Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wikitravel
I am super stoked about wikitravel! Not only will it help me plan my vacations (and save $), but I also hope to add my own experiences to the site. Even if someone hasn't traveled far, he/she can still add to wikitravel by writing about his/her hometown and/or local attractions! However, it is difficult for a homebody to view his/her turf with a foreign eye...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Pros/Cons Educational Blogs
After reading the educational blogs for the read/write web 2.0 class, I created a list of pros and cons for each site. Overall, the pros outweighed the cons, so my initial vibes to jump on board the educational blog "train" has been validated.
The pros included: parents, teacher, and students from diverse locations around the world connecting, assignments clearly posted online with links to information that is easy to access in electronic format, essential English writing links such as dictionary.com and sonofcitationmachine.com, the ability to keep in contact with teachers that are on sabbatical (and for that teacher to check in on student progress), and protection by using initials instead of full names.
However, I had a long list of cons for the Upton and the Mini Legends blog sites. I spotted lots of grammatical mistakes such as run-ons. I also saw very little punctuation usage. Together these downfalls reveal that little to no proofreading skills are being reinforced on those sites. Also, one of the sites revealed too much personal information (full names and pictures) that I feel could cause safety issues. Once teachers have the needed knowledge, they can regulate educational blogs in order to eradicate the cons. For instance, a teacher can set grammar requirements and even install spell and grammar check buttons. As for safety, I feel that the more precautions the better.
Overall, educational blogs are a positive growth for the academic field when the site is maintained appropriately by the instructor.
The pros included: parents, teacher, and students from diverse locations around the world connecting, assignments clearly posted online with links to information that is easy to access in electronic format, essential English writing links such as dictionary.com and sonofcitationmachine.com, the ability to keep in contact with teachers that are on sabbatical (and for that teacher to check in on student progress), and protection by using initials instead of full names.
However, I had a long list of cons for the Upton and the Mini Legends blog sites. I spotted lots of grammatical mistakes such as run-ons. I also saw very little punctuation usage. Together these downfalls reveal that little to no proofreading skills are being reinforced on those sites. Also, one of the sites revealed too much personal information (full names and pictures) that I feel could cause safety issues. Once teachers have the needed knowledge, they can regulate educational blogs in order to eradicate the cons. For instance, a teacher can set grammar requirements and even install spell and grammar check buttons. As for safety, I feel that the more precautions the better.
Overall, educational blogs are a positive growth for the academic field when the site is maintained appropriately by the instructor.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The World of Web 2.0 - Middle School "Team/House" Blogs
Even in the most fortunate districts where middle school teachers have "team" time built into their schedules, these educational professionals still need to collaborate outside of the provided period. Why? Team time is often eaten up by important meetings with counselors and/or parents (Bite 1). Team time is often wasted because teachers would rather talk about personal issues (Bite 2). Teachers may not be prepared during team time to share "academic" ideas they want to discuss (Bite 3 - swallow and digest).
Therefore, teams need a blog that is accessible at all times (when you have a midnight bite and start brainstorming), so that teachers can effectively plan cross-curricular activities, pass ideas by other teachers on the team, etc. Plus, this allows teachers to see ideas in print and manage them better. So often, what is said during a team meeting is taken with a grain of salt and lost forever. As long as all members of the team are on the same page, they can use the blog at their own discretion. Nothing is forced on anyone.
Happy Turkey Day!
Therefore, teams need a blog that is accessible at all times (when you have a midnight bite and start brainstorming), so that teachers can effectively plan cross-curricular activities, pass ideas by other teachers on the team, etc. Plus, this allows teachers to see ideas in print and manage them better. So often, what is said during a team meeting is taken with a grain of salt and lost forever. As long as all members of the team are on the same page, they can use the blog at their own discretion. Nothing is forced on anyone.
Happy Turkey Day!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Welcome to my blog!!!
Hey all!!!
Welcome to my blog. Let me start off by saying that I love Dr. Seuss, the doctor of nonsense, because of his deep insights packaged in whimsical rhymes. It's fantastic how children (and children at heart, like me) can enjoy the serious through the silly. My favorite book written by Dr. Seuss is The Lorax (my username) because of my love for land and hatred for avarice. The whisper-ma-phone is the communication device through which the Lorax tells a young boy the melancholy story about the Once-ler's greediness that leads him to use all of the Truffula Trees to make thneeds; this ultimately results in the destruction of the land... One of my goals in life is to have a complete Dr. Seuss collection. If you know a good spot to begin my purchasing, fill me in please!
Signing off~
The Lorax
Welcome to my blog. Let me start off by saying that I love Dr. Seuss, the doctor of nonsense, because of his deep insights packaged in whimsical rhymes. It's fantastic how children (and children at heart, like me) can enjoy the serious through the silly. My favorite book written by Dr. Seuss is The Lorax (my username) because of my love for land and hatred for avarice. The whisper-ma-phone is the communication device through which the Lorax tells a young boy the melancholy story about the Once-ler's greediness that leads him to use all of the Truffula Trees to make thneeds; this ultimately results in the destruction of the land... One of my goals in life is to have a complete Dr. Seuss collection. If you know a good spot to begin my purchasing, fill me in please!
Signing off~
The Lorax
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