Instead of a face-to-face class, we had an online midterm course reflection assignment in which students were asked to answer the following questions for each week of the seven weeks we have had in the course thus far:
1. What did I learn?
2. What did I do?
3. How did I feel about what I learned and what I did?
Students had a lot of Web 2.0 tools to choose from. They could do a blog, a loggel, a series of 7 vokis, a moviemaker video, a toondoo, a Photostory 3 digital story, or use jing.com to capture their stories.
Most students chose to do vokis and blogs. I had outstanding submissions from the majority of the students. I would like to showcase a few here and on the sidebar as loggel won't let you embed.
Here is Tom's Toondoo.
Tim and Rolando did an awesome job on their loggels. For those of you who don't know what a loggel is it's like diary entries on a timeline. They are often used for travel logs. I thought that loggels would be a great way to capture our journeys as writers. I haven't experimented with this Web 2.0 tool which allows people to comment on your entries. You can embed videos and photos in addition to text. The only disadvantage to loggels is not being able to embed the code into a blog. Here are the links.
Tim's loggel: http://www.loggel.com/lifelogs/timilne/Diary--Midterm-Reflection/1373
Rolando's loggel:http://www.loggel.com/lifelogs/rlopez/Diary--Midterm-Assignment/1378
The voki submissions were also good. Ryan's series of vokis were very creative. He not only chose different characters but he used different voices. He did his Borat voki for Week 2 of the course.
One student took the time (from noon to 5 p.m.) to make a moviemaker clip. I asked him to submit it to YouTube so that he can get an embed code and I can add it here on my blog.
The one thing I would structure more on this midterm reflection is have the students tie the midterm objectives more directly to their discussion. I felt that a lot of the students talked about the readings and didn't connect the objective of the lesson to the discussion. Some made the connections between the essays using the constructive approach, but most just talked about the readings and how they felt about the readings. Even though the midterm objective document was in the lesson folder, I have a feeling that most students didn't look at it when they did their course reflections.
I need to work on this more, particularly in the online portion of the class. I need to constantly remind them to make those connections to the concepts.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Week 6: Day Two
Students are turning in their Paper 2 Drafts today and are playing around with some Web 2.0 tools to decide what they will be doing for their midterm course reflection.
The majority of the students chose to do the loggel but I'm pretty sure they didn't understand what it entailed. They thought it would involve simple text diary entries. I had had it on my original list of tools to use and removed it.
Nine students chose to do a loggel. Five will do vokis. Two chose to do blogs and one will do a movie.
No one chose Photostory or jing.
Check out this link about loggel. It is usually used for travel logs but metaphorically speaking their writing journey from Week 1 to Week 7 is going to be captured using text and the visual elements.
http://www.loggel.com/
Loggel can be accurately defined as a Lifelog community with a new format and the best part of it is that you will not have to pay anything at all to join it. This site is a great mixture of aesthetics and usefulness that gives you the chance to make use of modern web technologies in a very simple way. If you decide to use this solution you will be benefited with an interesting service that was especially created to allow you to record a diversity of life situations in multiple media resources.
Do you want to get in touch with friends as well as to be allowed to meet new people? If you do, this site will be giving you the chance to add texts and a variety of images, as well as audio files and a number of videos to your profile. This is a convenient service you can use in order to let the world know about the last big party or wedding you have attended, etc.
No matter if you want to publish your profile and your Lifelogs, or if you prefer to keep everything private, this is going to be the right site for you to have access to such an option.
Read more: http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/loggel-com-a-new-community-experience#ixzz0fvfXBZAH
The majority of the students chose to do the loggel but I'm pretty sure they didn't understand what it entailed. They thought it would involve simple text diary entries. I had had it on my original list of tools to use and removed it.
Nine students chose to do a loggel. Five will do vokis. Two chose to do blogs and one will do a movie.
No one chose Photostory or jing.
Check out this link about loggel. It is usually used for travel logs but metaphorically speaking their writing journey from Week 1 to Week 7 is going to be captured using text and the visual elements.
http://www.loggel.com/
Loggel can be accurately defined as a Lifelog community with a new format and the best part of it is that you will not have to pay anything at all to join it. This site is a great mixture of aesthetics and usefulness that gives you the chance to make use of modern web technologies in a very simple way. If you decide to use this solution you will be benefited with an interesting service that was especially created to allow you to record a diversity of life situations in multiple media resources.
Do you want to get in touch with friends as well as to be allowed to meet new people? If you do, this site will be giving you the chance to add texts and a variety of images, as well as audio files and a number of videos to your profile. This is a convenient service you can use in order to let the world know about the last big party or wedding you have attended, etc.
No matter if you want to publish your profile and your Lifelogs, or if you prefer to keep everything private, this is going to be the right site for you to have access to such an option.
Read more: http://www.killerstartups.com/Social-Networking/loggel-com-a-new-community-experience#ixzz0fvfXBZAH
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Week 6: Day One
Today's lesson was on the media's influence on a woman's and a man's image. The lesson began with a journal entry related to the media's influence on a woman's image.
We connected the video to the essay by Dave Barry called Beauty and the Beast.
Then, students were given the following activity.
Work in pairs on this activity. One person is responsible for the text portion; the other is the PowerPoint person.
Click on the link here which explains men and masculinity: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/men_and_masculinity/index.cfm
Scan the information that applies to how the media influences society's perceptions on what it means to be a male in America.
Then put together a slide show using photos and text which explain the media's influence on the American male image.
You should have a title slide with the title Men and Masculinity with your names and a graphic on that slide.
Attach your Powerpoint slide show to your post and include both names in your subject heading. One person will be responsible for the text while the other is responsible for finding the graphics that represent the text.
Three pairs came up and presented their slideshows. Tim and Reggie put the best one together.
I thought the pairs worked very well together and worked very efficiently once they figured out that the resource was provided in the discussion forum. The timing for the activity was just right. If I did this again, I would have a couple of oral presentations and then I would have students go back in the discussion forum and do sandwich critiques of two other presentations.
I would also include in the directions that the title slide had to be a POW and the final slide had to be a WOW in which the information presented was synthesized. I pointed out that the visual representation of the definition of masculinity needed to have the elements of a text essay. In other words, it needed the POW factor, the development of the thesis, and the WOW factor. When one pair was finished early, I suggested that they go back and do that final slide synthesizing what they had presented.
Here is Reggie and Tim's powerpoint presentation they created.
We connected the video to the essay by Dave Barry called Beauty and the Beast.
Then, students were given the following activity.
Work in pairs on this activity. One person is responsible for the text portion; the other is the PowerPoint person.
Click on the link here which explains men and masculinity: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/men_and_masculinity/index.cfm
Scan the information that applies to how the media influences society's perceptions on what it means to be a male in America.
Then put together a slide show using photos and text which explain the media's influence on the American male image.
You should have a title slide with the title Men and Masculinity with your names and a graphic on that slide.
Attach your Powerpoint slide show to your post and include both names in your subject heading. One person will be responsible for the text while the other is responsible for finding the graphics that represent the text.
Three pairs came up and presented their slideshows. Tim and Reggie put the best one together.
I thought the pairs worked very well together and worked very efficiently once they figured out that the resource was provided in the discussion forum. The timing for the activity was just right. If I did this again, I would have a couple of oral presentations and then I would have students go back in the discussion forum and do sandwich critiques of two other presentations.
I would also include in the directions that the title slide had to be a POW and the final slide had to be a WOW in which the information presented was synthesized. I pointed out that the visual representation of the definition of masculinity needed to have the elements of a text essay. In other words, it needed the POW factor, the development of the thesis, and the WOW factor. When one pair was finished early, I suggested that they go back and do that final slide synthesizing what they had presented.
Here is Reggie and Tim's powerpoint presentation they created.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Week 5: Day Two
Wednesday's online discussion forum's theme was the environment. The directions were as follows.
Make sure you read Carson's A Fable for Tomorrow (359-362), Helvarg's The Storm This Time (103-110), and Harris' How to Keep Air Clean (Week 5 Lesson folder).
Watch the YouTube video below on air pollution.
Answer 3 of the 5 questions below. Be sure and remember to reply to at least two of your peers.
1. Relate Joni Mitchell's, Big Yellow Taxi to the Carson essay.
2. Find a video on YouTube that mirrors the story that Helvarg tells in his essay, The Storm This Time. Compare and contrast the video you chose with the information in the essay. You can either provide the link to the video or embed the code using the last icon on the toolbar that looks like a piece of paper with a yellow arrow in the corner (the Source icon). The embed code is next to the YouTube video under the url code. You must hit the Source icon before you paste the code in the message box.
3. Helvarg took the photographs that accompany the essay. Compare the photograph of the marked door on Page 105 with the author's description of it in Paragraph 6. Does this photograph add to the description in the essay, or is the author's description so vivid that the photograph is unnecessary? Explain. Now it is your turn to find a Katrina photograph and describe it in words. Be sure and insert the image and cite it according to MLA guidelines. Write your description below the photograph.
4.Sydney Harris never once mentions what we can do as individuals to keep the air clean. Imagine you are going to write an essay on this subject. Find at least two other credible sources on the internet on what individuals can do to keep the air clean. Be sure and cite your sources using appropriate MLA format.
5. Carson imagines a fictional town that has changed for the worse. Consider a place you know well that has changed for the better. You might focus on a renovated school, a rehabilitated neighborhood, a newly preserved park, etc. Contrast the place before and after the change. Describe the effects of the change.
Jared did an outstanding job on his post and replies to his peers.
by Jared at 2/10/2010 8:52 PM
1.Big Yellow Taxi basically explains Carson essay, except in more poetic way. Mitchell’s songs talks about man’s desires over personal items, a materialistic society. That we as a society never think of the consequences, we leap and never look back. The songs message correlates at the end of Carson’s essay. When the town gets hit by a famine and everything starts to die. Man can do nothing to stop it, because the actions previously taken can’t be reverse. I believe I have a good grasp of the message of both the article and the song. If you don’t take the time to appreciate the natural world, everything will be lost. The world of the future will be become gray, with no shades of colors to go along with it. Just like in the song maybe one day we will have to visit a tree museum, just to see a tree.
2.I found a video clip called Hurricane Katrina Images, it show the devastation after the hurricane hit. In the video clips it shows many images including, national guards, the army, and rationed food supplies. Helvary while visiting Katrina describes seeing national guards, keeping the peace and creating road blocks. Just like images of destroyed homes, Helvarg recalls visiting a man’s house that has been completely destroyed. Helvarg talks about organizations trying to give food to people in the city, just like the images portrayed people giving out food. However there are some differences between the video clip and Helvarg’s article. While reading his article he correlates a lot of what he sees to past experiences. For instance he references a lot about New Orleans destruction similar to when was a war correspondent, and the damage he saw in those countries. Helvarg also is more interested about the environmental damage of New Orleans, as opposed to the physical destruction the video clip shows. The video clip showed more of a general consensus of people’s emotion about Katrina, as to Helvarg’s perception of what he saw there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E971oBiu9Z4
4.I believe the steps of keeping our air clean is through personal responsibility. While reading the article I noticed the main pollutant was fossil fuels, or the most expressed. Right now we are two heavily dependant on fossil fuels to stop cold turkey. Though what we can do is lower the amount fuel we need per year. For instance people should drive cars only for pure necessity. Perhaps maybe there should be a federal mandate, that homes of certain sizes should have solar panels. Maybe we a need a policy implemented by the federal government to have 35% of renewable sources by 2025. There are many different solutions to solve this, but by combining them we could change the future. So by lowering our demands for fossil fuels, we lower the amount of pollutants put into the atmosphere.
Tips to improve your Gas Mileage." Fuel Economy. Web. 11 Feb. 2010..
"50 Tips To Prevent Air Pollution - Home And Garden News Story - KIRO Seattle." Seattle News, Weather, Traffic, Video and Sports I Pacific Northwest News I KIRO 7 Seattle, Washington. Web. 11 Feb. 2010..
Re: Mckenzee Discussion Forum 4
by Jared at 2/10/2010 8:59 PM
I thought how you described the yellow taxi to Carson's essay was excellent. You brought out points I never even thought of saying. I have no other comments to make, keep up the good work.
Re: Discussion Forum 4
by Jared at 2/10/2010 9:06 PM
I like the points you brought out about yellow taxi baby, and Carson's essay. Also the story of Disney's re-renovation. However you lacked in both answers your initial P.O.W, in grabbing your audience and making your claim.
Make sure you read Carson's A Fable for Tomorrow (359-362), Helvarg's The Storm This Time (103-110), and Harris' How to Keep Air Clean (Week 5 Lesson folder).
Watch the YouTube video below on air pollution.
Answer 3 of the 5 questions below. Be sure and remember to reply to at least two of your peers.
1. Relate Joni Mitchell's, Big Yellow Taxi to the Carson essay.
2. Find a video on YouTube that mirrors the story that Helvarg tells in his essay, The Storm This Time. Compare and contrast the video you chose with the information in the essay. You can either provide the link to the video or embed the code using the last icon on the toolbar that looks like a piece of paper with a yellow arrow in the corner (the Source icon). The embed code is next to the YouTube video under the url code. You must hit the Source icon before you paste the code in the message box.
3. Helvarg took the photographs that accompany the essay. Compare the photograph of the marked door on Page 105 with the author's description of it in Paragraph 6. Does this photograph add to the description in the essay, or is the author's description so vivid that the photograph is unnecessary? Explain. Now it is your turn to find a Katrina photograph and describe it in words. Be sure and insert the image and cite it according to MLA guidelines. Write your description below the photograph.
4.Sydney Harris never once mentions what we can do as individuals to keep the air clean. Imagine you are going to write an essay on this subject. Find at least two other credible sources on the internet on what individuals can do to keep the air clean. Be sure and cite your sources using appropriate MLA format.
5. Carson imagines a fictional town that has changed for the worse. Consider a place you know well that has changed for the better. You might focus on a renovated school, a rehabilitated neighborhood, a newly preserved park, etc. Contrast the place before and after the change. Describe the effects of the change.
Jared did an outstanding job on his post and replies to his peers.
Discussion Forum 4 Post
by Jared at 2/10/2010 8:52 PM
1.Big Yellow Taxi basically explains Carson essay, except in more poetic way. Mitchell’s songs talks about man’s desires over personal items, a materialistic society. That we as a society never think of the consequences, we leap and never look back. The songs message correlates at the end of Carson’s essay. When the town gets hit by a famine and everything starts to die. Man can do nothing to stop it, because the actions previously taken can’t be reverse. I believe I have a good grasp of the message of both the article and the song. If you don’t take the time to appreciate the natural world, everything will be lost. The world of the future will be become gray, with no shades of colors to go along with it. Just like in the song maybe one day we will have to visit a tree museum, just to see a tree.
2.I found a video clip called Hurricane Katrina Images, it show the devastation after the hurricane hit. In the video clips it shows many images including, national guards, the army, and rationed food supplies. Helvary while visiting Katrina describes seeing national guards, keeping the peace and creating road blocks. Just like images of destroyed homes, Helvarg recalls visiting a man’s house that has been completely destroyed. Helvarg talks about organizations trying to give food to people in the city, just like the images portrayed people giving out food. However there are some differences between the video clip and Helvarg’s article. While reading his article he correlates a lot of what he sees to past experiences. For instance he references a lot about New Orleans destruction similar to when was a war correspondent, and the damage he saw in those countries. Helvarg also is more interested about the environmental damage of New Orleans, as opposed to the physical destruction the video clip shows. The video clip showed more of a general consensus of people’s emotion about Katrina, as to Helvarg’s perception of what he saw there. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E971oBiu9Z4
4.I believe the steps of keeping our air clean is through personal responsibility. While reading the article I noticed the main pollutant was fossil fuels, or the most expressed. Right now we are two heavily dependant on fossil fuels to stop cold turkey. Though what we can do is lower the amount fuel we need per year. For instance people should drive cars only for pure necessity. Perhaps maybe there should be a federal mandate, that homes of certain sizes should have solar panels. Maybe we a need a policy implemented by the federal government to have 35% of renewable sources by 2025. There are many different solutions to solve this, but by combining them we could change the future. So by lowering our demands for fossil fuels, we lower the amount of pollutants put into the atmosphere.
Tips to improve your Gas Mileage." Fuel Economy. Web. 11 Feb. 2010.
"50 Tips To Prevent Air Pollution - Home And Garden News Story - KIRO Seattle." Seattle News, Weather, Traffic, Video and Sports I Pacific Northwest News I KIRO 7 Seattle, Washington. Web. 11 Feb. 2010.
Re: Mckenzee Discussion Forum 4
by Jared at 2/10/2010 8:59 PM
I thought how you described the yellow taxi to Carson's essay was excellent. You brought out points I never even thought of saying. I have no other comments to make, keep up the good work.
Re: Discussion Forum 4
by Jared at 2/10/2010 9:06 PM
I like the points you brought out about yellow taxi baby, and Carson's essay. Also the story of Disney's re-renovation. However you lacked in both answers your initial P.O.W, in grabbing your audience and making your claim.
Week 5: Day One
The focus of our Monday class was on two constructive arguments that were presented in two essays. The essays were on the subject of torture: Alter's Time to Think About Torture and Porter's Now the Talk is About Bringing Back Torture
I decided to poll the students with a question related to how far would you go to extract information from a suspected terrorist if there was a possibility of saving American lives.
Here is the poll and the results which showed that 50% of the students would resort to waterboarding. I even had one of the students describe what waterboarding is. I then explained to the students that if I were presenting my case against using any form of torture, including waterboarding, I would have to provide evidence that waterboarding and other methods aren't effective in extracting the truth. Here is the poll. It is live so you can text in your response.
We then did a journal entry on an interrogation of a 10-year-old boy who was pressured into confessing to a crime he didn't commit. It brought home the point that these kinds of methods often lead to false confessions.
Check out the video.
We then moved into a group exercise in which students had to answer questions on the two assigned readings: Alter's Time to Think About Torture and Porter's Now the Talk is About Bringing Back Torture
I was not pleased with this groupwork activity where I assigned a writer, a resource person, a presenter, and an observer. Everyone was taking out their books when it was the resourcer's job to be in charge. There was little talking and from what the observers said on their sheets, the talking that did go on was chitchat about stuff not related to the assigned task. I think the biggest problem was that the students were not sitting face to face looking at one another. If I did this activity again, I would have printed out the task and made the students face one another to do the task. One student mentioned that the task was "boring." It probably didn't challenge the students because everyone identified the thesis, came up with a decent definition of torture in the context of Alter and Porter's essays, and came up with a list of ways that they feel tortured.
Based on the results of the poll, I think that next time I will have the students debate using extreme measures like waterboarding to extract information. Since 50% of the class said they would do it, I would divide the class into groups of 4 (pro and con) and work on their case and then have a few present.
I decided to poll the students with a question related to how far would you go to extract information from a suspected terrorist if there was a possibility of saving American lives.
Here is the poll and the results which showed that 50% of the students would resort to waterboarding. I even had one of the students describe what waterboarding is. I then explained to the students that if I were presenting my case against using any form of torture, including waterboarding, I would have to provide evidence that waterboarding and other methods aren't effective in extracting the truth. Here is the poll. It is live so you can text in your response.
Get a free sms student response system at Poll Everywhere
We then did a journal entry on an interrogation of a 10-year-old boy who was pressured into confessing to a crime he didn't commit. It brought home the point that these kinds of methods often lead to false confessions.
Check out the video.
We then moved into a group exercise in which students had to answer questions on the two assigned readings: Alter's Time to Think About Torture and Porter's Now the Talk is About Bringing Back Torture
I was not pleased with this groupwork activity where I assigned a writer, a resource person, a presenter, and an observer. Everyone was taking out their books when it was the resourcer's job to be in charge. There was little talking and from what the observers said on their sheets, the talking that did go on was chitchat about stuff not related to the assigned task. I think the biggest problem was that the students were not sitting face to face looking at one another. If I did this activity again, I would have printed out the task and made the students face one another to do the task. One student mentioned that the task was "boring." It probably didn't challenge the students because everyone identified the thesis, came up with a decent definition of torture in the context of Alter and Porter's essays, and came up with a list of ways that they feel tortured.
Based on the results of the poll, I think that next time I will have the students debate using extreme measures like waterboarding to extract information. Since 50% of the class said they would do it, I would divide the class into groups of 4 (pro and con) and work on their case and then have a few present.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Week Four Day 2
The video above is a 30-second summary of the George Orwell story Shooting an Elephant.
The online assignment was a discussion forum. The directions are below.
Read and annotate Orwell's Shooting an Elephant (pp. 148 - 155). Choose ONE of the following to respond to and reply to at least two of your peers. Your post and replies should be submitted by 11:55 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3. Review the discussion forum rubric in the COURSE DOCUMENTS folder before posting your answer.
This assignment is worth 25 points.
1. In Paragraph 3, Orwell says that the elephant incident gave him a better understanding of "the real motives for which despotic governments act." What do you think he means? before you answer, reread Paragraph 7 carefully.
2. Was Orwell justified in shooting the elephant? Argue that Orwell was justified or not justified and support your claim with your reasons. Here are some points you might consider: the legality of Orwell's act, the elephant's temperment, the crowd's presence, the aftermath of the elephant's death, the death itself.
3. Orwell's essay concerns, in part, the tendency to conceal indecision and confusion behind a facade of authority. Focusing on one or two groups of people (parents, teachers, doctors, politicians, etc) argue that people in authority sometimes pretend to know what they're doing so that subordinates won't suspect their insecurity or incompetence. Part of your argument should focus on the consequences of such behavior.
Most students chose to answer the second question about whether the narrator was justified in shooting the elephant or not.
Valeria did an outstanding job responding to the 2nd question and replying to her peers.
Discussion Forum 3 by Valeria Alarcon (vaalarco) at 2/3/2010 9:40 PM
2. Was Orwell justified in shooting the elephant? Argue that Orwell was justified or not justified and support your claim with your reasons. Here are some points you might consider: the legality of Orwell's act, the elephant's temperment, the crowd's presence, the aftermath of the elephant's death, the death itself.
-In my opinion, Orwell was definitely not justified in shooting the poor elephant. Legally it is easy for one to understand his doing, because the government made it clear that it would be legal to kill an elephant if it has gone mad and it's owner isn't there to control it. Stating this, I truly feel that if Orwell was on his own and without the huge excited crowd, he would have not shot the elephant and would have waited for the owner to return, which is what he should have done. The elephant did go mad when he was destroying a lot of things in the town, but once Orwell got to the elephant, the elephant seemed calmed down and harmless. Therefore, since the elephant wasn't going mad anymore, there was no need to shoot the elephant. They could have gotten someone to get a tranquilizer and inject the elephant with it. The crowd's presence was what forced Orwell to shoot it, but he should have just walked away to not hear all the riot. He would have not felt guilty after the elephant's death. When he found out that it took the elephant thirty minutes to die and all the Burbans were eating his flesh, he began to feel extremely guilty and bad about himself. Yes, the elephant did things to destroy the town, but they should have not shot it. It was beginning to calm down and seem harmless. Therefore, it was wrong for him to shoot him, because he was the one harming the elephant when he could have been in peace and in control once his owner came to get him.
Re: Discussion Forum 4
by Valeria Alarcon at 2/3/2010 10:11 PM
You are right about how he did not have the good reasons to kill the elephant. If he didn't think it was necessary and he felt that it was calming down and being harmless, then there was no reason to shoot it. But, I do not agree that it should have been killed at all. I understand that it destroyed many things and killed an innocent person, but what the right thing they could have done was to inject it with a tranquilizer. Overall, you've made good statements about your opinion.
Re: Ben Brokaw Discussion Forum 3
by Valeria Alarcon at 2/3/2010 10:46 PM
Ben, I don't think you wrote enough to argue about your opinion. The only thing I can agree with you about is that owner should have taken better care of it. He should have tried calling up a friend or family member to help save his elephant though I strongly disagree that it was a correct action at all to kill the elephant. The animal was probably nervous and frightened with everything he saw going on and did not know what to do. Killing is never a right thing to do. They should have injected it with a tranquilizer and left it until it's owner came to control him. You should have written a little more to convince me more. Even though I did not agree with you, you did do a good job in defending him.
Most of the students are catching on to the sandwich critique for evaluating their peers' arguments. I am very please with the progress my Creative Composers are making in learning to make that transition from snorklers of their reading and writing world to scuba divers. Go Creative Composers.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Week Four Day 1
The day began with a journal entry based on the reading by Stephen Chapman's Prisoner's Dilemma. I showed the video clip called "America's Hardest Prisons."
http://www.wordle.net/
Students were introduced to Wordles and were given the directions below. I explained how important it is for writers to define what they are talking about before getting to the whys and hows.
Using the two readings which deal with the idea of what it means to be a civilized society, students worked in pairs. Three of the groups presented their Wordles and explained why they chose the words they used, why the colors, and why the layout and font.
I told them that Wordles are good marketing tools for advertising a product. When the presenters came up to the front of the class to present their case, we were the marketing team that would be choosing one proposal in our awareness campaign for becoming a more civilized America.
Although Clay and Carly did not present, I felt they did the best job in capturing the definition of what constitutes a civilized society.
If I were to change this activity, I would have the students include their written paragraph and include a short justification for their word choices, their layout, their fonts and colors.
I also would have had a polleverywhere to have students vote on the best of the three that were presented. All in all, it was a good lesson that was timed well.
DIRECTIONS: Work in pairs to create a Wordle about what constitutes a civilized society. In order for the phrase “civilized society” to appear as the biggest word, you will need to mention it at least 3 times in your paragraph.
As you discuss the content of your paragraph with your partner, keep in mind the content of the two readings.
Your first sentence should start with the sentence, “A civilized society is one that …….”
Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends, and even embed them in a discussion forum.
http://www.wordle.net/
Students were introduced to Wordles and were given the directions below. I explained how important it is for writers to define what they are talking about before getting to the whys and hows.
Using the two readings which deal with the idea of what it means to be a civilized society, students worked in pairs. Three of the groups presented their Wordles and explained why they chose the words they used, why the colors, and why the layout and font.
I told them that Wordles are good marketing tools for advertising a product. When the presenters came up to the front of the class to present their case, we were the marketing team that would be choosing one proposal in our awareness campaign for becoming a more civilized America.
Although Clay and Carly did not present, I felt they did the best job in capturing the definition of what constitutes a civilized society.
If I were to change this activity, I would have the students include their written paragraph and include a short justification for their word choices, their layout, their fonts and colors.
I also would have had a polleverywhere to have students vote on the best of the three that were presented. All in all, it was a good lesson that was timed well.
DIRECTIONS: Work in pairs to create a Wordle about what constitutes a civilized society. In order for the phrase “civilized society” to appear as the biggest word, you will need to mention it at least 3 times in your paragraph.
As you discuss the content of your paragraph with your partner, keep in mind the content of the two readings.
Your first sentence should start with the sentence, “A civilized society is one that …….”
Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends, and even embed them in a discussion forum.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Week Three Day 2
The students participated in their second discussion forum based on two essays: one on groupthink and the other on lying. Here were the assignment directions.
On page 258 of Ericsson's The Ways We Lie, she cites Irving Janus's definition of groupthink. Using this definition as a starting point and the video below, find one example of groupthink in history or in the news and analyze it using the eight symptoms of groupthink. Be sure and cite your source. Then, review the other ways of lying that Ericsson categorizes. Provide an example from your own life and argue why you feel that lie was justified or not.
Sykes in his essay The "Values" Wasteland contends that modern education fails to teach morality. Do you agree? Watch the video and do some outside research to argue the point that contemporary schooling blunts or enhances young people's moral sense. In either case, offer convincing examples from your own and other people's schooling to support your point of view. Be sure and cite your source in your post.
Erica's post and sandwich critiques on GroupThink won the award of the week.
groupthink
by Erica Blanco (elblanco) at 1/27/2010 11:42 AM
“A psychological phenomenon within decision-making groups in which loyalty to the group has become more important than any other value; with the result that dissent and the appraisal of alternatives are suppressed.” This is how Irving Janis defines the concept of groupthink.
When I was in high school, I took an AP psychology class, and in this class we learned about groupthink; therefore, I already knew the definition and how it worked. One thing I was not aware of was how hugely it can affect the outcome. The Bay of Pigs Invasion is a great example of groupthink in history. Kennedy’s advisory committee made six different misconceptions about their plan of attack, some of which included that nobody would know that it was the U.S. that was responsible for the attack, that the Cuban army was very small and weak, and also that the Cuban army was so ineffectual that it could just be wiped out. They had the illusion that Cuba was vulnerable and that it would be an easy defeat for them. There was direct pressure to get the job done and overthrow Castro. The majority of people thought it to be a good idea and a full-proof plan and the ones who were a little skeptical just smiled and nodded.
I can remember such simple examples of groupthink throughout my life. When in the classroom and a teacher asks a, “have you ever,” or “do you think,” question and asks for a raise of hands as the answer, in fear of being looked upon differently I waited to see how many people raised their hands first and then raised my hand along with them.
http://department.monm.edu/portfolio/2009portfolios/rpowers/artifacts/Junior_Colloquium_Docs/CATApapers/group%20think%20bay%20of%20pigs.pdf
Re: Nick's Group Think
by Erica at 1/27/2010 11:47 AM
Very good points. I also chose the Bay of Pigs invasion as an example of groupthink. I think that this should be left out of decisions as well, but in reality that seems almost impossible. A lot of people won't ever stand up to people of higher authority or speak out on how they feel if nobody else has stated their opinion. A lot of people think its better to be safe than sorry, and their eyes safe is agreeing with the boss man or with the majority, and sorry is standing up to them and taking the risk of being fired or rejected or even causing another disaster.
Re: Groupthink
by Erica Blanco at 1/27/2010 11:51 AM
You did a good job. It's interesting how such a simple thing can cause such a huge impact. You could have gone a little more in depth with your example, which is a good example by the way. I also use those little white lies all the time! They come in handy but sometimes I do feel bad.
Because we had just finished looking at the 5 criteria for evaluating web pages, I might have asked the students to mention why the source they used was a credible one. Some others in the class went straight to wikipedia for their source for their post. They need to be encouraged to look further.
The other disappointing result of the groupthink question was that many used the Bay of Pigs or Vietnam as their examples from history and didn't specifically refer to the eight symptoms from the essay. In other words, it is possible that some students did not read the essay but only watched the video.
The other thing that the students need to work on is being more critical in their replies to their peers and going beyond anecdotal evidence to agree or disagree. I wanted them to analyze how the writer presented his or her argument. Erica was the only one who made suggestions to her peers.
The other problem is the lack of proofreading for mechanics. Even though I have a discussion forum rubric, most students are using textspeak.
I was pleased with the fact that everyone but two people posted and replied to their peers. Yea!!
On page 258 of Ericsson's The Ways We Lie, she cites Irving Janus's definition of groupthink. Using this definition as a starting point and the video below, find one example of groupthink in history or in the news and analyze it using the eight symptoms of groupthink. Be sure and cite your source. Then, review the other ways of lying that Ericsson categorizes. Provide an example from your own life and argue why you feel that lie was justified or not.
OR
Sykes in his essay The "Values" Wasteland contends that modern education fails to teach morality. Do you agree? Watch the video and do some outside research to argue the point that contemporary schooling blunts or enhances young people's moral sense. In either case, offer convincing examples from your own and other people's schooling to support your point of view. Be sure and cite your source in your post.
Erica's post and sandwich critiques on GroupThink won the award of the week.
groupthink
by Erica Blanco (elblanco) at 1/27/2010 11:42 AM
“A psychological phenomenon within decision-making groups in which loyalty to the group has become more important than any other value; with the result that dissent and the appraisal of alternatives are suppressed.” This is how Irving Janis defines the concept of groupthink.
When I was in high school, I took an AP psychology class, and in this class we learned about groupthink; therefore, I already knew the definition and how it worked. One thing I was not aware of was how hugely it can affect the outcome. The Bay of Pigs Invasion is a great example of groupthink in history. Kennedy’s advisory committee made six different misconceptions about their plan of attack, some of which included that nobody would know that it was the U.S. that was responsible for the attack, that the Cuban army was very small and weak, and also that the Cuban army was so ineffectual that it could just be wiped out. They had the illusion that Cuba was vulnerable and that it would be an easy defeat for them. There was direct pressure to get the job done and overthrow Castro. The majority of people thought it to be a good idea and a full-proof plan and the ones who were a little skeptical just smiled and nodded.
I can remember such simple examples of groupthink throughout my life. When in the classroom and a teacher asks a, “have you ever,” or “do you think,” question and asks for a raise of hands as the answer, in fear of being looked upon differently I waited to see how many people raised their hands first and then raised my hand along with them.
http://department.monm.edu/portfolio/2009portfolios/rpowers/artifacts/Junior_Colloquium_Docs/CATApapers/group%20think%20bay%20of%20pigs.pdf
Re: Nick's Group Think
by Erica at 1/27/2010 11:47 AM
Very good points. I also chose the Bay of Pigs invasion as an example of groupthink. I think that this should be left out of decisions as well, but in reality that seems almost impossible. A lot of people won't ever stand up to people of higher authority or speak out on how they feel if nobody else has stated their opinion. A lot of people think its better to be safe than sorry, and their eyes safe is agreeing with the boss man or with the majority, and sorry is standing up to them and taking the risk of being fired or rejected or even causing another disaster.
Re: Groupthink
by Erica Blanco at 1/27/2010 11:51 AM
You did a good job. It's interesting how such a simple thing can cause such a huge impact. You could have gone a little more in depth with your example, which is a good example by the way. I also use those little white lies all the time! They come in handy but sometimes I do feel bad.
Because we had just finished looking at the 5 criteria for evaluating web pages, I might have asked the students to mention why the source they used was a credible one. Some others in the class went straight to wikipedia for their source for their post. They need to be encouraged to look further.
The other disappointing result of the groupthink question was that many used the Bay of Pigs or Vietnam as their examples from history and didn't specifically refer to the eight symptoms from the essay. In other words, it is possible that some students did not read the essay but only watched the video.
The other thing that the students need to work on is being more critical in their replies to their peers and going beyond anecdotal evidence to agree or disagree. I wanted them to analyze how the writer presented his or her argument. Erica was the only one who made suggestions to her peers.
The other problem is the lack of proofreading for mechanics. Even though I have a discussion forum rubric, most students are using textspeak.
I was pleased with the fact that everyone but two people posted and replied to their peers. Yea!!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Week Three Day 1
Where did the time go today in the F2F class. I went over some of the links under the Resources tab and spent some time talking about doing one's own research using http://www.surveymonkey.com/. My Creative Composers will be spending this week gathering information, seeing if http://www.polleverywhere.com/ or http://www.surveymonkey.com/ will work for their first research paper around the theme of education.
I emphasized how important it is to write for a real audience and take risks in this course on the writing material. I told them that each paper they would write for me would go to a real audience and not just me. I think they were surprised that their writing was going to be more than an academic exercise.
Since our reading was about 9-11, we explored conspiracy theories as it relates to evaluating web sources. Kudos for today's assignment go to Caitlin, Clay, and Kelles for summarizing the flight remote contol theory. Before checking out their post, check out the pod/remote control non-credible YouTube video.
Nick, Mackenzee, and Laura summarized the insider trader theory. They summarized the theory and provided evidence debunking the theory. Their resource person provided them with a non-credible source. Here is an example of a non-credible source on the subject of inside trading.
I emphasized how important it is to write for a real audience and take risks in this course on the writing material. I told them that each paper they would write for me would go to a real audience and not just me. I think they were surprised that their writing was going to be more than an academic exercise.
Since our reading was about 9-11, we explored conspiracy theories as it relates to evaluating web sources. Kudos for today's assignment go to Caitlin, Clay, and Kelles for summarizing the flight remote contol theory. Before checking out their post, check out the pod/remote control non-credible YouTube video.
Here is their post:
Conspiracy Theory # _5_ Debunked Summary:
The Conspiracy Theory states that the planes that hit the world trade towers were remote controlled. The company that manufactured the planes that struck the towers explained that there was no way for the planes to be controlled from any other location other then the flight deck of the actual aircraft. Eyewitness passengers also made phone calls stating that hijackers had taken control of the planes.
Non- Credible: http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=76058
It is noncredible because:
- It is “.com” not “.gov” or “.edu”
- It is full of advertisements
- There are no credible credentials to the author or the page.
So, how would I change this activity. As I was searching around for conspiracy theory videos, I found it would have been more educational for the students to view these videos and then find a credible source that debunked the theory. The students could provide evidence and state why the source was credible. The only problem with having groups of students view videos in a F2F computer class is that there is no sound on the computers, so perhaps this approach was the way to go, or save this lesson for an online class.
What surprised me in the submissions was that two groups didn't save the worksheet to the desktop and work on the responses from the desktop, upload the document and submit it. I had assumed that they knew how to do it. I also found out that some students don't know how to use the course management system messaging function.
There were no time for presentations either. Next week, I will delve right into the activity for the day. I felt that since this was the second time I've seen them since January 11th, they needed more orientation to what was in the course.
Good lesson overall. The students were attentive and learned that doing their own research and finding a real audience is a part of the authentic writing experience.
Conspiracy Theory # _5_ Debunked Summary:
The Conspiracy Theory states that the planes that hit the world trade towers were remote controlled. The company that manufactured the planes that struck the towers explained that there was no way for the planes to be controlled from any other location other then the flight deck of the actual aircraft. Eyewitness passengers also made phone calls stating that hijackers had taken control of the planes.
Non- Credible: http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?read=76058
It is noncredible because:
- It is “.com” not “.gov” or “.edu”
- It is full of advertisements
- There are no credible credentials to the author or the page.
So, how would I change this activity. As I was searching around for conspiracy theory videos, I found it would have been more educational for the students to view these videos and then find a credible source that debunked the theory. The students could provide evidence and state why the source was credible. The only problem with having groups of students view videos in a F2F computer class is that there is no sound on the computers, so perhaps this approach was the way to go, or save this lesson for an online class.
What surprised me in the submissions was that two groups didn't save the worksheet to the desktop and work on the responses from the desktop, upload the document and submit it. I had assumed that they knew how to do it. I also found out that some students don't know how to use the course management system messaging function.
There were no time for presentations either. Next week, I will delve right into the activity for the day. I felt that since this was the second time I've seen them since January 11th, they needed more orientation to what was in the course.
Good lesson overall. The students were attentive and learned that doing their own research and finding a real audience is a part of the authentic writing experience.
Nick, Mackenzee, and Laura summarized the insider trader theory. They summarized the theory and provided evidence debunking the theory. Their resource person provided them with a non-credible source. Here is an example of a non-credible source on the subject of inside trading.
Here is their post:
Nick, Mackenzee, Laura
This is a conspiracy that states that there was unusual trading in stocks of United and America Airlines just before September 11, 2001 supporting evidence of knowledge prior to the attack. The U.S government debunks this stating that indeed there was trading, but each trade was made for a specific reason.
Non- credible source: http://www.hereinreality.com/ . This is a non-credible source because there is no contact information, or any way to track their information to a source.
Nick, Mackenzee, Laura
This is a conspiracy that states that there was unusual trading in stocks of United and America Airlines just before September 11, 2001 supporting evidence of knowledge prior to the attack. The U.S government debunks this stating that indeed there was trading, but each trade was made for a specific reason.
Non- credible source: http://www.hereinreality.com/ . This is a non-credible source because there is no contact information, or any way to track their information to a source.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Week Two: Day 2
Martin Luther King Day was a day off for my F2F class, so Week 2 began with a discussion forum related to Paul Robert's essay How to Say Nothing in 500 Words.
I found this video on the internet that talks about 500-word essays that high school students write which I thought went well with the article. I loved what the speaker in the video said about if we are bored with what we write, won't our reader be, too? Check out this video.
Here is the exercise that the students had to work on related to the Robert's essay and Brittany's outstanding responses.
1. Find a quote on the internet that will lead to an explanation and the claim that writing is hell
OR
Find a quote on the internet that will lead to the claim that writing is heaven. Be sure and credit the author of the quote.
2. Here is a dictionary definition of the word writer: A writer is a person who commits his or her thoughts, ideas, etc,, to writing. Write a humorous definition of the word writer.
3. Revisit the student essay, Why College Football Should be Abolished on pp. 317-318 and do the following:
a. Write a catchier title.
b. Write another reason why college football should be abolished that is not listed on pp. 317-318.
c. Write one sentence from the essay and then below it, write a more concise version in which you eliminate obvious padding.
d. Write a short lead in to the essay in which you attract the attention of your reader on the subject of abolishing college football. This is called opening with a 'POW'.
4. Reply to at least two of your peers using the sandwich critique (mention a strength, make a suggestion, end with some encouraging words).
ENC 1102 Composition II - CRN 11289
________________________________________
Brittany Discussion Forum 2 Post
by Brittany at 1/19/2010 10:14 PM
1. Writers write about what obsesses them. You draw those cards. I lost my mother when I was 14. My daughter died at the age of 6. I lost my faith as a Catholic. When I'm writing, the darkness is always there. I go where the pain is.
- Anne Rice
2. Writer – a person whose trashcan often overflows with crumpled papers.
3. a. Eradicating the Distraction… College Football.
b. College football influences student bodies to consume dangerous amounts of alcohol.
c. “In the olden times when people played football just for the fun of it, maybe college football was all right, but they do not play football just for the fun of it now as they used to in the old days”
“In the past people played football for their own enjoyment, currently this isn’t the case.”
d. “Win or lose, we still booze” is chanted throughout campuses on college football game days. Although this does sound enticing and can be exciting, it often leads to disastrous issues such as hospitalization, arrests, and even death. This is only one of the many issues college football influences or effects.
Re: Nick Manos discussion forum 2 post
by Brittany at 1/20/2010 12:38 PM
Nick, I loved your definition for writer I felt like it was pretty insightful. I also really liked your points on the amount of funding that goes into college football, that's definitely an extremely valid point. The one suggestion I have would be to try to think of a catchier title, but I know from my own experience doing this that it is an extremely hard task to do. Overall I thought your points supporting the funding fact were insightful and interesting.
Re: Timothy Milne - Discussion Forum 2 Post
by Brittany Ubaldini at 1/20/2010 9:45 PM
I liked your definition for writer, it was funny and very true. The suggestion I have would be to look deeper into why college football should be abolished as well as changing "could be" to "should be" in your first sentence of number three part b. Good job finding a quote to back up your claim!
Brittany is really thinking sideways and takes a different angle on an overused subject. She is using a "quote that stokes" for her lead in. Her using the Anne Rice quote about writers write about what obsesses them ties in with what I believe that students need to write about....their passions or obsessions. Requiring a specific subject for students to write about in their paper assignments doesn't make sense to me.
As we progress through the semester, I hope my students will feel confident enough to take risks, explore new territory, and write about what they are passionate about. We shall see.
I found this video on the internet that talks about 500-word essays that high school students write which I thought went well with the article. I loved what the speaker in the video said about if we are bored with what we write, won't our reader be, too? Check out this video.
Here is the exercise that the students had to work on related to the Robert's essay and Brittany's outstanding responses.
1. Find a quote on the internet that will lead to an explanation and the claim that writing is hell
OR
Find a quote on the internet that will lead to the claim that writing is heaven. Be sure and credit the author of the quote.
2. Here is a dictionary definition of the word writer: A writer is a person who commits his or her thoughts, ideas, etc,, to writing. Write a humorous definition of the word writer.
3. Revisit the student essay, Why College Football Should be Abolished on pp. 317-318 and do the following:
a. Write a catchier title.
b. Write another reason why college football should be abolished that is not listed on pp. 317-318.
c. Write one sentence from the essay and then below it, write a more concise version in which you eliminate obvious padding.
d. Write a short lead in to the essay in which you attract the attention of your reader on the subject of abolishing college football. This is called opening with a 'POW'.
4. Reply to at least two of your peers using the sandwich critique (mention a strength, make a suggestion, end with some encouraging words).
ENC 1102 Composition II - CRN 11289
________________________________________
Brittany Discussion Forum 2 Post
by Brittany at 1/19/2010 10:14 PM
1. Writers write about what obsesses them. You draw those cards. I lost my mother when I was 14. My daughter died at the age of 6. I lost my faith as a Catholic. When I'm writing, the darkness is always there. I go where the pain is.
- Anne Rice
2. Writer – a person whose trashcan often overflows with crumpled papers.
3. a. Eradicating the Distraction… College Football.
b. College football influences student bodies to consume dangerous amounts of alcohol.
c. “In the olden times when people played football just for the fun of it, maybe college football was all right, but they do not play football just for the fun of it now as they used to in the old days”
“In the past people played football for their own enjoyment, currently this isn’t the case.”
d. “Win or lose, we still booze” is chanted throughout campuses on college football game days. Although this does sound enticing and can be exciting, it often leads to disastrous issues such as hospitalization, arrests, and even death. This is only one of the many issues college football influences or effects.
Re: Nick Manos discussion forum 2 post
by Brittany at 1/20/2010 12:38 PM
Nick, I loved your definition for writer I felt like it was pretty insightful. I also really liked your points on the amount of funding that goes into college football, that's definitely an extremely valid point. The one suggestion I have would be to try to think of a catchier title, but I know from my own experience doing this that it is an extremely hard task to do. Overall I thought your points supporting the funding fact were insightful and interesting.
Re: Timothy Milne - Discussion Forum 2 Post
by Brittany Ubaldini at 1/20/2010 9:45 PM
I liked your definition for writer, it was funny and very true. The suggestion I have would be to look deeper into why college football should be abolished as well as changing "could be" to "should be" in your first sentence of number three part b. Good job finding a quote to back up your claim!
Brittany is really thinking sideways and takes a different angle on an overused subject. She is using a "quote that stokes" for her lead in. Her using the Anne Rice quote about writers write about what obsesses them ties in with what I believe that students need to write about....their passions or obsessions. Requiring a specific subject for students to write about in their paper assignments doesn't make sense to me.
As we progress through the semester, I hope my students will feel confident enough to take risks, explore new territory, and write about what they are passionate about. We shall see.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Week One: Day 2
Students participated in their first discussion forum of the semester. I have decided to do my modules around themes. Over the next couple of weeks, the theme will be education.
The students were to choose from six different questions based on videos and the readings. They were to write on three and respond to at least two of their peers. I am doing the discussion forums a little differently this semester. I am having them work in groups of 12 students rather than a whole group discussion. I will see how it works out. The only disadvantage is that with fewer people, there may be lots of procrastinators. I might have to change my directions and have them do their replies by the next day rather than the same night. A couple of students were waiting for others to post. The majority of students will post from 8 p.m. onwards, so the 2 p.m. submitters are frustrated waiting for two people to get in and post so that they become frustrated. I might poll the students on this one when I see them in class next.
Anyway, here are the six questions and some exemplary responses.
Write the answer to THREE of the following prompts. Please refer to the question you are answering.
1. Watch the short films,Second Life Media Zoo, Vision of Students Today, and Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, Comment on the ideas presented in each of the videos. Using some of the ideas presented in this video, Discuss how technology can be best implemented in our nation's schools and univesities? Present a case for virtual learning? Would a Second Life learning experience be for everyone? Why or why not?
2. According to Brooks in his essay Psst! "Human Capital", why do policies that focus on teaching children skills and knowledge ultimately fail to develop human capital? What policies does he use as examples of such failure? If one agrees that skills and knowledge ultimately fail to develop human capital, then what should teachers be doing in their curriculum to develop human capital?
3. Read Mary Sherry's In Praise of the "F" Word and present an opposing viewpoint to the one that Sherry presents in her essay.Be sure and cite at least one outside source in support of your opposing viewpoint.
4. In Michael Kimmel's A War Against Boys, he primarily focuses on how gender inequality affects boys. Summarize Kimmel's argument and present a counterargument that gender inequality also affects girls. Do some outside research and cite at least one source to back up your claim. What has been your experience in schools with gender equality?
5. Do some research on the type of human capital that many millionaires possess. How did they acquire it? Of the four types of human capital that Brooks describes, which one do you feel is your strongest? Provide evidence that you are strong in this type.
6. Do some research on the concept of capital as used by economists. How do economists define and categorize capital, including the human capital? Be sure and cite your source.
Question 1 was very popular as well as Question 5.
Alex's response:
Watching the short films, Second Life Media Zoo, Vision of Students Today, and Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall, changed my opinion towards online learning. The video about Second Life Media Zoo was extremely interesting because this was the first time that I have ever seen virtual education to this extent. Although it was very impressive, from the looks of it I think it would distract students from their main objective, learning. Watching the video I could imagine myself losing focus because I would be too busy treating the class as a video game.
With regard to Vision of Students Today, the video itself really caught my attention. Most of the facts that the students were holding up I could relate to. Also I could see how technology is about to be the style of education for the future. Pink Floyd's video confused me at first, but what I got from it was that students do not want to be just another "brick in the wall". Technology can be implemented in in our nation's schools and universities by offering some courses that are either hybrid or online. I am not saying that all classes should be like this, but since the future is heading in the direction of technology, we should be trying new ways of education ourselves. Also hybrid and online classes take a lot of time-management and self discipline. These are future characteristics that we all strive to master at some point in our lives. Second Life may not be for everyone because some people learn better when they are in a classroom setting where they are taking notes and are in front of a teacher. Also, students may be less motivated and distracted while they are at the comforts of their computer.
Katie's response to Question 2:
2. According to Brooks in his essay Psst! "Human Capital", why do policies that focus on teaching children skills and knowledge ultimately fail to develop human capital? What policies does he use as examples of such failure? If one agrees that skills and knowledge ultimately fail to develop human capital, then what should teachers be doing in their curriculum to develop human capital?
Policies that focus on teaching children skills and knowledge fail at creating human capital because they are not created for the way people really are. We spend tons of money, more than any other country and still our skills and knowledge are not soaring like they should be. In order to build on human capital, we have to build on more than just skills and knowledge. Like Brooks describes, you have to be well rounded knowing about cultures, how to be social in society, having morals and how to be cognitive. People need wants and struggles, they need ambitions and aspirational reasons to strive for success in life. None of this can be developed with just skills and book knowledge. Policies such as the program No Child Left Behind and Title 1 schools, Brooks, uses as examples of failures. Teachers should have more human relating activities to get students out of books, have games that help students learn how to morally behave. Not to cheat because the game is more fun if you don’t cheat. Doing trust workshops, allowing students to catch another student’s weight would allow students to form trust with people they may not know well. Having culture days where students have to dress up and bring food from places out of their culture to share with the class. There are many things teachers can do that would help create a better human capital and actually, a more exciting class. Teachers are too focused on the books that it takes out the creativity in students. Creativity makes the mind work harder.
The only question that did not challenge the students was the one on how economists define capital. I would delete that one next time around.
Seventeen of the 24 people in the class participated in the discussion; however, two dropped the course after the first day. It will take another week to get some students to realize that a 11:55 p.m. deadline is for real. I will probably lose two or three more students by midterm. I sent out an email to the 7 who didn't do the assignment. I heard back from one.
Week One: Day 1
Spring 2010 semester starts off with me saying, "Okay everyone, take out your cell phones and turn them on. I want you to take a survey using polleverywhere. There were some shocked faces as students hesitantly took out their cell phones, turned them on, then proceeded to text in their answer to the question, "Why are you taking this course?"
Instantly students were able to see how the class was voting. I then explained how polleverywhere could be used for analyzing your target audience, getting feedback on a presentation, or even for assessment purposes. All students were asked to then create an polleverywhere account. I talked a little bit about the importance of acquiring digital literacies using Web 1 and Web 2 technologies and how these new digital tools are important in today's visual world.
The photo above is from our bingo icebreaker activity where students had to roam around the room finding someone who.....and writing in their name. Ryan quickly had his boxes done to make bingo. Brittany soon followed. Here they are introducing the people who did various things, like ones who could touch their nose with their tongue, hated fish, loved pizza, had green eyes, had been outside the country, etc. It was a nice way to get people out of their seats. How would I change this activity? I would have a time limit and whoever filled in the most boxes would be the winner. The activity was too short when it was done as bingo.
Here are our lucky winners:
Then, I went into a discussion on the learning outcomes, my expectations, and some highlights of the syllabus (attendance policy, kinds of papers they would be writing, grading philosophy, etc.). I was hoping for about 15 more minutes to do the syllabus quiz in Angel and a journal entry in preparation for their module on education. Alas, there is never enough time in a class period to do it all.
We ended the class with questions from the students. The biggest shocker to many of them that there would be five assignments due for the next online class. The question was, "Will there always be five assignments for each class?"
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