Comments on: Stop the Madness!! http://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/ Providing a relevant learning experience for life... Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:35:51 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Kary http://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-83 Kary Wed, 31 May 2006 08:07:00 +0000 https://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-83 I have my students make their own blogs during the school year and upkeep them for a grade. It is a great learning opportunity. They learn the positive way to do this and what information should go on their sites. I had a lot of success with this and my students took off the personal information they had on Xanga and Myspace. I also got to know my students better by doing this assignment and I am wantin to do it at the beginning of they next year, after my freshman get their laptops. Blocking these sites would be harmful to my World Geography class and to my students. It is a great tool to discuss current issue from around the world and a great opportunity to get to know my kids better. I have my students make their own blogs during the school year and upkeep them for a grade. It is a great learning opportunity. They learn the positive way to do this and what information should go on their sites. I had a lot of success with this and my students took off the personal information they had on Xanga and Myspace. I also got to know my students better by doing this assignment and I am wantin to do it at the beginning of they next year, after my freshman get their laptops. Blocking these sites would be harmful to my World Geography class and to my students. It is a great tool to discuss current issue from around the world and a great opportunity to get to know my kids better.

]]> By: Anonymous http://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-82 Anonymous Thu, 25 May 2006 11:36:00 +0000 https://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-82 Angela, We talked briefly about this last week in an afternoon technology session with my teachers who were setting up classroom blogs at WordPress.com. I know that some day (maybe sooner than later) I will show up to school only to find that site will be blocked by Websense. I am really surprised that we can still see your Blogger site. Here's the bigger question that will need to be answered on that dreaded day. Will my PE teacher's new blog hosted at WordPress (http://mrvaughn.wordpress.com/ ) be blocked and my 2nd grade teacher's class blog (http://www.inspiredclassrooms.net/ginn/ ) that is delivered via WordPress software, but hosted on my server at inspiredclassrooms.net still be up and running? SAME TOOL, two different hosting locations. Are they going to block the tool or the hosting location? -Darren Wilson Angela,
We talked briefly about this last week in an afternoon technology session with my teachers who were setting up classroom blogs at WordPress.com. I know that some day (maybe sooner than later) I will show up to school only to find that site will be blocked by Websense. I am really surprised that we can still see your Blogger site.

Here’s the bigger question that will need to be answered on that dreaded day. Will my PE teacher’s new blog hosted at WordPress (http://mrvaughn.wordpress.com/ ) be blocked and my 2nd grade teacher’s class blog (http://www.inspiredclassrooms.net/ginn/ ) that is delivered via WordPress software, but hosted on my server at inspiredclassrooms.net still be up and running?

SAME TOOL, two different hosting locations. Are they going to block the tool or the hosting location?

-Darren Wilson

]]> By: astephens http://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-81 astephens Wed, 24 May 2006 18:39:00 +0000 https://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-81 Thank you both for your well-thought out posts. If you come across any educational blogs,wikis, podcasts or other Web.20 resources you think might help me support my case, please pass them along. Thank you both for your well-thought out posts. If you come across any educational blogs,wikis, podcasts or other Web.20 resources you think might help me support my case, please pass them along.

]]> By: Morag Macdonald http://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-80 Morag Macdonald Wed, 24 May 2006 14:06:00 +0000 https://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-80 Hi Angela I am a co -creator of the talking teds blog and sites being blocked is a problem here in Scotland. We in Argyll are unable to see Flickr photostreams yet can use the excellent Bubbleshare. In Glasgow it is the other way around! I hope with the advent of the Scottish Schools DigitalNetwork- SSDN, many of these restrictions will go. As Alan November advocates we need to show internet responsibility in school by teaching the grammar of the internet. Hi Angela
I am a co -creator of the talking teds blog and sites being blocked is a problem here in Scotland. We in Argyll are unable to see Flickr photostreams yet can use the excellent Bubbleshare. In Glasgow it is the other way around! I hope with the advent of the Scottish Schools DigitalNetwork- SSDN, many of these restrictions will go. As Alan November advocates we need to show internet responsibility in school by teaching the grammar of the internet.

]]> By: LeftLaneEnds http://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-79 LeftLaneEnds Wed, 24 May 2006 08:45:00 +0000 https://musingsfromtheacademy.wordpress.com/2006/05/23/stop-the-madness/#comment-79 *sigh* This is really going to come to the fore soon, and one side is going to win out - it won't be a win/win solution *sigh* I can predict which side will win...but you probably don't want to hear that answer. So, our response should be to NOT give up and to fight as hard as possible. Now, here's the trick. When we fight, we MUST do it smartly and the tools of self-awareness come in handy here. You see, turning people off (especially those that have formed a negative opinion of social networking sites already) will not accomplish our goals. We have to provide positive example after positive example to show the power of web 2.0. We have to demonstrate the extreme handicap in blocking portions of tools online and we MUST shift our focus of concern to INSTRUCTION!!!! If we focus on the negative, then all we will see is negative results. If we focus on positively changing instruction for the good or our students, then we will see the positive results. We've got to show people that these decisions are not about the dangers of technology, but about the new opportunities to engage students in a new type of instructional environment with technology as the driving tool of choice. One more thing - we (you and I) must also be prepared to rethink our own positions and opinions and really look at issues with a fresh perspective each time. This is the hardest thing to do, but probably the most important as it allows us to tune-in with those that we need to listen to us. *sigh* This is really going to come to the fore soon, and one side is going to win out – it won’t be a win/win solution *sigh*

I can predict which side will win…but you probably don’t want to hear that answer. So, our response should be to NOT give up and to fight as hard as possible.

Now, here’s the trick. When we fight, we MUST do it smartly and the tools of self-awareness come in handy here. You see, turning people off (especially those that have formed a negative opinion of social networking sites already) will not accomplish our goals. We have to provide positive example after positive example to show the power of web 2.0. We have to demonstrate the extreme handicap in blocking portions of tools online and we MUST shift our focus of concern to INSTRUCTION!!!! If we focus on the negative, then all we will see is negative results. If we focus on positively changing instruction for the good or our students, then we will see the positive results. We’ve got to show people that these decisions are not about the dangers of technology, but about the new opportunities to engage students in a new type of instructional environment with technology as the driving tool of choice.

One more thing – we (you and I) must also be prepared to rethink our own positions and opinions and really look at issues with a fresh perspective each time. This is the hardest thing to do, but probably the most important as it allows us to tune-in with those that we need to listen to us.

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