Don’s 632 Blog

One of the things that we did in class yeaterday was to look at a web site called Thumbstacks.com. This a free site but it is very much like PowerPoint in the way it is set up and the way it works. This could be a real asset to some one who does not have PowerPoint and cannot afford to buy it.

We also had a “tour” of Tappedin.org given by BjB. He was able to tell us about this site which is for educators. It is free to join and it has many resources that could be used by teachers.

Today in class we looked at the Son of Citation site which we can use to help us list our sources on the reference page of our essays.  We also looked at a site that had a table on copyright and fair use guidelines for teachers.  I had printed out a copy of this table before I came to class because it will be very useful as a reference.

All of us receive many emails that are phishing or just giving us false information.  We looked at a couple of websites that deal with “urban legends” and “hoaxes”.  I know that from time to time I receive an email that has been circulating for many years and is completely false.

The “Son of Citation Machine” site will allow us to cite references using either the humanities (MLA) or scientific (APA) style for electronically-accessed resources. This cite gave a good rule of thumb to follow: when in doubt, give too much information about the source rather that too little.

There was information on what to include in the cite in the reference page at the end of a paper (or in my case, at the end of my essay), and how to do parenthetical references to electronic sources with the text (which we don’t have to do in our essays).  I have found out from using this source for another class that it is a great tool and makes citing easier.

The article on copyright and fair use dealt with what is required according to the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001 (TEACH Act).  The table given by this site that could be printed (which I did) is an excellent reference.  It lists different media from printed material to videos to television and give specifics about each one.  It also list what you as a teacher can do and then gives a little more detail (fine print) about what you can do.  The table is only two pages long and is easy to read and understand.  I would recommend it to all teachers using media in their classrooms.

I read an article about internet filters from the Brennan Center for Justice. This organization is against internet filters because they say that the widespread use of these filters “limits free exchange of ideas necessary in a healthy democracy”. It is true that filters are unreliable and inefficient in preventing children from viewing material parents deem objectionable or offensive. The Children’s Internet Protection Act, CIPA, has led to the requirement of internet filters in most schools and libraries.

I will give my opinion about internet filters. It is true that they are inefficient – filtering out things that are educationallly useful and failing to filter out some things that are offensive and inappropriate. But they are better than nothing. Filters cannot replace proper parental guidance and participation in a child’s life, including his internet use. “Big Brother” cannot replace parents, regardless of how bad some of them’s parenting skills and morals are. Unfortunately there is a large segment of the population who would like to see anything and everything on the internet for everyone, including small children, to be able to access. Even if the average citizen does not know it, the pornography industry does know that pornography is addicting and the more exposure it gets, even if it is children, the more money that can make. Pornography is also damaging physcologically, especially to children. There are no perfect internet filters, and no perfect parents; but the two working together can lessen the harmful effects on our youth.

I also read an article on using blogs to integrate technology into the classroom. I am not very familiar with what a blog is so this article helped define one. It is just a web log of self-published material of various forms. Blog postings are text like one would enter into a diary or journal only it is not private. It includes a posting date and may comments by other people, photos, links and other digital media. Like a journal, the postings are usually short with frequent updates. Setting up a personal blog requires minimal technical knowledge.

The educational benefits listed in the article include: (1) communication with students, (2) highly motivating to students, (3) excellent opportunites for students to read and write, and (4) provides a forum for discussion and collaboration.

A blog may be viewed publicly. The contents of the blog are the opinions of the blogger, the one creating the blog. There are numerous free blogging sites. An example of one is www.blogger.com.

I am a little skeptical of the educational benefits of blogs. I know that it can provide communication with students and they can ask questions on material and receive feedback between class sessions. I am not sure that they would actually use it. I provide my email address, office phone number, office location, and office hours to all of my students, yet only a very small percentage of them contact me between classes.