Use the Computer Safely

I have found it hard to cope over the last two weeks. I have been in constant pain! The sad thing is that is was my fault!

I discovered that I do not practice what I preach! For two years I have taught with Business Services at MIT (as well as the School of English). I teach Computing at Level 2 and Level 4. I love teaching computing and really enjoy the variety in my teaching day. One of the things I always teach is OOS Prevention and Ergonomic Principles – OOS being Occupational Overuse Syndrome and Ergonomics being the guidelines for effectively and safely working in a particular environment, especially looking at the use of office equipment and computers. I know that there are many hazards inherent in computer use.

Wednesday, a week ago, I had a very boring, repetitive job that I was trying to complete. I was using Photoshop to edit pictures representing each of the phonic sounds in the English language. I was then bringing the pictures into PowerPoint and making them into a set of five Phonics PowerPoints. The mouse movement was monotonous and I did not stop to micro pause (or any other sort of pause or stretch!) I worked for an hour and a half, fed my family, and then went back to the same task for two and a half hours. I did not want to stop – I just wanted to get it over and done with. I finally thought, ‘Yay!!!!! All finished!’

I tried to move my arm, but it was completely numb. I could not feel a thing. I turned to move a pile of books and I heard a loud cracking noise in my back and a stab of pain. I was sure I had somehow nipped a nerve in my back. All day Thursday I suffered. After two nights of little sleep and a great deal of continuous pain, I decided I had to do something. I tried to make an appointment to see a wonderful Osteopath I had been to previously. I was told he was in Germany and would not be back until the 16th. I couldn’t wait, so I looked up local Osteopaths and Chiropractors. I chose a Chiropractor in Botany and made an appointment.

The Chiropractor sent me for a full spinal X-ray and then I went back to see him. He did a very, very quick and brutal manipulation that simply shifted the pain. By Friday night the pain had increased dramatically. Saturday night was truly a nightmare – all night. At 3 am I woke up in such pain that I thought I was dying. The pain still felt like a nerve pain, but now shot all the way along the nerve line underneath my shoulder blade, under my arm, through my upper chest and all down my arm. The pain under my arm and down my arm felt like a relentless, burning pins-and-needles. It felt as though I could not breathe, the pain was so intense.

By mid-morning on Sunday I could not move or keep still. I just cried and moaned. I was taken to Middlemore Hospital by ambulance. I waited and waited and waited – I tried the technique that worked so well for labour pains – just focussing on breathing slowly and deeply. After five hours I was seen by a doctor. She suggested the Chiropractor had actually moved a disc out of place and had pulled muscles in my upper back. I was given morphine-based pain relief. As the pain abated, I felt much better, but then I had a negative reaction to the medication. - for 24 hours I suffered from projectile vomiting! It was truly awful!

I left Middlemore on Sunday night and wanted to try to go to work on Monday. I eventually rang both my bosses to explain that I would not be in class on Monday. Tuesday morning I succeeded in teaching my first class. All week it was very hard to put forward my best while in pain. On Friday afternoon, I went to see a Chinese doctor for acupuncture and massage. For the first time, I could feel the strength back in my right hand. I will be seeing him again this Friday.

Each day is better than the last. Yesterday, for the first time, I was able to crank out the work on my computer. But, this whole experience has truly converted me to the extreme importance of following ergonomic guidelines when using the computer. I really want my online students to remember how important it is to micro pause, stretch, exercise and take frequent breaks. I will never, never, never make the same mistake again.

If you haven’t thought about ergonomics and safe computer use before, look up these urls:
http://www.safecomputingtips.com/ergonomic-exercises.html
http://www.witc.edu/library/tips/nrich/ergonomics.htm
http://dohs.ors.od.nih.gov/exercises.htm
ALWAYS TAKE THE TIME TO PAUSE, MOVE, HAVE A BREAK, AND RELAX!

An Idea for Intermediate ESOL Students

In this post, I would like to address my ESOL students. This is an idea that I hope becomes useful to you.

When you first started to learn English, you would have made rapid progress. It is exciting learning because you can see your own progress from week-to-week and month-to-month. The rate of learning seems to slow down when you get to the Intermediate level. Many of my past students have asked me the question, “How can I improve my English quickly?” I will try to answer this question with an idea that I have found works well.

There is a long learning period where you would have relied very heavily on your first language dictionary. A good start is to use only the English-English dictionary. Then, when you are able to start thinking in the second language, you will have found the key to improvement. So how do you do this?

Every day, set yourself a problem and think it through from start to finish in English. The problem can be:
• How to find something, eg. How to get to the top of One Tree Hill.
• How to make or build something, eg. How to make a paper crane using origami.
• How to find a solution, eg. Work out who committed a crime in a story.
• Express a point of view, eg. Express how you feel about euthanasia.

Think about each step of the problem in English, and work through to the final solution in English. If you do not have all the words you need, either “circumlocute”, (ie. use the words you do have to express the idea) or perhaps just look up one or two words. Try to avoid the first language dictionary as much as possible.

If you try this for 10 minutes a day, without fail, you will see a faster improvement in your English ability! Don’t forget to also take the time to read “FOR FUN” in English – take an easy book and read through it for entertainment. This is how children learn in their first language!

Welcome to the Online Reading & Writing Class

This Semester we are fortunate to have an Online Intermediate Reading and Writing class. Intermediate Reading and Writing has been previously taught only face-to-face. This course is part of the Certificate in ESOL lll programme currently run by the School of English at Manukau Institute of Technology. The course is designed to cater for NESB (Non-English Speaking Background) students who are house-bound or unable to attend classes for one reason or another.

The course uses a Mastery/Achievement system of assessment. Several Achievements that are assessed formally have a grammar component. Students need to demonstrate a specific level of competence in grammar usage in their formal writing.

Although there is a set system of Achievements that have to be passed, the exact content of the course is flexible. The course is largely topic-based. Every two weeks students start work on a new topic. Students cover five main components each week. These are:

1. reading on topic
   
2. comprehension activity on topic
   
3. journal writing
   
4. vocabulary
   
5. grammar

The course has been progressing reasonably well, with some students completing all work to a very pleasing standard, while others have found family commitments, work commitments, and poor time management have prevented them from working to capacity online. I believe that all class members need to maximize their opportunities to practise their developing English skills. For this reason our class has arrived in the world of blogging. Hopefully over the next week or two, class members will take the opportunity of setting up their own blogs, as well as keeping track of this blog.