Internet uses for dishonesty

Towards the end of our class tonight, we talked about ways students might cheat on a test.  I remember way back in high school when a test was coming seeing and hearing of people cheating on tests.  These attempts were mirror state of ametuerism as opposed to the YouTube videos I watched on the subject this evening.  Sure, everybody has heard of somebody writing answers or key words on their hand or on a crib sheet.  The ways kids think of them now and the use of computers are very complex. 

The one that stands out the most is of a guy taking a plastic bottle of Coca-Cola and carefully removing the plastic sticker.  He uses a scanner with hi resolution to copy the sticker. Then by using programs like Adobe Photoshop, you can edit out the text that was originally on the bottle and add your own cheat notes.  This he says is the coolest and most proficiant way to cheat.

After watching these videos and especially this one, I see that some people will stop at no limits to give themselves an unfair advantage.  This is a genius way to be dishonest in school. 

As future teachers the technology will only get better giving some dishonest people more ways to get ahead.  Teachers must be aware of this.  This might be avoided by disallowing drinks, phones, or anything other than a pencil and the assessment on the desk. 

The school is a place for students.  But after watching these videos, the teachers may have to take back what is theirs — a safe and fair learning environment.

Because of this class….

I know reflections are normally done towards the end of something; but I feel like doing one now.  I will honestly say, probably much like everyone else in our class, that I am only taking this class because it is required.  I wouldn’t have taken this class if I didn’t have to.  But… that’s where my negativity for this class ends. 
I believe that this class should be manditory, but at the undergrad level.  If not manditory, it should be offered and recommended to students. 
Thinking back over my educational… career, it’s what it feels like, this class would have come in handy on more than a number of times.  The WIKIS would have been great for those class projects that everyone dreads, because of where everyone lives.  Instead of trying to set a time that is good for everyone and a place that is centrally located, we could have all done our work from the comforts of our own home.  
Like I’ve said in previous posts, I’ve used WORD & EXCEL for years, but this class taught me that there was more to those programs that what meets the eye.  WORD was just a program to write papers on — that was it.  And EXCEL was a program to chart statistical matter — that was it.  Now, after this class, we find out that you can do just about anything on these two programs.  Finally with POWERPOINT, I just can’t imagine the increase in a grade I would have gotten if I had knew how to insert buttons, hyperlinks, and moving animation.  
This class, like I said, should be taught earlier than grad-school.  It would give the prospective teachers more of a chance to practice using these programs during presentations and throughout college, it would make presentaions more interesting because you know the next slide isn’t just a slide with a bunch of words, and finally this would make life easier and interesting for the professor.  How many times can you listen to or read the same material about the same topic.  This class would help add a little spice to the presentation of a paper or project.

1 vote for making this open to undergraduate students.

One more thing before I end this; because of this class we have all learned about the blogging world.  And there are a lot of things to blog about.  I am now into it.  I am currently a blogger for my favorite baseball team.  It’s just a bunch of fans speaking their opinion and talking.  Just this past week, I got 9 or 10 comments on a single paragraph I wrote about this weekend series versus the bad guys (new york yankees – they don’t deserve capital letters). 
I then read someone else’s post.  This guys is planning a trip to see the Orioles this summer and was wondering about hotels, places to eat, clubs, and didn’t want to the traditional tourist thing.  I was the firts of many to respond.  I told him that my wife and I travel to Baltimore a few times per year and we both highly recommend the Blue Moon Cafe for breakfast.  The best part was that a guy from Baltimore agreed with me a few posts later.  I might just be hooked on this blogging thing – at least this one about my Baltimore Orioles.

~ later 

Am I turning over a new leaf?

During the past few weeks, my blogs have basically been all about me complaining about how computers and technology really tick me off.  There was “Is this an elimination game?” – about wondering – what will be next and how will they top their last innovation.  In my post titled “Frustration”, i mention all the sites that need you to become a member and the time it takes to type out this information.  In both “Frustration” and my last post “Why I hate my computer on Fridays” I talk about some of the stuff that our class is taught in Thursday evenings class on the iMac.  By the time I get home to use my PC, I  a) can’t remember all the options we talked about and b) have no clue where to access some of the options because of the differences between my computer and the iMac.
But not today.  Not in this post.  Only positives.  Let’s talk about how my wife and I used our computer over the weekend and we lived to smile about it.
To start with, this past weekend is what a lot of golf fans consider the opening of golf season, because of The Masters.  With CBS having to show e-v-e-r-y  s-i-n-g-l-e  shot by Tiger Woods, some of the other golfers go unnoticed for the week.  One of my wife’s favorite golfers, Mike Weir finished 17th (+2), and I never saw him at all this past weekend.  Each year, my friend and I get into a “Masters Pool”.  We pick 5 golfers and essentially the person with the best score from their top 3 golfers wins the pot.  Well Saturday evening, I was wondering how some of us were doing.  I jumped on my computer (not literally) and started jotting down all the scores for the golfers chosen.  I didn’t finish that well this year.  It was another $5 donation on my part. 
Again, going back to an old blog posting, “HIGH FIVE”, I spoke of my wife searching for baby furniture and car seats.  She swears by Consumer Reports.  Of course the stuff for the baby is so very important, but now she looking at some vacuum cleaner which I had never heard of, but it’s rated higher than a Dyson.  And I’m NOT a vacuuming type of guy, and I’ve used a Dyson before and it was… well… an unbelievable piece of machinery.  
Amizon and Ebayare other sites I enjoy and have purchased things from recently.  Amizon is working with Pepsi-Cola right now.  The pop caps have codes under the lid.  I’ve entered some codes and ended up ordering the shirt attached to the amizon link.  I recently purchased the item shown attached to the Ebay link as well.  These sites, like many others make my life a whole lot easier come the holiday time.  I am one of those people who really dislikes shopping around the holidays.  Too many people, never a place to park, that person you knew from high school that wants to talk to you – even though you never talked to them in high school.  It’s so much easier to just “Click Here” to purchase.
Finally to talk about something to do with education.  Doing this Power Point project shows me that I was diffidently born way too early.  Steve and I have devised a Jeopardy game for 1st or 2nd grade Mathematics.  Answers linked to questions, different colors.  It’s so much more entertaining that a “ditto”.  Not hat I had troubles with Math, but if I had a teacher that would have done something like this for my other subjects, I would have had an easier time with school. 
It’s amazing to see the the advances we have made.  And it feels good to have a more positive attitude towards technology.  I’m sure I’ll get frustrated again, but I have to remember the “good times” we have with the computer.

~ L8r

Why I dislike MY computer on Fridays…

     .vs               

After spending two hours and forty minutes in our computer technology class, on the iMac’s, I leave the class almost every week feeling like I learned how to do something very cool.  And why hadn’t I taken this class before?  This would have made my undergrad a lot easier.  So what I’m trying to say is, that I feel good about what I learned in class for the rest of the evening.
Time to wake up on Friday… go to my computer and… it’s gone — all that we discussed the previous evening.  Where had it gone? 
It’s actually not all gone, but hidden.  The difference between my computer and the iMac are too many to discribe.  “Right-click” .vs “CONTROL-click”.  It becomes frustrating.  Why do we need two different types of computers to get to the same conclusion?  Is there a better choice of computers? 
I guess it is better that we have experience on both brands of computers, but I honestly wish there was only one.  I feel more comfortble on my home computer.

 

Power Point

When looking ahead on our class schedule, I was looking forward to these classes.  This week in our technology class we started on the subject of Power Point and I have a history with Power Point, brief as it may be.  Then we watched the almost 4 minute clip of Don McMillan.  Not only was he funny on all topics, but he was dead on correct.  I found myself thinking of a lot of the Power Point presentations that I’ve heard or given, and McMillan was correct.

1 -People do read everything on the slides — word for word.  Again this is because the presenter DOES NOT know all of their material. 
2- He mentions using spell check.  This is probably because of laziness.
3- Too many bullet points.  These need to organized and split up into groups; again – know your information
4- Bad color schemes can ruin a presentation.  The colors or background should have some connection with what you are presenting
5- Going along with the knowing your topic, the more words you fit on a single slide, the more difficult the slide is to read
6- Animations are good, but remember too many of a good thing is NOT good and become messy.
7- He then makes a joke about the font.

I can’t remember who mentioned it in class on Thursday, have to agree with him.  When students are asked to use Power Point for one of the first few times, the students should choose the topic.  Let the students choose a topic that they are comfortable and familiar with.  I remember back in 7th grade at St. James School, our English teacher was explaining what we were to expect in high school and college.  Note taking in lecture halls and presentations.  She thought it was a good idea to get us familiar with the presentation format.  So as a class, we each got to choose our own topics.  It didn’t have to have anything to do with school, just as long as we were comfortable with the topic.  I, of course, choose something to do with baseball — the equipment. 
It wasn’t until I started thing about; what was I going to write about, until I put these two things together.  I guess I didn’t give my 7th grade teacher enough credit. 
As for Don McMillan’s comedy skit, I think this should be one of the first things shown in a technology class where Power Point is being taught or used.  It shows a lot of what can be done and what can happen if it is used incorrectly.  Out of those 7 points that McMillan spoke about, I think I have been guilty of about 5 of them.  The two that do not apply to me are the Spell Check & Color Scheme.  The color scheme one was actually told to one of our classes one of the first times we were asked to use Power Point.

~ good times.  

Reflection on Technology

You don’t have to tell me how far we’ve come in the world of technology.  When I went  to St. James School (Pre K – 8), in the early to mid 1980’s, our school purchased 2 computers for the Resource Room.  I think I used those computers a grand total of two times.  It was no big deal to me.  I went through high school and rarely found myself in-front of a computer.  I think I actually used a typewriter a few times.  It wasn’t until the early 90’s in college, when my eyes were opened to this growing phenomenon of computers. 
When I first started college, it wasn’t for me.  I dropped out once and quit after another semester, before returning full time back in 2002.  When I returned in 2002, I ended up sitting down and talking to one of my professors and talking about a class she taught over 10 years prior that I was in.  I told her what she said that day in 1992, and told her what I had thought of her comments at the time.  She was a big believer in the laser jet printers and new technology (at the time).  But she told us that in the next decade we would see a lot of changes in the computer world.  She said that we would soon see classes — taught on line.  This would probably decrease the actual “in-class” population.  At the time, I thought she was nuts.  I didn’t believe it, but then again, I was basically shut out of the  computer world for the first few years.  We both had a few laughs and I actually took an on-line class, taught by her — a semester later.
Since I’ve returned to school in 2002, I’ve seen the differences that technology makes in the classroom.  I see how it gets more participation out of students, it reaches more students, and it makes it a whole lot easier to keep in communication with teachers. 
As I reflect of what I wrote in my paper, I wonder…. would I have been a better student growing up on-line?  I am more of a visual/hands on learner and tend to struggle in the ordinary lecture taught classroom.  I’m sure my grades would have suffered as much as they did, my parents would have had to scream and yell at me to finish homework assignments, I probably would have gone to college right after high school and finished at an earlier time, and I definitely would already know most of what Dr. Ransom is teaching us. 
So, was I born to early?  Part of me says, yes.  Another part says, that I am glad that I don’t have to deal with all the youth problems of today, plus the clothing and music. 
I guess I’ll just keep trying to tred water and eventually make up some ground.  I feel that I have learned a lot about the computer world & technology in the past few years and hope it to continue.

Frustration (10)

Sure — the computer is probably one of the top few inventions in the past century.  It’s probably one of the most frustrating things to come in a long, long time.  The first night of our technology class, we were asked, what our favorite things about the computers and our least favorite.  My answers were the same.  The fact that I can find out news in a matter of seconds and that I don’t have to wait for the 11 o’clock news or the morning newspaper.  My NEW least favorite things about the computer is the frustration I feel when I’m looking for something on some search engine and I find a bunch of stuff with absolutely NO worth to me.  And I have to agree 110% with Charlie, about all the sites that need you to be a member.  Come on.  All I need your site for is like… 10 minutes.  It’s frustrating.
It’s not even just the Internet.  We’ve worked with WORD & EXCEL in class and many times before in our lives.  Since that class; that we worked on these subjects, I’ve learned of a lot of the options that can be used.  Now I want to use some of them and it’s frustrating because I can’t find some of them.  The thing is, I know that they are there… somewhere.  And I know the answer to this problem — Practice — the more I use it, the better and easier it’ll be. 

Let’s just hope the next few days there is a lot less frustration.  It’ll make my life less stressful and help me finish up some classwork.

~Later

Technology is taking over, now it’s Wikis

As my wife and prepare for the next part of our lives to begin with the birth of our first child, I find myself daydreaming of what it must have been like for o our parents when we we were born.  Was it more difficult because of all the new inventions and technology there is now?  Or was it easier for basically the same reasons?  Just small things that we take for granted now days; like the bank.  Back in the day, being a bank teller had to be one of the worst jobs — especially on F.  There was no direct deposit or ATMs.  Everyone had to (get this) – go into the bank.  Like banking, a lot of other things have gotten easier — drive thru fast food, the microwave, 100’s of channels on the television, cd’s & dvd’s,  cell phones, the computer, and my personal favorite — the remote control.
Of course these are the most obvious changes but there are minor things that can leave a huge impact on things.  Take for example: Wikis.  I watched a 2 minute video on how to set up and use a Wiki.  These can be used for a number of things to explain or show others what you want them to see or understand.
Here’s my idea.  Now let’s take of one of the most pure and probably one of the most priceless items of new parents — the baby book.  Could you imagine using a Wiki to create a baby book.  Sure there are some small problems:  where to put the baby’s hair from his/her 1st haircut, but put those  small problems aside.  Imagine a family that is spread out throughout the state, county or world.  How great would it be for my aunt in California to see her great niece or nephew daily from over 3,000 miles away? 
As I learn more about these, this might be the way I sway towards.  We’ll see, I have some time to think about it (around 5 1/2 months). 

Is this an elimination game?

It’s amazing to see how fast things have changed.   I remember as if it was not to long ago, reading the directions and connecting my family’s 1st VHS-VCR, so that we wouldn’t miss anything. 
Just a few years ago, when the DVR was introduce, I was not only amazed, but so excited with the possibilities that were ahead of me.  I could pause LIVE TV and rewind and — this is unbelievable.  Now, if you watch just about any program on television now days, they almost always comment on how you should go on-line and do — what-ever.  What-ever can be anything from re-watch the program, vote for a certain topic, or get more information on a topic.  And in the past few months, I’ve used my computer for all of the options. 
This past week, my wife and I went and got new cell phones.  We knew what we wanted before we got there, but it still took forever to actually get what we wanted.  We heard the salesman’s pitch on the Voyager and all the other phones, but selected a very generic but good quality phone.  But after listening Steve (the Verizon guy), I thought to myself… wow, it’s a good thing they didn’t have all this technology years ago, I probably would have spent all my nights out on the town. 
But now that this is available today, do people have a need for Time Warner or a television at that?  What about a home computer?  If all you need if a cell phone… why waste all that room in your house or apartment? 
I’m not sure about different programs such as WORD or EXCEL for the phone, but I’m sure they’re out there or at least on the way.  I just feel that writing that 7-page research paper with my phone’s keyboard, would cramp my thumb and kill my eye-sight.  I’ll use my HP.

PBS Frontline episode, Growing Up On-Line

Like I said in one of my previous blogs, my wife and I are expecting our first child later this year.  After watching the PBS Frontline episode, I find myself fearing the technology that has made so many things good.  I guess I can say, I’m from the “old school”.  I grew up having to use the library, the telephone, and having to meet people face to face.  My friends were mainly from school or activities I attended.  I grew up in the city and Irondequoit.  I rarely knew anyone from other towns, no less other cities, states, or countries.  Today’s children who have grown up “on-line” a) have that going for them; and b) working against them. 
I found this program to be very eye opening and very educational.  Today’s adults and educators, which now include me, have to up to date with all which is going on.  I feel like I have a lot to learn in this realm. 
I know at the school I work at, there are many websites that are blocked, such as My-space, Yahoo, You-Tube, along with others.  When some of these sites were first blocked last year, students along with some staff were upset.  Some of my students said it was B*llsh*t.  The faculty didn’t want them to enjoy their time on the computer.  Honestly, I felt the same way in sorts.  I’m just wondering if my students were given explanations on why these sites were blocked.  These students MUST be taught why some site have a potential for danger.  It MUST be explained to them in their own words.  To this day, some students find PROXIES?? (is that the correct word?)  These are ways to get through to blocked sites.  Normally these shortcuts are caught and blocked within days.
I know I have time before my child is ready to sit down at the computer and “surf”, but how much time do I really have.  If I’m going to be working in a classroom in the next few years, I’d better get going.  It should give me a pretty good head start with my personal child.