Thursday, March 29, 2012
All About Me: Scratch Project
Here is my scratch project About Me. In it I used the scratch card for glide on my person and change color on the rug.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
DEJ #10: Sowing the Seeds For a More Creative Society
Quote:
"Success is based not only on what you know or how much you know, but on your ability to
think and act creatively." (Resnick 2007)
Response:
When I first read the above quote I did not agree with it. I made it through high school pretty successfully without really having to think or act creatively, unless I was at band. However, I realized that high school isn't the real world, despite what some people think.In order to succeed in my profession in the real world, I'm going to need to improve my creative thinking, especially since I'm going to be a teacher. If I'm going to be a successful teacher, not only do I need to be able to think creatively to get lessons across, but I am going to have to help my students develop their creative thinking skills. That's slightly intimidating considering I had very few teachers tried to get us to think creatively and develop those skills. Fortunately, my skills are getting better from working as a tutor this year. I plan on intergrating technology, such as the Scratch program, into my classroom to help with developing creative thinking skills so my future students will have the best chance for success in their lives.
Related Resource:
This is a blog posting from Pyschology Today that talks about the 12 things that weren't taught in school about creative thinking. If teachers would use the 12 things mentioned in their classroom to help develop creative thinking, it would be a help to the students.
12 Things About Creative Thinking
References:
Resnick, M. (2007, December). Sowing the seeds for a more creative society. In International society for technology in education. Retrieved March 28, 2012, from http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Learning-Leading-final.pdf
Michalko, M. (2011, December 2). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creative-thinkering/201112/twelve-things-you-were-not-taught-in-school-about-creative-thinking
"Success is based not only on what you know or how much you know, but on your ability to
think and act creatively." (Resnick 2007)
Response:
When I first read the above quote I did not agree with it. I made it through high school pretty successfully without really having to think or act creatively, unless I was at band. However, I realized that high school isn't the real world, despite what some people think.In order to succeed in my profession in the real world, I'm going to need to improve my creative thinking, especially since I'm going to be a teacher. If I'm going to be a successful teacher, not only do I need to be able to think creatively to get lessons across, but I am going to have to help my students develop their creative thinking skills. That's slightly intimidating considering I had very few teachers tried to get us to think creatively and develop those skills. Fortunately, my skills are getting better from working as a tutor this year. I plan on intergrating technology, such as the Scratch program, into my classroom to help with developing creative thinking skills so my future students will have the best chance for success in their lives.
Related Resource:
This is a blog posting from Pyschology Today that talks about the 12 things that weren't taught in school about creative thinking. If teachers would use the 12 things mentioned in their classroom to help develop creative thinking, it would be a help to the students.
12 Things About Creative Thinking
References:
Resnick, M. (2007, December). Sowing the seeds for a more creative society. In International society for technology in education. Retrieved March 28, 2012, from http://web.media.mit.edu/~mres/papers/Learning-Leading-final.pdf
Michalko, M. (2011, December 2). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/creative-thinkering/201112/twelve-things-you-were-not-taught-in-school-about-creative-thinking
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Scratch Project
Here is the link to my scratch project. It is about a cat in space experiencing no gravity. A little silly but oh well.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
DEJ #9:10 Things Schools Can Learn from Video Games
Quote:
"It is traditional that schools would teach students to move as fast and efficiently as possible towards a goal, but games are different. They encourage players to sit back, explore and not move on too quickly, think laterally not linearly, and to re-evaluate one’s goals on occasion."
Response:
I chose the above quote because I agree with it. I feel that sometimes teachers move on to a new subject or skill too quickly. Sometimes students aren't given a chance to explore and have fun learning a skill. For example, sure elementary school students need to learn their multiplication tables. Instead of trying to see how fast the students can memorize them for a quiz, like my teachers did, why not play games or something to help the students have fun with learning. With adding games into education, the students still learn the same concepts and skills. They get to learn them in their own time and get to explore. For example, when I was in fifth or sixth grade, we learned about life on the Oregon Trail. Instead of just talking about it, our teacher let us play the game version so we could learn about it firsthand and explore for ourselves. Exploring events in history or different skills learned in the classroom is a great way to learn and games are an excellent way to explore.
Related Resource:
I found an article from EDUCAUSE Quarterly called Games and Learning that says, "Digital games have the potential to bring play back to the learning experience." The article also argues how games and play can help grow an effective learning environment for reasons such as "They are immersing; require the player to make frequent, important decisions; have clear goals; adapt to each player individually; and involve a social network."
Reference:
"10 things schools can learn from video games." . N.p., 2012. Web. Retrieved on March 21, 2102 from http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/
Oblinger, D. G. (2006). Games and learning. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 29(3), Retrieved on March 21 2012 from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/GamesandLearning/157406
"It is traditional that schools would teach students to move as fast and efficiently as possible towards a goal, but games are different. They encourage players to sit back, explore and not move on too quickly, think laterally not linearly, and to re-evaluate one’s goals on occasion."
Response:
I chose the above quote because I agree with it. I feel that sometimes teachers move on to a new subject or skill too quickly. Sometimes students aren't given a chance to explore and have fun learning a skill. For example, sure elementary school students need to learn their multiplication tables. Instead of trying to see how fast the students can memorize them for a quiz, like my teachers did, why not play games or something to help the students have fun with learning. With adding games into education, the students still learn the same concepts and skills. They get to learn them in their own time and get to explore. For example, when I was in fifth or sixth grade, we learned about life on the Oregon Trail. Instead of just talking about it, our teacher let us play the game version so we could learn about it firsthand and explore for ourselves. Exploring events in history or different skills learned in the classroom is a great way to learn and games are an excellent way to explore.
Related Resource:
I found an article from EDUCAUSE Quarterly called Games and Learning that says, "Digital games have the potential to bring play back to the learning experience." The article also argues how games and play can help grow an effective learning environment for reasons such as "They are immersing; require the player to make frequent, important decisions; have clear goals; adapt to each player individually; and involve a social network."
Reference:
"10 things schools can learn from video games." . N.p., 2012. Web. Retrieved on March 21, 2102 from http://www.learningingaming.com/10-things-schools-can-learn-from-video-games/
Oblinger, D. G. (2006). Games and learning. EDUCAUSE Quarterly, 29(3), Retrieved on March 21 2012 from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/GamesandLearning/157406
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Gardens of Time Activity
1. Interaction: This game is very interactive. For one thing, you have game characters giving you instructions and giving you background information. The characters introduce themselves and tell you about other characters. You also interact with other people by adding neighbors. Once they are neighbors you can visit their garden, hide gifts, send gifts, and also send help requests.
4. Customization: Gardens of Time lets you customize how your garden looks and what you put inside your garden. You can chose the flowers you place or which buildings and artifacts go in your garden. You can have a pattern to your arrangement or you can randomly place artifacts wherever. Gardens of Time lets you be creative.
5. Ordered Problems: Gardens of Time has order; it's not a random game. With Gardens of Time you have to complete quests in a certain order. You can't move on until you finish the previous quest.
8. Within the Regime of Competence: To me, Gardens of Time is engaging and doable, but also challenging. It is easy to get caught up in finding the items as fast as you can in order to get more points than your neighbors on a scene. It is also challenging because some of the items are harder to find than others.
10.Exploring: The game is all about exploring different background eras looking for different items. The gist of the game is that you are exploring back in time looking for artifacts to bring back
4. Customization: Gardens of Time lets you customize how your garden looks and what you put inside your garden. You can chose the flowers you place or which buildings and artifacts go in your garden. You can have a pattern to your arrangement or you can randomly place artifacts wherever. Gardens of Time lets you be creative.
5. Ordered Problems: Gardens of Time has order; it's not a random game. With Gardens of Time you have to complete quests in a certain order. You can't move on until you finish the previous quest.
8. Within the Regime of Competence: To me, Gardens of Time is engaging and doable, but also challenging. It is easy to get caught up in finding the items as fast as you can in order to get more points than your neighbors on a scene. It is also challenging because some of the items are harder to find than others.
10.Exploring: The game is all about exploring different background eras looking for different items. The gist of the game is that you are exploring back in time looking for artifacts to bring back
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Website Evaluation
The website I chose to validate was Dihydrogen Monoxide Research.
Who?
The organization in charge of this website is Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division because that is the name of the website. I know it is by an organization because the hmtl has a .org ending, http://www.dhmo.org/. However, it was written by a Tom Way. I know this because at the bottom of the page it specifically states "Copyright @ Tom Way." The webpage also has a logo from the United States Environmental Assessment Center that when you click on it, you are taken to an article entitled "Dihydrogen Monoxide-The Truth."
When?
The website says it was last updated on March 11, 2012, which is today's date. Yesterday when I looked at the website the last updated date was March 10, 2012. So apparently the website is updated every day? However underneath the last updated date there is a note that says "Note: content veracity not implied." Veracity is another word for truth, accuracy, or reliability. The note instantly causes the website to lose in validity that it may have had from the last updated date.
What?
The website makes a lot of claims about how harmful DMHO is but they don't have much to back it up with. Any links provided were the same way. I know that this is an "organization" but it just seems a little biased. They only present their side and view without presenting the other. That also loses credibility a little bit.
Overall:
I don't think the website is considered a reputable source. The note about how content veracity is not implied just proves that not all the information is necessarily the truth. They may be an organization but that doesn't always mean that they are a reputable source.
Who?
The organization in charge of this website is Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division because that is the name of the website. I know it is by an organization because the hmtl has a .org ending, http://www.dhmo.org/. However, it was written by a Tom Way. I know this because at the bottom of the page it specifically states "Copyright @ Tom Way." The webpage also has a logo from the United States Environmental Assessment Center that when you click on it, you are taken to an article entitled "Dihydrogen Monoxide-The Truth."
When?
The website says it was last updated on March 11, 2012, which is today's date. Yesterday when I looked at the website the last updated date was March 10, 2012. So apparently the website is updated every day? However underneath the last updated date there is a note that says "Note: content veracity not implied." Veracity is another word for truth, accuracy, or reliability. The note instantly causes the website to lose in validity that it may have had from the last updated date.
What?
The website makes a lot of claims about how harmful DMHO is but they don't have much to back it up with. Any links provided were the same way. I know that this is an "organization" but it just seems a little biased. They only present their side and view without presenting the other. That also loses credibility a little bit.
Overall:
I don't think the website is considered a reputable source. The note about how content veracity is not implied just proves that not all the information is necessarily the truth. They may be an organization but that doesn't always mean that they are a reputable source.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
DEJ #8: Wikipedia
a) What is Wikipedia?
Wikipedia is a Web based encyclopedia that is in many different languages and ran by the Wikimedia Foundation.
b) How would you answer the question posed in this piece “How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it?"
I would answer the question by saying that there is no way to know for sure the information on Wikipedia is reliable unless one does more research.
c)Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation?
They place their trust in the massive amount of people who use Wikipedia to spot and correct/remove false information.
d) Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia?
He left Wikipedia because he believed that the experts should be given more authority.
e)What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page?
Abuse or vandalism on a Wikipedia page would be a person posting nonfactual information on purpose just to benefit him/her. Offensive language and derogatory remarks would also fall under abuse or vandalism.
f) What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal?
They reveal how popular Wikipedia is and how often it is used.
g) Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful?
I think Wikipedia is so successful because you can find almost everything on Wikipedia. The information found on Wikipedia is simple and to the point so you can find the answer to your question easily.
h) Why might Wikipedia’s creators not want to accept advertising?
They may not want to accept advertising because there budget is around $3 million so if they accpet advertising that may lower their profit.
i) How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries?
Wikiscanner helps increase the reliability for entries because with Wikiscanner you can check the IP address of the anonymous site editors that way you can see if the editors are reliable or not.
Resource:
Wikipedia is a Web based encyclopedia that is in many different languages and ran by the Wikimedia Foundation.
b) How would you answer the question posed in this piece “How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it?"
I would answer the question by saying that there is no way to know for sure the information on Wikipedia is reliable unless one does more research.
c)Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation?
They place their trust in the massive amount of people who use Wikipedia to spot and correct/remove false information.
d) Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia?
He left Wikipedia because he believed that the experts should be given more authority.
e)What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page?
Abuse or vandalism on a Wikipedia page would be a person posting nonfactual information on purpose just to benefit him/her. Offensive language and derogatory remarks would also fall under abuse or vandalism.
f) What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal?
They reveal how popular Wikipedia is and how often it is used.
g) Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful?
I think Wikipedia is so successful because you can find almost everything on Wikipedia. The information found on Wikipedia is simple and to the point so you can find the answer to your question easily.
h) Why might Wikipedia’s creators not want to accept advertising?
They may not want to accept advertising because there budget is around $3 million so if they accpet advertising that may lower their profit.
i) How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries?
Wikiscanner helps increase the reliability for entries because with Wikiscanner you can check the IP address of the anonymous site editors that way you can see if the editors are reliable or not.
Resource:
Cohen, N. (2009, February 6). Wikipedia. In New York times learning networks. Retrieved March 8, 2012, from http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20090206friday.html
Friday, March 2, 2012
DEJ #7: Teaching Media Literacy
Quote:
"Scholarly research moves at a snail's pace compared with the speed at which information and communication technologies proliferate. The current research does, however, provide ample evidence of the growing need for media literacy instruction that targets the added cognitive demands posed by the Internet."
Response:
I do find it slightly sad that media literacy has not made it's way into the class room considering the amount of technology emerging. Now students, or anyone for that matter, can connect to the Internet and look something up numerous ways either via smartphone or computer for example. Therefore students today are spending more and more time online. So it makes sense that teachers would want to incorporate different technologies and tools into the classroom. Currently, like the article said, most students learn about evaluating online sources for research papers. That's all I ever learned. Also, according to the article, a different set of skills are required for reading online than reading a printed book. When are the students going to be able to learn or develop these skills? Researchers need to kick it into high gear and figure out the best way to teach media literacy in schools before it is too late.
Reference:
David, J. L. (2009). Teaching media literacy. Educational Leadership, 66(6), 84-86. Retrieved on March 2, 2012 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx
Related Resource:
The following is an article I found from The Center of Media Literacy that was printed in the Los Angeles Times back in November of 2003 calling for media literacy to be provided in the school system. That was almost ten years ago and much progress hasn't been made.
A Plea for Media Literacy
Shaw, D. (2003, November 30). A plea for media literacy in our nation's schools. Los angeles times. Retrieved on March 2, 2012 from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/plea-media-literacy-our-nations-schools
"Scholarly research moves at a snail's pace compared with the speed at which information and communication technologies proliferate. The current research does, however, provide ample evidence of the growing need for media literacy instruction that targets the added cognitive demands posed by the Internet."
Response:
I do find it slightly sad that media literacy has not made it's way into the class room considering the amount of technology emerging. Now students, or anyone for that matter, can connect to the Internet and look something up numerous ways either via smartphone or computer for example. Therefore students today are spending more and more time online. So it makes sense that teachers would want to incorporate different technologies and tools into the classroom. Currently, like the article said, most students learn about evaluating online sources for research papers. That's all I ever learned. Also, according to the article, a different set of skills are required for reading online than reading a printed book. When are the students going to be able to learn or develop these skills? Researchers need to kick it into high gear and figure out the best way to teach media literacy in schools before it is too late.
Reference:
David, J. L. (2009). Teaching media literacy. Educational Leadership, 66(6), 84-86. Retrieved on March 2, 2012 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx
Related Resource:
The following is an article I found from The Center of Media Literacy that was printed in the Los Angeles Times back in November of 2003 calling for media literacy to be provided in the school system. That was almost ten years ago and much progress hasn't been made.
A Plea for Media Literacy
Shaw, D. (2003, November 30). A plea for media literacy in our nation's schools. Los angeles times. Retrieved on March 2, 2012 from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/plea-media-literacy-our-nations-schools
Thursday, March 1, 2012
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