Disclosure of information Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Disclosure of information - Movie Review Example Instead of rebuking, Will assured her and said, â€Å"I know†. Grace was honest enough to disclose that it â€Å"wasn’t right† that â€Å"he was a smart, attractive guy who love me, who I love by the way. Why wasn’t it right?† Will did not demonstrate the slightest hint of anger but instead consoled Grace with the story of a play back in college. That the protagonists seemed â€Å"so perfect with each other but kept on missing each other because they are not destined to be.† Further assuring Grace, â€Å"Gracie, you are just in the middle of your movie and the point is, it’s not yet over. The movie will have a happy ending. You’ll just have to see it through.† And the trust was demonstrated when the two of them, with friends, had a drink later despite of what happened with Grace still in her wedding dress. When prodded, the two of them even kissed and kidded there was â€Å"nothing†. The episode tells us the lesson that though things did not materialize as intended, commitment does not have to end. As Will puts it, â€Å"Gracie, you are just in the middle of your movie and the point is, it’s not yet over. The movie will have a happy ending.† It could have been understandable had Will been upset and frustrated.

Personal Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Plan - Essay Example Such a culture would provide room for innovation and creativity. The work schedule in such a culture would be convenient and suitable for individual employees. An ideal workplace culture would be the one in which goals, jobs, and expectations are clear. The management would be considerate and there would not be clashing demands. The culture would provide a supportive environment and encourage personal development and feedback. It would be a stable environment and one that provides for recognition of effort and celebration of success. Employees would enjoy working in such a workplace (Lawler & Thye, 2006). I think there is a relationship between effective study habits and techniques and being successful in such work cultures. Motivating oneself to study by setting goals would inculcate personal discipline that is crucial for success in the workplace. Timetabling or charting one’s time usage teaches how to manage, effectively, time even when in the workplace. Effective listening skills are useful to students and they go a long way to determining how the individual will get along with seniors and colleagues in the workplace. Participating in-group discussions equips individuals with skills necessary for teamwork that is an important factor influencing success at the workplace. Taking breaks is an effective study technique, is also needed for success in the workplace because it allows individuals to reenergize and refresh, and prevents burn out (Lawler & Thye, 2006). My blind spots help me identify how it would feel working in a particular workplace. Some workplaces elicit strong negative reactions while others elicit strong positive reactions. I consider working in the latter and avoid the former. One of my strengths is optimism and I consider working in a place that will help me live positively. Self-motivation is my strength and I look forward to working in a

Renaissance (1300-1650), the Industrial Revolution Essay Example for Free

Renaissance (1300-1650), the Industrial Revolution Essay Throughout history, slavery has played a very prominent role in shaping the worlds societies and economies. Across three time periods in particular, slavery throughout the world has notable similarities and differences in areas such as the status of slavery, the way slavery influenced society, and the motivation for a civilization to practice slavery. These time periods are the Renaissance (1300-1650), the Industrial Revolution (1700-1900), and World Wars I and II (1914-1945). Renaissance The time period known today as the Renaissance was, as its name means, a â€Å"rebirth† of Greco-Roman values. It was a reaction against the Dark Ages and stood in stark contrast to the medieval time period before it. The practice of slavery was no exception. Whereas slavery had fizzled out during the Dark Ages, it was instituted again during the Renaissance. Slavery in the Renaissance began in Spain, and for a while the Spanish played the primary part in the slave market. Soon, though, slavery spread to the other parts of Europe. This was especially true with the case of the Italian city-states in which the Renaissance boomed. As the Renaissance grew in Italy and as the city-states expanded, slavery became more and more widespread until Italy became a main user of slaves (Hooker). In contrast to slavery in the later periods of the Industrial Revolution and the two World Wars which is explained later in this essay, slavery in the Renaissance was not solely based on race, but mostly religion (at least in Europe; another type of slavery was practiced in America during the Renaissance, as explained later). Europe and Africa at that time was divided between Christians and Muslims, and so slavery in nations dominated by either religion was based on captured people from the other religion. In other words, in the Renaissance, Christians mostly enslaved Muslims and Muslims mostly enslaved Christians. In the case of the Italian Renaissance, Muslims slaves came from â€Å"Spain, North Africa, Crete, the Balkans, and the Ottoman Empire† (Hooker). The vast majority of slaves at the beginning of the Renaissance were white (Hooker). But as the Renaissance progressed, black slaves began to be used more and more widely. In the beginning of the Renaissance, these African slaves were acquired through Arabs in North Africa, who also held them as slaves. When the Portuguese started exploring the African coast, they participated in a black slave market, shipping slaves to the Americas and back to Europe (Guild). El Mina was the first slave trading post set up by the Portuguese on the West Coast (â€Å"Gold Coast†) of Africa (Guild). Thanks to enslaved Africans, the Portuguese were especially successful in their plantations in the islands off the west coast of Africa known as the Cape Verde, where they transported many of the Africans they enslaved to work in plantations there (Gascoigne). While most slaves in the Industrial Revolution did hard labor in fields, most slaves in the Renaissance were domestic slaves. This means that they did work in the home, doing duties for their masters around the house. Rich people in the cities almost always had one or more slaves. Instead of the brutal, inhumane treatment of slaves common in the Industrial Revolution, slave-owners during the Renaissance commonly integrated their slaves into the family. In both the Industrial Revolution and the Renaissance, masters claimed all rights for their slaves; they did with them what they willed. Therefore, there arises the similarity between all three time periods in that commonly the slaves were used as sex slaves, although sex slaves in the World Wars were used mostly just for sex, not for hard labor. When masters in the Renaissance had an illegitimate child with a slave, the child was not a slave but was free (Hooker). However, when a child was born to a slave and its master in the Industrial Revolution, the child became a slave like its mother (â€Å"Master-Slave†¦). While most slaves were domestic in the Renaissance, another form of slavery was surfacing, slaves used for cheap labor in plantations. In the Renaissance, slaves were starting to be used in plantations, mostly in America, but also in plantations in Italy and off the coast of Africa (Gascoigne). So, in both the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, at least some slaves were used for hard labor. The Portuguese were the first to put slaves to work in plantations, and slaves soon came to be used on plantations in the Americas by nations such as Spain, Holland, France, England, and the Netherlands. The first slaves they enslaved in these colonies were the native peoples, but soon, the native population began to dwindle. Since Portugal had been exploring the coast of Africa and since Africa had a booming population of people, Africans became the people they predominantly enslaved (Guild). Thus, racial slavery was started. Blacks came to be viewed as lower than human, and this view spread to all the nations which came to have plantations in America. Millions of blacks were imported to plantations for sugar, spices, tobacco, coffee, etc. during the span of the Renaissance (Hornsby). Industrial Revolution Slavery went through many changes during the course of the Industrial Revolution. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, slavery on plantations that had developed in the Renaissance continued to grow in the Americas. With the success of the plantations in America, what is known as the triangular trade began to form, and this trade majorly affected the world’s economies and prosperity. This system of trade is known as the triangular trade because the directions of travel for the trade were in the shape of a triangle—from Europe to Africa to the Americas and back to Europe. Items such as weapons, liquor, jewelry, and products made from cotton were taken to Africa from Europe and traded for slaves. These were loaded on ships and taken to the Americas. Conditions in the ships were horrible. Thousands of slaves were chained in very tight spaces in the ships. Disease permeated the hold where slaves were kept. Slaves laid in their own excrement and urine, and were fed barely anything. Many slaves died or committed suicide—an average of 16% of slaves. When the horrible trip was over, the remaining slaves were auctioned and sold in slave markets to plantation owners in the Americas. The products made in the plantations, such as tobacco, coffee, sugar, spices, and molasses which could be made into rum were then shipped to Europe, completing the trade system. The British were the primary traders in this system, but other nations participated (Gascoigne). Slavery greatly affected the Industrial Revolution. It made it possible to create and grow products in a shorter period of time and for less money. All the master had to do was to provide food, which he have very little of, so slaves provided very cheap labor. In the case of America, slaves operated the new inventions such as the cotton gin to make cotton products easier. This greatly affected the economy of America. The prosperity in the South boomed as agriculture continued to see success. This cotton industry and therefore the textile industrial majorly drove the Industrial Revolution in America. It became the primary export and cash crop. Hundreds of thousands of slaves were imported until 1808, when the American slave trade was banned. Still, hundreds of thousands of slaves were moved across America to the South and West to work on cotton plantations. These plantations and slavery in general brought in a huge profit for the American people. A similarity between slavery in the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution can be seen here—both used slavery as a catalyst for economies (â€Å"Africans.. †). But a difference is that most slaves in the Renaissance were domestic slaves in homes and were considered part of the family (Hooker). However, most slaves in the Industrial Revolution were plantation slaves and were considered less than human and were subjected to incredibly harsh treatment by their masters. However, near the Industrial Revolution, there was more of an awareness of the brutalities of slavery and more of a movement to stop it than the Renaissance. The final time period that will be discussed in this essay is the World Wars from 1914 to 1945. World Wars Forms of slavery used during World Wars I and II from 1914 to 1945 were very different from slavery before it and slavery after it. The wars during this period of history had a huge impact on all aspects of society, and so the status of slavery and the motivation for slavery was largely based on the huge wars taking place. During World War I and the time after it before World War II, outright slave traffic continued to be curbed in the areas of the world still practicing slavery. The slave trade still continued underground between countries in eastern Africa, especially Ethiopia, and the Middle East, especially Arabia. Throughout this period before World War II, there were outrages about revealed underground slave trades with enslaved Africans in Liberia and the Congo, and enslaved Native Americans in northern Peru (â€Å"Slavery†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953. During his regime, millions of people were forced to work in labor camps. This was in accordance with the USSR’s Labor Code, which stated that all citizens must labor for the government. Prisoners, enemies of the state, and other convicts were sent to do hard manual labor in Siberia during this time. Citizens were accused of being enemies of the government and sent to work without a trial and without much grounds at all. Like in the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution, Stalin used his massive free labor force to build up the Soviet Union’s economy and to industrialize the nation. Labor projects included building roads and railroads, building houses and power plants, mining, cutting trees, working in fields, etc. The workers were given nothing but food. One third of all the workers died from the poor environment in which they worked and from starvation and the cold. They were brutally treated on unjust bases. Therefore, this â€Å"corrective labor,† as it was called, is really slavery at its core. World War II was the instigation of several other types of slavery, also, such as POW slavery, Holocaust slavery, and sexual slavery. Nazi Germany captured enemy civilians and soldiers and brutally enslaved them to fill the gaps in the workforce. Much of the weaponry made by the Germans during World War II was made by slaves. One manufacturing company alone – Krupp—held 100,000 slaves by the end of the war. Many of these slaves died from exhaustion, starvation, and lack of basic necessities. They were kept in stables like livestock. Those that didn’t die were forced to work in German factories and farms. In 1944, Germany held 9. 5 million slaves—7 million civilians and 2. 5 million captured soldiers. Russian women that the Germans captured were held as domestic slaves, and Russian adolescents that the Germans captured were apprenticed to German businessmen. Not only were the Germans notorious for their brutal system of slavery for prisoners of war, but even worse, they enslaved innocent Jews and other â€Å"undesirable† people during the Holocaust. As a method of exterminating them, these people were sent to labor camps where they were treated even worse than the prisoners of war. Children from 6-years-old up were forced to work in these camps. Slaves mined, built weapons, sewed, etc. Slaves there were driven to work too hard in tight spaces with the poorest of living conditions. They had poor and meager food rations and a shortage of shelter and clothing. Loads of people died from diseases such as tuberculosis, from being overworked, from the cold, and from starvation. Their corpses were systematically burned in huge crematoriums (Sylvester – everything above). The fact that there were scandals about slavery and labor camps during the time period of the World Wars indicates a similarity and difference between this time period and the Renaissance/ Industrial Revolution. A similarity is that all three time periods had some forms of slavery to enhance nations’ economies and extract resources. But a difference is that slavery in the World Wars was looked down upon and was underground, whereas it was not in the Renaissance. But there lies a similarity between the World Wars and the Industrial Revolution, in that in both, measures were enacted to end slavery and the slave trade. However, World War II had labor camps for prisoners of war and specific races, which had never been done before. It also had sexual slavery, which though it had been practiced before, never to the extent it was carried out in World War II. Some captured slaves in the World Wars were used as domestic slaves, as they were in the Renaissance. But in the World Wars, there was not the worldwide slave trade there was in the Renaissance and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Part 222 Introduction The 18th century English poet William Cowper’s poem, â€Å"Pity for Poor Africans,† accurately portrays the world’s mindset throughout history about slavery. A line from that poem reads, â€Å"I pity them [slaves] greatly, but I must be mum, for how could we do without sugar and rum? † This sums up much of the world’s motivation for millennia for slavery. Throughout history, slavery has been a way to easily derive resources and produce goods. It has played a very prominent role in shaping the worlds societies and economies. Though it may have struck a chord with peoples’ consciences, the world did not know how else to get luxuries and how to live without them, and so the world allowed this horrific practice to go on. This essay details more of how slavery was used as an economic stimulus, how the world finally took action against it, and what forms of it still were used after this action took place. Across three time periods in particular, slavery throughout the world has notable similarities and differences in areas such as the status of slavery, the way slavery influenced society, and the motivation for a civilization to practice slavery. These time periods are the Renaissance (1300-1650), the Industrial Revolution (1700-1900), and World Wars I and II (1914-1945). Conclusion As one can clearly see, slavery has been a major factor in affecting and molding the world’s economies and societies throughout all of history. It has gone through major changes, affecting the world as a whole, especially in three time periods, namely, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and World Wars I and II. Throughout all three and under many names, it was used as cheap labor to easily produce goods and advance civilizations’ economies. This slavery did, and it played a massive role in getting the world to where it is today. Without slavery, America might not have been industrialized or industrialized as quickly. Without slavery, we would not have the manufactured goods we have today. However, I am by no means condoning slavery; if slavery had not been practiced, millions of innocent, beautiful people would have lived their lives in freedom and would not have been torn away from their homeland, families, and livelihood to go labor without profit for people who abused and beat them. The Civil War would have been largely prevented if it weren’t for slavery. Though slavery was mostly domestic in the Renaissance, this does not make it any better. Also, the plantation slave emerged in that time period, and the triangular trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas continued well into the Industrial Revolution. Men achieved luxury through the pain and misery of others. Thankfully, mankind realized, though later than it should have been, how deplorable this system was. Finally, they put an end to it through abolitionist movements that spread throughout the world at the end of the Industrial Revolution. Yet, slavery continued in several other forms into the 20th century. Throughout the time period of the World Wars, labor camps emerged. Though these were seen as punishment for criminals and war prisoners, they were slavery at root, used to industrialize and make transportation routes, weaponry, etc. These labor camps were even used against innocent Jews and other â€Å"undesirables† during the Holocaust. Unbeknownst to the world for a time, even outright and brutal slavery was still used as exemplified by King Leopold of Belgium. Sexual slavery is another often overlooked form of slavery that had been carried out through past time periods like the Renaissance and Industrial Revolution but that was executed en masse by the Japanese during World War II. Still today, the pernicious act of slavery continues to be practiced, though concealed to the world, in underdeveloped countries of the world. Let us hope that mankind’s conscience continues to overshadow its greed and that slavery continues to be fought until it is completely wiped out the whole world over.

How Technology Has Affected Teaching

How Technology Has Affected Teaching The unknown is full of fear. Technology can be a scary thing. Teaching can be a mind-blowing thing. If one is, the combination of all three is something that is only seen in schools today. Teaching with technology is a paralyzing fear that all teachers face on some level. With only a few hours available outside of the classroom, training is not available to all teachers. Such fear of the unknown and unavailable training, cause many teachers to reject technology on a wide scale. There has been technology the dawn of time. Technology 200 years ago meant nothing to do with electricity. It could be simply as a lever and pulley system for automatic door opening at Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. Technology has always scared people as it is something new and unfamiliar to them. What people see as fancy technology today will only be a thing that the next generation is used to and feels is old. When the printing press was first invented by Johann Guttenberg the aristocracy was afraid of what the new machine would mean for the disseminating of information amongst the people. In the end they learned how to use it and took advantage of its abilities themselves. Adaptations have been made and new technology has been invented since, but the principle is still the same. Copy machines, fax machines, and scanners all use the same idea behind the machine. If you ask a student today to use a typewriter to write their paper and then type another copy for themselves they would look at you like your crazy. They would either write it on a computer and just print another copy or run to a copy machine. When it comes to finding the information that they use in their papers, students in the past decade have turned to the internet in increasing numbers. Students in college feel that libraries are a place to access the internet and a quiet place to study, not to look up information in the books that are on the shelves. The Dewey Decimal system in cataloging books has gone to the way side in favor of online version of texts that students can access. In its early stages, the internet was more or less just a collect of text based documents without the capability to display images or video files. Just as with any technology, the internet continues to evolve. With websites such as YouTube ©, Facebook ©, and Twitter © teachers have a wide variety of places to look up information and supplements to their lessons. However some sites have been criticized for the information they contain. Wikipedia is one site that when it first started was a place to allow people to post information about any topic that people could then look up all in one place. But along with new topics, people were changing the information that was already on the site with incorrect information. It was not until the death of actor Heath Ledger that the creators of the often cited source began to change how information was updated. While the site still allows most information to update without review, information about persons of high interest and information ab out government policies and laws must be approved before they are posted online. The majority of teachers do not think about technology they use on a daily basis. From their cars to get to school or their smart phones to access their email from parents, teachers use technology and the internet to make themselves a better educator. Problem Statement There is not much research available to how the internet has affected researching in teaching. While there is a plethora of information on teacher perspectives of technology and an abundance of articles dealing with the internet in schools, not much information is available to how teachers have changed their teaching style in dealing with any kind of research their students conduct. There is a varying degree to which teachers approach the internet now. From subject to subject, students are faced with different styles. If there was guide for all classes, students would be able to go to each class and know how to conduct research in a proper manner that all their teachers would accept. Research Statement In this phenomenological study, I will interview for Northern Virginia high school teachers on how the research process changes for them with the growth and availability of the internet. Significance of the Study With more and more school systems pushing for teachers to use technology, some teachers are weary in how it affects their students. The No Child Left Behind Law has forced teachers to address how they introduce material to their students. While the internet has been used by students to conduct research, it now the teachers that have become the students in an attempt to understand what their students are looking up and how they can use it in their classroom. But how has the internet changed how teachers address research? This study is seeking to determine to what extent a variety of teachers have done in an attempt to address their student quest for an education. Chapter 2 Review of Literature The unknown is full of fear. Technology can be a scary thing. Teaching can be a mind-blowing thing. If one is, the combination of all three is something that is only seen in schools today. Teaching with technology is a paralyzing fear that all teachers face on some level. With only a few hours available outside of the classroom, training is not available to all teachers. Such fear of the unknown and unavailable training, cause many teachers to reject technology on a wide scale. Technology in the Classroom Honey, Culp, and Craig (1999) gave a perspective in a paper they presented at a national conference, on where technology and educational research are heading. Based on their research, they found three main factors that made them think differently. The first dealt with the nature of technological elements. The second was the kinds of things that were being asked in research. The third one they mentioned was how the research itself was being done. The main focus of their research was Union City, New Jersey. In 1989, the school was failing almost all of the standards that the state uses to judge schools on their performance. In fact they only passed eight of the 52 that are stated. To face these, they went through a massive overhaul including extending class periods and increasing the in-services required for its teachers. Amongst these improvements, computers were added to each classroom to assist in learning. All of these as well as those in the local city office building, libraries, and others were joined by computer. After a few years of studying this school system, they determined that the technology that was brought in had the largest impact on the students. It bolstered several successes including those with creativity and the whole language approach. While new teachers are familiar with this information, Ertmer, Addison, Lane, Ross, and Woods (1999) examine what teachers believe the role of technology should be in the classroom. This study focused more on the elementary school level. Even with increased technology including smart boards and one if not more computers available in each room it is still hard for teachers to feel comfortable working with the new fancy equipment. While some felt that they did not want to teach with technology, some just felt that things were fine and nothing new had to be done. They found that the teachers they interviewed, observed, and surveyed mentioned on some level that technology supported what they were doing in the classroom. Some made references to the use of technology in regards to how it enhances their current curriculum, but any use beyond that is not being used. There were minimal references to any emerging technologies. One teacher described that she found that students were more likely to work in pairs and groups on assignments. When the eight teachers were asked what were their reasons were for using technology, student benefits were near or at the top of all the lists. While there were a number of other benefits, some of the teachers mentioned that several metaphorical barriers were present. They found that time was a big factor in how much technology they use. While once programs and other equipment is running, it makes several things run faster and smoother, the time it takes to make sure it runs properly can out-weigh the benefits. While the teachers faced the barriers, they found several ways to work around them through local college and community support. One of these ways is in parental support for teaching children about technology earlier. Bergen (1999) interviewed an 8th grader on how she views technology in the classroom. Kristen, the student, was raised on computer that were manly used for games that were made to be educational only. While she was in elementary school, a new computer lab was built and allowed her access to more programs. However, it was not until middle school that she was able to use computers more to help with reports and find icons to place in reports. They also found that many teachers were starting to increase use of technology as more and more attention was brought on individualism and the diverse programs available encouraging students to work harder. It is up to the individual teacher to foster creativity and help their pupils become better students. In a U.S. Department of Education study (2005), teachers were asked on their perspectives on technology available to them. Technology that could reach beyond the classroom ranked at the top of a list of technologies teachers felt were the most useful for them. Computers that had internet access were 68% the most essential amongst all teachers. Based on their 2000-01 survey, only 57% felt that the technology that they had was sufficient. That is just within the school. Only four percent said the same thing when it came to technology in the individual classroom. While this number has increased over the past five years, it is still lower than what most principals and school district wish they could do. A new wave of technological scare is the cell phone as Burns and Lohenry (2010) discuss in regards to their use in the classroom. With several schools now having policy against cell phones, more and more students are actually having them and secretly using them in the classroom. While it is essential to keep and maintain order in the classroom, student that were surveyed said that they would be more into the lesson if they were going to be able to use their cell phone. A number of professors at the college level have started to allow students to use their cell phones for texting while in class as long as have them on silent or vibrate. Phone calls and texting during a test is still off limits. Mason, Berson, Diem, Hicks, Lee, and Dralle (2000) take on the role of discussing how technology can be used to help prepare social studies teachers. They discuss how teachers are trained in college how to use technology to further their learning, they are often more knowledgeable or willing to learn newer techniques. In a recent National Center for Education Statistics study, 95% of schools and 63% of classrooms are connected to the internet. These schools have made use of the digital archives that many schools are creating to help with social studies research amongst students. One of the issues Mason et al (2000) bring up is the accessibility of inappropriate information. This is taken care of by a number of technological programs that prevent certain sites from being accessed. Some of these include peer to peer sites that allow the trading of music illegally. This is to help students stay on task while also keeping the school safe from legal action. Several programs are discussed that are accessible through online sources that students and teachers use alike to help within the classroom. While technology is important to use, its just as important as training to use it properly. Social Studies of course is not the only subject that is taught. Mathematics is one of almost all schools core subjects as it is used in most other classes. The Wang et al. (2008) article discusses about how effective technology can be in early learning environments. Their study was one of the first on early learning. Many studies deal with middle school and higher levels, while this study dealt with pre-school. While the lessons and the printed materials are still for a younger age, kids were seen using digital cameras, digital microscopes, and digital video recorders. They focus on the supports and what technology can mean to kids. In the age when electronic toys are the strong majority of the market, kids are introduced to electronics at a very young age. They recommend kids be introduced to the proper use of technology at a young age and that all children get an equal and fair access. Li and Ma (2010) take a different approach from the mathematics class point-of-view. They argue that since computer technology had become more popular that is undeniable that its role as an important tool for learning. They discuss some of the encouraging figures including their study in how mathematic scores have increased when teachers use technology. They actually argue that more research is needed to be done from a mathematics point of view. Uses of Internet in the Classroom While the internet is a form of technology, it takes it to a whole new level. The information available to students and teachers is astronomical and some of that unknown is scary to them. Scheuerell (2010) discusses some of the fears of allowing students to use the internet. Some fear that it will make more students work alone. Video games and other electronic devices have forced more students to seclusion. While this is true, they provide evidence that while the student might be at the computer for game console alone, they are often using the internet to play with others via voice-enabled communications. The internet is also used for video chatting which can enable students in different locations to collaborate on assignments. Scheuerell explains that students do better on assignments, even online ones, when they are tasked with interpreting what they have learned, more than just looking up information. They feel that they are part of the work and that it is just not some kind of busy work. Cooperative learning can be done even on a local network and not the full internet. Many colleges and universities have local networks that allow students to use multiple computer s to work on a project and then send to each other. The students that were observed and discussed in the article were tasked with creating a webpage about local history in Missouri. Fear can also be used to welcome in the internet. Bonk (2010) explains that it might take a catastrophe to have how people look at schools in regards to the internet. He goes on to say that Katrina enabled many high school and college students to take classes online from other states and other universities. Indiana University High School is an example of how the internet can be used as a virtual high school. Students who attend this 21st century high school range from rural students to pregnant teenagers. The coursework that is done is the same that would be done at a local school, but for those that are unable to attend on a daily basis for a number of reasons this increases the chance that the student does not get frustrated. Bonk developed 10 methods that are available today. These include e-learning and blended learning to real-time mobility and portability. Digital books, as is discussed, are another step in using new technology in the classroom. With the iPad and Kindle, studen ts are able to access their books all at once, instead of carrying them around in a backpack or in their locker. These devices, especially the iPad, have several other uses including display programs and teaching programs that interact with the students and are more than just words in a textbook. With these, teachers can have an assignment tailored to each individual students needs without having to write or print out several directions or discuss individual directions out loud in front of the entire class. How can all these fears be relieved? Frye, Trathen, and Koppenhaver (2010) discuss the different needs that are met by using internet workshops and blog entries. Internet workshops are when teachers create a research based activity that students use to make a report on a subject. One of the top sites they mention teachers send students to is Delicious.com. Teachers are able to help guide students by creating social bookmarks that other students can use to help them, which cultivates the cooperative learning skill. They go into detail on how the internet workshops are built and designed by teachers to use it for more than just the one class, but available for multiple classes the student might have. The other topic they touch on is how the internet is used to keep up-to-date information available. Web-logs or blogs for short, are used along with internet workshops. Teachers can use blogs as journal entries for academic reasons and keep an accurate, detailed record of what the student( s) have been doing. It is not just teachers that need to know how to safely navigate these new technologies. Hardacre (2010) surveyed a number of students on various ways of communicating on the internet. In the early part of the 2000s a strong majority of student said they used MySpace compared to Facebook. Now the numbers have reversed. More and more teachers have begun using Facebook and other internet services to connect with their students. Libraries are increasing the number of computers and other technologies students can use to access the internet. Laptops are the top choice both amongst students and libraries to buy if they had money. But even if you relieve the fear of the use, the ability to use it could be difficult to come by. In the Technology Counts (2010) article, the topics of the problems in using and creating wireless networks are discussed. Connection issues have plagued wireless networks. From people not seeing a signal to slow speeds, wireless has its issues. The article states that if it is difficult for students to connect to a wireless network, they become frustrated; some even more so than what they would have been with paper texts. Networks are also expensive to create. With the number of people who would be accessing them, a good, professional level network is needed to accommodate the bandwidth. These can cost up to $125,000. That is just for the initial costs. A server administrator is needed to maintain and fix issues that arise. While a current staff member can serve this post, it is a full-time job that requires constant maintenance. They also discuss the benefits such as using smart phones to help alleviate some of the issues that the networks have. When the internet is used to such a large extent, that students need the internet to do their research and just function in school. Shiveley and VanFossen (2009) provide an explanation to how much the internet is actually used in the classroom. This literature review provides many sources as references, but states that there just is not much research out there for actual use in the classroom. Most of the material states what it should do and how it should help, but it does not provide detailed information on what teachers are specifically doing in class using the internet. They go on to discuss how in the social studies classroom, the attitude toward the internet is as a source of information only. Many teachers even limit the amount that a student can use as many false sources are on the World Wide Web. The full potential of the internet is not often realized by teachers who are afraid of false information. With many different programs and classroom materials available including WebQuests1 social studies teachers need to learn how much their curriculum can benefit from the internet. Mossbarger (2008) discusses the why the internet has actually become an addiction to some and should be included in textbooks. In his meta-analysis, Mossbarger mentions that more and more children are relying on the internet for social interaction and fail to see or understand the consequences. His data concludes that there are a few textbooks that deal with students and this addiction. The more attention, Mossbarger argues, that is brought to this, the more resources that will become available to treat it. Ratzan (1994) discusses how the problems faced in the earlier stages of the internet are still relevant today. One advantage of working with the internet environment is that things change quickly. One disadvantage of working win the internet environment is that things change quickly (p. 62). He discusses some of the different sources that are available including email and several types of books. These would all be available for students to do research on as a number of free sites are mentioned. There are a number of these that are geared primary toward a particular subject. Gayton (2008) explains the uses of teaching business in regards to the internet. All three of the teachers observed and interviewed, in a interpretive anaylsis found several flaws within uses of the internet. Most demonstrated and stated that the time it takes to create a lesson using the internet is too time consuming for their intended purposes. While being observed, each teacher was engaged in several poor teaching habits in regard to undirected usage. Gayton recommends that teachers, not just business ones get adequate training in use of technology and internet abilities and integrate them into their curriculum as its proven to have a positive impact on their students achievement. Most of the research available today comes from the public school sector. But with an increasing number of students attending private schools, thanks in part to school vouchers and school accountability, the internet has become a hub of information that these parochial schools have begun to incorporate. Gibbs, Dosen, Guerrero (2008) provide examples on how technology is used at the private school level, outside the money and restrictions of the public school systems. Their surveys concluded that while a few teachers use technology in different ways, for the most part Catholic school teachers used it very little. There is no church doctrine restricting what technology can be used, just on what information can/should be accessed. An overwhelming number of teachers, who used technology, use it to contact parents, presentations, and develop electronic portfolios of students work. They concluded that teachers used it as a preparatory instrument, but not as a teaching tool (p. 189). But after all is said and done, what is the current hot topic? Online universities have sprung up but as Doyle (2009) explains online high schools and colleges that were supposed to be used almost exclusively never took off like the industry hoped for. Despite universities like University of Phoenix, founded in 1976, which took online classes to a new level, it has not been until recent years that a larger push for people to take classes while not on a college campus. Singh, Mangalaraj, and Taneja (2010) discuss not just online universities but online classes in general. Research shows that online classes can be as effective as traditional classroom-based courses when appropriate technologies are used and sufficient interactivity is present (p. 299). They talk about the benefits of different programs that are available to students and teachers in these online courses. Remarks about each, whether they are good or bad are included in each of their research tables. This perspective allows teachers to see what programs are being used, where to find them, and how they can be applied to their classrooms. Conclusion Many teachers fear of technology and the internet stems from either a lack of training or fear of the unknown. The articles discussed are a combination of the positives and negatives. Some mention the benefits that teachers have learned from and used in their individual classrooms while others talk about the struggles and lack of training teachers have received to learn the potential of the internet. And while teachers might have a mind set against the internet, some students use their cell phones to access not only the world wide web but to text others. Some even use the technology to an unsafe level of addiction to such materials. Technology is ever changing and if we expect our students to change, then teachers to learn and understand it. The degree to which teachers use the technology is something only they can decide. Technology is all around us. Subjectivity I have always been surrounded by technology. My father is a computer system engineer since before I was born. We always had a computer. It might not have been the newest but we could always learn how to work with technology. Once I started doing research in school, I went to our computer at home. But when I was in school, I still had to use physical books. Most teachers I had did not have email or use the internet at all. So most of my research started on our computer but ended in books. Now that I am in college I have seen how teachers change how they allow students to do their research. Writing a literature review today is made a lot easier as articles are being published online or copies of them made available. Using laptops, desktops, and my iPod to access my emails and library resources have allowed for the literature review to be compiled. Chapter 3 Introduction The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent the internet has changed teachers perspectives on students conduct research in their classrooms. This chapter lists the procedures for the study while talking about the sampling strategies used to solicit volunteers. It also includes the design, measurement and instrumentation, data collection, limitations, and data analysis. Research Questions These questions were ever changing. In the preliminary stages, articles were abundant and research questions were being revised on a daily basis. After completing the literature review, the following questions were finalized through careful scrutiny. How has research changed with the internet? What are the struggles that students face while doing research? And to what extent is the internet used in all aspects of the classroom? Procedures The focus of this phenomenological study is on teachers in the Northern Virginia area. Interviews will be conducted to analyze the significance the internet has had on how these teachers view it in regards to how their students conduct research. Sample The sample for this study will be four teachers in Northern Virginia. The teachers will come from various subject areas with a varied amount of teaching experience. Permission as been granted from Liberty High School, Bealeton, VA (Appendix B) and Kettle Run High School, Nokesville, VA (Appendix C). Teachers will not be solicited based upon gender. A mix of public and private schools will be used. Design The research design is a collection of answers based upon responses to interview questions. The questions will be grouped together and discussed in regards to the answer of all the subjects at the same time. Data Collection The data will be collected by individual interviews, recorded on a digital voice recorder, with each subject. See Appendix A for a listing of the interview questions. Interviews will be conducted both at the school of each subject, per approval from the principal (Appendix B C) as well as other locations as needed to facilitate the needs of each subject. Each participant will have signed a copy of the Informed Consent Form (Appendix D). Each interview will be transcribed into a document. Some data may also be collected by follow up interviews, email, and phone calls. The additional data will be transcribed as well. Copies of any additional information subjects are willing to provide will be attached as an appendix. Data Analysis The data will be analyzed for answers to specific questions and a summary of each answer will be included. Subjects will asked to correct any information collected upon being provided a copy of the transcript. After all the data is compiled, each subject will be provided with a copy of all interpretations and asked to give feedback. This is to be used a check for validity. Ethical Issues See Appendix E for Institutional Review Board forms. Monitoring Subjectivity To help keep track of any possible subjectivity in my research, I will be writing a journal entry, in a Word document for each day that I work on my research. I will include a copy of my journal entries as Appendix E after my research is complete. Validity Measuring validity can be a tricky subject. According to Maxwell (2005) the two main threats to validity are research bias and reactivity. Researcher bias can be addressed in several ways including keeping a journal of activities throughout the research process (appendix F). In reactivity, I will conduct my research in the most comfortable location for my subjects. Conducting the interviews away from a school setting is one method of reducing the influence the interviewer has. My main methods of checking validity will be to give each subject a copy of their interview transcript and to give each participant a copy of the final paper to check for inaccuracies of both. Implications/Significance/Contributions Implications in this research are that teachers have changed their ideas on research. If no changes exist with the changing technology, the implication that there is could be offensive to come teachers. Significance is that this research can prove technology and the internet has changed the way teachers allow students to conduct research. contribution is that a compilation of thoughts and changes that have been made, if any, could be invaluable to teachers and administrators as the this research will cover teachers of all years of teaching experience as well as across all subjects Limitations This study was a based in a single area of the United States and thus had a certain number of limitations. The findings of the study were limited to four teachers in Northern Virginia. The teachers were personally asked to participate in the study. Another limitation would be the number of years the teacher has been teaching. While it is part of the design it is a limitation based on the interaction of materials used in the classroom in recent decades. While public and private school teachers participated, home school teachers were not interviewed. This prevents from getting a possible perspective on a section of teachers that rely on technology and the internet in their classrooms heavily.

What is an Education :: Teching Learning Schooling Papers

What is an Education There appears to be some writing on the note ... What is an Education How was school today, what did you learn in school today, or what did you do in school today? Those seem to be questions every parent asks their child upon their return from a day at school. Most kids answer fine, ok, or nothing. Occasionally the child will be excited about something and actually tell their parent a story. Sometimes it will involve an incident at lunch where a friend threw their bologna sandwich across the table and it hit someone else. Then there are those days where the kid tells how in class they poured vinegar onto some kind of powder and it fizzed like a volcano would. Parents should take note of something like this. This could be a sign at a young age that a child has an interest in chemistry or possibly geology. This could be useful later on down the road when the child is trying to decide which classes to take in high school. With an early expressed interest in a subject area the child may perform better in that area and that would help m ake him/her desirable to colleges. That may all be part of a bigger problem though, getting to college. There is a lot of emphasis put on college. Students are taught that they will go no where without a college education. The focus in high school isnt completing high school, its getting ready for college. When my parents were growing up, one could make it in the world without a college education. Many were expected to head off to work once they received their high school diploma. Some went on to college to get a college degree. College degrees werent necessary, but they were highly looked upon. Nowadays a Bachelor of Arts degree or Bachelor of Science degree in some subject seems to be the requirement and it is the Masters degree that is highly looked upon. With more and more people returning to educational institutions to earn their Masters degree, many students are finding that graduate school is becoming necessary to be able to compete in the job market. The Masters degree is soon on its way to becoming the requirement and the PHD will soon be what is highly looked upon. Every one is so focused on getting a good education, but no one can agree what an education is.

Biography of Michelangelo Essay example -- Michelangelo Artists Painte

Biography of Michelangelo The second of five brothers, Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475, at Caprese, in Tuscany, to Ludovico di Leonardo di Buonarotto Simoni and Francesca Neri. The same day, his father noted down: "Today March 6, 1475, a child of the male sex has been born to me and I have named him Michelangelo. He was born on Monday between 4 and 5 in the morning, at Caprese, where I am the Podestà  ." Although born in the small village of Caprese, Michelangelo always considered himself a "son of Florence," as did his father, "a Citizen of Florence." His Childhood and Youth Buonarroti's mother, Francesca Neri, was too sick and frail to nurse Michelangelo, so he was placed with a wet nurse, in a family of stone cutters, where he, "sucked in the craft of hammer and chisel with my foster mother's milk. When I told my father that I wish to be an artist, he flew into a rage, 'artists are laborers, no better than shoemakers." Buonarroti's mother died young, when the child was only six years old. But even before then, Michelangelo's childhood had been grim and lacking in affection, and he was always to retain a taciturn disposition. Touchy and quick to respond with fierce words, he tended to keep to himself, out of shyness according to some but also, according to others, a lack of trust in his fellows. His father soon recognized the boy's intelligence and "anxious for him to learn his letters, sent him to the school of a master, Francesco Galeota from Urbino, who in that time taught grammar." While he studied the principles of Latin, Michelangelo made friends with a student, Francesco Granacci six years older than him, who was learning the art of painting in Ghirlandaio's studio and who encouraged Michelangelo to follow his own artistic vocation. Early Life in Florence. Michelangelo's father, now a minor Florentine official with connections to the ruling Medici family, placed his 13-year-old son in the workshop of the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. After about one year, Michelangelo went on to study at the sculpture school in the Medici gardens and shortly thereafter was invited into the household of Lorenzo de' Medici *http://www.thais.it/scultura/sch00073.htm*, the Magnificent. There he had an opportunity to converse with the younger Medici, two of whom later became popes (Leo X and Clement VII). He also became acquainted with such humanis... ...e." Michelangelo's Achievements During his long lifetime, Michelangelo was an intimate of princes and popes, from Lorenzo de' Medici to Leo X, Clement VIII, and Pius III (1439-1503), as well as cardinals, painters, and poets. Neither easy to get along with nor easy to understand, he expressed his view of himself and the world even more directly in his poetry *http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/mazzoni/exhibit/treasures/B56.html* than in the other arts. Much of his verse deals with art and the hardships he underwent, or with Neoplatonic philosophy and personal relationships. The great Renaissance poet Ludovico Ariosto wrote succinctly of this famous artist: "Michelangelo was widely awarded the epithet 'divine' because of his extraordinary accomplishments". Two generations of Italian painters and sculptors were impressed by his treatment of the human figure: Raphael, Annabale Carracci, Pontormo, Rosso Fiorention, Sebastiano del Piombo, and Titian. His dome for St. Peter's became the symbol of authority, as well as the m odel, for domes all over the Western world; the majority of state capitol buildings in the U.S., as well as the Capitol in Washington, D.C., are derived from it.

In my everyday life how do I measure success and failure Essay

The aim of this paper is to discuss how to measure success and failure in everyday life. The evaluation of the social concept of success should start with acknowledging that social definition of success varies from culture to culture and even from one social group to another. In other words, every society has its own belief about what social success is. For example, if a person drives a 2007 Jaguar and lives in a nice house, he or she is regarded as successful by society norms. People are trying to move up the social ladder because the society is placing a lot of pressure on them to belong to the highest class possible. Government uses the relationship between social class (lower, middle, and upper) to suggest that society is equally just. Growing up in the city, I could witness stereotypical views of low income families. I could witness people being discriminated because they didn’t have nice suits or dresses, and their vocabulary was not equal to or better than the person they were talking to. Sometimes the idea of social success puts too much pressure on people so they sometimes forget their morals and values. The problem is all they want to do is to reach new social status because that is what society has led them to believe and what society expects of them. My grandfather often cited a southern saying that reads as follows: â€Å"Money is the root of all evil. † Through the years I often wondered if he was correct. Society describes lower class as government assisted or a troublesome group of people. Hanratty and Meditz stated that â€Å"[i]n contrast, the masses were composed of the illiterate and the impoverished who lived on the margin of subsistence and possessed little or no security, skill, or stable employment. † I disagree with Hanratty and Meditz statement: most lower class people do have work-related skills and are literate. In a lower class neighborhood at a local barber shop there are always conversations about how the upper class is destroying the lower class, and why lower class people cannot integrate into the mainstream society. Some would say that their major obstacle on the way to social success is fear or ability to adapt to change. Lower class is aware that they are labeled; however, they are determined to be a driving force in society. The stereotype of a successful family implies that a husband and a wife have an income that allows them to live in a nice neighborhood. Society would classify that family as middle class. Samuelson writes that â€Å"[c]ompounding the stress, the price of entry into the middle class is always rising. The more we can have, the more we must have. Keeping up with the Joneses is the curse of our advances and ambitions† (19). The problem with middle class and the problem of trying to belong there is that the upper class considers itself middle class at times. It forces hard-working middle class people to work harder, often taking on two jobs to maintain their social status. Some upper class people continue to downplay their status as middle class. That would put pressure on truly middle class people to stay (or even move up) in the social status. Expectation of what society requires of the middle class often puts pressure on the middle class to advance. Being born into wealth has been the only way to integrate in the upper class. Today the upper class is comprised of a diverse group of people unlike years before when the rich just had to travel and throw socials. The perception of upper class as seen on television is sometimes different from reality, as the rich have large amounts of money and can abuse their power. The rich are excuse from a lot of mishaps, while the middle and lower class would have not received the same treatment. Domhoff writes that â€Å"[f]rom infancy through young adulthood, members of the upper class receive a distinctive education. This education begins early in life in preschools that frequently are attached to a neighborhood church of high social status. Schooling continues during the elementary years at a local private school called a day school. Higher education will be obtained at one of a small number of heavily endowed private universities. Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford head the list, followed by smaller Ivy League schools in the East and a handful of other small private schools in other parts of the country† (24). The upper class continues to work hard on staying on top: they put pressure on themselves and their children to stimulate them to stay in the same social class. What we as society fail to realize is that success comes from within. In every culture there are social problems that result from being in a certain situation. Everybody has their own definition of what success is; definitions of success range from being rich, driving a fancy car, and living in a big house to simply being in good health and having a stress-free life. I have read a lot of articles through the years on what it takes to be successful and I stil.