So, I must admit that I have been slacking off in my blog posting for the last two weeks. In my defense, that is becuase I am truly learning the definition of too much writing. I have spent the last three weeks doing a literature analysis so that I could write a research proposal for one of my classes. Excpet, it wasn't just a research proposal... it was a proposal and a midterm all rolled into one. So rather than simply writing the proposal, we had several questions that we had to incorporate in depth answers for into the proposal. All told, the proposal was a little over 3000 words, but the reading and citing and all of that made it so much harder to complete than a free-thought piece of the same length. So the 500 word a week blog posting seems like a piece of cake after cranking that thing out! Also, the proposal was turned in yesterday afternoon, so I have some free time to catch up on the blogging that I have been slacking on lately.
I think I am starting to see where the ideal of this class is going...
There are only a few basic concepts that a person MUST know to function in society.
In my opinion, a person must know the language, that includes the ability to speak, read, and write. A person needs to have some concept of the four basic principles of math, addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication. If for no other reason than to deal with currency. Decision making, certain ethics, more social skills that are harder to teach are obviously desired, but not absolutely required. Other than that I can't think of anything that EVERYONE needs to know.
The problem is that I started learning things I didn't need to know (and have never used) when I was in 4th grade. In fourth grade, I didn't know that I was not going to live in Michigan for the rest of my life (that came about in 6th grade) and I was an aspiring author. I didn't decide to going into computing until my Sr. year in high school.
I don't know that I have an answer to the question that Jay keeps asking about "How do we prepare someone for a job when we don't know what that job will be?" My instict is to say that educators have been doing that for years and years... but then I remember that most of us don't like the education system.
So then my next question is... if everyone else can see this and everyone else is all for changing this, why don't educators see this and what is preventing the change? Are politics too involved in education? Is there something that the people in charge of deciding how education works know that we are not aware of? All very perplexing.
Of course teaching a student how to learn rather than what to learn creates massive burdens in itself. How do you teach someone how to learn rather than teaching them specific topics. How do you determine (measure) that a student has in fact learned how to learn?
In my master's program I took a class and the students freaked out over the first assignment. The directions for the assignment were given in two short sentences. As the students probed the instructor for more information about how to complete the assignment, how to format the document that would be turned in, etc. The instructor continued to reply... whatever you think is best. Finally she said to pretend she was your boss and that he gave you this as a work assignment to complete and is too busy to answer your questions.
I REALLY enjoyed that class and the freedom to complete the assignments anyway I wanted to. It didn't matter what the answer looked like as long as the process I took to come to that answer was supported. It didn't even matter if the answer was wrong. If I supported my process and came to the wrong conclusions, then I was given instruction as to where my logic was flawed or where I might have made a mistake. My grade wasn't penalized for it since it was a learning process.
It drove the majority of the class insane. They wanted step by step instructions on how the task was to be completed and a big long description of what the final paper was supposed to look like. They couldn't fathom that they were free to choose how to complete the assignment. So to me, that is a better learning environment and closer to what I think the point of this class is (of course I could be wrong... it happens)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
This "Thing" called the Internet
I know you all missed my blogging for the week since I been overwhelmed by sickness (sinuses) and work. So, here it is just a day late and a dollar short... but maybe that means I'll post twice as much this week... who knows.
So, this thing called the internet seems to get lots of people up in arms over the things that seem to pop up out of no where and without anyone's permission. What you use to do, you can now do faster, more efficiently, and much cheaper. I understand that and I agree that those are all benefits of the technology. My question is, do you do anything that you didn't do before because you couldn't do it before?
The example I go back to in class is the payroll information. Of course you can access that information with a few keystrokes and the click of a mouse and of course you couldn't do that before, but although the method has changed, the end result is still the same. You accessed the information. What did you do with the information you accessed?
I like the phrase:
Technology is the art of convincing people that they can't live without and item that was invented just yesterday.
How did people ever drive anywhere before GPS? How on earth did settlers track across America without cars and without a GPS system... So we can do it quicker, more efficient, and for (relativly speaking) less money. So when is the last time you got in your car and drove across America?
The bottom line I guess is with the ability to do things quicker, more efficient, and with less cost, are we more productive? Do we produce more things of value every day than we did before or are we creating more and more garbage and enjoying more and more wasted/free time?
Are we getting dumber? Are the majority of people arrogant enough to think that learning is obsolete. I don't need to know anything because the internet knows everything. Except the internet knows everything because collectively the people that built it know everything... and I wouldn't need to use the internet if I didn't want to know something I didn't already know...
Okay, it is scary, but that almost makes sense. And since I like to make sense, I am going to quit rambling now before I produce even more un-educated non-sense.
So, this thing called the internet seems to get lots of people up in arms over the things that seem to pop up out of no where and without anyone's permission. What you use to do, you can now do faster, more efficiently, and much cheaper. I understand that and I agree that those are all benefits of the technology. My question is, do you do anything that you didn't do before because you couldn't do it before?
The example I go back to in class is the payroll information. Of course you can access that information with a few keystrokes and the click of a mouse and of course you couldn't do that before, but although the method has changed, the end result is still the same. You accessed the information. What did you do with the information you accessed?
I like the phrase:
Technology is the art of convincing people that they can't live without and item that was invented just yesterday.
How did people ever drive anywhere before GPS? How on earth did settlers track across America without cars and without a GPS system... So we can do it quicker, more efficient, and for (relativly speaking) less money. So when is the last time you got in your car and drove across America?
The bottom line I guess is with the ability to do things quicker, more efficient, and with less cost, are we more productive? Do we produce more things of value every day than we did before or are we creating more and more garbage and enjoying more and more wasted/free time?
Are we getting dumber? Are the majority of people arrogant enough to think that learning is obsolete. I don't need to know anything because the internet knows everything. Except the internet knows everything because collectively the people that built it know everything... and I wouldn't need to use the internet if I didn't want to know something I didn't already know...
Okay, it is scary, but that almost makes sense. And since I like to make sense, I am going to quit rambling now before I produce even more un-educated non-sense.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
No such thing as privacy on the Internet
Ok, you guys liked the questions so here are some more before I get started on my latest rant.
1. Have you ever "googled" yourself?
1a. If so, when is the last time you did so?
1b. How often do you "google" yourself?
2. Google yourself now... MAKE SURE YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN QUOTES
2a. How many results are you?
2b. How many are not you?
3. What is the most interesting thing about you that you discovered?
4. If an employer, potential employer, or educational institution that you applied to (such as UT) decided to "google" you as part of the application process, would you be in trouble?
Feel free to answer the questions in your responses to the post, or simply keep them to yourself.
So why the pop quiz? Because the short survey I read for class this week talks about internet privacy and it focuses on bloggers. Many bloggers during the study admited to getting into some kind of trouble over something they posted in a blog. This was either with friends and family or with an employer or potential employer. In light of the fact that 59% of the respondants had attended college, another 26% had a masters or professional degree, and another 5% had PhDs (read, over 90% of them were educated) I wonder how dumb educated people really are.
In case you're not one of the brightest educated people out there... Anything you put on the Internet is 10 times worse than if you call up the News Sentinal and place it in a classified ad. At least with an ad, it has the potential to go away and most people won't read it. If you post it to the internet it is permanent (think alltheweb) and it can be recalled with a few quick key strokes by anyone anywhere anytime. (Let that sink in for a minute as you write your blogs for this class!)
Now of course you would have to use your name (55% of the respondants used their real name in their blog postings) and have a fairly uncommon name / background association. What I mean is if you post your name and your occupation and your education (think Myspace, Facebook, Classmates.com) you're going to be easier to identify than writing as Joe Smith.
Unfortunantly, you can't control what other people post about you either, so you might want to be prepared for that. I'll post my results in another post so this one isn't too long.
1. Have you ever "googled" yourself?
1a. If so, when is the last time you did so?
1b. How often do you "google" yourself?
2. Google yourself now... MAKE SURE YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN QUOTES
2a. How many results are you?
2b. How many are not you?
3. What is the most interesting thing about you that you discovered?
4. If an employer, potential employer, or educational institution that you applied to (such as UT) decided to "google" you as part of the application process, would you be in trouble?
Feel free to answer the questions in your responses to the post, or simply keep them to yourself.
So why the pop quiz? Because the short survey I read for class this week talks about internet privacy and it focuses on bloggers. Many bloggers during the study admited to getting into some kind of trouble over something they posted in a blog. This was either with friends and family or with an employer or potential employer. In light of the fact that 59% of the respondants had attended college, another 26% had a masters or professional degree, and another 5% had PhDs (read, over 90% of them were educated) I wonder how dumb educated people really are.
In case you're not one of the brightest educated people out there... Anything you put on the Internet is 10 times worse than if you call up the News Sentinal and place it in a classified ad. At least with an ad, it has the potential to go away and most people won't read it. If you post it to the internet it is permanent (think alltheweb) and it can be recalled with a few quick key strokes by anyone anywhere anytime. (Let that sink in for a minute as you write your blogs for this class!)
Now of course you would have to use your name (55% of the respondants used their real name in their blog postings) and have a fairly uncommon name / background association. What I mean is if you post your name and your occupation and your education (think Myspace, Facebook, Classmates.com) you're going to be easier to identify than writing as Joe Smith.
Unfortunantly, you can't control what other people post about you either, so you might want to be prepared for that. I'll post my results in another post so this one isn't too long.
Continued
So what happens when I google my name? Well first of all let me explain that in 1993 I was informed that 6 other people in the United States shared my exact name, even the spelling. (I learned that when I had to get my SSN fixed) so my name is not as uncommon as you would think. So if you Google me, I am not on facebook under Los, Angeles CA, I am not a pbase artist (whatever that is) nor did I post to CNN's political Ticker
Results will vary with each search, but here is what I found about me:
My first result was the 7th link on the page. There people will learn that I am a member of IBM Ring 58 (International Brotherhood of Magicians) so I will not be teaching at any school that has banned the Harry Potter books.
I don't show up again until page 3 for a research paper a professor of mine was nice enough to include my name on, and page 4 where people will learn that I am a member of the UT Martial Arts club.
Then one that I find most interesting every time I do this (about every 2 years) Is result number 40 in which I get credit for solving the Math Forum POW for October 9-13 of 1995!! That was 14 years ago. Talk about permanent!
I show up again on page 6 of the results I was honored for five years of service to the university in June of 2006.
Here is something else you need to be careful of. ListServs are archived. When I got to page 9 of my results, a message I sent to the UTMA list serv popped up. Don't send anything to a listserv that you wouldn't have printed in the newspaper!
Two other searches to try... Your name without quotes and your formal name that is LastName, Firstname in quotes. You'll get different results and if an employer is going to research you, they will probably use all three methods.
Closing thoughts in a third post...
Results will vary with each search, but here is what I found about me:
My first result was the 7th link on the page. There people will learn that I am a member of IBM Ring 58 (International Brotherhood of Magicians) so I will not be teaching at any school that has banned the Harry Potter books.
I don't show up again until page 3 for a research paper a professor of mine was nice enough to include my name on, and page 4 where people will learn that I am a member of the UT Martial Arts club.
Then one that I find most interesting every time I do this (about every 2 years) Is result number 40 in which I get credit for solving the Math Forum POW for October 9-13 of 1995!! That was 14 years ago. Talk about permanent!
I show up again on page 6 of the results I was honored for five years of service to the university in June of 2006.
Here is something else you need to be careful of. ListServs are archived. When I got to page 9 of my results, a message I sent to the UTMA list serv popped up. Don't send anything to a listserv that you wouldn't have printed in the newspaper!
Two other searches to try... Your name without quotes and your formal name that is LastName, Firstname in quotes. You'll get different results and if an employer is going to research you, they will probably use all three methods.
Closing thoughts in a third post...
Contiued Again...
So here's the take home message. What you post to the internet creates a permanent record of your thoughts and feelings. That record can be recalled by anyone, anywhere, at anytime. People seem to feel a certain amount of safety when posting to their personal blog, their personal homepage, their myspace, or facebook page. Despite the fact that there are many instances each year of people getting in trouble for something posted online, people still don't get the message. If you would not send it to the news sentinel, you probably shouldn't send it in an e-mail, write it on your blog, or post it on your homepage.
Ask Wade Gilley how private your e-mail messages are (former UT President who's affair was exposed when his e-mail was leaked).
Google "School Teacher Fired Myspace" for a whole list of cases of Myspace getting people fired. When you're tired of MySpace, try Facebook in the search. Everything you post to the Internet is subject to search.
Everything can (and in many cases will) get you fired or prevent you from getting a job. With great power (the power to publish anything you want for free) comes great responsibility (don't do it, get a real life with real friends!).
Don't let your friends post pictures of you in "questionable" situations. Don't post them yourself, and don't blog about them. In fact... you're better off not using the internet at all... I'm sure of it.
For more see:
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/10/teacher-fired-for-inappropriate-behavior-on-myspace-page289.html
http://tallahassee.com/legacy/special/blogs/2007/01/teacher-fired-over-myspace-page_25.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/story/1291477.html
Ask Wade Gilley how private your e-mail messages are (former UT President who's affair was exposed when his e-mail was leaked).
Google "School Teacher Fired Myspace" for a whole list of cases of Myspace getting people fired. When you're tired of MySpace, try Facebook in the search. Everything you post to the Internet is subject to search.
Everything can (and in many cases will) get you fired or prevent you from getting a job. With great power (the power to publish anything you want for free) comes great responsibility (don't do it, get a real life with real friends!).
Don't let your friends post pictures of you in "questionable" situations. Don't post them yourself, and don't blog about them. In fact... you're better off not using the internet at all... I'm sure of it.
For more see:
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/10/teacher-fired-for-inappropriate-behavior-on-myspace-page289.html
http://tallahassee.com/legacy/special/blogs/2007/01/teacher-fired-over-myspace-page_25.html
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/education/story/1291477.html
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