Thursday, November 8, 2007

Local 6

Again, a traffic caused fatality occurred. This horrible tragedy happened when a six year-old boy dropped his library books in the street. When he picked them up he ran to catch up with his sister. In the process he was hit by a car and killed. The driver stopped and called an ambulance. He tried to help the boy, but the boy died before getting to the hospital. This is a situation that I would hate to be the driver of the car. He probably didn't see or expect the boy to be out in the street. Now he has to live the horrific knowledge that he hit and killed someone with his car. This event really brings up the fact that traffic safety isn't just something parents need to inform their kids about, but that they should teach their kids to go thought the steps of looking both ways and being aware of cars when they go into the street. It is unfortunate that these things have to happen and mistakes have to be made for society to learn and change.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Local 5

Rox 2007 Legacy Denver Post
In 2007 the Colorado Rockies finally made it to the World Series. In their 14th season as a franchise the Rockies have only made it to the playoffs once in 1995. This season they not only made it to the playoffs, but they made it all the way the the World Series and finished as the best team in the National League. How they got to the 'Big Dance' was an extraordinary story. The team started off the season at the bottom of their division with a 10/16 record in the month of April. At the end of May and into the Rockies got hot and went 20/7 and swept the Yankees. After that the team lost 9 straight games and went 7 games under 500. The team had a lot of ground to make up, and they had a good month of July to pass up the Giants in the NL West. At the begging of September chances of making the playoffs seemed slim; however, the team made a miracle in September. The Rockies went 21/8 and got the chance to play the San Diego Padres for a wildcard spot. They beat the Padres in the bottom of the 13th inning by scoring three runs. The Rockies then swept the Philadelphia Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the National League Pennant .
This has been a season I will never forget. I followed every game this year. I cheered when they swept the Yankees and cried when they lost 9 straight. September was a month that made me really excited. When they finally made it to the playoffs I couldn't sleep at all. When they swept the Diamondbacks I couldn't believe it. Every time I heard about the Rockies after that series I would always declare how astonished I was. It really disappointed me to see them lose the World Series, but I have faith in the team to do it next year.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Education 6

Personal learning networks are a great way to view news articles and get an opinion about that article out in the open. The presentations are an excellent way bring out class discussion. The student talking gets to share his or her opinion in detail. Then the class can add whatever feedback it has. It really works when students choose relevant debatable topics. If their presentation is just a summery about the article it makes the presentation uninteresting, but if they give personal feedback and opinion it makes the presentation a whole lot better. The personal learning networks are best when emotion is shown in the writing and speaking. The best personal learning networks have been about topics that bring out different views based on prospective and belief. Articles like The Pledge of Allegiance and Cruelty of animals, stick in my mind as having good discussion. As a student that does personal learning networks every week I have definitely seen a change in my writing and annotating of articles.

Monday, October 22, 2007

ESPN 1

Torre turns down offer to return as Yanks' skipper ESPN.com

The legend Yankees Manager Joe Torre will no longer be in the Bronx. He left after turning down $5 million one year deal, after receiving $7.5 million last season. Joe Torre led the Yankees to 12 playoff appearances out of the 12 years he coached there. He got the Yanks to the World Series 6 times and won it all in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. Torre had the most seasons of any manager under the ownership of George Steinbrenner. Who has fired or let go of numerous players and coaches. The top candidates for the open position in New York are Don Mattingly (famous player and coach of the Yanks), and Joe Girardi, a former New York catcher and Yankee announcer.
Who is being more greedy in this situation, Joe Torre or George Steinbrenner? Even with a $5 million deal Torre would still be the highest paid manager in the league. Was it right for Steinbrenner to condemn his manager for not making it to the world series? As a Colorado fan I get really excited when the Rockies make it to the Playoffs. This year for example I was as happy when the Rockies made it to the first round of the playoffs as Yankee management when New York makes it to the World Series. To be disappointed in a team that makes it to the playoffs and loses is not right. Does having a George Steinbrenner outlook on Baseball the best way to win games?
If I was in Torre's position I would be happy to keep coaching for the deal he got. I doubt that money was the main factor in Torre leaving though. He probably wanted to make a point to the Yankee front office. Now that he's gone I hope that Joe Girardi will get the job. I like Girardi because he played catcher for the Rockies in the 90's, and was a big factor in Colorado's appearance in the playoffs in 95.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Education 4

The Internet is a great tool to find information. The good thing is that anyone can add to the web. The bad thing is that anyone can add to the web. This allows the Internet to have both fact and fiction, and bias. So we put up filters to block false and extremely biased sites. But is it the best option? For example “Swimming pools can be dangerous for children. To protect them, one can install locks, put up fences, and deploy pool alarms. All these measures are helpful, but by far the most important thing that one can do for one’s children is to teach them to swim.” So, how do we teach people to use the Internet correctly? How do we defend people against inaccurate and harmful sites without censoring it?
There are a lot of ways that we can analyse online sources. Research the author, if the person is a professor of a respected University it's probably a good source. If the author is a social, political, or economic extremist the source is probably very biased of incorrect. Observe the meaning of article is it a way to persuade the reader to like or dislike the person or subject being addressed.

Local 4

Tancredo changes Armenian stance- Denver Post

Republican Candidate for President, Tom Tancredo from Littleton, has changed his opinion on the post World War 1 massacre of the killings of more than one million Armenians by Turkey. After World War 1 1.5 million Armenians were killed Turkish Militants. Tancredo originally viewed the massacre as genocide that the Turkish Government would have to answer for. Recently, Tancredo changed his stance on the issue. Now he says that in order for peace countries and nationalities have to put the past aside and focus on the people and governments of today. Tancredo says that he didn't change his stance because of the Presidential race or what President Bush said about opposing the measure.

This is important to me because I agree with Tom Tancredo when he says that we need to focus on the present instead of the past. I would like to learn more about President Bush's statement about the subject and his reasoning behind it. I would also like to know how much this event affects people in Turkey today.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Local 3

Five Workers Die in Underground Pipe The Denver Post
Five Excel Energy employees were trapped underground at a hydroelectric plant in George Town, Colorado. The workers were stranded after chemicals erupted in flames. Rescuers made contact with all five men within ten minutes of the accident. Six hours later the rescue team confirmed that the five workers had died. Excel was very sympathetic to the workers' families and are making every effort to improve safety at the hydroelectric plants.
This article deeply saddened me. I wonder why energy corporation like Excel Energy don't confirm safer working environments for its employees. Do tragedies like this have to happen in order for safety to be improved? I am very sympathetic for the families of these workers.

Education 3

There are many different benefits to using Google Earth. Anne Smith, a teacher at Arapahoe had an assignment for her Freshmen class to make personal learning journeys using Google Earth. Google Earth is a great way for students to access satelite pictures, maps, and imformation on any place on Earth. In my opinion we are very privliged to have a program as complex as Google Earth. It is a great idea for teachers to assign projects for kids to explore this great program. When there is something that is featured on the news in another country it is hard to fully understad without knowing the geography of that country.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

CSU will hold former hearing for newspaper editor

After J. David McSwane (CSU newspaper editor) published an obscene comment about President Bush, there will be a formal hearing to decide his fate. Did this CSU student have his rights of freedom of expression and freedom of the press taken away, or was the comment too explicit and dishonoring to the President to be published?
I believe that we all have freedom of speech and the right to protest. However, we all have the unalienable right on the pursuit of happiness as well. Their are most likely students at Colorado State University that would be offended by the article. Regardless of how much we might not like our current President, we must honor and support him. Discouraging him doesn't help him or our country. I am fed up with the way our society goes about protesting. Even if I support what they're saying I still don't enjoy all the controversy that goes along with it.

How long does it take to become a tool?

How Long Does it take to become a tool? 2 Cents Worth David Warlick
Will e-mail ever become a tool for students in the classroom, rather than a toy? Schools intend for their students to use e-mail as a way to research information. Instead kids are e-mailing their friends and playing on the internet in class.
It's a good idea to addapt e-mail for education, but it will never always be used appropriately during school. As a student myself e-mail has been useful for transfering Word-documents from school to home; however, most kids like me, are so used to using e-mail for fun that it would be a big distraction during class.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Education The Value of Test Score

What is the Value of Test Scores?
Teachers have different ways of assessing students' knowlege. Some use tests and others use homework and class discussion. So if there are different ways other than testing to improve a students education should every teacher value test scores? Standardized Tests can really make an impact on the way people see a school. Sometimes parents make there dicision about where there kids go based on the test scores of schools.
We should value test scores. They are an official way of seeing if students are learning. A student might be getting good grades in school, but can we ever really be sure if ther are learning? They could get answers from anywhere on homework, but if they don't study the answer do they learn anything?

Monday, September 17, 2007

local News Search for Fossett

"Fossett Search compared to Earhart Case" Denver Post-Denver and the West

The great adventurer Steve Fossett has been missing for three weeks. Now investigators are related the search to the search of Amelia Earhart. The search is over a 20,ooo square mile area of Kings Canyon National Park. The fact that Fossett is missing is a story in it self, but after three weeks without any trace or evidence of his whereabouts makes the mystery element grow and grow.
It was not surprising to me to hear that Steve Fossett was missing the first time I heard it. What was surprising to me was that after three weeks they still haven't found him. For a while I thought that he was going to back from his absence with another miraculous survival story. But after this much time I've given up my hope. I wonder if Steve Fossett will become more famous from the mystery of his whereabouts than he was before?