Blog Entry #6
Quote: "News and its images are always selected truth. Notably, during the recent Iraqi conflict, most news editors chose to omit brutal visual images in favor of long-distance bombing scenes—a decision that was debated later in the press. While some applauded those news editors’ sensibilities, others asked if readers should be so distanced from the consequences of war."
Response: I believe that this brings up a very good question. Should viewers (children or adults) be kept in the dark about controversial issues such as tactics of war, or should they be given all the information possible so that they may make up their own minds? This is a good example of why it is so very important to question everything you see. Obviously, there are many media and news sources that are only going to give you part of the truth, or in some cases no truth at all. We must be critical of everything we read, see, or hear so that we may remain informed. I came across this quote a long time ago, and it has always stuck with me-- "Don't ever let anyone make you feel dumb for asking questions. Intelligent people question everything, while the dumb ones are those who believe everything they are told." I think this is very important to think about, especially when dealing with media.
Abilock, Debbie. "A Seven-Power Lens on 21st-Century Literacy." NoodleToolsNovember/December (2003): n. pag. NoodleTools. Web. 29 Sept. 2011.
Related Resource
Digital Media Literacy: Quiz Yourself
"The first section of the quiz is designed to test your knowledge of media usage among youth ages 8 to 18. The next section of the quiz is meant to help you reflect on your use of digital media/tools in your classroom. You get one point for each question that you answer correctly."
PBS. "PBS Teachers | Resources For The Classroom."PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. <http://pbs.org/teachers>.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Analyzing Photos
Photo 1:
Photo 2:
Looking at the two pictures side by side, I would have to say that the first picture makes me feel more confident in the President's abilities. He looks relaxed and ready to take on the oil spill, while in the second photo he seems unsure of his own abilities, which would most likely cause other people to be unsure about him as well.
Photo 2:
Looking at the two pictures side by side, I would have to say that the first picture makes me feel more confident in the President's abilities. He looks relaxed and ready to take on the oil spill, while in the second photo he seems unsure of his own abilities, which would most likely cause other people to be unsure about him as well.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Week Four
Double Journal Entry #4
Quote- "Ten years ago, a project like this would have been too complex and expensive to be within the reach of most sixth graders."
Response- Reading this really impacted me, and let me know just how special Kim's assignment really was. Upon hearing Kim's story I'm sure all of us had similar reactions of sorrow and joy, but I'm sure it would have been much more powerful to see the pictures while hearing the story. Also, the fact that Kim was able to share this assignment with her family in Asia is something that we take for granted with all of the technology that we have today, but it probably made her distant family members feel a lot closer to them. It's truly amazing the amount of things that we can download, upload, create, and share with people all over the world thanks to the internet. In terms of education, I believe these new types of technology will continue to grow and advance, and with that growth will come many new and exciting forms of teaching.
Ohler, Jason. "The World of Digital Storytelling."Educational Leadership 63.4 (2005): n. pag. Educational Leadership Online. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
Related Resource
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/
"Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling." The University of Houston. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.
Quote- "Ten years ago, a project like this would have been too complex and expensive to be within the reach of most sixth graders."
Response- Reading this really impacted me, and let me know just how special Kim's assignment really was. Upon hearing Kim's story I'm sure all of us had similar reactions of sorrow and joy, but I'm sure it would have been much more powerful to see the pictures while hearing the story. Also, the fact that Kim was able to share this assignment with her family in Asia is something that we take for granted with all of the technology that we have today, but it probably made her distant family members feel a lot closer to them. It's truly amazing the amount of things that we can download, upload, create, and share with people all over the world thanks to the internet. In terms of education, I believe these new types of technology will continue to grow and advance, and with that growth will come many new and exciting forms of teaching.
Ohler, Jason. "The World of Digital Storytelling."Educational Leadership 63.4 (2005): n. pag. Educational Leadership Online. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
Related Resource
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/
"Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling." The University of Houston. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011. <http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
My Learning Style
When taking the learning style test, I discovered that I am a person who learns best from reading/writing. My scores were...
- Visual: 5
- Aural: 5
- Read/Write: 11
- Kinesthetic: 6
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Week Three
Double Journal Entry #3
Quote- "You may not like seeing the phrase “LOL — U R gr8” on the page, but it is common enough that you are likely to understand it. Why have such inadvertent “reforms” succeeded where generations of dedicated intellectual attempts have not? And will they last?"
Answer- I think that the biggest explanation for this is that people like convenience. The reason why texting has caught on in the way that it has is because you can be sitting in a loud, crowded room, unable to hear the people around you, and still have instant access to communication with people in other places. You no longer have to actually call someone in order to "talk" to them. I think that people shorten words and use anagrams for the same reason. The shorter versions take less time to type, therefore you can convey your message quicker and get it sent faster, and as a result, receive a response faster. The modern world is all about increasing speed and making lives as easy as possible, and texting fits into that. However, I don't think that these language "reforms" will last. I believe that eventually, some new form of technology will come along and texting will become a thing of the past, along with all the lingo that goes along with it.
Shea, Ammon. "The Keypad Solution." The Times Magazine 22 Jan. 2010: MM22. The New York Times. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.
Related Resource
I found another article about author David Crystal, the same author mentioned in this article.
Thumbspeak
"Thumbspeak." The New Yorker 20 Oct. 2008: n. pag.The New Yorker Online. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.
Shea, Ammon. "The Keypad Solution." The Times Magazine 22 Jan. 2010: MM22. The New York Times. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.
Related Resource
I found another article about author David Crystal, the same author mentioned in this article.
Thumbspeak
"Thumbspeak." The New Yorker 20 Oct. 2008: n. pag.The New Yorker Online. Web. 6 Sept. 2011.
Poll Everywhere and Wordle
In Instructional Technology, we used Poll Everywhere to ask our classmates questions that would allow us to get to know each other better. We then transferred the poll results over to Wordle, and created a colorful word cloud from the responses we received. I think the activity was a fun and creative way to ask questions about each other that we probably wouldn't have asked otherwise.
I did a little research of my own to find actual polls from Poll Everywhere that have been used in a classroom. I found one in particular that really caught my eye. A teacher asked his class, "So far this year, what has been your favorite classroom activity or lesson?" and kept it open-ended so the students could respond using their own words. I think this is a great way to get honest feedback from students, because since it is totally anonymous, they don't have to worry about what the teacher or other students will think and they can give their honest opinions. I think this fits into the ISTE standards because it promotes reflection and feedback from the students, and encourages them to speak their mind.
I did a little research of my own to find actual polls from Poll Everywhere that have been used in a classroom. I found one in particular that really caught my eye. A teacher asked his class, "So far this year, what has been your favorite classroom activity or lesson?" and kept it open-ended so the students could respond using their own words. I think this is a great way to get honest feedback from students, because since it is totally anonymous, they don't have to worry about what the teacher or other students will think and they can give their honest opinions. I think this fits into the ISTE standards because it promotes reflection and feedback from the students, and encourages them to speak their mind.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Week Two
Double Journal Entry #2
Quote: "Gradually, we have become less obsessed with correctness and more focused on tolerance and personal expression. This shift, however admirable, has linguistic consequences. School is no longer necessarily a place to instill a sense that linguistic rules (or even linguistic consistency) matter."
Response: As a self-proclaimed grammar snob, this highly upsets me. The only thing worse to me than a person who uses incorrect spelling, punctuation, and grammar, is a person who realizes that he/she is doing these things and couldn't care less about it. I think that we should all strive to use proper grammar and spell words correctly, even in an informal setting (i.e. Facebook or texting). Otherwise, we may become used to being careless and start making the same errors in our schoolwork and other important documents. How embarrassing would it be to apply for the job you've always wanted, only to be turned down because you had grammatical errors on your resume? As the quote states above, I think it's very important to "...instill a sense that linguistic rules matter" (Baron). I plan to do this in my classroom, and I hope that other teachers continue to do the same.
Quote: "Gradually, we have become less obsessed with correctness and more focused on tolerance and personal expression. This shift, however admirable, has linguistic consequences. School is no longer necessarily a place to instill a sense that linguistic rules (or even linguistic consistency) matter."
Response: As a self-proclaimed grammar snob, this highly upsets me. The only thing worse to me than a person who uses incorrect spelling, punctuation, and grammar, is a person who realizes that he/she is doing these things and couldn't care less about it. I think that we should all strive to use proper grammar and spell words correctly, even in an informal setting (i.e. Facebook or texting). Otherwise, we may become used to being careless and start making the same errors in our schoolwork and other important documents. How embarrassing would it be to apply for the job you've always wanted, only to be turned down because you had grammatical errors on your resume? As the quote states above, I think it's very important to "...instill a sense that linguistic rules matter" (Baron). I plan to do this in my classroom, and I hope that other teachers continue to do the same.
Baron, Naomi. "Are Digital Media Changing Language?." Educational Leadership 66.6 (2009): 42-46. Web. Accessed Sept. 1 2011.
Related Resource
To Teach or Not to Teach (Grammar)--No Longer The Question
Related Resource
To Teach or Not to Teach (Grammar)--No Longer The Question
Christy, Janice. "To Teach or Not to Teach (Grammar)-No Longer the Question, Teaching Today, Glencoe Online."Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. Educational and Professional Publishing Group of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2011. <http://www.glencoe.com>.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)