Saturday, February 16, 2008
Blog Assignment #4
In the article J.K. Rowling comes off as a money grubbing fiend. She wants to be the only one to make a profit off of her ideas or at least the one who decides who makes the profit. On one hand this is understandable we all want to make the most of our own ideas before we allow others to. But on the other hand the ideas in J.K. Rowling's books are not entirely her own. There have been numerous books published that detail all the locations from which she got her ideas. She may have created a new world from these ideas but she did not create the ideas themselves. With this knowledge Ms. Rowling comes off as quite a hypocrite . She claims that the intellectual property of one is not something that can be used without their permission. This begs the question, would Ms. Rowling have even been able to create her works without using the intellectual works of others? The selfrighteous attitude displayed by Ms. Rowling is quite distasteful. The rights she is sueing for would be to the detriment of all people. What is most peculiar is that if these rights had been granted several years ago Ms. Rowling would have nothing to sue for. It is all very vexing.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Blog Assignment 3
Professor Michael Bess's view of Wikipedia was interesting. As complete and all encompassing resource for a paper he found it unreliable. But as a teaching resource he found it very valuable. He discovered that instead of Wikipedia giving merely a quick answer to complex questions it allowed ordinary citizens the opportunity to get down in the trenches and theorize and philosophize. I think it is very interesting how Professor Bess took something that was seen as a teacher's worst enemy and showed how if used properly it can be their greatest ally. I, myself, find that Wikipedia is not always a very reliable resource but more often than not when I examine the archives I find different points of view that help me see things from a perspective I would never have seen on my own.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Blog Assignment 2
1. AUPs are Acceptable Use Policies that are put in place by school districts to ensure that school computers are used in a safe, relevant, and appropriate way. At the school level AUPs act as a contract between all users of a network. These AUPs are necessary to outline the terms and conditions for access privileges, the rule of online behavior, and the consequences for violating these rules. AUPs also offer guidance for teachers in how to integrate technology into the classroom.
2. My school district’s URL is http://www.kleinisd.net/default.aspx?name=fs.it.aup. My school‘s AUP sticks fairly close to the guidelines discussed in the other resources. It outlines the school’s position on the use of the Internet in the classroom and the teaching and administration staff’s role in monitoring the student use of the network. It also discusses the consequences of violating these policies. The policy seems to be general enough to cover most circumstances but is revised as needed. I remember the first day of class every year both students and parents were made to sign an Acceptable Use contract for that year and were made to follow the new terms of this agreement.
3. CIPA requires that school and libraries enforce Internet safety and technology protection measures. The internet safety policy must include technology measures that filter out obscene pictures. CIPA also requires that schools monitor the online activities of minors. CIPA requires that schools and libraries adopt policies that address access to inappropriate matter on the internet by minors, the security of minors using electronic forms of communication, unlawful activities by minors on line, unauthorized disclosure of personal information regarding minors, and restricting minors’ access to materials that may be harmful to them.
4. I did have access to a network in high school. I never really used it. I didn’t find it helpful. With the courses I was taking t was not helpful to use computers at all.
5. My parents did not have access to information about me through the school or district network. My school would not release any information to anyone without proof of identification. The school wouldn’t even release information over the phone.
6. I feel that in some cases web filtering is important. Sites like Facebook and MySpace are very distracting to kids. At my high school we had Bess. In this case Bess filtered out even legitimate resources and infuriated most of the students. In some cases it is necessary to filter things out. But sometimes filters can be more a hindrance than a help. As a teacher the article on how to get around Internet filtration systems is slightly unsettling. It isn’t such a bad thing that kids get on gaming sites, although it is inappropriate for school, but the other sites mentioned raise some concerns. It would be quite terrifying to find out that the kids in your class have such dark interests. I think that the article proves that teachers should monitor their students Internet use or structure the student’s computer time so that they don’t have time to deviate from the task at hand.
2. My school district’s URL is http://www.kleinisd.net/default.aspx?name=fs.it.aup. My school‘s AUP sticks fairly close to the guidelines discussed in the other resources. It outlines the school’s position on the use of the Internet in the classroom and the teaching and administration staff’s role in monitoring the student use of the network. It also discusses the consequences of violating these policies. The policy seems to be general enough to cover most circumstances but is revised as needed. I remember the first day of class every year both students and parents were made to sign an Acceptable Use contract for that year and were made to follow the new terms of this agreement.
3. CIPA requires that school and libraries enforce Internet safety and technology protection measures. The internet safety policy must include technology measures that filter out obscene pictures. CIPA also requires that schools monitor the online activities of minors. CIPA requires that schools and libraries adopt policies that address access to inappropriate matter on the internet by minors, the security of minors using electronic forms of communication, unlawful activities by minors on line, unauthorized disclosure of personal information regarding minors, and restricting minors’ access to materials that may be harmful to them.
4. I did have access to a network in high school. I never really used it. I didn’t find it helpful. With the courses I was taking t was not helpful to use computers at all.
5. My parents did not have access to information about me through the school or district network. My school would not release any information to anyone without proof of identification. The school wouldn’t even release information over the phone.
6. I feel that in some cases web filtering is important. Sites like Facebook and MySpace are very distracting to kids. At my high school we had Bess. In this case Bess filtered out even legitimate resources and infuriated most of the students. In some cases it is necessary to filter things out. But sometimes filters can be more a hindrance than a help. As a teacher the article on how to get around Internet filtration systems is slightly unsettling. It isn’t such a bad thing that kids get on gaming sites, although it is inappropriate for school, but the other sites mentioned raise some concerns. It would be quite terrifying to find out that the kids in your class have such dark interests. I think that the article proves that teachers should monitor their students Internet use or structure the student’s computer time so that they don’t have time to deviate from the task at hand.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Me
My name is Danielle but I've always gone by Dani. I'm originally from San Antonio but I currently live in Spring, Texas, which is just north of Houston. I plan on majoring in mathematics and completing the MAT program here at Trinity. In high school I was a state ranked wrestler. I'm not really that involved on campus at the moment. In high school, I took a computer animation course but that is the extent of my past computer experience. I'm interested in teaching Calculus at either the high school or university level.
In regards to the Time Person of the Year, I feel the article illustrates how the Internet has taken over a major part of life. Most people tend to focus on the negative events of the year and fail to see the positives. Instead of focusing on the conflict in the world the article highlighted the sense of community that was built from technological advances. It is through technology that the entire population able to communicate. It is, in a sense, a global common ground. There is no way to predict the success of this common ground, but like most things that could lead to global unity, it is worth the risk of failure.
In regards to the Time Person of the Year, I feel the article illustrates how the Internet has taken over a major part of life. Most people tend to focus on the negative events of the year and fail to see the positives. Instead of focusing on the conflict in the world the article highlighted the sense of community that was built from technological advances. It is through technology that the entire population able to communicate. It is, in a sense, a global common ground. There is no way to predict the success of this common ground, but like most things that could lead to global unity, it is worth the risk of failure.
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