Monday, January 25, 2010

PLN 4

In “Dr. Warschauer visits East and Hopkins” by Dan Maas, the author asks the question “Do you think that computers in the classroom are a waste of time and money? Why or why not?” I do not think computers are a waste of time and money because they open up new information to their users. Students can use them to research a topic they are writing about, or double check facts found in books. Computers are a valuable source that kids can use to post work online for others to see or comment on. Computers also can be used to correct spelling and grammar, so kids can see how they misspelled a word and correct in next time. Almost all modern jobs use computers, so why is it a waste of money to let kids get used to what they will use their whole lives? This is what matters to me in Dan Maas’s “Dr. Warschauer visits East and Hopkins”.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

PLN 3

In “Change Congress” by Will Richardson, the author shows a video that says Congress cares more about their funders than the people. The video goes on to say that to change, we will need to re-create Congress. I agree with this because we won’t be able to change unless our government changes. Problems don't get solved with the same thinking that created them. The campaigns of Congress members need to be funded by the people that believe in them, instead of by private groups giving thousands of dollars. This is what matters to me in Will Richardson’s “Change Congress”.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

PLN 2

In “Everything I know about NLCB (now RTTT) I Learned from Primetime Live” by Gary Stager, the author starts by talking about the scientist Stanley Milgram and his experiments. Milgram tested the willingness of a participant to obey an authority who instructs the participant to do something that may conflict with the participant’s personal conscience. Stager talks about how ABC did a similar experiment and that it is similar to teachers teaching to standardize testing. This shows how easily most people just follow orders and don’t act on intuition. The world will not get very far if this is the attitude that people have. More people should stand up for what they believe instead of following the crowd or what they are told. This is what mattered to me in Gary Stager’s “Everything I know about NLCB (now RTTT) I Learned from Primetime Live”.