【推荐3】In today's world, technology is a part of daily life. In order to keep civilization hand in hand with technological advances, and to understand the connected future they will have, children in schools have to be taught technical skills. But how can teachers integrate (使……融入)technology into their classroom? Here are a couple of ways.

Teach acceptance of connected learning. In the information age, it's only right to teach kids how to jump at connected learning.     1    For example, a tablet PC could be used in art class to draw pictures or even signs for the school.

Use a video chat system to teleconference. The idea of pen pals can be strengthened by video chat systems.     2     In this situation, children will learn how to share experiences and build new relationships from a distance. Teleconferencing is a great way to teach children about teleconferencing etiquette (礼仪).     3    

Develop a class wiki or blog. In order to help get your students active in class lessons, you can use a blog or wiki to make them comment on lessons, topics and current events. Students should also be allowed to create new posts about news or their thoughts.     4    

Create a podcast (播客) for your class. Technology is always about being seen.    5    It can also be used to be heard. With a classroom podcast, you can read passages from a textbook or a novel or schedule discussions on a certain topic that's in line with your curriculum. This will teach broadcasting skills, speaking skills and critical thinking skills.

【推荐1】When you set a foot outside of your door to drop trash, go to a social event or go for a walk, thoughts like “I hope I don’t see anyone I know” or “please don’t talk to me” may run through your mind. I’ve also said such things to myself. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is to talk with someone, especially someone new.

Why do we go out of our ways to avoid people? Do we think meeting new people is a waste of time? Or are we just lazy, thinking that meeting someone new really is a trouble?

Communication is the key to life. We have been told that many times. Take the past generations, like our parents, for example. They seem to take full advantage of that whole “communication” idea because they grew up talking face to face while Generation-Y grew up staring at screens. We spend hours of our days sitting on Facebook. We send messages to our friends and think about all of the things we want to say to certain people and that we don’t have the courage to do in reality.

Nowadays, we are so caught up in our little circle of friends — our comfort zone. We love it that they laugh at our jokes, understand our feelings and can read our minds. Most importantly, they know when we want to be alone. They just get us.

Holding a conversation with someone new means agreeing with things that you don’t really believe and being someone you think they want you to be — it is, as I said before, a trouble. It takes up so much energy, and at some point or another, it is too tiring.

But meeting new people is important. Life is too short, so meet all the people you can meet, make the effort to go out and laugh. Remember, every “hello” leads to a smile — and a smile is worth a lot.

【推荐2】In her essay Friends, Good Friends and Such Good Friends, Judith Viorst creates a number of categories(分类) for Friendships, for her, some friendships are based on convenience, some on current shared interests, some on past shared history, some on accidental crossing - of - paths, and on and on.     1    

I have just two categories of friends.     2     The short-term, low-investment (投资) category is a large and changeable group made up of people I’ve met since I moved to New Orleans eighteen months ago. My New Orleans friends are mostly classmates in my writing courses, people who see and comment my writing courses and whose writing I see and comment.

    3     But they are also unstable(不稳定的) and possibly disappointing. This is because we often know each other better through reading each others writing than we do through honest time spent together. Such knowledge and familiarity, without necessarily the investment can create stresses.

The long-term, high-investment category is primarily made up of people I left behind when I moved to New Orleans.     4     They are friends who know me, love me, and who can be counted on for anything, even though they live 1,500 miles away. I know these friends from the way they wash dishes to the way they choose a restaurant or drink their coffee. Every one of them was once a person in my life, standing in the low-investment category, and then slowly becoming forever friends.     5     And the work is hard.

【推荐3】Friendships can enrich your life in many ways. Good friends teach you about yourself and challenge you to be better. They also have a positive impact on your health.     1    ?

●Friends encourage healthy behaviors.

One possible explanation for those health benefits is that friendships can help you make lifestyle changes that can have a direct impact on your well-being. For example, your friends can help you set and maintain goals to eat better and exercise more.

●Friends give you emotional support.

Research also shows that happiness is contagious(有感染力的)among friends. One study of high school students found that those who were depressed were twice as likely to recover if they had happy friends.     3    .

●Friends help build your confidence.

Everyone has self-doubts and insecurities every now and then.     4    . They’ll shine a light on just how amazing you are and how much you have to offer others.

●    5    .

Great friends have the power to mold(塑造)you into the best version of yourself. They see you and love you for who you truly are. They encourage you and push you to do better and be the person you want to be —your “ideal self”.