Sexism and the Dixie Chicks

I recently watched this video that was created by another education student in my foundations class. In this video she examines the sexism that the Dixie Chicks encountered after making a comment about their disapproval of the president. It is interesting to consider whether or not these women would have had to deal with such an extreme backlash if they had been male. As a society, do we still expect silence from women? Is a man allowed to freely express his opinion while a woman is marginalized for expressing hers? The Dixie Chicks were banned from many stations and had to deal with death threats. Would this have happened to a male?

The creator of this video said that she had received several comments about her video. While many people appreciated it, others were angered by what she presented. Some people expressed that they thought she was making an issue out of nothing. After watching the video, I believe that part of what happened to the Dixie Chicks was the result of sexism. I don't feel that a man would be punished in the same way, for an opinionated woman is still seen as less acceptable than an opinionated man.

Please watch this video and let me know what you think about the issue.

Benefits of Blogs

Over the course of this semester I have come to understand some of the benefits of blogging. They can be used for such a wide variety of purposes. Educational blogs offer great tips for teaching. Blogs about current events can certainly expose us to a wide variety of opinions and help us see other sides of different issues. Blogs are also a great way to keep people informed. Rather than making a lot of phone calls, a person can simply post once and get the same message out to all their friends. For example, a woman I know is keeping a blog to update people on her fight with cancer. She doesn't have the energy to communicate with everyone individually, but by posting a blog all her friends can find out how she is doing. Clearly, there are many benefits of blogs. I recently came across a website that listed more some of them. If you would like to read it, click on the link below.

Real benefits of blogs

Good website for kids

I decided to include a link to this website called FunBrain that I used a few times during my internship. It is a great site for early elementary students. It involves math and reading games that are very interactive and engaging for the students. There are also funny books and stories for the kids to practice reading. My grade ones had computer class and sometimes in the last five minutes my cooperating teacher would give the students free time. They often chose this website so I know that it is very popular with young kids.

I also like this site because there is not a lot of advertising on it. I found that my students were often clicking on ads by accident because they could not read the ads to know that they weren't games. This would take the students to sites that they didn't want to be on. Usually they were sites asking for money. This website did not seem to lead to this problem.

If you would like to check out this website, go to the link:
http://www.funbrain.com/kidscenter.html

Podcast tech task

In order to learn more about podcasting in the classroom I took a look at Radio WillowWeb. There was a podcast created by first graders entitled "Awesome and Amazing Ants." The first graders shared interesting facts about ants and told ant jokes. I did my internship in a grade one class so I found this podcast to be very interesting. My students also learned about ants but I never considered that a podcast could be used to support this topic in a classroom made up of such young students. This showed me that podcasts are a great way for students to share their learning. Grade one students who cannot write much yet could certainly demonstrate their knowledge through podcasting. I now feel that this a medium that could be used with young children and I believe many students would find the process very engaging.

To listen to this podcast click on the link below.
Awesome and Amazing Ants

Hot Potatoes

We learned about a new tool in ECMP today. It was called Hot Potatoes. It seems like a very useful tool that allows you to make crosswords, quizzes, match games and more. I have created a fairytale match game. It can be viewed at:
http://education.uregina.ca/web/stephens/fairytales.htm

Stephen Lewis

Stephen Lewis will be speaking at the University on Thursday, March 15 at 7:00. I would encourage everyone who possibly can to attend. I listened to Mr. Lewis in my first year and what he has to say will really open your eyes. Not only is he a wonderful speaker, but he is a true humanitarian. The Stephen Lewis foundation is involved in "easing the pain of HIV/AIDS in Africa." They are currently helping women with HIV/AIDS by providing food, bedding, medicine and more. They are also helping orphans by by helping them pay for school, get nutritious food, etc. The foundation also assists grandmothers who in many cases raise up to 15 children in one household. The crisis of HIV/AIDS in Africa is something we need to address. If you are interested in learning more visit this website: http://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/index.cfm
or listen to Mr. Lewis speak in the Ed Auditorium on Thursday.

David Suzuki

David Suzuki was recently at the University as part of his "If You Were Prime Minister Tour." He has a suggestion to help make sure that the environment is an issue of priority in the next election. There is place on his website for everyone to send an email to all the party leaders asking them to take action. I would encourage everyone to do this. We need to start doing more than just talking about the environment. We need to take action.

To write a letter, visit this link:
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/tour/vote.asp

Telecollaborative Project

As I looked for telecollaborative projects I came across this project called "The Great Backyard Bird Count." This project requires students to count all the birds they see in fifteen minutes. Students also count how many of each individual species they see. Results are recorded online. This gives students a "real-time snapshot" of where birds are at certain times. Students can compare the birds in their community to the birds that are found in other places around the continent.

I think this project could easily be implemented into science class for elementary students. Students could examine migration, the effect of temperature on bird populations, whether birds are more commonly found in rural or urban areas, etc.

This project is sponsored by the Audubon society. It can be located at:
http://www.msaudubon.org/GBBC/

Math Education

I recently came across this interesting video entitled "Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth." The woman in this video is arguing that students should be taught the traditional methods of solving multiplication and long division problems. She points out that many textbooks advocate having students develop their own way to think through and solve problems. She argues that this does not lead to skill mastery and students are arriving in university unable to do basic math without a calculator.

I believe that mastery of basic facts is important. I realize that calculators are convenient, but they are not always avaliable. I have seen adults who are unable to solve long division problems without a calculator and I believe this is something we should try to prevent. However, I also believe that part of a math program should focus on critical thinking. There are many different ways to solve math problems. Not every student will necessarily master basic math using traditional methods. Students should be encouraged to use different strategies if they understand the strategy and can get accurate answers. I think in order to ensure that students have mastered basic math we need to encourage them to use strategies that they understand. In order to be successful at math, students need to understand why the strategy works. If they understand why they get the right answer then they will certainly understand how to think through a problem and come to the correct answer. Students should master basic math skills, but there is no one correct way to do this.

Check out the video and let me know your opinion on math education.

Net Neutrality

I recently learned about the concept of net neutrality. It is scary to think that large corporations could take control of the Internet and reduce the public's access. Instead of having an even playing field, some companies want to ensure that they have their content arrives more quickly and is easiest to access. I recently read an article that discussed how this affects the average person. Her are some ways:
1. A company could slow down access to iTunes and steer you to towards buying higher priced music that they offer.
2. If charity groups couldn't pay the same as large corporations their websites could be so slow that people would stop donating.
3. Bloggers- It could become so expensive to post a blog or video that the average person could no longer afford it.
4. Online purchases- companies that pay the most money would be able to process orders faster than those who pay less. This could unfairly influence the mind of the consumer.
To see more about net neutrality, check out this website:
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=threat