DeVoss and Porter carve out Napster…

So, for our class WEC, we are reading a very interesting article by DeVoss and Porter that states much of the obvious.
I’m sure we will have a class discussion, but wanted to pose this scenario: (This has happened to me…) Is it wrong to go to a library, legally check out a free book, read it and really enjoy it, tell a friend, who doesn’t have a library card, so they borrow your copy and read it before its due?
What about CD’s- how many times have you borrowed(and copied) a friend’s CD that you liked instead of purchasing it.
It’s all about the dollar, folks. That’s why the record labels care.

The Casualities of Mandated State Testing

So…Here it is- the week many NJ middle schools have been dreading- NJ ASK– aka the New Jersey assessment of skills and knowledge! What a whirlwind of testing- two days of Language Arts, one long day of math, and a day of science…Why there’s no history on this test is anyone’s guess..

My complaints:

1. Butt hurts from sitting so much

2. Boring for proctor

3. No bathroom break unless you get lucky

4. Arms tired form carrying heavy bin of test booklets, etc. to and from main office each day (and we are only on day two, folks!)

5. Tired of student complaints regarding the test, and the “down” time we have afterward

6. What exactly is this test measuring anyway??

Okay, enough complaining – for now:-)

But I will end on this note: when will these tests be exclusively on a computer?

i want the wii???

never thought i’d be writing that, but it is true. my husband, always a huge gamer (has the newest xbox, playstation- both with mod chips– just so you know the depth of his addiction here) ive always been the “foil” to his gaming stuff-dont get me wrong, i can play a mean round of tekken (love mr. yoshimitsu) but i thought we had enough games in the house..until i read ths article about the new wii game, called fit.

 

Johnson-Eilola’s book, Datacloud: Toward a New Theory of Online Work

Okay, so for grad. class I’m again reading. This time is is Datacloud- and found the book to be…okay.

He discusses the problems users encounter with many different interfaces. In addition to this, the idea of the community in the role of technological understanding occurs. He discusses the role of IM” ing especially in the workplace, and how users are ultimately never away from the technology- it is always creeping in the background.

 

something struck me while reading this- i actually agree with much of what is

A new kind of class.

This week’s writing for electronic communities grad. class was the most interesting yet. as always, we were to discuss the reading assigned the previous week. instead of verbally talking about it, we logged onto a laptop and were assigned to a chat room, in which we would tackle the questions in an anonymous voice.

i found this to be a breath of fresh air. we have some very intelligent, very vocal students in class. because of this, i often want to speak up, but hesitate, and ultimately end up listening. at times our professor even seems to clam(mostly be choice, i think) up and the dominant voices run the show. fine, but, I hope when it comes to grading, he takes into account some of what i said while in the chat room. i’ve done the reading, and had ample things to say. i found a forum in which to do it! as a teacher i’ve learned not to rely on one format in class discussions because someone is always left out…

i liked the fact that we also were asked to make connections and reflect on what we have read this semester. i found the idea of learning communities to be huge. technology is an interface that has effectively further separated humanity; people are alone with their own form of technology. that being said, this class showed me some ways in which those barriers can be crossed via somewhat interesting reading. lonelygirl15 and wenger’s communities of practice are two pieces i’ve enjoyed immensely, and fit into this area.

i’ve once again been reminded of the value of silence. i leaned alot sitting there, alone with my anonymous thoughts and typing away in class…

World’s Rarest Gorillas Gain New Refuge

For those of you who missed this…good things happening a world away!

Dan Morrison
for National Geographic News

April 22, 2008

The rarest gorillas in the world are being protected in a new sanctuary nestled in the mountains of Cameroon, the government announced recently.

A community of 20 Cross River gorillas now live in the Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary, the first exclusively dedicated to this subspecies of western lowland gorilla.

 The apes are listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union: As few as 250 to 300 survive.

The animals are scattered over 11 mountain and forest sites in Cameroon and Nigeria, driven to the verge of extinction by hunting and loss of habitat.

Cameroonian Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni announced the Kagwene sanctuary in a decree on April 3.

 

Excuse me if I smell tonight…

nah, actually I’m going to grab a shower because our 8th graders (and teachers) took a tour of the CCMUA…What an experience! It really was quite interesting to see what exactly happens after you flush. Well, to sum it up- the soiled water travels through our sewers etc. and makes it way (with some helpful force) to the treatment plant in Camden. Once there, bacterium does its work to eat up some of the bad composite, all the while gravity also helps certain sediment to settle…Next, water is moved throughout a series of chambers, most of which are  outdoors- swishing and moving about, again more bacteria taking aim at the stuff left in the water. I believe some chemicals are also added ( bleach) and then the water is returned to the Delaware River.

 

It was quite smelly,  but, in my opinion totally worth it.

Loneygirl15 delivers..

For our grad class, one of the articles we were assigned deals with the phenom Loneygirl15. This article is interesting because it really shows the power of vloggging, and just how many people out there are voyeurs in their own way. I have to admit, I myself was intrigued and looked her up a long time ago to see what the hype was about. it s about getting into the private details of a cute girl, while in  the comfort of your own home. Sound familiar?

Mark Zuckerberg & the Web’s hottest platform- aka facebook…

For our grad class, we are assigned weekly readings to comment on and discuss. This particular reading is important because it details the rise of the facebook giant, generated by a Harvard student named Mark Zuckerberg.

Here, success is attributed to this young man because he had the foresight (or luck??) to hold out and wait, not accepting Yahoo’s outrageous 1 billion dollar offer. Instead, Zuckerberg is rewarded with the dubious honor of having his baby, facebook, now recognizably as one of the largest platforms for a new software explosion ever in the tech field.

Facebook is now generating even more diverse users (as opposed to myspace, etc) due to copious amounts of downloads and software apps.

Quite interesting stuff-makes me feel like inventing something..

Microsoft’s XP is 86’d…

Word on the street (and CNN.com) is that Microsoft is going to discontinue Windows XP in favor of the operating system Vista. I know this

operating system

well, as this is what I used on my home pc for the past five years, and loved it. I recently bought a new laptop, a light and thin Toshiba notebook, which came automatically prepped with Windows Vista. Although Vista has caused some problems for me (think trying to connect to the VPN for Rowan U.- just not happening) I don’t think it is as bad as many are making it out to be. With everything there is a learning curve, and the more you use it, the better accustomed you will be. I feel like anytime a new piece of technology comes out people are scared to learn something new- not thinking of the advacnes, etc. that may come out of the software.