Wikipedia vs Textbooks

I do believe that Wikipedia is a helpful tool in everyday learning. When I went through middle school then high school I was always told that Wikipedia was a bad site and we were always told not to use it. When in reality I don't think that anyone ever gave it a chance. I feel as if they saw one wrong thing on Wikipedia and forever thought it was a terrible site, which in my opinion is incorrect. I think that Wikipedia is a great idea for classroom learning. Although I agree that textbooks can be helpful and a great learning device, however I do think they are very boring. Books have more of the concrete way of giving information as to Wikipedia may tell more of the story that the book didn't cover. Also, technology is becoming more important in our everyday lives to where it's much easier to google the answer than to read the textbook. Although Wikipedia gives all the answers we need, that doesn't always mean they're right. But, there are thousands of authors and historians/experts looking over the information daily. They go through and fix errors and things that come across as wrong/unfair. Those who are unaware of all of the useful knowledge on Wikipedia and how it works may believe that it is a worthless site, I used to be one of those people until I found out really what it was all about. I realized that it is a very helpful tool and the process of how everything works is very interesting. Therefore in my opinion, Wikipedia is better overall than textbook. I'm not saying to throw books over the hill and never use them again, but maybe use Wikipedia more as the technology progresses. I hope to use it in my classroom one day instead of underestimating it like my teachers did.

Education needs a digital upgrade

“Pundits may be asking if the Internet is bad for our children’s mental development, but the better question is whether the form of learning and knowledge-making we are instilling in our children is useful to their future.”
I agree with what Ms. Davidson is saying. Technology is quickly getting more advanced as the days go on, we have developed so much new technology that it is like a part of our everyday lives. Even at a young age kids are using all sorts of new technology. That is why I believe that teachers should be using an equal balance of technology in their classrooms. I do think that have an equal amount of hand-written work in a classroom is very important, however as much as technology is continuing to upgrade I think that its important that teachers and students know how to use all new technology because before we know it that is what the whole world is going to be made of. 

I chose this image because it shows how much things have changed and is not just about using pen and paper anymore but, yet shes still learning the same way plus other things like using an Ipad. 

Our Brain On Video Games

Our brains on video games

I agree with the claim " video games have a positive impact on us." After watching today's video I do believe that to a certain extent video games are making us smarter. I believe this because of the research that has been done in labs. Studies have shown that children are showing a positive result from playing video games for a few hours a week. Kids are showing to have a better attention span after playing video games compared to children who do not play video games as much. Other results have shown that kids are better at multitasking and have better eyesight  compared to non gamers. Due to these studies I have come to believe that a reasonable about of video games are not bad for us or our health.

Today I also learned that video games have a huge impact on us, and not in such a bad way. I learned that its helping with kids attention span, I learned that video games create an exceptional increase in learning.

Texting making us bad writers? Part two

    Taking a stand - From the beginning I did not think that texting was making us bad writers. I have always thought that texting has always helped me personally especially with spelling. Using abbreviations and things like LOL or OMG are obviously only used for texting but I do believe that it helps to a certain extent with everyday writing. This article just made me realize even more.

Why do I think this?/ Evidence - From a personal perspective I have realized that there are several words that I do not/ did not know how to spell and when I look back on it auto-correct changed it and with time I learned how to spell things without auto-correct. I understand why some people think that LOL and things of that nature are making us bad writers, but truthfully who would put that in an English paper? No one because we know that we only use abbreviations like that to shorten the length of texting. We know when and when it's not okay to use certain writing skills. Therefore, texting is not interfering with out writing it's actually helping. For instance like the article says it helps with note taking. I actually do have that teacher that talks a mile a minute and i use abbreviations all the time such as "Bc" for Because or " @" for at, it help so much to use abbreviations in times like that. It's just another way to prove that texting is not making us bad writers.

     



Hope you all enjoy these pictures as much as I did.. LOL

Texting is making us bad writers? part one

    

    I have the same feeling towards texting before an after reading this article. Yes, 4,000 texts is a lot however, I personally feel as if texting has made me a better writer. Mostly everyone older than my age thinks that texting is making everything worse for our generation saying things like " Texting makes U stupid" When like the writer said there is no evidence stating that texting is bad. However she did mention how there are proven facts that texting improves literacy and spelling. Personally I use auto-correct daily and I have learned how to spell several words through that. Some may think that's sad that I couldn't spell them before but at least I learned right? I also 100% agree with Veenal Raval, from personal experience I do use abbreviations while texting such as "Ur" for your or little things like that but, I wouldn't use them in say an English paper I'm writing, kids know when not to text and we know how to " code- switch" as they called it. 

     I personally found this article very easy to relate to, I as a teacher don't want to under estimate new technology and I don't want to look down on kids who text or whatever new technology that comes out just because I do not use it myself. I want to try new learning techniques even if that includes cell phones in the class room.