My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete

Well, I have not had a chance to get to know most of you. Maybe in the future our paths will cross again. Hopefully you had as good of an experience in this class as I have. Good luck to everyone in the future, wherever it may lead you.

What I've Learned

I have learned quite a few things in this class. I learned that Blogs can be really useful as a teaching tool. I learned that Google offers many free online tools that can be very useful to me now and in my future. I had never previously had a reason to use excel, so all of the lessons on Google's Spreadsheet Program were very interesting and helpful. I will definitely use the payout table in the future. The brochure I created using Microsoft Word turned out way better than I hoped so that was nice. I have always been pretty good with computers, having built my last two and maintained them, but I had never learned much html in regards to images. The lessons on Picasa and html were very helpful as well. I have already used Picasa to enhance most of my photos at home thanks to the instruction on the subject. I am sure there are some things that I am leaving out, but just know that yes I did learn quite a few things in this short time. Thanks.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia, a great idea that needs allot of work before it can be of any use to me. The reliability of the sources of the information offered by Wikipedia are one of my main concerns. Also, the fact that information can be changed for whatever reason by whomever, at any time, and all while maintaining anonymity. I have yet to use Wikipedia for any reason and have no intention of using it in the future without the necessary improvements first being made. The Wikiscanner offers some reassurance that information will be less tampered with. But even with the use of the Wikiscanner I feel that if an individual has a strong enough desire to control the information that is being shared online, there is always a way to stay one step ahead of the "Virgil Grifiths" of the world. Hackers will always find a way to stay one step ahead and will surely be sought out by the large corporations to do their dirty work...for a small fee of course. Anyhow, think twice before trusting any information from Wikipedia.

"Growth" vs "Fixed" Minds

Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford university, believes that students with a "fixed" mindset are limited mentally by their own belief system. Those students with a "growth" mindset are better suited to evolve, absorb information, and ultimately succeed in all aspects of their life. Everyone should feel this way, especially educators! I understand that some people posses this "fixed" mindset but it is hard for me to determine how they think this way, and impossible to ignore this problem. I agree that Carol's statement on the "brain is like a muscle", and "that it grows with use" holds true, but this needs to be instilled in our young students minds ASAP. This video was no eye opener for me, but it has addressed a topic that was in need of discussion. Knowing that there are students that feel doomed to a set basic intelligence level is saddening. It is the duty of educators to reassure these students and provide them with the tools to overcome their personal boundaries.

As an educator I will encourage students to feel as I do, that there is no limit to the possibilities of the human mind and body. Children especially should be taught that you are only limited by your belief and commitment to a task. If you believe in yourself and put in the "work", anything is possible. No one is born with the ability to perform a back flip, it must be learned. If everyone possessed the "fixed" mindset, life would be extremely boring.