1. Voicethread was very different from writing traditional essays. The expectations of the voicethread assignment were in some ways harder for me. I like to have specific directions, and since we had more freedom with this assignment, I found that setting up my voicethread was difficult. It's easier for me to organize an essay. As far as setting up my argument, the process was somewhat similar. I had to pick my premises (my photos) and decide how I would argue them. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted to say, but finding the photos to match was tricky. Overall, I think it would have been easier for me if there was a more specific outline of what was expected in our voicethread. I felt like I was guessing a lot, and hoping I was doing what I was supposed to be. I did like that this assignment was more artistic and that we could be more creative. Maybe if we had another voicethread assignment to do I would feel more confident with the whole process.
2. The voicethread program was relatively easy to use. I did watch a few demonstration videos to try and find some ideas and tools to use. I found that the options were pretty limited though. I thought about using the phone in voice over option, but I couldn't figure out a way to fit it in my presentation without it seeming out of place. The other options offered seemed more appropriate for video, and not so much photos. Uploading photos was easy to do. Arranging the photos in the sequence I wanted was also pretty straight forward. I did have an issue with trying to draw on the photos. I would draw something and then delete it, only for it to pop up later on in my presentation on a different photo. It was frustrating. I ended up having to delete all my photos and re-upload them to fix it. Not a big deal though. Overall, voicethread was easy to use. I didn't have to spend much time trying to figure out how to work the program.
3. The non-text requirements of the voicethread contributed to my learning in this class. I think it made me think about alternative ways to make an agrument. Using images to make a point was something I had never done before. Trying something new is always a good way to learn. Learning how to make an argument with images could only help my critical thinking skills. It could also help with writing persuasive essays. If I were to watch a commercial that tried to persuade me to do something, I think I might be more critical of the images and the message being sent because I have tried putting something similar together with the voicethread assignment.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Why do we believe in things that cannot be proven?
Why do human beings believe in things that are cannot be proven? I think people like to know the answers, and want to know the answers to everything. Knowing answers to life's questions brings us a level of comfort. Not knowing the answers causes us anxiety. Where did the world come from? What happens to us after we die? What does the future hold in store for us? These types of questions cannot be proven. So what do we do? We choose to believe in something to fill the void. We believe in things that cannot be proven because it gives us peace of mind and comfort.
Where did the world come from? How was Earth formed? Was it created by God? Some might put there beliefs in the big bang theory which theorizes that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature. Other people believe that God was the creator of the universe and created earth in seven days. There are infinite explanations to questions like these. People put their faith in an answer to how we originated because not knowing is too difficult to cope with. Having an explanation to believe in makes us feel a step closer to finding the meaning in our lives.
What happen's to us after we die? Do we become part of the earth? Do our souls get reincarnated? Is there life after death? Do we go to be with God in heaven after death? Why do we want to know the answer to this question? I think we want to know because we want our lives to have a purpose. I think when someone is searching for the answer to what happen's to them after they die, they are searching for something that brings them satisfaction. We search for something that gives our existence meaning.
What does the future hold in store for us? Will I be rich? Will I find Love? Will I die young or old? People want to know what the future holds because the uncertainty makes us feel insecure. We want to be in control of our lives, and not knowing what tomorrow brings makes us uncomfortable. So people look for the answers in different places. People place their beliefs in things like tarrot cards, psychics, astrology, or they find comfort giving God control. Replacing the unknowns in our lives with these beliefs helps us cope with the uncertainty of our future.
Human beings believe in things that cannot be proven because not knowing makes us uncomfortable. A fear of the unknown makes us want to know the answers to life's questions. We want the satisfactions of knowing for ourselves how this world originated, what happens to us after we die, what the future holds in store for us, and any other unanswered questions we may have. People want to fill the gaps that not knowing causes. Putting our faith into something gives us comfort and makes us feel more content with our lives.
Where did the world come from? How was Earth formed? Was it created by God? Some might put there beliefs in the big bang theory which theorizes that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature. Other people believe that God was the creator of the universe and created earth in seven days. There are infinite explanations to questions like these. People put their faith in an answer to how we originated because not knowing is too difficult to cope with. Having an explanation to believe in makes us feel a step closer to finding the meaning in our lives.
What happen's to us after we die? Do we become part of the earth? Do our souls get reincarnated? Is there life after death? Do we go to be with God in heaven after death? Why do we want to know the answer to this question? I think we want to know because we want our lives to have a purpose. I think when someone is searching for the answer to what happen's to them after they die, they are searching for something that brings them satisfaction. We search for something that gives our existence meaning.
What does the future hold in store for us? Will I be rich? Will I find Love? Will I die young or old? People want to know what the future holds because the uncertainty makes us feel insecure. We want to be in control of our lives, and not knowing what tomorrow brings makes us uncomfortable. So people look for the answers in different places. People place their beliefs in things like tarrot cards, psychics, astrology, or they find comfort giving God control. Replacing the unknowns in our lives with these beliefs helps us cope with the uncertainty of our future.
Human beings believe in things that cannot be proven because not knowing makes us uncomfortable. A fear of the unknown makes us want to know the answers to life's questions. We want the satisfactions of knowing for ourselves how this world originated, what happens to us after we die, what the future holds in store for us, and any other unanswered questions we may have. People want to fill the gaps that not knowing causes. Putting our faith into something gives us comfort and makes us feel more content with our lives.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Reasoning Skills Should Be Taught In Primary School
Reasoning skills should be taught in primary school. It is important that we are taught reasoning skills early on in life because it will provide young people with skills that would better their adult lives, it would help people evaluate their own ways of thinking and make us more independent thinkers, and because reasoning skills are not necessarily something that develops as we age. Some people may be opposed to teaching reasoning skills in primary schools for different reasons, one being the difficulty of working a new subject into a school's curriculum. But if schools were to figure out a way to fit in teaching reasoning skills, I think it would be a huge benefit to the students.
If students were being taught better reasoning skills in primary school, I think students would be more likely to succeed in college. Thinking skills include thinking analytically, logically, and creatively to form reasoned judgements and solve problems. Reasoning skills will help students make better judgements when it comes to education and also in personal lives, leading us to being better well rounded adults.
Reasoning skills help us evaluate our own ways of thinking and help us to be more independent in our thinking. The world we live in today is constantly trying to tell us what to think. For example, the advertisements we are bombarded with daily are always trying to sell us products that they want us to feel are necessary or needed. Advertisements want us to believe that a company's product is the best. But in reality things being advertised may not be necessary, needed, or the best at all. Good reasoning skills would help us to think for ourselves, and help us to make better decisions about the things we buy or any other types of choices we may face.
Without reasoning skills, we would have a tough time in life. We'd be more likely to make poor decisions and less likely to succeed. Reasoning skills are not necessarily developed as we age, this is one reason why it's so important that we are taught early on. Teaching reasoning skills in primary school would help us to ensure that students have the tools and abilities to succeed throughout school and adulthood. It would help ensure that we are able to think for ourselves and make wise decisions in the world we live in.
Teaching reasoning skill in primary school is a good way to give young people the tools they need for success. Being taught reasoning skills would better our adult lives and help us learn to evaluate our thinking so we can be more independent thinkers. Because reasoning skills are not necessarily developed as we age, it's important to ensure we have the skills by teaching them in primary school.
If students were being taught better reasoning skills in primary school, I think students would be more likely to succeed in college. Thinking skills include thinking analytically, logically, and creatively to form reasoned judgements and solve problems. Reasoning skills will help students make better judgements when it comes to education and also in personal lives, leading us to being better well rounded adults.
Reasoning skills help us evaluate our own ways of thinking and help us to be more independent in our thinking. The world we live in today is constantly trying to tell us what to think. For example, the advertisements we are bombarded with daily are always trying to sell us products that they want us to feel are necessary or needed. Advertisements want us to believe that a company's product is the best. But in reality things being advertised may not be necessary, needed, or the best at all. Good reasoning skills would help us to think for ourselves, and help us to make better decisions about the things we buy or any other types of choices we may face.
Without reasoning skills, we would have a tough time in life. We'd be more likely to make poor decisions and less likely to succeed. Reasoning skills are not necessarily developed as we age, this is one reason why it's so important that we are taught early on. Teaching reasoning skills in primary school would help us to ensure that students have the tools and abilities to succeed throughout school and adulthood. It would help ensure that we are able to think for ourselves and make wise decisions in the world we live in.
Teaching reasoning skill in primary school is a good way to give young people the tools they need for success. Being taught reasoning skills would better our adult lives and help us learn to evaluate our thinking so we can be more independent thinkers. Because reasoning skills are not necessarily developed as we age, it's important to ensure we have the skills by teaching them in primary school.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
How The World Wide Web Has Changed Our Lives
The invention of the world wide web has changed human society forever. Information on every topic imaginable is at our fingertips. We no longer rely on newspapers and television for our news, we no longer have to go to the store to buy music, and we no longer need to send letters in the mail to communicate with each other. The internet has had a very positive impact on our lives. With all the wonderful things the internet has given us, not all of it is so glorious. The internet has provided a wider horizon and more technical means to commit computer crimes such as illegal intrusion into others' computer facilities, spreading viruses through the internet, stealing and modifying commercial secrets, and others. Not to mention the booming pornography industry has a pretty huge presence on the internet. But overall, the invention of the world wide web has had a positive impact on our lives.
A long time ago, the only way people got their news was to buy a newspaper. Later on people could get their news by listening to the radio. With the invention of television, people can simply watch the news on TV. The internet has given us an even wider range of options of where we get our news. We can now access news from all around the world, in all different countries, and from all different view points. We could say that the internet has allowed us to broaden our knowledge and understanding of the goings on in the world we live in.
The internet has also allowed us more options on how we buy music. Before the internet, our only option was to go to a music store and buy the CD's of our favorite music artists. Now we can get music without even leaving our homes. By downloading music from an array of different websites, we can burn songs straight to our computers and put songs onto a disc or load them onto our iPods, or whatever the listening device may be. We dont even have to buy the whole CD if we dont want to! We can pick and choose songs as we please. It's definitely convenient. Of course the convenience of buying things online covers all sorts of different products, but the change in how we buy music has been revolutionized by the internet.
The way we send mail has also been revolutionized by the internet. Communicating over long distances used to involve a postman, a mailbox, and buying a postage stamp. Otherwise, we had to make long distance phone calls which also cost us money. But now the world has given us email. An instant, free, and fun way of communicating. We can send messages to friends at any time of day and we don't have to wait days for them to receive it, and we also don't have to wait days to receive their response. We can send an email half way around the world and they'll get the message instanly. It makes us wonder, how did we ever cope before email? With email, grandparents can receive pictures of their grandchild's special moments, just moments after they occur. It's amazing!
The world wide web has changes many aspects of human society in a positive way. The options it has given us on where we get our news, how we buy music, and how we communicate are just a few of the positive impacts the internet has had on our lives. The amount of information we now have access to is endless. Also endless, is the possibilites of how the world wide web can improve our lives in the future.
A long time ago, the only way people got their news was to buy a newspaper. Later on people could get their news by listening to the radio. With the invention of television, people can simply watch the news on TV. The internet has given us an even wider range of options of where we get our news. We can now access news from all around the world, in all different countries, and from all different view points. We could say that the internet has allowed us to broaden our knowledge and understanding of the goings on in the world we live in.
The internet has also allowed us more options on how we buy music. Before the internet, our only option was to go to a music store and buy the CD's of our favorite music artists. Now we can get music without even leaving our homes. By downloading music from an array of different websites, we can burn songs straight to our computers and put songs onto a disc or load them onto our iPods, or whatever the listening device may be. We dont even have to buy the whole CD if we dont want to! We can pick and choose songs as we please. It's definitely convenient. Of course the convenience of buying things online covers all sorts of different products, but the change in how we buy music has been revolutionized by the internet.
The way we send mail has also been revolutionized by the internet. Communicating over long distances used to involve a postman, a mailbox, and buying a postage stamp. Otherwise, we had to make long distance phone calls which also cost us money. But now the world has given us email. An instant, free, and fun way of communicating. We can send messages to friends at any time of day and we don't have to wait days for them to receive it, and we also don't have to wait days to receive their response. We can send an email half way around the world and they'll get the message instanly. It makes us wonder, how did we ever cope before email? With email, grandparents can receive pictures of their grandchild's special moments, just moments after they occur. It's amazing!
The world wide web has changes many aspects of human society in a positive way. The options it has given us on where we get our news, how we buy music, and how we communicate are just a few of the positive impacts the internet has had on our lives. The amount of information we now have access to is endless. Also endless, is the possibilites of how the world wide web can improve our lives in the future.
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