The Funeral Industry Goes Digital

The thought of someone dying is not pleasant, but death is a reality that we must accept. This week’s article looks at how technology is affecting trends in funerals. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that expresses your views and addresses my questions.

Are all of the technological changes that were described in the article appropriate? Are there any that you feel should not be used? Which use of technology surprised you the most? If you were planning a tribute for someone, how would you incorporate technology?

Funeral Article

Screening Baggage and Playing Video Games

In this week’s article, the author poses the idea that security screeners at airports might do a better job spotting weapons if they spent their downtime playing video games. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment about the article and address my questions.

How do you feel about the government report and the Transportation Security Administration document that were mentioned in the article? Is the money that is being spent to study the problem sufficient? Is the money being spent well? How would you try to improve the situation? Which of the research findings surprised you the most?

Screening Article

Cellphone Vigilantes

Have you ever been annoyed by someone using a cellphone in public in such a way that everyone around them had to listen to the conversation? If so you are not alone. This week’s article is about one way that some people are dealing with this problem. Go to the link below and read the article. Then, write a reflective comment that expresses your views and answers my questions.

How frequently do you find yourself in situations in which someone uses their cellphone in a manner that disturbs others? How do you react? Do you ever use your cellphone in a way that disturbs others? What solutions can you suggest for dealing with this problem? Would it be appropriate to have laws that forbid using a cellphone while driving?

Cellphone Vigilantes Article

Cellphones as Incentives

Many schools ban the use of cellphones during the school day. This week’s article is about a proposal to use them as a reward. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that demonstrates you have read the article and addresses my questions.

Is Mr. Fryer’s proposal likely to make a difference in the New York City schools? Is it appropriate to reward students who do well? What kinds of incentives would work in our school? What sort things should students be rewarded for? How would you go about developing academic success in schools with students from low-income families?

Cellphones as incentives article

Privacy Lost

Most people have cell phones. Their ubiquitous presence makes the ongoing development of new services for use with cellphones a natural outgrowth of this technology. This week’s article points out benefits and concerns regarding the GPS chips that are placed in many cellphones. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment about the article and my questions.

Does your cellphone have GPS capability? Do you know others who have cellphones with this feature? Do you agree with the comment about people your age being fond of sharing your comings and goings on the Internet? Is a service like Loopt or Buddy Beacon available here in Jordan? If it were, would you use it? How much would you be willing to pay for this service? What privacy risks should we be concerned about with this service? What other nascent services for cellphones do you know of?

Privacy Lost Article

Ads in Virtual Worlds

Virtual worlds for kids are becoming increasingly popular. As the audiences grow, executives from companies are taking an interest. This week’s article looks at the use of advertising in these virtual worlds. Go to the link below and read the article. After reading the article, go to one of the sites mentioned or a similar site that you know and look at some of the Web pages at that site. Write a reflective comment that addresses the topic and my questions.

Why do you think that people are worried about the introduction of advertising in virtual worlds? Are their concerns justified? Does marketing at a subconscious level work on younger children? Does it work on you? What laws would you create to protect children from this? How would you enforce it? Which website did you explore? What were your impressions?

Virtual Worlds Article

Possible websites to explore
Stardoll
http://www.stardoll.com/en/

Whyville
http://whyville.net/smmk/nice

Gaia
http://www.gaiaonline.com/

Barbiegirls
http://www.barbiegirls.com/home.html

Hasbro
http://www.hasbro.com/

Millsberry
http://www.millsberry.com/

Talk About the Web

Most of us use the Web on a regular basis. A recent survey produced some interesting findings about the communication that parents and their children have with regard to use of the Web. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that expresses your thoughts and addresses some of my questions. The website requires registration to read the second page. If you do not want to register, I have put a copy of the text from the second page in the Read folder for our class. The file is named “Talk About the Web continued.”

What kinds of websites do you talk to your parents about? What kinds of websites do they talk to you about? Have your parents ever spoken to you about Internet behavior? Do your parents need advice from you about what Internet behaviors are safe? What aspects of the survey’s findings are accurate for your family? What gaps do you think need to be filled and how should we fill them? Why do you think that fathers’ opinions were different than mothers’?

Talk About the Web Article

Texting for Security

Student safety is important. This week we will look at how schools are changing the way that they react to crisis situations and how technology is being used to alert people. Go to the link below and read the article. Then write a reflective comment about the topic.

Were you aware of the incidents reported in the article? Does our school have a text messaging system for emergencies? Should it and if so, who should be contacted through the system? How should students be involved? Under what circumstances should such a system be used?

Texting Article

Digital Textbooks – Will They Disappear?

Digital textbooks are being introduced in some schools. As California schools begin adopting the state's first digital text, some ask why textbook publishers aren't offering more electronic versions of their hefty tomes. Teacher preferences, technology access as well as state and local policies all play a role, educators and publishers say. Go to the link below and read the article. Then, write a reflective comment about the topic.

Are all of the reasons given for the slow adoption of digital textbooks valid? Which is the strongest reason in your mind? How well would digital textbooks work at our school? How would you train teachers to work with digital instructional materials? As schools increase their expenditures for digital supplemental materials in the future, how should they spend their money? What sorts of things should they buy? What do we need at our school? What do you think about the electronic text reader idea?

Digital Textbooks Article

YouTube Class

Most people are familiar with YouTube through viewing videos there or perhaps posting a video. A professor at a college in California has created a course to “explore the role of the popular site.” Begin your assignment by going to the link below and read the brief article. Next, go to the link at the end of the article and view Intro to Learning from YouTube video and another video from the class. Read the comments below the videos. Write a reflective comment about the article and the class.

What value do you see in having a class like this? Would you take this class if it were offered at the college you will attend? If you were the instructor, what kinds of lessons would you have? What kinds of questions should be asked in a class like that?

To view the videos you have to have a YouTube account. If you are unable or unwilling to have an account, please contact me. We can use my account and schedule viewing during a lunch time.

YouTube Class Article

Photo Feud Intensifies

We are familiar with the presence of photographers at various events. This week’s article is about a conflict - some call it a feud – between journalists and the International Rugby Board over the use of online photographs. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that addresses the conflict and the questions that I ask below.

Why do you think that the restrictions are being imposed on the news groups? Why would the journalists object to the restrictions? Are the journalists right in what they are doing? Is the International Rugby Board right in what it is doing? How would you solve the problem? What should happen if the restrictions expand to other sports and events? Are the restrictions the same as censorship or is there a difference?


Photo Feud Article

Bringing Music to Consumers in the Internet Age

Most people enjoy listening to some form of music. Music companies are in business to get people to listen to their music and to make money. This week’s article is about some of the innovations that companies are using to get you to pay attention to them. Go to the link below and read the article. Then, write a reflective comment that expresses your views and addresses some of my questions.

The article gives some reasons why music is appropriate for online innovations. Do you fit the profile that the author gives for people your age? Have you heard of any of the companies that are described? Have you experienced any of their innovative ideas? See if you can find more about one of the companies mentioned and their marketing. Is it something that you would tell your friends about? What other innovative ideas would you like to see music companies try in marketing their music?

Innovative Music Marketing Article

Teens Take Tech to Class

Middle and high school students are increasingly relying on technology, including laptops, flash drives and all-in-one printers. That has many administrators struggling to keep their school policies up to date. Our article this week looks at students in one part of the U.S. to see how students have embraced technology in their lives. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that expresses your opinion and addresses my questions.

As you read about the students in the article, do you think that they are typical? What would you expect the average student at our school to have? How do local prices compare with other countries in considering the cost of these devices? Does the price affect people’s decisions to purchase technological tools? Which of the things described do you think would be useful for students? Which are not needed? Which do you think you will need to purchase when you go to college? Which should we require students to have now?

Teens Take Tech to Class Article

Second Life

Many people enjoy using computer programs in which they can pretend to be something or someone other than themselves. In this blog assignment you will read two brief articles about Second Life. In the first article you will read about use of Second Life in education. Many universities use Second Life as an educational tool, either supplementing real-life classes or sometimes conducting entire distance-learning courses in the virtual Internet world. The second article contains one person’s opinion about the virtual world. Go to the links and read the articles. Write a reflective comment about the articles and about Second Life.

What is your opinion about the use of Second Life? What is good about it? Is there anything that is potentially bad about it? Is it appropriate for use in education? Give an example of how it might be used at our school. Have you ever tried Second Life? If so, what did you do? How did you feel about it?

Second Life Article 1

Second Life Article 2

The Longest Day

You are digital natives. You have grown up with electronic media. Think about what it would be like to live, even briefly, without these tools and toys. Go to the link below and read the article. Then write a reflective comment. Your comment should be one or two paragraphs in length and should demonstrate that you have thought about the article. Your writing should express an opinion and should address questions that I ask in my posting. Spelling, punctuation and grammar count as part of the assessment.

How would you feel if you were required to go without electronic media for 24 hours? What sorts of things would you have to give up if you did this? Are you dependant upon electronic media to the same degree that the students in the article are or are you different? What do you think that you would do with the extra time that you would have? What would be your biggest problem and how would you deal with it?

Longest Day Article

Test

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