The Last December Posting...

I don't have much news, but I do have to say that I have learned so much already being a part of this program. I had an interesting conversation about technology with my best friend today and how there is such a difference now in terms of accessing information between the years we were growing up and going to school and today's youth. The fact that his eleven year old daughter asked for a macbook for Christmas was insane to me, but that might be how ingrained technology has become for those who have grown up with it versus those of us who have learned as adults. I have loved being able to use my computer to read BBC news and keep up with information that I wouldn't be able to get without the computer! I think the frustrations that I have with technology is just showing me that I am stretching myself in ways that aren't natural to me but necessary growth if I want to be a part of this new technology and teach students how to responsibly access information. I think about my dance classes and the fact that I don't get frustrated while dancing because I can keep repeating steps until I get it right; I have patience for it and if I get it wrong, my dance teacher can fix me the next week, but the realignment of steps is always small because I am familiar with the basics. This support is necessary to get it right, which is why I have enjoyed our last two hands on meetings so much. I feel like I understand the basics now with blogging and so my patience with technology has grown leaps and bounds this semester.

Anyway, this post might not be very interesting to read, but thank you to all who are a part of this program--I have learned a lot!

A Fun New Thing...

Here is an article about a hotel in NYC for all of us that love libraries...a library themed hotel using the Dewey Decimal system...with corresponding books in each room! I'd love to check this out!

Here is the link: http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/23/library-themed-hotel-in-nyc/

Wikipedia

I thought this article was interesting. Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales says that teachers who ban the use of wikipedia is like trying ban rock and roll--and says that teachers who ban students from reading wikipedia are bad teachers. My favorite quote is as follows: "We are the Red Cross for information. We won't sell out to Google."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7130325.stm

Research Calculator

I enjoyed reviewing the research calculator today--especially applying it to another subject, which isn't intuitive for me. I enjoyed thinking about how this applies to, in this case, math--which honestly, and embarrassingly, I don't think much about. It makes me think that I can learn how to assign an English project or paper that is outside my regular line of thinking. I try to be creative and thoughtful, but how does one know one is successful at this, if the creative project that used to be creative is not longer so insightful the tenth time one assigns it. Anyway, I appreciated the lesson immensely despite the appearance that I was antsy--that was just my back injury talking.

Thing 14. Reliable Online Resources

* How could you introduce these resources to your students? I think when I introduce each research paper to each class, all of these resources need to be readdressed. I did this once with my AP lit and comp students. I will walk through this process again in the spring when the ninth graders go through the research process.

* Have you dealt with the impatience of students waiting for that instant answer? How do you handle that? I think everyone wants an instant answer. I am lucky, though, to have advanced level classes so most of the students are quite conscientious and really want to find accurate information. I think they are really good at understanding that google might be a place to start, but they need to use this information as a spring board. I think it is nice to validate the use of google, but to teach them how to find reliable resources. Also, it seems students do like to know where to go to find reliable resources. I know one person in this group talked about how the students seemed relieved to know where to look--that the question of where to go was answered. I agree with this. If students are directed to the right place--and a place that information can be found--they are relieved. I cannot blame them if they get frustrated when they search and search for information and still find nothing, so I think it is important to direct students to sources that will be most appropriate for them.

* What other reliable online resources do you rely on? I like Smithsonian myself as well as Internet Public Library, but I don't know if my students would like these sources too. I will introduce it to them in the spring. I would love to bring all my ninth graders to the Minneapolis Public Library downtown, but I cannot imagine bringing 80 ninth graders anywhere on my own--and really, who at school would want to chaperone that trip? But, it would be great to show them all of the resources there! Of course, that is a digression since this is about ONLINE resources--sorry.

Building Libraries

I thought that this article on gadling's blog, this article written by Neil Woodburn, was really interesting:

http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/08/don-t-tip-the-locals-build-them-a-library-instead/

It gives information on Room to Read, a non-profit organization that has built 3,600 libraries in developing countries. Woodburn writes, "For just $3,000 a sponsor can fill an entire room full of books and convert it into a library in Nepal, or a handful of other countries the organization works with. Naturally, smaller donations will help as well.... So pull on that Santa hat and start giving." I don't know if anyone has a service project going on in their schools, but I thought it was something great to think about!

Thing 10. Copyright & Plagiarism

As many times as I talk to my students about copyright, proper citations, and discuss plagiarism, there are still too many times that I run into improper citations and plagiarism. It is so disappointing. I think that the amount of information on the Internet allows students more access to sources they can copy and paste from--without citing their sources. I discuss MLA format for almost every assignment students turn in because I require every assignment to have the MLA format heading. I discuss proper citations for every journal assignment because they are required to imbed quotes into their journals to support their ideas, which also have to be done in MLA format. I review MLA format for every paper, which for the freshman is six per semester. For my power point presentations for each unit, I also discuss where I got the information I am giving them and cite them in the power point. How does one get students to internalize this information to the point where they understand that it has to do with integrity and academic honesty? This I haven't come to an understanding of. I do think that I have run into it less this year than I have in the past, but that doesn't take the disappointment out of it when I do run into it, which has been twice this semester. The worst, I think, is when I find they have copied each other's work, which I found in one set of journals this year. When I asked the two students, one remained completely quiet while the other student tried to rationalize it.

I guess, I just have to keep addressing it. I have created a link to all the class blogs to MLA. Maybe I can add a place on my website too that discusses the importance of citing sources correctly and the reasons why--a combination of resources like Como's website, but with an additional personal analysis on why plagiarism is wrong and how it could effect them after they plagiarize. I suppose kids are kids and sometimes they make mistakes. It doesn't take the disappointment out of the discovery of plagiarism though and the loss of trust it creates. I guess I have to keep drilling the importance of proper citations into their minds--until every single one of them understands this. The problem, of course, with this theory is that I believe they all know plagiarism is wrong. They also all know what plagiarism is. They have been taught this all through middle school as well so this discussion is not new to them. Maybe there is a way to personalize this topic so they understand this issue enough to link it to their integrity. I don't know what that lesson looks like, but I will keep thinking about this.

Cool On-line Photo Tool

I just read about the tourist remover...an on-line tool that removes images from photos. You have to take a few images of the same thing though, 7-10 I think, and then the on-line tool will remove anything that only appears in one of the photos--like cars driving by, etc. It sounds like a fun tool for people with digital cameras. I am staying strong with my film camera so I cannot image taking 7-10 of the same image so I could remove a random person, but if I ever cave to the digital camera, I would love to check this out. The article can be found at:

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/002089.php