This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

My Korean student named Jung Jae Won’s journal.

SOCIAL NETWORKING DISTRUCTS THE ATTENTION SPAN OF STUDENTS

Technology changes rapidly. From the old-fashioned snail mails to the new and fast 3G video calls. Indeed, everyone is qualified to be called a geek. The computer savvy people come from all ages, from your neighbor’s youngest cousin to your grandmother. But most computer users are proven to be us—the youth (students). How do social networking sites affect the way students study?

Today, Friendster has more than 13 million active members in the Philippines. Friendster is also the country’s #1 social networking site. In Korea, people don’t really have Friendster or Facebook, because almost 25% percent of the South Korean population has Cyworld. And just like any other countries in the world, students are among the top users. In America, researchers surveyed 219 students at Ohio State, including 102 undergraduate students and 117 graduate students. Of the participants, 148 said they had a Facebook account.

An Indian student was killed because of posting a little something about him in a social network that is popular in India. This is perhaps an extreme example of the social impact of these social networking websites such as Facebook, Myspace and Friendster on today’s youth. So instead of asking a new friend his home address, we rather ask his Friendster’s URL or if he’s on Facebook.

Students’ attention is separated by two worlds – the real and the virtual. The real world is all about submitting projects, doing homework, passing tests and so on. While the virtual world is about giving friend requests, approving new comments, sharing photos and everything that is digitally connected. But which world is better? Which is much more fun to focus on?

Forgetting that they have Science test tomorrow, students chatted through Facebook’s walls. Their grades were affected and going down period by period. Because social networking sites are highly addictive, high school students who use Facebook spend less time studying and have lower grade point averages than students who have not signed up for the social networking website. This is according to a study conducted in the States.

The effects on students are really getting destructive on some points. They are addicted to the extent that their performance in the real world is negatively affected. The technology changes so fast, and so as the students’ future.

What can be the solution? How can we prevent students from being addicted? Should we really prevent them? Like locking personal computers up? Blocking networking sites to be accessed by any student? No matter how we try to stop them from accessing these sites, they would just keep on trying to log in. So, what should we do?

Keeping students away from computers isn’t a good solution. But bringing education attached to these sites is one of best ones.

A good way to start is by adding simple challenges to solve every time we click anything in a social networking site. If we want to approve a pending friend request, we must solve a simple Math question like 200-45= ? and if we get that right, we can approve the request right away. Instead of those Farmville, Restaurant City and Pet Society games that we play on Facebook, why don’t they replace them with Texttwist, hangman, Scrabble and other educational games?

Students may spend less time studying because they rather go on social networking sites. It’s hard to change this, and we couldn’t stop big sites from operating just because we want them to. So the best way to prevent destruction is not by killing them but by taming them, rather changing them into better sites.

Big Bang Playlist at MP3-Codes.com

Big Bang Playlist at MP3-Codes.com

G-Dragon’s Breathe is from his Heartbreaker album. It is one of the most popular songs in the playlist.

A screenschot from G-Dragon’s Breathe

In a sci-fi world..

Dancing with back-up dancers..

Hide and seek..?

Coming out of one of the G-doors..

Dreaming and breathing..

It was cold that night of April 14, 1912. Many were sleeping in their
own cabins. I suddenly felt the engine of Titanic as it stopped. The
silence put a scary feeling on me. ‘What’s going on?’ I said to myself..

I was traveling and living alone. But it wasn’t that sad staying on
this 3rd Class cabin because there were others whom I shared my room
with.. I had made friends with Adam Smith and David Phillips. They’re from
England and had been planning to work in an American company.

My birthplace was in California, United States but was raised in
Scotland. So after 20 years, I’d be returning to my homeland.. I was now 25
years old.. And it seemed like it was just yesterday since I left my
real home..

Adam and David were peacefully asleep when I left our room to check why
the engine had stopped.. Before I reached the deck, I met a 3rd class
staff on the hallway. He said there was nothing wrong and adviced me to
go back in my room. But I could tell he was lying.. There was sweat
all over his face. And he talked as if the unsinkable ship was about to
sink.. I thought that’s impossible to happen.

I got back to my room and tried to go to sleep. But I just couldn’t.. I
closed my eyes for minutes.. It opened automatically when I heard
people crying for help.. My two friends were awakened by the commotion.
When we opened the door, people flooded on the corridors of our cabin.. We
were terribly shocked when we asked one old man on his 40’s “The ship
hit an iceberg. The captain said it won’t last for hours. And they
don’t want us out of here.”

It was the scariest 5 seconds of my life.. My heartbeat pounded
heavily.. I thought it was the end my life.

The people in front of the doorway in the corridor destroyed the locked
gate without second thoughts.. The staff kept insisting the ship
wasn’t going to sink. But people were mad..

The next few moments were scarier than I thought. Boats were being filled
with people. The staff and crew members kept shouting “Women and children first!”.. White
fireworks were lightened in the dark sky.. A band cheerfully played
music.. People ran here and there but it was so organized as though it was just a simple fire drill. They had lifejackets on them. I had none
and my worry was I couldn’t swim..

It was the first class passengers who went on boats first.. While some
3rd class had to beg for them to ride the safety boats.. It was a
matter of wealth and their social status.. Since children and women were the
first priority of boats I had this feeling that I wouldn’t get a
chance of riding one, so my friends and I ran to the stern -the rear end of
the ship..

After an hour, the last boat was filled and sailed.. Now, the thought
was ‘a man for himself’.. Most of the people left were men. While some
women decided to stay with their husbands until the end.. The bow of the
ship was slowly being eaten up by the cold Atlantic Ocean.. I held
tight on my grip. I heard Adam said ‘Good luck buddy..’ while David said
‘See you on New York.’

They’re right. I should survive this. We should see each other in
New York.. I should see my family in California. They’re waiting for
me..

The next thing I saw was the world largest luxury ship being eaten by
the ocean. Is this for real? The lights all over Titanic went off. People made a little commotion as it
happened. It had made its final vow. As if the stern was pointing to the heaven for its final goodbye.. The ship was sinking and it wasn’t slow.
It felt like a train bulleting down a hill..

I closed my eyes.. I felt the water as it splashed my face.. It wasn’t
actually icy cold. It was hot because tears were falling from my eyes..

Suddenly, I felt being sucked by the ocean.. But I struggled to swim to
the top.. And fortunately, I managed to come on the water surface.. I
felt lucky, I didn’t know how to swim and didn’t have any lifejacket
but now I was on the surface again. I caught my breath.. Titanic was now
gone for good.. The unsinkable had just not managed to survive.. The
luxurious ship was now heading her way to the ocean floor of the
Atlantic.. With her was a thousand and more people.. Indeed, the world’s
largest ship was gone.. But at least, I was on the surface again..

But my little achievement was changed with total grieve.. I wished I
hadn’t gone on the surface. I wished I had sunken with the Titanic.. I
wished I died with them.. On the surface were hundreds of people. All
were crying for help.. It was really the most terrible thing that happened. What
was left now were people crying for help.. But there wasn’t any
answer.. And there wouldn’t be any. It was the coldest night..

The ghastly cries were slowly diminishing as hours went by.. It was
very cold.. I could see a lot of people but I didn’t see Adam and David. I
knew I would never see them again..

I fell asleep and didn’t care if I would be waking up again.. All I
want to now do was to sleep.. It was a very tiring night.. The next thing
I felt was my soul flying away from my body.. And there was silence..

After a while I opened my eyes again.. I thought I could see my family
waving at me.. But they weren’t there.. I was wrong to say that I would
never see my friends again.. There I saw Adam, David and a lot more
from the ship.. And I felt relieved to see we were sailing on the
unsinkable ship again.. Titanic was, indeed, unsinkable.

Leejaedi’s blog header in sepia

This is it.

I’ll be a serious blogger.

 

I’ve been there, but WordPress is just so unique.

 

I’ll be updating things soon so please follow me! (Is this Twitter or what?!)

 

I decided to name my blog LEEJAEDI .20 (that’s Lee Je Dee Point Two Zero) because I like 20. The picture beside this photo is from a TV commercial of an Ice Cream company.. I edited it and tadah, an instant header.. So cool eh?

The ship’s white flag was still flying as though it was sailing again. But it’s docked at the island’s pier so the main reason why the flag was still flying was the wind.. It was windy that day but people didn’t seem to bother. They were all gathered in front of what they called the-monthly-ship. It was called that way because it’s a fact that it’s docking on the island once a month. Ashi and Zen were there too.
     The ship’s ladder was put down and people from the ship began rushing down their cargo. Fruits, vegetables, wheat, meat and some tools and products from somewhere on the map were some of the cargos they had. They were now separating it from boxes to boxes. From people to people. All the men gather beside the sea were mostly merchants, some were from the post office and the few of them were just looking around if there’s something interesting, just like Ashi and Zen.
     After the goods were brought down, a young man helped himself down the ladder. Ashi struggled to go towards the man, but everyone was hurrying towards him.. They were shaking hands with him. Some were trying to get the man’s attention.
    The town people called him Captain Kor. He was the ship’s captain, as well as the Mayor of Kugure. The son of former Mayor Lor. A survivor of the Ryoku invasion because he was just ten years old when it had happened.
      Though young, the people insisted that he should be placed as the Mayor, instead of that old rubbish vice Mayor called Zigger, when Mayor Lor was in his death bed. Aside from being tall, dark and handsome, he’s also kind, just and responsible. He was known for having a huge scar in his left hand. But he never told anyone where did he get it.
     "Captain!" Ashi said frantically.. He then jerk his way towards the group of old people in front of him.
     "Oh, Ashi," Captain Kor said, smiling. "How are you? How are your grandparents?"
     "We are all fine.." he said impatiently "Captain, did you get any information on the whereabouts of my parents?"
     The grin on the Captain’s face suddenly vanished. He was expecting it, though.
     "I’m sorry Ashi," he said "but no one on the last place had heard about them.."
     Ashi’s spirits were low.. It was obvious that he’s disappointed.
     "Don’t worry.. We’ll sail again next week.." the Captain said. Trying to cheer him up..
     Ashi didn’t talk again.. Zen didn’t dare to ask about his father because he accepted the possibility that he might be dead or, at least, would never come back. But ever since the day Ashi asked the Captain’s favor to search for his missing parents, he was always eager to ask Kor if there’s an information about them. He was never losing hope.
     "Thank you, Captain.." he said in a low voice, as if Kor didn’t put an effort in searching for his parents. He faced his back on the Captain and was about to go when Zen wondered if he was offended by what Ashi had showed him..
     "But I found this.." Kor said to them while he was holding a small piece of white paper that looked like a pamphlet with two big letters encoded in it –H.S.. He was grinning while Ashi was wondering what that was.

     The Mayor’s office was small but full of weird things. And Ashi thought the weirdest of them all was the head of a huge eagle-like bird that was as big as a cow’s. It was stuffed and displayed on the top of the Mayor’s chair. In front of the table were two chairs facing each other. Captain Kor was sitting behind the table while the two were on the front.
     "H.S. stands for Huriken School," the Captain said seriously "It is one of the three primary schools in the world. The second one is Amberg and the third is.."
     Captain Kor stopped talking. He looked at Zen who was waiting for him to continue and Ashi who he thought would be affected so much when he told him the third one.
     "Mayor Kor?" Zen asked knowing they’re in the Mayor’s room.
     "Ah, yes.." he finally continued. "the third school is Galbaria."
     There was silence. He could feel the burning emotion that Ashi was feeling at the moment. He could even see his eyes that was full of passion. He knew that Ashi knew about Galbaria and how it made his life and the whole island miserable.
     When he thought it was now okay to talk, he continued. "The Huriken School is now searching for the newest students for the upcoming school year. There’s only a thousand slots for the first years and I was very lucky to get two cards representing two slots. And I had decided to give the two cards to the two of you."
     Zen was a bit of afraid and shocked but Ashi was expecting it. He was waiting for this moment, to be a student in Galbaria or at least in the other two primary schools since somewhat they’re connected. He was wondering and still believing that his father was still working on Galbaria. And to be able to see his parents again, Galbaria was one step ahead.
     "I’ll give you your cards on the right time. They’re very precious. By the way, we’ll be sailing next week. So, I suggest that you start preparing your things. I’ll meet you next week on the pier at exactly 7a.m.. Did you get it clear?"
     It was very clear to Ashi. But Zen bothered thinking why the Captain didn’t asked them if they even wanted to come? "Maybe Captain Kor was thinking that it’s not polite to offer us a thing that every child in the world would obviously glad to have?" he thought to himself.
     "Well, then.." the captain shook hands with the two with the big scar facing them. The two both looked shocked. They had never looked at that scar so closely all their lives but now. "Go, ahead. Tell your mothers -er- mother and grand mother about them. They would be very pleased to know."
      Then the two left at once living the Mayor in his office, smiling.

Born on the 7th day after the ides of November (20th) in 1989 to a man and a housewife, I initially suspected that I was the reincarnation of a Beatles band member as my chums proved it. I soon realised that this couldn’t be so as the idea of singing or having concert in Europe, or even living there, didn’t appeal to me in the slightest. With the exception of a passing infatuation with the music of some bands and singers, mostly unknown to a local folk, the 11 years immediately following my birth were fairly uneventful. Then I decided I wanted to be an artist. So I did.
I joined the local art workshop in Quirino High which I attended for about a year. I was then found myself not into drawing anymore but into directing indie films when I was in my last year in High School.
In 2007 I asked my classmates and some schoolmates if they knew anyone who may be interested in cooperating with me in creating some short films to be used in a classroom film showing. But to my surprise, there were lots of them who volunteered to help. They put me in touch with my first actors, Ged Diza, Miriam Ata, Levi Obligacion, KC Caballero, and lots of good actors who did their parts well and gave justice to the masterpieces we’d created if only they were preserved. Jonah May Maminta, a good friend of mine, was considered a consistent producer of the films using her state-of-the-art camcorder phone. We all met on the Grounds of our school in Project 3 and they apparently met my standards and so did I. About a week later we successfully were going to graduate high school, leaving more than 20 unpublished films..
And the rest is history.

Full Name – John Edward Padilla (no middle name)
Date of Birth – November 20, 1989
Place of Birth – Quezon City, Philippines, South East Asia, Asia, World, Solar System, Universe

"I’m so proud to say that everyone of you have passed this year,
and everyone will be advancing to the next grade," the Kugure Town
School teacher said "but there’s one among you who’ve got the lowest grade
possible to pass.."
     Everybody was quiet until Ashi broke it up. "I’m sorry teacher! I
promise to make it better next year.."
     Everybody laughed except him and the teacher.
     "How sure are you that you are the one I’m talking about, Ashi?"
the teacher looked at the cards he was holding. "Did somebody tell you?"
     "Er- No one did.. But-" Ashi was not prepared to answer all his
teacher’s questions but as far as he was concerned he’s quite sure it was
him.. If not him then who? He was always absent because he was helping
his grandfather to do the farm works. And, he was always late for
school since it’s very hard for him to wake up early..
     "-Sit down Ashi" the teacher finally said. He then gave the first
card to the student beside Ashi, "It’s Zen Tamoya who’ve got the lowest
grade this year.."
     He then distributed the cards among each of the pupils.. "That’s
it. Class dismiss! Until the next school year."
    Zen was quite disappointed while Ashi was trying not to laugh loud.
     Ashi and Zen were best friends since then. Their fathers had the
same fate ten years ago with the Ryoku. Zen was raised by his mother
alone.
     That was the last day of the fifth grade. Zen got 75% in his class
card. Lower than that was a failing grade.
     "Ashi, can I see yours?" asked by Zen.
     Ashi wouldn’t let him see it. He was running away from Zen. Why in
the world would he ran away from him? It was clear that Zen had got
the lowest among anybody else.
     Zen was a better runner than Ashi so when he reached his hand, he
immediately grabbed the class card. Ashi could do nothing but let him
see his report card..
     It was so funny for Zen, his final grade could be pathetic but he
thought Ashi’s the funniest. He got so excited that he announced it up
to the whole class, "Classmates! Ashi’s grade is 76%!"
     "Stop it Zen!" he turned red when everyone laughed.

     Almost every student had gone home, except for the best friends.
They went to their favorite place since then -the Lighthouse.
     The lighthouse was again standing straight. But it’s quite not as
beautiful as it was. It’s not the same as what Ashi’s father had
designed. The lighthouse was destroyed by a cannon a decade ago. And the
damage was still visible even though it was fixed by the same bricks and
stones.
     It became the two’s favorite hang out since it was decided to get
fixed by the Mayor five years ago. But never had been lit up. No one
wanted it to work again because they were afraid that the Ryoku might
come back.
     Ashi could see whole ocean that surrounded them.. While Zen was
staring at the island’s mountains.. Contrary to what they wanted to see,
they both love the island of Kugure.
      Both of them were eleven years old. Though Ashi’s whiter than
Zen, it’s Zen who’s the taller. But they both looked the same. As if they
had the same mother and got different fathers..  Their eyes and nose
were kind of identical.
     Not far away from the sea. Ashi saw a ship that was coming towards
the Pier. It had an obvious white flag that could be seen even from
afar.
     But, instead of showing fear for it might be the comeback of the
Ryoku, Ashi leaped with joy when he saw the coming ship.
     "Zen, let’s head up to the Pier," he said happily "the monthly
ship has arrived!"