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Double Entry Journal #5

Traditional literacy differed somewhat from today's literacy.  Traditionally, it was based more on the influences of the media and not falling for the opinionated statements that would be thrown at you.  Today, that is still an issue and shouldn't be ignored.  As well as that, the skills to use the internet correctly and the knowledge of it are stressed.

QUOTE:

"Unlike reading assigned textbooks, reading online challenges students to make judgments about the reputability and validity of the information they see. Researchers who directed several hundred college students to three bogus Web sites about fictitious nutritional supplements found that half of the students lacked the skills to identify the trustworthiness of the information, yet most thought they had strong research skills (Ivanitskaya, O'Boyle, & Casey, 2006)."

RESPONSE:

I have selected this quote because it interests me.  I both agree and am surprised by this statement.  I do agree that reading online(books, articles, web postings, etc.) do make us more alert.  We have to be more cautious of how believable some things really are.  If you want to get information on a political event, you probably want to find something written by a non-partisan than a Conservative or Liberal commentator.  I was a little surprised by that so many students lacked the skills to identify valid information.  Maybe I shouldn't be as surprised especially since it seems that we are becoming more avid users of "Auto-Pilot" but it's still hard to think about.

The following article tells you and gives you reasons how to trust an internet source.

When Do We Trust an Information Source?

SOURCES:

Crisscrossed. (08/j). Retrieved from http://www.crisscrossed.net/2010/01/08/when-do-we-trust-an-information-source/

David, J. L. (2009, March). Ascd. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Teaching-Media-Literacy.aspx

Double Entry Journal #4

QUOTE:

"Educators need to adopt an informed skepticism rather than a dismissive attitude."


RESPONSE:

I chose this quote because it is very, very true.  When it comes to things like Wikipedia, new technology, and things that are brand new to people, they tend to dismiss it like rubbish.  It's just like teachers, they seem to discredit the use of things even if they are unaware of the possibilities.  This whole idea has to do with the greater picture which is incorporating new technology, innovation, and ideas in the classroom.  I think teachers should use Wikipedia as a resource, not a citation, but a resource.  It seems like teachers don't have a problem with students using hard-copied encyclopedias, but if they're online then it's a different story.  We need to become informed before we are skeptical.

The video I chose shows some opinions of students and teachers.

SOURCES:

"Wikipedia: Reliable? A Documentary - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zCDxKDg58>. 

"WHAT WIKIPEDIA CAN TEACH US ABOUT THE NEW MEDIA LITERACIES (PART ONE)." Confessions of an Aca-Fan — — The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. <http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab.html>.

Wikipedia

a. What is Wikipedia?  

It is a multilingual online encyclopedia operated by a nonprofit organization.  It's operated by the Wikimedia Foundation.
b. How would you answer the question posed in this piece “How reliable can a source be when anyone can edit it?

According to Jimmy Wales, only 18% of the people who edit Wikipedia are anonymous/off the street.  So, barely 1 in 5 non-Wikimedia Foundation members contribute to Wikipedia.  Whenever a huge majority of the people editing this are those who work for it, my mind is put at ease.  There are also other security tools, flags, and a lot of outside people that/who help to weed out incorrect editing.  So, for basic information I think that Wikipedia is pretty reliable.
c. Who do the creators of Wikipedia place their trust in when it comes to weeding out misinformation? 

 Ordinary people
d. Why did founder Larry Sanger leave Wikipedia? 

He didn't like the direction it was going in and he is critical of it's accuracy.
e. What would abuse or vandalism look like on a Wikipedia page? 

It would be changing the content of the article.
f. What do the statistics quoted in the third paragraph of this piece reveal? 

Many, many Wikipedia articles are out there.  About 8 million in 2007.  Can't image how many 5 years later.
g. Why do you think Wikipedia is so successful? 

I use it all of the time.  If you want to know more about something, it's incredibly easy to search for it.  Wikipedia shows up as one of the first choices in most search engines.
h. Why might Wikipedia’s creators not want to accept advertising? 

It would take away from the simple feel and it may turn Wikipedia into something it's leaders do not want.  Something commercial maybe.
i. How does Wikiscanner help increase the reliability of Wikipedia entries?

It's a tool that allows the IP address of anonymous editors of the site to be wasily checked.  It quickly exposes examples of self-interested editing by the prominent businesses and governments around the world.

1. How do you use Wikipedia in your personal life?

I use it for basic knowledge.  I use it pretty frequently to look up people, places, and events.

2. What do you think the value of Wikipedia is for classroom teachers?  

It is a quick reference tool for teachers to look up random info.

Answer the following questions to see how reliable a Wikipedia article is.

1. Start with the main page. Does it have any cleanup banners that have been placed there to indicate problems with the article? (A complete list is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_messages/
   Cleanup.)

Any one of the following cleanup banners means the article is an unreliable source:

This article or section has multiple issues.	-
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.	-
The neutrality of this article is disputed.	-
The factual accuracy of this article is disputed.	-
This needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling.	-
This may contain material not appropriate for an encyclopedia.	-
This article only describes one highly specialized aspect of its associated subject.	-
This article requires authentication or verification by an expert.	-
This article or section needs to be updated.	-
This article may not provide balanced geographical coverage on a region.	-
This is missing citations or needs footnotes.	-
This article does not cite any references or sources.	-

2. Read through the article and see if it meets the following requirements:

Is it written in a clear and organized way?	yes
Is the tone neutral (not taking sides)?	yes
Are all important facts referenced (you're told where they come from)?	yes
Does the information provided seem complete or does it look like there are gaps (or just one side of the story)?	complete

3. Scroll down to the article's References and open them in new windows or tabs. Do they seem like reliable sources? (For help in determining the general reliability of a source, check out the Knowing What's What and What's Note: The 5 Ws (and 1 "H") of Cyberspace handout.)
   
   Reliable references:
   http://www.cityofstmarys.com/2440-foreword.pdf
   http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html 
3. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html
3. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
3. 
   Possibly unreliable references:
   
   Definitely unreliable references:
   
    
4. Click on the Discussion tab. How is the article rated on the Rating Scale(Stub, Start, C, B, GA, A, FA)? What issues around the article are being discussed? Do any of them make you doubt the article's reliability?

It has a rating of Start.  There are a couple of things debated but nothing  that would make me doubt the reliability.

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5. Based on the above questions, give the article an overall ranking ofReliable, Partially Reliable or Unreliable.

• You may use a Reliable article as a source (but remember that even if a Wikipedia article is reliable, it should never be your only source on a topic!)
• You may use a Partially Reliable article as a starting point for your research, and may use some
  of its references as sources, but do not us it as a source.
• You should not use an Unreliable article as a source or a starting point. Research the same topic in a different encyclopedia.

How did you rank this article (Reliable, Partially Reliable or Unreliable)? Give at least three reasons to support
your answer.
I think that it is reliable because it gives facts, is not opinionated, and it's sources are reliable.

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Learning Styles

Before watching these videos, I believed in Learning Styles.  However, I now understand the point made by this professor.  I'm sure that everyone learns a certain way better than another, but that doesn't mean they can't learn the other ways.  It does definitely come down to the teaching.  You can teach kids a certain way, but that doesn't mean you will be effective.  I do believe, though, that teaching in a way that kids prefer would only be beneficial.

Learning Styles-Auditory

Being an auditory learner, I learn better by using my listening skills than my visual ones.  In the class room, I think one of the biggest things that could help children is to give them the option of listening to what they have to read.  I, like many others, have trouble understanding something if I have to read it.  This isn't for everything, but for a lot.  However, if I am told the exact same thing then I am more likely to remember and understand it. 

Double Entry Journal #3

QUOTE:

How can we know or identify the auditory learners?

Second, we will talk about students who learn by listening. This kind of student likes to learn by listening, and hearing the information. For example, they like to read articles out loud, or they like to hear somebody read it to them. They can remember what people say very well and they can imitate other people’s way of talking skillfully. These kinds of students find some difficulty in writing, but they are very good in speaking. They like to learn by conversation. The auditory students also like to learn through listening to music and the radio (Al-Failkawei, 2005). 

 RESPONSE:  

I really agree with this section of the article and I have a connection with it.  As a kid, I grew up being an auditory learner.  Even today, I learn better if something is told to me or read to me.  I have taught myself to learn better in other ways, so it's not nearly as big of a deal.  One type of situation that always comes to my mind whenever I think of this is having to read a book.  A lot of people read for fun, but I very, VERY rarely do.  I can read some things and enjoy it, but it's not so often.   However, if I listen to a story there is a much better chance that I'll enjoy it.  

I chose this picture because it shows the frustration that some kids face.

SOURCE:

Web 2.0 and emerging learning technologies/learning styles [Web log message]. (2011, May 19). Retrieved from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Web_2.0_and_Emerging_Learning_Technologies/Learning_Styles

Comic Beliefs

Double Entry Journal #2

QUOTE:

For example, in a study I did of college students' instant messaging conversations, out of 11,718 words, only 31 were "online lingo" abbreviations, and only 90 were acronyms (of which 76 were LOL). In a study of college students' text messaging, my colleague Rich Ling and I found a few more lexical shortenings; yet the grand total of clear abbreviations was only 47 out of 1,473 words, which is hardly overwhelming.

RESPONSE:

I chose this quote because I thought that it was surprising and it's kind of relieving because it shows that kids still know how to use the "real" English language.....or at least American English.  It is nice to know that kids still know when certain ways of using the language are appropriate.  I think that the main purpose of the articles were to reassure older generations and to put their minds at ease.  I think that I at least somewhat agree with the statement because I know that there are many kids out there who communicate sensibly.  My friends and I use some online lingo but not to the point that it's all that we speak.

SOURCES:

Baron, N. S. (2009, March). Educational leadership. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Are-Digital-Media-Changing-Language¢.aspx 

Shea, A. (2010, January 22). The keypad solution. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/magazine/24FOB-onlanguage-t.html?_r=1

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