PROJECT SELECTION CHOICE
When considering what I wanted to do for my second project, I was torn between a PowerPoint presentation and something more with Blogger. I chose to learn more about Blogger because I have created a number of PowerPoints, and I really couldn't think of a PowerPoint presentation to make that I haven't already made. I don't want to be the teacher that uses PowerPoint every single day, so I figured it would be best if I tried something a little different. This is not to say that I wasn't somewhat familiar with Blogger, after all I started a blog last year that didn't work out for me and we have to blog for this class, but I wanted to find a true function for blogging in my classroom. As an English teacher, I like the thought of my students blogging regularly because that means they are thinking of our lessons outside of class and they are writing about them and discussing them with one another. This is of primary importance to me, considering most of the students I have do some form of online writing every night... but it's all on either MySpace, Facebook, or Twitter. Blogging is like forming a bridge between these social networking sites and the educational environment. Blogging proves that even kids who don't want to participate in class still have a lot to say and a voice to be heard. Blogging is the new way of the educational world, and I'm glad to be jumping into this community.
My intended audience is my students, but I do hope to get parents interested in reading their child's posts and comments. The typical eighth grader comes home from school and answers the standard, "What did you do in school today?" question with "NOTHING!" even though that's far from the truth. Even if some students refuse to talk with their parents about their daily learning, parents could see their growth on blogger if they choose to check the site out on their own.
PROJECT RESEARCH
The second article I read for this class was about using blogs in the classroom. I really liked this article because it introduced me to an informative video, interesting facts, and informational pieces about blogging on About.com. I am going to use the tutorial video in my class the way the teacher in the article did, so that students understand blogging before they are thrown into it. Chris also gave me a PDF file about using blogs for journalistic purposes which I found particularly fascinating because I am becoming more and more fascinated with the thought of getting paid to blog or doing it regularly with a large following. I also referenced his blog page on his Wiki, which had a couple more cool videos (another one of those British teachers.tv videos like the ones we had to watch for our Testing and Grading course... I love their accents!) that I may share with my students as well. Chris has so much information on blogging, including resources for safe blogging and how to find cool blogs that other teachers and students are doing, so I encourage everyone to check out his blog page on his Wiki.
CONTENT DESIGN
Since I want this site to be the home blog for my classes, I set it up so that when I ask questions they will respond to me through comments on this page. Once the students get their own blogs set up, I am going to have them all become followers of my page. This will be good for them because they will get updates about my blog, but it will also be good for me because then the links to their image and blogs will be right on my page and I can keep all of my students organized in this fashion. The students will post their own blogs on their individual sites and they will comment on their classmates sites as well. I am hoping for the students to have a sort of theme for their blogs, like the students in this video. The students at this school had a lot of pride for their blogs, because they knew people around the world were looking at them. I also included a few fun polls for my students and some links to other sites, such as my website, and a few games they can play to make their stay at my blog more enjoyable.
MEDIA DESIGN
Considering the fact that everyone in our class already had a really cool looking blog, I wanted to find a couple of additions that would allow for mine to be a bit more developed than theirs. It's not like I was trying to "beat them" in some competition, but I figured if this was going to be one of my projects then I should learn more about it so I could teach them how to make their pages even cooler. The first thing I wanted to do was add a tracker, but I had some trouble with finding one. I did a little "field research" and asked a couple friend of mine who write posts every day. The husband was able to lead me to the code for the tracker, and I figured out how to keep it from tracking my IP address so it doesn't look like one hundred people have viewed the page when it really has just been me. Ultimately, I want to get as realistic of a count as I possibly can. Another addition to my page came from Scrapblog.com, a really fun website for scrapbookers like myself. I am super excited about finding this page, because I want to blog once baby comes so my family can stay updated on what's going on with baby and I loved all of their little templates. For this project, I chose one that was school-based and I really like the way it turned out. There are countless templates on this site and more are being created and added every minute, so no matter what your blog's theme is, there is a scrapblog page for you!
LEARNING
Well, I thought I learned that you couldn't copy and paste posts from a Word Document, but apparently I am wrong about that. I'm very glad that I'm wrong though, since I like to write posts in a word document before the textbox. I learned how to add a tracker and a scrapblog page, and I also learned that you can change your name that you want to have when you are commenting on some one's site. I hope my students don't figure that out, because the last thing I need is for them to have an alias for their alias and start harassing someone in the class. I want to be aware of all of their online identities so I can track their progress. I also learned a lot about the Internet safety policy and I am going to make sure my students do not include any personal information on their blogs.
FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS
The idea occurred to me earlier this week that I could have a blog just for my parents. This could be a place where parents ask me questions or talk with other parents about situations they may be concerned about. Now, I'm not sure how this would all pan out and the last thing I want is to create some sort of gripe website (especially if they all start griping/ganging up on me!!!) but I'm still playing around with the idea of how I could blogs with parents. Maybe it would be neat if the parents and students could comment on each other's blogs. As I mentioned in class, my Dad got a Facebook account because my youngest brother will not open up to him so it's the only way they communicate. My Dad can also see what my brother is doing online, who his friends are, what kind of interests he has, and what he talks about. This is pretty much the same thing as blogging. The students who get really into blogging set up their profiles with pictures and list their favorite music, movies, etc. As a future parent, I am going to be very involved with my child's online life, and I think if the parents were somehow interacting with our class blog it would be a really great tool for me to use and an excellent way for the parents and their teenager to relate to one another.
Creating this blog has been such a Godsend, because I am extremely nervous about all the work I'll have to do once school starts with maternity plans and Master's work in addition to our countless home projects and baby projects, so I'm so thankful Chris allowed me to get a jump start on my school year. It is a HUGE relief knowing this is one less thing I need to do once school starts, because let's be honest ... learning new forms of technology is always the one thing that gets pushed back when we as teachers become overloaded with work to do. I feel confident going into my 5th year with my new website and blog, and I look forward to what my colleagues, parents, and students have to say about my two new additions! Unfortunately, I think I'm getting a little too addicted to this online stuff. I need to take a few days AWAY from the computer and enjoy some time outdoors, but it's so tempting to make a new scrapblog page or movie (that was tons of fun!) or start working on my Wiki. Ok, maybe I'll just take ONE day off and then get back to work. I don't want to forget everything I've learned in this class. Thanks, Chris, for all the resources you have given us. They are truly invaluable to teachers. This class has been a pleasure! :-)
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
My 1st Project - A Google Site
PROJECT SELECTION CHOICE
For my first project, I chose to do a website. I knew as soon as I heard we were having a technology class that my single, most important goal was to create a website by its end, and low-and-behold I now have a fully functioning site located here.
I knew that creating a website would be the most beneficial decision for me, because it seems that every time we have a technology in-service at school we are looking at all the cool websites teachers in cyberspace are using and some lecturer is trying to convince us to make one of our own. However, I felt that I have never had enough training to create one that I would be proud enough of to put on the World Wide Web for everyone to see.
My intended audience is my students and their parents. I have designed this website so that it is user-friendly and simply laid out. I think this simple layout will benefit the parents more than the students, because most students are pretty savvy when it comes to surfing the web, but a lot of parents are not. The idea of my website is for it to be a "hub" for information that my students and their parents may be in search of. For example, I included a lot of information for the school district such as the calendar and lunch menu even though it can be found on the district's website, because I'd like to make my website a sort of "one stop shop". I also created pages for every major category of communication I use throughout the year, be it newsletters, the online grade book, or information about the Ohio Achievement Test. In addition to the regular communication tools I have posted on my site, I have also included some fun pages such as one honoring the students' birthdays, Reading and Writing resource pages, pictures of the 08-09 school year, and a bunch of gadgets.
PROJECT RESEARCH
The first article I read included support for creating a class website and using it to aid in lessons. It encouraged the teacher to create websites with simple text. I found this very informative, as I am typically one who would change the font and font color on every single page and I can now see why that bothers some people and why it is considered "too busy" to be professional. Another important point the article I read made was that it is important to limit the amount of text on each page of your website. I had to keep referring to this statement since, as you can tell, I'm typically a very verbose writer. It makes sense that a web-surfer does not want to read through a ton of paragraphs in order to find a simple answer to his or her question. I believe that you will agree that I have many pages, but they are each limited in the amount of writing on them. Finally, the article discussed the importance of hyperlinks, which allow browsers to connect quickly to other pages which refer to the original site. As you can see, I have put in a number of hyperlinks in order to best assist my students and their parents as they search my site.
CONTENT DESIGN
My primary objective was to keep my website simple for people who are not familiar with using computers. Although the people who aren't familiar with computers are probably the ones that will NEVER check my website, I wanted to be able to present it at Open House so perhaps I could convince EVERY parent to check the website at least periodically. The only way I was going to convince all of my parents to check it out would be if I kept it simple. I placed all of the links to my pages on the side bar so they are handy at all times. I also put the pages in alphabetical order. This seemed to make the most sense to me as I looked at the site from a "viewers" perspective, rather than as the designer. Obviously if I would have done the page for ME I would have made some changes. For example, I might have ordered the pages according to use or importance or I might have grouped them so that similar pages (i.e. OAT Resources, Reading Resources, and Writing Resources) were right by one another. Yet I kept going back to my research article to remind myself that this page is NOT supposed to be designed to fit my needs; it's about the viewers' needs. Furthermore, since I didn't want this to be a page that required prerequisite knowledge I had to focus on making it simple to navigate. So, as Chris likes to say, I had to remind myself over and over to "KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!"
MEDIA DESIGN
As I mentioned before, I wanted my layout to be simple. However, I also wanted it to be attractive. For example, I am REALLY into digital photography and I take way too many pictures so I had to include some fun ones from last school year on my site. The students all sign a waver saying they permit their pictures to be online, so I know I have permission to use them. I think my former students will be elated to see they are "famous" on my site, but sadly for them they will soon be replaced with pictures of my NEW eighth graders once school starts. I liked the background I chose because it's fun and spunky, kind of like my classroom. I debated on whether or not I should use it since it's pink, but I figured what the heck? It's bubbly, and who doesn't like bubbles? I chose a simple font and simple colors, which like I mentioned before was REALLY hard for me because I usually like to mix in all sorts of fonts and colors, and I think that keeps the site looking rather professional. The graphics I used on this site were all taken with credit from Discovery Education's free Clip Art website. I got this website off of Chris' Wiki page and it has been SO helpful for me. I have used it for both of my projects. Thanks, Chris! :-)
LEARNING
I am ever so grateful to Chris and ETPT 5980 for giving me the opportunity to create this Google site. Not only did I learn how to make a Google site, I also learned how to help a fellow student with some of her questions. This is going to benefit me in the future because after I shared my site with my principal, she responded by asking me to present Google Sites to my colleagues during one of our staff meetings. I guess soon enough I'll be the "lecturer trying to convince" people to make a site of their own. Haha! I also learned not to over-do the site. I have learned that I am a little over the top in a lot of technological ways (my PowerPoints are always set up so every single slide looks different - I thought this would help keep the students' attention, but I guess it could be more distracting in the long run) and I am going to make some changes in some of the programs and documents I've created throughout the past few years. One of the most beneficial things I learned while creating this site was how to convert a Word Document into a PDF file on a P.C. Chris showed me a free downloadable converter for my P.C. and it was a Godsend. I was very concerned about attaching my Word Documents on my site, because I feared some malicious child would change my letters to parents or Classroom Expectations and use them against me. It would be an easy thing to do, and since most of my documents have a pretty formal Otsego Letterhead look to them I bet the student could make a pretty convincing argument that I had written what he or she had actually changed in a Word Document with my name on it. I know this seems like I don't trust the students, but I have had a few student generated on-line experiences that have made me this way and I am just trying to take every necessary precaution that I can. So when I found out I could change my documents into PDF files, I was RELIEVED. This means that my students cannot tamper with my files, but they still have the ability to print them from home in case they forget their papers at school.
FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS
There will be a lot of changes on my site as the new school year gets underway. I haven't been able to include all of the information I wish to include, since school is out for the summer. For example, I can't get the lunch menu, birthdays, or our 8th grade TEAM homework information until school starts. I am also planning on adding links under the very bare "Writing Resources" once I am back in my classroom, because we had an awesome technology in-service last year that left me with about 100 great writing websites and I don't have any of them bookmarked on my personal computer. I am also planning on updating our library page when the library situation gets figured out at our school. Right now, it seems like we are not going to have library every week anymore because our beloved librarian is now the only librarian for the K-12 district. :-( Finally, I will post more updated pictures when I take them of my new students! I am also going to add my school picture on here, because it looks more professional than the silly one of my playing the boy/old man in The Giving Tree, but I am not going to replace the silly picture because that's who I am ... a silly teacher!
Overall, I am VERY proud of the final product I have created in my Google site and I am anxious to show my colleagues how simple this program is to use. I think the students will be excited to know I am staying "hip" with their technology, and now I don't feel so much older than my age. After all, according to Beth's article my birth date (March '81) proves that my brain should be thinking like the brains of my students, rather technologically. :-)
For my first project, I chose to do a website. I knew as soon as I heard we were having a technology class that my single, most important goal was to create a website by its end, and low-and-behold I now have a fully functioning site located here.
I knew that creating a website would be the most beneficial decision for me, because it seems that every time we have a technology in-service at school we are looking at all the cool websites teachers in cyberspace are using and some lecturer is trying to convince us to make one of our own. However, I felt that I have never had enough training to create one that I would be proud enough of to put on the World Wide Web for everyone to see.
My intended audience is my students and their parents. I have designed this website so that it is user-friendly and simply laid out. I think this simple layout will benefit the parents more than the students, because most students are pretty savvy when it comes to surfing the web, but a lot of parents are not. The idea of my website is for it to be a "hub" for information that my students and their parents may be in search of. For example, I included a lot of information for the school district such as the calendar and lunch menu even though it can be found on the district's website, because I'd like to make my website a sort of "one stop shop". I also created pages for every major category of communication I use throughout the year, be it newsletters, the online grade book, or information about the Ohio Achievement Test. In addition to the regular communication tools I have posted on my site, I have also included some fun pages such as one honoring the students' birthdays, Reading and Writing resource pages, pictures of the 08-09 school year, and a bunch of gadgets.
PROJECT RESEARCH
The first article I read included support for creating a class website and using it to aid in lessons. It encouraged the teacher to create websites with simple text. I found this very informative, as I am typically one who would change the font and font color on every single page and I can now see why that bothers some people and why it is considered "too busy" to be professional. Another important point the article I read made was that it is important to limit the amount of text on each page of your website. I had to keep referring to this statement since, as you can tell, I'm typically a very verbose writer. It makes sense that a web-surfer does not want to read through a ton of paragraphs in order to find a simple answer to his or her question. I believe that you will agree that I have many pages, but they are each limited in the amount of writing on them. Finally, the article discussed the importance of hyperlinks, which allow browsers to connect quickly to other pages which refer to the original site. As you can see, I have put in a number of hyperlinks in order to best assist my students and their parents as they search my site.
CONTENT DESIGN
My primary objective was to keep my website simple for people who are not familiar with using computers. Although the people who aren't familiar with computers are probably the ones that will NEVER check my website, I wanted to be able to present it at Open House so perhaps I could convince EVERY parent to check the website at least periodically. The only way I was going to convince all of my parents to check it out would be if I kept it simple. I placed all of the links to my pages on the side bar so they are handy at all times. I also put the pages in alphabetical order. This seemed to make the most sense to me as I looked at the site from a "viewers" perspective, rather than as the designer. Obviously if I would have done the page for ME I would have made some changes. For example, I might have ordered the pages according to use or importance or I might have grouped them so that similar pages (i.e. OAT Resources, Reading Resources, and Writing Resources) were right by one another. Yet I kept going back to my research article to remind myself that this page is NOT supposed to be designed to fit my needs; it's about the viewers' needs. Furthermore, since I didn't want this to be a page that required prerequisite knowledge I had to focus on making it simple to navigate. So, as Chris likes to say, I had to remind myself over and over to "KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!"
MEDIA DESIGN
As I mentioned before, I wanted my layout to be simple. However, I also wanted it to be attractive. For example, I am REALLY into digital photography and I take way too many pictures so I had to include some fun ones from last school year on my site. The students all sign a waver saying they permit their pictures to be online, so I know I have permission to use them. I think my former students will be elated to see they are "famous" on my site, but sadly for them they will soon be replaced with pictures of my NEW eighth graders once school starts. I liked the background I chose because it's fun and spunky, kind of like my classroom. I debated on whether or not I should use it since it's pink, but I figured what the heck? It's bubbly, and who doesn't like bubbles? I chose a simple font and simple colors, which like I mentioned before was REALLY hard for me because I usually like to mix in all sorts of fonts and colors, and I think that keeps the site looking rather professional. The graphics I used on this site were all taken with credit from Discovery Education's free Clip Art website. I got this website off of Chris' Wiki page and it has been SO helpful for me. I have used it for both of my projects. Thanks, Chris! :-)
LEARNING
I am ever so grateful to Chris and ETPT 5980 for giving me the opportunity to create this Google site. Not only did I learn how to make a Google site, I also learned how to help a fellow student with some of her questions. This is going to benefit me in the future because after I shared my site with my principal, she responded by asking me to present Google Sites to my colleagues during one of our staff meetings. I guess soon enough I'll be the "lecturer trying to convince" people to make a site of their own. Haha! I also learned not to over-do the site. I have learned that I am a little over the top in a lot of technological ways (my PowerPoints are always set up so every single slide looks different - I thought this would help keep the students' attention, but I guess it could be more distracting in the long run) and I am going to make some changes in some of the programs and documents I've created throughout the past few years. One of the most beneficial things I learned while creating this site was how to convert a Word Document into a PDF file on a P.C. Chris showed me a free downloadable converter for my P.C. and it was a Godsend. I was very concerned about attaching my Word Documents on my site, because I feared some malicious child would change my letters to parents or Classroom Expectations and use them against me. It would be an easy thing to do, and since most of my documents have a pretty formal Otsego Letterhead look to them I bet the student could make a pretty convincing argument that I had written what he or she had actually changed in a Word Document with my name on it. I know this seems like I don't trust the students, but I have had a few student generated on-line experiences that have made me this way and I am just trying to take every necessary precaution that I can. So when I found out I could change my documents into PDF files, I was RELIEVED. This means that my students cannot tamper with my files, but they still have the ability to print them from home in case they forget their papers at school.
FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS
There will be a lot of changes on my site as the new school year gets underway. I haven't been able to include all of the information I wish to include, since school is out for the summer. For example, I can't get the lunch menu, birthdays, or our 8th grade TEAM homework information until school starts. I am also planning on adding links under the very bare "Writing Resources" once I am back in my classroom, because we had an awesome technology in-service last year that left me with about 100 great writing websites and I don't have any of them bookmarked on my personal computer. I am also planning on updating our library page when the library situation gets figured out at our school. Right now, it seems like we are not going to have library every week anymore because our beloved librarian is now the only librarian for the K-12 district. :-( Finally, I will post more updated pictures when I take them of my new students! I am also going to add my school picture on here, because it looks more professional than the silly one of my playing the boy/old man in The Giving Tree, but I am not going to replace the silly picture because that's who I am ... a silly teacher!
Overall, I am VERY proud of the final product I have created in my Google site and I am anxious to show my colleagues how simple this program is to use. I think the students will be excited to know I am staying "hip" with their technology, and now I don't feel so much older than my age. After all, according to Beth's article my birth date (March '81) proves that my brain should be thinking like the brains of my students, rather technologically. :-)
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Responding to My First Technology-Based Article
OK - So before I begin I want to state that my goal from now on is to keep my blogs shorter so people will actually read and respond to them. If they don't, then what's the purpose of writing them (other than getting a grade for class of course?)
The first article I read for a summary response was a general one on using technology in a Language Arts classroom. I was reading the article for quite a few paragraphs when I came across the words "word processor". Then I paused and said to myself, "Whoa ... wait a minute .... no one uses that term anymore! When was this article written?" It was only then that I decided to look at the date of the article, which turned out to be 1998. Um yeah, I was a high school senior when this article was written, and I just celebrated my ten year anniversary of HS graduation this past June. Ten years MAY not seem like a lot to many of you, but in the world of technology it's more like a CENTURY. Not sure if you agree with me? Stop and think for a second as to how far cell phones have come in the past THREE years and then you'll get my drift. A couple of years ago, I never would have believed someone if they would have told me that the letters on our phone would one day be used for more than just remembering phone numbers (and who remembers numbers anymore anyway with the ability to save phone books right in your cell?) and now look - texting is the next greatest health problem for thumb doctors. And what about checking email on your phone? Like I ever thought THAT would be possible. Now I think everything and anything is possible, and I am still banking on the fact that one day we'll all be walking around with bar code tattoos on our wrists that we scan when we want to pay for items, pay our bills, "hit the time clock" at work, or be tracked by UFOs. Mark my words for when this actually comes true. You read it here first. If there wasn't already a book out about the topic of bar code tattoos, I would have written it. I still believe it was my idea that someone ripped off. Ok, so I'm off on a tangent now... back to the article.
Despite the fact that the article was technologically archaic, it had many great ideas. There were games that I could use in my classroom such as thesaurus games using either online or Microsoft Word thesaurus resources where students would have to find crazy ways to say simple phrases. This reminded me of our "Word of the Day" activity from one of Dr. Baines' classes back during my undergraduate days. I have forever remembered the term hirsute proboscis because of this activity. (I'd tell you what it means, but I'd rather you use an online thesaurus to find the answer out for yourself.) It is my hope that if I incorporate this fun thesaurus activity in my room, that students will forever remember some random term or phrase of their own.
The article also talked about using emails and web sites as forms for student writing. I agree with the latter of the two, but I sort of "professionally poo-pooed" the former since I think emailing would cause more of a problem due to its private nature. There would be no possible way I could be aware of what every student was writing and sending to other students, and if they started writing things that weren't school-appropriate it would be MY tail that would be in trouble. So I wrote in my response that the idea of blogging is much better than emailing, since blogs are public and viewable by everyone.
Well, I better finish this blog since I sort of promised it would be shorter than my previous post. Hmmmmmmm, maybe that was just my way to trick you all into reading this one? I guess you'll never know!
Until next time ....
The first article I read for a summary response was a general one on using technology in a Language Arts classroom. I was reading the article for quite a few paragraphs when I came across the words "word processor". Then I paused and said to myself, "Whoa ... wait a minute .... no one uses that term anymore! When was this article written?" It was only then that I decided to look at the date of the article, which turned out to be 1998. Um yeah, I was a high school senior when this article was written, and I just celebrated my ten year anniversary of HS graduation this past June. Ten years MAY not seem like a lot to many of you, but in the world of technology it's more like a CENTURY. Not sure if you agree with me? Stop and think for a second as to how far cell phones have come in the past THREE years and then you'll get my drift. A couple of years ago, I never would have believed someone if they would have told me that the letters on our phone would one day be used for more than just remembering phone numbers (and who remembers numbers anymore anyway with the ability to save phone books right in your cell?) and now look - texting is the next greatest health problem for thumb doctors. And what about checking email on your phone? Like I ever thought THAT would be possible. Now I think everything and anything is possible, and I am still banking on the fact that one day we'll all be walking around with bar code tattoos on our wrists that we scan when we want to pay for items, pay our bills, "hit the time clock" at work, or be tracked by UFOs. Mark my words for when this actually comes true. You read it here first. If there wasn't already a book out about the topic of bar code tattoos, I would have written it. I still believe it was my idea that someone ripped off. Ok, so I'm off on a tangent now... back to the article.
Despite the fact that the article was technologically archaic, it had many great ideas. There were games that I could use in my classroom such as thesaurus games using either online or Microsoft Word thesaurus resources where students would have to find crazy ways to say simple phrases. This reminded me of our "Word of the Day" activity from one of Dr. Baines' classes back during my undergraduate days. I have forever remembered the term hirsute proboscis because of this activity. (I'd tell you what it means, but I'd rather you use an online thesaurus to find the answer out for yourself.) It is my hope that if I incorporate this fun thesaurus activity in my room, that students will forever remember some random term or phrase of their own.
The article also talked about using emails and web sites as forms for student writing. I agree with the latter of the two, but I sort of "professionally poo-pooed" the former since I think emailing would cause more of a problem due to its private nature. There would be no possible way I could be aware of what every student was writing and sending to other students, and if they started writing things that weren't school-appropriate it would be MY tail that would be in trouble. So I wrote in my response that the idea of blogging is much better than emailing, since blogs are public and viewable by everyone.
Well, I better finish this blog since I sort of promised it would be shorter than my previous post. Hmmmmmmm, maybe that was just my way to trick you all into reading this one? I guess you'll never know!
Until next time ....
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wikipedia - Friend or Foe?
Here's a little story for your afternoon enjoyment. For some odd reason, I decided to Google "Friend or Foe?" before posting this blog. I guess I was interested in seeing how popular my choice in title was. Ironically, the second of 1,990,000 plus hits for "Friend or Foe?" was a Wikipedia article about a former game show with the same title. Apparently it only aired for two years (2002 and 2003) and was hosted by 90s MTV VG/grunge icon Kennedy. I didn't even know Kennedy was still around, let alone the fact that she was hosting some game show that I had never heard of! Yet now I am plenty informed on both Kennedy's more recent television contributions and this show that flopped after shortly more than two years. Though I'm none the better for knowing this, it's all in thanks to Wikipedia.org.
When our prof, Chris, asked us to shout out our feelings about Wikipedia prior to doing any real research on the website, I was the second to comment. I openly declared my distaste for the website exclaiming, "I hate it!" The reason for my response is purely due to the fact that my students think it's the be-all and end-all of research. I admit now that I was unfair to judge Wikipedia so fast, especially since I used to "ask Jeeves" just about every question I could think of during my younger years either out of sheer interest or complete boredom.
So I read these assigned readings about Wikipedia, and I found myself getting more and more satisfaction out of its purpose. I never got the impression that it was trying to be a source for middle school students as they write research papers on The Civil War. Rather, I started to understand that the idea behind the site is to post current and unbiased information as it happens. I was especially struck by the passion through which 23 yr. old Natalie Martin controlled the "Virginia Tech Massacre" page back in 2007. Perhaps this was because of my obsession with following this horrible occurrence and my desire to watch the news as much as possible to learn every new detail as the tragedy unfolded. I even thought to myself, "How would the day have been different for me had I turned to Wikipedia for my breaking news information?"
What I learned about Wikipedia is that there are a number of people in the world who make its accuracy, reliability, and seriousness their main goal in life. As sad as this seems, when news breaks these "admins" take over and edit stories for hours. They sort of reminded me of hall monitors in elementary school that take their jobs a little TOO seriously, but I'm comforted knowing that they are no-nonsense types who just want to get information to seekers without putting forth a bias. And what American can't respect that?
Prior to the readings, I thought a bunch of know-nothings just got on the site and typed random information to confuse naive researchers (see Wookieepedia to understand where I was coming from.) After reading these informative articles, I feel like one of those people I claim to dislike. These are the types of people who judge everything before they have truly looked into it and are against all forms of technology or anything having to do with the future. I have since learned that Wikipedia is a beneficial search engine for certain tasks. In fact, I may even be checking it when the next major world emergency occurs, or when I want to learn more about failed game shows that ran for less than three years. I just won't be turning to it when I compose my Master's research paper next summer, and I think the admins will forgive me for that. :-)
When our prof, Chris, asked us to shout out our feelings about Wikipedia prior to doing any real research on the website, I was the second to comment. I openly declared my distaste for the website exclaiming, "I hate it!" The reason for my response is purely due to the fact that my students think it's the be-all and end-all of research. I admit now that I was unfair to judge Wikipedia so fast, especially since I used to "ask Jeeves" just about every question I could think of during my younger years either out of sheer interest or complete boredom.
So I read these assigned readings about Wikipedia, and I found myself getting more and more satisfaction out of its purpose. I never got the impression that it was trying to be a source for middle school students as they write research papers on The Civil War. Rather, I started to understand that the idea behind the site is to post current and unbiased information as it happens. I was especially struck by the passion through which 23 yr. old Natalie Martin controlled the "Virginia Tech Massacre" page back in 2007. Perhaps this was because of my obsession with following this horrible occurrence and my desire to watch the news as much as possible to learn every new detail as the tragedy unfolded. I even thought to myself, "How would the day have been different for me had I turned to Wikipedia for my breaking news information?"
What I learned about Wikipedia is that there are a number of people in the world who make its accuracy, reliability, and seriousness their main goal in life. As sad as this seems, when news breaks these "admins" take over and edit stories for hours. They sort of reminded me of hall monitors in elementary school that take their jobs a little TOO seriously, but I'm comforted knowing that they are no-nonsense types who just want to get information to seekers without putting forth a bias. And what American can't respect that?
Prior to the readings, I thought a bunch of know-nothings just got on the site and typed random information to confuse naive researchers (see Wookieepedia to understand where I was coming from.) After reading these informative articles, I feel like one of those people I claim to dislike. These are the types of people who judge everything before they have truly looked into it and are against all forms of technology or anything having to do with the future. I have since learned that Wikipedia is a beneficial search engine for certain tasks. In fact, I may even be checking it when the next major world emergency occurs, or when I want to learn more about failed game shows that ran for less than three years. I just won't be turning to it when I compose my Master's research paper next summer, and I think the admins will forgive me for that. :-)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)