Sunday, May 29, 2011

Wk 4 Publishing and Leadership Project

Introduction Paragraph
I have narrowed it down to three I think. The International Journal of Science and Mathematics seems to be an early favorite. The broad scope of the journal seems to be a good fit for my article. But I also like the Journal of Science Education and Technology and Learning Environments Research. It is going to be hard to narrow them down further. I have provided the description that was on their websites below and a link.
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Links
Publication Link in Google Docs
Think-Out-Loud Blog Post 1 - "Publication AND Presentation" Initial List of Journals and Conferences
Think-Out-Loud Blog Post 2 - Preparation for Presentation (Typos and such in Charts and such I guess thats why you prep)
Think-Out-Loud Blog Post 3 - Old Abstract
Think-Out-Loud Blog Post 4 - New Abstract and Top 8 Journals

Week 4 Blog Post 4 Free Choice: Publishing and Leadership Project

I would just like to post my new and improved abstract so that I don't look like a complete idiot. One of the sentences in my last one just made no sense. It did in my head but that didn't translate to the fingers typing.



Also I haven't narrowed my publication down yet. It's actually opposite. I have added these journals to my list. I know I supposed to have it narrowed down to two but it is hard I like all of these.



















Week 4 Blog Post 3 Response: Judy De Los Santos

Judy De Los Santos stated: 
My Response:
It's funny how we as a society have used these social networking tools to become more connected with some individuals and more disconnected with other. Like anything they are a useful tool. I agree that somethings are just better done in person. Like digestion...................It's better done IN person.

Week 4 Blog Post 2 Response: Jim Miller

Jim Miller posted:
My Response:
I agree that teachers carry the spark. And that we must ignite the flame in all humanity. We have been tasked with one of the most important jobs in the world. (For low pay.) We must not lose sight of our mission.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Week 4 Blog Post 1: Reading Giving Way to Passion

From:

My Response:
I would like to sum up what I believe the author is saying. Stay unencumbered. Get out from behind the roadblocks that we set up for ourselves and the roadblocks that others set up. After you get rid of the roadblocks then you can then dive fully into your passion. Whatever that may be.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Week 3 Blog Post 4 Free Choice: Action Research Abstract

I know I will get my critical friends thoughts and critiques but would all of you out in blog land take a look at this abstract and let me know what you think.

Week 3 Blog Post 3 Response: Rowdy Granado

Rowdy Granado stated:
My response:
That is awesome to have employers that see your potential and try to cultivate it. I think you hit the nail on the head about what these chapters were trying to convey. It's awesome that you have life experiences  that back up what these chapters were saying. Those bosses knew you were awesome. Team Awesome for life!

Week 3 Blog Post 2 Response: Judy De Los Santos

Judy De Los Santos stated:
My Response:
On those days when we are tired and that passion is elusive it is hard to get the students as alert and attentive. I am always surprised by how much the classroom atmosphere comes from the teacher's attitude and passion.  When we don't have those for whatever reason the students realize this (maybe consciously or subconsciously). You made really good points.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Week 3 Blog Post 1 Reading: Rule Number 6

First off let me address this rule. This author could have gotten the same response without using "gd". I believe this author could have changed the wording of this and reached a lot more people with his point. If you have no idea what I am referring to then here it is.

Rule Number 6: "Don't take yourself so 'gd' seriously" by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander in The Art of Possibility.

I know authors can't make everyone happy but cursing in a book is generally not the way to go.

Besides that I like the point of not taking yourself so seriously. I just wish it was worded differently.

Disclaimer: If this post offends someone because I am offended by 'gd' then I am sorry that I could not make everyone happy with this post.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Week 2 Blog Post 4 Project: Preparation for Presentation

I have begun preparations for the presentation aspect of the final project. For this preparation for the presentation I have created some charts of the data that I collected from Cycles I and II. I have combined the data because the students completed the exact same activities and lessons. The only difference in the two were that one was in fall 2010 and the other was in spring 2011.


















Week 2 Blog Post 3 Response:

Karl Peterson wrote:


My Response:
I agree that this book is more of a self evaluating book. It makes one look at their own practices in their lives wether it's teaching or ones personal life and see if you are approaching them in a positive manner. This is a very interesting book. I was not expecting to enjoy this because ome of previous textbooks have not been very interesting.

Week 2 Blog Post 2 Response: Brenda McGee

Brenda McGee wrote:

My Response:
I agree whole heartedly that if we lean on our faith in God and treat people like Christ would with respect and believing that they are worth something then we can be successful in helping/teaching others. Even though the authors were not speaking from a biblical stand point this is what one of Christ's main messages was. He said that we should love one another.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Week 2 Blog Post 1 Reading: Giving an A

Giving an A
This chapter REALLY resonated with me. If we change our perceptions of individuals then they change their perceptions of themselves. This empowers them. If most students feel like they are A students then most of them will produce A work. This idea is crazy enough that it just might work. I plan on trying this in the fall. I have been transferred from teaching Biology I at a high school to teaching 7th grade Science. I am totally revamping my teaching and this looks to be a welcome addition.

Here are some exerts from “The Art of Possibility” by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.









Thursday, May 5, 2011

Week 1 Blog Post 4 Project: Publication AND Presentation

I am going to create an article AND a presentation from the work I've done with my Action Research Project. 


Here are the locations (and links) where I would like to try and get my paper published:





Journals


Here are the conferences (and links) where I would like to present my presentation:





Conferences



I have narrowed where I would like to submit for publication and presentation to these locations. These are not in the order I wish to submit. I believe that I have a very interesting subject matter and I want to share this information with as many people that will listen.


    Week 1 Blog Post 3 Response: Michael George

    Michael George stated:


    "Useless laws weaken the necessary laws."   -Montesquieu

    First off, I want to disclaim that Lawrence Lessig is one of my heroes.  This man stood before the Supreme Court in a famous case ‘Eldred v. Ashcroft’ also known as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, Sonny Bono Act, or pejoratively as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act and argued against extending the length of copyright any further which is effectively becoming perpetual copyright.

    As of 1976, the length of copyright was the authors life + 50 years.  After that the copyright expired and the work entered the public domain for all to use for FREE. Walt Disney died in 1966 and as you know 1966+50=2006 so the Walt Disney Corporation was in danger of having all the old Disney characters fall into the public domain. This sent shockwaves through Disney and lobbyists to congress.

    Walt Disney has been making good money off the public domain by repacking stories for years.  Snow White and the Seven dwarves is a repacking of a public domain story by the Grimm Brothers. Disney has been turning a profit on public domain stories (Hercules, Moses, Robin Hood, Aladdin, Pochahontas, Tarzan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame) for years, but when it came time to contribute back their solution was to lobby congress to extend copyright effectively destroying the public domain.  In another 20 years when it comes time for Mickey Mouse to face entering the public domain they will lobby congress again to extend the copyright act.

    As you can guess, Lessing lost the Supreme Court Case, but he didn’t take it sitting down.  He decided to found the Creative Commons.  This is a new area where authors can select various types of copyrights and grant rights for different uses.  These type of licenses have been working out really well in the software world, but the entertainment industry is not on board. 

    Just to give you an idea of how twisted the thinking of the entertainment industry is in their thinking, imagine a device that cleans up movies on DVD so you can watch them with your kids and not have to cringe a F-bombs, graphic violence, and sex.  A device exists called ClearPlay. You stick a regular DVD into the ClearPlay DVD player and it will skip over the trash and mute foul language.  Even though the consumer bought the DVD, the copyright owners (movie studios) claim that the consumers are violating copyright law when they use Clearplay to skip and mute trash in the movie because this is an altered copy.

    Big media has made it very clear that the customer is the enemy and they reserve all rights to do whatever they want and control how you consume their content. Just put in a DVD or Blue-Ray disc and see how long it takes to get to the movie.  They lockout the controls to keep the consumer from skipping ahead and force them to watch ads and FBI warnings.

    The Creative Commons is a nice start to fixing the copyright mess we are currently in, but it isn’t the final solution since it is essentially a contract.  The concept of the Creative Commons needs to have the full force of law so that it can be upheld in court.  The Creative Commons is no substitute for a healthy public domain.  It makes you wonder what Disney will do when they run out of material to repackage from the public domain.



    My Reply: 
    I had no idea that a device like ClearPlay existed. That would be an amazing tool to have. It is ridiculous that they stated that is broke copyright laws stating that it was an altered copy. We as consumers have been getting the boot with this. When I buy something it is now mine. As long as I am not selling it or giving it away for free after altering it I should be ok to do with it as I please. Eventually will we get to a state where we are so encumbered by laws that we are unable to make anything that has anything resembling creativity.

    Week 1 Blog Post 2 Response: Rowdy Granado

    Rowdy Granado stated:

    I find myself on the fence many times when it comes to Copyright laws. I know for a fact if I were an artist, I would not want anyone copying my work and profiting from it. I am by no means an artist, but I can see the side of those who are always having their copyright violated. When I create content for our school’s website, I can usually find images or graphic buttons I created popping up on other sites within our district because other school’s webmaster’s are taking my work and using it on their site.

    And today, it seems as if creativity tends to be how far can we take what’s already out there, tweek it, change it up a little and call it our own. I know with the world getting smaller, in a global network sense, there are so many opportunities to find new “inspirations” for creativity. With creative commons, I like that artists and creators of content are willingly giving the rights to their work to use. And if there were more places like this, then maybe there could be a revamping of the current Copyright laws to take this into account and be more black and white with the laws now that there are more places to get content.


    My Reply:
    That must be frustrating to see content that you created ending up on other people's websites. It is crazy. You probably don't want to raise a stink about it though because they are in your district. Is that right? You are in a rock and a hard place.
    I also think that the Creative Commons has provided a location for settlement of a lot of the issues in copyright laws. This site is so easy to use. It is amazing. Maybe even Awesome (like our old team). I agree if there were more solutions out there like Creative Commons then it would be much easier for legislation.

    Week 1 Blog Post 1 Reading: copyright issues, parts 1 – 3: information overload



    I really liked this video. For one it's funny. Secondly it can be shown to my students to help clear up potential copyright issues. I believed that it presented information vary clearly. It helped me tremendously on the Creative Commons. I have went to Creative Commons before but this video helped to clear up some of the uses of Creative Commons for me. I viewed the other videos in the assignment but this one was the most helpful for me.

    I also was unaware before this assignment that parody is allowed under copyright laws. This is crazy. I had no idea. I also learned that Fair-Use is not a right but is a defensible position in court.