Education 6

Personal Learning Network Presentations The Fischbowl

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.

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.

Education 4

More on Filtering- FischBowl

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.

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

Google Earth Odyseey the Fischbowl

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.