By Yenney YAN (EDE alumnus, 2009-2010) With the increasing use of IT in the English language classroom, there has been the anticipation (or fear) that chatterbots/avatars are going to replace teachers eventually. Two of the core issues centre on this ongoing debate, namely the Turing Test and the Chinese Room Gedanken experiment. In this article, …
By Yenney Yan (EDE Year 5, 2008-2009) Introduction The Problem of Induction is a question which philosophers have been contemplating since the beginning of knowledge construction. Although this epistemological concept is hard to be operationalized in educational practicum, resolutions to this problem provides vital justification for educational activities: if the inductive methods were flawed, most …
By Yenney Yan (LED Year 4, 2007-2008) It happens every day: After the class, the kids rush to the playground with badminton rackets in their hands. One of the more motivated pupils comes to you with that feather-made little gadget that we play badminton with, the one we use the rackets to hit. He eagerly …
By Yenney Yan (LED Year 3, 2006-2007) Introduction As a former colony of the United Kingdom, the education system in Hong Kong to a large extent resembles that of Britain, or indeed, England, in such features as examination systems and curriculum. However, taking into account the Confucius-heritage and the recent education reforms, differences between the …