Chat rooms or “chats” are one of the most interactive
areas on the Internet and they are regularly visited by children and teenagers. Putting it plainly and simply, a chat room is a place on the Internet where people meet to talk about various subjects. Conversation is simultaneous,synchronous and written. A user writes a message onto the computer and the message is immediately displayed on another computer. From a teacher’s point of view, chat rooms may turn out to be one of the best places to engage our students in real and meaningful language practice. From a student’s point of view, chats are an exciting means of communication and an enriching opportunity to communicate with native or non-native speakers in English.

Generally speaking, chat rooms provide students with a stress-free and uninhibited language practice but most importantly they foment linguistic interaction. Much has already been said and written about the utter importance of interaction in the learning and acquisition of a second language. It has already been proved that the more the student (meaningfully) interacts, the more opportunities he/she will have to learn language and the more language the student learns, more input can he/she can solicit in order to learn more language

So, in order to increase students’s interaction in the English language, we can include chat rooms in our lessons. Students’s active participation will allow them to experience and experiment language as a real thing. This type of interaction, although written and not face-to-face, will prove more authentic than a conversation with the teacher, especially because in a chat
room language is no longer a goal but an instrument to pursue other (real) goals

Precautions
However, despite the inherent advantages of using chat rooms for educational purposes, one must be conscious of some dangers:

Students often have a difficult time using computers, which might endanger the activity. A good solution is to provide students with the basic computer skills (using the keyboard, reading from the screen) Chat rooms users often use acronyms and slang that students may fail to understand. A good way to solve this problem is to introduce students to those particular expressions (for instance, prepare a lesson based on Netiquette, which includes specific vocabulary items used on the Internet). Students may be confronted with harassment situations and/or verbal confrontations. This is why it is of utter importance to develop your activities in a moderated chat room and to create your own chat room. A chat room for educational purposes should have published a list of main topics and subjects currently under discussion.
Activities

As an activity, the use of chat rooms has to be considered fluency work; thus, the teacher should only intervene if the students’ mistakes jeopardise communication. It is also necessary to keep in mind that the teacher should only act (during the activity) as a prompter and a resource, in order to allow real interaction.

Activity 1: Who’s who?
Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students should have:

acquired the necessary knowledge about the basic functioning of a chat room (log in, write and read a message, log out); used the English language in a communicative way; demonstrated the necessary skills to make and answer questions; demonstrated their understanding of the dialogue; reflected on their use of the English language.
Procedure:
Students will be told that they will dialog with their classmates in a chat room and that they will play a game called “Who’s who?”. Each student will have a nickname, e.g., a fake identity, and that the objective of the game is to guess the true identity behind the nick. Students must also be instructed to keep their nicknames secret. Students will then be told the address of the chat room they’ll be accessing and, individually, their nicknames. The teacher should help students to log in and make sure everyone is able to send, read and write messages. Students should then approach their colleagues and try to find out who is behind the nicknames. In the end, students will be asked to come to the blackboard and write down the names behind the nicks. It is also very interesting to print and hand out the transcript of one or two dialogues and lead a brief reflection on how students used the English language.

If you are a teen seeking an alternative to public or private schools with an accredited diploma, then an online high school program is a terrific option!

Are you looking for a program that grants the freedom to learn creatively, to take charge of your own education and to pursue the future in your timing?

Are you searching for a flexible education for any of the following reasons:

The desire to work at your own pace with the option to graduate early

The freedom to determine your own courses

The need to study in a less distracting environment

The ability to work from home for health reasons

The need for more challenging courses

The need to go back and establish a stronger academic foundation

The need to schedule your learning around a career

The need for more time to pursue your excellence in athletics or another field

If any of these apply, you must consider the freedom of online high school.

In many cases, you are ready to consider a homeschool program for high school, but convincing your parents that they can do it can be a daunting task.

They are struggling with the knowledge that high school is crucial to your future and they don’t want to risk making mistakes.

How will they ensure that you are on the right track?

How will they teach high school math and science courses?

How will they know that you are producing quality work?

What courses will you need for college?

What about a high school transcript?

What about an accredited diploma?

All of these are valid concerns and definitely should be considered as you research the option of high school at home and the right online high school program can and will meet those needs.

So what do you need to know as you consider the options and search for the right online high school program? What questions should you ask? How do you know that the online high school or homeschool academy you choose will prepare you for your future?

Some basic considerations:

Ask about accreditation. You want to be sure that the online high school you choose is accredited and that you will receive an accredited diploma.

Ask about college placement. Can they provide a list of colleges and universities where their high school graduates have gone?

Ask about flexibility. Do they offer a “one size fits all” curriculum or do they cater courses to your specific needs and goals? Do they offer both vocational and college prep high school programs? Can they meet the needs of both struggling learners and advanced or gifted students?

Ask about support. Are you able to call for help or get help online when you need it?

Ask about freedom in scheduling. Are you required to be online for a specific time period during the day or for a set number of hours per day or do you have the freedom to determine your own schedule?

Ask about AP courses. Are you able to take online advanced placement courses that prepare you for AP Exams?

Ask about dual enrollment courses. Does the school offer the opportunity to take online college courses for both high school and college credit? This is a terrific way to get a head start on college while taking more rigorous courses and preparing yourself for the transition to college level academics.

Ask about graduation. Can you participate in a graduation ceremony with other graduates?

It is important to ask the right questions before choosing an online high school. Be sure it is recognized, has been in operation for several years and has a good reputation. This is your future, you want to do it right.

How to get started.

Start by looking at the various online high school options out there. Be sure to ask the questions listed above and compare programs.

Some online high school programs to consider:

Bridgeway Academy Online High School, http://www.homeschoolacademy.com. In operation for 20 years, you can be confident in the fact that their high school graduates have attended colleges and universities all across the country-many with scholarship funding. Choose to take all courses online or mix and match your preferences for a truly customized program.

With introductory grants available, you can take advantage of the most cost effective online high school program out there. You can enjoy a program that offers more freedom and customization than any other online high school. You can be confident in a course load that is catered to your needs and abilities, whether you are struggling with academics or searching for more challenging and advanced classes. You can be sure that you will receive exactly what you need to succeed. And, if you are looking for a jump start on college, you can find it at Bridgeway Academy where dual enrollment courses (in partnership with Davis College) offer you the ability to take online courses for both college and high school credit.

Stanford University Designed, http://epgy.stanford.edu/ohs/, for gifted students, this is a costly online high school but may be one to consider if you are seeking the prestige of Stanford University. Its web-based courses are designed to challenge students and prepare them for the rigors of an Ivy League university like Stanford.

Keystone High School, http://keystonehighschool.com/. Keystone is an online high school that admits both teenagers and adults with proof of completing eighth grade. Students may choose from a variety of online or correspondence courses to find a program that meets their needs. As with all other programs listed above, students can opt to take one course or enroll in the full program.

So don’t be afraid to ask your parents to consider a home school option for you, but do be sure that you have researched it well and are prepared to offer an answer to their concerns.

Sometimes, a teen wants to be independent from home and parents’ control as soon as possible. If eventually, teenagers will leave their homes one day in order to make it on their own, as there are times they would have to separate from their parents and stay somewhere else like boarding houses, then they must learn all the skills they need for an independent living.

Preparing them on how to live on their own can spell the word between successful independent living and a disastrous living. Simple skills like cooking, cleaning the house, taking care of the laundry, and even taking care of oneself, if not learned early on in life can be hard for teenagers who are trying to make it on their own.

Teenagers have to learn early on how to pick up groceries, prepare foods, plan a balance diet, and understand the concept of the cost of living, etc. in order to be successful in living independently lives. Budgeting is also an important skill a teenager who wants independence must learn. Proper financial planning makes a newly wean teenager survive in case of job emergencies like lay-offs or delayed pay checks. Time management and priority setting must also be learned by teens who are soon to be weaned from home.

Financial independence from parents is a must before teens can proceed to living alone. To obtain financial independence means getting a job and sticking to it until better opportunities comes along. It is different not having money while in your parents’ home and not having money alone in your own home. All teen wants independence but they must realize that they must be financially independent first before proceeding to being physically independent from home.

Emotional and psychological maturity is also necessary to ensure successful independent life. Teens trying to make it on facing a lot of decision making challenges almost everyday, right after stepping out of their parents houses. Teen wants to live alone away from ire of parents. But they must also understand that they must be emotionally, psychology, and financially independent to do it. But the real education is when they are in the actual situation. Teen wants independence but sacrifices and adjustments are made if they are to make it alone and stay happy.

Many parent around the world, especially mothers, envy those who are blessed with highly efficient offspring, who can keep their rooms perfectly clean, who knows how to budget their allowances and who can manage by themselves. A teen wants definitely to become responsible. He also wants to learn and explore so many things but he wants to do it by himself. Why not? It will serve them best if parents will start to train their children to become independent in an early age.

Having car for teenager is like a dream come true. They will very happy if their parents buy them a car. Not always a new or expensive car, most teenagers just love when they have a car on their own. No matter is it new or not. Most parents who know the condition will start looking for a good car for their children. Now problems come when it’s about car insurance. This car insurance is very important for them, because they still young and need a lot of protection. There is car insurance type for teenager, this insurance cover more than usual insurance. Well, we know that teenager sometimes so clumsy and emotional, so it’s possible if they drive car in unstable emotion. To get this teenager car insurance is very easy. You just have to keep your driving list is clean for something bad. There are some insurance company that give you low payment if your children going to school every day, full time and have a high point grade. It’s like an achievement for those who are nice at school. The important is getting the safe car for your children, airbag for example, because the company will give you extra bonus to have such a safe car.

It costs more to get insurance for teen drivers than more mature ones, but there are ways to keep the costs lower than they would otherwise be.  Even teenagers can drive in a mature fashion and avoid crashes.  They can also avoid driving certain types of vehicles.  They can also make sure they qualify for all discounts available to them.

You can expect to pay more for car insurance for a teenage driver.  The simple fact is that less experienced drivers have more crashes than older drivers.  This costs the carrier more money and this cost is passed on to the carrier’s policy holders.

You can reduce the risk factors associated with teenage drivers and lower your costs.  This can benefit you in two important ways.  You can lower your costs.  You can lower the chances that your young driver will get into an accident.  This can be much more important than any savings you might experience.

The biggest thing that is under the control of a teenage driver is his or her driving record.  Avoiding violations and crashes is crucial if you want to keep costs down.  Driving more safely can keep a ridiculous car insurance rate from going even higher.

Certain autos can cost more to buy insurance coverage for.  High performance automobiles can add to your car insurance cost because they tempt drivers to drive faster and be risky drivers.

The value of the automobile will only have increase on the cost of insurance if the policy has collision and other than collision coverage.  This coverage can pay your body shop if your auto is in a auto accident.  Since this part of your policy pays you and not other parties, it is optional unless your car has a lien on it.  

If you own your car free and clear you can reduce your cost for collision and comprehensive.  You can purchase a auto that costs less to repair.  You can raise your deductibles.  You can drop the collision and other than collision coverage all together.

Teenage drivers may qualify for two important discounts not typically available to more experienced drivers.  The good student discount may save you 10% of the cost of insuring a youthful driver.  A driver’s education lessons discount may save you an additional 10%.

Experienced drivers will typically have a driving record that is a better judge of their driving ability than how good they were in school.  However, with a teenage driver the insurance carrier has to make assumptions using other factors besides the driving record since the driving history may be very limited.

Young drivers can qualify for a good student discount and get a lower cost.  Students who get better grades tend to be smarter drivers also.  Insurance companies will typically give discounts for teenage drivers who have better grades.  Maintaining a B average can save you hundreds of dollars each year for several years.

Another rate reduction that younger drivers can qualify for is a driver’s education discount.  Taking and passing a certified driver’s education course can result in a less costly insurance policy.  These savings will typically far exceed the cost of the drivers ed lessons.  

A driver’s education course can also make a youthful driver a safer driver.  Safer drivers avoid crashes and violations.  They also live longer and are less likely to become disabled.

The cost of auto insurance for a young driver will always be high.  However, there are several strategies that may keep those costs from eating you alive.  You can do what you can to avoid speeding tickets and crashes.  You can drop or lessen the cost of your physical damage coverage.  You can make sure that you get a drivers ed discount and good student discount.