Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Comparing School Websites
McLane HS, Fresno , CA VS. Highland Park HS, Dallas , TX
When comparing the school websites of McLane and Highland Park, they both are very thorough and provide a lot of information for parents, teachers, and students. At first glance, I felt that the McLane was more visually appealing than the Highland Park website because things were easier to read. The homepage for Highland Park had small lettering and links so it was harder to read. Mclane was bigger and had brighter colors which was more visually appealing. However both schools do a good job providing links to get contact information, calender, student activities, academics, and even a link to assist in homework help. Both schools also had their own server where students or parents could log in and access other information. Another thing that I noticed was the many photos that were availble to look at. I know my mom would enjoy looking at all of the pictures to get an idea of what goes on.
When comparing these two high school websites to my high school website, I again found a lot of similarities. I went to Millard North high school and on the opening page there are pictures of students. I like the friendly, welcoming look that it has to it. There are all the same links and other information available like the other websites. There is also a student and parent server where you can log in and access your grades, unofficial transcript, and other information about your classes. I may be biased but I like the look of my high school's website the best. I feel that it is very bright and welcoming and easy to navigate.
When comparing the school websites of McLane and Highland Park, they both are very thorough and provide a lot of information for parents, teachers, and students. At first glance, I felt that the McLane was more visually appealing than the Highland Park website because things were easier to read. The homepage for Highland Park had small lettering and links so it was harder to read. Mclane was bigger and had brighter colors which was more visually appealing. However both schools do a good job providing links to get contact information, calender, student activities, academics, and even a link to assist in homework help. Both schools also had their own server where students or parents could log in and access other information. Another thing that I noticed was the many photos that were availble to look at. I know my mom would enjoy looking at all of the pictures to get an idea of what goes on.
When comparing these two high school websites to my high school website, I again found a lot of similarities. I went to Millard North high school and on the opening page there are pictures of students. I like the friendly, welcoming look that it has to it. There are all the same links and other information available like the other websites. There is also a student and parent server where you can log in and access your grades, unofficial transcript, and other information about your classes. I may be biased but I like the look of my high school's website the best. I feel that it is very bright and welcoming and easy to navigate.
NETS
Technology in education is becoming ever more prevelant in schools from kindergarten to college. In the article it talks about establishing standards for all students to fullfil. These standards, or NETS have recently been re-evaluated with input from students and teachers. I think that it is a smart idea to have standards in schools for technology. There are standards on tests for everything else so technology should be included. However, I feel that to have nationwide standards is a little more difficult. It would take a lot 0f work to make sure that schools across the country are following the rules. Also, some schools do not have the same resources as others so it would be harder for them to access the necessary tools to make sure that their students are meeting these standards. It is a good idea but it is something that needs to be flexible and easily changed because the world of technology is changing every day.
When looking at the NETS in particular, I feel that they are very reasonable. The NETS for students involves critical thinking, group collaboration, reasearch, and different operations and concepts. All of these things are imortant skills for students to have and I think they are perfectly reasonable to accomplish. The only problem I have with the NETS is that there are so many standards and different things that it would be a little over-whelming. If schools can have their students practice most of them though, I think they already would be better off.
When looking at the NETS in particular, I feel that they are very reasonable. The NETS for students involves critical thinking, group collaboration, reasearch, and different operations and concepts. All of these things are imortant skills for students to have and I think they are perfectly reasonable to accomplish. The only problem I have with the NETS is that there are so many standards and different things that it would be a little over-whelming. If schools can have their students practice most of them though, I think they already would be better off.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Oh Copyright!
Copyright, oh copyright, where do we draw the line? Even after doing research and learning more about copyright I am still confused to what I copyright and what is fair use. In the article, "A Tight Grip Can Choke Creativity" it starts off talking about a case between RDR books and J.K. Rowling where she is fighting for the right for only her to be able to write an encyclopedia book about Harry Potter. In this case, I would have to agree that she has the right to publish this book because she is the sole creator. The fact that she would give the profits to charity is a side bonus. The author of the article talks about how the copyright laws are limiting people's creativity but that just does not make sense to me. If you are being creative and original then you wouldn't need to copy someone else. The point of a copyright law is to protect the work of an artist and not have other people use it and claim it as their own.
Another point that was interesting in the article was about the J.K. Rowling case and how it was over a book. So many copyright lawsuits today deal with the music industry or the internet, you rarely hear about a book fighting for its right to originality. We live in such a technological world that we forget about those bulky things called books! Overall I just don't really understand the point the author is trying to make. Personally I would argue for clearer, easier to understand copyright laws instead of laws that do not protect people's work. I don't see any creativity being snubbed if you can't copy or use someone else's work.
Another point that was interesting in the article was about the J.K. Rowling case and how it was over a book. So many copyright lawsuits today deal with the music industry or the internet, you rarely hear about a book fighting for its right to originality. We live in such a technological world that we forget about those bulky things called books! Overall I just don't really understand the point the author is trying to make. Personally I would argue for clearer, easier to understand copyright laws instead of laws that do not protect people's work. I don't see any creativity being snubbed if you can't copy or use someone else's work.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Wikipedia
Hello and what a beautiful day today is! Well, after listening to Michael Bess from Vanderbilt talk about how he designed one of his classes around wikipedia, it was really interesting to hear his results. Today, many students love to use wikipedia and many teachers hate it in an academic sense. Wikopedia is a great tool to use when information is needed and needed fast. Personally, I do not use wikopedia and I had never heard about it until I started talking to college students. From listening to the podcast, I think it was a good idea to incorporate wikipedia in his class. He was pleasantly surprised by how accurate the information was and the discussions that were going on over controversial events. It was a clever idea and it turned out to be a great learning tool for him in his classroom. I think that when many teachers are frustrated with things that their students use today, such as wikipedia, it is smart to try to incorporate it in their lessons. Teachers need to learn to be flexible and open to new ideas. Michael Bess took a chance by using wikipedia and the information he would find and it worked out for him. The class sounded like it turned out to be really interesting and I almost wish I could have taken it. However, I agree that wikipedia should not be the main source of information for a research paper or an essay, but it sounds like a great tool to use to learn more information when you need it fast. You should also always be aware that everything you read may not be true. That is why the discussions are so great because then you have a chance to change something if you think it is false and back it up with sources and facts. It is a chance to participate in discussions of things that interest you and when used correctly it can be a great tool in the classroom.
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