You'll Never Learn PLN10

           "You'll Never Learn by Annie Murphy Paul disproves that students can multitask in school and learn the lesson at the same time because multitasking distracts students and impairs their learning.
Paul shows many studies that show how most students multitask in school whether it's texting, social networking or surfing the web. In tremendous amount of studies that have been taken on this topic show that students who do multitask have worse grades, take longer to do the homework and learn more spotty. When multitasking what they learn is like Swiss cheese where there are spot and wholes of things they missed in the lesson because they were distracted. Annie Paul is a popular writer with many books about classrooms and students. She has studied learning a lot and has become an expert in students. She proves that you can never. Multitask because you can't focus on more than one thing at a time.
           The statements in "You'll Never Learn" by Annie Murphy Paul are correct because students cannot multitask and learn. Sitting in the back if the class room looking forward almost always there are people texting secretly, play games and quickly closing them when the teacher walks by or kids who have their heads on their desks. This is so common in class rooms that it  is obviously hurting students grades and the reason teachers are upset when they have answered the same question seven gazillion times. Students today often get bored of what they are doing in class and seek entertainment in other sources. Without realizing or caring that their learning is being damaged by distractions. This article connects in so many ways to
Michael Wesch's article "A Vision of Students Today" which shows how so many students are doing other things while supposed to be working. The marshmallow test of self discipline mentioned my Paul shows shows the temptation to click in that inbox with new mail or check your phone that just vibrated. The willing to not give in to these distractions is tested by the marshmallow test. Sitting in class you feel the vibration of your phone in your pocket. You know the teachers is writing today's lesson plan on the board and he could never catch you. So you pull it out to check it because you want to know who it was from and or if it was important. This situation effects so many students learning and attention during class. There are not many things that can stop students because they have such a short attention span and need something more interesting to them. Students believe they can multitask when they can't and it handicaps their learning just with the click of a button.

Schools Would Be If It Weren't For The Students PLN9

          "Schools Would Be Great If it Weren't for The Kids" by Alfie Kohn(Valerie Strauss) denies the idea that teachers are what is wrong with school and says that it is students faults because of their lack of motivation and willingness to learn. Kohn writes that students have lost a lot of motivation to learn from what kids have when they are very young. He questions why they have lost this and if it is traced to achievement of students. He believes that students should not be judged by the overall improvement on the standardized tests. Alfie Kohn is an expert on students in education who has written twelve books about education and behavior. He has a lot of experience to back up his claim that students are what's wrong with education. Although teachers are often blamed for the lack of success in schools Kohn believes that students are the problem.
          The ideas stated in "Schools Would Be Great If it Weren't for The Kids" by Alfie Kohn(Valerie Strauss) are correct because students motivations has vanished and without it they have no intent to do well in school. Bribing or threatening may cause students to try but the motivation is not good. These weights over students heads often make them less interested in learning and lead to them despising school. Students are motivated by many things like getting into college, curiosity,   respect or impressing but when these fail to effect a student they tend to fall behind which is seen more often today than ever. Many students can relate to this because students  do get lazy and take short cuts. Whether it is putting that project off until the night before of waiting to do your homework before class. Laziness often shows on students who do good on tests and quizzes but are falling behind because they have not done a single homework assignment for that class. Students often will say " It's not due for awhile so I won't do until tomorrow!" but tomorrow never comes. This relationship between laziness and motivation is direct because student that are not motivated will be more lazy. Relating back to "a What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents" by Ron Clark who talks about how teachers should not be blamed for a students downfalls because the grade given to a student is shown by how hard they worked on that. Teachers can only do so much for students but it takes the students motivation to work and succeed for them to reach their student achievements.

What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents

"What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents" by Ron Clark identifies why teachers are having much shorter careers because the negativity of the parents. Clark shows parents need to  trust the teachers, respect the teachers and work with the system. Parents need to remember that they should have a relationship with parents that purely business and always professional. They need to trust that the teachers decision or actions are usually the best for the child. Parents also need to strive to believe what the teacher says because they are more trust worthy. Ron Clark knows these fears of teachers from his many years of teaching and he knows what it is like when a parent does not agree with a grade or decision made. Parents need to realize that teachers are there to help their children and are professional educators who know about teaching and what's right.
The ideas unveiled by Ron Clark in "What Teachers Really Want to Tell Parents" are true because many times parents get too involved in teachers and take things personally because they think that the teachers strategies or ideas are wrong. Teachers want parents to know that the grade that they got on a test is what they deserved and if the grade is not satisfactory they should not judge the teacher but examine their kid and his habits. Clark shows how even though the parents think that he should have gotten a better grade it does not matter because a grade is an educated reasoning of how well the students on an assignment. Taking advice from the teachers is the best way to go instead of getting personally offended. When he tells you that your child is not doing well in a subject then maybe get him a tutor or extra help. Don't blame the teacher for his faults because many teachers give as much to the students as they can, like allowing them  to come get help on off periods or ask question. Work with the teachers to help your child succeed in the class don't accuse them of hurting your child's grade because it's not their fault. Don't take anything that the teacher does personally. If your boss at work said you did not do good on your last assessment or quarter you would not blame them, so don't blame the teachers. If your child tells you something that a teacher did that you do not approve meet with the teacher but do not cut to conclusions and use them or try to get them fired. These things cause many worries upon teachers heads. They don't go to school to deal with parents but they are having to more. Parents need to take a step back and observe from the teachers perspective, don't cut to conclusions or become personally offended by them and try to ruin their career.

            The video Web 2.0 ... The Web is Us/ing Us by Dr. Michael Wesch captures how connected the internet has become that it can link you to other pages but even people. Originally the internet could link you to other pages or websites but as the "machine learned" we have become able to combine websites, connect people and has become able to learn from us. Michael Wesch shows how digital text is better and more linear because it is more organized and has many more resources to connect to. In the video Wesch goes on an adventure through his computer showing all the new things and ways that the machine is learning from us. The web is us and is constantly improving itself through us and with us.

           The points made by Michael Wesch in the Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us are correct because today the internet is constantly connecting people but though that is learning from us. One great example of this is Siri a social and web navigator that allows you to do many things to help with your day such as asking a question, finding directions or setting an alarm. Siri is a system that learns from everything she is told which  is stored to make "the machine" more intelligent. This shows that is us and using us because it helps us but to gain more knowledge from us that it uses. Now that we can talk to this machine it is able to learn from us and reach out to us in many more ways. Now computers can even detect things though camera like emotions to see how you are or open you phone. Even on the new iPhone your finger print is held on the device which can be used by the machine in many ways when learned. With the new connection in the Web 2.0 makes getting distracted by the internet, like stated in  Michael Wesch's article A Vision of Students Today, with new Facebook posts, blogs and YouTube videos always being made the machine has more control over people especially students. The new Web 2.0 is made by us and learning by us but can be used to control us and distract us without thinking about reevaluating our lives, security and identity.

The Case Against High School Sports

In the article The Case Against High School Sports by Amanda Ripley illustrates how high school sports have more of a focus in high schools which is bad because it is taking a lot of focus away from education which should be a students first priority. Ripley shows how much more the United States focuses on sports than any other country which could be the reason for our low education ranking.In the article Ripley shows Premont High School where school sports are little to nonexistant. Singleton, the superintendent, believes that without sports schools would have more success in education.

Everything that Ripley states in The Case Against High School Sports is true because the article shows the great success that Premont has shown since shutting down sports. Singleton saw how much more calm the school was, “It was calm. There was a level of energy devoted to planning and lessons, to after-school tutoring. I saw such a difference.” a huge boost in grades also came with the closing of sports when 80 percent of students passed their classes nearly 30 percent higher than the previous fall. singleton saw such a change in focus at the school and much more success, “Learning is going on in 99 percent of the classrooms now,” Coach Russell told me, “compared to 2 percent before.” Another amazing thing about shutting down the sports was how much money the school saved to stop from being shut down. Singleton noticed how much money he could save the school to put into education when he did not have to get new bleachers or helmets. When schools spend $1,348 per cheerleader but are only $328 for math instructions they are spending a lot of money on less important areas than they should. Education should be the number one priority of students not sports because this can really affect their grades and attitude.

"Footprints in the Digital Age"

            "Footprints in the Digital Age"  an article by Will Richardson  illustrates how important it is to have a  good profile online because you can be "googled" which can show good or bad things about you.  In this day and age it is easy for you to be tracked online and for people all over the world to see things you are doing whether they are good or bad. This new age of technological knowledge can be helpful for students future by showing their blog, twitter or Facebook which can be great resources when used correctly. Will Richardson talks about the fear of his daughters being searched and nothing monumental coming up or that noting shows up at all.
           The ideas that Will Richardson states in "Footprints in the The Digital Age" are true because as our world is becoming more technological it is important to have a good online presence. When a future employer is researching your background to find if you would be the right person for the job it is very impressive when you can have a blog of things you have done in school or about the vacation you went on. Like wise when they find your Facebook or Twitter they can see that you are very social  and even have a look at what is going on in your life. An online portfolio is another great way to reach out to people. When they can see a video of you catching the football or a video of your debate from debate team they are much more likely to be impressed than when someone gives them a stack of papers. It has become even more important to be online but you must also have a diverse and interesting. If you post about the book that have just read or about special places you may have been that shows that you have deeper background and are more literate online and with people. We also need to be smart with our online profiles because one mistake like, posting a picture drinking underage can hurt your job potential in the future. Today all the time we are leaving digital footprints online for people to follow so we should make them good.

PLN4 What Could You Do With $20,000

           In the video What Could You Do With $20,000 Blake Boles proposes how going to college is becoming less important and self directed learning is much more important because the college degree is getting more devalued. Boles shows how you could take the money you would spend on college and use it in ways to make your future better. He shows how to use $20,000 help you train in self direct learning instead of going to college where you may be over qualified or face underemployement. Can you really not go to college and still be educated for the rest of your life?
          Blake Boles idea on skipping college and using your money progressively propane yourself for the future is true. If you are not planning on becoming a lawyer, doctor, engineer or scientist you may be more ahead to rely on self directed learning. Spending $4,500 dollars is a great part of the idea because it gets you out of the bubble of safety you have at  home mentioned in "Whats Wrong With the Teenage Mind". By doing this you experience how others live their lives and how to be independent. Other ideas of the speaker like tutoring, mentors and reading books are a great way to learn about a more broad spectrum. Traveling all over the world will let you get to know people, have great self learning experiences, see friends and see how other cultures live. Start up small business' that are services not aimed to get paid but provide things for people. A portfolio is another great part of setting yourself up for getting a job later by showing people what you are doing and your process. All of these experiences have given you a vast knowledge of the world and what you may like to do later life. You can also do many things for free that will help you learn like internships, interviewing people and community projects. Through Boles plan you even end your  four years of experience with money in the bank. If you have $5,000 and invest it at four percent over four years you will end this learning experience with $27,000 dollars in your saving account nearly what college students have in debt when they graduate. You may not have a label saying you graduated from college but you have experiences that you could never get in college.