Technology in higher education: learning with it instead of from it.

Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that activity - based learning, rather than lecture - based, imporves student creativity and learning by allowing students to use technology to     1     their own original ideas.

Isa Jahnke, associate professor in the MU College of Education's school of Information Science and Learning Technologies, collaborated with former doctoral student Julia Liebscher to study how higher education professors in Europe use mobile     2     in their classes. She found that student creativity was most enhanced by professors who allowed their students to use technology in a team setting to come up with an unusual product or     3    .

For example, one group of students in a history class developed an app that virtually teaches users about the history     4     the Berlin Wall. Rather than simply lecturing the material to the students, Jahnke found that allowing them to use technology in a collaborative way enhanced the students' creativity and     5     of the content.

"This research is useful for professors to rethink how they     6     their existing courses," Jahnke said. "We need to shift away from purely lecture-based learning where students are just consumers of information toward a more meaningful     7     approach with technology where students are able to come up with creative and new solutions in a team setting."

Jahnke added that there are resources at MU, such as the Teaching For Learning Center, to help professors     8     their course designs in the ever-changing educational landscape.

"If we have universities that are producing more creative-thinking students, then we have more people who can help come up with     9     for all of society's grand challenges," Jahnke said. "Creativity will lead to better inventors, managers and business owners, but first we need to ask ourselves as educators if we are using technology to put our students in positions to be     10     in the first place."

6 . American farmers have been complaining of labor shortages for several years.The complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul（全面修订）of immigration rules for farm workers.

Congress has obstructed（阻挠）efforts to create a more straightforward visa for agricultural workers that would let foreign workers stay longer in the U.S.and change jobs within the industry.    1     .

Perhaps half of U.S. farm laborers are undocumented immigrants.As fewer such workers enter the country，the characteristics of the agricultural workforce are changing. Today's farm laborers.while still predominantly born in Mexico，are more likely to be settled rather than migrating and more likely to be married than single.They're also aging. At the start of this century，about one-third of crop workers were over the age of 35.Now more than half are.And picking crops is hard on older bodies.One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it's been all along：Native U.S.workers won't be returning to the farm.

Mechanization isn't the answer，either--not yet，at least. Production of corn，cotton，rice，soybeans，and wheat has been largely mechanized，but many high-value，labor-intensive crops，such as strawberries，need labor.    2     .

As a result，farms have grown increasingly reliant on temporary guest workers using the H-2A visa to fill the gaps in the workforce.Starting around 20l2，requests for the visas rose sharply；from 2011 to 2016 the number of visas issued more than doubled.

    3     . Even so，employers complain they aren't given all the workers they need.The process is cumbersome，expensive，and unreliable.One survey found that bureaucratic delays led H-2A workers to arrive on the job an average of 22 days late.The shortage is compounded by federal immigration raids，which remove some workers and drive others underground.

In a 2012 survey，71 percent of tree-fruit growers and almost 80 percent of raisin and berry growers said they were short of labor.Some western farmers have responded by moving operations to Mexico.    4     . Little more than a decade later，the share of imports was 25.8 percent.

In effect，the U.S.can import food or it can import the workers who pick it.

The Japan that can’t keep up

The spotlight has cost losses of Kobe Steel, Japan’s largest steelmaker, whose customers include Ford Motor and Boeing. Its market of $ 2.7 billion is about $ 1.7 billion less than before it admitted to the fake data. As the criticism over Kobe’s behavior     1    , Japan’s reputation for excellence may be the biggest loser.

Japanese manufactures were once held in awe (敬畏) for their mastery of     2     manufacturing and continuous improvement, which revolutionized business practices the world over. But an increasing number of companies in China, South Korea, and elsewhere are now capable of competing with — and often beating — Japan’s long-established enterprises, forcing them to scramble (争抢).

The latest     3     of just how desperate many Japanese companies have become to stay ahead of foreign rivals: Kobe Steel Ltd.     4     this month that for years it had faked data on the quality of its aluminum, copper, and steel products. Now Kobe Chief Executive Officer Hiroya Kawasaki is leading an internal committee to     5     quality issues. And the U.S. Department of Justice has requested Kobe Steel     6     documents related to the data, the company said, adding that it will cooperate.

Unfortunately for Japan Inc.’s reputation as a trusted supplier, such     7     have repeatedly commanded headlines. Japan obviously doesn’t have a monopoly on corporate shenanigans (诡计), but fraud is particularly     8     for the nation because its flagship manufactures have banked for years on a reputation for quality. “Japanese manufactures are very aware that their brand, their reputation, the     9     of their business rest on quality,” an expert says.

Two major factors seem to be pushing the nation’s manufactures to cross the line. First, Japanese companies face enormous pressure from upstart Chinese rivals. Secondly, a whistle blower protection law     10     in Japan in 2006 has increased the chance of wrongdoing coming to light — and the digitization of records and internal conversations has made it easier for incriminating data to be passed along to regulations or authorities.

Are you a moviegoer? If, like me, you're a fan of film, then there's no better place to watch something than on the big screen at the cinema. You enter the dark auditorium and take your seat, ready to    1    (entertain). But while you engross yourself in some movie magic, now many others are     2    (get) their film fix at home.

Over the last few years, cinemas     3    (see) a resurgence. Customers have been enticed by comfortable seats, and lots of choice of things to watch. Multiplexes in particular can screen up to twenty films at the same time,     4    (cater) for all different tastes. In addition, 3D and even 4D movies can give the audience an extra immersive experience. So, what's not to like about a trip to the cinema?

One answer to that question is convenience. Rather than     5    (go)out, it's so much easier to stay in and    6    (watch) a romcom or action movie on a high-definition TV screen via a streaming service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. There's plenty of choice, and it's relatively cheap as well. But, personally, I find there are too many distractions, and watching at home is not such an event. I miss the trailers too!

But the coronavirus pandemic    7    (put) the future of cinemas under the spotlight. Some have had to close because of reduced ticket sales. And in the UK, it's brought about a surge in TV watching and online streaming, according to media watchdog, Ofcom. It also found that half of UK adults will keep and continue    8     (use) their new streaming subscriptions.

This isn't great news for cinemas. They rely on the release of a big blockbuster to bring the crowds back, but the launch of new films, such as James Bond: No Time To Die,    9    (delay). And Disney has released its $200m blockbuster, Mulan, online instead of in movie theatres. But John Fithian, from the National Association of Theatre Owners, told Variety magazine: “This idea of waiting out the pandemic to make your movies more profitable     10    ( make) sense to me. There won't be as much of an industry left to play your movies in if you do that.”