Freedom and Electronic Books

Team Mash-up

My team and I will be exploring the mash-up of Electronic Books and Freedom. This basically looks how it sounds. Electronic Books able you to read books using technology. You can now read books on the internet or buy and dowload them on to new electronics, such as an Ipad. The definition I would use for freedom is being able to have a choice in the things you do. The image out of these two things are basically being able to choose and relate to the things you read electronically. Should schools switch to reading things electronically? I am neutral. My opinion on why schools should switch to reading electronically are it would be more  to conveneint for time. Students could actually listen to the book instead of trying to read it. Some students might find this helpful and some might not. I think personally it would help me because if I listen I can concentrate on trying to understand the book. My opposite oppinion is this would be a lot more expensive for schools. Also, only a majority of classes actually read books. These subjects are usually only English and History. So would techers allow personal use of these electronic books? I would hope so because they would be a lot more useful if they used it for more than just school. A lot of students do read outside of school and instead of going to a library they can just read these books electronically or even listen to the book.

Changing Styles of Teaching Methods

Most teachers these days follow the same teaching methods they have used for years, such as notes, reading, etc. Have they ever considered what the students think though? Most students these days find these methods very boring therefore they aren't going to pay attention. I am one of those students. In Chapter 5 of Tapscott's book it talks about how teachers should interact with the students and help them discover for themselves rather than lecture. I think this can be very helpful because students should challenge themselves and learn how to understand things without someone doing it for them. Tapscott also mentioned that schools should encourage kids to collaborate with each other. This could also be very helpful because they not only can teach themselves, but their peers as well. For when the teachers do teach they should involve Tapscott's 8 norms. This way the lessons are relatable and have meaning for teaching them. Teachers should let students have their freedom, but teachers can customize lessons so they benefit both the student and the teacher themself. Lessons should be entertaining, fast, and collaborative. I think ost of us would agree that technology would be a huge help with these norms. So maybe schools and teachers should consider this technology because it is a huge part of today and the future and us students are the future.

8 Net Gen Norms

There are 8 Net Gen Norms that the Net Generation expect of technology. They are all basically traits that should be followed. The 8 are freedom, customization, scruitny, integreity, collaboration, entertainment, speed, and innovation. Freedom is the freedom to use your choice of expression. You get to choose what you do and how you do it. The second norm is customization. Customization means you get to have your own personal expression. You can change anything to be your own personal thing, such as a wallpaper or a ringtone. The third norm is scruitny. Scruitny basically means watching how and what you research. The Fourth trait is integreity. Integreity is the citizenship of doing things. You should be honest when writing, such as citing sources and not plagarizing. The fifth trait is collaboration. Collaboration is being able to work together with other people and being able to communicate between each other. The sixth trait is entertainment. You want to have fun and want others to enjoy the work. It might not seem important, but it is because you want your readers attention and you want them to be entertained or else they wont be interested. The seventh trait is speed. Most of the collaborators want quick responses and want to be able to do things quickly because other people are involved. If someone is very slow in responding with research others will be annoyed. The final trait is innovation. This trait is being able to fix and improve things. With the new tools technology offers, improvement should be very easy and quick. We use all of these things mostly in our technology everyday. Technology is now a huge part of our lives, so we should be using all of these traits when using technology.

Importance of meeting deadlines

Deadlines are very important to business and education. A deadline is a due date of when certain things have to be done. Deadlines are very important to organization. If all things were done on time organization wouldn't be a problem, but it usually is. Businesses use deadlines the most for organization. This way they can keep a good record on things being done. Businesses would not be successful if it didn't have a strict way of making sure things get done. Education also uses deadlines quite a bit. I don't believe they are used for organization as much as business, but they are still used. Deadlines in education are mostly necessary for students and teachers dealing with time management. These kind of deadlines can be used as a teaching tool for the future because now students can work with managing their time to get things done without procrastinating. Deadlines also can prevent procrastination. Most high school students don't do projects until the last minute and eventually it will catch up with them. With strict deadlines students will maybe realize that they have to do projects or homework earlier this way stress won't catch up with them. Overall, deadlines are very important to business and education. They help with things such as organization and time management, which can make things a lot easier for everyone

Accepting criticism

Commenting is one of the many features that these new web pages offer. You can look at someone's page and be able to share your opinion. Netiquette is what should be used when commenting on pages. It is the fancy word for being appropriate on the internet. When commenting on a page it is ok to criticize, but it should be done in a way that helps the writer, not bring them down. Some things that can prevent the writer from taking criticism the wrong way are also putting complimenting comments. This way the writer can take the criticism and still feel good because there were other good aspects. Some things to avoid when commenting are argumentative comments, bullying, and inappropriate wording. Everyone can see these comments and it could lead to more trouble. Some tips for the writer are to take criticism as a helping tool to make your writing better. Sometimes people take criticism the wrong way and hold it against the person who wrote it. Writers should have the attitude that the person criticizing the page is trying to make them better, not worse. When you have the opportunity to use these tools, people should use them to their advantage, but with netiquette. This way both the writer and commenter get something good out of it.

Using a wiki to communicate information

A wiki can be used to communicate in many ways. It has features that allow you to make groups where you can share information with anyone you invite to join. Organizations are also using wiki's, such as IMB and Columbia University. Some things wiki's include that can be useful for communication are unlimited members, unlimited pages, and built-in discussion forums. For example, students can do classroom projects where teachers can view each students progress. Another example is certain organizations can posts schedules where all members can view and comment on the page. Other features wiki's allow groups are certain pages for each kind of group. It has labels for K-12, higher education, businesses, etc. These labels have different options for each group. For example the K-12 label offers more security and administrative control of the site. This allows teachers to go on the site and be able to delete, upgrade, and edit anything they feel they need to. Communication is a huge part of life today and these tools are just making it easier for schools, businesses, and anyone who wants to use it. Schools can basically teach lessons through wiki and businesses can communicate with the entire company with just one page on a wiki. 

Digital Commications to present Digital Communications

Blogging is a type of digital communication where you can write about basically anything and publish it freely on the internet. It can be helpful to students, businesses, and even writers. Blogging also allows others to see the information and comment on it as well. There are many ways I can present the process of blogging. One way is I can go on a blogging website and provide an example that shows the different aspects of a blog. Other tools I could use to present are youtube, PowerPoint, Google docs., diigo, and even skype. These are popular tools that are easy and very helpful to anyone who wants to use them. On youtube I can make a video and publish it where anyone can see it and comment on it too. On PowerPoint I am able to create a slide show and use it to explain how blogs work. I can even use my gmail to present. My Gmail allows me to go onto Google docs. and either share a document or a PowerPoint I created with anyone I allow to view it. Some other ways to present topic are Diigo and Skype. Diigo is a tool where I can keep track of information I find on blogging, then others can see what I have researched and the information I came up with. I can use skype by having a video chat where I can show others about blogging without being in the same room. All of these tools allow me to present my topic a lot faster and easier for everyone.

Diigo

Diigo is a new 2.0 tool that can be very helpful for organization, especially for high school and college students. This new tool allows students to go do research online and be able to find information and save it on the Diigo account. Sticky notes, highlighters, and bookmarks are available for anyone who needs to keep track of anything on the website. This tool is very helpful for students because it's an easier and faster way to do research and be able to have it all organized. Before this, students would take notes on paper and easily lose them. Now that we have access to computers and internet this tool could greatly help anyone who wants to do organized research. Besides students, businesses can also share information with anyone who is interested. Another way this site can be useful your able to subscribe to most popular or recent tags that interest you. This site is basically an easier way for students to do research more productively and have organized research. It is also more convenient for businesses to share information where others have full access to see it.  

Digital Communication

Digital Communication I think has been very helpful with people, businesses, and even schools. It has brought a new, easier way to communicate, in which people at any age will find 'easy.' There are many forms of digital communication, including cell phones and new Web 2.0 tools, which include facebook, blogs, skype, and many more. These new tools have made a huge impact on communication because it's faster, easier, and even more convenient for schools and businesses. Many schools have resorted to these tools for homework and even learning an actual subject. This way it is Eco-friendly and also a faster way to get homework or lessons done. These tools have also made it easier for businesses. For example, instead of having to communicate in person, they can use one of these tools to communicate anywhere. Businesses can also promote their new ideas and get feedback from others with these tools. Digital communication has made a huge impact today and communication is now much easier and more convenient for anyone who uses them.