is open to you.

GROUP WORK

                                                       OUR TEACHİNG DEVİCE

           Our device aims at teaching English vocabularies and their pronounciations for beginner learners especially kids from the ages of 7 to 12. It looks like a notebook, but it is much smaller. It has letter buttons, so one can write anything s/he wants on its keyboard to learn its meaning in the other language.In addition, the pictures of the words can be seen on its screen, which provides children with associating the words with their pictures and learning the words more efficiently. As for its the most important feature, it pronounces the words when one clicks the ''pro'' (pronounciation) button and also by showing happy or sad face, it gives him/her a chance to control his/her pronounciation with ''verf'' ( verification) button. That is, when the ''pro'' button is clicked, it pronounces the word and when the ''verf'' button is clicked, s/he is supposed to pronounce the word correctly. If s/he pronounces it correctly, a happy face shows up on the screen. If not, a sad face shows up on the screen. Furthermore, its size enables people or children to carry it with them everywhere, and its feature of showing pictures of the words makes it entertaining. Besides, its visual and audial traits enable children to learn the words efficiently and permanently. Apart from this, it translates the words from Türkish to English and also English to Türkish.

İNCİ DEMİR
ZAHİDE HAKAN
SIDIKANUR GÖKDEMİR

JOURNAL ENTRY 7  (Conjuctions)

                                           DEVİL WEARS PRADA

I have to say it is one of the funniest movies I've seen. The screenwriter both has maintained everything that was funny about the book, as well as chucked a lot of the duller subplots, and has formulated a movie that is a great deal more enjoyable than the book.
I'm sure you're all familiar with the basic premise - naive small-town girl comes to the big city hoping to be a journalist, and gets a job as assistant to Miranda Priestly, the much-feared editor of 'Runway' magazine. Thankfully, the cast was almost perfect and elevated the movie to a level it would not have otherwise reached.
I thought that Anne Hathaway was very appealing in her role; she made Andrea more likable and less snobbish than she was in the book although the screenwriter deserves credit for that, as well, she looked great in the couture she wore through most of the movie.
The supporting players were also very good, especially Emily Blunt (as Andrea's caustic fellow assistant, Emily) and Stanley Tucci (as Miranda's loyal but beleaguered right-hand man, Nigel). On many occasions, they stole scenes from the ostensibly 'central' character of Andrea.
The movie, while maintaining the book's premise, does not follow the book too closely, which I liked. The entire subplot from the book is eliminated; both Andrea's parents and boyfriend are less significant in the movie than in the book. I agreed with these changes, but I found those aspects of the book to be quite boring, and their omission made for a more streamlined movie.
I strongly recommend this movie to virtually anyone.

JOURNAL ENTRY 6

                                                           WHAT İS ''HAARP'' ?

           This video mentiones a project called '' HAARP '' which stands for high frequency active auroral research project. It says that this technology's background was formed by Nicole Tesla and those who can develop this technology will be the sole owner of the world and now this technology is used by United States America and Israel. It adds that it was calculated that if it is run during one hour, it releases an energy as much as an atomic bomb does. It also says that HAARP was erected at a peciluar place near the US military base in Gakona Alaska because it is a perfect place to control the electromanyetic areas of the world without anyone knowing. The video also explains that HAARP can change the climates, create earthquakes, melt polar ices, control the ocean waves, control the human minds by playing with the world's energy fields and play with the ozone layer. It adds that when it is used to trigger to form the eartquakes, there is an odd change of colour at the sky.
          I liked this video in terms of the information it conveys and being expository in every aspect and proving things that it alleged with pictures or images. I think that these all are correct and soon something must be done. We cannot leave the world to the hands of America or Israel. However, there is no such power that it will challenge these two country. They have already owned the world since very early times. This project they have can even change the world and nobody says anything.

JOURNAL ENTRY 5

                                                WHAT İS '' HAARP''

HAARP stands for The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program. The goal of this program is to further advance our knowledge of the physical and electrical properties of the Earth's ionosphere which can affect our military and civilian communication and navigation systems. The HAARP program operates a world-class ionospheric research facility located in Gakona, Alaska. They say it is for communications, but, in fact, the real motive is much more wicked. The name of this 'research' is a nonsensical name protecting its potential to be worse than a nuclear bomb. It can be used to create a world war, thus pretty much ending the human race as we know it. It could be done by raping the sky with energy rays from large amounts of antennas placed at HAARP's location in Alaska. These rays of energy could then potentially be reflected back into the Earth's ionosphere on an extremely low frequency, called ELF waves. This can change the ELF waves to an extremely dangerous weapon. These low frequencies improve radio contact between people, even if  you are inside a thick concrete bunker or a submarine.For  instance, US military might be able to locate missiles and detect bunkers created by the 'enemy' with ease. Moreover, it can also block signals from any electronic device, which would mean you could stop anyone, anywhere from communicating electronically. The pros of this project are good, but at no point outweight the terrifying cons of it's technology. Together with the ozone layer, the ionosphere protects us from being fried by the sun. We are being so obsessed with the global warming destroying the ozone layer, but HAARP could destroy the ionosphere in seconds. Despite warnings and protests, it is going ahead anyway. They are invested 30 million dollars into it. 60 antennas are being tested already. Scientists intend to heat the ionosphere with the antennas, in turn this will create ion clouds that will replicate an optical lense, which will reflect the ELF waves and rain shit down upon us. They can be aimed at anywhere at all, depending on where the waves are going.The truth is, that HAARP camouflages the worlds biggest weapon ever created, one that could literally destroy the world. Our skies are being programmed, and we are not far behind.

 JOURNAL ENTRY 4

                                                        THE WORLD OF METU
     

                                                 
            The latest slogan of metu '' I brain METU '' is exactly as it should be because it explains everthing about metu and its student. Of course,  when it is read, the saying does not give the whole meaning to the readers. It is not expository ; nevertheless , one can anticipate the message intended to convey it to the readers. When the video of the slogan is watched, it is better to understand what the slogan shelters in it. I think, it addresses both metu and its students in every aspect. Those who speak in the video completely tell the truths of metu. For instance, as they say, metu people do not accept any borders or limititations; they think freely and express their ideas freely. Of course there are much more words said about metu and its students in the whole video. These are just two of them. However, there are so many things which can be said about metu and its student ; therefore , the slogan is a bit insufficient. I can see that it is somewhat short but really meaningful. Despite this, I think it could be more developed according to the message it has. If ı chose a slogan for metu, I definitely regard the slogan '' the world of metu'' as an appropriate slogan since when both metu students and its campus is taken into consideration everybody admits this slogan. Apart from these, metu students' souls are enough to form a world on its own. To conlude, being a metu student is really a concessionary.

 JOURNAL ENTRY 3


                               WHAT IS AN IDEAL UNIVERSITY LIKE ?  

    An ideal university should include some basic properties. First of all, the campus of a university should be verdant not barren and have a capasity to meet its students' necessities. Besides them, the buildings in campus should be neat and aesthetic. Also, the design of the school should express a sense of comfort to its students and create such a sincere atmosphere that students feel as if they were at their homes. If so, students easily get used to the school. Secondly, it should provide its students with some basic facilities. For instance, it should have decent dormitories with a capasity to accommodate all students, and a sufficient number of laboratory where students can easily access the internet, make research and do their homework or project, a good library in which students can study their courses, and wireless internet with which students can access the internet on the campus whenever they want. Thirdly, academic staff of a university should be very sufficient and effective on students, and also it should provide a good and international education to its students. Moreover, it should be a world-class university and have a lot of worldwide success.As for whether metü is an ideal university or not, i am of the opinion that metü is an ideal university in every aspect. It fits all of these criteria i mentioned above and even exceed these standarts.

 JOURNAL ENTRY 2 
                
                                BEİNG A STUDENT AT METU

      Being a student at Metu causes its students to perceive themselves as priviliged because there is no doubt that Metü is the best university of Turkey and ranks as one of the top 250 universities of the world. Metu attends lots of worldwide competitions every year and gain a lot of worlwide success and prestige, especially in engineering. Moreover, its instructors are of very high quality as they are elected people. It is not easy to become an instructor at Metu and because of this, only those who are competent in their field can teach at metu. Besides, Metu provides a superb educational environment for its students and gives a very good education to them. Therefore, studying at Metu is a concessionary and a source of pride.

      I am glad being at Metu in many ways. Firstly, Metu is a really good university in terms of teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook and the education provided us at Metü is really high in quality. Secondly,its campus was built on such a large area that everthing students need is available on the campus; thus, there is no need to go outside to buy something or meet our own necessities. Moreover, the friendships formed in this campus environment are worth living.There are lots of students' communities or teams and they are open to anyone who want to participate in. To be socialize and make friends, these groups can be very effective and i am of the opinion that a person understands to be studying in a university when he/she becomes to socialize. Thirdly, i am happy because being a student at Metu means learning to stand on its own feet as an individual since Metu gives its students a sense of responsibility in every field by forcing them to make everything by themselves such as registration, taking courses or following assignments. Everybody learns being responsible for the things they do themselves from the courses they take to various activities they engage in. Moreover, there is such an infinite respect at Metu that nobody intereferes in others' works and judges the others for anything. That is to say, Metu teachs to be free but responsible while doing something, which makes students into adults in a sense.

      In addition to its all positive aspects, to studying at Metü is somewhat challenging for its students. The most challenging thing is that unlike other üniversities in Turkey, the language of instruction is English at Metü and those who are not sufficient in English have to study in preparatory school in their first year at Metü to improve their English. However, even if they achieve to pass proficiency exam, they have difficulty in their departments in later years because of English. Although my department is English Language Teaching, i even have hard times in some courses. As for how i cope with this, i can say that i try to do more exercises on English in every part. Another point is that there is a huge burden for students about increased academic demands on the ground that the students are expected to do lots of homeworks, lots of research and lots of study. As a solution to this, i plan to make a schedule about how i can deal with this burden. 

      To sum up, being at metü can be both a concessionary and challenging for its students.

JOURNAL ENTRY 1

                                      Pakistan Darra Adam Khel market bombing 'kills 15'

At least 15 people       have been killed   and   up to 30 wounded                            Noun Phrase                  Verb Phrase               Prepositional Phrase                                                                    in a car bomb attack on a market in north-west Pakistan, local security officials say.     Prepositional Phrase                                                             Subject   Transitive Verb    Some reports said a suicide attacker detonated the bomb in the town of Darra Adam Khel  near the Khyber tribal area.                        Direct Object          Proper Noun
       Place Adverb                        

It was apparently aimed at a pro-government militia set up to fight the Taliban, local security officials said.                               Common Noun                            Noun Phrase

Some of the wounded were being taken to hospitals in other towns, because local facilities could not cope. Verb Phrase                                             Dependent Clause

Some were being taken to Peshawar, about half-an-hour's drive to the north.                                                                                             Independent Clause                       Place Adverb       

Arms bazaar

Officials said no group had claimed responsibility for the bombing, but previous attacks in the area have been blamed on the Taliban.

President Asif Ali Zardari        strongly              condemned       the blast.                                                                                                Subject                              Adverb of Manner  Transitive Verb  Direct Object                  In a condolence message he said the incident showed that extremists had no regard for human life.                                                                          Plural Noun

The blast occurred       outside the office of the local "peace committee"                                                   Intransitive Verb            Place Adverb                                                                                                                  - a group of militants who used to fight with the Taliban but switched sides and now support local elders and the government. Interrogative Pronoun           Time Adverb

At least 20 nearby shops were also badly damaged in the explosion, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported.  Independent Clause

It                                  was not            immediately        clear                                                                                           Personal Pronoun   State Verb         Time Adverb    Adjective                                                                            how many of the victims were members of the peace committe                                                                                                                                                                                and how many were local people  going about their shopping  on a Saturday morning,        State Verb                                        Participle Phrase                   Prepositional Phrase                                local government official Fakhar-ud-Din         told                  the AFP news agency.                                                                                      Subject                                                        Transitive Verb         Direct Object                                

Darra Adam Khel is a small         town                                                                                             Adjective                                 Common Noun                                                                                                     on the edge of the ethnic Pashtun tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan 

The government has fought       a long campaign to bring the region,
                          Action Verb      Singular Noun                                                                                                              which is a haven for militant groups, under its control.                                                                       Dependent Clause

Darra Adam Khel has been a centre for arms trading, with locally made weapons on sale openly at stalls in the town. İndependent Clause

A suicide bomb attack on a mosque in the town two years ago killed more than 70 people.   Singular Noun   Common Noun           Plural Noun  Action Verb

Prayers were held in schools across Pakistan on Saturday for a young victim of the                Action Verb                                  Proper Noun                                                                                                      Taliban,14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, who was shot this week in the Swat Valley.                                                                                                                Noun                                                                                                      Proper Noun

The girl,         who had campaigned for the right to an education,                                                                                                                        Noun Phrase       Dependent Clause                                                                                                                                     was picked out by name by an armed man on a bus, and shot in the head.

A military spokesman  said      she      was still on a ventilator in hospital  on                         Singular Noun        Personal Pronoun  State Verb                                                                                               Saturday and that the next 36 to 48 hours     would be critical.                                                                                                                                         
Plural Noun                                                      Adjective