PLN 18

The first thing that popped into my head when i read this was "What the heck?" I think that is just ridiculous that these schools are being so strict about electronics, but then they are contradicting themselves by giving their students cell phones. They say that they are giving their students cell phones so that their teachers can txt them to tell them their homework assignments and when the students are good or have good grades they are rewarded with more minutes, but why are they wasting money on cell phones when they can just get all their students cell phone numbers, house numbers, and emails.


Now I can see why they think this is helpful because students and teachers will be able to get in contact easier. However, there is something I would like to ask these schools something. What are their schools in need of? Do they need more text books? Do they want to have laptops for their classes? Then why are they wasting money on stupid cell phones when teachers and students can get in contact in so many other ways. Also, why are they so strict about their students having their own cell phones when their students could need them for an emergency with their family or something like that?

If our school did this, then it wouldn’t make sense. I mean that our school is pretty strict about kids having cell phones and other electronic devices, but we have laptops in some of our classes, and also in our English a new common topic is whether or not cell phones would be helpful in class. But I don’t think that our school would ever waste money on cell phones for its students when it has infinite campus where students can email their teachers.

Now I do not know the details of this cell phone they are giving their students because they could be giving them cell phones that only allow them to txt and call their teachers। In that case then I think that it is a little bit better, but I still feel that it is a huge waste of money.

My comment can be found on This stood out

PLN 17

Dave,
I think this is a great post because it really expresses what everone is talking about in education. The new topic I've been noticing is that in the near future we are not going to need text books because text books will be replaced by online texts. I think that only thing holding us back is the fact that schools do not have enough money to buy all the students in their classes laptops.

This post talks about a new product found by Dave Warlick called iCue. Now this product is very close to replacing text because of all its features. It is for 13 year olds and up and it has "an assortment of searchable and organizable video clips from the NBC News Archives regarding the current and past campaigns." And from these video clips you can discussion, note-taking, personal tagging, video transcript, and background information, including description, source, and keywords. Also snagged card videos can be stored in your personal archives and you can share them with friends. Now this is supposed to have a format very similar to FaceBook. Only much safer. You can social network with this device only in a much much safer way.

I think that this is not going to replace text books entirly yet because as I said before, schools do not have enough money to get every student one. But also in my opinion, some things just can not replace the old. But you never know with this new and rapidly changing world. In todays world you have to say "out with the old, and in with the new" constantly. So who knows, 30 years from now my kids could be using an iCue and telling me I'm weird for having to use a heavy text book. But who knows.

Another Model for Textbooks of the Future? found in 2 cents worth by Dave Warlick.

PLN 16

Will,

I thought that this was a very good post because I had not idea there were so many students dropping out. I think that I am not really exposed to that because in the area where i live most of the kids graduate and go to college. But the fact remains that there are still many high school students who drop out. As you said over a million a year.

I think that something more needs to be done about this issue. Because in order to even get a middle class job you have to go to college and complete high school. Some of the kids in my school are sometimes talking about how much they hate high school and just want to be done. Sometimes I wonder why they hate it so much. I guess there are some people who just do not have the will to learn and be successful. But sometimes students drop out because thier family needs them because a parent died or something else. And most of the time those are the students who want to learn and grow the most.

I do not understand it when some students are just lazy and drop out of high school because they dont feel like working any more. Well they need to wake up and realize that nothing is easy in life and if they dont finish high school and go to college, then life is going to be even harder. There are kids in third world countries who would kill to go to school and learn. To be able to learn is something very special and rare in their country. So the clueless kids of America need to start taking advantage to everything we have and stop talking everything for grantite.

The post this is on is called "Clueless America" and is found on the hyperlink. You can also find it in Weblogg-ed by Will Richardson.

PLN 15

I thought this was a very interesting because I have never heard of Web 2.0. This is something alot of people probably do not know about. The most likly reason why is because it is a social network like Myspace and Facebook. The only difference is that Web 2.0 is more educational and not based on pictures and friends as much as facebook and Myspace.
Now do not get me wrong, this socail network still has many of the same features as those other websites do. It includes

-Identity

-Presence

-Relationships

-Conversations

-Groups

-Reputation

-Sharing
But what I think is really great about this new website is that it is alot more safe. Because it is more educational and not as many people are on it many people can join it and still feel safe. But can I have just a little more information in it because this sounds very interesting. This is a great social network for teachers mostly right?


I think that my parents would love this because it is not as unprotected as those other social networks. I know my parents would be happy about this because they grounded me for a month for haveing a Myspace because they think it is dangerous. But what are some more of the uses of this website? Could this be a way for students to comunicate with their teachers while they are at home? Then students would be able to get help with homework at home and many other things. Wow this could be a a huge step in social networking and in students education!

This is the link to the post by Dave Warlick in 2 scents worth titled Implementing Social Networks

PLN 14

Mr. Fisch,
I like that this post talks about all the things that teachers can do to improve. All the things yuo listed seemed very helpful to becoming a teacher, but I know that most teachers do not do it. Like visiting and observing other teachers as they teach and many other things.I think this is a great post because it really shows how much teachers can improve. Most of the teachers I have at AHS are really good and do most of these things, but not all of them. Like the example I said before and things like going to workshops or seminars and other schools to see how they can improve the way they teach.

Last year I had a teacher that had no control over my class and you could tell that she taught the same thing every year. You could tell that she was tired of her job and was just there becuase she needed to money. She had no passion for her job anymore. All the things you listed for becoming a better teacher involve having a passion for teaching. Ms. Smith obviously has a passion for her job because she is always going to different states or conferences to leanr how to become a better teacher. I know that she does not teach the same thing every year, she grades in her own way, and she always is having people come in to our class to observe the new and different way we are learing.

I think more teachers need to do this and if they do not want to, then they obviously do not truly want to become a teacher. Because they job of a teacher is very important. They are preparing the future. The students are the future and if they aren't taught properly, then the world is in alot of trouble in the years to come. So even though some people do not think that being a teacher is very important but it really is.

PLN Reflection

I think that I did pretty well for this presentation because I was very comfortable when I was up there unlike last semester when I used to talk fast and was really nervous and played with my hair alot. I did move around alot which probably was not good. But I think that I made alot of eye contact, alot more than usual. This is also my last PLN presentation for the year. There were some parts where I sounded like I did not know what my PLN was about but what actually happened was I lost my place and I was trying to find it. I know that I could have done alot better on my question. But overall I think I did a pretty good job for my last PLN presentation.

PLN 13

Mr. Richardson,

I don’t really think that googling people to find out more things about them is such a good thing. To me it seems like an invasion of privacy. Some people like to put things on their MySpace that don’t really represent who they are. So when an employer is about to hire someone for a really good job, but then they decide not to because there is a cuss word or strange comments on that persons MySpace it just doesn’t seem fair.

When I read this article I thought it would be interesting to Google myself and see what came up. But mostly what came up was my time for the races I ran in Cross country and the things that are on Ms. Smith’s blog. But what I did find was a project that I didn’t do very well on posted by Ms. Smith. I just think that employers should give people a break and see how they are going to do working with you, not based off of what is on a not very reliable social network.

I know some friends who have MySpaces and put things on there that aren’t who they are at all. They tend to post not very appropriate pictures, comments, blogs, and many other things. But my friends are all very good people and aren’t who they say they are on the internet. They all have really good grades, respect themselves, don’t do drugs or alcohol, don’t cuss, and many other good things. So you see the internet isn’t reliable at all.

http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/making-kids-googlable/#comment-52352 Link to website I commented on.