Comments for Currituck County Schools Media and Tech

Comment on Video Game Addiction by Shelly Haskell

Shelly Haskell — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:19:42 +0000

As an educator, I am surprised that this view is so praised. The use of video games and simulations is being recognized as higher learning and developing problem solving skills by goverment iniatives for education and the higer education community. Please look at Clark Aldrich’s book “Simulations and the Future Use of Learning”. This is like saying that a child who reads all the time, snacks while reading or says he is sleeping but actually reading his favorite book is addicted to reading. I am using Quest Atlantis in my classroom, a virutal learning site, and find it very motivating. As educators who want to understand what 21st century skills are, look to the kids and you will see the future.

Comment on Video Game Addiction by Michelle Tee

Michelle Tee — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:28:07 +0000

Video gaming addiction can predispose these children to slot machine, fruit machine, and pokies addiction problems.
Children must have a limit to how much they play these games on a daily basis. This is crucial.

Thanks for the great post!

Comment on High Tech Cheating at School by Valerie Person

Valerie Person — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Really thought-provoking blog, Paul. Cheating continues to be an ongoing issue in high schools and colleges across the US and probably will continue to be for as long as we have traditional tests and quizzes. I remember being amazed in China at learning about a practice during Confucius time that folks found cheating would be barred permanently from pursuing any other types of exams (ones that included opportunity to obtain civil service jobs with the reigning govt at time) and would have names permanently displayed on stone carvings for all in town to see forever. Man, talk about harsh, but the attitude was that cheating was a SERIOUS offense and had lifelong consequences. I think part of the answer to cheating lies with our students themselves. When I became sponsor of Beta Club 4 years ago, a small group of Beta members expressed deep concerns with the rampant cheating at CCHS and wanted it to be addressed. We invited the principal to come to one of our meetings and address the student concerns. At that meeting, Kelli Daffron got permission to research student-run honor courts in high schools. She spent a lot of time that year researching them and put together a proposal which we submitted to leadership and Central Office. The proposal for a student-run honor court was even shown to the school attorneys to make sure it would work and not be in conflict with other policies. After getting approval, we started the CCHS Honor Court (http://cchshonorcourt.wikispaces.com) three years ago. It’s been a challenging journey getting the court up with protocals in place, documents created and getting administration on board. But, it works because it is based on one of the most powerful motivators to teenagers: peer pressure. It’s difficult for most teens to sit before a court with the majority of them their peers. The students are the ones who came up with the current honor code at CCHS (which I find so admirable). The court does not see its sole job as “catching” cheaters and “punishing” them. In fact, we don’t see hearings as “punishment” at all really. Rather, it’s our hope that we can raise awareness of the consequences of dropping or sacrificing one’s personal integrity. This really ties into one of the points you make in your blog: that many students do not view “cheating” with cell phones as really “cheating.” Our HC students want to do more things to raise awareness of what cheating is and why it’s important to have and maintain personal and academic integrity. To that end, we’d love to do some type of survey of our own student body to analyze attitudes and strategize to come up with ways to raise awareness.

I personally am in favor of actively teaching students how to use technology (Ipods, cell phones, ect.) in school with integrity. I think teachers need more training to do so. I know one thing I’ve done during exam time is to have students take out their cell phones, turn them off and put them in a basket I pass around so that it’s not an issue. I know they do that in some college classrooms. Sooner or later, students have to learn how to be responsible for phones and other tech, so I think it’s an opportunity we can embrace in high school with some clearly established parameters. Yes, there are definitely ways to integrate cell phones in high school classrooms, but we need more training on it. When I was at the NCTE Conference last November, I kept going to session after session where creative uses of technology were featured. I realized that technology is a rapidly-flowing river. The students are in that river, going fast. Educators, in the meantime, are standing on the sidelines and discussing whether or not we think our students should be in that river and what we should do about it. Some of us stick our toes in, some of us refuse. Some of us are heatedly arguing while others are trying to take students out of that river. Others decide to take the plunge and dive in, hoping to learn how to navigate and help our students at the same time. But all the time, the river keeps flowing rapidly. I guess the choice of how we’re going to respond to the river is individual, but I’m ready to dive in. Thanks for posting such a provocative blog.

Comment on Head in the Clouds (computing that is) by cameron

cameron — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:32:03 +0000

Isn’t it funny how computing started that way, then went to desktop computers where everyone stored their own info and now we’re headed back to storing things on central servers. It sure does give access to a lot more space and many more applications, though.

Comment on Head in the Clouds (computing that is) by GoEverywhere Team

GoEverywhere Team — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:35:51 +0000

Using cloud computing is an amazing way to work or access files from anywhere with a computer and Internet access! With GoEverywhere we make it even easier by allowing you to access all of the above programs with just a single login. We also link into Box.net for file storage and a variety of other SaaS applications!

Comment on Refurbished Computers by Bill

Bill — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:33:26 +0000

Congratulations on our decision to consider refurbished / off-lease computers in your school district! Our company (Systime, http://www.systime.com) has worked with thousands of schools like yours across the country providing Dell, HP, Gateway and IBM desktops, laptops and servers. If you are looking for a second supplier, we’d love to work with your district too! We do have some very high-quality Dell factory-refurbished laptops if you are interested in giving another shot at using refurbished laptops.

For the Dell OptiPlex GX280’s we can match of beat most competitors, provide very high-quality systems with 3 year warranties, and ship for free. We accept purchase orders from schools.

Comment on Candy and Donna at NCSLMA by Joe Baisley

Joe Baisley — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:49:49 +0000

You guys are awesome!

Comment on Lucy and Ethel Go Green in the Library by Joe Baisley

Joe Baisley — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:48:15 +0000

I agree! I love how Lucy and Ethel always come out with something new for us to try

Comment on Candy and Lisa at NCSLMA by Donna Corbo

Donna Corbo — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:57:19 +0000

Great job, ladies! It was fun in Winston Salem!

Comment on Lucy and Ethel Go Green in the Library by Donna Corbo

Donna Corbo — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 10:56:17 +0000

I love your shirts! Great job, ladies!