WWYD?

This weeks assignment is asking what we usually do when we receive emails like the following:


Target: anyone all ages can sign!

Please read, sign your name at the bottom and pass it on.

Went to a party Mom
(read all the way to the bottom and sign your name)

I went to a party,
And remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink, Mom,
so I had a sprite instead.

I felt proud of myself,
The way you said I would,
that I didn't drink and drive,
though some friends said I should.

I made a healthy choice,
And your advice to me was right.
The party finally ended,
and the kids drove out of sight.

I got into my car,
Sure to get home in one piece.
I never knew what was coming, Mom,
something I expected least.

Now I'm lying on the pavement,
And I hear the policeman say,
the kid that caused this wreck was drunk,
Mom, his voice seems far away.

My own blood's all around me,
As I try hard not to cry.
I can hear the paramedic say,
this girl is going to die.

I'm sure the guy had no idea,
While he was flying high.
Because he chose to drink and drive,
now I would have to die.

So why do people do it, Mom
Knowing that it ruins lives?
And now the pain is cutting me,
like a hundred stabbing knives.

Tell sister not to be afraid, Mom
Tell daddy to be brave.
And when I go to heaven,
put ' Mommy's Girl' on my grave.

Someone should have taught him,
That it's wrong to drink and drive..
Maybe if his parents had,
I'd still be alive.

My breath is getting shorter,
Mom I'm getting really scared
These are my final moments,
and I'm so unprepared.

I wish that you could hold me Mom,
As I lie here and die.
I wish that I could say, 'I love you, Mom!'
So I love you and good-bye.

MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Drivers) IS HOPING TO GET 5,000
SIGNATURES ON THIS, THEN PASS IT ON TO SIGN.

When this petition has reached 5,000, please return it to:
MADD
P.O. Box 54168 8
Dallas , TX 75354-1688
1-800-GET-MADD (1-800-438-6233)

If
you receive this petition and do nothing but delete it, your
selfishness knows no bounds. Signing is such a small effort to make.
After you have read the poem, please add your name at the bottom. And
never forget, DON'T EVER DRINK AND DRIVE, not even once, thinking that
it won't matter. IT DEFINITELY WILL MATTER!!!

How to set it up:
* Click on Forward
* SIGN YOUR NAME AT THE BOTTOM.
* Then send it to everyone you know.

I almost always delete these types of emails. I will sometimes check them out on Snopes.com, and will forward that link to the original senders of the email. (http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/drunk.asp) I tend to think of these types of emails like the ads and credit card offers that come to the physical mailbox- just unsolicited junk that belongs in the trash.

I am having trouble deciding on a final project topic. Gotta get busy on it soon though!

My First Podcast!

This was a tricky assignment! Not so much the actual script and recording, but the editing and uploading were tricky. I had trouble with the length of my clips (I had tried to put it all together in one, which was too large a file to upload to Yodio.com)

I think this would be a GREAT assignment for students. Using Yodio, they would be able to use a phone to record their podcast to a class account, and then they could publish it for friends and family to hear. I can see this being really useful for book reports, reading writing assignments aloud without classroom pressure, as well as many other applications.

Week Two Reflection- Games in Education

John Hunter World Peace Game (TED) - 
I love the idea that John Hunter has developed with the World Peace Game. I know that for me, I always learn so much more when I am involved in something like this- where I have to discover for myself how things work, vocabulary that I don't know, as well as working out relationships with others.

I remember doing something similar to this in a college elementary social studies course- we were learning about materials and trade, and each of us were a country. We were given what was realistic in that country, as well as any trade limitations that we had, and our task was to try and gain the most money or additional resources that we could for our country. It was amazing to be put into that position where we were the decision makers and the ones responsible for the well being of our country.

I loved how John Hunter discussed that through the game, the students "find out what is right- their own way, for their own selves." We definitely need more of that in our school systems, where it has become mostly rote memory and teaching to the tests.

He also hit on the fact that this proves authentic learning and education, going beyond data. I love when students can be assessed through other means than testing. I know as a mom, my second grade daughter is very anxious during testing, and doesn't do as well as if we were just discussing the topic, or if she were teaching it to a younger sibling. Through the World Peace Game, the students are learning all of these amazing things (vocabulary, world topics, war strategies, as well as general world topics. (And I think they were learning about weather systems as well?)

I would love to use games in the future. I know that many students are lost in the books and paper world of education, and by getting them active and learning through a game, they will be a lot more likely to learn the information. As teachers we are competing against the video and computer games that keep the students entertained for hours a day, and by doing something unique like a game, they have a greater chance to stay interested and involved in the lesson.

I don't have a specific game that I have used in a class, but for my own children, I love Starfall.com. I know my son uses it in his kindergarten class as well. Not nearly as involved as the Peace Maker Game, but it keeps my children entertained while learning. Always a good combination. :)

Week One Reflection...

This week we were asked to view and respond to three different advertisements on YouTube. They all had somewhat of a hidden message, and we were asked to identify the target audience.

Good Morning - This commercial is one that if you didn't read the title, you wouldn't know right off what it was advertising. The guy dancing and the up beat song make it catchy, maybe even a little too catchy when you realize that it is advertising Viagra. The target audience would surely be the 40+ generation, most likely males more than females. As an adult, I think this is a funny way to catch attention, but as a mom, I can see HATING this commercial if it were played during the days or on channels that my kids watch. I hate when my kids see ads for things that are catchy and sound fun, but are really advertising something that is much older than what they would understand.

Truth of Argentina - I think the target audience for this commercial would obviously be the voters in Argentina. I loved how it started out with the somewhat depressing music to go along with the depressing message, and then flipped completely in the middle. It would have taken some creative writing to come up with this ad- to make sure that reading it forward would make it sound negative, while reading it backward would make it completely positive. Great advertisement- cheap, but attention grabbing.

I Am Canadian - I love clever ads, and this one was funny. There's so much stereotyping when it comes to Canadian behavior, and this hit on a lot of them. (A-boot instead of about) At the end I realized that it was advertising Canadian brand beer, so the target audience would have to be the 21+ crowd. I think the hidden agenda in this one is that he is not only proud to be Canadian, but to be drinking Canadian beer.

Week One Assignment...

This blog will be used for my ECOMP 6016 assignments. This week we are learning about illustrated posters. It was fun for me to work on this. I used a poem about running a marathon which I've loved lately as I've been struggling to run the miles required to run my first full marathon. Nothing to do with teaching, but I like how the poster ended up. :)