PLN 12

        "What teachers really want to tell parents" by Ron Clark describes how teachers are not able to tell parents what they need to about their kids due to parents being combative and resistant to it.
       

        "What teachers really want to tell parents" by Ron Clark makes a valid point due to the reality that there  are very many bad parents today who do not want to hear anything bad about their kid. The article is very accurate and raises some good points. Parents do often make excuses for their kids. The author of this PLN knows this well because one of his parents does what this article is talking about in making excuses, and one doesn't, so he knows what each one is like. He can tell one what each is like. This article is very agreeable. Parents often do make excuses and combat teachers. The author of this paper sees the craziness that teachers see in these parents. He believes that these parents are the way they are due to over-protecting their child. In whole, this author deeply enjoyed what this article had to say and agrees.

PLN 10

      "In Praise of the F Word" by Mark Sherry describes how he teaches students who didn't learn what they needed to learn in high school, so they come to classes to learn what they need for employers.

      The high school students not being taught well enough which Mark Sherry speaks of in his article "In Praise of the F Word" are eye opening for society because it shows how bad education is. They are eye opening because it shows how badly the education system is doing. Some students are even graduating and getting their diplomas, but still coming to this class to get help. Sherry says that students shouldn't be passed if they have not mastered the work. He believes this is at least part of the problem. This is a good point, but sometimes kids have mastered the work, not the knowledge. Kids can complete the assignments, but still not know what they need to. Another point Mark Sherry brings up is that kids coming from bad backgrounds are given those things as excuses. This is not good because kids can learn regardless of their background. They however, may not be very motivated with those backgrounds to learn. Mark Sherry brings up valid points, but isn't totally right.

Why are people so resistant to change in education and other places?

PLN 9

"IBM claims huge strides in quantum computing" by Daniel Terdiman describes how Intel is making great progress towards improving quantum computers.

The events Daniel Terdiman talks about in his article "IBM claims huge strides in quantum computing" is exciting because these events will make a difference in our society that without them would take us at least 50 years to get to. The quantum computers that this article talks about are exponentially faster. There is a certain math problem that would take the best computers today the entire age of the universe to solve and it would take these quantum computers an hour to solve. These computers could help speed up the improvement of computer speed so quickly that a supercomputer would be like a dumb phone. If these computers could be perfected, then the world could be improved greatly.

PLN #8

"What's Wrong With the Teenage Mind?" by Alison Gopnik introduces the idea that teenage minds aren't just bound to being insufficiently developed, but are simply not taught well enough to do certain tasks via informal apprenticeship.

"What's Wrong With the Teenage Mind?" by Alison Gopnik didn't really spark a "hotspot" because this wasn't very intriguing since the author of this paper neither agreed or disagreed or cared. Explaining why teens act the way they do is good to know, however, this also adds excuses for such behavior. It is good though that this article states that teens can overcome this indevelopement by having greater informal education like apprenticeship  "Take Your Kid to Work Day" should be more than once a year so that kids truly can learn more about the real world. Kids used to start inturnships at the age of seven and now they are starting at around 22. What this article speaks is something not very needed to observe. All these problems can be overcome when a teen takes their normally subconscious actions into their conscious. This is a choice. If a teen begins to think their actions through consciously, they won't have to worry about an undeveloped frontal lobe or other things such as that.

PLN #7

        "Could the iPad Mini sell for less than the iPod Touch?" by Daniel nations (http://ipad.about.com/b/2012/10/10/could-the-ipad-mini-sell-for-less-than-the-ipod-touch.htm) is about the impending iPad Mini being sold for an appealingly low price. The article talks about how when the iPad came out, it was offered at a very low price, $499. The iPad Mini would then also be offered for a lowered price. Because of the smaller screen, hence the name iPad Mini it would have a lowered price than the full size iPad. The iPad mini could be sold at lower price, says Daniel Nations, than the iPod touch. The cheapest iPod touch is priced at $299 at the lowest. Nations says that he thinks it is a possibility that the iPad mini could realistically be priced at $249 which he thinks would destroy the competition. He doesn't expect the iPad to be sold at $199 or $249, but he says that Apple might surprise us with a lower-than-expected price. Daniel Nations says some interesting points about the iPad Mini's potential pricing


       I think it would be very neat if the iPad Mini was sold for less than the iPod touch...on the iPad Mini side of things. It's cool that apple would be lowering their prices so much. However, this would prove even more that the iPod Touch is over-priced. It currently is far cheaper to make than it is sold for. The iPod touch should be charged much less for. The iPod touch, with less features, is more expensive than Apple's iPhone. I think if they charged $249 for their iPad Mini, they would have to charge less for their iPod touch. Overall, in the article, Daniel brings to light some very intriguing predictions. It will be interesting to see if they come true. I look forward to seeing what the iPad Mini will be priced at.

PLN #6

          Mr. Fisch's video titled "What if" technically had no plot. It was merely a 6 minute, 18 second video showing what people have said about technology incorporation into education for the past three hundred years. That is what the video seems like without any thought. The video shows what different educators have said since 1703 about different technology being installed into the education system. At that time, it was the transition from bark to slate. Succeeding that was the transition from slate to paper, then pencil to pen, then the transition from self-made to store-bought ink. Technology was harassed next by the PTA saying students depend on fountain pens. The next few include ballpoint pens, using calculators on tests, again calculators are harassed, another shoot-down of calculators, etc. At last, the internet comes into existence, it is unwelcome by people saying it is just a fad, that schools don't need websites, teacher will never use email, rejection of network ports in all classrooms and computers in every classroom, rejection of LCD projectors, (take a breath now, there's more) rejection of high school students having laptops, grades on the web, wireless networks in schools, and electronics in class. Now, we are at the 6 minute, 10 mark of the video, saying, "What if...we'd listened?" This video demonstrates how people constantly doubt technology in a very interesting way.

          I totally agree with what this video was saying. People always say that technology is distracting to the learning enviorment and things like that and they are proven wrong time and time again. It is not bad that they say such things as skepticism alone isn't bad, it is the fact that they say things and never learn from them. Critics fail to recognize that every time they say something negative, they have to later eat their words; this video proves that. I find it amazing how it doesn't matter what the technology is, people still accuse it of basically pampering students. For three hundred nine, almost three hundred ten years, people have resisted change in education. I think the bottom lin of what this video is saying is that if doesn't matter the circumstances, people don't like change...and that is what I entirely agree with.

PLN rewrite

     A Vision of Students is about students at KSU feeling like education isn't working by current method. These students were self surveyed. They felt like technology didn't really help them in their learning. They so much as said it was never just used for its purpose in education. They also said that classes were never personal enough. These students said that classes were 115 students and and that 18% of their teachers knew their names. The video also gave some more statistics on how some students had paid for class, but never actually came. Kids had text books that they paid $100's of dollars for, but never opened. This video made it obvious that the students were not satisfied with the current education.

     I feel like A Vision of Students is correct, to some degree. You definitely can't generalize about education in America. Not every public school is bad, and every city has different schools. I in my life time have had some very good public schools. I've heard some are bad. Technology definitely isn't always used for its intended purpose. I always get distracted with it. It can though be very helpful in schools. I think education in America could be better if the right people did the right things. So, these kids had the idea partially right, but it's not entirely accurate. On a side note the video was pretty cool though.

PLN #4

      "High School, Only Shorter" by Sue Shellenbarger is about some seniors who
 are deciding to graduate early from high school earlier than intended. Nicholas Myers graduated from high school early subsequently trading off his senior prom for an early start on college. He said, "If I get out early, that's a year of extra pay and that's a retirement one year earlier." Some high schools are offering seniors to graduate early. This cuts schools costs and some college costs because colleges offer some families scholarships for this. However emotionally, students might not be ready to go to college at the age of 17. Many people think that the four years of high school are necessary plus early grads have harder times getting into competitive colleges. Some people are ready to get out of high school before their senior year is over like Luke Preibe. He didn't have anymore math to learn at his school so he was definitely ready to go to college. However, he was working 7 days a week just to get into ivy league colleges and graduate early. His father said that what Luke did was crazy in retrospect. This article mentions the pro's and con's of seniors graduating from high school early and thus represents an indifference on the matter.


     This article suggests a method of education that could be beneficial. I personally think that early graduation should be an option for all seniors. My thinking has been used in political circumstances throughout history and is as follows: laissez faire. Translation: Let the people choose. I'm not sure why anyone should determine what is best for a student besides themselves and their parent/gaurdian. No rule could cover every student accurately. This type of thing can not be generalized about. Some people would love this, but some people need the whole high school career. Plus, we allow students to drop out of high school. This is even more ludicrous than not allowing early graduation. Additionally, this could promote some responsibility on the students' part. I think I've made my point clear, early graduation would be great.

PLN #3

     "Is Google Making us Stupid" by Nicholas Carr is about this man's opinion on how this instantaneous availability of information via the internet might be having some negative effects on our cognitive though process. This article states that by having information so quickly accessible, we we lose our ability to read a long article. We tend to start thinking in  a way where everything we do has to be quick, precise, efficient. The author says that since he has started using the internet, he no longer can sit down and read a long book the way he used to. Now, he constantly feels like he has to go do something else quickly. This article says also that some scholars conducted a study and they found that the brain is actually changed by people using the internet. Nicholas Carr compares this to A Space Odyssey where the astronaut is unplugging the computer. The AI is pleading with the astronaut to not unplug it. Carr says that this instant info is causing us to become like the artificial intelligence in the movie, machine merely outputting data. "Is Google Making us Stupid" never voices an alternative to the internet, but it suggests some concern.

     "Is Google Making us Stupid" by Nicholas Carr is utter bull (due to PG rating) feces. Quite honestly if the internet is supposedly making us think differently and strive for quicker information, then it's only making us be more efficient as a race. According to this article, the internet is helping us progress and improve our selves. This motivation to achieve quicker isn't bad, it will have us improve everything in our society. Also, the movie comparison proved nothing. This was merely a story for entertainment. The article says that we are headed to being like a computer and computers are going to be more like us like the movie. This is totally impossible. Allow me to explain. A brain is a computer already and always has been. It does math. That's what a computer does. Only math. However, a computer is not a brain. A brain responds to chemicals allowing it to experience genuine emotion, thought, instinct, etc. A computer does not respond to chemicals, only the absence or presence of an open or closed circuit. It has no ability to be 100% adaptive, self sustaining, re-engineering...a brain. I've made my opinion clear about the subject, and I'm sure I have many whom mutually have this thought.

The Perfect Murder

The Utterly Perfect Murder by Ray Bradbury is about a 48 year old man named Doug who decides to kill a bully from his child. This bully's name is Ralph Underhill. Ralph abused Doug physically and emotionally as a child. He wakes up sporadically and decides this due to no cause. He packs up and takes a train across the country leaving his wife and children for this. He goes  to the town where live(d/s[present/past]). Doug knocks or Ralph's door and when Ralph answers Doug sees how pathetic Ralph is now. Ralph is very sick, short, grey haired, and partially bald. Ralph asks, "Doug?" Then Doug doesn't shoot Ralph, but says, "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" and walks away. He then returns to his home. The story never actually says that Ralph is satisfied, but it is implied that he is.

I think this story is intriguing and a well written one too. I don't have an opinion of agreement or disagreement as it is not very applicable here because this story is not non-fiction. The story is riveting though. It tests whether you know what insanity is because this story follows a person who resembles insanity. If you are insane though, you don't know your insane, and the character said he was insane. Also, he merely had emotional trouble. This emotional trouble was lying dormant until one night. He didn't deal with it right which wasn't/isn't insanity. The character was trying to satisfy his childhood desires. This was innoscent. Also, he never actually killed Ralph. This story demonstrates character vs. character as well as character vs. self which definitely adds to its entertaining nature. 

summary topic sentence: A Vision of Students is about students at KSU feeling like education isn't working by current method. These students were self surveyed. They felt like technology didn't really help them in their learning. They so much as said it was never just used for its purpose in education. They also said that classes were never personal enough. These students said that classes were 115 students and and that 18% of their teachers knew their names. This video made it obvious that the students were  not satisfied with the current education.

response topic sentence: I feel like A Vision of Students is correct, to some degree. You definitely can't generalize about education in America. Not every public school is bad, and every city has different schools. I in my life time have had some very good public schools. I've heard some are bad. Technology definitely isn't always used for its intended purpose. I always get distracted with it. It can though be very helpful in schools. I think education in America could be better if the right people did the right things.

Cinderella

In Cinderella, the main character, Cinderella, has an evil step mom and 2 evil step sisters. They make Cinderella do all housekeeping work without any help. At one point, a ball is being held and the step mom and sisters go and make Cinderella stay. Cinderella's fairy God mother visits her and gives her a carriage, dress, shoes, etc. Her God mother enables her to go to the ball under the condition that she is back by 12:00 AM because at that time, all of the clothes the God mother created would disappear. When Cinderella was dancing with the prince at the ball, she lost track of time and suddenly realized she had a short time to get home. She scurried home without saying good bye, but accientally had her shoe come off her foot. The prince picked up the shoe the next day and said whomever the shoe fit in the kingdom he would marry. It fit no one but Cinderella so they got married.

I totally understand how people hate freshmen. I know this is hypocritical, but freshmen can be so Annoying.

This is my test on my blog.
I had to make this blog for school. I'm never going to use this after school probably.
im going to make a bunch of stuff with html on this thing. I like hardcore, a little bit of screamo, a little bit of metal.
i need to learn html totally. master it. and im gonna learn css