Throughout the past two weeks and all of the readings we have done, I have come to a realization of what kind of writer I am. I have come to the conclusion that I am an honest writer with some flaws, but these flaws simply include the daily struggles that every other student writer possesses. Most of these flaws can be pinpointed to my technique, or the somewhat lack thereof. Throughout all of high school I never really had a set process or technique that I utilized when writing, but I never felt that my writings really suffered from it. People always blame the flaws of their writing on their high school teachings, and I am no different. It's not necessarily my high school's fault, as I did essentially set myself up for failure by not choosing a class that could better my writing skills. However, I am pleased with the education I received and have no regrets.
When considering the whole idea of cheating, I feel that I have no worries in that category either. I always make sure to leep my eyes on my own paper, and feel that I should only receive credit for the work that I myself do, so why bother cheating. In the perspective of plagiarism being a form of cheating, I feel I do equally as well, or atleast I try to. If at any time I have plagiarized, it has been because I have not known that citation was needed or required. I never intend to steal someone elses work and using it as my own as I simply feel that this is not fair or right. I would never want someone to do that with my work, so why do it with theirs?
All in all, I feel that I have learned alot about myself as a writer over the past few weeks and have built a sort of confidence in myself and my writings that I never had before.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Fact or Fiction: Cheating and Not Caring About Work
In one of the readings we had to do this week, the author explains how he went to a college library and saw multitudes of students "working" on research papers. He observed most groups socializing and occasionally focusing on the work, simply by copying down a paragraph from a textbook. I quite honestly found this a little disturbing. Not only that these students were outright plagiarizing and not giving two craps about the assignment, but also that this author now has the perception that all students take part in this. I personally feel that this is quite unfortunate, because this is far from the truth. I know personally that I have never experienced this first-hand, and I am willing to bet that a lot of other students here at JMU haven't either. This may be true for some high school students who just want to get out of high school already, but that is it. Most students feel compelled to get the assignment accomplished in the best way it can be and do their own work.
In the other reading, the author explains students' views on cheating in school. Most students feel that cheating is wrong and don't participate. Majority of these students also felt that they had never cheated in their lives. Had they? It all depends on what your personal view on what cheating specifically is. Some students will view cheating as simply copying someone's answers on a test or quiz. However, some people view it as a much broader term. When you do your homework with a friend, is that cheating? When you get outside information to use on an essay and don't cite it, is that cheating? This has become a very controversial topic in recent years and will continue to be in latter generations. I personally feel that cheating has only become more common in my generation, whether students realize they are doing it or not. I think that the author got some very important information in her writing and takes a very interesting side on the topic.
In the other reading, the author explains students' views on cheating in school. Most students feel that cheating is wrong and don't participate. Majority of these students also felt that they had never cheated in their lives. Had they? It all depends on what your personal view on what cheating specifically is. Some students will view cheating as simply copying someone's answers on a test or quiz. However, some people view it as a much broader term. When you do your homework with a friend, is that cheating? When you get outside information to use on an essay and don't cite it, is that cheating? This has become a very controversial topic in recent years and will continue to be in latter generations. I personally feel that cheating has only become more common in my generation, whether students realize they are doing it or not. I think that the author got some very important information in her writing and takes a very interesting side on the topic.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Does Speaking Help?
Does reading a paper aloud to peers help you out? I certianly believe so, but I never would have thought so before today. In all honesty, I had never read one of my papers aloud before unless it was a speech or presentation. I found this to be extremely helpful and will probably end up doing this for most of my papers from here on out. It helps me to not only review what I have written, but also to hear what the paper may sound like when others are reading it. I must admit that when writing a paper for school I usually tend to not proof read it or read over it before handing it in. It's just a routine of mine as whenever I am finished with an assignment I like to just be done with it for good. If I am writing a piece that requires drafts, I will write the draft and save it. The hatred that I had for writing in high school only fueled me to not check my papers and just and them in as written and un-checked. It will be hard to break this trend, but I feel once I do it will be beneficial as I will be able to catch mistakes in the paper that spell check would not be able to identify otherwise.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Finding Sources
Source #1: Clopfer, Eric, Scot Osterweil, Jennifer Groff, and Jason Haas. "Using the Technology of Today, in the Classroom Today: The Instructional Power of Digital Games, Social Networking, Simulations and How Teachers Can Leverage Them." Mit.edu. 2009. Web. 2 Feb. 2012. http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf.
In this article, these four authors make the case that social networking is helping mold how students communicate and is better preparing them for the real world and how people truly communicate in the business world. They go on to say that although students can still learn a valuable lesson without these new technologies, it is better to get them used to the way that the outside world approaches socializing. They also go on to explain how multiple middle and high school teachers have used digital games to help educate their kids. These instructors explain their stories and how these games have made it easier and more fun for the kids to learn the specific subject at hand.
I believe this source is a great one and I plan on using it in my paper. It gives excellent data as well as feedback from instructors who have used it first-hand on their students and find that it works. I also believe that it is a reliable source, being that it comes from the Massachusetts Institution of Technology, which is a very reputable source.
Source #2: "Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students." U.S. Department of Education. Web. 02 Feb. 2012. http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html.
In this article, the author explains how technology in its entirety is helping out students in the classroom. As opposed to being subjected to the usual lecture that the instructor gives to the student, it is helping the student interact and make it a more hands-on learning experience for the student. The article held a survey of teachers who used technology in their classrooms and it was almost a unanimous agreement that it helped the students to solve more complex assignments. The article also goes on to state how technology increases the peer-to-peer interaction, as students are looking at their classmates' work and commenting on it and giving advice.
I found this article to be even more helpful than the first, as it gives more reason to why technology in general is good for a classroom setting. It goes in depth explanation of how it specifically helps the students out in specific areas on learning and how instructors can utilize it. It is also from a very reputable source, as it comes from the United States Department of Education.
In this article, these four authors make the case that social networking is helping mold how students communicate and is better preparing them for the real world and how people truly communicate in the business world. They go on to say that although students can still learn a valuable lesson without these new technologies, it is better to get them used to the way that the outside world approaches socializing. They also go on to explain how multiple middle and high school teachers have used digital games to help educate their kids. These instructors explain their stories and how these games have made it easier and more fun for the kids to learn the specific subject at hand.
I believe this source is a great one and I plan on using it in my paper. It gives excellent data as well as feedback from instructors who have used it first-hand on their students and find that it works. I also believe that it is a reliable source, being that it comes from the Massachusetts Institution of Technology, which is a very reputable source.
Source #2: "Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students." U.S. Department of Education. Web. 02 Feb. 2012. http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html.
In this article, the author explains how technology in its entirety is helping out students in the classroom. As opposed to being subjected to the usual lecture that the instructor gives to the student, it is helping the student interact and make it a more hands-on learning experience for the student. The article held a survey of teachers who used technology in their classrooms and it was almost a unanimous agreement that it helped the students to solve more complex assignments. The article also goes on to state how technology increases the peer-to-peer interaction, as students are looking at their classmates' work and commenting on it and giving advice.
I found this article to be even more helpful than the first, as it gives more reason to why technology in general is good for a classroom setting. It goes in depth explanation of how it specifically helps the students out in specific areas on learning and how instructors can utilize it. It is also from a very reputable source, as it comes from the United States Department of Education.
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