Taryn's Blog: 2010

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Re-looking at How Hard We Work

In the article “Rigor Redefined” by Tony Wagner the way students learn today is looked at and examined to see if what students learn now will be useful in the future. The article states there are seven survival skills needed to succeed in the new world of work: critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration and leadership, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurialism, effective oral and written communication, accessing and analyzing information, and curiosity and imagination. Wagner also added his observations of classes he went into.

Some of the ways to succeed in this article I agree with and some I don’t. The one skill I don’t really agree with is collaboration and leadership. The explanation really doesn’t explain the skill. All it really says is that team work is better in virtual team. When I read this the first thought that came to my mind was “how well does that work exactly? “ How could you communicate with your other team mates if your internet was down? Wouldn’t conference calls get confusing? I think working in teams is a good idea if you have physical contact with your group members. Most of the other skills I agree with. You must have a good memory to succeed is the Skill I agree with the most.

When I read the part of the article about the type of schooling students get I thought to myself, “This is exactly how school is.” AP Chem is just like lab for me at the moment. You get to class, get a work sheet, listen to the directions the teacher give about the lab and go to work. You can ask questions but when something doesn’t work then what? I feel that the AP English class Wagner observed was how my English class is. The teacher figures out good ways to help us learn and she gets everyone involved. That’s the way every class should be like. That is the best way to learn and become successful in the future.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Web 2.0

In the YouTube video “Web 2.0 … The Machine is Us/ing Us” by Michael Wesch it is said that “text is often said to be unilinear when written on paper” but “digital text is different, more flexible, moveable and above all…hyper.” With digital text or hypertext you can link websites. The video tells what <HTML>, <p>, <LI>, <b> and <i> all stand for. The video refers to who organizes the web. At the end of the video it comes to a conclusion; “XML + U & Me create a database-backed web.” We are the web. “When we post and tag pictures we teach the Machine. Each time we forget a link, we teach it an idea.“ We are the Machine. Web 2.0 is linking us together.

To me this means that since we make the web what it is; does that mean everything is accurately correct? During the video Wesch was on Wikipedia and he deleted everything on the page for Web 2.0. He changed it from being hundreds of words to being below 15 words. With all the features of Web 2.0, you can make a website not only look good but also interesting. When you type on the web you can make your words bold or italicized to give it meaning. That is really the only things that came to my mind when I saw this video. Nothing really caught my eye to make me think so much about this video. All I really got out of this video is that the web has codes to make things specific and that we are the web. We make up the web. When we do something to the computer we teach it.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Getting Noticed On Facebook as a New-Be

Have you ever thought about if the statuses and wall posts you post are getting seen by your friends on facebook when you are fairly new to the website? Well, in the article “Cracking the Facebook Code” by Thomas E. Weber it explains how new facebook users aren’t being noticed by their facebook friends because facebook doesn’t show new users posts as much as older users. Why is this? Well, Weber and a few colleagues decided to do an experiment to find out if it is true that facebook is biased against new users. During this experiment they tested if posting a large amount of times a week would get your posts in your friends news feeds. The outcome was it didn’t help. They tested friends interacting with you and your posts; and if your post doesn’t show up on your friend’s feeds then they can’t interact with your posts. That was a no for the outcome also. After testing interacting with posts, they made some friends interact with the posts and then the facebook posts started to show up in friend’s news feeds. When the posts were showing up they didn’t show up in the “most recent” posts. Apparently the “most recent” posts are censored. On facebook you can change the posts settings to where you can see more than what you normally see for “most recent” posts. You can also stalk your facebook friends to see more of their posts.

I can really relate to this. I’m probably a facebook addict. I’m on there more then I need to be. Facebook is another way for my friends and I to communicate with each other besides texting. I never knew that new facebook users posts were not shown on older users feeds. I was actually wondering why my friend’s posts were not showing up in my feeds. Now I know it is because he just got a facebook. Reading through this makes me think about facebook stalking my friends and maybe my crushes. Anyone can read this article and think; I wonder if ‘so and so’ stalks my facebook and that’s why they show up so much in my feeds. So I think I wont stalk any of my friends or crushes anymore thanks to this article. By reading this article I learned ways I can get my new statuses and posts noticed much more.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A "Ray" of Sunshine

In the article "Another Gay Suicide" by Claire Howorth, it talks about how Raymond Chase, 19 years old, and a sophomore at Johnson and Whales college killed himself for no apparent reason, that anyone knows about, on September 29. "I like to laugh, I like to have fun and I'm gay," is clearly stated on Chase's facebook bio on his wall. According to the Providence, Rhode Island, police, there is no indication that Chase suffered at the hands of anything but his own demons. Chase's friends called him Ray because he was such a "ray" of sunshine. “Straight guys fist-bumped him. Everyone just wanted to be around him." Ivonne White, Chase's best friend, said. White doesnt want to lump Chase with the other four suicides that had recently just happened. Chase was not tourmented like the others apparently were but they all had one thing in common: they were all homosexual.

Im not really sure how to feel about this article and this problem with these suicides. I think the main cause of these suicides were the gay jokes and how straight people make fun of gays. Im pretty sure if I was made fun of for what gender I would rather like I would most likely always be depressed and angry at the world. What I don't understand is why. Why did Chase commit suicide? Why did he wasnt to leave this world with no explanation? But then again, why do people make fun of gays? Why can't people just accept everyone for who they are and what gender they like? This reminds me of a show on Fox called Glee. Glee is about this club where every type of person is accepted. In this club there are peppy cheerleaders, pregnant cheerleaders, a goth girl, a fat black girl, the schools most popular guy, the quater back, the girl who like to sing, the paralyzed dreamer, and last but not least, the gay kid. Yes, the other students in the show do make fun of the quater back for being in Glee club. They call him gay. They make fun of him. Even though he is being made fun of he still defends his friend, the gay. Even though he is gay, he is loved by so many people, JUST THE WAY HE IS! But what I really want to say is that we should really treat eachother the same way we treat everyone else. We should treat the most popular just like we treat the people that no one really knows about. We should also treat the straights the same as the gays. We should be all equal.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

"Googleable"

In Will Richardson's article, "Footprints in the Digital Age", Richardson talks about how it is good to be "googleable" and how many young kids are on the computer alot. What exactly does it mean to be "googleable"? What I got out of Richardson's article was that being "googleable" meant that when your name is searched on google, links will come up that have something to do with you. When the ten year old girl was mentioned in the article about how she has her own blog about doing a good deed for 25 days and how many other people has subscribed to it really amazed me. I just learned how to do a blog this year. Richardson says that being findable on Google is a good thing. Many people from all over who have the same interests as you can search you and find out alot about you that many people may not know. Yes, i do think that having web links and pictures of you on the web is really cool but its not very safe. Being "googleable" is actually really dangerous. Before i started this blog I googled myself and many things came up. Articles about me being on swim team and articles about soccer came up for me. I think that is kinda weird how my personal info can come up for anyone who types "Taryn Pilkington" into the search box for google. All in all , the this public info on the web we call "footprints" can make you known or ruin you life because of predators.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

A Great Influence

Do you remember years ago when your friends and/or parents used to say “monkey see, monkey do”? In the article”Sesame Street's Cleavage Problem” by The Daily Beast, it mentions how the new episode; that was supposed to come out on television but never did because the parents who watch this show with their children didn’t like Katy Perry revealing outfit choice. During this scene, Perry sings a parody version of her song “Hot and Cold”, she wears a veil and a “low-cut, tight dress” throughout it. Even though she is wearing a nude colored mesh fabric that covers the majority of her chest, parents still feel it is to inappropriate for their 2-6 year olds to be watching. Most children around the preschooler age tend to mimic what they see.

My opinion about this is pretty strong. I know when I was around a preschool age, shows like Sesame Street, surely did not even think of having pop stars like Katy Perry on them. She isn’t exactly the best role model for younger children or really even teenagers my age. She doesn’t give off a very good impression. If you have ever really listened to her lyrics or even watched some of her music videos you would get that she is a “naughty person”. By “naughty person” I mean her lyrics are not exactly “Ring around the Rosy”, which is appropriate for younger children, they more about sex and going to clubs. Her music videos are for sure, not even close to appropriate for preschoolers. For example, in her “Teenage Dream” video she is in her under garments most of the time and her and her “guy” are doing inappropriate actions.. I am just saying that children shows, that should be fun and educational for the viewers, should really only contain puppets and good role models that “cover up” while on T.V. or out in public.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Dumbing Us Down

Do you get distracted easily? Have you stopped reading books and articles because they take to long to read? Well in Nicholas Carr’s “Is Google Making Us Stupid? What The Internet Is Doing to Our Brains” article in the Atlantic magazine, he states numerous details about how Google and the internet in general is making many people less focused and more lazy.

Throughout the article, it states that the internet is making humans less literate and more apathetic about getting things done correctly. The quote “We are not only what we read, we are how we read,” said by Maryanne Wolf, means that if you read short crappy pieces of literary works you aren’t trying as hard as possible and by reading below your standards, you wont get much better at reading. It also says that Google is making researching easier. Instead of sitting in a library for hours looking for the information you need, you can just open up the internet and go to Google and search whatever topic you’d like. The article also says that the internet can be very distracting.
Thoughts of mine about this article are close to the same as Carr’s. When ever I am doing an assignment on the computer, like this one, I often stop many times and check my Facebook, my grades, get on iTunes, and check many texts. Im petty positive that I read more texts chat messages and Facebook profiles (as said in “A Vision of Students Today” ), I also get up and “get a glass of water”, not really. Thanks to the internet, its made reading books (that are long) a lot easier. The internet provides websites like spark notes, even with that I barely read books, I more like skim them. Also when I read books, I normally read a few paragraphs then stop because I would just rather be on the web. Personally I do think that google is making a lot of people stupider. But if people just cut back on how much they use the computer they won’t be tempted as much to be distracted by the web.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

The Ways of The Wise

Some people have their own ways of starting off a new school year and new season but in Barbara Guggenheim's “10 Tips to Start the Fall Off Right”, you can gain new helpful ways to get your Fall season started off right. Tip number one tells you to make a list of chores and everyone’s activities so that you can keep organized during times when you are busy. The second one advises you to make a list of all the important numbers (medical insurance, car insurance, parent numbers, and ect.) in your family just incase anything life threatening occurs. Number three tells you to clean out your house so that anything left over from summer is gone and then restock you cupboards with new food and drinks. Tip four says to refresh you bedrooms and bathrooms and make them up to date with the new holidays coming around. Half way there, number five advises you to make a list of helpful and important items that need to belong in the glove compartment of your car. If you child has graduated from high school and is now moving on to college, make a list of what he will need to get by when he/she in on his own is what tip number six tells you to do. If you need a home office, you can rearrange furniture in your house so there is room; tip number seven informs you of this. Its time to clean out your drawers and closets of summery clothes and replace them with long sleeves and jeans. Tip number nine delegates you to clean out your old toiletries and replace them. Lastly, tip number ten suggests that you get new sheets for your bed, make your bed, then lie in it for the first time and relax.

Each and every tip that I said is very useful. The tips are good but for most people twenty years of age or older. The tips really are not that good for teenagers and kids just like me. I will most likely never think of any of those tips when ever fall comes around. When fall comes around, I think of school, soccer, friends, and family. If someone ever came up to me now and told me to go and make a list of chores and activities I have during the fall, I would probably just look at them and walk away. When I am about to go to college or maybe when I am out of college I will use those tips to my advantage. But right now, they are dead to me. Are they dead to you? Do they apply to you? Will you ever use them now or maybe even later on? Oh, the questions you ask yourself as a your adult.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Technology: Helping The Students of Today?

   Is today's technology helping students or hurting them? In "A Vision of Students Today", created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students from Kansas State University, Wesch has his students take a small quiz that show how much time they spend on the computer, sleeping, on the phone ect.

      Many times students may be caught with cell phones, I-pods, computers and calculators during class. These devices, while used during class when not supposed to be, are very distracting. They take away from the learning environment and cause students with great grades to achieve less then expected grades. Cell phones, I-pods, computers and calculators can help though.

   The technology of 2010 is very downgrading to some people and very upgrading to others. Personally I think technology helps out very much. With out technology, i would have a computer, so i wouldn't be able to type this paper.

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