Video Games in the Classroom

     In class last week we discussed the positive and negative effects of implementing the use of video game programming in schools.
     On the positive side to this debate, researchers and teachers claim that educational games, such as "Immune Attack" and other scientific learning games, provide life-like experience when playing. Such learning games require students to apply their knowledge of the subject to further proceed to higher levels of difficulty. Teachers have noticed a drastic change in the attention span of students when they are playing an educational video game compared to the standard routine of reading text books and taking notes.
     As great as no texts books and notes seems, the utilization of video games in the classroom would bring on a whole new realm of issues. First and foremost, it would be very expensive to purchase the games and the equipment needed to play them. The idea of basing grades on the video game's point system could cause conflict to arise amongst youngersters due to the competitive nature of video games. Other students, such as myself, may have absolutely no skill at playing video games, and would therefor miserably fail. Another issue with video games within the classroom is the fact that they are learning from a machine, a game, with absolutely no real world life experience and does not factor in random occurences and chance.
     Ultimately, this subject doesn't spark my interest too much and does not really to myself and my education, so I'm on the fence with this subject.

Freedom of Expression

In the passage "Protecting Freedom of Expression at Harvard," written by Derek Bok he describes an instance at Harvard University where a few students hung a confederate flag and in protest another student hung a swastika. Derek challenges the the rights of freedom of speech in this act.

In our country freedom of speech is a right that many Americans are grateful to have, in some countries many of the things we say and or do would result in instant death to the perpetrator. As a U.S. citizen freedom of speech is one of our greatest luxuries. I ,myself, am very opinionated and I value the ability to say what is on my mind when I feel necessary. For some people however freedom of speech is displayed in such a brash manner that it should not be condoned, such as the acts of the students at Harvard. Bok states," It is important to distinguish between the appropriateness of such communications and their status under the First Amendment. The fact that the speech is protected by the First Amendment does not necessarily mean that it is right, proper, or civil." He also continues to say that many students at this University may see these flags and swastika as insensitive. There is a fine line between what is appropriate and what is not and just because it is legal does not mean it is morally just. Now I am not bashing on anyone who displays certain flags or symbols that for some are offensive. I am just saying that there is a right place and time to do so and more likely than not the right place and time is not in public.

Right of Freedom of Speech

In the article "Protecting Freedom of Expression at Harvard" by Derek Bok, he writes the challenges the University of Harvard had when three students hung two flags in school. Two hung the Confederate flag and the other protested by hanging the symbol of the swastika. Both have pretty dark backgrounds. From this incident, questions as to what extent should freedom of speech be prohibited on certain instances?

Now, I take freedom of speech seriously. It is a valuable right that some people do not have the privilege to have. That is what makes our country great. With this right, many sides of different matters can arise and they cannot be shut down because people disagree or think they are wrong. Now the symbols that the students at Harvard displayed should be taken down. By themselves, they send a symbol of struggles and hurt. People have fought for these symbols be taken out of earth and should not be displayed. The only way they can be displayed is if they had words to accompany it. By having words or phrases to accompany it, it can send a message of his thought, why he has it up, make an argument and just explain.That is what Freedom of Speech means to me. Doing an action or speaking about a cause. Reading the meaning of freedom of speech on the government site, it has examples of what rights people have and don't have. The one example that the site says they do not have the right to do that relates to the situation at Harvard is "To make or distribute obscene materials". What I am trying to convey is that by freedom of speech in the amendment means that people need to speak about why they feel a certain way and telling their feeling in a way that they are still considerate of peoples feelings as much as they wont get into fist fight with them. Just a note, I am not saying they cannot have these symbols anywhere in the U.S. They can still have them around but in private property like in their homes out of site of the public. If their guests see it it should not be a problem because it is their feelings.


Website for the Definition of Freedom of Speech: http://www.uscourts.gov/EducationalResources/ClassroomActivities/FirstAmendment/WhatDoesFreeSpeechMean.aspx

Is TV a positive or negative influence on society?

I would like to start this blog off with letting everyone know that I am not much of a blogger, I can talk to someone for hours regarding a specific subject or situation in life, but to try and put it into words becomes difficult and I typically find myself forever going on and on in writing. So I will try to keep this relatively short. I would like to discuss the topic of television and the effects that it has on society. First of all in Lauren's TED video she states that her mother calls TV the "idiot box".... I happen to personally agree.... She also states that the average person watches 5 hours of TV a day. This somewhat outraged me to think that there are people in this world that literally do that. There are so many other things in our life that this world has to offer us than a box transmitting and receiving pictures. Why do you think Facebook is so popular? Personally, I don't watch that much in a week nor does my almost 3 year old daughter. Actually, it is hard to keep her completely focused on the television for even a 30 minute cartoon. I can't fathom wasting so much of my life on watching reality shows, sitcoms, dramas, or whatever interests you just out of pure boredom or for the use of entertainment. I would disagree with Lauren when she states that TV has a conscious. My personal feeling is that the TV should be first used for news related purposes and second for the gain of knowledge and education; such as the History, National Geographic, and Discovery channels. But, in today’s society people abuse the freedom of speech for their own self entertainment, typically when sitting at home bored or when there is absolutely nothing better to do to pass the time. People take advantage of the TV and use it as an excuse. We have all done it. "Sorry I was late.... I couldn't leave until I saw who won American Idol...." or how about "Sorry I didn't pick up the phone.... I was watching How to make it in America and didn't hear the phone go off...." I mean am I right or wrong?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MXZ032U3kpY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=uPfASbKUfS0

Strong Persuasions

Sorry for the tardiness on my response, I have to say that I had a bit too much fun over this weekend and laid it off for Sunday.

In regards to what we covered in class on Thursday, the argument that Lauren Zalaznick proposed about television really captivated me. The style that Zalaznick used to portray the information to her audience was perfect. We had discussed in class how she may have not been as specific as she could with her data and that she may have not had a bias standpoint on the data and this may have altered some of the facts. Whatever the case may be for any of the two flaws, the information she did know was stated by way of facts and her own schema, which helped display a strong argument for me.

When I mentioned Zalaznick's style, I may have used the word style out of context. The way in which Zalaznick  presented the information is better term. She was confident with what she was saying. The entire presentation was well rehearsed and she made sure that the audience got exactly the information they needed to know. She didn't veer off topic and start blabbering about t.v in her day or judge t.v as a government tool of destruction. The information was presented in an articulate and structured presentation. This is such a stand out for me because not all speakers can present information in this manner. I have myself been an example of poor presentation. It wasn't because my information was flawed or that I couldn't reach a time requirement. I just am not so confident in presenting information to a broad audience. Though my data may make my presentations strong, I may say a phrase incorrectly, which leaves my audience confused and wanting further information. In these cases, are start to panic and say whatever comes to mind. This can sometimes be bad and lead me away from my main focus.

The strongest argument to me doesn't bash your opposition. The argument that can make your audience as well  as your opposition with your point of view is the best argument. This is the type of argument that Zalaznick presented.

Who Sets the Standards? (1.17)

I am going to respond to the quote from the article, "Students will float to the mark you set." In class we discussed standards a lot. If the teacher sets a low standard for a student, the student will probably have no reason or motivation to exceed that standard. Mr. Eagan also mentioned how a teacher should set a standard higher then what is expected of the student so that the student will aim to reach that standard and unknowingly exceed the the expectations of the teacher. For many students, I think that is very smart. 

Another question to ponder is what standards will a student set if there is nothing set for them? For me, I would probably set my standard too high because I am a perfectionist. For others, they may set it too low seeking the easy way out. There is a handful of people who get it just right but the point is, that is not the case for everyone. A teacher's standard is a crucial part to the success of the student. 

Even though it is the student’s responsibility to try their best and learn the material taught, it is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure they walk in with an open mind and teach the material in more then one way. In class we talked about the teacher’s approach in a regular class versus an advanced class. In a regular class, when the students don’t live up to what the advanced students can handle, the teachers tend to give up. The teachers see these students as“average” or “slow”. That doesn’t mean the potential for that student isn’t as high. The students may just need a different approach to learning. They may need it explained a little more. 

At the same time, students can’t just take advantage of the school system and take the easy way out. There are students who need the extra help. There are also lazy students who take advantage of the system so they don’t have to do as much work. A common thing students may think is that by taking this route the teachers are going easy on them. This should not be true. If it is too easy, you are in the wrong class. Students really need to be honest with themselves and others when it comes to their learning capabilities. Teachers need to set the right standards for students to reach. If all teachers and students work together then the school system would be perfect. Is that even possible?

Fixing the Problem (Blog 1/17)

First off, just want to apologize for not getting this post out right after class or last night.  Some things happened and I soon found myself out of time.

To me it seems like one of the root problems is the educational system no pressuring kids to exceed standards, and instead just encouraging the students to meet them.  We all probably knew those kids in our high schools that tried to do everything,  the students that took all the AP courses, were in either band or choir, were in a sport, and devoted all the free time they had left to community service.  We may have viewed them as over achievers, preppies, or any other stereotyped name - but I think instead of that being the extraordinary student, the school system should pressure us more to do all these activities.

For example, I was one of the kids who just meet the standards.  I didn't join any sports, or other extracurricular activities.  Don't get me wrong, I wasn't entirely lazy, I took one AP course and got As in most of my classes  - I just didn't do more than what was needed.  I think it is do to the school not explaining to you how these activities will help you later in life.  Had I known it would have looked great on a resume to be in sports, band, and doing community service I would have done it.  Had I known just how much money in scholarships it would open I would have done it.  Instead they just told me "There's this thing called band.  If you find it fun go do it, but it's no big deal." I wasn't sure I would find it fun so I left it behind.

Apart from leaving us with a poor resume  and little scholarships, the lack of these developments can leave us behind socially.  I'm honest enough to say I'm behind a little socially and it could very well be do to me not having been in these activities.  So I suppose the point I'm trying to make is the whole school should be involved in "prepping" a student, rather than just letting us float through.

intro blog post

Hola, my name is Deveon Sanders I am a sophomore and my major is english education. My main hobby is reading, I read a lot of fiction Harry Potter, Eragon, percy jackson etc. right now I'm reading Stephen Kings IT and it is awesome one of the best books I've read. In this course I hope to improve my writing skills

Intro

Wassup? My name is Kellee Keiser. You can call me Kel. I plan on majoring in mass communications. My hobbies include watching tv and movies, reading, traveling, and various other activities. I love writing and hope to further improve my skills in this class.

Intro

My name is Alex Ruff. I am majoring in electrical engineering because I making things.  My main hobby is climbing things e.g. rock walls, brick walls, trees, and boulder walls. I hope to get a better understanding of how to write research papers from english 102. 

Intro

My name is Paige Kizer. I am a Psychology major. I chose this major because I want to help people and the subject interests me. My interests are reading, listening to music, and being with my friends. I go to a lot of concerts so I guess you can say that is a hobby along with making bracelets. I hope to gain a better grasp of writing academic papers and learn how to form good arguments from this class.

Intro

My name is Gloria Jones. My intended major is psychology. The career path I want to take is either Forensic Psychology or Clinical Psychology. I have always been interested in helping other people. Psychology is one of the most interesting and complex topics there are out there. I chose this major because it’s what sparks my interest. I would love my job while still helping people. Outside of school I like to hang out with my friends and family. I love being outdoors as well. I love kids, I love to read, and I also love to write. From this course I hope it will help me improve my writing.

Intro Blog Post

Hi everyone,

My name is Breanna Boyer, but Bre for short. My intended major is Accounting. I chose accounting because of the money that I will bring in having that job. It is not my dream job by any means, but not many people have those now a days. My interests are music, sports, and hanging out with friends. I love all music and I am open minded about any genre. I used to play almost every sport and I quit, but I am still in love with them. And of course friends are everything to me and having a social life. From this course I hope to gain knowledge about arguments and other people's perspective on topics.

Nice to meet all of you!

My Introductory Blog Post

    My name is Samantha Cornett, but I prefer Sam. I'm a local and live about fifteen minutes away from campus; I've grown up here. This is my freshmen year at SIUE and I plan to major in biology with a minor in chemistry. Hopefully this will only take about four years to accomplish, then I want to transfer to SIUC to attend their Physician's Assistant program. So all in all, I'm banking on atleast eight years in college...if everything goes smoothly. Another path I may take, is after recieving my bachelor's degree in biology, I might decide to teach. I would really like to be a kindergarten teacher. However, right now I am leaning more towards a PA because my mom is a nurse in the ER and I have always been interested in the human body. It's what I'm good at. My interests outside of school is my boyfriend, friends, and family. I work throughout the week at a barbeque restaurant near St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights. I've worked there for over a year now and I really enjoy it. What I hope to get out of this semester is actually doing the work. I slipped a little last semester and I hope I now have a grasp on what college is about so I don't fall behind.

Intro Blog Post

   My name is Joe Strohmier,  I'm from Chicago, and I am currently a Junior here at SIUE. My intended major is CJ with a minor in sociology or social work. I chose this major because I wanted to help people in need and found that criminal justice would help me do that. My whole life revolves around hockey. For three years I played Jr. A hockey but had to stop to pursue an education. I hope this class will help me with elaborating my ideas in writing. When thinking I know what to write but when I go to write it, it comes out disorganized and doesn't make sense. Also, I'm hoping that this class will somehow make future papers easier.

My Intro Blog

Hey my name is Melvin but most of my friends call me Melo. I'm attending the E to become a mechanical engineering major and to get a minor in mathematics. I chose this course because I really enjoyed my English 101 class. It gave me a chance to see the breadth of what English courses have to offer and I looked at this class as an opportunity to continue learning about the subject. I like to have a good time, mainly hanging out with my friends, playing FIFA and playing soccer. I love to be happy so whatever I'm doing is usually with the intent of having a good time. I hope that this course can help me better understand argumentative papers as well as help me further develop my writing skills. I also look forward to uncovering how arguments in contemporary America work.

Introduction

Alright... a little about me. Firstly my name is David Umbaugh and this is my second semester at SIUE. Right now my intended major is Exercise Science and then later I plan to specialize in nutrition so I can become a nutritionist. I love writing, weightlifting, staying active, anything athletic is cool with me. I'm a big fan of MMA (mixed martial arts) and I am also a member of Sigma Pi. Currently, I'm listening to Katy Perry because shes awesome and I just found out shes single; that can tell you something about me right there. What I intend to get out of this class is just to keep practicing my writing and sharpen my skills. I've always had a passion for writing and reading and began my "writing career" when I was eight years old. Well, I'm not sure if I covered everything I was supposed to talk about because I lost that sheet of paper. Anyways, I look forward to our discussions and debates in class.

Introductory Blog

Hi everybody, my name is Kimberly but all my friends call me Carmela. I intend to major in psychology, because I like learning about what makes people tick, I also like listening and giving advice to people in need. In my free time I like to listen to music and spend time with my friends. In this class I would like to improve my writing skills, especially writing research papers and I feel like I could improve a lot taking this course. I look forward to becoming a better writer and a more outspoken person.

Introductory Blog

Hi, my name is Elizabeth Polick.   I am a music performance major.  I chose this major because I have been playing the violin since I was two years old and music is very important to me.   Some of my hobbies include playing violin, dancing, running, and surfing.  I am from Chicago, and I intended on going to UIC.  Once I auditioned here, I knew that this is where I wanted to be.  My violin teacher here is one of the best violinists I've seen and I knew she could make me a better player.  In English 102,  I hope I learn more about in-paper citations.

Hey, my name is Erik Gonzalez. I intend to major something in the business aspect. As of now I do not know what that is yet. I chose this because I have worked in a Mexican restaurant for 5 summers now. Helping out but mostly catering at parties from a 2-hour radius of Chicago and loved meeting new people. Interests and hobbies are watching movies and playing/ watching sports. What I hope to gain from this course is to be a better writer. I am a good writer depending on what kind of paper I have to write so I hope this course can better prepare me to write good papers on whatever task given to me.

My Awesome Introductory Blog Post

Hey everybody! My name is Jashar Kongjeli and I am a freshman here at SIUe. I am from a small town and graduated with 68 people in my class, so I am not used to seeing new faces every day! I am very social and love meeting new people. My major is electrical engineering because I want to figure out how things work and whats in our technology that makes our everyday life so easy.  I hope to gain a lot from this class. I want to learn how to write a well developed research paper and how to cite correctly.  I also want to gain new friendships with my classmates.

This wasn't that awesome but I bet the title made you wanna read it :P

Introductory Blog Post

Hey, my name is Jennia Wempe. I am majoring in Nursing because I have always enjoyed helping others. I took the Health Occupations class during high school and became a C.N.A. and love working with elders as well. I would eveuntually like to become a nurse anesthetist. I enjoy reading, spending time with my family and friends, and engaging in outdoor activities. Writing doesn't come that easy to me; however, I am pretty good at writing when I sit down and concentrate. I am terrible at anything that involves research; therefore, I hope to gain knowledge on how to write a success research paper.

Intro Blog

My name is Courtney Howard I was born in Dallas, TX and raised in the St. Louis area. I live with my two year old daughter, Elizabeth. My intended major was international business within the last few months I have decided to change majors. This is my last semester attending SIUE before my transfer to another state for a major in interior design and minor in business. I chose this major because of my artistic abilities and love for travel and change. My interests definitely lie with spending quality time with my daughter making her smile, laugh, and giving her the most that I can out of life. My hobbies would include running, music, design, architect, and fashion. I would like to expand my knowledge of properly citing a research paper in different formats.

Introductory blog

My name is Becca Cain. I am a freshman and my major is nursing. My goal with nursing is probably to become a family nurse practitioner. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. Even though my hometown is 200 miles away, I try to go home as much as I can. In this class I hope to learn how to become a better writer.

Introductory Post

Hello, my name is Lance Elliott.  I'm planning to major in CMIS, or Computer Management Information Systems for those who don't know.  I choose this degree because it works a metaphorical double edged sword, allowing me to choose both business careers or computer related only jobs.  It was also the closest thing to what I was originally looking for available at the campus(I was looking for Computer Networking).  I love computers, but I'm not a huge fan of hard math - that's why I choose this instead of Computer Science or Engineering(the two other degrees with Computer in their title).  My goal for this class would be to work out the skills in writing I'm not great at yet.  I love to write amateur short stories and things of that nature, but I usually have a hard time with punctuation and keeping my tenses in check.

Intro Blog Post

Hey, my name is Jake Prosise I'm from Centralia, Illinois and my major that I am pursuing is secondary education.  I am pursuing secondary education because I like history and I want to coach basketball.  My interests are sports specifically baseball and basketball.  I would like to be a better writer from this course and gain my degree from SIUE.

Introductory Blog

Hey, my name is Brittany Panus. My major is computer management information systems. The main reason I chose this path is because of my mom. She is in the field and works at MasterCard. My plan is to  follow her footsteps. I love doing a lot of computer related things, being very involved in my younger sister's competitive dancing and playing with my dachshund puppy, Mylee. My goal is to make writing a paper more second nature.

intro blog

Hey there! I am Tara Smith. My goals for school are to get in the school of business. I am interested in finance and would enjoy getting a job in it. So let’s talk about what my hobbies are. I am entertained by sports. Softball and dance are my favorite. Another thing I love doing is playing with my puppy. For this class I would like to learn how to create a better research paper. I have had experience with this kind of writing but it needs improvement.   I think I can accomplish becoming a better writer because I am a very hard working person.

Intro Blog Post

Hello, my name is Ann Meyer. My intended major is civil engineering and I chose this particular major because my favorite class in high school was my drafting coarse. My interests are far from interesting, they consists of reading, running, and playing my saxophone. I am a relatively quiet person so I will wrap this up with saying I want to learn how to write a proper research paper.

Test

Testing

Welcome to the English 102-052 Blog!

Welcome to the class blog! Throughout the semester, we will continue discussions from class in this course blog. We will also use the blog to generate ideas for your major assignments.

Although we will discuss the blog assignment during the first week of class, here is a link to the assignment sheet for your reference:

Blog assignment sheet (opens in Google Docs)

I look forward to a wonderful semester with you!

Kevin