Born to Save

The document under study is an extract from a novel entitled “My Sister’s Keeper”, written by Jodi Picoult, published in 2004. It is about the story of three siblings, Jesse, Kate and Anna Ftzgerald, whose sister, Kate, has been sick since she was 2 years old with leukemia. Indeed, we have learned that Anna was born in order to save Kate: she is a savior baby/medicine baby. She was created/designed genetically perfectly to save her sister. She has already gave her bone marrow cells, blood, leukocytes, stem cells to help her sister survive. Now Kate is 16 years old and has been alive all this time thanks to her savior sibling.

Nevertheless, we can imagine that Anna and Jesse in this situation may feel neglected by their parents because they have been focusing all their energy and love on Kate. On top of that, Anna may feel used and unappreciated because by her parents because the only reason why she lives is to save her sister Kate.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 (At the follwing of what we did last time)

Pigeon Post:

First used in 1140s. They would use homing pigeon to send their messages. Pigeons were raised in a certain location so that they became very familiar with the place. The next step was to travel with one of the pigeons to another place and whenever we needed to send a message to our original location we had to attached a message to one of the feet of the pigeon and thanks to its homing abilities, the pigeon would naturally go back to its original home.

Printer:

Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1436, the printing press with replaceable wooden or metal letters.

Writing machine or typewriter

Invented around the 19^th century. The ancestors of our current keyboard and computer. It facilitated writing any kind of documents. Mainly used by professionals: writers, journalists, secretaries… Before starting to be used for personal correspondences.

The Mail Post:

Since the mid-19^th century, national postal systems have generally been established as government created fees on some articles.

The Telegraph:

It is to send telegram, that uses electrical signals conveyed by telecommunication or radio transmission of coded messages: Morse. Created in the mid 19^th century.

All the other inventions made to communicate from afar:

The landline phone, text messages, e-mails, fax, RSS, newspapers, the TV, the radio, Wifi, Bluetooth, cellular, cellphones, smartphones, Social Media…

The Dangers of the Internet

The document under study is an article published on the Daily Mail on November 30^th 2013. It is about a picture posted by Julie Anne Culp, who posted a picture on her Facebook account to teach her students about Internet safety. In fact, her picture was liked more than 300,000 times and shared more than 30,000. In addition, her picture was even reposted by many celebrities and Photoshoped/modified. It became quickly viral to a point that it became instantly a symbol and an important example of how dangerous Internet is. Especially on how quick information circulates and the vastness of viewers that can repost and modify our posts.

Homework: Learn the lesson. Be ready for an Oral Comprehension of the theme of the Chapter.

Artificial Wombs

The document under study is an article published in January 2018, on Scientific American website. It is about the possibility of “ectogenesis”, which means in the future it will be possible for a fetus to develop outside a biological womb. In fact, in 2017, a group of scientists succeeded in creating real artificial wombs for lamb fetuses in later stages of development/gestation.  

The goal of such innovation is to save preterm babies. Indeed, in the USA every year, 17% of preterm babies born before 28 weeks die. On top of that, 1 out of 10 births represents a baby born before 37 weeks (preterm). As a consequence, when they survive, they have development issues: cerebral palsy, breathing and visual problems, and development delays. Thus, this innovation could benefit these preterm babies for them to complete their development in an artificial womb and enjoy a better and healthy life. However, this type of medical care will be expansive, therefore only rich people will be able to benefit from it.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

About to Cross the Finish Line

The impact and the consequences of the Games for Irish athletes are various: firstly the number of professional athletes greatly increased thanks to the importance the Irish State gave to the Olympics. In addition, Athletes were coached by professionals and scientists. In fact, they had to focus on their diet and their training to improve their performances. On top of that, their preparations became better because they improved their way of training and also because they had more money thanks to the state and sponsorships, as a result it increased their performances. The games became a sort of self-sustaining system, a virtuous circle. Moreover, it engendered the popularity of the athletes, especially for Irish athletes.

Additionally, thanks to social media and TV the Games became more visible all around the world, which also permitted the host countries to promote their cultures. Besides, because athletes are more professionals and have better performances this entertainment attracts more and more viewers, spectators and visitors. Nowadays, the Games try to reach gender parity, and every four years we have the Paralympic Games to represent disabled people for more inclusion and diversity in our societies.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Radio Talk on the theme of Surrogacy

The document under study is a recording of a radio talk show on the theme of surrogacy. We can hear several opinions on the topic.

Hence, the advantages of surrogacy are that it allows unmarried women and older ones that are too busy with their job careers who cannot have a baby naturally to be able to become a mother. Moreover, it can help infertile couples to have a baby. For example, a surrogate who already had three children of her own gave birth to three sets of twins for three couples. In addition, surrogacy is a form of privilege for the people who have money.

On the contrary, the baby may not correspond to the expectations of the parents. Additionally, the relationship with the surrogate could be strange with the children of the surrogate. Besides, there are other solutions such as adoption. Furthermore, if a woman cannot assume being pregnant herself, she should not deserve to have a child and be a mother. Lastly, the fact that wealthy Westerners are using the service of poor Indian women is a form of globalization at its worst.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Artificial wombs

The document under study is an extract from an article published in 2018 on a website called “Scientific American”. We have learned about the existence of artificial wombs/uteruses. In fact, in 2017, a group of scientists succeeded in creating artificial wombs for lamb fetuses in later stage of gestation.

The goal of such innovation is to save preterm babies. Indeed, in the USA 17% of infant deaths correspond to preterm babies. The number of babies born preterm corresponds to 1 baby out of 10. The goal is to save babies born between 28 and 37 weeks. In fact, babies who are born too early have low chance to survive. Moreover, when they survive, they have higher chances of having disabilities such as vision problems, breathing issues, cerebral palsy and development delays. Nevertheless, this breakthrough can only be accessible for rich people due to its cost.

To conclude, eventually, thanks to artificial wombs, preterm babies will be able to continue growing more naturally and complete their gestation better.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Be ready for the Final Task: Tuesday October 1st 

Oral Evaluation (POC-POI)

Scenario: As a talk show host for a special program on scientific innovations, you welcome on your set a scientist and or a user or a citizen who used one of the scientific methods we studied in class: PGD, stem cells, cloning, designer babies, savior siblings, surrogacy,… Your main topic is: What are the effects of medical and technological progress on our society?

 (At the follwing of what we did last time)

Nevertheless, her husband was angry with her, besides, he was confused and asked a lot of questions. On top of that, he was afraid of how people in their village would react. In addition, he was scared about the impact of Sarrita’s decision on their family.

Indeed, despite the fact that becoming a surrogate in India can be easy however there are a lot of consequences for Indian women who decide to follow this path: they will be discriminated against, they risk to be rejected/ostracized from their social groups and to be treated as outcasts. Moreover, this decision may create gossip about them and jealousy.

Part 2

We have learned that Sarita is carrying a baby for a Western couple. She will receive a fixed sum of money. Besides, all the pregnancy expanses (diet and medical care) will be paid by the foreign couple. Additionally, Sarita had to sign a contract for her to give them their baby after birth.

They all got on very well. The couple was very generous and helpful with Sarita. When the baby was born they were all overjoyed.

Sarita decided to leave her village and live with her sister in the city up until the birth, first because there were better doctors, secondly to avoid being ostracized by the people from her village.

To conclude, on one hand, surrogacy is a good way to help a couple who cannot have a baby naturally. In addition, for people like Sarita this situation is also a good way to make money. On the other hand, this can be as a sort of human trafficking because this Western couple is using the body of someone else for their own benefits. 

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Monday, September 30th 

Be ready for the Reading Comprehension on the theme of the chapter. Review the vocabulary.

 (at the follwoing of what we did last time)

Group 3

In the 1920s, Paris was the center of the intellectual and cultural, artistic and political life. On top of that it was a very crowded city with 2,9 million inhabitant, including Irish celebrities such as Samuel Beckett an Irish novelist who was the nephew of an athletes who competed in the Paris 1924 Olympics. In 1924, Ireland could finally participate to the Olympic Games under the Irish banner for the first time.

Group 4

The Tailtean  Games took place in Dublin, one week after the Olympics in 1924. It was the biggest sport event attracting up to  5000 competitors which was 2000 more than the Paris Olympics. The athletes were mainly Irish. The origins of the sport event lead back to an Irish legend, they first took place in Teltown in honor of Queen Tailte. They look alike the Olympics and it took place every four years. The goal was to unite the country, help forge an identity and create a feeling of belonging.

Group 5

Pierre de Coubertin was strongly against women competing at the Olympics. In fact, as for him it was a male-only competition.  However, women could compete in tennis, golf, archery, swimming and gymnastics. In 1924, they were only 135 women athletes. Nevertheless, in 1922, Paris hosted a competition event for women in track and field with the help of a feminist activist named Alice Milliat. Eventually, the International Olympic committee instead of letting women participating in smaller competitions, they allowed them to participate to the next Olympic Games in the track and field discipline.

Group 6

In 1948 London Olympics took place after WWII. There were the first disabled athletes in wheelchairs practicing archery. This was the beginning of the Paralympics that developed fully in Rome in 1960 with 23 countries that represented by almost 400 disabled athletes. On top of that, there were disabled women athletes who participated to the competition as well. It enabled disabled people to integrate better into the society. Back then, women were still discriminated against because they were supposed to stay at home and take care of the household. They were not supposed to practice sport outside the house.

Group 7

The Games have evolved throughout the time: more and more women are represented, there are more and more countries that goes along with the increase of diversity in the Games. Back then athletes used to be amateurs, however, there were more and more professional athletes who started to compete in the Games. In fact, during the Cold War period, these athletes were used as a form of soft power to promote their own countries. On top of that, the globalization of TV more precisely, in color, expanded the audience of the Games. In addition, the sponsors also helped in the expansion of the Games as a whole.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

The Evolution of communication throughout the course of human history

Smoke Signals :

Cavemen during prehistory.

People in Europe Greece for example, 150 BC.

Also used by Native Americans.

Rock/stone Carving:

Prehistory period with cavemen. In the ancient time in Europe…

Ink and Paper:

Invented in parallel around 1040. Ink was invented in China. Papyrus and parchment paper were used by the Egyptians Romans, Greeks and Hebrews… They used quills to write; The quills usually came from owl, eagle, turkey, hawk…

Homework: ake some quick researc about the origins of the different means of communication.

 Modern Self-Portraits

The document under study is an article from the Atlantic published in 2014. It is about the evolution of self-portraits in our human history.

We have learned that back then, portrait were painted and only accessible for the rich and the powerful people. While nowadays, portraits are digital and democratized. Both have in common the fact that they are made to show your image and your personality and popularity to the world. For both of them, the goal is to attract people’s attention. It is also to create the perfect image of you as you want people to see you.

The impact on our daily lives nowadays is that social networking sites are a presentation of our daily lives and cultures online.

Moreover, digital portraits are the very first impression others have about you. It also has an impact on our culture and language as new words are created such as “to friend someone”, “to tag”, “to like”, “to poke”… On the political level, a lot of politicians are using social media to develop their campaigns and reach a younger audience.

Nowadays, our look on society has evolved, indeed having a good image is more important than developing our spirit, intelligence. We deny our true self to create an illusion of what we want people to think of us.

To conclude, we have entered into a world in which image is the major key to play a role in our society.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 (At the follwoing of what we did last time)

Group 3

In the 1920s, Paris was the center of the intellectual and cultural, artistic and political life. On top of that it was a very crowded city with 2,9 million inhabitant, including Irish celebrities such as Samuel Beckett an Irish novelist who was the nephew of an athletes who competed in the Paris 1924 Olympics. In 1924, Ireland was allowed to finally compete as a country.

Group 4

The Tailteann Games took place in 1924 in Dublin following the Paris Olympics. There were 5000 Irish athletes from which there were 6 Gold medalists (there were 3000 athletes in the Paris 1924 Olympics). They were modeled the same way the Olympics were with grand opening and closing ceremonies with athletic events and cultural competitions. The Tailteann Games were then organized every four years. The goal of these games was to unite all Irish athletes under one unique ceremony and forge their identity and their feeling of belonging.

These games were created 632 BC y an ancient Irish Kings. There were in Telton organized as funeral games honoring his mother Queen Tailte giving its name to the completion.

Group 5

At the 1924 Paris Olympics, there were 3000 athletes but only 135 women were represented. In fact, Pierre de Coubertin was against women competing in the games, as for him it was a male-only competition. However, women could compete in tennis, golf, archery, swimming and gymnastics. However, in 1922, Paris organized a Women’s World Games in track-and-field discipline. As a result, in 1926, the International Olympic Committee decided to let women take part in track and field competition.

Group 6

The first Olympics took place in 1948 after WWII in London. It was the start for disabled to take part in the games. They competed in archery tournament. This competition became annual. Then, the first official Paralympics took place in Rome in September 1960. There 23 countries represented and 400 athletes. On top of that, women disabled also participated in the games. Thanks to the development of the Paralympics, people started to open their eyes on the reality of disabled people, to help them integrate the society better and to stop treating them differently.  Besides, the Games help to stop discriminating people against and encourage equality between the two genders. Even though, it took time for women to be fully represented as in 1996 they were only 34% of them competing. However, they were allowed to compete in all the disciplines. Women were under-represented because they were supposed to stay at home and take care of the household and seen as weaker than men.

Group 7

At the time it was only amateurs athletes who took part in the Olympics. However, at the end of WWII and the beginning of the Cold War, more and more professional athletes started to take part in the Games as a form of soft power with the different countries competing against one another. In addition, with the invention of the TV in color commercialization grew and sponsorships followed, hence the Games changed. Moreover, 1988 was the first time athletes competed without any restrictions and where the Olympics were filled with professional sports such as basketball, and golf… In addition, For the first time in 1999 Irish athletes were financed by the government and had access to world class facilities at a sport campus. Besides, the International Paralympic Committee was created in 1989 which brought a focus on normalizing Paralympic sports and the expansion of its media profile. The 2012 London Games helped Paralympians to have a larger social impact with a larger audience and therefore a international profiles.

 Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Synthetic Human Embryos

The document under study is a news report from The World is One News, posted in June 2023 on YouTube. It is about a new breakthrough that consists in using stem cells to create synthetic embryos. In fact, this method bypasses the need for sperm and an egg to create an embryo. These synthetic embryos are analyzed in a lab for 14 days because it is the legal limit to study human embryos. In parallel, they analyze donated embryos to compare the evolutions.

The goals of this new innovation are to understand the very origins of human development, besides to understand better the period of the “black box”. Indeed, the “black box” period is situated from the 14^th day of pregnancy to the 28^th one, it is the very beginning of development of the embryo.

On top of that, this innovation is made to see if it is possible to have a living creature formed without sperm and an egg to live healthily.

Nevertheless, scientists tried this breakthrough on mice. They implanted synthetic embryos in female mice’s wombs/uteruses, eventually they did not survive.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

The Social Network (Movie trailer)

The document under is a trailer of a movie entitled “The Social Network”, released in 2010. It is about how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook. We have learned that it was created in the fall of 2003 by Zuckerberg and one of his friends. Originally, the goal of the website was to connect Harvard’s students together and to catch the attention of clubs such as brotherhoods to have a better image and be accepted by the members of these clubs. His website became so famous that it first spread to other American universities then it hit/reached the whole world.

Nevertheless, it had consequences on Zuckerberg’s personal life, in fact he was accused of breaching security, stealing personal information, violating copyrights. On top of that, he was accused of having stolen the idea of “thefacebook.com” from two brothers from Harvard. Eventually, he was excluded/expelled from Harvard.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 The Social Network

The document under study is a trailer for the movie “The Social Network” released in 2010. This movie is about the creation of Facebook. We have learned that Mark Zuckerberg and a friend of his created this website in their dorm in Harvard. The goal was to put online the college social experience, and to catch the attention of the clubs for more visibility. On top of that, this website was exclusively for the students of Harvard. Then, it gained momentum and spread to other American universities, to eventually reach/hit the rest of the world.

As a consequence, Zuckerberg was accused of having stolen the idea of the website from two brothers in his college. In addition, he was prosecuted for violation of copyrights, breaching security of the IT system of Harvard, and privacy laws. As a result, he was excluded from Harvard.

To conclude, the creation of FB resulted in the emergence of online networks in a brand new virtual world.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Paris 1924-2024 – An Irish Olympic Journey

Group 1

In the beginning of the 20^th century, Irish athletes were competing for Great Britain and the USA.

On top of that, Pierre de Coubertin was the creator  of the Olympics as we know them today, and at the time he was strongly against the participation of women in the Games.

In 1906, an Irish athlete hoisted a green flag as a sign of protest for Ireland to be finally recognized as an independent country. This event triggered the discussion around the creation of an Irish Olympic Committee. It was created in April 1920, however, Irish athletes could not compete in the Antwerp Olympics (Belgium) because their situation should have been solved on a political level before the Games.

Group 2

Before Irish athletes could compete for their own country, they had already won 25 medals and the credits were for the countries they competed for: Great Britain, USA and even South Africa. In fact, they were not allowed to compete for their own country.

Group 3

In the 1920s, Paris was the center of the intellectual and cultural, artistic and political life. On top of that it was a very crowded city with 2,9 million inhabitant, including Irish celebrities such as Samuel Beckett an Irish novelist who was the nephew of an athletes who competed in the Paris 1924 Olympics.

We will continue the study of the texts next time. Be ready!

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 A Booming Business

The document under study is an extract from an article published in the Guardian in December 2009. It is about the story of Sarita, an Indian woman who is 26 years old. We have learned that she comes from a poor family background, in fact, her parents were farmers and at the age of 16, she had to go through an arranged marriage and married a man, whose name was Ramesh, who was 15 older than her. Her dreams were to go to the university in order to become a teacher. Nevertheless, her husband earns a low income and as a family, they still live in poverty. Therefore, in order to change their situation, she decided to become a surrogate mother in order to earn more money to live in better conditions and to give her children a better life.

We will continue the study of the text next week. Be ready!

Hoemwork: Learn the lesson.

 Gene Therapy

The document under study is an extract of an interview of a scientist who used a new way to cure one of his patient. His name is French Anderson, an American doctor. He pioneered gene therapy to cure people who have gene diseases. His first patient was Ashi DaSilva who was 4 years old at the time. In fact, since her birth, Ashi has never left her house except for going to the doctor or to the hospital. She was kept in quarantine to protect her from viruses. Indeed, her immune system was weak, she suffered from ADA deficiency because of a faulty gene. In order to be cured, she was treated with gene therapy which, consisted in taking her blood to inject white blood cells from a healthy donor in a lab. Then, it would be reinjected in Ashi’s bloodstream. 6 months later, Ashi was completely healed, indeed when all her family members were sick with the flu, she was the only one who recovered fast.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Design your baby

Text A

The document under study is an extract from a newspaper, published in 2010 in CHS Globe online.

It is about someone who would like to design their babies. In fact, it is possible to create the “perfect” baby with particular physical traits, to have a baby with a high IQ and no diseases.

Firstly, the medical objectives are to prevent certain genetic illnesses. Besides, it can also be to make sure to have a healthy embryo. Therefore, the real purposes would be to improve the condition of the human race. Moreover, it would enable gender selection. On top of that, it could also be for cosmetic purposes.

To conclude, on one hand, even if this type of breakthrough can eradicate sicknesses, on the other hand it may create a form of segregation between the designer babies and the normal babies, the latter would be downgraded.

Text B

The document under study is an extract from a newspaper published in 2010 in USA Today.

It is about the story of Molly Nash and her family. Molly is a teenager who was born with a rare disease which made her destined to die before the age of 7. Nevertheless, she was cured/ healed thanks to her brother who donated some of his bone marrow to save her. In fact, Adam is a designer baby who was genetically created to fit perfectly in order to save Molly. He was therefore a medicine baby. People must have been surprised, shocked, appalled upon discovering his story around his birth.

To conclude, Molly’s story is significant/important to scientific progress because a medicine baby can save someone from a terminal sickness thanks to the PGD technique.

Homework: Learn the lesso,

 (At the follwing of waht we did last time)

She discovered breakdancing in West Philly. When she started to practice it, she felt like an outsider, however, she was welcomed warmly by the community. She would like to make breakdancing her full time job, eventually she would like to create a school to teach breakdancing.

We have learned that breakdancing was created by Porto Rican and African communities in the Bronx in the 1960s-70s. In fact, it was a way for them to create their place in the world. Then, it gained momentum in the 1980s thanks to the New York City Rap Tour that took place in 1982 and took breaking all around the world.

As for the Paris 2024 Olympics, there would be male and female breakers for solo battles. The judging system was created by DJ Renegade (Kevin Gopie). As he created the ranking the points given to the figures are not always according the difficulties of those.

Paris 1924-2024 – An Irish Olympic Journey

The document under study is an extract from online exhibition about the vision of the Olympics from the Irish side.

We have learned that the 1924 Olympics in Paris was a milestone for Ireland because it was the first time that Ireland could compete in the Olympics as a free nation. On top of that, it was also a way for Ireland to celebrate all the evolutions in women’s and disabled people’s rights. Moreover, the 2024 Games have shown to the world equality between men and women and also a form of inclusion for those who have disabilities.

The access to the online exhibition: 

100 years of the Games (centreculturelirlandais.com)

 The Rise of Facebook

The document under study is an extract from an article taken from Time Magazine, published in 2010, written by L. Grossman. It is about Mark Zuckerberg who was elected person of the year.

We have learned that Facebook was originally created in 2004, its name was “thefacebook.com”. Zuckerberg was a 19-year-old student at Harvard at the time and was in his dorm when he created it. The goal was to create a social networking site to connect the students of Harvard together.

He was elected Person of the Year because he was the author of a new creation that could connect more than half billion people together. Moreover, it was a new system of exchanging information worldwide. It completely transformed our lives.

Zuckerberg is one of the main pioneers of world virtualization, in fact, he created a social media platform that changed our routine, our way of thinking. In addition, social networks help us in our daily lives on an economic aspect, advertising, job search… Additionally, it is one of the most technological progress in our human history.

Nowadays, Facebook is a leading social networking site, which is still mainly used worldwide.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 (At the following of the last lesson)

She first discovered breaking in West Philly. Then, when she started to dance she felt like an outsider. However, she was welcomed warmly by the community. Eventually, she wants to make breaking her full time job and would like to create her own school to teach breaking.

We have learned that breaking started in NYC in the 1960s-70s, African and Porto Rican communities were practicing it. Then, it started to be famous in the 1980s thanks to the New York City Rap Tour in 1982 that took breaking all around the world.

Breaking ended up landing in the Olympics for the Paris 2024 Games where men and women would participate. Indeed, the judging system was made by DJ Renegade (Kevin Gopie).

Paris 1924-2024 – An Irish Olympic Journey

The document under study is an extract from an online exhibition called 100 Years of the Games: Ireland’s Journey. This text deals with the evolution of the Olympics on the Irish side and its impact worldwide.

We have learned that the 1924 Olympics that took place in Paris were the first international sport event to host Ireland as a separate state/country/nation.

Moreover, the 2024 games reflect the societal changes the country has been going through because it promotes women’s and disabled people’s rights, plus equality in sport. In fact, more and more women and disabled were allowed to compete whereas back in time it was not the case which highlights these social changes.

(We will continue the study of this online exhibition next time. Be ready!)

The access to the Online Exhibition: 

100 years of the Games (centreculturelirlandais.com)

 Gene Therapy

The document under study is an interview of an American scientist called French Anderson. He talks about a treatment he created called gene therapy that he used on a child called Ashi DaSilva, who was 4 years old at the time. In fact, Ashi had been sick since her birth because her immune system was deficient because of a faulty gene. Her disease was called ADA deficiency. As a consequence, she was always in quarantine at home to be protected from any viruses.

Then, she received a treatment called gene therapy. It consisted in taking her blood to inject healthy white blood cells from a donor. Then, it was reinjected in her body. As a result, 6 months later, she was healed/cured from her sickness. Indeed, when her family members were all sick/ill with the flu in bed, she was the first to recover.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Social Networking Times

The documents under study are two graphs and a timeline about the evolution of social media. The two graphs were published on “Our World in Data Website” in 2019. The timeline was published in 2023 on Social Media Tulsa Website.

We have learned that in 2018, Facebook was the most popular platform. It was created in 2004 and reached a peek in 2010 with more than 500 million users. YouTube was launched in 2005. In 2010 it had 500 million users. Then, in 2018, the number of users went over 1.5 billion subscribers. Instagram was created in 2010. It reached 1 billion users in 2018. 75% of people between 18 and 24 years are using Instagram. We can notice that social media users are mostly young people aged between 18 and 30 years old. Nevertheless, seniors are more present on Facebook with 46% of subscribers.

To conclude, these platforms all have an impact on our daily lives and are a sort of market place therefore they have an impact on the economic level as well.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Social Networking Times

The document under study are two graphs and one timeline about social media published in 2019 on “Our World in Data Website” and in “Social Media Tulsa”, in 2023. We have learned about the evolution of the most famous/popular social media platforms: Facebook is the most popular one, which was created in 2004, it reached a peek in 2008 and gained 2 billion users in 2018. YouTube was created in 2005 and became popular in 2006. It reached 1.9 billion users in 2018. WhatsApp was created in 2005 and became popular in 2012. It reached 1.5 billion users in 2018. We have noticed that the global trend is that, more and more people all around the world use overall social media platforms. In fact, it has become a real market, which has an impact on the economic level. Besides, these platforms have consequences on our daily lives as some of them are created to be used everyday in our interactions with others.

In addition, regarding the age groups of users, there are usually younger users for the most popular platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok… Nevertheless, statistically speaking some social networking sites also attract seniors: 46% of them use Facebook on a daily basis.

Additionally, there are some inequalities between the different platforms whether you are on Instagram or on YouTube you are not interacting systematically with the same community. Indeed, some social media platforms attract more seniors than others and vice versa.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Unit 1 : Higher, Faster, Stronger

Axe : Diversity and Inclusion

Breakdance at the Olympics

The document under study is an extract from NBS News published in November 2022. It deals with breakdancing/breaking: how it moved from cardboard in the streets to the Olympic stage.

We have learned about Grace Sunny Choi, a B-Girl (a break dancer) who was competing in the most elite breakdancing competitions: the Red Bull BC One in New York. She had been dancing for 14 years.

We will continue the study of the video next time. Be ready!

(At the following of what we did last time)

To conclude, this type of breakthrough can be seen as unethical because turning human beings into slaves or kind of robots is not right. Moreover, it can lead to human trafficking, in fact evaluating a life worth based on the way they were created diminishes their worth. On top of that, such innovations should be punished by the law. Eventually, the only ethical part is that this innovation can erase illnesses/sicknesses/diseases. However, one should not forget that scientific progress should be limited.

 Unit 1 : Brave New World ?

Theme 1: Knowledge, Creation, Innovation

Topic 2: Science and Technology: Promises and Challenges

Science Babies

The document under study is an extract from a novel entitled “Brave New World”, written by Aldous Huxley, published in 1932.

This extract deals with a director who is giving a tour of his facilities/lab to some students to present his last innovation/breakthrough. He is proud, passionate, enthusiastic, thrilled and self-confident about it. Additionally, he is convinced that his innovation will improve the society in the future.

However, this breakthrough will lead to the creation of identical clones and a lack of diversity. Besides, these clones will be treated like slaves and will be seen as potential cheap labor force.

On one hand, this innovation will lead to the birth of healthier people and can wipe out all sicknesses. On the other hand, this breakthrough will dehumanize people and everyone will be the same.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

=> Is this type of scientific breakthrough ethical or unethical? Give your opinion.

Unit 1: Social Networks and their impact on our daily lives

Axe 4: Citizenship and Virtual World

Social media are online platforms on which people interact with one another from around the world through the Internet. Additionally, people connect/gather around communities of same interests. People exchange by chatting online or by sending or posting videos and photos on their accounts/feeds. On top of that, there are famous influencers who post about their daily lives and we can follow them.

There are several different social networking sites which have different features, for example: WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Youtube, Facebook, LinkedIn…

Social networks have a lot of advantages that are unique, in fact, it is possible to discover some celebrities and get to know about their daily lives. It is a great way to keep contact with your friends and family, besides you can also meet new people. Furthermore, we can discover new activities which enables users to open their minds. In addition, there are platforms on which we can learn a lot, such as languages, religions, science, tips, and DIY… We can also learn about how people live all over the world. Moreover, we can stay informed through the news published on these platforms. Nevertheless, social networking sites can be sources of cyberbullying, addictions, social loneliness, disinformation, fake news and deep fakes. Indeed, it is possible to be a victim of usurpation of identity. On top of that, these platforms allow other users to stalk you and track your location. Let’s not forget that by using social networks, you are more exposed to be hacked.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Study the article,  the timeline and the graphs

Social Networking Times