Thing 4 – Blogging Begins with Reading
The first blog I explored was Bias in the Classroom because I loved the idea of an “energy” game to involve students which I hope to try with my own students. A surprise was how it lead to bias and the study in pictures of how the same photo could evoke both positive and negative captions. Engaging students in critical thinking exercises like these is very valuable I feel and memorable for them.
The next blog I explored was Vicki Davis’ Spies Like Us which I notice was actually written in 2007 (where have I been?) as so much of this and more is happening today with students “sexting” using cell phone pictures, and phones constantly recording video of what is going on wherever you are. YouTube is packed with examples of good and bad videos. So what do we as teachers do? Vicki strongly encourages us to teach values and ethics on a weekly basis because we CAN control what we teach students even though we cannot control whether students can do these things.
I was so excited to read Joyce Valenza’s PowerPoint Reform – A First Chapter which talks about the slideshow as a great tool for communication and how students were asked to break bad habits by staying away from bullets, banning clip art, using one word or phrase on a slide, one image, and to be creative in grabbing and maintaining attention. What they found was students that listened did better presentations. They were forced into storytelling and connected more with the audience. Students saw both good and bad models for presentations and seemed to know the difference. There was a list of resources used and I checked each one and found some great information to share with my students who will be starting a project this week. Amazing!
The next blog that peaked my interest was Andy Carvin An Open Letter About Cyberbullying. Apparently an article was written in Wired Magazine about the lamest social networks and the Stop Cyberbullying community was put on this list and while it might have been intended as a joke, it has unintended consequences. Andy states that we are fighting an uphill battle against a problem that too often is not taken seriously. I couldn’t agree more and I was truly enlightened to the magnitude of this problem through a seminar sponsored by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office on this very serious issue. Humorous it is not.
The post Students, Information and Schools talked about how easily today’s information is copied, pasted, and accessed. It posed some very good questions like should we focus on rote memorization? Should we spend more time teaching kids how to find information? What do we want them to do with the information? And last, what is the purpose of school? Seth Godin wrote a starter list of 27 items and suggested you send them to the school board and principal – making for an interesting discussion. They range from “make sure the sports teams have enough players” to “help people become interesting and productive.” Yes, very interesting discussion starters!
May 31st, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Great job keeping up with the class. I bet your head is spinning with all the potential ideas you have for the Business technology shop.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Nice job Linda