Shift Happens

The following video discusses how the world is changing. As technologies arrive and students prepare for an ever changing world, this video puts the future into perspective.

Turnitin. Useful in high school?

I found this site today. Turnitin is a web based software that catches plagiarized papers. The marketing seems to be for higher education but does a application like this find a place in secondary education? I went to both a high school and college that prided itself on its honor code but many institutions are more flexible. Does this lead students to cheat or plagiarize more often? If that is the case, do we need to revert to using software like Turnitin or do the schools need to adopt and instill codes that will promote honor and honesty?

300 and Teaching with Graphic Novels

I saw the movie 300 today. I really enjoyed the movie and highly recommend it. While it is based upon Frank Miller’s graphic novel, there has been some controversy on its historical accuracy. Some believe that the movie will have many believing that the movie is actually depicting true history. This is an especially touchy topic since the Iranian government is complaining that the Ancient Persians have been given a bad image. 300 is not a historically accurate movie nor would I ever intend to project that idea but I do believe that it has potential as a teaching tool.

While this movie and the graphic novel, like many others, are not historical documents, I believe that the concept of the graphic novel can be used in the classroom. The movie nor the graphic novel should be considered historical sources but it can create discussion and interest in students. Graphic novels like 300 or Maus, which deals with the holocaust during World War II, have the potential to support our lessons and should be considered as another teaching tool.

Here is a website with some information on how to teach with graphic novels. There is also this essay on the topic.

Peace.

Is Wikipedia Bad News? Some Don’t Think So.

The following essay was written by Cathy Davidson at Duke.  She argues against Middlebury College’s decision to ban Wikipedia.  An interesting argument especially as more and more of our students initially turn to Wikipedia for their information.