pln 15

I saw something very familiar when I was looking through the fisch bowl today. The pln was titled Not your Parents' parent teacher conferenences. It was talking about how Ms.Smith did conferneces this year and how it was a better way to do conferences.

What matters: I think that it is really cool that our class is being recognized for being different and so advanced. The pln talks about how she asked the students these quetions first and then had them give a letter of their responses to their parents and teachers.

• Assess your learning in class so far this semester. Look at your participation, growth in writing, comprehension, etc..
  
• Where, in terms of your learning, do you want to be at the end of the semester?
  
• How are you going to get there?
  
• What can I do to help?

It then talked about how she talked about the letter with the parents and then talked to the parents about all of the questions. But since she was only aloud 5 minutes with each parent it wasn't enough time and she didnt get to go over all of the questions with the parent. Im very glad that Karl Fisch posted this because now other teachers will see it and then for the next parent teacher conferences they will do the same.

PLN entry #14

A conversation about failure caught my eye because of the issue that it talks about. Dave Warlick went to New York State School Board’s Association conference in NYC this week. A man named Henry Winkler was the opening speaker and talked about kids with problems like dyslexia and ADD are labeled slow in class because they arent given proper help.

What matters:This is a big problem with many kids. There is a surprisingly large number of children with this problem and yet schools still aren't doing very much to help this problem. They do have separate classes for the "special children" so they can get individual help but no kid wants to be called special so they will never admit to the teacher that they need help and will just keep struggleing. Then as a result to this many students don't even finish high school.

How it matters to me: I can relate exactly to this pln because I have a mild case of dyslexia. No one can tell I have it because in elementary school I went to a tutor outside of school for two years that helped me.I don't have trouble anymore but I used to have alot of trouble in elementary school. I was labeled "slow". I even had to go to some of the special classes. I hated it because everyone treated me different. I had to get all of these test at childrens hospital and everything. I'm so thankful it's better now. I don't want other children to have to go through this so I hope that they are able to figure something out to help this problem.

PLN Entry # 13

Today i was looking through the things to read for my pln and something every interesting caught my eye. It is titled YouTube 101 and is written by Karl Fisch. It is talking about a class that is being offered at Pitzer College in California on YouTube. There isn't much writing about it but there is a video about it that explains it.

What matters: The class is taught by Alexandra Juhasz. You may think that this is a pointless class to take but when they asked Juhasz why they set up this class she explained that this class helps the students understand the new technologies that are coming at us so fast. The class studies how it works, why people watch it so much,what their rules are, how they are different from other technologies, and how people express themselves through these videos. The main site they are talking about is YouTube but in this class they also review other popular websites and ask the serious question of "What do we do on these websites and why do people go to them so much?" In the class the students help create the assignments. They are actually teaching the teacher about YouTube in their presentations because it seems that people in this century know alot more about technology than some adults ever will.

Why it matters to me: This is a huge advancement into the future which makes me very happy because I am constantly complaining in my pln entries about how schools aren't teaching things that will help us succeed in the future. But when I heard about this class I did question it a little bit. At first it sounded like one of those classes that you can just slack off in and still get a good grade. But when I watched the videos about the class then I began to understand why it is an important class. I don't think that it is a necessity but I do think that it would be very interesting to take that class one day. I want to ask you Ms. Smith if you think that this class is just a joke or that it is a huge advancement into the future?

PLN entry #12

I read a short but interesting pln titled Ethics & Information by Dave Warlick. It talks contemporary literacy. It has for main points.

• Respect for intellectual property (copyright, etc.)
  
• Respect for intellectual integrity (respect truth)
  
• Respect for each other (cause no harm)
  
• Respect for the information infrastructure

What matters: These are all very important but when i read these i still feel like there is more to be said. But they are all still very important. Some many people feel like they dont have to do any work when they have access to copying someone elses work and then just call it their own. That is what the first bullet is about. The second says intellectual integrity. This basically means nto cheating. There are alot of people who cheat by looking at someone elses answer on a test or assignment. There are also some people who will just give them the answer which is even worse. Dave is right when he says that this is a big problem and needs to be fixed. The next point says respect for each other which is a problem in every school. Some students feel like fighting is the only way to work things out. This is a huge problem that will probably never be fixed no matter how strict the school is. The last statement doesnt seem that important. I think that the first three are good enough.

How it matters to me: These are all huge problems in school districts and i think that it is good that dave warlick is bringing attention to them because some schools tend to forget about them. My school doesnt have alot of problems with physical fighting, but it does have problems with students cheating off each other and with students stealing information out of books and calling it their own or not showing a works cited. But teachers cant be watching students constantly so cheating is done by students sometimes. This problem probably wont ever be fixed because it seems impossable to control the students to not do that.

PLN entry #11

I read an intersting pln called Rock the Web National Youth Presidential Forum by Karl Fisch. It talks about a program called Rock the Web.This program was put together by the EWN Foundation and the Lou Frey Institution of Politics and government at the University of Central Florida, the Presidential Classroom and the United States of Former members of Congress. They have set up a three hour National Youth Presidential Forum (NYPF) is going to webcast to about 25 million students, who will be the first time voters.

What matters: The canidates for this election are going to feild questions to the moderater and students representing the presidential classroom. Then after the webcast of questions then the student will do an on-line vote for the canidate they want for 2008. The students comments will be collected and given to the canidates after the event. This a great way for students to get involved so that when they are old enough to actually vote they will have experience and make a wise desicion on picking a canidate.

How it matters to me: I am always talking about how i want schools to start advancing into the future. Well this made me very happy. Schools are thinking about students and politics. They should be very concerned with the way students feel about poltics and if we even care about it because we are the future and the amount of young adults that can vote is decreaseing. I know that if they start getting us involved now, then we will actually know what is going on in the world.

PLN entry # 10

Today i read a article by Dave Warlick titled Voters Want More From Schools. It talks about how voters think that school arent teaching students everything they need to know in order to get a good job in the 21st century.

What matters: There are alot of new jobs in the 21st century that in the 20th century no one ever imagined would exist. But people seem to think that schools are still teaching the same things and need to start teaching more things that will prepare us for the new jobs in this century. 80 percent of the voters said that the kind of skills that students need to learn for jobs. But also a huge majority also said that schools just need to do a better job with keeping up with the changing educational needs.

How it matters to me: I agree with the voters because the 21st century is all about technology and there are alot of new jobs that are way different than 20 years ago. I think that schools are trying there hardest at preparing us by making computer class, video production and other classes like that. But sometimes it doesnt feel like it is enough.

How it matters to the world: It matters to the world because the world is changing at a rapid pace and school need to prepare us for the future because we are the future. If we dont know all the things we need to, to be sucessful then who knows what the world will be like in several years.

PLN presentation

I think that i did ok on my presentation but not that well because on alot of the comments my classmates they said that i need to make more eye contact with the audience and i spoke to fast and so they couldnt understand me at some parts. But they all said that i did a good job at summarizing all my entries. So i guess that for my next presentation i will speak slower and a little clearer.

PLN #9

My choice for today was an article from the Associated Press called Boulder Man Kills Mountain Lion Attacking Puppy. It talks about a man protecting his dog from being eaten by a mountain lion. Wildlife officials arent sure what to do about the case because he has a right to protect himself and his livestock but since it was a dog they arent sure what to do.

What matters: Fear is a huge factor in this case. The article talks about how there had been two other reports about mountain lions also. So obviously there was an obvious problem that the family who shot the mountian lion should have piad attention to. There needs to be something done in order to prevent these kind of things. Like they shouldnt leave thier dogs out constantly, they should put up fences around their property. But also there are some people who dont think that they should have to put up a fence and live in an area where its impossible for them to do so.

How it matters to me: I know how the man feels when he shot the mountian lion for almost eating his dog because my cousin who lives up in Bailey, Colorado dog was eaten by a mountian lion. He was outside going to the bathroom and they didnt even know that the mountina lion had eaten him until they found him dead on thier driveway. If they had known that he was being eaten they probably would have gone out thier and shot the mountian lion too. Im not sure who to side with. Its not right that they shot wildlife and they had been warned by attackes earlier that month, but on the other side i know that sometimes oyu do things without thinking and you just feel like shooting the animal is the last resort.

PLN #8

Today i chose to read from the Fischbowl. The article that I thought was interesting was Two Steps Forward... by Karl Fisch. It talks about the filtering program that schools set to their computers. Karl Fisch argues that this can be a good and bad thing because the filter blocks so websites that might be useful for students like videos on Youtube. He alos thinks that schools should set up their filters so that teachers can override it if they feels that the website is appropriate. Alot of schools dont have that like our schools so he suggests that we get it.

What matters: The article Two steps forward... grabbed my attention so much because I agreew tih Karl Fisch. That the filter can be a good and bad thing. It keeps students from getting off task and going onto inappropriate sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Youtube. i agree that nothing on Facebook and Myspace is educational but Youtube is a different story. There are not only dirty videos on there. Are many that can help students with assignments and can inform them on whats going on in the world. Schools really need to see this article and then think of ways to fix this problem. They should think about whether they should get override for thier teachers or if they should get a whole new filtering system.

How it Matters to Me: I am very glad that finally someone sees that the filtering sytem needs to be fixed. It is causing more and more problems. In Ms. Smiths class we use computers all the time. Most of the sites we visit are appropriote but when we were doing our google earth projects i began running into problems with the filtering system. I wanted to put pictures onto my google earth project but the only way to do that was to download the pictures onto the picasa web album. When I tried signing up for the web album the filter kept blocking it. I fail see what is wrong with going to this site. So I had to go home and try to sign up on my own computer but my computer was having problems so I wasn't able to put any pictures on my project. This fustrates me because I bet that there are many other students at Arapahoe who are having the same kind of problems. AHS really should think about fixing their filter system so that the teachers can override it if they think that it is appropriate.

How it matters to the world: Nearly every school in the nation uses filters on their computers. So many kids these days like to look at inappropriate things so these filters are nessescary to have on the computers so that they can keep their students focused on their work. But not all kids are like that. Schools need to be informed aboutt his problem

PLN entry # 7

Today i decided to read My Flickr Conundrum by Will Richardson. After hearing my classmates talk about it on thier PLN presentaions it sounded like an interesting article.. I wanted to say my opinion on the subject. It is talking about how Will Richardson feels like he doesn't have to take pictures when he can just get them off the internet.



What matters: This century seems to be based only on technology. I mean there are are alot of things that im not sure I would be able to live without that have to do with technology. The internet is one of those things. It is a very powerful tool. But Will Richardson is right. There are so many picture on the internet that are taken of the same place and probably look better. But when I think about it that, it makes me upset. It makes me wonder what this world is turnng into. Now people dont even have to go on trip to see the world. All they have to do is look it up on the internet. I become upset by this because there are so many beautiful and amazing places on this earth that deserve to be visited at least once in your lifetime. We have google earth also where we can just type in the place you want to look at and then you can look at it in 3-D and feel almost as if you are actually there. As cool as this seems it makes me sad to know that there are some people who will never go to Washington D.C, to see the David, to see the Eiffel Tower, ect.

How it matters to me: The are so many things that i could get off the internet than actually doing it. Like meeting new people with actually meeting them, i could get pictures off the internet and say that i took them myself when i didn't, and i could copy other peoples work and call it my own. There are so many opportunities on the internet for me but i don't want to live without actually liveing. I love taking pictures when i go places and if i get them off the internet then it doesnt feel like its my memory. It feels like im showing someone elses memory. Which feels like stealing or plagurizing to me. I don't take very good pictures but my mom does. I mean that is what she does for a living. She is a photographer and it would be a huge insult to her if someone took a picture off the internet that she had taken and then called it their own.

How it matters to the world: The world is full of technology and the internet is a huge part of it. Nearly every country in the world uses technology. I wish that people would realize that stealing pictures off the internet isn't what makes the picture special. Most of the time pictures taken by people who aren't professional photographers are not very good. But what makes the picture so special is the fact that you took it yourself. That you went there yourself and saw the very thing that is in the photo. When its taken off the internet it isn't special anymore and ruins the effect.