Attached is a link to my evaluation of the educational website, www.visionlearning.com, which was designed as an educational resource for the science classroom. It features great information, pictures, and animations.
The link for website evaluations is: http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/eval.html
Visionlearning.com evaluation
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Mitt Romney '08
As a conservative Republican (which is atypical to be as a teacher), Mitt Romney's name comes up often in some social circles which I am involved/exposed to. Many people speak loudly AND carry a big stick when discussing presidential candidates they support/oppose, whether they know anything about him/her or not. I am very firmly grounded in my political views, but I do not follow politics too closely; therefore, I am not too quick to jump in someone's favor or opposition unless I know for certain his/her stance on a political issue which I feel strongly about. I have heard a lot of appealling things about Romney, but I took this assignment as an opportunity to find out more about a presidential candidate that I may end up supporting.
I attempted to check out Mitt Romney's Facebook, but I was unable to get in because I do not have an account, so I could not add him to "My friends" or become his friend. However, it was clear that his sight on Facebook contained a lot of information because there were 195 photos, 1192 wall posts, and 36 notes.
Mitt's MySpace is awesome. The campaign add and "welcome" speech by Mitt are both very compelling. There's also a ton of information on various views he holds and battles he wishes to fight (and win) if he were to be elected president; you can find them all on the blogs that he has posted on the site. You also have the option of subscribing to his MySpace blog; in doing so, you will receive his latest blog everytime he comes out with one . . . what a great idea! The beauty of the technology and the internet is the convenience, and Mitt's MySpace offers that luxury. I'm sure it is much the same for the other candidates as well, so I'm not intending for this to be a plug. Nonetheless, it is such a great idea because, aside from the convenience, it is also an instant connection with America's youth (teenagers / young professionals) . . . instant repoir! However, I'm a bit jealous that he has 19,486 friends!
I spent a lot of time on Mitt Romney's YouTube location to get a better feel for his political views and moral character (though this is very hard to judge with any politician!). I was impressed with his business/financial savvy, as well as his views on immigration, Iraq, faith, and family values (the latter being perhaps my number one concern in voting for a president). YouTube is an incredible resource, perhaps the best, for those people, like myself, who would prefer an A-V bite over reading an article any day of the week.
These sites are great idea to utilize in a social studies classroom, because it would engage students through its connection with their iworld. The teenagers love MySpace and FaceBook, as I stated earlier, and everyone uses YouTube, so bringing these sites into the classroom to use for education purposes will be embraced without reservation. Giving a similar assignment to the one we were given in this course would be ideal for social studies class.
EASE History - Campaign Ads Have Multiple Goals
What an amazing critical thinking activity for the history classroom! I thoroughly enjoyed my "Campaign Ad investigation" at the EASE History website (http://easehistory.org/c7guide.html). This activity is designed for students in small groups to analyze 2 campaign ads from a given election year. A worksheet is provided for the students to record the strengths/weaknesses, as well as other details, they observed.
I tried it out myself, randomly clicking to explore the ads of the 1956 election between Eisenhower and Stevenson . . . it's amazing how different the times are. Though the ads took entirely different approaches, it seems that campaign ads always want to strike a cord of fear, in one way or another, in the audience. In these examples, Stevenson focused on the "cost of living" which was the highest in U.S. history under Ike; Eisenhower, on the other hand focused on the time of peace that had been enjoyed while he was in office, and the potential work that may errupt if Stevenson is elected. Though we all know the outcome, it seems Ike simply took a better approach in his campaign . . . WAR -- the ultimate fear! Of course there was no reason Stevenson was any more likely to go to war than Eisenhower (especially considering that Ike was a general); however, his campaign directors were well aware, I'm sure, that the U.S. citizens did not demand to be swayed via reason. When most people hear "war" they run, no questions asked. The "cost of living" approach is effective, and is still used today, but the chance of war will always beat the former head-to-head. Another weakness to the "cost of living" approach is the consistent and steady inflation that has been going on seemingly forever; though, this too can only be challenged by a rational thinker (which most of us are, until it comes to election time).
Overall, it was a great activity. There's so much to learn from the setting and language as well. For instance, the role of women in '56 was clearly illustrated in Stevenson's "Libertyville" ad.
I tried it out myself, randomly clicking to explore the ads of the 1956 election between Eisenhower and Stevenson . . . it's amazing how different the times are. Though the ads took entirely different approaches, it seems that campaign ads always want to strike a cord of fear, in one way or another, in the audience. In these examples, Stevenson focused on the "cost of living" which was the highest in U.S. history under Ike; Eisenhower, on the other hand focused on the time of peace that had been enjoyed while he was in office, and the potential work that may errupt if Stevenson is elected. Though we all know the outcome, it seems Ike simply took a better approach in his campaign . . . WAR -- the ultimate fear! Of course there was no reason Stevenson was any more likely to go to war than Eisenhower (especially considering that Ike was a general); however, his campaign directors were well aware, I'm sure, that the U.S. citizens did not demand to be swayed via reason. When most people hear "war" they run, no questions asked. The "cost of living" approach is effective, and is still used today, but the chance of war will always beat the former head-to-head. Another weakness to the "cost of living" approach is the consistent and steady inflation that has been going on seemingly forever; though, this too can only be challenged by a rational thinker (which most of us are, until it comes to election time).
Overall, it was a great activity. There's so much to learn from the setting and language as well. For instance, the role of women in '56 was clearly illustrated in Stevenson's "Libertyville" ad.
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