Wikipedia Worksheet

I decided to "random" my article, being as I just learned that was an option. I received an article on "optical pumping" also referred to as "laser pumping."

Worksheet

Three Users:
User:DanielSlaughter is Australian, a home-brewer, and is most likely an alcoholic. He had no written information but his pictures explains the first three items as well as he gets all of his information from google and likes to eat chili. He is not reliable.

User:Justin545 is not American, but some form of Asian. He has an intermediate level of English and has no credibility for this topic established. He is also not considered reliable.

User:Srleffler is very reliable in my opinion. He has a written bio and has established credibility for this topic. He is a physicist specializing in lasers and optics. He loves wikipedia and thinks it is the best thing since the library. He also is the one that debated with both above and edits the page regularly. He has increased my feeling of reliability on this page.

Wikipedia Quiz

What Wiki can teach us about the new media literacies.

This article is full of grammatical errors and some facts do not match up to the video on Wikipedia. 

1. What are the new media literacies?
          a) the skills needed to understand today's media
          b) cultural qualifications and social skills needed for today's media
          c) the communication skills needed for networking

2. In what way do Wiki critics believe Wikipedia is misleading to students?
          a) by calling itself an "encyclopedia"
          b) by its extensive amount of  well-written information
          c) by its availability of multiple languages

3. According to the article, which student is most likely to look critically at information drawn from                Wikipedia?
          a) a student that only has access to technology in school or libraries
          b) a student that only has home access to technology
          c) a student with extensive access to technology: home, school, etc.

Comic with Partner

Comic

Perhaps one day...

WOW!

Online schooling: a concept I truly never thought to consider. I had always seen the commercials of online colleges and heard of online classes in both high school and college, but I honestly never even thought that K-12 would become an option in cyber world.I think this is magnificent just for those students who truly do struggle with attending school. I have known many kids who struggled with anxiety, bullying, and sheer discomfort in the school system so frequently they felt it easier to drop out and the majority are still yet to return. As revolutionary as this is, I am surprised I had never heard about it which leads me to believe maybe a lot of children and parents haven't either. I do have some concerns:

      In many instances, internet is not a truly reliable source and though most places do have it, some do not. I have witnessed how easy it is to get behind and it seems nearly impossible to catch up each time. 

      What about the social aspect of schooling? If a child has anxiety or some other issue, it is likely they will never put themselves out there willingly to make a few friends. A child with no peers is very disappointing and could possibly be the start of a whole new world of issues.  

English language video / articles

    As I watched the video, I did as it said to quickly jot down what came to mind with the two sentences and was I surprised! Not only were the ideas similar, they were identical to their interpretation, down to the drinks. I know one of the purposes of language is to help interpret the world around us, but I had never noticed just how much. 

    I was also taken by the dates corresponding to each quote I read on the article. I was not expecting such early dates. After examining the dates and what I read, it gave me a new thought that maybe language is meant to revolutionize with the times: It is a trademark of each passing generation. This thought intrigued me as well as changed my feelings toward the "technological destruction" of the English language. It is up to teachers to teach and students to learn the true machanics of the language (sentences, grammar, etc.) However, the changes each generation brings for short-hand does not effect that as a whole. It makes planning and note taking much faster, and in some instances, you could say helps a student succeed.

Are Digital Media Changing Language?

                      In a study of college students' text messaging, my colleague Rich Ling and I found a few more lexical shortenings; yet the grand total of clear abbreviations was only 47 out of 1,473 words.

 

I completely agree with this statement as well am surprised by it. However, although I am surprised, I know few people who frequently abbreviate in text messages, including myself. The majority of friends that I text prefer to spell out words and include few abbreviations. 

 

 

Because of this, I do not believe social media and text messaging has caused students to struggle constructing a sentence. I do, however, worry about future generations. While older generations have no trouble, most of us have not grown up on mobile phones and text messaging like younger generations are currently. Only time will truly tell.