... and concrete ways it can improve their lessons (which may be the hard part)
Interdisciplinary education. Taking a writing class? Teach the kid how to write (no technology needed), how to use a word processor, and how to use the Internet to get information. The kid then gets a grade that is applied to both a Writing class and a Technology class. The Technology teacher grades the paper based on its technology merit (used appropriate online resources, formatted correctly, etc.) and the Writing teacher grades it on the Writing. There is some crossover, such as citing online references. Two options exist, depending on the curriculum. The student can get one Writing grade, with technology being a portion of the overall grade, or, better yet, two grades...a writing grade and a technology grade.
This way, in the technology class, the student isn't just aimlessly doing typing tests or messing around on YouTube. They are learning exactly how technology helps them in their other studies--kind of like real life.
It isn't limited to just word processors and writing either. Audio and video could be included in a History project. Web design could be integrated with a Foreign Language program (my area of expertise). You can teach kids how to speak German, but have them build a web page about themselves (text in German) to send to a potential exchange family in Germany. They have to learn the technology required to type German characters, posting images, creating html pages, hosting, etc. AND they have to do their page in German.
The possibilities are endless and any teacher who can't figure out a way to integrate technology into his or her curriculum needs to get training fast, or rethink their career choice.
I wrote my Ed thesis on this. You've gotta start with the teachers, as they are woefully unprepared (some argue unwilling) to integrate technology into their lesson plans. What good is a 1:1 student:computer ratio if the teachers don't actually have students use the computers for their work?
A second, lingering problem is trying to figure out what we actually do with computers. There are far too many old-fashioned minds that think education should teach kids about computers, which is an outdated paradigm for sure.
Keep the Computer Science classes for those truly interested in that field, but quit trying to pretend the computer is a magical box that requires special skills to operate. Realize that any 8-year olds know how to click a mouse, type some words, go on the Internet, etc. (the same assumptions cannot, however, be made about their teachers) and stop trying to teach them to be Computer Scientists.
Start thinking about how the students can USE the tool to learn as opposed to teaching students how to make the tool work. If they do the first, the second takes care of its self.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH. The entire process of saying the pledge is what is symbolic. Otherwise it would be illegal to not have allegiance to the flag or the Republic for which it stands, which most certainly isn't the case here. Flag-burning party at my house tonight, if you aren't convinced.
Of course it has meaning...it's the people they are pulling aside. Of course it is a meaningless and subjective metric, but it is the standard they are using. I have been singled out for suspicious behavior (I was wearing a lapel pin of the very prominent government agency I was traveling to). They asked me what the deal was with my lapel pin and I explained. I continued on my way. If I had drugs, a weapon, or even an arrest warrant, I would hope they would have detained me.
You were closer when you considered it a "possible sincere question". DRM didn't exist on video games 10 years ago, yet I always had problems with games properly installing. I'm just inferring that this guy might be chalking up everyday common computer issues as DRM issues. His examples aren't all 100% proof-positive they were caused by DRM. I also meant to say DRM is irrelevant in video games as they relate to ME personally. I don't play them anymore and was asking the question framed around iTunes/iPods. I just didn't word the question well and apologized for my lack of communication.
You've just admitted that DRM has practically RUINED PC gaming. You want it to ruin your ability to listen to music too?? Are you insane or obtuse???
Well "practically RUINED PC gaming" is a bit of a leap in logic, since I only offered to accept that flawed logic for the sake of discussion. I used the subjunctive "were" instead of "was" to make it clear that I don't believe it to be true. In anycase, my point is that DRM doesn't affect my ability to buy music from iTunes and put it on any number of iPods I want, because iPods don't use the DRM. It exists to prevent the track from playing on more than five personal computers.
Nice try but not quite. "I'm sorry" because I'm apologizing for not clearly stating my question in the first response. I don't really care about DRM in video games because I was questioning the impact of DRM as it applies to iPods and iTunes..except for the small fact that, although I was thinking it, I didn't actually voice it in my original post. I simply reframed the question to accurately represent what I was thinking. And while I may be yelling LALALALALA for fear of hearing the worst, nobody has yet posed a logical example of how it is bad as framed by my questions (as relating to iPods/iTunes). Certainly you can't complain about DRM on iPods, because it is irrelevant. iPods aren't affected by the DRM, only computers. The only thing I've heard that is remotely acceptable is the rare risk that one could lose all their music on their COMPUTER/iTunes list if Apple went out of business.
I have to collectively WHOOOOSH all you moderators who have modded my post as Flamebait... For the record, Freedom isn't Free...it costs a buck-oh-five. (Team America, F'k Yeah!). So critically acclaimed satire is now flamebait?
Given this is slashdot, I would just feel safe betting that there is a much higher number of experts in the field of, oh I dunno, digital imaging. Unfortunately what you are seeing are the masses of ASCII artists coming out and rendering their "expert" opinions.
So true! Back in the day we would dodge and burn our prints to compensate for mistakes in exposure, or to just plain make a picture look better. That was NEVER considered taboo. Now we do it with a computer and the neophytes cry foul.
Could also be he's talking out his ass, or seeing things he wants to see out-of-proportion to reality. Or perhaps I just don't see all these supposed flags in EVERY episode because I've grown used to seeing them? No way. More realistically a flag would appear in a tv show because it is central to the show (government agencies, court room proceedings, hospital entrance...i.e. all places that frequently display the US Flag). Or, the US Flag could be used to make a point, like the US and UK flags on Michael's desk on the US version of the office, which is an homage to the UK boss having a UK flag on his desk.
I lived in the UK and I call BS. You must have noticed a specific brand of German-built British cars that drive around with nothing but a giant flag painted on the roof, haven't you? Just sayin'..
Regardless, the US is still very distastefully jingoistic...the UK isn't that much better. Here's a BIG tip-off that you have the same jingoism going on over there...Before I lived in England, I didn't even know England had its own flag (the red cross on the white background). We yanks just assume the Union Jack one is England's flag. But having lived in England (especially when an International Football match is on) you see more English flags than your average Deep South US State during the Olympics (ok, hyperbole for hyperbole's sake, but still).
Pretty much every enlisted person above the rank of Sergeant has a professional studio portrait to give to the promotion board. I find it impossible to believe that a GENERAL OFFICER doesn't have a good PR photo within email reach--ready to distribute at a moments' notice. This looks like some low ranking private that works for the General emailed their candid camera-phone pic to a news outlet--totally circumventing proper protocol. That's the real travesty here, not the doctored pic.
The DRM doesn't affect iPods at all. There is no limit to the number of iPods you can put songs on. The drm only affects the number of personal computers that are authorized to play the file.
So I'm just gonna play devil's advocate and guess you've bought an iPod then? You know you can buy non-drm tunes from the iTunes store, rip your own cds and buy all kinds of mp3s without drm and an iPod will play them all, right? Let's not forget that iPods don't care about DRM either, because you are not limited to the number of iPods authorized to play drm files. The only thing Apple DRM does is limit the number of personal computers (five) you can play the songs on.
I guess you are wrong, because I have been doing exactly that since 1987. What good are all those apps if you have a POS OS trying to control them all?
They buy it for apps. In that area, Windows beats the crap out of Mac.
But a Mac can run Windows, so what's your point? I'm really getting tired of this argument. "Beats the crap" out of a Mac? I'm not convinced.
There's always that annoying directional pad thing that has a mind of its own on the Zune. I can't get that thing to navigate anywhere near the correct direction. Maybe I have fat fingers, but it isn't a problem with the iPod.
Not like this argument is older than you (probably) but I can't let a Mac vs. PC troll like yours go unanswered. I'll save my best answers for threads where it isn't off-topic but here's a start.
Windows XP wins hands down every single time.
You mean like when you try to rename a file but it is open so you can't rename it without closing it first? Seems like XP doesn't win "hands down ever single time". (Just the tip-o-the-iceberg). There also seems to be entire fields of study in the area of usability and the creative industry that tend to disagree with your sentiment, but those are mostly overpaid hippy college researcher types, so what do they know about the real world anyway?
Would you care to give at least one example of how DRM has negatively affected you as a consumer? I'm just curious, because everyone screams how bad it is without giving examples of why.
There are benefits to interacting outside of your peer group, regardless of whether it's via the Internet, e-mail, MMORPG, mail, telephone, in person, etc. That's all I'm saying (not trolling). I also clearly am NOT stating that MMORPG is better (or worse for that matter) than interaction with people in person. It is merely different. And to discount the importance of interaction via the Internet is old-fashioned and bordering on being a neophyte. It is a new reality that we can't just keep sweeping under the rug by yelling "JEEZUS GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY WITH REAL PEOPLE!!!". I'm just saying people playing games online with each other are real people, after all. I have several friendships I've established first via online racing games. My son has a friend in another state that he plays WoW with. I think it would be cool if they could meet up one Summer.
My son has been reported twice for swearing and I get a nice little email from Blizzard with a transcript of the conversation. I showed him that he was busted and if it happened again, he wouldn't play again. And if he got my account banned and I can't play my guy, I'm gonna kick his f"@#$*ing a$$.
For the record, the swearing was relatively tame. My son learned, however, that even though we have more relaxed standards in our home, that society has standards we are expected to follow. The prospect of losing his Warcraft account for calling somebody a dick (probably heard me call somebody a dick while driving down the highway) was a good lesson for him.
As if joining a group and doing a quest in World of Warcraft doesn't count as interacting with real people? And what's the point of restricting a kid's interaction to children of his or her own age? We don't want our children to learn how to interact with people NOT their age?
There goes the REAL computer geek generation, I guess. Now all the kids will be on MySpace for hours making their profiles look pretty by jamming so many random CSS stylesheets and Flash music players that automatically play at full blast (most of whom probably don't even know what "CSS" stands for)...
As somebody who works in Computer Education, I can tell you that you are completely missing the point. It's not what you know about the technology, it's what you can do with it. If that means a student has no idea what CSS means, yet puts together a great myspace page, so be it. They are a much bigger success than the geek kid who writes code in his sleep but uses purple text on a blue background.
Slashdot Mirror
... and concrete ways it can improve their lessons (which may be the hard part)
Interdisciplinary education. Taking a writing class? Teach the kid how to write (no technology needed), how to use a word processor, and how to use the Internet to get information. The kid then gets a grade that is applied to both a Writing class and a Technology class. The Technology teacher grades the paper based on its technology merit (used appropriate online resources, formatted correctly, etc.) and the Writing teacher grades it on the Writing. There is some crossover, such as citing online references. Two options exist, depending on the curriculum. The student can get one Writing grade, with technology being a portion of the overall grade, or, better yet, two grades...a writing grade and a technology grade.
This way, in the technology class, the student isn't just aimlessly doing typing tests or messing around on YouTube. They are learning exactly how technology helps them in their other studies--kind of like real life.
It isn't limited to just word processors and writing either. Audio and video could be included in a History project. Web design could be integrated with a Foreign Language program (my area of expertise). You can teach kids how to speak German, but have them build a web page about themselves (text in German) to send to a potential exchange family in Germany. They have to learn the technology required to type German characters, posting images, creating html pages, hosting, etc. AND they have to do their page in German.
The possibilities are endless and any teacher who can't figure out a way to integrate technology into his or her curriculum needs to get training fast, or rethink their career choice.
I wrote my Ed thesis on this. You've gotta start with the teachers, as they are woefully unprepared (some argue unwilling) to integrate technology into their lesson plans. What good is a 1:1 student:computer ratio if the teachers don't actually have students use the computers for their work?
A second, lingering problem is trying to figure out what we actually do with computers. There are far too many old-fashioned minds that think education should teach kids about computers, which is an outdated paradigm for sure.
Keep the Computer Science classes for those truly interested in that field, but quit trying to pretend the computer is a magical box that requires special skills to operate. Realize that any 8-year olds know how to click a mouse, type some words, go on the Internet, etc. (the same assumptions cannot, however, be made about their teachers) and stop trying to teach them to be Computer Scientists.
Start thinking about how the students can USE the tool to learn as opposed to teaching students how to make the tool work. If they do the first, the second takes care of its self.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH. The entire process of saying the pledge is what is symbolic. Otherwise it would be illegal to not have allegiance to the flag or the Republic for which it stands, which most certainly isn't the case here. Flag-burning party at my house tonight, if you aren't convinced.
Of course it has meaning...it's the people they are pulling aside. Of course it is a meaningless and subjective metric, but it is the standard they are using. I have been singled out for suspicious behavior (I was wearing a lapel pin of the very prominent government agency I was traveling to). They asked me what the deal was with my lapel pin and I explained. I continued on my way. If I had drugs, a weapon, or even an arrest warrant, I would hope they would have detained me.
You've just admitted that DRM has practically RUINED PC gaming. You want it to ruin your ability to listen to music too?? Are you insane or obtuse???
Well "practically RUINED PC gaming" is a bit of a leap in logic, since I only offered to accept that flawed logic for the sake of discussion. I used the subjunctive "were" instead of "was" to make it clear that I don't believe it to be true. In anycase, my point is that DRM doesn't affect my ability to buy music from iTunes and put it on any number of iPods I want, because iPods don't use the DRM. It exists to prevent the track from playing on more than five personal computers.
Nice try but not quite. "I'm sorry" because I'm apologizing for not clearly stating my question in the first response. I don't really care about DRM in video games because I was questioning the impact of DRM as it applies to iPods and iTunes..except for the small fact that, although I was thinking it, I didn't actually voice it in my original post. I simply reframed the question to accurately represent what I was thinking. And while I may be yelling LALALALALA for fear of hearing the worst, nobody has yet posed a logical example of how it is bad as framed by my questions (as relating to iPods/iTunes). Certainly you can't complain about DRM on iPods, because it is irrelevant. iPods aren't affected by the DRM, only computers. The only thing I've heard that is remotely acceptable is the rare risk that one could lose all their music on their COMPUTER/iTunes list if Apple went out of business.
I have to collectively WHOOOOSH all you moderators who have modded my post as Flamebait... For the record, Freedom isn't Free...it costs a buck-oh-five. (Team America, F'k Yeah!). So critically acclaimed satire is now flamebait?
Given this is slashdot, I would just feel safe betting that there is a much higher number of experts in the field of, oh I dunno, digital imaging. Unfortunately what you are seeing are the masses of ASCII artists coming out and rendering their "expert" opinions.
So true! Back in the day we would dodge and burn our prints to compensate for mistakes in exposure, or to just plain make a picture look better. That was NEVER considered taboo. Now we do it with a computer and the neophytes cry foul.
Could also be he's talking out his ass, or seeing things he wants to see out-of-proportion to reality. Or perhaps I just don't see all these supposed flags in EVERY episode because I've grown used to seeing them? No way. More realistically a flag would appear in a tv show because it is central to the show (government agencies, court room proceedings, hospital entrance...i.e. all places that frequently display the US Flag). Or, the US Flag could be used to make a point, like the US and UK flags on Michael's desk on the US version of the office, which is an homage to the UK boss having a UK flag on his desk.
I guess you missed the entire lesson on symbolism when you were in school? Not everything in life is as literal as you think.
I lived in the UK and I call BS. You must have noticed a specific brand of German-built British cars that drive around with nothing but a giant flag painted on the roof, haven't you? Just sayin'..
Regardless, the US is still very distastefully jingoistic...the UK isn't that much better. Here's a BIG tip-off that you have the same jingoism going on over there...Before I lived in England, I didn't even know England had its own flag (the red cross on the white background). We yanks just assume the Union Jack one is England's flag. But having lived in England (especially when an International Football match is on) you see more English flags than your average Deep South US State during the Olympics (ok, hyperbole for hyperbole's sake, but still).
Pretty much every enlisted person above the rank of Sergeant has a professional studio portrait to give to the promotion board. I find it impossible to believe that a GENERAL OFFICER doesn't have a good PR photo within email reach--ready to distribute at a moments' notice. This looks like some low ranking private that works for the General emailed their candid camera-phone pic to a news outlet--totally circumventing proper protocol. That's the real travesty here, not the doctored pic.
the Photoshop hack made it unnatural, over-processed and kitschy looking
Fixed that for you.
Hey man, Freedom isn't FREEEEE!
The DRM doesn't affect iPods at all. There is no limit to the number of iPods you can put songs on. The drm only affects the number of personal computers that are authorized to play the file.
So I'm just gonna play devil's advocate and guess you've bought an iPod then? You know you can buy non-drm tunes from the iTunes store, rip your own cds and buy all kinds of mp3s without drm and an iPod will play them all, right? Let's not forget that iPods don't care about DRM either, because you are not limited to the number of iPods authorized to play drm files. The only thing Apple DRM does is limit the number of personal computers (five) you can play the songs on.
But no one buys a computer for an OS.
I guess you are wrong, because I have been doing exactly that since 1987. What good are all those apps if you have a POS OS trying to control them all?
They buy it for apps. In that area, Windows beats the crap out of Mac.
But a Mac can run Windows, so what's your point? I'm really getting tired of this argument. "Beats the crap" out of a Mac? I'm not convinced.
There's always that annoying directional pad thing that has a mind of its own on the Zune. I can't get that thing to navigate anywhere near the correct direction. Maybe I have fat fingers, but it isn't a problem with the iPod.
Windows XP wins hands down every single time.
You mean like when you try to rename a file but it is open so you can't rename it without closing it first? Seems like XP doesn't win "hands down ever single time". (Just the tip-o-the-iceberg). There also seems to be entire fields of study in the area of usability and the creative industry that tend to disagree with your sentiment, but those are mostly overpaid hippy college researcher types, so what do they know about the real world anyway?
Would you care to give at least one example of how DRM has negatively affected you as a consumer? I'm just curious, because everyone screams how bad it is without giving examples of why.
There are benefits to interacting outside of your peer group, regardless of whether it's via the Internet, e-mail, MMORPG, mail, telephone, in person, etc. That's all I'm saying (not trolling). I also clearly am NOT stating that MMORPG is better (or worse for that matter) than interaction with people in person. It is merely different. And to discount the importance of interaction via the Internet is old-fashioned and bordering on being a neophyte. It is a new reality that we can't just keep sweeping under the rug by yelling "JEEZUS GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY WITH REAL PEOPLE!!!". I'm just saying people playing games online with each other are real people, after all. I have several friendships I've established first via online racing games. My son has a friend in another state that he plays WoW with. I think it would be cool if they could meet up one Summer.
My son has been reported twice for swearing and I get a nice little email from Blizzard with a transcript of the conversation. I showed him that he was busted and if it happened again, he wouldn't play again. And if he got my account banned and I can't play my guy, I'm gonna kick his f"@#$*ing a$$.
For the record, the swearing was relatively tame. My son learned, however, that even though we have more relaxed standards in our home, that society has standards we are expected to follow. The prospect of losing his Warcraft account for calling somebody a dick (probably heard me call somebody a dick while driving down the highway) was a good lesson for him.
As if joining a group and doing a quest in World of Warcraft doesn't count as interacting with real people? And what's the point of restricting a kid's interaction to children of his or her own age? We don't want our children to learn how to interact with people NOT their age?
There goes the REAL computer geek generation, I guess. Now all the kids will be on MySpace for hours making their profiles look pretty by jamming so many random CSS stylesheets and Flash music players that automatically play at full blast (most of whom probably don't even know what "CSS" stands for)...
As somebody who works in Computer Education, I can tell you that you are completely missing the point. It's not what you know about the technology, it's what you can do with it. If that means a student has no idea what CSS means, yet puts together a great myspace page, so be it. They are a much bigger success than the geek kid who writes code in his sleep but uses purple text on a blue background.