The Benefits of Teaching with Technology

During the week of the 24th of March, in the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, the Student Interventions in General Studies: Interdisciplinary Project and Creative Initiatives was held by the English Department of the campus. The conference was divided into panels which had different topics respectively. I had the privilege of attending a panel the second day of the conference. Said panel was titled “Using Technology to Enhance Learning”. 

Two students spoke about how to incorporate technology in the classroom, specifically in writing courses. They emphasised on the usage of Google in order to achieve an efficient experience. The biggest benefit the students presented was that one could have one on one time with the professor. With the Google Drive program, the student could publish an essay online and the professor would have instant access to it. In the program, the professor would be able to comment on the text and help the student improve while using a more friendly method. The presenters also showed us how user friendly the program is. With this presentation, the viewers became more aware of the benefits of technology when used appropriately.

This panel reminded me of Jim Cooper’s Teaching English essay because this could be an alternative to alter the English Programs of different schools and universities. Since young people are so familiar with technology, this is a way to incorporate it with the learning process and make it more efficient. While relating to the students’ likes, the teachers would be incorporating the topics necessary for their classes.

The Immigration Dilemma

During the week of the 24th of March, in the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, the Student Interventions in General Studies: Interdisciplinary Project and Creative Initiatives was held by the English Department of the campus. The conference was divided into panels which had different topics respectively. I had the privilege of attending a panel the second day of the conference. Said panel was titled “Immigration and Puerto Rico Today”. 

The panel was presented by two Dominical girls who told their perspective on immigration specifically on immigration to the island, Puerto Rico. The two students spoke about how immigration is a reality we are facing today and that we might not be aware of. It has become a controversial problem in our society and the Dominican girls have to face it daily. These girls moved here looking for a better way of living yet they face xenophobia on a daily basis. One of the students shared her experience in a beauty pageant where she decided to represent Puerto Rico. Nevertheless, she didn’t win because, like one judge told her, she was Dominican. This situation gravely shows how present xenophobia is in our society and how it affects the outcome of daily situations. With this example the girls were able to make their point. They wanted and achieved to send a message about the immigration issue from the point of view of immigrants and make us, non immigrants, aware on how harmful xenophobia can be.

I admire the courage it took for them to speak about such a sensitive topic in front of so many people. They were taking intensive English and it seemed like they have been speaking English for so much longer than they really had. This was a very interesting panel that carried a much needed message. 

The Puerto Rico of The Rum Diary

For my Literature class, I had the opportunity of watching The Rum Diary, a movie based on a book written by Hunter S. Thompson. Said movie takes place in the 1960's in the island of Puerto Rico and portrays a story of an American journalist, Johnny Deep as Paul Kemp, whom takes an independent job in Puerto Rico in order to be able to publish the truth.

Throughout the movie one observes the problematic of American migrants that are affecting the locals' culture and identity. Also, other issues (poverty, greediness, ignorance, alcoholism) that are going on in the island become present and make this movie a social criticism.

On the ignorance and greediness note, I can mention a quote said by Lotterman: "a reluctant part of America, like England with tropical fruit". This shows how the American immigrants portrayed the island and, consequently, how poorly they though of it. To them, Puerto Rico was only a pice of land they could use for their benefit and nothing more. Like Jamaica Kincaid would say, these immigrants are "ugly tourists" rather than being travellers because they only see the superficial side of things and look for pleasure and benefit rather than exploiting the island beauty and history.

Contrary to Lotterman, the tourist, Kemp was a dynamic character throughout the film because, in my opinion, he started off as a tourist but later became a traveler. At the beginning of the movie, Kemp was ignorant a somewhat egocentric. Nevertheless, once he moved into the apartment on the island, he transformed into a traveler. He began to find an interest and understand the problems that Puerto Rico was facing. 

There are definitely issues showed in this movie that we Puerto Ricans are still facing. The current media of our island is corrupted and, in many occasions, lacks to publish the complete truth about a situation. Most posts are about what the majority of the people want to hear and not necessarily the real scenario. Also, there are many occasions where were are treated like less than Americans. On the other hand, there are some differences because since the 1960’s Puerto Ricans have raised their voice and have grown as a society and population.

The Day I Stopped Being a Tourist

Nineteen years. That’s how long it took me to visit one of the most significant places of the island I was born in, Puerto Rico. Sad to say that it took a Literature class for me to do so since the class was assigned to spend a day as a tourist. On March 14, 2014, I stepped on El Yunque for the first time and embarked on a journey that opened my eyes to what it means to be a sightseer in my own island.

That day I woke up at seven in the morning to get my backpack ready. I packed a camera, extra clothes, and enough food to get through the trip. Then, about at 8:30, I rented a Jeep in order to live the whole tourist experience. I cruised all the way from San Juan to Rio Grande. Since I'm not very good with directions, I stopped a couple of times to ask which was the right way, just like a tourist would, and received very polite answers from everyone that I asked. Despite my constant stopping, the ride was pleasant since the sun was warm yet the wind made it bearable. It was like that for about forty minutes until I finally arrived at El Yunque. 

I was a long way up, and I was getting a bit tired and nauseous. Typically, I would've turned around and gone home, but I sucked it up and kept going. When I finally got there, I faced another tedious task, finding where to leave my rented vehicle. After another twenty minutes of looking for a parking spot, I squeezed in between two minivans. I left my car and proceeded to follow a group of people who seemed to be familiar with the area. Not a long walk after, I took out my camera and snapped a few shots of what looked to me like a lot of very similar trees. But then, I saw it. I understood why so many people like to travel from many places of the island into the magical rainforest. There was a beautiful fall, Coca Fall, they just emanated freshness, nature, and peace. I found myself absorbing its beauty until the thought of taking a picture took over me, common tourist reaction. 

After some time in the cold waters of the Coca Fall, I got hungry and decided to go for a walk to a near food place. I wandered a bit and suddenly smelled the alcapurrias and bacalaitos. I ordered my food in English and was pleasantly attended by one of the cooks. Also, I ordered a coconut, typical Puerto Rican fruit, which I ate as a dessert. While eating the coconut, one of the cooks sat beside me and began to ask me about my experience on the island and suggested other places I should visit.

March 14 became a day I would never forget; the day I stopped being a tourist and becamee a traveler. Even though it took a class for me to go to El Yunque, it was an amazing experience and I got to learn a part of my island which I nearly had any knowledge of. For the first time, I sat and wandered my view through the finest details of a place I visited. I examined the smell, touch, sight, and sounds of the rainforest. This made me be more proud of the island I live in because i acknowledged how beautiful it is, but it also made me aware of how much more I have to visit of my home.

The Travelers and Tourists of A Room with a View

A Room with a View, a movie based on the novel by E.M. Foster, is centered in Lucy Honeychurch's and Charlotte's, two wealthy cousins, visit to Florence. When they got to their room, they noticed that it didn't have a view. Meanwhile, a father and son, Mr. Emerson and George, offered them their room since it had the view they were looking for. Once Lucy and George met, they embarked on a romantic adventure, that is, until Lucy had to go back to England, her home. Nevertheless, fate brings them back together and, since Lucy was engaged to another man, she had to decide whether to follow through with het engagement with Cecil or follow her heart and her growing attraction to George. Every journey faced in the movie, is directly connected to the concept of tourist vs. traveler that is stated in Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place.

The idea of tourist vs. traveler can be seen clearly at the beginning of the movie and specific characters can be categorized as tourists while others can be named travelers. Lucy and her cousin Charlotte are definitely tourists. Lucy is asked why she is visiting Florence and she clearly states that she is there as a tourist. When the Reverend hears such answer he says: "We residents sometimes pity you poor tourists not a little...handed about like a parcel of goods from Venice to Florence, Florence to Rome, quite unconscious of anything outside Baedeker. Their one anxiety to get done and flew and go on elsewhere else." This shows how tourists don't focus on the important things when visiting a new place. Rather than interacting with the culture and other aspects, they go around viewing, but not really seeing. Even though Lucy was a traveler at the beginning,  there is a novelist called Ms. Lavish that describes Lucy as: "The young English girl transfigured by Italy." By this, Ms. Lavish states that at first, Lucy was definitely a tourist, but after her encounter with George and her journey through Florence, she transformed into a tourist.

Contrary to Lucy and Charlotte, George and Mr. Emerson are the travelers of the movie. They are the only ones willing to learn about native aspects of Florence. They always seemed to want to explore more than met the eye. This can be better viewed when, Mr. Emerson offered the cousins his room and stated: "I don't care what I see outside; my vision is within! Here is where the birds sing! Here is where the sky is blue!". This traveler point of view shows that the most important thing about embarking in a journey lies on the inner vision of the place and just just what one sees with his or her eyes.

The movie and Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place have similar themes. As well as the Reverend, Kincaid views tourists as superficial and ignorant. Also they acknowledged that tourists rarely find an interest in the local aspects of the place rather, they look for tourists sites to visit and don't usually wander around. If Jamaica Kincaid had the opportunity to address Lucy and Charlotte, she would criticize their way of visiting a new place, just like she did in her book to everyone visiting Antigua. Her tone would be insulting and, because they are British, a bigger conflict of interest would come about since Antigua had been a British colony for some time.