To me, this issue is exemplary of a larger trend in the US: an increasing tendency to point the finger at someone else. If our kids grow up to be nymphomaniac bomb-makers, clearly it must be the government's fault, for not "protecting" them against the filthy Internet. Parents, take responsibility! If you feel strongly about "offensive" material, educate your children. Then, encourage the government to spend taxpayers' money on more positive goals -- like more resources in public schools.
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
Right. Furthermore, if the software were truly useful, future classes could be asked to implement bug fixes and additional features (consequently, also learning the value of well-documented code, which so few developers ever grasp).
Sam (a prof, for the rest of you) would agree. Our linked-list assignment was intended to be a mere exercise. The larger project, which never got off the ground, would have been more along the lines of what I'm describing...
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
Identify a software tool that the school doesn't have, but could use (e.g., class discussion boards and/or chat), and work with the class to implement a solution. Your students will learn programming and group skills that are more applicable to "real world" programming, and if all goes well (with your guidance) have the benefit of seeing their work put to use (unlike many programming assignments of the "everything you ever possibly wanted to know about doubly-linked lists" variety). Good luck!
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
Absolutely not. The mean/average is the total amount of something divided by the sample size, in this case the total intelligence of all humans divided by the number of humans. The median is the value situated in the middle of the sample. Take five people with IQ's 60, 80, 110, 120 and 130. The mean IQ is 500 / 5 = 100, but the median IQ is 110 (there are two higher and two lower values). Clearly not the same...
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
Actually, there is legal precedent for considering motivation in providing a service that facilitates breaking the law. I recall a case a while back in which a man was selling small glass vials to a number of customers who, naturally, used the vials for the distribution of drugs. The seller himself did not deal drugs, so on the surface, his business was perfectly legitimate. However, since his only customers were drug dealers, the courts held him accountable for his involvement. Obviously, I'm not drawing any parallels between drugs and mp3z, but rather drawing attention to the fact that historically, the law has not always exonerated "unknowing" facilitators.
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
Slashdot Mirror
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
Sam (a prof, for the rest of you) would agree. Our linked-list assignment was intended to be a mere exercise. The larger project, which never got off the ground, would have been more along the lines of what I'm describing...
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
Actually, by definition, you're thinking of the median.
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."
- Rackham
"You can't protect anyone.... You can only love them."