My E-Bookshelf

# English in Technology

# What have we learnt so far?

Learning English is all about exposure, meaning that we have to expose ourselves to English whenever and wherever possible. Therefore, we are often asked to study different issues related to culture, history and even science in Englsih lessons, hoping to maximize our exposure to English.

In S2, we have learnt some special features of our home sweet home - Hong Kong, like the Hong Kong heritage trails, the fact that our city is like a "concrete jungle". Then, we studied fashion and asked ourselves what beauty is. After the exam, we read a couple of articles related to animals, particularly the endangered ones.

In this module, we are going to learn Engish by studying how technology interacts with humans.

# Pre-task: How much do you know about technology?

Complete the Kahoot! below and see how much you know.😏 Enter the game with your English Name e.g. Ally.

Click THIS to play the Kahoot! in a separate window.

# Overview

The Kahoot! above is actually an overview of what you are about to learn in this module. Check out the list below to see what they are.

  • Technology in Everyday Life
  • Social Issues Related to Technology
  • The Latest Technological Development Trends

The order follows the standard way to study anything - from local to global.

# Technology in Everyday Life

Before we start, let's read the definition of the word "technology".

Technology

Technology, in general, refers to the application of scientific discoveries. Therefore, technology is usually something that we can use.

Technology is an extremely broad topic to discuss (P.S. I know nothing about rocket science🚀 and nuclear fusion🌞). Therefore, we are only going to cover the most everyday life-related domain - digital (computer-related) technology. 💾💻📡📲

It is not an exaggeration to say that digital technology has exploded💣 in popularity over the past 20 years. Now, write down as many digital technologies as you know of in the Padlet below. Try to put down at least one item in each of the categories.

Made with Padlet

# Quick Check

What is the difference between technology and science?

Technology is the use or application of science.

Science is more theoretical and is usually less practical.

What is "digital technology"?

Computer-related technology.

Without refering to the Padlet above, name THREE categories of digital technology.

learn these phrases

mobile devices, social networking, education, navigation, news, entertainment/games, utilities/tools/productivity, finance, shopping

P.S. There are MUCH more kinds of digital technology in the market.

# Smartphone Addiction

What is an "Addiction"?

An inability to stop doing or using something, especially something harmful. Cambridge Dictionary

To start with, let us do a questionnaire to find out how addicted 👺 we are to smartphones. The Chinese Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV)

Upon completion, you should be able to see your score below. The rightmost column(E) indictates your position in the population. Take Ms K (the yellow row) as an example, she got a smartphone addiction score higher than 94.454% of the population.

What is associated with serious smarphone addiction?

SAS Correlates

Reference: Im, K. G., Hwang, S. J., Choi, M. I., Seo, N. R., & Byun, J. N. (2013). The correlation between smartphone addiction and psychiatric symptoms in college students. J Korean Soc Sch Health, 26(2), 124-131. Link

Learn these phrases

  • OCD 「我有OCD (強迫症) ，我一定要好整齊先得架。」
  • Depression vs feel depressed
  • Anxiety vs feel anxious
  • Interpersonal sensitivity vs take things personally
  • Hostility

# Doxxing

What is "Doxxing"?

The action of finding or publishing private information㊙️ about someone on the internet without their permission😢. Cambridge Dictionary

  • Word origin: documents -> docs -> dox
  • Verb: dox (e.g. She has been doxxed by the Net Army of China.)

The video below is an introduction to doxxing as a criminal offense🚔🔫. The video was produced by the largest public broadcasting📡 company in Singapore, aiming to do some civic education. Let's watch it!

Transcript - Doxxing someone to be made a crime in Singapore

  • "so doxxing involves the publication of someone's personal details..."
  • "with the intention to cause harassment(騷擾) or to provoke(引起) fear of violence."
  • "we are seeing an increasing trend of online vigilantism(網絡公審)"
  • "you broke up with your ex-girlfriend and you decide you want to teach her a lesson..."
  • "...so you take photos a phone number you post it all online and you tell people hey why don't you call her for free sex..."

# Disinformation

What is "Disinformation"?

false information spread in order to deceive people. Cambridge Dictionary

  • Word origin: distorted + information = disinformation
  • Verb: to deceive (e.g. Luckin Coffee has deceived millions of investors.)

How can information be distorted😧? If you believe that "what we see with our eyes👀 is the truth", Watch this. The technology used is named Deepfake (Origin: Deep Learning using AI + Fake). Read More

Transcript - You Won’t Believe What Obama Says In This Video!

  • "We're entering an era(時代) in which our enemies(敵人) can make anyone say anything at any point in time."
  • " This is a dangerous time. Moving forward, we need to be more vigilant(警覺)."
  • "May sound basic, but how we move forward in the age of information is gonna be the difference between whether we survive(生存) or whether we become some kind of __ked up(陷入混亂的) dystopia(反烏托邦-糟糕世界)."

AI-powered Fake News Generator [Proceed with caution]

See how a modern neural network completes your text. Try to copy-and-paste "Shatin Pui Ying College was founded in 1978." into the input box.

Do you still remember what we discussed in the first lesson on English in Technology? We began this unit by looking at the everyday use of technology. We then came up with an array of applications that we, normal people, use every day.

After that, we moved on to talk about the social issues (or problems) arising from the overuse, misuse and even abuse or technology. These issues will bring about negative impacts on individuals as well as the society.

Now, we are going to look at the future of technology and how it may change the world. Watch the video below.

# Brainstorm🧠

After watching the video, please spend 2 minutes imagining what the future will be like with the advancement in technology and share your thoughts in the Padlet below.

Made with Padlet

# More Rapid Flow and Production of Information

Related Technologies: 5G, Social Networking, Big Data

  • How fast is 5G network? 5G
  • What happens in an internet minute in 2016? Social Networking

# Computers will become more Human-like

Related Technologies: Artificial Intelligence(AI), Internet of Things(IoT), Robotics

  • Artificial Intelligence AI Gaydar AlphaGo
  • Tesla's Autopilot Tesla Cars
  • Delivery Drones Delivery Drones

# Summary

The advancement of technology can become way beyond our imagination. However, no matter how technology evolves, they are always designed to serve humans and contribute to the betterment of our lives.

Wait a minute! What if... computers start to have their own thoughts and mind that are independent of humans' will? Will AI take over the world?

# Vocabulary Training on Quizlet!!!

Do the matching task below several times!