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May 31, 2006

Internet and Computer Core Certification

While looking around Websites dealing with Alaska, I came across this interesting program. The reason that I find it interesting is not so much what it is, but who is offering it. The Alaska State Department of Labor and Workforce Development offers a program for an Internet and Computer Core Certification. I am now curious and plan to see if other states offer similar programs. For more information, see http://www.jobs.state.ak.us/05-11-06-IC3_Flyer.pdf

Posted by vvarvel at 08:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 22, 2006

Congress aims at censoring social networking from schools

Another article has popped up regarding controversial Fitzpatrick's bill called the Deleting Online Predators Act, or DOPA, that would effectively kill social networking online in most schools. For more see the CNet article.

Posted by vvarvel at 09:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Projected 10% of students will be online

Online University enrollment soars, Daniel Golden, The Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2006.

By 2008, 10% of college students will be online according to this article.

See Story.

Posted by vvarvel at 09:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 11, 2006

No more social networking in schools receiving government funding

This bill...
"prohibits access by minors without parental authorization to a commercial social networking website or chat room through which minors may easily access or be presented with obscene or in- decent material; may easily be subject to unlawful sexual advances, unlawful requests for sexual favors, or repeated offensive comments of a sexual nature from adults may easily access other material that is harmful to minors."

As such, it could lead to online social networks being blocked on campuses that receive federal Internet subsidies outside of a classroom or mediated context.

For the legislation see http://www.politechbot.com/docs/fitzpatrick.social.networking.051006.pdf. PBS commentary at http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/learning.now/2006/05/new_federal_legislation_would_1.html

Posted by vvarvel at 01:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 05, 2006

Action Research Notes

I haven't entered any reading notes to my blog in a while. I have been doing some reading lately though. I just finished a course on Action Research. I have a lot of course notes, but there were 3 books in particular that I noted from the course. Those notes are given here.

Weinbaum, A., Allen, D., Blythe, T., Simon, K., Seidel, S., & Rubin, C. (2004). Teaching as inquiry: Asking hard questions to improve practice and student achievement. New York: Teachers College Press. Notes


Anderson, G. L., Herr, K., & Nihlen, A. S. (1994). Studying your own school: An educator's guide to qualitative practitioner research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc. Notes


Burnaford, G., Fischer, J., & Hobson, D. (Eds.) (2001). Teachers doing research: The power of action through inquiry. Mayway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Notes


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May 03, 2006

MIT pulls course Web page

"CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) -- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology took down a history course Web page after Chinese students complained about a 19th century wood-print image of Japanese soldiers beheading Chinese prisoners."

Students were "appalled at the lack of accessible explanations and the proper historical context that ought to accompany these images"

I ask, isn't that the purpose of the class discussion that should accompany a history course. I'm guessing that the image must not have been presented within a discussion context. I wonder how it was used in a way which was considered beyond teaching expression and reasoning enough to kill a site.

In words, MIT seems to be going the right way for free discourse in the statement, "The use of the images as part of the course is not an endorsement of the events. This is a scholarly course. It's the free exploration of ideas." But there must be something going on more than that if the entire Web site was completely removed.

The point...are we at a point where the context must accompany the introduction, thus elimating the ability of this context to be brought out through student-student discourse. The ramifications towards a return to controlled delivery here seem clear.

See http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/04/28/mit.chinese.students.ap/index.html for the story.

The story is from April 28, 2006, but I just got wind of it today.

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