Grand School

Grand School
At Chicago's North Grand High, great design inspires great attitudes.
By T. Shawn Taylor

The environment in which education takes place, if you ask any teacher or student does have an effect on how well they learn, and how easily it is to concentrate on the education process, and for some schools that are getting a “face lift” with upgrades in facilities students are responding in many different ways.
In one inner city Chicago school this tall tale has become a reality and for a mostly Hispanic low income area, students don’t go to school in a dilapidated old building, they go to school in a state of the art, technically sound facility with brand new computer labs, science and engineering wings, and sound proofing which blocks out the screeching sounds of the L train that passes directly past the school on a regular basis during class time.
The new design also has the community satisfied in several different ways, one of which is that they are saving money, in the long run. With all of the new features such as open windows within the cafeteria, there is less demand for electrical lighting, which keeps costs lower, which keeps taxes lower, or leaves more funds for what schools are intended for, the education of students. The second aspect of the new design is the 75 video cameras set throughout the school keep the gang violence out, and when a problem does arise the security team knows exactly where to go, and who to get. This keeps those students who might have had to worry about violence instead of education at ease to concentrate.
One of the things that I really can relate to in this is the respect level that the students have for their school that is new and state of the art. One of the main disadvantages of how the education community currently modifies schools (repairing or rebuilding only small sections) is that the students either see areas they have no relation to since their courses do not partake in it, or they see the rest of the school and wonder why it is so dilapidated. This leads students to care less about the school, and keeping it clean and functioning verse allowing students to walk into a new environment and take it as their own. It is what it is, and if anything does not last, it falls on them not only the school administrators.
Another aspect that is great is that one project that we can do within the technology department in architecture, is school design. How would you as a student design a school in order to create an environment that is functional but also an atmosphere to which you can learn.

Taylor , T. Shawn, Grand School At Chicago's North Grand High, great design inspires great attitudes. , This article was retrieved on October 19, 2006 from web site: http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1647&issue=oct_06

Online, on Alert

Online, on Alert
By James Daly

Students today have the world at their fingerprints, with the introduction of the internet into the educational community researching subjects became a lot easier then having to search through libraries to find out the information is miles away and will take days to get. However; with all great tools there are downsides to which may effect students work such as faulty information from a web site.
Students these days believe that anything that is on the internet is true, and these students are not using their practical thinking skills in order to realize the difference between truth, and misrepresentations of the truth and flat out lies. Students today need to be taught not only to use the internet to research information, but then how to sort through the information and find material that is of high quality and not something someone put up on the web either as a trick or to destroy the quality of what people are viewing (such as to push an agenda).
There are several steps students can take, and their teachers can help them with understanding and sorting through the information. 1. Be skeptical of the information that you are reading. 2. Show students what to do, don’t just tell them to go to the internet and find it. 3. Find out the site author, to see if they are a professional source of information. 4. Who owns the site, and do they have an agenda. 5. Who links to the site, and what information do they have. 6. Use ask.com instead of google, it has more reliable information for education.
This article I find more important then most things that we as teachers learn in college because we all do it in at some point or another by going to school and telling our students to look on the internet, assuming our students understand that the internet is filled with misinformation and they have to not only find it, but then sort through it for facts and not fiction. I also think that the idea of switching to ask.com is interesting because everyone uses google for searching, however if you use ask you will get a more “educational” search result which is what we want our students to find. I do however disagree with putting all of the responsibility on teachers in order to train students to understand what is right and wrong on the internet. Parents and communities also need to step up to the plate, and show students what they need to know, instead of passing it off to the schools will show them.

Daley , James, Online, On Alert, This article was retrieved on October 19, 2006 from web site: http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1638&issue=oct_06#

Myspace or Yours

Myspace or Yours
By: Joanne Barrett

This article talks about social networking and how it’s original function in the outside world as well as within the educational community has been modified from sharing ideas, networking for careers into a free for all hacker friendly environment where minors were posting personal information that could lead them towards a troubled future. This article also lists some great resources for parents and schools to look through as well as some of their own research into online safety for students.
As we are all aware of how social networking sites have been modified from their original meanings of sharing of information and networking with no boundaries in regard to geographic location we as an educational community have to lead the way in helping students understand what dangers these types of sites can lead to. One of course is the amount of personal information minors place on these sights, a lack of governmental oversight, in the sense that the government can’t really regulate something that does not belong to them and the dangers of how far is to far remembering that although you may post something today, that you can look back and go, “I was young and ignorant” that page will still be available to a future employer who can run a search for you, which that ignorance of today could leave you unemployed in the future. I think this type of subject matter is great for my web design class, to show how with all technologies and innovations there are the upsides but there are also pitfalls you have to be aware of.

Barrett , Joanne, Myspace or Yours, This article was retrieved on September 17, 2006 from web site: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume_34_2006_2007_/September_No_1_2/34114b.pdf

Cell Sanity

Cell Sanity
By: Grace Rubenstein

This article talks about the ban of cell phones from their use in NYC public schools, and the battle that has begun since then between parents and NYC administration as well as teachers to teachers. There are several points for and against each view and in the end, it actually makes a great point in which cell phones are not the problem, it is just the way in which they are used that is.
Working in a school where cell phone use was attempted to be banned due to inappropriate use but was shot down by the board of education under threat of lawsuits in the post Columbine era, I tend to agree with NYC schools. Cell phones are a great tool in which I am sure in the future can be utilized as a tool for education, but we as educators must be more realistic in the fact that students are not using it as a tool for learning, they are using it as a tool to talk to friends, which are also in class, or cheat. Our school has had several problems in which students would take pictures of a test first period, upload it to myspace, and other students could few it on their cell phone before they even had the class. As great as technology tools can be, their proper use needs to be curved in the right direction and until then, they should not be a part of a student’s daily life within a school environment.

Rubenstein, Grace, Cell Sanity, This article was retrieved on September 17, 2006 from web site: http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1625&issue=sep_06

A Kids Eye View - Smart architecture scaled down for Munchkin-size Mainers.

A Kids Eye View - Smart architecture scaled down for Munchkin-size Mainers.
By: Evantheia Schibsted

This article is about the future of schools and how right down to the way the architect designs the school is going to have an impact on the students who walk the halls within it. Daniel Cecil designed Kennebunk Elementary school with their motto in mind "Look through the eyes of a child and see the wonders of the world," which led him to design the school in such a manner as to keep things at a child’s level, creating “villages” which allows students to being building a sense of community and the perfect integration of smart technologies such as smart boards and projects allow students and teachers to be more creative in the learning process.
There are several reasons I was interested in this article, 1. is we offer architecture as a course at the H.S. and any insight into why buildings now and into the future are designed a specific way that can be passed along to the students is a great tool to have and 2. I really feel that the environment that the students are going to be learning in is a major key to their success. Our current school was designed by an architect that designed prisons, and if you were to take the school building as it is now and lay it over a prison they would match. If the students then begin to think they are in prison, the learning environment that we as educators try to create is destroyed.

Schibsted, Evantheia, A Kids Eye View - Smart architecture scaled down for Munchkin-size Mainers, This article was retrieved on September 17, 2006 from web site: http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1612&issue=sep_06

No Fuss Video

No Fuss Video
By: Al Doyle

This article is a short introduction to using video on demand within the classroom. It provides a comprehensive list of where to begin to find videos on demand, as well as some great tips for using it within the classroom as well as some ways in which students can use it within the classroom.
For both shop classes I teach (metal and wood) there are several videos which I show, that for the most part are to the point and describe everything I want the students to know, however; student’s become very bored these days with just watching a video and teachers need to somehow find a way to keep their attention. I think using video on demand might be the key, by showing smaller clips and then having a small class discussion on the how’s and why’s of it’s importance to the class will keep the students attention as well as still having that visual tool available to me.

Doyle, Al, No Fuss Video, This article was retrieved on September 17, 2006 from web site: http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=192700192

How To: Basic Training (Windows on a Mac)

How To: Basic Training
By Jeffrey Branzburg

This article is a step by step installation manual for adding Boot Camp and then installing Microsoft Windows on your Mac notebook or desktop. The step by step instructions also include several errors that were encountered during the instillation as well as links or exact ways to troubleshoot the error for a complete installation. The author also provides the reader with information on how to troubleshoot differences in the two systems such as keyboard shortcuts and right clicking for the mouse.
I teach a web design class which covers three main programs Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Access. All of these programs are available on the windows machines we have, however they do not have the same power that the new G5’s have, and in the future I would like to either have a grant written or if the school can afford to do it modify the technology department’s computer lab to all G5 machines. With the introduction of Boot Camp and its ability to function with both Mac OSX and Windows, we run all the programs we currently have, switching between the two, but have the power of the G5 the school would be more willing to listen to this type of proposition.

Branzburg, Jeffrey, How To: Basic Training, This article was retrieved on September 17, 2006 from web site: http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=192700194

Media Effects on Children: Television

Violence is not a new phenomenon within the human culture, and has been around since the inception of time, and now that mass media is ever more readily available, and this violent nature has become an area within the American society that is no longer frowned upon, it has been taken further and further in our entertainment and in real life. Adolescents in our generation have become numb to violence, and it is becoming more and more apart of their daily routine. There is no more room for cooler heads to prevail, there is no room for them to remain calm, but as soon as someone asks them, tells them, instructs them students lose their cool, and now represent themselves in a violent, threatening manner to not only their peers, but their teachers, and community members. So what do we as a society do?
A major problem with violence has taken over our state’s schools according to a new study. It found that violent acts within schools have gone up 12% between 1999 and 2001, and yet school administrators are denying that their schools fall into those areas. This seems to be a major problem with our society as a whole, when it comes to violence. During the recent hard times in the Iraq war, some people within this country have already admitted defeat, because there are too many soldiers dying. However, if we look at the United States we may see the same, if not worse. * In 2004, there were 16,137 murders, which comes out to on average 44 people being murdered every day. There were 1,367,009 violent actions on people in 2004, which comes out to an average of 3745 acts of violence every day in the United States. So how can we can not accept that violence is a daily occurrence, and that eventually as it has in recent years, that violence has trickled down into our schools?
We as a society must face the problems that violence has taken on our children and we must now accept that our entertainment has are negatively affecting the way in which they react to situations that may affect them or others in the future. If we can not admit that there is a problem in our schools, how can we face it head on and try to come up with valid solutions that will solve it, instead of being a band aid and just covering it up. And as long as people within society, such as the over 1,000 fans of the Jerry Springer show who called in to complain that the show no longer promoted such violent acts on their show, keep their minds closed to the harsh realities of this effect, we will no doubt follow in the footsteps of other great nations, whose violent natures lead to the downfall for everyone.

Greenspan, Sam, Pre-Teenagers Today, “Media Effects on Children: Television” This article was retrieved on June 18, 2006 from web site: http://preteenagerstoday.com/resources/articles/tv.htm

*Crime statistics retrieved on June 18, 2006 from website http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/uscrime.htm

New Trade and Industrial Teachers’ Perceptions of Formal Learning versus Informal Learning and Teaching Proficiency

Over the years I have encountered many people from different educational backgrounds, and over all of those years, there has been one person who overall I would say has been of the highest intelligence, and that would be an uncle of mine. Now this man had not studied applied physics at Harvard, or gained a masters degree in political science, nor did he attend college at all. I can even go one step further, he didn’t graduate high school. And yet, I would consider him one of the most intellectual people I have ever met. How can that be? Knowledge in today’s educational system is based on tests scores, and the amount of course work a student completes, and yet someone who never graduated high school is right up there with someone who graduated with a PhD.
It took me till I was a little older, and a little more life lesson learned to understand why. “Education is what you make of it” he always told me, and it is true. He didn’t go to school, listen to teachers teach, then go home and study, come back a week or so later and get tested on how well he understood the information, he actually went out into the real world and did it. If he did it right, he had a job, or money, or food for his family that day. If he did it wrong, he might have had none of that, or even worse, he could have lost his life or someone else’s. Real world experience led him to gain an wide range of interest in other areas, such as our countries history especially the Civil War, government, science, the arts, etc, and he then engulfed himself into it. He read books, visited real sites, talked to real people, and through this process was able to learn the same and probably more then that of a college student who takes a course in it.
This article dives deep into the idea that standards at which teachers obtain “certification” to teach our students can be done in somewhat the same matter, especially for those who are within the technical fields of study, such as technology education, and if this can be true for teachers, it would be of great service for society to start to recognize that it may be right for our students as well.
Technical education can offer all or most of the same aspects of education to the student, and in some cases, it can go one step further. Students throughout time have had hardships in education, either for lack of interest, or just not being able to handle the work, however, in the past we were able to deal with this problem by allowing students to go to a technical school in which they would learn a trade, and through that learning process would be able to become productive members of society. Now the theory on education is that every child can and must learn the same material on the same level, and achieve the same level of success of the education system is failing that student. So the lower spectrum of the student scale is slowly beginning to be left out, and we are beginning to breed failure into them, because we never let them achieve on levels in which they can handle.
If our main focus within society is to educate our students to become productive members of society, and we have students who excel or want to excel at a subject then we must allow them to explore that area, and remove some of the coursework in which will have little affect on their lives, and fill it with coursework that will and technical education can fill that void. The two major obstacles this form of education has is that some parents and teachers have begun to have a one track mind when it comes to education and that they can not see, or want to admit that a subject is either wrong or to hard for a student to handle. Typically parents do not want to admit their child can not learn on the normal level of education, because it will either harm the self esteem of that child, or themselves, and the teacher does not want to feel left out of the education process, because what they have to offer is valid to every child, which I can completely understand as I too feel the same way. The second major thing is the No Child Left Behind Act, which mandates these students work through these areas. This law has some major flaws, one that would make the point the most, and goes along with technical education is that Einstein himself, would not be qualified to be a teacher in many states, which includes New York State, because he has not done coursework in a certified college, but his real world, technical skill base makes him more prepared to teach physics than most physics teachers around.
In this sense we as a society need to begin to open doors in two ways; 1. so that teachers who have this real world experience, and knowledge that can carry students who can achieve greatness in other ways to become teachers, and 2. allow for students to achieve that greatness to become engulfed within it, rather then be bogged down in areas that may not shape them as well.

Burns, Janet, Schefer, Karen, Hayden Jessie M., Georgia State University, “ New Trade and Industrial Teachers’ Perceptions of Formal Learning versus Informal Learning and Teaching Proficiency” This article taken on June 18, 2006, from the web site: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JITE/v42n3/burns.html

Watching TV Makes You Smarter

The sleeper curve has two main areas of interest, in which does have the greatest impact on the study of whether TV has a negative or positive effect on the viewing audience, especially of the audience of our younger generation. One is that of whether the violence that these shows produce today, have a negative effect on the way adolescents handle their problems, and the second was that of “smart” TV inadvertently help the growth of the audience.
The negative effect of violence on the adolescent audience can be seen through the ability to which our younger generation begins to participate in acts that they view on television. Back in the late 90’s a movie Money Train came out, and in that movie was a scene were a “killer” was fire bombing New York City subway token booths, thus causing the death of the teller inside. Several weeks later, a series of real token booth fires occurred, which was later found to be an adolescent who said, he got the idea from a movie.
A few years ago, MTV networks released the show Jackass, in which four friends performed acts that are not safe for the average person in society to try, and in the following weeks after these episodes aired, adolescents were already mimicking these acts, several of which caused a fair amount of harm to the individual or those individuals that participated in it.
The violence that has become an everyday event within our television programming from those shows mentioned above, or just the news itself has become a part of our society, in which we accept. This has now in a way numbed our younger generation to the harsh reality of that in which the form of violent acts actually mean to real life, although this subject matter can easily be detoured into several other discussions to which do need to be explored in the future. However, the main point for this moment, is that the emulation of pop culture does have a negative impact of adolescents and in this case, there is a negative effect.
The other area of exploration is “smart” TV, in which the program makes the viewer not only watch, but study, and within the education field this is the area in which we have wanted students to undertake, and although the above negative effect has it’s downside, it has brought about a tool in which educators can build upon. Students, well in that matter any individual now needs to be challenged when they watch entertainment, with more complex storylines, less subtle information in which the story teller gives away what is going to happen next, and one in which each preceding part, is of a necessary aspect to the viewer. This type of entertainment is now challenging the viewer to stay engulfed within it, and “want to”, not “have to” continue to pay attention, and as those within the education field already know, students learn best, when they do not realize they are learning at all.
It seems as if through entertainment educators can learn some ways in which to keep students involved with the learning process, in which the media projects they work with can now challenge the viewer, not just stay on one steady path to an end in which tired eyes prevail. There of course needs to be more in-depth studies on the psychology of it all at a later date, but any average person can see that today’s generation is negatively effected by what they watch, as well as being a product of our media centered society need to be challenged through what they watch.
Johnson, Steven, April 24, 2005. “Watching TV Makes You Smarter”, New York Times, retrieved on June 18, 2006 from the web Site: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/magazine/24TV.html?pagewanted=2&pagewanted=print&en=e08bc7c1e7acbb59&ex=1271995200&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&position&emc=rss

DV.com

I chose to review the website DV.com, because throughout the years I worked with video and film and I needed to learn how to do something, add more techniques to my tool belt, or get a review of a product from an industry specialist, this was the site and magazine I went to. This site has several key areas for the video enthusiast. The first is the features section. This takes you through this months issue of DV magazine, and all of the articles within, as well as an archive so that you can retrieve articles you may have enjoyed, or may have had no need to know until now for review. This is a great tool for the film/video maker in the sense that there is a wealth of knowledge from those who are engulfed in the industry available to you, and it varies in levels from beginners to more advance.
The second is the reviews section, which is dedicated to industry professionals reviews of the newest video gadgets available to you on the market. It typically takes them a month or so after the release of the new product to have it reviewed, but occasionally they get to jump the gun and show you want is about to come out, so you can get a head start on what to look for in the future. This section would be of great use to the educator because they are getting a non-biased view from professionals, who know what they are talking about, and are just like you, trying to get the most for the smallest amount of investment.
The next section is great for all beginners and that is the columns section. This section is broken down into the different sections of video production that you will encounter as you begin to work with the media. From lighting, to graphics, to audio, to post production these articles are a step by step guide on how you can create the most out of what you have available to you.
The next section is that of forums, which if anyone has ever used within another area, is a great asset for anyone from beginner to advanced users within any field. Here you have the chance to read other peoples problems, and see if you can help them, and if you can’t you can read what other people have to say, to find out the answers, as well as post your own. This type of community activity helps generate great conversations, as well as build the tools for everyone instead of a select few.
The last section is the news section, which is broken down into sections like the columns, but is mainly focused on upcoming events, or new innovations within the field of digital video. This section is not as useful as some of the other areas, but it does again keep you as an investor informed on what is coming out, where to go to find the right information on a product or event, and what to stay away from.

DV.com Digital Video Magazine. 1996. CMP Media Inc. www.DV.com

Voices from the New American School House

Voices from the New American School House, in a way brings us full circle back to what education was meant for in it’s early conceptions. It takes the youth of a community, allows for personal growth in an area of interest, or multiple areas of interest and then moves them on into the “real world” of either college or of that trade in which they learned. I believe an educational system like this did once exist in society, and that it will again exist once again, although society as a whole has to accept several things.
In New York when I went to High School, there was regents track, honors track, and regular track, and as a student based on previous performance you were placed in one of these tracks. It did not destroy a student emotionally or socially by being placed in either track, it just placed you at your comfortable level of learning. You went through all of your classes, you graduated with a well rounded level of education at your level, and then you had the option to move onto the next level. Today, there is no regular track, there is regents, honors or AP and students who are not able to achieve these levels in an area, are being moved to the back of classrooms, and slowly being faded out of the teachers eyes, (and not because teachers don’t like slower students, because teachers are by laws placed on them aiming to teach the majority of students to achieve a certain level of success on a test, which will have very little value on that students life in the future). So now we begin to see the downfall of the slow student, that student who craves attention, that student who acts out in those classes he or she does not succeed in. What changed over the years to allow the government, the state, to modify a system that did for the most part succeed in allowing for students to learn at their level?
Today’s thinkers of education have led parents to believe that they, not the educator, know what is best for their child. Now, on some levels, parents do understand their children more, however, when it comes to education, teachers tend to pick up strengths and weaknesses of a child faster then a parent, because parents do not want to admit to others or themselves that their child is “weaker” then another. This has led to parent complaints, lawsuits threatened or filed, and schools and communities having to give in, and when you give into one, you must give into all. Once this has occurred the schooling system that once placed students at their level, now placed them where parents thought they ought to be, and you end up with situations such as the Math A test of several years ago, where to many students failed, and the state instead of raising the standards to which a student should obtain, they lowered them.
This is a point that leads into another problem facing education today, and that is not every child was meant to go to college or university. These institutions were created in society many generations ago for the advancement of those in fields or areas that they were going to be at, or at the pinnacle of those members of the society as a whole, instead they have become money making machines, in which collecting a check has become second to the actual education they produce. All students have become accustomed to moving onto college as a party, a time to let loose; however, if we look further into society we tend to notice a great change. No longer does the American worker hold working as an importance. We want less hours, less responsibility, with less education, for more pay, more benefits, and more vacation. In the eyes of our forefathers, I think we are slowly breaking the system in which they created for us to live in, and it stems all the way back to interest, choice, and placement.
We as a society have to accept and understand that not everyone is meant for college. Not everyone is going to make it to the NFL or become a movie star, or the next American Idol. We as a society have to accept that working will sometimes mean getting a little dirty, getting a little tired, and having to perform at your job, in order to keep it. We as a society must accept that our children are the best, because just like us, there is always someone better. Then we can go full circle back to the days in education where there were technical schools that taught children a trade that they were interested in, so that they can walk out into the real world and have a job. That some children perform better then others in different areas, and we need to push those children at higher levels, then others, and it doesn’t make them dumb, or less of a person, it just means they do not learn that material as fast. We need to go back to times when honoring success is more important then a lawsuit (a school in Tennessee banded the honor-roll because a parent threatened to sue them because her child could not make it, and it had caused her emotional stresses. The school district thought they would lose, so they banned it).
Then we can challenge federal institutions that have placed emphasis on testing, instead of actual knowledge. They can add more funding to schools so that students have smaller classes, have an equal and fair chance at education, and spend less on social welfare in the future. It all comes around, and in a time of great loss in focus within the educational system as a societal whole, it seems inevitable, that the one change we need to have, will never come.

Dmydlack, April 19, 2006, Voices from the New American Schoolhouse (trailer) This trailer was taken from the web site, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgpuSo-GSfw.

Parents Making Use of TV Despite Risks

Parenting, in our society today has changed, and with two parents working, sometimes long hours, sometimes two jobs, children are a demanding aspect of life, and controlling them to do three things at once is even harder. This created the void that mass media like television has filled quite nicely. However, there are many areas in which we must look before we decide the television is the right solution.
I remember growing up, and having to watch TV while my mother prepared dinner, because she needed space, and having three kids run around as she chopped tomatoes was probably not very safe, and the shows we were allowed to watch were those aimed at our age level. However, I do remember watching the TV to close, and as I am getting older, I am finding my eyes having more and more serious problems when it comes to electronic media such as TV or computers and with the size of TV’s today, how many homes have the minimum eight feet distance that you as an adult are supposed to sit away from the TV for safe viewing? These are going to become more and more troubling effects of TV on children in some cases then those of the traits they learn from shows themselves.
The young girl who told her mother, “mommy use cilantro in the chicken” (Clemetson, 3) was an interesting point that I hadn’t really thought about before when focusing on tv and younger children. Due to adult based television and reality television that we see today, which for the most part airs at night time, when most youngsters should be sleeping, we tend to dwell on the fact that TV can due more harm then good. However, I remember watching television shows on cooking all the time when I was younger, because a lot of the personalities of cooks were filled with energy, and they made it fun and enjoyable. Children who find something fun, will be more inclined to become involved in it in their future, and in the case of this young girl, she it has sparked an interest in cooking. Now, if we were to take a survey of freshman in college on how many of them can cook their own meals without solely depending on the use of a microwave or a meal card, that number would be considerably low.
I idea of educational TV, such as the new cable channel that was launched aimed at 3 and under could be a great base, to start children on a path to being successful young adults, and then later on as adults. Maybe we need to have cooking shows, cleaning shows, organization shows, etc, that will allow children to begin to gain an interest, and build that interest as they get older, so they become less dependent on their parents, friends and teachers, and more reliant on themselves, and the saying “I can”, instead of “I cant”.

Clemetson, Lynette, New York Times, May 25 2006, “Parents Making Use of TV Despite Risks”.

Congress targets social network sites

Students, social networking web sites and school are now going hand in hand. Students today spend more time communicating with others on the internet then they spend actually doing their school work, and now the government is stepping in. Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick, of Pennsylvania has proposed new legislation that would deny access to these sites, (this has mostly been aimed at sites like myspace.com) so that students while they are at a publicly funded school or library computer could not communicate with others who could be child predators.
This bill I think is a great ice breaker into a larger discussion the country and possibly the world needs to have about the internet, it’s content and how that content can be misconceived by a younger audience. The one thing the strikes me as startling is that there even needs to be a bill like this within our country. Schools and libraries should have already had sites like myspace blocked on their servers in which children have access to, because these are not educational sites. They are used to be social with other people around the world, and in the case of myspace there is a large majority of younger people on there with personal information and pictures that could be used by predators to harm that child.
However, students are not just accessing these sites at school or the library, they are accessing them from home where their internet use is not being monitored by their parents, and their actions on these sites are becoming more representative of their take on view in society. The language, pictures, blogs leave very little to hide about whoever has posted them, and in some cases actually criminally implicate these students in actions they should not have participated in. Students also do not realize that the Internet is an open communication system, and with the new tools that are out today and those that will be out in the future, their future employers can run a search, find these sites, and really gain a greater idea on who it is that they are about to employ and that could really effect their lives.
This bill, even though it has major loop holes, and like its predecessor will have an uphill court battle within the next few years, is a good step in the right direction to talking about how serious the mass communication tools has really begun to effect education and the students that are part of it.


McCullagh, Declan Published: May 10, 2006, 5:30 PM PDT
Staff Writer, CNET News.com Congress targets social network sites This article was retrieved on June 3 2006 from the website : http://news.com.com/Congress+targets+social+network+sites/2100-1028_3-6071040.html?tag=nefd.lede

Jump Cuts

Jump Cuts is a great tool for the educator who wants to begin to incorporate video production into their curriculum without spending a lot of money upfront in order to do so. This web site allows you to upload your own video, audio and still images, edit them and then post them so that they are available to view over the internet. These controls are very simple to use and students will have no problem picking them up quickly.
The site does however have some videos that may not be appropriate for different age levels and educators like with many other tools available to them on the internet they must preview the videos that they want to use as demonstration pieces, as well as monitor their students use of the site while in the classroom, and allow for communication with the parents about what they are about to do within the classroom so that they to can begin to monitor what their child is viewing at home. An educator can even go as far as trying to contact the company and see if they can create a space for educators to go where the films would be more appropriate for students.

Jump Cuts, 2005 MiraVida Media, Inc. http://www.jumpcut.com/

TIES: Teaching the Five Minute Film

Student’s films are a great way to incorporate different areas within a school such as technology, art, theater, music all into one product which has some great educational and real world values. However, a large amount of student films today lack some of the key elements to a good film, such as shot selection and camera techniques, “unfinished” scripts, continuous editing mistakes, sound quality and lighting. Students and some teachers of film within high school want to jump into the process of creating a story right away, and the students end up losing out on learning the proper way to create that film and end up with a product that is not as successful.
One way in which teachers can avoid this problem is to start out small and slowly build the students tools so that they can eventually work up to a 10-15 minute film, and at the same time which the author does say go over theories behind different techniques, and use examples of these techniques in films today that students would recognize. This way when they sit down to plan, then shoot, then edit their film they’ll be able to recognize and explain with examples what they want to see on the screen for that particular shot, because communication between all the parties involved in the film process is the most important aspect to a successful piece.
Suggested film projects for a beginning film making class:

Project 1: Editing

Students will create a 1 minute video using found or made still images and a soundtrack to create an emotional response from their audience

This project will familiarize students with editing theory and the process of importing images, and sound into the editing software, as well as familiarize students with the software itself.

Project 2: The Camera

Students will create a 3-5 minute video exploring the world with the camera. Students should begin to start to see how using a camera from different angles, different lighting, different lenses, tripod versus hand held can change the way in which the audience feels about that scene.

This project will familiarize students with the basic areas of camera work. This film should be first viewed unedited, and then students can go back and begin to create an edited version, to further develop their editing skills.

Project 3: The Short Film

Students will create a 1-2 minute short film. This short film will introduce students into the process of scripts, storyboarding, sound, and lighting, while also ending the introduction in students editing skills and beginning to move them into more advanced techniques, as well as using graphics and effects to complete a product.

Project 4: Music Video

This project will incorporate all of the skills that the students have learned throughout this introduction to film making while allowing students to explore their creative side and begin to work with subject matter that is personal, (their music taste) to them.

This project will also be an introduction to the TEAM aspect of video production in that students will have to work together to create a product, all taking on different roles, and communication between these roles will be the key to a successful piece.

Wilson, T. (2003). TIES: Teaching the Five Minute Film Retrieved June 2, 2006, from The Savvy Technologist Web site: TIES: Teaching the Five Minute Film

A Plea for Media Literacy in our Nation's Schools

As I read and write this assignment I am watching a television show, reading and writing this topic while monitoring something on the web, and I can imagine how a younger student who has not gained the ability to either multi-task in an effective way or to find an interest in a subject can become overwhelmed with these medias, for as we all know finding the area of a rectangle is not as interesting as finding out how far behind you are in your fantasy baseball league.
But in what way can educators integrate these new media’s into the old curriculum so that the students of today can move more effectively into the jobs of tomorrow? In technology we’ve adapted our curriculum to meet these new technologies by embracing the teaching of the proper use of the tools it has created, whether it be from image manipulation to word processing to web design, or video production. Students then have the unique experience to learn the how the media’s in which they use on a daily basis actually work, however this is the one area in which some students have no interest in. Like some older areas of technology such as automotive technologies, students had no interest in learning the inner workings of the automobile, but they wanted to take advantage of it’s abilities to move from place to place faster.
The Internet is an accumulation of data; such is the mind of a student in school until they reach the point in which they can pick their own path to follow. When this happens the student then learns how to handle that data, and integrate it into their life, which will make a more effective use of a student’s time, and learning process.

Obsolete Skill Set: The 3 Rs — Literacy and Letteracy in the Media Ages

There is no reason in which a student could not navigate the internet in this technologically savvy generation, however a student who can not participate in reading the information presented to them will have no greater ability to comprehend the material no matter what format the material is presented, book or internet. The ability to read and write language is one of the hardest tools a student has to learn within education, but once a student has comprehension of this, their ability to read, and then interpret how giraffes do things, makes their world easier and undoubtedly more beneficial.
The knowledge machine in concept is a great tool in which students can use to learn, but we can take several looks at knowledge machines of today and see how the old system of the 3 R’s is more effective then the new technologies.
The first is the Internet itself; are the students of today gaining more then those students from yesterday. It is said that 80% of the Internet is either shopping or pornography, and the remaining 20% is at least half non-fact based information. Thus 90% of the information that the Internet provides is not going to gain the student any further knowledge. The Internet has endeavored into several areas in which united minds come together in a thinking machine, such as wikopedia in which all knowledgeable people can converge onto one document and create an environment with the most knowledgeable information available on the net. However, who monitors the information on this site, and are those people reliable to trust with the education of the next generation? With today’s ever growingly more hostile political world, and the use of the internet as a tool for political change, can one trust the written information on the net, that it is true to the subject and not someone else’s biased opinion, (although the same can be said for the printed media in this case). So can this great thinking machine really add to what the student is learning?
Educators need to use new tools such as the internet, and other technology formats in addition to the old school learning styles, to enhance the learning process, by engaging the students in ways to which they are accustomed to, but still remaining true to the concept of education, and that students past, present and future, will always remain constant, and so can some of the major ways in which we teach them.

Can video replace the written word?

The question of videos effect on the learner can be considered from both sides, but like most sides on education. Students learn through different techniques that educators throw out at them, and since they change at lightning speeds, students are becoming more adept to them. However, the ability to use video effectively in some areas is not one in which educators should jump into.
Videos have their most effect on students when they add an emotional connection, in areas like social studies when exploring the atrocities of war, or in art, in which a video tour of the sis teen chapel allows students to see what they may have never been able to see before. In these situations, learning is more effective, as long as the educator follows it up, with some form of written word, it could be anything from an essay to a journal or a comprehensive 30 page packet filled with the same information as the video. This exercise will allow the student to connect the written word with an image which will add to comprehension.
What educators have to ask before endeavoring into this area is whether the video can add to the learning process. Showing a video on how to use a band saw, versus actually using a band saw, will not have the same effect on the student’s ability to learn to use the tool. However, there are cases such as in medicine where videos may be the only tool available to a doctor who needs to learn something fast about a patient, and as technology increases with advances such as nanotechnology, doctors will rely on real-time video for surgery.