Becky's Against Blogging

Favorite Blog Subscription

2010-04-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

A Paper Back Writer was my favorite blog. It has great writing ideas like: What would Hester Prynne have had on her iPod?

Wiki Contrubution

2010-04-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

For the Wiki our team posted our competition plans in Diigo and Mindmeister.

Why I don't like Blogging

2010-04-15T20:44:00.001-07:00

I figured out the real reason why I don't like blogging. At the beginning of the semester I thought that this reluctance to type messages on an online page that can be cute-sified and scrapbooked to the heart's desire, was because if I started this blogging business I wouldn't be able to stop; I would keep posting pictures and stories and changing the layout and fonts and adding little accents everywhere.

Well...I finally figured out why I do not like blogging!

It is an audience issue. The audience of a blog could be a few class members and a teacher to someone clear across the world. And we all know that audience affects writing. So, if I don't know my audience, how can a write?

Teaching About Internet Safety

2010-04-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

For my internet safety teaching assignment I talked with a mother who is in her 40’s and who has two children living at home. When I asked what she had been told about internet safety, she knew that it was important to keep the computer in an open area and to have a filter.

I shared with her what I learned from the Provident Living website on pornography. Some of the items on the list that we discussed were only using the internet for specific purposes and not surfing the net. Her daughter who is 11, learned about youtube from her friends. The mother came home one day to find the girl surfing through youtube movies. The mother established rules about youtube.

I also shared with her about how it is important to teach children not only about the dangers of pornography, but also what to do if it is encountered. Part of the problem of the addiction of porn is the feelings of shame and guilt. By teaching children to turn off the computer immediately and to tell a parent about it, helps reduce these feelings of shame and guilt.

We had a great discussion about being addicted to the computer. Her son who is 15 comes home from school and gets on the computer. Luckily he is in track, but she is worried about him. Technology is a good thing, but it can be overused by teens.

Internet Safety Video

2010-04-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

Frontline Documentary http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/digitalnation/
I watched part of the PBS Frontline Documentary. It shows how teens are addicted to technology.

Although we have tools to reach so many people, this multi-tasking through technology is dumbing down the world. One girl remarked, “Well over half my life is spent in the virtual world.” Sad! Living your life in a world that you can’t touch.

Part of this video showed a study that was done with MIT students who are constantly texting or emailing. In class students don’t have to listen because they have laptops. Students reported that they were fully capable of multi-tasking during a lecture, however the study suggests otherwise.

Six multi-tasking students were chosen for the study. They thought they were brilliant at multi-tasking. However, the study shows that they get distracted. The researchers worry that technology is making people unable to think clearly, and inhibiting the purpose of technology: to help us be our most creative selves.

One neuroscientist has studied what technology does to our brains. The front decision making part is increasing. Some think that this shows that technology is making us smarter. However, bigger is not better. Like cigarettes which took a long time to discover that smoking is bad for our health, we may be slow to discover that using technology a lot is bad for our brains.

Technology is addictive. Asia is tackling the teen gaming addiction. In Cyber cafes some kids have died playing games without food or water for over 50 hrs. Many teens are addicted to gaming.

So the Korean government is offering internet recovery camps for 2 weeks. They have counseling sessions and activities to help teens gain the childhood that they lost. Most of the kids there have had to have medical treatments for effects overuse on the net, like eye or hear strain.

Even Doug Rushkoff who pushed the use of technology in the 90’s and wrote the book “Cyberia”, is now questioning the addictive nature of technology.

I have seen some of my brothers really get into gaming. One of my brother’s friends turned his garage into a place to have networking parties. I think that parents need to be aware of the harmful effects of overuse of the internet on their children, and limit its use.

As a teacher I have to be more enthusiastic and present things in interesting visual ways, because teens think differently. They need fast attention grabbers. This means I have to plan more and be a more effective teacher.

Copyright Assignment

2010-04-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

This first video from Teacher Tube is a student Snuggie Commercial. It was very entertaining! I assume it was a project to try to persuade someone to buy something. Some of the questions I had about this were whether or not it is ok to use someone else’s product, like a Snuggie, and use it in a video to endorse it. Logically, I don’t think Snuggie would mind if it promotes their product. The 4 second clip in the beginning says “Snuggie” and then wipes out. At first I thought that this was from a real commercial, but I think they just made it themselves. I think that it is ok because the multimedia project is done by a student for education purposes. If the students got the background music from a Snuggie commericial, they should cite that.

The second movie that I looked at was a Goosebumps movie. Get this, the whole one minute and 1 second was with the same green letters saying “Goosebumps” moving up and down with the Goosebumps music in the background. There is no source for this music. I think it depends on how a teacher uses it. If it is for instructional purposes I think it’s ok, like if the teacher uses it as a writing prompt to write about the mood or tone of the song. However, the song is more than 30 seconds, so there could be a violation problem. The teacher should cite where the song came from.

Weekly Participation

2010-03-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

Since I'm doing the competition, this takes the place of my multimedia/personal tech project.

Prezi is an awesome site! I found out about Prezi from Dr. Dean. It is a great way to present a lecture in a visual way. It is more engaging than a PowerPoint presentation.

To be able to get an account for free, you can have only have 100 MB and your work is shared with the public. But if you are a teacher or a student you can get 500 MG for free and make your content private without the prezi watermark on it. But you have to have a school e-mail address.

I am a fan of Prezi.

Mindmeister Map Example

2010-03-01T12:56:00.001-08:00

lesson plan

2010-02-22T14:58:00.000-08:00

Lesson Plan
Oct 13, 2010 English 7

Prewriting Persuasive Essays with MindMeister

Objective: In order to prepare for the state writing test, students will be able to students will be able to select, focus, and develop topics for persuasive five paragraph essay using Mindmeister.

Utah Core Curriculum Standards:
[2.1c] Connect Text to self
[2.2] Write to identify and reflect on feelings
[2.2a] Determine audience and purpose for extended writing

Concepts to be taught: Mindmeister, organization skills, prewriting strategies

Materials needed: computer lab, overhead projector, examples,

Strategies to be used: questioning, visual presentation,

Performing
Announcements:

Continuation from Previous Lesson: This assignment goes with the previous lessons on how to identify the characteristics of a good persuasive essay in several online examples using Diigo.

Lesson Presentation:
A) Getting Started: Go over what students learned from examples of line essays. What elements did they like?
B) Directed learning: Modeling:
1. Use examples of essays to show the thesis, organization, introduction, conclusion, and topic sentences.
2. Discuss audience. Who would read this essay? Is it effective for the audience? Show how the essay would change if it were written for someone else. (teachers, 3rd graders, a golfer, etc.)
Assignment:
A) 1. Have students generate possible topics for persuasive essay. Give them categories to consider: people. Have them think of what groups they belong to: cheerleaders, basketball team, chess club, boy scouts, being a member of a large family. They will try to persuade someone to join the group, or tell them why they like it.
2. Mindmeister: show an example of a mindmeister map. Show the main ideas, and the branching ideas. Then show students how to use it: set up account, create map, add main points, add branches. Give them a task sheet.
3. In the computer lab, have students list their possible topics on Mindmeister. Have them write what they know about each group. They must list at least 3 bullets under each topic.
4. Before drafting students should consider the thesis and audience. Who are they trying to persuade to join? something to change in the school or community,
5. Then have them get into small groups and talk about their lists and see which ideas generate the most interest. Then students should freewrite about one of the topics. Write what they know.

Bringing the Lesson to Conclusion:
A) Remind students of the purpose. If they use these skills writing they will be able to persuade someone else. This will help prepare them for the state writing test.

Evaluation:

Project Idea

2010-02-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

In order to teach students how to plan and write a persuasive essay, we will teach them pre-writing strategies and organizational strategies using Mind Mapping. We will target Junior High students who will be taking a State English test with a prompt to write an essay.
For our assignment they will be required to free write about the topic first. Then they will create a visual mind map and connect their ideas. Students may work in groups and give comments on each other’s maps. Then, they will write about the topic again.
Doing so should help students learn how to think about their ideas and connect them together. This will help to create a persuasive essay with good organization.

Does This Work?

2010-02-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.mindmeister.com/maps/show/42155251

This is an experiment using a mindmeister map with a password that only the students have. But I don't think it works.

Stayed tuned for future experiments using mindmeister.

2010-02-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

Picnik Picture on Class website

2010-02-08T14:50:00.000-08:00

So, I changed the contrast, size and added a lovely 60's effect to my picture. It actually looks really silly, but there are some cool things you can do. It's great because there's no registration.

Technology in the Classroom Friend or Foe?

2010-02-01T14:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, technology is great. But sometimes I think teachers get technology happy. Sometimes less is more.

Let me illustrate. So, I have a writing class here at BYU, and the professor has
a text book,
a supplemental reading book,
an Electronic Course Reserve account,
a Blackboard site,
a class blog, and
a class wiki.

I ask why. It is confusing because there are so many different places to get information for the class, and because we have different places to write online.

There should be a simpler way, a place to store readings and to have class chats.

Some Google Reader Items

2010-01-20T14:45:00.000-08:00

Hey! I love Macs! I just got the screen shot to work!

1. A Paperback Writer: This is a blog from a Utah junior high English teacher. He's got great links to sites about things like mythology, folktales, and history.

2. Utah Education Issues: This blog is devoted to discussing political issues in Utah. He's got great links to other sites.

3. National Writing Project: This website has helpful articles on improving writing and reading.

4. Hadley Enterprises: This is my cousin's blog who is a junior high English teacher at Dixie. She promotes books and has pictures of her classroom...and a lot of other everyday stuff.

5. Teaching Writing Winter 10: This is a class blog for this semester.

Diigo

2010-01-13T10:25:00.001-08:00

I would just like to say that I LOVE Diigo! It is so great when teachers assign HUGE online articles to read, you can add your own sticky notes and highlight important parts! It's great! I'm a fan! It makes life a whole lot easier!

Technology and Me

2010-01-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you about technology and me. BAD LUCK! That's all I have to say. If there is something that can go wrong it probably will.

For example, I never download music off of the internet. Last April Fool's I made the horrible mistake of downloading one song, just ONE song, for my tap class. Well, I just happened to catch the April Fool's virus and my laptop crashed. Sad story.

I love photoshop, but when it comes to blogs, and making weird powerpoint presentations with pictures or a recording of my voice, trouble is near.

Page Design

2010-01-06T14:07:00.001-08:00

So, I found this great blog page design at Shabby Blogs. Take a look. They're fabulous!

My first post

2010-01-06T12:46:00.001-08:00

I was talking to a girl who previously had taken this class. As we discussed why we didn't like blogging on the way home from class, I realized the reason why I do not like this whole blogging thing.

Once I start blogging, I won't be able to stop.