Dear Charlie,
I'm glad that you and your teacher are getting along together and talking about stuff other than school. He is right, you should stop smoking. Here's a site that can help you; https://www.quitnow.net/quitplan/ I hope it does help you with that bad habit. It's good that you are liking the book so far as well, if you work hard you will become that writer you want to be. Good luck with everything.
-Edward Swanson
Monday, November 3, 2008
November 8, 1991
Dear Charlie,
Congratulations on your paper, I bet you'll do even better on your next paper. You'll be a great writer when you grow up. I don't think Craig looks at Sam the right way either. A girl should look beautiful in her boyfriend's eyes no matter what she wears or how she is viewed.
-Edward Swanson
Congratulations on your paper, I bet you'll do even better on your next paper. You'll be a great writer when you grow up. I don't think Craig looks at Sam the right way either. A girl should look beautiful in her boyfriend's eyes no matter what she wears or how she is viewed.
-Edward Swanson
October 6, 1991
Dear Charlie,
I'm glad you made some new friends, they seem like good people. I'm glad that you are moving ahead in life and not dwelling on the past. Don't worry about the dream with Sam in it, that is common among boys your age. I have to warn you though, don't start smoking it will mess your body up for life.
-Edward Swanson
I'm glad you made some new friends, they seem like good people. I'm glad that you are moving ahead in life and not dwelling on the past. Don't worry about the dream with Sam in it, that is common among boys your age. I have to warn you though, don't start smoking it will mess your body up for life.
-Edward Swanson
April 26, 1992
Dear Charlie,
There are many kids like you that struggle with these problems. You shouldn't resort to illegal drugs to get over the pain though. You can get over the pain without pot. This hard time will pass eventually. You will be able to remember this experience in the future and think, "How was I so sad about that?" This won't be so bad later on, you and your friends will get back together and have fun with each other again. These feelings won't last forever, they will end eventually.
-Edward Swanson
There are many kids like you that struggle with these problems. You shouldn't resort to illegal drugs to get over the pain though. You can get over the pain without pot. This hard time will pass eventually. You will be able to remember this experience in the future and think, "How was I so sad about that?" This won't be so bad later on, you and your friends will get back together and have fun with each other again. These feelings won't last forever, they will end eventually.
-Edward Swanson
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
December 26, 1991
Dear Charlie,
I read the letter you wrote when you got back from your grandma's house. It's ok that you feel sad about Aunt Helen's death. It wasn't your fault. Your Aunt loved you, think about the good times you have had with your Aunt. Be glad that you had that much time with her. There isn't anything you can do about her death. Everyone goes through the death of a loved one eventually. My grandpa died in my first year of high school, I used those good memories to get used to the fact that he died. Just keep holding on Charlie, your Aunt wouldn't want you to waste your life for her sake.
-Edward Swanson
I read the letter you wrote when you got back from your grandma's house. It's ok that you feel sad about Aunt Helen's death. It wasn't your fault. Your Aunt loved you, think about the good times you have had with your Aunt. Be glad that you had that much time with her. There isn't anything you can do about her death. Everyone goes through the death of a loved one eventually. My grandpa died in my first year of high school, I used those good memories to get used to the fact that he died. Just keep holding on Charlie, your Aunt wouldn't want you to waste your life for her sake.
-Edward Swanson
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Role Play Reflection
Role name: Edward Swanson________ Real Name_Erik Anderson__________ Period_4______
Summarize your role’s beliefs or stance on the issue(s). Do not simply regurgitate and/or copy/paste your answer from your bio.
My role character’s beliefs were to have the internet unrestricted, except for inappropriate things, but have the the student’s access watched so they wouldn’t misuse the privilege.
Explain your use of language (the word choices and verbal style) you used to convey these beliefs or stances?
I used good spelling and knowledge of technology to tell how to test my idea.
What strategies did you use while trying to convince the other characters (Formulating counter arguments, building alliances)?
I used facts that I researched on the internet, such as the information I found on the network specialist’s salary. I used that information and my own knowledge to try convincing people to consider my idea and think of implementing it.
What evidence or reasons did you use to support your positions? In what ways were your evidence and reasons effective in convincing others to adopt your positions? How do you know?
I used facts about how much certain things cost like the cost of flashdrives and the salary of a network specialist. I also used the fact that the internet can be a powerful resource for learning because of the fact that it holds so much information.
When you received a reply that challenged or disagreed with your position, how did you typically respond to these challenges or disagreements?
I usually said something like them having a good point but this is why my idea is better or this is why you need to think your idea out more.
Do you think that your arguments had any influence on your audiences’ beliefs on this issue? If so, in what ways?
I know that I influenced some ideas because I as able to give them an idea they didn’t think of. I even got compliments saying that my idea was a great idea. I don’t think I convinced anyone to unblock the internet because almost everyone wanted the internet unblocked anyways, there were few people that needed convincing.
Based on your decisions regarding power in your Bubbl.us map, explain the criteria you used to decide who had power. How did people use their power or gain more power?
I separated people into 2 classes, directly related Jefferson and not directly related to Jefferson. The people who were related to Jefferson generally had more power in the school. After that first separation, I separated them into Administration, Students, and other. It seemed in the roleplay that the people with power didn’t really care for it or were threatening to use it, and the people that didn’t have as much power wanted to change things.
You completed your self-assessment on your own work in the role-play. How does the criteria on the rubric help you understand what makes an effective argument?
Keeping a constant persona can help keep a person taking you seriously, talking educated can also help credibility, and it also showed that using facts an help people believe your idea and make it a reality.
You are writing a paper from your own personal perspective on issues with the current school policies on Internet use/access where you suggest possible solutions that will eventually be used to create some joint proposals to the school. How did this role-play prepare you to write this paper? In what ways did the knowledge that you would actually be writing to change school policies influence your involvement in this role-play?
Truthfully I don’t think that this roleplay did help me write my paper. I also don’t think anything effected my involvement in the roleplay.
Describe your overall positive and negative feelings about engaging in this role-play and give reasons for those feelings.
I think this roleplay was interesting but I don’t think it was engaging or that it helped me write things. I do hope that what I wrote did change what people think and hopefully make internet access better.
Rate your feelings about this role-play
not engaged 2 highly engaged
not comfortable in my role 5 very comfortable in my role
not familiar with the issue 6 very familiar with the issue
not personally concerned with the issue 4 highly concerned about this issue
My role had little power 4 My role had a lot of power
My role was isolated 4 My role felt connected
The role-play didn’t help me learn to argue 4 The role-play really helped me learn to argue better
I have had little previous experience debate experience 2 I have had a lot in debate
The role-play didn’t help prepare me for the paper 1 The role-play really helped prepare me for the paper
Knowing that I would be advising the school had no influence on my engagement 1 Knowing that I would be advising the school had a strong influence on my engagement
Summarize your role’s beliefs or stance on the issue(s). Do not simply regurgitate and/or copy/paste your answer from your bio.
My role character’s beliefs were to have the internet unrestricted, except for inappropriate things, but have the the student’s access watched so they wouldn’t misuse the privilege.
Explain your use of language (the word choices and verbal style) you used to convey these beliefs or stances?
I used good spelling and knowledge of technology to tell how to test my idea.
What strategies did you use while trying to convince the other characters (Formulating counter arguments, building alliances)?
I used facts that I researched on the internet, such as the information I found on the network specialist’s salary. I used that information and my own knowledge to try convincing people to consider my idea and think of implementing it.
What evidence or reasons did you use to support your positions? In what ways were your evidence and reasons effective in convincing others to adopt your positions? How do you know?
I used facts about how much certain things cost like the cost of flashdrives and the salary of a network specialist. I also used the fact that the internet can be a powerful resource for learning because of the fact that it holds so much information.
When you received a reply that challenged or disagreed with your position, how did you typically respond to these challenges or disagreements?
I usually said something like them having a good point but this is why my idea is better or this is why you need to think your idea out more.
Do you think that your arguments had any influence on your audiences’ beliefs on this issue? If so, in what ways?
I know that I influenced some ideas because I as able to give them an idea they didn’t think of. I even got compliments saying that my idea was a great idea. I don’t think I convinced anyone to unblock the internet because almost everyone wanted the internet unblocked anyways, there were few people that needed convincing.
Based on your decisions regarding power in your Bubbl.us map, explain the criteria you used to decide who had power. How did people use their power or gain more power?
I separated people into 2 classes, directly related Jefferson and not directly related to Jefferson. The people who were related to Jefferson generally had more power in the school. After that first separation, I separated them into Administration, Students, and other. It seemed in the roleplay that the people with power didn’t really care for it or were threatening to use it, and the people that didn’t have as much power wanted to change things.
You completed your self-assessment on your own work in the role-play. How does the criteria on the rubric help you understand what makes an effective argument?
Keeping a constant persona can help keep a person taking you seriously, talking educated can also help credibility, and it also showed that using facts an help people believe your idea and make it a reality.
You are writing a paper from your own personal perspective on issues with the current school policies on Internet use/access where you suggest possible solutions that will eventually be used to create some joint proposals to the school. How did this role-play prepare you to write this paper? In what ways did the knowledge that you would actually be writing to change school policies influence your involvement in this role-play?
Truthfully I don’t think that this roleplay did help me write my paper. I also don’t think anything effected my involvement in the roleplay.
Describe your overall positive and negative feelings about engaging in this role-play and give reasons for those feelings.
I think this roleplay was interesting but I don’t think it was engaging or that it helped me write things. I do hope that what I wrote did change what people think and hopefully make internet access better.
Rate your feelings about this role-play
not engaged 2 highly engaged
not comfortable in my role 5 very comfortable in my role
not familiar with the issue 6 very familiar with the issue
not personally concerned with the issue 4 highly concerned about this issue
My role had little power 4 My role had a lot of power
My role was isolated 4 My role felt connected
The role-play didn’t help me learn to argue 4 The role-play really helped me learn to argue better
I have had little previous experience debate experience 2 I have had a lot in debate
The role-play didn’t help prepare me for the paper 1 The role-play really helped prepare me for the paper
Knowing that I would be advising the school had no influence on my engagement 1 Knowing that I would be advising the school had a strong influence on my engagement
Monday, October 13, 2008
Self Evaluation
1. Creation of a role
I might have to disagree a little with that, Mandhatri. I don't have a problem with administrators and teachers being able to access student grades, but I don't think they should be able to have special access to my daughter's Facebook and other students' nonschool related webpages. I think if they can have access to websites like Facebook and Myspace, they should just have the same access as most people, by looking at whatever the owner of that page allows you to see. If an administrator does see something offensive or inappropriate that could relate to school activities, then I think that they could be given temporary special access to find out more about that content.
2. Statement of position
4
Well I agree with Mandhatri and BL33K3R, there are some students that do give a bad reputation for a much larger body of students. I don't think the majority of students should suffer because of the poor decisions of some individuals. Macon how would you propose to decide what is "non-educational"? I can understand sites like porn sites should be blocked but what about sites that talk about gun control or terrorism? Should sites like that be blocked because they might be inappropriate? One person or a small group shouldn't be able to decide, "I don't like this, let's block it." A better idea is to maybe have like parents, staff and other people in the city "vote" on sites to block them or not. Block all sites that have at least 60% of the votes for blocking the site. This could be an easy compromise for the people who want to block the internet and who want it open for educational purposes. Of course there are disadvantages because even some educational sites could be blocked because of votes and some non-educational sites might be unblocked. It would be cheaper than my previous idea though. Reply what you think of that idea. I almost forgot, thank you both for quoting me, Mandhatri and BL33K3R.
3. Support for position
4
Well first of all Mandhatri, it's a lot cheaper than you think compared to what is likely being paid to the person/group just to block sites. There are about 1,750 students currently at Jefferson right now, correct? Each of those students could be given a flashdrive that cost about $5 to make, so about $8,750 for Jefferson, those flashdrives would be reusable. The Network Specialist for Bloomington school probably gets paid around $60,000 a year. That's less than 15% of of his/her salary each year, and the district doesn't have to buy the flashdrives again. Yes, the software would probably cost a lot of money but in the long run it would cost less than hiring someone to go make blocks that can be broken through. I also want to just put a few more details on my previous post, if flagged it isn't instant loss of your flashdrive. It would be investigated by simple emailing the teacher about that student's projects and if the flag was work related then the flag would be dropped. Of course this idea would be tested multiple times before it is widely used and this is just an idea that could be used many years from now.
4. Recognition of counter-arguments
4
Well first of all Mandhatri, it's a lot cheaper than you think compared to what is likely being paid to the person/group just to block sites. There are about 1,750 students currently at Jefferson right now, correct? Each of those students could be given a flashdrive that cost about $5 to make, so about $8,750 for Jefferson, those flashdrives would be reusable. The Network Specialist for Bloomington school probably gets paid around $60,000 a year. That's less than 15% of of his/her salary each year, and the district doesn't have to buy the flashdrives again. Yes, the software would probably cost a lot of money but in the long run it would cost less than hiring someone to go make blocks that can be broken through. I also want to just put a few more details on my previous post, if flagged it isn't instant loss of your flashdrive. It would be investigated by simple emailing the teacher about that student's projects and if the flag was work related then the flag would be dropped. Of course this idea would be tested multiple times before it is widely used and this is just an idea that could be used many years from now.
5. Seeks audience identification
2
Well I agree with Mandhatri and BL33K3R, there are some students that do give a bad reputation for a much larger body of students. I don't think the majority of students should suffer because of the poor decisions of some individuals. Macon how would you propose to decide what is "non-educational"? I can understand sites like porn sites should be blocked but what about sites that talk about gun control or terrorism? Should sites like that be blocked because they might be inappropriate? One person or a small group shouldn't be able to decide, "I don't like this, let's block it." A better idea is to maybe have like parents, staff and other people in the city "vote" on sites to block them or not. Block all sites that have at least 60% of the votes for blocking the site. This could be an easy compromise for the people who want to block the internet and who want it open for educational purposes. Of course there are disadvantages because even some educational sites could be blocked because of votes and some non-educational sites might be unblocked. It would be cheaper than my previous idea though. Reply what you think of that idea. I almost forgot, thank you both for quoting me, Mandhatri and BL33K3R.
2
I might have to disagree a little with that, Mandhatri. I don't have a problem with administrators and teachers being able to access student grades, but I don't think they should be able to have special access to my daughter's Facebook and other students' nonschool related webpages. I think if they can have access to websites like Facebook and Myspace, they should just have the same access as most people, by looking at whatever the owner of that page allows you to see. If an administrator does see something offensive or inappropriate that could relate to school activities, then I think that they could be given temporary special access to find out more about that content.
2. Statement of position
4
Well I agree with Mandhatri and BL33K3R, there are some students that do give a bad reputation for a much larger body of students. I don't think the majority of students should suffer because of the poor decisions of some individuals. Macon how would you propose to decide what is "non-educational"? I can understand sites like porn sites should be blocked but what about sites that talk about gun control or terrorism? Should sites like that be blocked because they might be inappropriate? One person or a small group shouldn't be able to decide, "I don't like this, let's block it." A better idea is to maybe have like parents, staff and other people in the city "vote" on sites to block them or not. Block all sites that have at least 60% of the votes for blocking the site. This could be an easy compromise for the people who want to block the internet and who want it open for educational purposes. Of course there are disadvantages because even some educational sites could be blocked because of votes and some non-educational sites might be unblocked. It would be cheaper than my previous idea though. Reply what you think of that idea. I almost forgot, thank you both for quoting me, Mandhatri and BL33K3R.
3. Support for position
4
Well first of all Mandhatri, it's a lot cheaper than you think compared to what is likely being paid to the person/group just to block sites. There are about 1,750 students currently at Jefferson right now, correct? Each of those students could be given a flashdrive that cost about $5 to make, so about $8,750 for Jefferson, those flashdrives would be reusable. The Network Specialist for Bloomington school probably gets paid around $60,000 a year. That's less than 15% of of his/her salary each year, and the district doesn't have to buy the flashdrives again. Yes, the software would probably cost a lot of money but in the long run it would cost less than hiring someone to go make blocks that can be broken through. I also want to just put a few more details on my previous post, if flagged it isn't instant loss of your flashdrive. It would be investigated by simple emailing the teacher about that student's projects and if the flag was work related then the flag would be dropped. Of course this idea would be tested multiple times before it is widely used and this is just an idea that could be used many years from now.
4. Recognition of counter-arguments
4
Well first of all Mandhatri, it's a lot cheaper than you think compared to what is likely being paid to the person/group just to block sites. There are about 1,750 students currently at Jefferson right now, correct? Each of those students could be given a flashdrive that cost about $5 to make, so about $8,750 for Jefferson, those flashdrives would be reusable. The Network Specialist for Bloomington school probably gets paid around $60,000 a year. That's less than 15% of of his/her salary each year, and the district doesn't have to buy the flashdrives again. Yes, the software would probably cost a lot of money but in the long run it would cost less than hiring someone to go make blocks that can be broken through. I also want to just put a few more details on my previous post, if flagged it isn't instant loss of your flashdrive. It would be investigated by simple emailing the teacher about that student's projects and if the flag was work related then the flag would be dropped. Of course this idea would be tested multiple times before it is widely used and this is just an idea that could be used many years from now.
5. Seeks audience identification
2
Well I agree with Mandhatri and BL33K3R, there are some students that do give a bad reputation for a much larger body of students. I don't think the majority of students should suffer because of the poor decisions of some individuals. Macon how would you propose to decide what is "non-educational"? I can understand sites like porn sites should be blocked but what about sites that talk about gun control or terrorism? Should sites like that be blocked because they might be inappropriate? One person or a small group shouldn't be able to decide, "I don't like this, let's block it." A better idea is to maybe have like parents, staff and other people in the city "vote" on sites to block them or not. Block all sites that have at least 60% of the votes for blocking the site. This could be an easy compromise for the people who want to block the internet and who want it open for educational purposes. Of course there are disadvantages because even some educational sites could be blocked because of votes and some non-educational sites might be unblocked. It would be cheaper than my previous idea though. Reply what you think of that idea. I almost forgot, thank you both for quoting me, Mandhatri and BL33K3R.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Edward Swanson Bio
My name is Edward Swanson, I live in Bloomington, MN. I was born in Fargo, MN on February 28, 1965. I am married to Danielle Swanson and we have a daughter named Isabel. She is 17 years old now in her senior year at Thomas Jefferson Senior High School. I have been working at General Dynamics as a programmer since 1995, when General Dynamics was turning into a more defense based company. Before that I worked for Microsoft for 15 years. As a parent, I am also a member of Jefferson's PTSA.
I believe that administrators should be able to use online content for situations involving students. I don't believe that administrators should use only online information as a basis for student affairs. I think that since those students, at Eden Prairie high school, had pictures of them drinking alcohol or at least acting like they were drinking it, they should be punished but only if there is some other proof as well, like a label on a beer bottle/can in the pictures. Possibly finding some alcohol containers in the trash or some other kind of physical evidence, that kind of evidence would be the job of police officers called by the school to look for evidence that there was substances that students aren't supposed to have. There are other cases like if graphic content of students are sent around then no other evidence except that content is needed, of course more evidence is always good. Yes, administrators can view online content but to be punished for some of that content, physical proof should also be needed.
I suggest a slightly different idea than most people, for internet policies. Have the internet blocked to most sites for everyone but give students a device like a flash drive. Each flash drive would be specifically preprogrammed for each student. When the flash drive is plugged in, it will use face recognition technology to make that the flash drive's owner is the person using the computer. If it is the correct owner then it would unlock the internet until the flash drive is removed. Whenever the student goes to the new website, it takes a picture of the person at the computer sending it to the server, along with a tag indicating what address that person was at. The flash drive would be unable to hold extra content and the information on the drive would be encrypted so no student could hack into the drive. While online with the flash drive in the computer, the websites that the student is on will be searched for key words and will send a red flag for the website if too many key words show up. An administrator would look at the flagged websites and if it does show inappropriate content or some non school related content then that student will lose his/her flash drive. If a student is caught playing games on the internet, that student will get a warning and if caught a second time, his/her flash drive would be taken away. If the student goes to a search engine or a video site, then a screenshot will be taken of every new first page until he/she leaves the site. Of course known inappropriate sites will be blocked no matter what. I believe my daughter to be a honest student and I'm sure there are many other students like her, that won't abuse the privilege of unlimited access. The students who do abuse it won't be given access to to unblocked internet.
I believe that the definitions of school is clear to me. I think that they help provide a good learning environment inside and outside of school, not only for my daughter but for everyone's son/daughter. I don't think I'd change these school policies from what they are right now.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Little Brother Question #15
If I was in Marcus's group I probably would have broken off from his group too. I know he was kidnapped by the government but taking down a government is too much work. There is no reward for taking it down either except for satisfaction. I would probably never trust the government again after that incident but I don't think it would be worth fighting for. That is why I would leave like Jolu and Van did and that is probably some of the reasons why they left.
Monday, September 8, 2008
College
Write of any topic of importance to you. If you have written a personal essay for any other purpose-even an essay for another college-that you believe represents you, your writing, and your thinking particularly well, feel free to submit it.
When I leave college I want to become a Computer Programmer. I haven't always wanted to be that, but I have wanted to go into a field of robotics since third grade. In third grade I was given a life changing assignment; to make a robot. They weren't high tech robots but simple robots that were mostly boxes on remote control cars. I was so excited by that assignment that I worked for days on it. I made a robot made out of three boxes on a remote control bulldozer. I didn't want the fun to end there though, so I made 6 more robots for the assignment. The other robots were made out of legos. There was a big one that looked like a submarine that held the smaller robots. All the robots were able to transform and be deployed from the "submarine" robot. They couldn't actually move on their own, but I was inspired.
Between that assignment and middle school I had taken an interest in science and technology. During middle school I found a museum in Minneapolis, MN. It is called The Bakken Museum. I found a program there that allowed any kid make any invention he/she desired. I joined the program and soon started inventing. I made a robot that could follow a line, a robot that you could remote control using a regular flashlight, and a robot that was completely autonomous to stop itself from running into walls or falling over an edge. With the experience I gained from those robots, I learned how to program for the first time in the Basic Stamp computer language.
Later on in middle school I joined a club called Destination Imagination. We made a go-cart from scratch. We had to tear apart two bicycles, buy an electric motor, buy 2 batteries and a lot of wood to make the go-cart. In my opinion, the go-cart looked like one of those ice cream bikes that you see in movies. I had fun with that club and we were able to learn how to work together.
During my junior year of high school there was a new club that started up. That club was the Robotics Club at Jefferson. The club is actually in the FIRST Robotics Competition. They change the challenge each year so that the teams are more equal. There are alliances consisting of 3 different teams to work together for points. Each team is from a different school. That year the goal of the game was to race around a track to get points for crossing each line. Another part of the goal was to get down yoga balls from a rack about six feet in the air, and carry them around the field across the lines, getting them over the racks gave more points than simply crossing the line. At the end of the match the teams got bonus point for how many balls they had left on their rack.
For the competition our school split everyone into the group that wanted to do, pneumatics, mechanical, electronics, and programming. I chose to be a programmer. For programming I had to learn a whole computer language just for the competition. I had to learn C++ in a matter of weeks and I was able to do it. There were other programmer but I was the most experienced with programming and I learned the fastest. I was able to come up with an autonomous program to be controlled by an Infrared control system. It took a while since the speed of both the Infrared system and the Processor for the robot were at different speeds.
For most of my life I have been influenced by Robotics. I can't tell exactly why it is so fun for me to program, but I can try to explain. Programming is more than using a computer and a language to tell something what to do, it's like taking some useless and brainless pile of junk and making it think and be able to move. I guess you could say for me it's like giving Frankenstein life and being able to say "I gave it life, if it weren't for me that thing wouldn't be anything more than a big paper weight." I think the main point is, help me become Victor Frankenstein so I can make life out of a heap of metal.
When I leave college I want to become a Computer Programmer. I haven't always wanted to be that, but I have wanted to go into a field of robotics since third grade. In third grade I was given a life changing assignment; to make a robot. They weren't high tech robots but simple robots that were mostly boxes on remote control cars. I was so excited by that assignment that I worked for days on it. I made a robot made out of three boxes on a remote control bulldozer. I didn't want the fun to end there though, so I made 6 more robots for the assignment. The other robots were made out of legos. There was a big one that looked like a submarine that held the smaller robots. All the robots were able to transform and be deployed from the "submarine" robot. They couldn't actually move on their own, but I was inspired.
Between that assignment and middle school I had taken an interest in science and technology. During middle school I found a museum in Minneapolis, MN. It is called The Bakken Museum. I found a program there that allowed any kid make any invention he/she desired. I joined the program and soon started inventing. I made a robot that could follow a line, a robot that you could remote control using a regular flashlight, and a robot that was completely autonomous to stop itself from running into walls or falling over an edge. With the experience I gained from those robots, I learned how to program for the first time in the Basic Stamp computer language.
Later on in middle school I joined a club called Destination Imagination. We made a go-cart from scratch. We had to tear apart two bicycles, buy an electric motor, buy 2 batteries and a lot of wood to make the go-cart. In my opinion, the go-cart looked like one of those ice cream bikes that you see in movies. I had fun with that club and we were able to learn how to work together.
During my junior year of high school there was a new club that started up. That club was the Robotics Club at Jefferson. The club is actually in the FIRST Robotics Competition. They change the challenge each year so that the teams are more equal. There are alliances consisting of 3 different teams to work together for points. Each team is from a different school. That year the goal of the game was to race around a track to get points for crossing each line. Another part of the goal was to get down yoga balls from a rack about six feet in the air, and carry them around the field across the lines, getting them over the racks gave more points than simply crossing the line. At the end of the match the teams got bonus point for how many balls they had left on their rack.
For the competition our school split everyone into the group that wanted to do, pneumatics, mechanical, electronics, and programming. I chose to be a programmer. For programming I had to learn a whole computer language just for the competition. I had to learn C++ in a matter of weeks and I was able to do it. There were other programmer but I was the most experienced with programming and I learned the fastest. I was able to come up with an autonomous program to be controlled by an Infrared control system. It took a while since the speed of both the Infrared system and the Processor for the robot were at different speeds.
For most of my life I have been influenced by Robotics. I can't tell exactly why it is so fun for me to program, but I can try to explain. Programming is more than using a computer and a language to tell something what to do, it's like taking some useless and brainless pile of junk and making it think and be able to move. I guess you could say for me it's like giving Frankenstein life and being able to say "I gave it life, if it weren't for me that thing wouldn't be anything more than a big paper weight." I think the main point is, help me become Victor Frankenstein so I can make life out of a heap of metal.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Privacy or Safety?
Weapons charge
To put it simply, this article is about law enforcement using the internet to catch crimes. I think it is an invasion of privacy but it does help cut down some crimes before they happen. The problem with that though is that everything on the internet is exaggerated out of proportion. Some people could say that that they are going to blow up a building, but they could just be joking the entire time. As long as my information isn't published on the new or something then I don't mind the fact that my privacy is being thrown out the window, I'd rather have a false sense of security than be in danger of some high school shooting or something.
To put it simply, this article is about law enforcement using the internet to catch crimes. I think it is an invasion of privacy but it does help cut down some crimes before they happen. The problem with that though is that everything on the internet is exaggerated out of proportion. Some people could say that that they are going to blow up a building, but they could just be joking the entire time. As long as my information isn't published on the new or something then I don't mind the fact that my privacy is being thrown out the window, I'd rather have a false sense of security than be in danger of some high school shooting or something.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Internet Answers
Some different ways to "cheat" in school writing could be using a dictionary without saying you did. Maybe even just taking what someone said to you the other day and say you were the first to say it. Another way to "cheat" could be to take someone else's idea and use it as your own. For example, a classmate says he's going to write about his grandma's experience in the Holocaust. You over hear that conversation and use the information you hear to make a paper on "your grandma's" holocaust. If I had to define cheating, I would have to say that cheating is when you use someone else's idea without addressing that you got that idea from someone else, but the problem with that definition is the fact that most of the information we get is from other people, but it's nearly impossible to reference the thousands of resources you have been given in your life. I don't really think there can be a solid line for the definition of "cheating" just some areas that for sure are cheating and some that might or might not be.
I don't think the key to teaching is being an entertainer, I think it's more of starting a relationship between student and teacher. My favorite teacher didn't always entertain us, he usually talked with us about our lives while he taught us our subject. He didn't have to perform some circus act or play songs about the subject, he just talked with us. It was like we were on a trip at a museum just having a fun time and still learning. The problems with expecting teachers to entertain is that some teachers will live up to that and some won't. It's like getting hyped up for a game but the game could be bad, amazing or just normal. I think the only good to come from expecting an entertaining value is that teachers and students can form some sort of relationship together to learn better.
I don't think the kid did the right thing by using the internet instead of actually reading the book but it could be a skill he needs in the future. If you are running late for a business meeting and you need to learn about the meeting, that skill he is developing on getting information is going to be useful in a situation like that. He should feel guilty about it because he could have just read the book instead of using the internet, but it may help him more in the future of gathering information.
Students use digital media all the time for school, for example a video on youtube or google. They could get some images from online in a presentation or maybe use a powerpoint presentation for an assignment. Students are most likely to start using digital media when their school starts using computers in school, which is most likely starting at middle school and possibly earlier. I think the most common digital media used by student would be videos and pictures, maybe an article or something else but that isn't as likely.
I don't think the key to teaching is being an entertainer, I think it's more of starting a relationship between student and teacher. My favorite teacher didn't always entertain us, he usually talked with us about our lives while he taught us our subject. He didn't have to perform some circus act or play songs about the subject, he just talked with us. It was like we were on a trip at a museum just having a fun time and still learning. The problems with expecting teachers to entertain is that some teachers will live up to that and some won't. It's like getting hyped up for a game but the game could be bad, amazing or just normal. I think the only good to come from expecting an entertaining value is that teachers and students can form some sort of relationship together to learn better.
I don't think the kid did the right thing by using the internet instead of actually reading the book but it could be a skill he needs in the future. If you are running late for a business meeting and you need to learn about the meeting, that skill he is developing on getting information is going to be useful in a situation like that. He should feel guilty about it because he could have just read the book instead of using the internet, but it may help him more in the future of gathering information.
Students use digital media all the time for school, for example a video on youtube or google. They could get some images from online in a presentation or maybe use a powerpoint presentation for an assignment. Students are most likely to start using digital media when their school starts using computers in school, which is most likely starting at middle school and possibly earlier. I think the most common digital media used by student would be videos and pictures, maybe an article or something else but that isn't as likely.
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