A2.4: Participation Memo

Ashley Pence

August 30, 2007

Aims & Objectives: In regards to week 2’s course work I set out several personal goals.  My first goal was to develop my weblog by separating my blogs into their proper categories.  This was important for me to do first because I knew that organizing my blogs that I had already posted wouldn’t take too long.  It was much easier to do those few first, then as I posted my other respones I could tag them into their correct category as I went along.  By achieving this goal I became more organized in my new world of blogging.  My next goal was to read and respond to all the articles that were assigned to me.  I did this by spreading my work out over several days and never waiting more than a few hours after I read the information to compose my blog.

Declarative Knowledge:  This week began with reading about the things I should know about blogs.  I learned when, where and why to use them and also the positive and negative effects they can have.  The only negative being that sometimes they can be inaccurate and biased therefore you have to be careful if you are using them as sources of information.  The second article I read informed me that this is a digital world and the read/write web has exploded in this day and age.  It is very important to connect to students in this way otherwise they will far surpass us if we refuse change.  In the articles that contain information about netiquette, hoaxes, e-mail privacy and acronyms I realized that the web is a whole other atmosphere that I have yet to discover.  Although I was aware of some the information, I was still surprised by the other.  In the articles about discussion lists I realized that there are other ways to communicate and receive information about topics that interest you and it’s as easy as signing up to that particular list of interest.  In the articles that contained information about the world wide web I became more aware and gained a greater respect for those who maintain websites.  

Procedural Knowledge:  This week through my CD 315 coursework I learned to manage my time, manage my blogs and functional ways to gain access to the digital world.  Each individual article uncovered bits of information that will help me in this class as well as in my future.  I learned netiquette which will help me when communicating through email in order to make me appear professional.  I also discovered that I can stop sending all those forwards, because I won’t have bad luck for 7 years if I don’t send them.  Okay, I didn’t really believe that I would, but they make you feel so guilty!  The article on acronyms is something that I didn’t necasarily learn, but will be using it as a reference in the future.  Several other articles included information that I may not remember, but I will be able to use them as references when I get stuck in a situation that I need help with.  Whereas before these problem areas or questions may have never came up, but now that I am aware of them, I can understand the problem or understand the lingo.

Conditional Knowledge:  I connect the knowledge that I obtained to myself as a student by realizing that CD 315 is not the only class that this information can be used in.  If there is a class that contains any type of internet access, then I am better prepared because of these articles.  As a pre-professional and a citizen I can use this knowledge to better my abilities to work side by side with others through the web.  If I can share knowledge with other professionals, clients and other citizens then using the web is a very effective way.              

A2.3: WWW Reflection

Ashley Pence

August 30, 2007

In this group of articles I learned several important things that I didn’t know such as the acronyms HTTP, URL and HTML.  My memory was refreshed on several things as well such as the purpose of the home, refresh, stop, back and forward buttons located at the top of my browser.  I have been accustomed to seeing HTTP, URL and HTML but I never knew the meaning.  I assumed they were acronyms that the computer people knew and I had no use for them.  I learned that HTTP is hypertext transfer protocol.  In other words it’s what allows a networked computer to realize that there has been a “hit” and respond.  A URL is a uniform resource locator or the internet address for a web document or other file.  The acronym HTML stands for hypertext markup language which is the code that forms the colors, pictures and or other digitized auido and video.  Essentially this is what we call a page.  I was very glad to figure out what this acronym was because I always thought it stood for “hotmail”.  I realize that is not what it stands for, but that doesn’t mean I have quit calling it that.

I also learned how the web actually works and why it takes so long sometimes.  I never took into consideration that there are actually people who keep up websites and that sometimes they do need to be updated.  I’m not sure who I thought updated these sites or when they did it before, but now I realize that it must be done and it may inconvienience me at times.  However this is only for the good. 

I was surprised by when I read that the best time to be on the internet is after 4 P.M. Pacific time on weekdays and all weekend long anytime.  If we consider that most internet access is used during the work hours, that would be logical.  However internet use for amusement is most likely accessed after 4 P.M. Pacific time and especially on the weekends.

It is very likely that in my future line of work I will be accessing the world wide web for nearly everything.  It is best that I gain as much knowledge as I can now to better prepare me for the future.

A2.3: Discussion Groups Reflection

Ashley Pence

August 30, 2007

After reading these articles I have discovered a whole new aspect of the internet which means i’ve found one more thing to distract me from doing other work.  However, this new thing is something that I see as being a very useful tool for my future.  The two things that I have discovered are the announcement mailing lists and discussion mailing lists.  The two are great sources of information, but after reading the article I was able to get a grasp on what the differences are.  The announcement list where I can subscribe to receive messages, but not actually post is a great resource.  I like the idea of this type of list because if there is something that i’m interested in, but don’t necessarily know a lot about, this list would be great.  I can receive tons of information to educate me on the subject and when i’m ready and if I want to, I can then subscribe to the discussion list of that same topic.  The discussion list is one that I can actively participate in by posting my thoughts or questions and everyone on the list can see them and give their thoughts or answers.  This is also a great tool for learning because having discussions typically lead to a whole wealth of knowledge that a newsletter can’t contain.  I also like the idea of these mailing lists because in order to obtain information I don’t have to go to that certain website to obtain it.  The information is sent straight to my email.  One thing that this article included was the tip of turning off your mailing list when you are on vacation or unable to control your mailing list at any point in time.  The mailing list can send hundreds of emails a day and your email can become pretty clogged.  It suprises me that there is not some sort of filter for the subscriber to be able to manage what they receive rather than receiving everything from the list.  I’m not so sure that I like the idea of getting hundreds of emails a day or the fact that you need to turn it off when you are away.  I tend to be a slacker when it comes to checking my email and I am afraid that if I were to subscribe to something of this nature that I would not take the time to read it.

This group of articles has shown me that there are numerous ways of obtaining information rather than doing plain old research.  By expanding your resources you can gain a wealth of knowledge that can benefit you far beyond what any book could do.  This is important for my future work as a Speech Language Pathologist since I will be collaborating and researching with other professionals for the rest of my career.

A2.3: Email Reflection

Ashley Pence

August 29, 2007

From this group of articles I gained a wealth of knowledge but I have condensed my list to those that I felt were most important.  The first thing I found interesting was that others, besides site administrators, are able to read or access my mail at any time.  The author Arlene Rinaldi warned me that if I don’t want this information on the evening news, then i’m better off not sending it via e-mail.  I was previosly aware that site administrators have access to my e-mail and anything else I access through the web.  For the past four summers I have worked in an office that basically operates completely through the use of computers.  The first time I had trouble with my computer I contacted our computer technician.  Rather than walking down to my desk and fixing the problem he logged on with my password and fixed the problem from his computer.  As I watched the pointer open things without me touching it I realized that from then on out I should be careful with what I send through e-mail and how much time I spend browsing the internet.  Since my workplace is very carefree and everyone takes occasional breaks to surf the internet I was not terribly concerned if he saw me surfing.  I do realize that in other work places including my future workplace, I could get fired over something such as this.  A question that I have is if companies have policies for everything else, why would they  not have one for acceptable use on for e-mail or other online activities?  I realize that most companies do have policies such as this, but for those who don’t could end up in a lot of trouble if the employee were to take action over their privacy being violated. 

Several other guidelines I learned from Rinaldi’s article were the use of asterisks to show importance, using the underscore key before and after titles of books and that sending chain letters can cause you to lose your internet access.  Another bit of information about who can see your e-mail is the fact that even though you delete something, it doesn’t just vanish.  In the article about harnessing your e-mail the author states that if the FBI were to need something that was sent through e-mail they could easily access this even though it had been deleted. 

As I read the hoaxes and pranks articles it made me realize there are some very insensitive people in this world.  The fact that people make up hoaxes and pranks just for the fun of it is beyond belief to me.  The ones that really amaze me are those that include things about people’s sicknesses, prayer in school or Christian radio stations being removed from the air, the list goes on and on.  I’ve easily been able to recognize hoax emails before especially when they say send this to so many people or you will have bad luck for 7 years.  However the ones that talk about the above mentioned things are harder to recognize.  It has made me more cautious and convinced me to check into e-mails before I forward them.  It’s really sad though because sometimes those forwards are so darn good! 

These articles have included many things that I will be referencing in the future when I am a Speech Language Pathologist.  It has prepared me with netiquette that will greatly influence the way people see me as a professional.  Knowing how to properly e-mail is just as important as knowing how to properly write a letter.  They have many differences, but being professional is just as important with both styles of communication.

A2.2: Chapter 1 – Richardson

Ashley Pence

August 28, 2007

Richardson, W. (2006) Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

TAP:  The topic of chapter 1 is the realization that the web has changed even in the last 12 years of its existence.  When the web began it was a read only resource.  Over the years it has progressed into a read and write tool where we can all contribute our ideas and products. (2006)  This chapter seems directed towards educators and future educators for the most part.   The purpose of this chapter is to emphasize the importance of the web in the classroom and as an everyday part of learning for todays students.

Claim:  The central claim of this chapter is the that the read/write web, from an educational standpoint, promises to transform much of how we teach and learn. (2006)

Evidence:  The evidence this chapter includes to support their claim is abundant in this chapter.  One bit of evidence that I found interesting is from an author, Dan Gillmor who says “the people who’ll understand this best are probably just being born” (2006) referring to the understanding of the read/write web.  We can also see that those who are currently in school are the ones who grew up in this ”web age” and have a much better understanding of the read/write web than any adult has, including their teachers. (2006)  Computer literacy is an indispensible tool in the education of today’s students.  It has become a part of everyday life and if we want to survive and thrive we must have an understanding and access to the ever changing read/write web.  Since the current teachers were not brought up in this era of computer literacy we can see a disconnect between the educational system and the way students learn. (2006) 

Connections:  This text connects to me by making me realize that even I, who grew up in this computer literacy age, am behind on the current read/write web.  A statement about “digital immigrants” who still print emails, write checks for bills and use the phonebook to look up numbers hit close to home.  However I am slightly beyond those digital immigrants because I don’t print emails and I rarely use the phonebook, however I do still have some bills that I write checks for. (I’m working on it okay.)  This text relates to  things that were listed in our syllabus for CD 315 that concern how we present ourselves online when this chapter talks about keeping students safe.  We discussed the importance of keeping our profiles appropriate because anyone has access to this blog and if we aren’t careful it can end up negatively effecting us as future professionals.  As a future Speech Language Pathologist I will be spending time bringing effective technology to my clients and their parents to enhance their learning of information deemed nessacary for the client and parents at that time.

A2.2: 7 Things You Should Know About Blogs

Ashley Pence

August 28th, 2007

7 things you should know about blogs (2005, August).  Retrieved August 28, 2007, from http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EL17006.pdf

TAP:  The topic of this article deals with a teacher who has began blogging in her International Politics course to gain a more effective way of communication among herself and her students.  The example that is given with the success of blogging with Dr. Thomas’ class leads into the 7 things that you should know about blogs.  This article is geared toward anyone with an interest in blogging as a means of communication.  The articles purpose is to inform the reader of effective ways of blogging, who is using blogs and the warnings against blogging.

Claim:  I found several claims in this article that were the most intriguing to me.  The first claim is that by using a blog related to class assignments allows us as students to create knowledge that others will be reading.  Once this knowledge is published on our blog we can then be critiqued by fellow students, teachers and thousands of other people who choose to read our blog. (2005) Another interesting claim is that students can learn as much from eachother as they can from their instructor or textbooks. (2005)  The other claim that I found helpful was that blogs can contain biased and inaccurate knowledge (2005) which can lead to the viewers of the blogs believing this.  It is hard not to believe everything you read.  We have to become aware of this fact and realize that as we are reading blogs that we cannot take everything we read to the bank.  The fact that the information we are reading is posted on a blog and can easily be removed from the site makes it difficult for us to archive or index for further information as well. (2005)

Evidence:  The evidence that supports this article is found in the section of the classroom scenario.  The teacher expressed that by the end of her class her students had formed a greater connection to one another and to the information that was shared in class through blogging. (2005)  She also stated that several of her students have continued using blogs as a means of communication outside of her class.  With the positive results from her first class she decided to continue the blogs with her future classes, but now she plans on making them more media involved to gain an even greater interest by her students. (2005)

Connections:  The connection that I have made to myself with this text is that I have recently began blogging.  I have not seen the positive results of it yet, however I have found it much more exciting to post my thoughts on the readings in a blog rather than in a blue folder.  I am excited to see what other positive aspects come from using a blogging.  This text connects with other information I have received on blogs that deal with the accuracy of the information contained within the blogs.  The fact that blogs along with other personal websites and now wikis do not always contain true information reminds me to put forth more effort about being careful when researching.  This text connects to me as a future Speech Language Pathologist in the sense that sharing information with other professionals can be difficult at times.  However with the use of a blog information is easily accessed and can create a community that deals solely on information that is understood among those in my like profession.  This means I can obtain knowledge on certain topics and can be critiqued on information that I have shared. 

A:1: Information literacy

Ashley Pence

August 23, 2007 

Plotnick, E. (1999). Information literacy. ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED427777)

TAP:  The topic of this article is a look at what today’s school systems have created as ways to increase the information literacy among students.  This article also mentions the importance of the student themselves making an effort to continue in a lifelong education in order to expand their knowledge by using their information literacy skills.  This article is geared toward an audience that is interested in the future of information literacy and those who are interested in becoming more information literate.  The purpose of this article is to inform people of the importance of information literacy and that skills have expanded from reading, writing and arithmetic.  This article gives pretty good detail into what schools are doing to help students reach information literacy criteria in order to succeed in the information age.

Claim:  In today’s society we can no longer count on the basics of reading, writing and math to get a job.  Your ability to work with more information based ideas come into much greater use than the requirements that had to be met when we were an industrial society.  It is evident by the questions on a job application that we must be able to use information that we gain and turn it into knowledge rather than a simple memorization task that is becoming outdated.  If you cannot use a calculator, computer or fax machine, then you may fall behind in this fast paced society.

Evidence:  The SCANS report that Plotnick refers to is evidence that information literacy skills are needed in an increasing abundance in the workplace.  One example was given that workers are no longer simply reporting to higher management, but are now active participants in the businesses accomplishments which in turn lead to their own.  In order for this to happen the workers need information literacy skills beyond reading and writing.

Connections:  I have found that I relate to this text simply by living in the information age.  As a young student it was required that I obtain these types of skills in order to move on from point A to point B.  Point A could have been a research paper in 3rd grade and point B could have been something as substantial as passing a computer skills class.  Whatever these skills were I now realize that if it were not for them I could have easily been left behind with only the basics that my parents were expected to achieve.  This text relates strongly to the other two articles based on information literacy skills.  All three articles emphasized the importance of becoming a more user friendly society if we could all accel by using information literacy.  As a future Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) I realize that I could not have made it to this point in the program had it not been for my past with information literacy.  I also realize that if I continue to educate myself I can become an ever more literate person in this area and be a successful SLP. 

A:1: Information literacy in an information society

Ashley Pence

August 23,2007

Information literacy in and information society.  (1994)  ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology.  (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED372756)

TAP:  The topic of this article is that information literacy is the key to succesful learning and extension to successful living.  In todays society we have gone from being a society based on goods and import to a society that is based on information.  This article is geared toward any citizen that is interested in successfully learning and living.  The purpose of this text is that in order to prepare for the twenty-first century we must take on not only reading, writing and math, but also critical thinking, problem solving and communication.

Claim:  The claim of this article is that in order to be an information literate person there are several criteria’s that you strive to meet.  All these criteria deal with finding information and knowing how to use it correctly.  The information that is obtained is no longer just information but it becomes a part of you, because when you use that information correctly then it becomes knowledge.

Evidence:  Evidence supports this article in many ways but one way that I noticed is the impact that it has on technology alone.  Information literacy in technology helps when users know how to use the technology they are dealing with.  This becomes something they can research, delve out and share with other users.  If we are able to do this then we will have skills to help us with a changes that continue in the information age.

Connections:  The connection that I made with this article to my self was my ability to understand and use information.  I did a self inventory and realized that I am not all that great when it comes to being effective with what information I obtain.  I have reasearched many things throughout my school years and I fear that I have not accomplished one of the things that the author of this article says should happen and that is turning information into knowledge.  This text connects with other texts in the sense that it is extremely intent on the importance of literacy in today’s world and the need for a change to better ourselves and society.  The text connects to my future as a Speech Language Pathologist especially when it comes to researching things for my field.  If I am unable to obtain good information by using good information literacy skills I will not only be hurting myself but also my patients, their parents and my co-workers. 

A:1: Expanding the concept of digital literacy

Ashley Pence

August 23, 2007

Daley, E. (2003). Expanding the concept of digital literacy. EDUCAUSE review, 33-40.

TAP: The topic of this article is an intent call for today’s society to realize that literacy is no longer based on the ability to read, write, and understand the information.  The author feels that an expanded defintion of literacy is needed.   This article is geared toward those that use or will be using sources to higher educate themselves.  The purpose of this article is to change the definition of literacy from simply text to multimedia language.

Claim:  The claim is that multimedia language is now what dominates our lives, whether it be through television or computer screens.  This only makes sense that literacy can no longer be defind by its previous definition of reading and writing through text.  The author mentions four points that were taken from the Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television.  The following points shape her demand for a revised definition.  Point one states that multimedia language is the new and current vernacular.  Point two says that this language is capable of constructing complex meanings independent of text.  Point three says that multimedia language can enable modes of thought, ways of communicating, conducting research, and methods of publication and teaching that are essentially different from those of text.  The last point really drives home the need for the change of definition.  It states that those who are truly literate in the twenty-first century will be those who learn to both read and write the multimedia language of the screen.

Evidence:  The evidence that supports the basis for expanding the defintion of literacy comes with common sense.  By broadening the defenition to include multimedia language we must take a look at how we broaden any other abilities when learning a new language.  If we were to move to a foriegn country, Spain for instance, we are not going to go there with the thought in our mind that I will not need to learn their language, I can survive with my own.  This could happen, but in most cases if you want to accomplish much and become more comfortable with their language, you have to accept that English is not the only language just as text is not the only form of literacy.

Connections:  I can relate to this text because as my life has advanced I have seen the language of the multimedia screen.  We no longer mail letters and to some extent we have stopped mailing bills as well.  With the new age of multimedia we can email, instant message and we can now pay our bills online.  It’s almost as if paper is no longer needed.  This is good for the forests, but can become an inconvienence for those who are not connected with the multimedia world.  This is why it is of such importance to expand the definition and make those who are not aware of the multimedia language aware of it.  Other texts that this relates to are those that talk about the importance of digital literacy.  I never knew that there was such a concern with this until I was introduced to 5 other sources that talk about the importance of digital literacy and the need for education on it.  As a future Speech Language Pathologists it is imperative that I be up to date with multimedia language in order to communicate and work with my clients, their parents, and other co-workers.  If I am unable to achieve this I will not be performing my job to the best of my ability and could harm others on my path.

A:1: Experiments in digital literacy

Ashley Pence

August 22, 2007

Eshet-Alkali, Y., P.h.D & Amichai-Hamburger, Y., P.h.D. (2004). Experiments in digital literacy. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(4), 421-429.

TAP:  The topic of this paper is to present the performance on digital literacy skills among three groups of scholars.  They consist of high school students, college age students and adult college graduates.  They were tested on several types of digital literacy skills that consisted of photo-visual skills, reproduction skills, branching skills, information skills and socio-emotional skills.  The audience for this reading could be anyone interested in digital literacy, but especially for teachers who wish to improve their students skills in the areas that this study shows the scholars weaknesses in.  The purpose of this reading is to show where the scholars weaknesses are whether for the teachers improvement or simply to make us aware as the scholars ourselves.

Claim:  The claim of this article is that by testing these areas of digital literacy we can see that  the younger scholars performed better than the older ones with photo-visual and branching literacy tasks but the older participants were found to be more literate in reproduction and information literacy tasks.  By uncovering these results the teachers and other software creators are capable of creating new and helpful ways to make the digital environment more user friendly.

Evidence:  The evidence of this study is in the way in which the scholars performed.  The results show that there are some areas of digital literacy that showed no significant differences among the three groups.  However as stated in the claim the younger scholars scored better on the photo-visual task and the branching literacy task.  Whereas the older scholars performed better on the information and reproduction literacy tasks.  The whole point of performing this type of experiment was to obtain evidence in order to help make the digital literacy environment a friendlier place for all users.

Connections:  My connection to myself is that I am sure that if I were to be involved in this type of survey I would most likely fall in line with those in the college age area. It is completely understandable that the category that the younger scholars performed better in are the ones that are newer types of techonology.  We have been introduced to digital technology such as these things and more than likely had a class that involved some if not all of them.  On the other hand the older scholars performed better on the reproduction and information literacy tasks which is also not surprising.  I think this is likely due to the era that they were brought up in.  They were not exposed to the digital world nearly as much as the younger scholars and based all their knowledge from their sources of information and had to decipher this information rather than have other devices in which to do so.

This text is not very similar to any that I have ever been exposed to before based on subject matter.  However this is similar to other studies that I have read in the sense that they used different age groups and fields to obtain the best results.

The text relates to the world in many different ways, but the one that I find most influential is its ability to further the teachers and digital software creators to make digital literacy more effective for all age groups.