【推荐1】While the start of a new school year is always exciting, this year was even more so for some elementary school students in Auckland, New Zealand. They became the world’s first kids to be “taught” by a digital teacher, Will. Before you start imagining a human-like robot walking around the classroom, Will is just an avatar(化身) that turns up on the students’ desktop, tablet, or smartphone screen when called.

Thanks to a digital camera and microphone, the avatar not only responds to questions the kids may have ,but also picks up non-verbal signals. For example, if a student smiles at Will, he responds by smiling back. This two-way communication not only helps draw the students’ attention, but also allows the program’s developers to monitor their involvement(参与) and make changes if needed.

Vector’s Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar, believes that Will-like avatars could be a novel way to attract the attention of the next generation. He says, “Using a digital human is a very popular method to deliver new information to people, and I have a lot of hope in this technology as a means to deliver rich and educational experience in the future.” Greg Cross, the Chief Business Officer for Soul Machines, states that kids who have grown up in this digital time adapt(适应) to new technology quickly, and he hopes to develop the idea of digital humans in the area of educate further.

The program, in place since August 2018, has been a great success so far. However, no matter how popular it becomes, Will is unlikely to replace human edueators any time soon. For one, the avatar’s knowledge base is severely limited. But more importantly, even the smartest digital avatars could never predict and react to all the unexpected situations that educators have to deal with on a daily basis. However, it could come in handy as a “personal teacher”, providing kids with one-on-one help on the subjects or even topics.

【推荐2】How to Enjoy Life As a Teen

The "best years of your life"? Maybe not, but you can learn to make the most of your high school days.

1. Learn to appreciate small things. Whether it's having a computer, having friends, having a good supply of food, a bed to sleep on, family that loves you, having a decent education or simply being born in this world.     1    . Be happy, and life will reward you. Remember that these are the last few years you will be able to enjoy yourself without having to worry about the responsibility of an adult, but make sure you prepare yourself for when you do become one.

2. Go for it! If you have a special girl/guy you want to ask out, dance with, etc. just ask! You probably won't be rejected but if you are, remember that there will always be someone else that likes you for who you are.    2    . About 90% of the girls or guys you talk to will like you back, only about 10% probably will reject or badmouth you.

3.    3    . There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your hard work pay off in the form of A's and B's (but mainly A's). This also sets you up to get into a college you want to go to, which in turn prepares you for a career you will enjoy, improving your quality of life in the future. You'll get cheap car insurance as well if you have at least a B or A average.

4. You can pursue interests you enjoy. Video games, for example, are good if you're the type who can get into that kind of thing.     4    . Use your "hobby time" to either A) Volunteer (to gain practical skills for college apps, job resumes, and scholarships) B. Learn an instrument, or get into something else in the creative field like painting or dance, because this is the time to start developing and uncovering passions that might otherwise lie dormant.

5. Work at a job you can enjoy. Working is a great way to gain experience and to meet other people. When you do get out of college, interviewing companies will look at your prior work experience. This will look great on your resume. If you can't find work, especially in this hard economic time, volunteer or make your own job.

6.    5    You'll still be going to games for free like the jocks if you are in pep band, and you have as many opportunities to meet new people as the jocks. Band and choir sometimes involves going on trips, and are great memories to have for high school and college. If you are not good at either music or sports, you can join other activities, start other hobbies, or get a job.

【推荐3】Community Service

Nowadays high schools are faced with a very controversial issue whether or not community service hours are needed to graduate. High schools are arguing that 40 hours of community service are needed to graduate, but many upset students are voicing protests(反对) to this demand.

Supporters of the community service project argue that while high school students are participating in community service, they will become better aware of what the real world is like. Students will learn valuable life lesson by doing community service.     1     They feel that if high school students are forced to do community service they will begin to see it as a punishment and as something that they have to do because it is required instead of something that they want to do. Students will in the future look back at the community service projects that they were forced to do throughout high school.     2    

Another idea that the protestors give about this community service issue is time restriction. When a student goes to school full time, he is involved in after-class activities and also works.     3     Supporters argue back that high school students only need to fulfill 40 hours of community service throughout 4 years. If students well manage their time and start the community service in their first year in high school, all they need to do is an hour every other week.

    4     The protestors argue that high school students do not have their driver’s license, so how are they expected to get to their community service site when their parents or friends are at work or just too busy to give them a ride.     5     The supporters argue that students can find community service projects close to home or if they live in the country find another student to car pool with.

In my opinion, community service is a wonderful thing that everyone should be required to do at some point in their life, but are high school students mature and responsible enough to take on community service projects at this stage in their life?

【推荐1】The Assassin's Creed series has been about building immersive （沉浸式的）and accurate historical worlds. As their newest game releases _f Assassins Creed Origins, they have also released their Discovery Tours. These tours give players a chance to walk the streets of ancient Egypt, explore Alexandria and the pyramids, and learn about wildlife and geography. For students, experiencing the ancient world in this interactive way can be more interesting and effective than just reading a textbook or watching a documentary about what they are studying.

Assassins Creed is not the only game series that can be educational either. What is important about the role of historical games is the level of choice. When watching a film, students are passive receivers of content. However, when playing a game students have an active role to play in history. A focus on choice and consequence is an important element of teaching and understanding history, so historical games can be a valuable teaching tool even if they aren't completely historically accurate. They have the power to immerse students in faraway worlds and allow them to think critically about cause and consequence, think about why historical events unfolded the way they did, and even think about possible alternative outcomes. All of these are critical for historical thinking processes. No longer do students need to rely only on reading textbooks or on instructors for knowledge.

When carrying this out in your class, remember that not all students enjoy playing video games, but they can still be a valuable learning tool. The instructor also needs to be an active facilitator and taking note of teachable moments. A video game is not going to teach a class ； it requires an awesome instructor to make everything come together. With the power of video games, ancient worlds no longer need to be limited to the pages of a textbook.

【推荐2】Parents can begin good organization (条理) habits with preschool-age kids. Experts recommend asking them to do small, simple actions on a regular basis with the help of parents. Maybe they open their bags and bring their lunch bag to the kitchen, or take their shoes off at the door and put them in a nearby closet. These won’t save parents much time, but they will help develop good habits.

When kids enter primary school, they should be ready for more responsibility. This is the time to teach them about daily routines, and help them take control over theirs. Parents and children might sit down together and make a list of everything that needs to be done to get out of the house in the morning, or get ready for bed at night. Together, parents should figure out how long each activity takes, and when is the best time to do them. Some of the kids might want to get their bags ready and pick out their clothes the night before.

It’s also wise to create a firm schedule for homework. When do kids do their homework? How long do they need? Where do they do it? Where will the homework go once it is done? Figure them out and stick to the schedule as much as possible.

Parents should print up these task lists and help kids finish them step by step. Kids might even check them off each morning or evening. Also, make sure there are clocks in the rooms in which these tasks will take place. Time management is an important part of learning organization, but it can’t be done if kids don’t know what time it is.

Organization gives kids the chance to make it possible to focus on a task and complete it. Kids tend to be more motivated to learn organization skills if they see organization as a challenge to overcome, rather than a fault to repair.

【推荐1】For years, Chris Scharoun DeForge had a Valentine's Day routine. She celebrated like clockwork with her husband Paul Scharoun DeForge. On Valentine's Day they would go out to eat, maybe at Red Lobster or Olive Garden. They were celebrating each other.

But this year's Valentine's Day may be the most unusual one yet. That's because it is their 25th as husband and wife, a landmark that would be significant for most couples but it's extraordinary for the Scharoun DeForges. They were both born with Down syndrome and are believed to be the longest married couple with the condition in the country.

At the time of their wedding, some folks believed that people like them didn't have the emotional maturity to be married. Chris, who as a girl used to cut wedding photos from magazines and hang them on her wall knew better. “I looked into his eyes and saw my future,” Chris said about falling in love with Paul when they first met at a dance 30 years ago.

Still, they have had their struggles. And the most recent one may be the most monumental (极大的). This year's Valentine's Day is the first on which they won't be living together. Paul, 54, is coping with early stage dementia, an illness that affects many with his condition at a relatively young age. Several months ago, the state moved him into a community residence (住处) with intensive nursing care while Chris still lives in their cozy apartment in Liverpool.

Of course Chris doesn't want to be without him. Their family worked hard to keep them together. They even found a new apartment that met the state's standards. At first, the state agreed-a huge victory-but Paul's condition continued to deteriorate. By that time he was using a wheelchair and required round-the-clock care. The state decided he needed to move to the facility after all.

The couple is disappointed but not scared. Chris visits Paul regularly and they spend weekends together. Chris’s sister said they had an unconditional and sweet love.

【推荐2】MEGHAN YOUNG is a professional Instagram star. She gets paid to climb beautiful mountains, photograph their glittering (闪闪发光的) summits and post about her adventures to her fans.

Young graduated from Seattle University’s school of Law in 2015. But she decided she didn’t want to become a lawyer. Her parents were shocked by the decision. “They were worried about what I was going to do,” Young says. “How was I going to find career stability?”

But her legal skills haven’t gone to waste. Once companies express an interest in working with her, there’s the tough task of negotiating the terms (条款) of the deal. And the work is still unfinished even after she’s done take the photos. When Young returns from her adventures, she carefully edits the images and writes captions to go along with them. Once the posts are public, businesses sometimes don’t pay on time. That's when she needs to follow up. Her least favorite problem is when she discovers that a company has used her photos in a way that violates the terms of the contract.That usually leads to time-consuming email exchanges.

Social media influencing is not as effortless as it seems. The stress it creates even has its own name: creator burnout (精疲力竭) . Young used to obsessively check her post’s performance, which she says will “drive you crazy”, so she stopped. But if she doesn’t reply, people will stop commenting.Without that engagement on her posts, brands won’t want to keep paying her. Therefore, she had to accept the fact that she’ll be tethered (拴住) to her phone as long as she’s in this line of work.

Beyond the day-to- day headaches of a career online, social media’s inherent (固有的) uncertainly also poses problems for creators. There are times when Young is staring at the calendar without another project in the works. In the long term, it can be risky to focus a career on a single platform, or even on social media itself.

Yet Young says it’s all been worth it, because the sponsorship allow her to spend much of her life in the mountains. Her ideal day starts with unzipping her tent at dawn so she can take pictures of the sunrise reflecting on snowy summits around her. Few jobs in the world would allow her to do that so consistently (一贯地) .

【推荐3】The world can be a scary place when you' re young. It can be even scarier when you' re a young little blue penguin(企鹅) , the tiniest of the penguin species. Luckily, there are some humans willing to help. They stepped in to protect Billy, a blue penguin that appeared on a beach in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Spotted on November 29 at the slipway at Moncks Bay, near Sumner，in Christchurch，the little penguin immediately attracted a small crowd. Jeff Mein Smith saw the crowd while he was bicycling that afternoon, and he biked home to get his camera. When he returned to the scene，he found that the penguin had received a little sign, one that read “Hi, I'm waiting for my mum to come back. DOC(Department of Conservation) knows I'm here. Please leave me alone. Keep your dog away. Thanks, Billy the baby blue penguin.”

Billy didn't move away from the sign. The DOC arrived later that afternoon to pick up Billy, though they were surprised to see it on the beach. “It's unusual for a blue penguin to be out in the open on the beach during the day, ”Anita Spencer, a DOC senior ranger, told Stuff.

Billy was taken to the Christchurch Penguin Rehabilitation Center after being retrieved from the beach. Volunteers believe the bird may actually be a female penguin, and is around 2 months old. The chick weighs a mere 550 grams, less than a standard basketball. A blue penguin should weigh around 900 grams at this age. Most little penguins grow up to weigh 1 kilogram.

The center will help the little penguin gain some weight by feeding it fish juice, before it's set free into the ocean.