Friday, September 9, 2011

Safe Blogging

http://www.google.com/familysafety/

I LOVE Google, so I went to the Google Family Safety Center on blog safety. After reading about Google's tips for families, I am not exactly sure that I am heading in the right direction for my assignment, but as a parent I decided this was applicable.

Keep computers in a central location - awesome idea! keeping an eye on kids is crucial these days.
Teach internet safety by using privacy settings and sharing controls, protecting passwords and teach kids to beware of strangers online. 
View all content critically - just because you read it online, there's no guarantee it's true! this one is funny to me because it is true.

Blog Pedagogy

Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction.

 interesting topic right? sure.  I have been interested in this topic for quite sometime as my educational goal is to become a professor. Canvas right now we have several problems as many students know. Canvas is actually working fine as far as I can tell, it's the fact that I have three professors using Canvas, one using BlackBoard, and another professor using his very own Google webpage.... not right.  Needless to say I have come to the conclusion that what is best and most convenient for the students should be precisely what the professors should be doing (all of them), one website for all of the students.

Blog Pedagogy -  As a mother of three children I have some experience in navigating teacher's blogs.

http://www.thomasedisoncharterschool.org/ - this is not where the blogs are, but what an awesome idea that would be right! if the school's website had a link to the individual teacher's blogs.

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=41233 - The Arbor Heights Elementary School has a great blog.  The blog has a link to the school webpage - great idea. This blog is also great because a parent could keep up to date with pretty much everything their kid is doing in that class.  The teacher using flickr which is good as long as the parents have consented to putting their children on the internet.

http://www.classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=71175 - The Almighty Bloggers - is a good blog.  The colors are a bit distracting, but the pictures are great!  I think the sidebar with the "related links" on this blog and some of the others is a great tool for those navigating to this blog. I liked the use of stories and YouTube videos to get the message out to students and parents.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Service vs. Icon

Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
Aristotle


Interesting subject title right? Not really.  I was employed at Icon Health & Fitness for three years.  At one time I had written a letter to the editor about an "executive bathroom" that one of the executives was putting over by his office, on a floor with adequate restroom facilities.  I did not mention the business name in my letter, only my name (as if everyone knows where I work). The funny thing was that these executives knew who they were, and they were "hurt" is the word they used.  Hurt that I would use my freedom of expression to express my feelings about this stupid bathroom.  Did they care that I was offended that they feel they need a better restroom then the rest of us, HELL no!  their only concern was that Icon was put in an improper light.

Even funnier is that my name made the front page of the same paper on Sunday, and they do not seem to care about it! haha! I wonder should I call them and point it out? should I have a meeting with the HR department and my boss to see if anyone is in need of a debriefing? probably not, this time the paper was pointing out service projects being done across the valley to commemorate 9/11.  Will Icon Health & Fitness get involved? Would they like their name to be better perceived? Maybe, or are they only "hurt" when they feel it is slammed? Poor Icon........

The only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary
Donald Kendall

This quote is HILARIOUS!!
America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week. 
Evan Esar


By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day. Robert Frost