Hello and welcome to the EnglishMEDiator online collaboration wiki !
This online collaboration tool is run for and with the medical students enrolled in Ioana Crețu's courses of English at the Faculty of Medicine, "Gr.T.Popa" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi - Romania. Here you find different pages where we are discussing or developing ideas related to learning, languages, medicine, cultures etc. The wiki is always changing depending on what we want to do with it. EnglishMEDiator also has a website and a blog.
To become a member with editing rights on the wiki, click on 'Request access' (leave your name and say a few things about yourself).
2010-2011 online activities
EnglishMEDiator Circle online collaboration area:
- Project "Intercultural dialogue at UMF Iasi"
- Project "Message in a bottle" - former students speak to the students of today and of the future about their experience at the English class
- Project Virtual Library - a list of the most useful books that older students can share with younger ones.
- Medical Links - a list with useful internet links for medicine students
Ongoing discussion pages started two years ago
At the beginning of 2008-09, our first online activity together was to share our definitions of learning. To read through these definitions, react and/or contribute, click here.
Last year, we learned about Dax Cowart, a man who was so severly burned in an explosion that he desperately wanted to die. Some of the students shared their opinions and arguments about his particular case and more general implications (the harm principle, self-determination, the doctor-patient relationship, the concept of emotional literacy). Click here to find out more and contribute your own if you want.
Following the teacher's research on cultural diversity and a very intense classroom discussion, Daniela invited everyone to talk about interculturality.
-----------------------
Donald's writing lab: a true story about his rock and roll years, a Halloween story, the story of an Irish child AND THE LATEST, A CHRISTMAS STORY WRITTEN FOR US UPON REQUEST ! Help Donald bring out his hidden talent as a writer! This is as real as it gets, so... Click here!
Donald from the UK, a very active member of this wiki, says: "Help me reach my personal goal for this year! Click here and join in to get a taste of the experience you are about to have! 2008/9 "veterans", please feel free to play too.
Who is Donald? His avatar is the Roman bear below, but more about him is up to you to find out, directly or indirectly. If you need a place to start, check this out, or if you want to see Romania through his eyes, click here. Intrigued? No? Maybe this will help... or any of the pages on this wiki that he has started and/or contributed to last year (see below).

Last year, Donald from the UK has started many pages here which have lead to interesting discussions and reflections. To find out more and contribute, click...
- on Freud, instincts and morality
- on why and how to accept praise
- on free will and coincidences (following a question by Cristina)
- on creativity (following a question by Daniela)
- on teaching and seeing change (Donald also shared a paper about change from his MA course, a very personal reflection about a turbulent period of change in his life with a theoretical analysis)
- on photography (following a workshop held by Donald in Iasi, with people from 7 European countries present)
- a taste of Irish and a discussion about learning English (some music bands mentioned as well)
- all kinds of reflections and interactions feeding off each other (how to name this page???)
Also, if you want to play Donald's questioning game and help him improve his thinking (while you work on your questioning skills), click here.
If you want to know what people can learn during holidays, click here. This is quite a funny page, started during the winter holiday of 2008-09. Why not add what one may learn during the summer break?
Last but not least, Ioana launched a challenge called WHAT WE MEAN, inviting students to pick up on the questions she asks at the end of the YouTube clip she created to thank Donald for his contributions.
Essays written by former students
Some students enrolled in the Academic English optional course chose to write and share essays online. To read and react, click on the links:
- the "Heart vs Brain" series: "Fire and Ice" (first draft) and "Heart vs Brain" (second draft) by Oana. Donald liked the topic and wrote his own essay entitled "Heart vs Brain" (first draft). He reflected on the feedback received from the readers and he produced a second draft.
- the "Religion vs Medicine" series: a very interesting essay is "Religion vs Medicine" by Mihaela, with comments from readers. Again, Donald reacted and wrote his own version here.
Pages from/for the 2009-2010 academic year
CLICK HERE to get to the page dedicated to this year's Medical English optional course !
MG I students sharing their experiences at the English seminars on this wiki. To follow and/or contribute, click HERE
Cool stuff online - a page for recommending any interesting websites, articles, pictures or clips you may come across while surfing the Internet.
Other pages from previous courses (2008-2009)
Donald threw a challenge at the students and Cristina won 20 Euro and a book. To find out more, click here.
The 1st year students designed and taught many of the seminars in the 2nd semester. Click HERE to find out more! At the end, most of the students thought this was a good idea worth keeping in future courses.
At the end of the year, Tudor started a page for sharing memories and impressions from the MG I - English Practical Course, 2008-2009.
Informal reports of some of the seminars and individual progress last year:
Volunteer students presented their own perspectives on some of our seminars: Oct 27-31 reports, Nov 3-7 reports, Nov 10-14 reports, Nov 24-28 reports, Dec 1-4 reports, Dec 8-12 reports, Jan 5-9 reports, colocviu reports, March 2-3 report, March 9-10 report.
Also, some of the students' individual progress reports half-way during the 1st semester can be seen here.
Romanian Culture
Check this out !
Comments (30)
the EnglishMEDiator said
at 12:47 pm on Oct 20, 2008
To all wiki users,
just a suggestion - you can add your comments to any wiki page, not only the front page. Perhaps it's better to go to the relevant page first and post a comment there. This way we can keep the front page for generic comments and also stay organized. That goes for me as well, obviously... :-)))
Thank you!
the EnglishMEDiator said
at 3:47 pm on Oct 25, 2008
Hi,
I have just had to recover the front page as one of you had accidentally deleted all the text there. Please pay attention to what you are doing in the wiki, because you have writing rights for all the wiki. Fortunately, there is a history function which allows us to see all the changes and revert them if necessary.
I guess this is part of the learning process... :-)
Ioana
Bizgan Mihaela said
at 2:12 am on Dec 1, 2008
...I have posted my project and I need to know your impressions,your feelings related with what I've written...and any feedback will be very helpful for me....thank you for your patience.
Donald Lush said
at 1:43 pm on Dec 1, 2008
Hello Mihaela and everyone - I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your essay. I think you made some really interesting points very successfully. You argue well and back up your points effectively. You also found (to me anyway) a very fresh way of looking at medicine. Almost everything we do in the 21st Century would have been regarded as magic at one time, although we think we can explain it these days (can we? Interesting philosophical question, no space here). I am a very keen photographer and there is a part of my mind that refuses to accept the logical explanations - to me photographs always have a little magic way beyond the science. I also think that in your career you will be regarded as a magician (that is people will expect you to do the impossible) even though you know you are not one. As a result they may be disappointed even when you have worked every miracle at your disposal. I have to say to all of you how much I have enjoyed and been stimulated by your work this term - it's been a great new sideline for me to join in with you and I hope to keep doing it. I am very happy to be emailed at donald.lush@gmail.com if anyone wants to discuss ideas.
Best regards from London
Donald Lush said
at 1:39 pm on Dec 12, 2009
Wonderful stories? Thank you, Ioana! New one in preparation, so look out over the next couple of weeks...
HoratiuMoisa said
at 10:38 am on Dec 28, 2009
I'm a first year med school student, my name is Horatiu and I've just joined the workspace. Just wanted to say Hi to everyone !!
Donald Lush said
at 12:46 pm on Dec 28, 2009
Hi there!
HoratiuMoisa said
at 10:49 am on Dec 31, 2009
well :) ...while drinking the morning coffee.... I thought I couldn't let 2009 pass without saying something about one of the best years in my life.
2009 was a good year for me in what regards personal achievements, romance, health and many other.... I took big grades at the baccalaureate, I got into med school, i have the best girlfriend in the world :P :">, I can't say i've been ill for long periods of time... so ... yeah, 2009 was a good year for me.
Hey, come'on, 2009 is the year Apophis missed the Earth by a hair :)); but don't worry...a new opportunity will come :)) ... 2012 is near :)).
Anyway... as I am writing these words, outside, the most beautiful sun I've ever seen this winter shines brightly, it's like 2009 wants to put some emphasis "Yeah, I really was a good year".
The only thing I regret is that this winter had little snow.
I hope 2010 will bring all of you good health, plenty of luck, a ton of romance :)), and most of all I really hope all your wishes do come true.
Cheers and Happy New Year to all of you !!
Horatiu
You should check this out too !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcvGBlzzPEg
song's name is K'OS - The Love Song.
Donald Lush said
at 12:50 pm on Dec 31, 2009
Horatiu- you are the star of my Christmas holidays. Thank you so much for those clips, I love them. I think Ioana had already introduced me to Tudor Gheorghe (he looks familiar) but Liviu Vasilica was new to me and that is something special. I went to Ioana's wedding and was really pleased to hear a lot of traditional music and proud discussion of it, not to mention the enthusiastic dancing. I am originally Irish and the great traditional music is alive and kicking there too - but where is the English folk music? Antway - have a great night tonight!
Love that mayfly advert - the sentiment is so typical of what I have found in Romania and one of the many reasons why I love your country.
HoratiuMoisa said
at 1:11 pm on Dec 31, 2009
thanks mate :)) likewise here :)
I want you all to know I started a page on Romanian culture. I hope in the future we'll chat about folklore, romanian history...anything related to culture anyway. Feel free to drop in an contribute !!
HoratiuMoisa said
at 10:40 am on Jan 1, 2010
happy new year. Im the first to write in 2010 :P
HoratiuMoisa said
at 10:59 am on Jan 1, 2010
Everyone of us can become a better person.
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YXvNuzqkfw
Donald Lush said
at 2:20 pm on Jan 1, 2010
And you were the second too! Happy New Year!
HoratiuMoisa said
at 5:47 pm on Jan 6, 2010
Here come the finals :)) May God have mercy on our souls :))
Donald Lush said
at 9:38 pm on Jan 6, 2010
Good luck all!
Stefan Prisacariu said
at 4:16 am on Jan 9, 2010
Hey there! Where can I upload my essay on Dax Cowart? Or tell me the teach's e-mail please. I WANT MY FEEDBACK !!!! ;))
Donald Lush said
at 4:02 pm on Jan 9, 2010
Hey Stefan - click on the link next to Ioana's avatar picture. Or do a search for Dax at the top of this page. :-)
Donald Lush said
at 11:55 am on Jan 10, 2010
Actually - looking around, I can.t find the Dax page either.... Ioana?
Stefan Prisacariu said
at 2:37 pm on Jan 10, 2010
Thanks Donald for looking. I sent my essay on teach's e-mail adress. I'm waiting for an answer now :D
Donald Lush said
at 3:34 pm on Jan 10, 2010
Good luck!
Stefan Prisacariu said
at 2:18 am on Feb 12, 2010
Hy teach ! I'm hoping that even the semester is over, you are still reading on wiki.
I saw the results for the first semester and I have a big issue. On the self-evaluation part(4 points) I said that I don't like to evaluate myself, and you grade me with "???" . That means that I have lost those 4 points or ???
I have read the: "Please do NOT send me anything as addition/correction" so I will not send an e-mail, but I hope you will read the wiki.
I'm looking forward for an answer...please :D Thanks.
the EnglishMEDiator said
at 10:21 am on Feb 12, 2010
Hi Stefan,
I am always reading the wiki, just that I am too busy to contribute lately...
"Please do NOT send me anything as addition/correction" does not mean that you cannot ask a question to clarify something you do not understand. I meant exactly what I said - that I did not want to receive more stuff to add to what you have already submitted. Even after saying it, I have people send me forgotten bibliographies etc., which is no longer acceptable at this stage and too much for me to handle right now. I have just survived a very thick pile of papers and it takes too much time to go through it again in order to accommodate those who realize they have forgotten to do something. The deadlines were extremely flexible and there has to be a certain amount of order in our lives.
now, regarding the "???", it means that it's still up in the air, because you didn't tell me what to do and I don't want to decide by myself. What I also said in my message was that when we meet in March we will discuss different issues that are still unfinished or unclear. This is one of them. I asked you to score your own participation. You said you didn't like to to that and basically passed the ball back to me. I simply do not know what to do with it until I gain a better understanding of where you were coming from. For that, I believe it's better to leave it with ??? until we meet again.
I understand why you would want a quick and easy answer, but this is the best I can do for now and I hope it is good enough to last us until March.
Take care and see you soon,
Ioana
Andreea Lupsa said
at 4:42 pm on Feb 13, 2010
Excuse me, please, i might be blind, but someone said I should see my results here somewhere on the website/wiki or my email but I just can't find them... could you add a more visible link? :D
the EnglishMEDiator said
at 5:09 pm on Feb 13, 2010
Hi Andreea,
you haven't been well informed. If you remember, we agreed that I would not upload the results on the Internet, as not everyone wants to have their names online. Please find the results attached to the email I've just forwarded to you.
Ioana
Andreea Lupsa said
at 6:05 pm on Feb 13, 2010
Oh, ok, sorry then. Thank you very much!
Stefan Prisacariu said
at 8:51 pm on Feb 13, 2010
First of all, thank you for such a quick answer.
I posted here because I was afraid that I had lost those points. You wanted us to be honest with you, so I was. But I understand what you are trying to say and I will send you an e-mail, in march, with my self evaluation.
Thanks again and have a nice holiday.
the EnglishMEDiator said
at 12:42 am on Feb 14, 2010
Ok, Stefan. I always prefer it when you guys ask questions or say how you feel. I'm glad you understand the meaning of the ??? now. It did listen and I did take you seriously.
As for the holidays, I'm afraid there is no holiday for me this February. Take care!
Ana-Maria said
at 12:59 am on Feb 14, 2010
if i remember well, you my dear teacher, promissed us last year a surprise trip somewhere in the middle of nowhere where no med books can interfere our view. when we'll get rid of all the exams can we organize another one? it will be a first year-second year-teach-and why not Donald trip...:D
how it sounds this to you?
HoratiuMoisa said
at 12:45 pm on Feb 25, 2010
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp !?
Hey people, sorry for not posting smth for such a long time. First of all my internet connection sucks ! So I really hope this message will come through !
anyway... first session, vacation, and i'm barely starting to see the light... too bad the second semester has to start ...eh !? :)
I WANT A LONGER VACATION !!!!!
Hey Donald, sorry I couldn't meet you, I had some problems of my own to attend to so i really feel bad about not coming to see you, hope you'll be coming back to Romania this Year (and maybe not during one of our vacations :D <or exam sessions, come to think of it> ) how've you been !?
Donald Lush said
at 2:54 pm on Feb 26, 2010
Hey Horatiu - sorry to miss you in Iasi too but do check the page created by Ioana as a record. It catches the fun and talk quite well. I am sure there will be another chance. If I could find a way to make it pay well enough, I would do it for a living :-)
Vacations are for wimps! All the Romanians I know stay up till 3 in the morning working and never look tired.
I am joking about that actually. Vacations are good things.
I am great but still unclear about my immediate future workwise- lots of things happenening and new developments at my current workplace. Anything and everything could happen and probably will. Good to hear from you.
You don't have permission to comment on this page.