Blog Assignment Week 5

Wikipedia As a Source of Information

After reading the NPR article and blog and listening to the podcast concerning the reliability of the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, I now understand why it is that teachers in the past have always requested that I not use it as a source for any paper. Absolutely ANYONE can add to or make adjustments to any topic on the website. In fact, the blog stated that Wal-Mart, the Church of Scientology, and the Catholic Church had all made adjustments to any topic concerning them. They weren't the only ones either; both the Republican party and the Democratic party had also made adjustments. It is very easy to see that anything on the website may be biased and in some cases even fictional.

Though the information on the website may tend to be a bit biased, it can be useful in some cases. For a curious student who understands that the information is coming from a variety of sources, it can be a quick and easy way to look of different topics of interest. As long as the student understands that it is not a good source for a research paper or anything else to do with school, then there is no harm in the student just exploring the website for fun. Also, there are are large variety of topics included in the website; such things may not be found elsewhere. The website should be used by people with a good understanding of the sources and an open mind.

"What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung

I definitely enjoyed reading Mr. McClung's blogpost. One of the most useful things I learned was that as a teacher, I will need to be flexible. I am very much a perfectionist and sometimes get upset when things don't go just as I had initially planned them. He wrote that we need to stay positive and not get down when things don't go perfectly right. He also wrote that as teachers we must be reasonable. I am in the Honors Program at the University of South Alabama, and I hold very high expectations for myself. As I said before, I am a perfectionist and work hard to achieve everything I do. I dislike when I don't earn an A or a very high grade because I know what I am capable of if I just work hard. This will be a trial for me in teaching because I know that I will set high standards for my students; though this is good in some ways, I must remember to be reasonable and not get agitated when every student doesn't do as well as I had hoped for him or her.

I found Mr. McClung's last statement to be of most importance. "Never stop learning!" Though we expect children to want to learn, we sometimes lose interest in it. This reminds me of when I first stepped foot in Dr. Strange's class. I was intimidated by the thought of using such technology, since I had never even been a huge fan of computers. However, because I did stick with it, I'm excited about all that I am learning. I can't wait to implement new things in my classroom in the future!!