Double Entry Journal # 10

Quote

"Unfortunately, most uses of technologies in schools today do not support these 21st-century learning skills (Resnick)."

Response

 I believe that education has come along way throughout the years. However, I also feel that schools are banning some of the most influential tools to their students. There are some schools within the United States who are allowing their students to use the technologies available to them to their full potential. However, there are some schools who ban simple technologies such as social media and cell phones. Although there has been a lot of controversies due to social media, I believe that if schools taught students how to properly use these resources, the negativity would decrease. Also, cell phones can be a distraction but, they can also provide new and exciting techniques to learning. For example, I am currently in my 30 hour clinical, I wanted to use the text message website that we learned about earlier in the semester in this class. However, the school has a strict no cell phone policy and this activity was quickly declined by my host teacher. I believe that scratch, crickets, and other new technologies could help students engage in learning. However, the school systems need to reduce the amount of restrictions they place on the technology uses.

Resources 

"A Day in the Life of a 21st Century Learning Specialist." Langwitches Blog. N.p., 29 007 2010. Web. 29 Mar 2012. <http://langwitches.org/blog/2010/07/29/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-21st-century-learning-specialist/>. 
 
Resnick, Mitchel. "Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society." ITSE. ITSE, 012 2007. Web. 29 Mar 2012.

Scratch Tutorial

Scratch

Double Entry Journal #9

Quote

"Video games provide a far lower degree of failure and it’s consequences which encourage players to explore the environment, take risks and try new things."

Response

I believe that many adolescents explore video games because it gives them a sense of a fantasy life. I agree with the above quote because video games give children the opportunities to explore things without the fear of "messing things up". There are so many things within the world that children get reprimanded for because they do not act appropriately or do things in the correct manner. However, with video games, there is no right or wrong. If a child does something wrong within a video game, there is always a do-over option for them. This aspect of video games does not allow children to view themselves as failures. The video below describes different ways teachers can coordinate their lesson plans around video games.

References

"10 Things Schools Can Learn From Video Games." Learning in Gaming. N.p., 20 001 2011. Web. 20 Mar 2012. <http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/>. 

 Bigthink. Playing Games in the Classroom . 2011. Video. YouTube

Wikipedia

How a Ragtag band created Wikipedia

Learned
1.The first thing that I learned while watching this video was that there is only one employee of Wikipedia. I was shocked that one person could control this entire process by themselves. Wikipedia is a close competitor of NY Times online which has hundreds of employees.
2. The second thing that I learned while watching this video was that there are "watch people". Watch people are people who specifically watch certain pages for incorrect information. If they spot incorrect information, they quickly change the information back to its correct form.
3. The third thing that I learned while watching this video was that there is a type of government for Wikipedia. There are people who discuss the topics on the site and vote on topics. There is also a governing body who make the rules for Wikipedia.

Agree
1. I agree with the content of this video when it talks about how an encyclopedia should be accessible to every person within the world. This is Wikipedia's job.
2. Another thing that I agree with on this video is that there should be some type of governing body which rules out inappropriate information.

Disagree
1. The only thing that I disagree with during this video is that it is not discussed about the punishment for people who purposefully put inappropriate information on Wikipedia.


Study: Wikipedia Pretty Accurate, But Hard to Read

Were you surprised? Why?
After reading the article, I was shocked to find out that many people believe Wikipedia is difficult to read. I believed that since Wikipedia can be written by anyone, it would be more easily understood. However, the research shows that Wikipedia's information is on a higher readability than other websites with the exact same information. The other websites just simply put their information is simpler terms.


Four Ways to Use Wikipedia

1. Background Information
     Always

2. Links
     Sometimes

3. Keywords
     Never

4. References
     Sometimes

Double Entry Journal # 8

a. What is Wikipedia? 
Wikipedia is a web based encyclopedia that is multilingual. It is used in many different countries with many different languages.

 
b. How would you answer the question posed in this piece “How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it?”? 

A source that is available to anyone for editing can be a reliable source because there are so many people who will change all of the negative information that is put into the website immediatly.

c. Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation? 

The creators of Wikipedia place their trust in the wisdom of the crowd when it comes to weeding out misinformation.

d. Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia? 

Founder, Larry Sanger, left Wikipedia because he felt that the website should give more authority to the experts.

e. What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page? 

Abuse or vandalism would look like wrong information, profanity, and misleading information.

f. What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal? The statistics quoted in the third paragraph reveal that Wikipedia is the most visited site on the internet to date. It also shows that Wikipedia is offered in many different countries with many different languages.

g. Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful? 

I believe that Wikipedia is so successful because it is very user-friendly and is extermely accessible. With many topics typed into google, Wikipedia is the first website option to occur. I also believe that since the user has the ability to change information that they read is incorrect, it makes them feel as if they helped someone else learn.

h. Why might Wikipedia’s creators not want to accept advertising? 

Wikipedia's creators may not want to accept advertising because advertising can sometimes cause more issues for a company than expected. Advertising takes the website user away from the website intended to look at a different site.

i. How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries?

Wikiscanner helps increase the reliability of the Wikipedia entries because it exposes data of self-interested editing by prominent businesses and governments around the world. In simpler terms, it allows the creators of Wikipedia to better weed out the misinformation.

Think Aloud

Think aloud

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Double Entry Journal # 7

Learning disabilities are becoming more present now then ever. This rising statistic is not caused from more children developing these disabilities. It is rising simply because the disabilities are not going undiagnosed or untreated now. However, parents do not need to worry about their children. There are numerous technology tools that have been created to help students within the classroom. The technology tools to help disable students learn include talking calculators, variable speed tape recorders, audio books and publications, and many other tools. It is amazing how far technology has come from 50 years ago. Teachers are now able to help students learn material instead of secluding them in the back of the classroom!

Website Evaluation

The article that I chose deals with child abuse and neglect. It has information on how to prevent and spot the warning signs of abuse. It also has ways to contact child abuse hotlines.

Who?
1. Has someone taken responsibility for the content of this Web site?
The content of the website that I chose has three different authors. Joanna Saisan, M.S.W., Melinda Smith, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. each authored the site on my material. The authors also gave information about companies and organizations to contact if a person believes they have witnessed some sort of child abuse. 

2. Is information about the author or organization clearly stated?
The information about the authors is located at the end of the website. Their names are given. Also, they have stated the information needed to contact the organizations in which a person should contact if abuse is found.

3. Can you contact the company or author through a real world postal address or phone number?
The authors of this site have clearly stated the organizations to contact in case of child abuse. Phone numbers and additional web address are given to the readers.


What?
1. Are there links to other or alternative viewpoints?
The website that I chose has many different websites with more viewpoints on child abuse. Each of the additional links gives more information and contact numbers if needed.

2. Does the site clearly state the topics that it intends to address?
The website clearly states that child abuse is occuring within our nation. It also addresses the different types of abuse, not only physical abuse.

3. Does the information seem complete and consistent?
The information portrayed to the readers of this website shows great consistency with the information given.


When?
1. Is it important that the information you're looking for be absolutely current?
It is majorly imporatnt that the information that a person is looking for be current.

2. Is a reference date provided to show when the material was put online, or when it was last updated?
The content of the website that I chose seems to be updated on a regular basis. The text was just recently updated in January 2012.

3. Do the links work?
After testing out the links provided on the website, I found that each link works and has more useful information.

Why?
1. Can I get the information faster offline?
It is not faster to try to get this information offline. It is easier to obtain this information online. 

2. Does the online material I'm finding suit my needs?
The material that I found well-suited my needs on gaining knowledge on child abuse in the United States. 

3. Am I able to verify this information?
I was able to verify the information that I found on the website that I chose. I was able to cross-reference the information and check the sources of the authors.