Thursday, November 3, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Everything is a Remix
Everyone who has ever become famous from something has been through a remix. People build on each others' ideas. It takes more than one person to invent. Xerox created the first computer, but Mac released the second- Mac was the remix! Even the computer that I am using right now is a remix. It took a team of people to create these computers. It starts with an idea, but there must be a brainstorm to grow that idea into a product. The remix process is a three step process- Copy, transform, and combine. It's all a form of plagiarizing and citing. Creativity is at the heart of everything people do, write, and make.
Boys/Girls
This video discusses the way to keep boys engaged in learning through gaming. Three reasons that boys have started becoming disengaged in learning are the following:
1- Zero tolerance with any sort of violence.
2- There are fewer male teachers. Only 7% of teachers are men. It sends the message that school is for girls.
3- Kindergarten type 2nd grade
Boys get in more trouble than girls do, for the most part, because of zero tolerance rules. When little boys talk about tornadoes coming through and creating disaster, people assume that there is something extremely wrong with them. Curriculum needs to be aimed more at boys. So much of the curriculum is just gender neutral and to get boys to fully connect, it needs to specifically be cut out for the boys. Everyone's mind is different, and it is very important to make sure that there are different ways to teach different children.
1- Zero tolerance with any sort of violence.
2- There are fewer male teachers. Only 7% of teachers are men. It sends the message that school is for girls.
3- Kindergarten type 2nd grade
Boys get in more trouble than girls do, for the most part, because of zero tolerance rules. When little boys talk about tornadoes coming through and creating disaster, people assume that there is something extremely wrong with them. Curriculum needs to be aimed more at boys. So much of the curriculum is just gender neutral and to get boys to fully connect, it needs to specifically be cut out for the boys. Everyone's mind is different, and it is very important to make sure that there are different ways to teach different children.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Right-brained/Intelligence test
When I took the intelligence test, it showed that my strong points are musical, interpersonal, and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Though I wish the last one were correct, I am very unintelligent when it comes to bodily-kinesthetic activities. The test also said that I was very weak in logical intelligence. They were VERY correct on this one.
When they tested me for right-brained/left-brained qualities, I picked 14 out of 18 right-brained qualities. The test pegged me very well. It said that I have holistic, random, concrete, intuitive, nonverbal, and fantasy-oriented qualities.
Holistic qualities means that I see the big picture before the details. Perfect. When someone is telling me a story, I just want the short version. Then after that, I want the little things that stick out that will help me determine what is going on in the big picture.
Random is exactly what it sounds like. I never focus on one thing at a time. I constantly have multiple projects going at once and none of them are finished. Some people call that "multitasking." I call it "ADD."
Another quality is concrete. This means I need things that can be seen or touched- real objects. This is a perfect definition of why I want to be a teacher! I am a very hands-on person and I think that children learn better by doing things themselves than by just listening to teachers speak. By touching, seeing, and doing, children will remember more than just a boring lecture.
Next is intuitive. This means that I can have a feeling that something may or may not be right, but if someone tells me that I have to learn something a certain way, I will do it even though I may not know how they got the answer. If it has to do with morals, though, and I know it is not right, I will most definitely stand up against it and not learn it a certain ways just because someone told me to.
Nonverbal is exactly what it sounds like- I comprehend information much better by illustrations than by words. If I cannot see a person talking to me, I don't listen to them very well. For example, talking on the phone to me is nearly useless. Send me a text, email, or talk to me in person if you want for me to actually comprehend what you are saying.
Fantasy-oriented, though, kind of confuses me. I don't really understand what they mean?
Overall, the test was very accurate!
When they tested me for right-brained/left-brained qualities, I picked 14 out of 18 right-brained qualities. The test pegged me very well. It said that I have holistic, random, concrete, intuitive, nonverbal, and fantasy-oriented qualities.
Holistic qualities means that I see the big picture before the details. Perfect. When someone is telling me a story, I just want the short version. Then after that, I want the little things that stick out that will help me determine what is going on in the big picture.
Random is exactly what it sounds like. I never focus on one thing at a time. I constantly have multiple projects going at once and none of them are finished. Some people call that "multitasking." I call it "ADD."
Another quality is concrete. This means I need things that can be seen or touched- real objects. This is a perfect definition of why I want to be a teacher! I am a very hands-on person and I think that children learn better by doing things themselves than by just listening to teachers speak. By touching, seeing, and doing, children will remember more than just a boring lecture.
Next is intuitive. This means that I can have a feeling that something may or may not be right, but if someone tells me that I have to learn something a certain way, I will do it even though I may not know how they got the answer. If it has to do with morals, though, and I know it is not right, I will most definitely stand up against it and not learn it a certain ways just because someone told me to.
Nonverbal is exactly what it sounds like- I comprehend information much better by illustrations than by words. If I cannot see a person talking to me, I don't listen to them very well. For example, talking on the phone to me is nearly useless. Send me a text, email, or talk to me in person if you want for me to actually comprehend what you are saying.
Fantasy-oriented, though, kind of confuses me. I don't really understand what they mean?
Overall, the test was very accurate!
Friday, September 16, 2011
ERATE
First of all, the top hit for "ERATE" on Google is for mortgage rates. The second link for ERATE is really what I wanted! E-Rate is the more commonly known term for the Schools and Library Program of the Universal Social Fund. This is set up under the Federal Communications Commission to allow schools and libraries to receive discounts for telecommunications and Internet access at a reasonable price. These discounts can range from 20-90% in certain locations. FCC.gov says "On February 8, 1996 President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This law represents the first comprehensive revision of the USA's communications laws in more than 60 years. The universal service section of this law, Section 254, will help schools and libraries obtain access to state of the art services and technologies at discounted rates." This was a huge step in helping children be able to learn in more technology-centered ways through school and library resources!
Texting and Driving
Both Pay Attention and Texting While Driving are VERY graphic videos. I watched all of Pay Attention and almost threw up about 20 seconds into Texting While Driving, so I stopped there. I frequently pass out at the sight of blood, so the fact that I made it through that much was kind of amazing. I have never seen another video like Pay Attention that focuses on speeding, but a video that I have seen before these that is really effective, yet MUCH less gruesome is AT&T's Don't Text While Driving documentary. It interviews people who have been in car accidents because of texting and driving. This interview consists of the families and friends of texting-drivers who died, drivers who injured or killed somebody, and people who were injured because of other people's careless decision to text and drive. If I already didn't speed or text and drive, these videos would have made me not speed or text and drive. My #1 fear is killing someone in a car accident, even if it actually is an accident, and it isn't a speeding or texting/driving situation. After watching these graphic videos, I made up for it by watching Grandpa gets a Webcam and Talking Twin Babies. Enjoy.
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