Semester 2 - Post 6

I read a recent post titled "Have a Laugh from the Little Rascals - "Bored of Education'" written by Victoria A. Davis. In this post Victoria talks about how in schools today they are being faced with a lack of attention whether it is rebellion, boredom, absences, or whatever the case may be, students are not finding interest in the things they are learning. She brings up the point that when things change in society, it takes a while for schools to play catch up.

I found this post interesting because, as a student myself, I deal with these issues daily. I find it so hard to try to apply what I learn to my real life. I always ask the usual question, "When will I ever use this?!" School just seems so boring sometimes, but there are a few teachers and a few subjects that I actually find interesting. Not only is it hard to find interest in my schoolwork, but it's also hard when you miss a class because of a trip, illness, or whatever. It seems that it is nearly impossible to catch up after missing school.

How can these things be changed? How can schools help their students find interest in what they are learning? Well, I can not give an answer to this seeing as my solution would be to simply allow more off time and teach students what they want to learn, not what they need to learn :). This may be something to think about in the future. What can the average person do to help schools teach students intersting, and necessary facts? It's up to you to decide.

Semester 2 - Post 5

I read a recent article titled "This is Your Brain on PSA's" written by Anne S. In this article Ms. Smith talks about the use of PSA's in the classroom, and how helpful that can be. It was interesting to me to read this because I am indeed in Ms. Smith's English class so I created my PSA.

In this article Ms. Smith talks about how she got the idea for her students to create PSA's of their own after she watched Kathy Schrock deliver an address on the use of PSA's in the classroom. At the beginning of the second semester, we (one of Smith's English classes) wrote position papers on certain issues that affect our world today. After completing these papers, Ms. Smith thought it would be a good idea for us to create PSA's that tie to a topic of one of your partner's position papers. It was very cool to sort of take our papers and make them into an actual announcement that will draw in people's attention to that topic, not to mention it was nice to learn how to create a film.

This article was great to look at from an outsiders perspective because I was a part of creating the PSA's. Overall, this was a great article, and an even better learning lesson.

Semester 2 - Post 4

I read a recent article titled "Student Information Online" written by Jeff Utecht. In this article, Jeff talks about how to protect students online and where to draw the line with what information, if any, to put online about the students.

In reading this article it was interesting to me to see that Jeff said there has been so much research done that says that the Internet is NOT unsafe, but they are still worried about protecting their students. Where would you draw the line? Many people feel that it is entirely unsafe to put a student's, or anyone's, name with a picture on the Internet. If the safety of students is an issue, what can they do to protect the students? Some of the ideas listed on the website were do not post personal information, do not use last names and finally, only post pictures if given permission. I personally think these are great ideas to keep individuals safe online, but these things are not taken into consideration by the people who use sites such as MySpace, Facebook, or any other personal website.

The thing that was most important that I took away from this article was be safe online! Do not make stupid decisions online that will put your safety in jeopardy. Be safe and be smart!

Semester 2 - Post 3

I read a recent post titled "The Future of the Newspaper" written by Karl Fisch. In this post Mr. Fisch talks about and interview that he had the privilege of listening to between John Temple and the Journalistic Writing students here at Arapahoe. John Temple is the editor, publisher, and president of the Rocky Mountain News and he came in to talk to the Journalistic Writing student about his views on the future of newspapers.

I found this article very interesting because it just so happens that I am taking journalistic writing this semester so I was apart of this interview myself. From what I know about this article, and from what I recall from the interview, John Temple thinks that because of the advances in technolgy the future of newspapers is not very bright at this point. Mr. Temple can almost guarantee that there will still be a printed newspaper, but it will be printed in smaller quantities. This is because readers of different ages have different wants and needs when reading the newspaper. For example older readers prefer reading the printed newspaper because they are not as technology savvy so it would take them longer to find what they are looking for on the internet. On the other hand younger readers enjoy the convenience of the internet because it is fast, easy, and updated frequently. Not only does Temple think that the newspapers will soon be all online, but he also brought up the idea of the Avatar. The Avatar is an online version of your personality that knows what you enjoy and surfs the internet for topics that fall under your category of interest. This works much like Google Reader.

It was interesting to see the views that someone else had on something that I witnessed first hand. Also it was cool to see what he took out of the interview with John Temple, because it allows me to look back and see the things I may have over looked in our time with Mr. Temple.

Semester 2 - Post 2

I read a recent post titled "Soaring Snowpack Raises Flooding Concerns". This post was written by a journalist from the Denver Post named Kieran Nicholson. In this post it talks about how this season in Denver we have had near-record amounts of snow and now that March, Colorado's snowiest month, has began people are worried that flooding may pose as a concern. Dam Safety officials are saying that we need to monitor the amount of melting seen for snow banks to try to eliminate flooding.

This was an interesting story to do a PLN post on, but I found it intriguing because I love snow and winter so I figured, "why not?" What I pulled out of this post that seemed to matter most was the fact that with the rapid melting of snow, and the rapid snowfall, we need to find a way to eliminate the possibility of flooding. This is incredibly crucial for Coloradans because our homes, families, and lives could potentially be in danger if this was to happen so it is necessary to take all the needed precautions to prevent flooding accidents.

Semester 2 - Post 1

I read a recent post written by Will Richardson titled "The Distributed University." In this post Will talks about how students who graduate from high school and choose a college to attend should not be limited to the classes and professors that their school of choice may offer. But how could these options be widened? Is it possible to allow students to take online courses? Yes, but what are the benefits to that? Taking their college courses online would not allow the student "the full college experience."

This story relates to me as I soon will be making decisions on colleges and what I want to study, so it is important to look at all of the possibilities so that I , as a student, am not limited. It was interesting bringing up the idea of online courses because, though they are quicker than campus life, you still do not get to experience the full, fun, exciting life that comes with being in college. When attending college you learn so much, not only academically, but also so much about yourself and if you were to go through college online you would not learn those things.

All in all, going to college is much better on the campus than taking online courses. You need that freedom and independence to give yourself a chance to take a step into the real world and prepare yourself for the future.