Source 10

"Teachers learn to keep up with students' technology." Anniston Star [Anniston, AL] 9 Oct. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Link. If you dare.

This article discusses the use of technology such as smartphones and iPads to engage students in the classroom. It talks about how teachers are being trained to use the devices as tools, not replacements, and even how the students help the teachers use the device. The article even mentions using technology on students with disciplinary issues seemed to reduce their outbursts and kept them in the classroom.

This article is the epitome of my motivation. Engaging students in the classroom. Technology fascinates kids, whether you're a big techie or just like playing games. If the technology is used right, then it becomes a tool, rather than a distraction. I may base my entire paper on the themes brought up in this article.

Source 9

"Colleges Need Metrics to Measure Student Success." New York Times 19 Oct. 2013: A18(L). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.

Link for the curious.

In this short response to the editor, the President of Lehigh University responds saying that colleges do not have an identity crisis because of how the cost of high education is being put into question. He agrees that something needs to be changed, but it is not transforming into a different platform, such as MOOCs, that will benefit colleges. He believes having a metric for what students have when they leave college is most important to establishing reputation.

This is a different viewpoint, and it doesn't directly relate to technology. It only briefly mentions technology, specifically MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, in relation to higher education. However it's a viewpoint someone like me, who is arguing in favor of technology's role in education, would have to address. I haven't formed an opinion on it -- I don't immediately reject it -- but something isn't sitting right with me.

Prop 1729

The new millennium has brought about sweeping technological change. Since the innovation of the Internet and more recently tablets, we have had access to an immense amount of information from almost anywhere and we can have it instantly. This has had implications on education. Some argue that we should use the Internet to bring the classroom out of the "brick-and-mortar" setting and have education more accessible to anyone while others are cautious to jump straight into this new world fearing that these teachers and students could use these resources as crutches used to stumble through their educational experience.

I argue that technology is a tool and that it can be used for good or evil. Therefore, the appropriate use of technology can guarantee a better education to its users. Despite the fact that it can be used as a crutch and does come with new problems of its own, those problems can be solved like any other new idea that needs kinks to be worked out. Higher education, K-12, and preschool professionals are testing the waters as I write. Although some might object that one doesn't need technology in order to educate, I would respond saying one doesn't need a calculator to do math, yet it helps when we're working with large numbers. I feel that technology in education needs attention because the current system as it is will seem archaic if new technology which has transformed almost all aspects of society is not introduced in a reliable way.

Rogerian Rhetoric

Rogerian rhetoric stems from a paper Dr. Carl Rogers wrote. Dr. Rogers is a therapist and in his paper he argues that one can use a dialog based around entering and understanding the opposition's world. Rogerian rhetoric suggests that one recognizes the opposition's argument in one's own words in such a way that the opposition agrees with. The goal is to avoid a straw man and instead come to a closer connection with the person across the table.

The goal is not to manipulate the other person's argument however. This dialog is purely supposed to help both sides understand each other better by allowing them to step into each other's worlds. The danger happens when someone gets too close and may get lost in the other person's world.

As a rhetorical style, I like this idea and how it is friendly to understanding the perspective of others rather than having war with argument, which upon reading the first page of the paper initially made me think of this.

Because I am completely unfamiliar with it I'd really like to try it. I can't find a good argument to have around here though, so... it's a tiny bit difficult sometimes.

LOGIC!

I'm putting this here for reference for myself and anyone that happens to stumble on this blog.

It's the perfect resource for when you smell something fishy about someone else's argument.

"So you're saying that we smell like fish?"

Aaaaaaand your logical fallacy is...

Source 8

"The pros and cons of digital classrooms." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 29 Aug. 2013: L2. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Link.

Students have found success with using tablets in the classroom. As such, tablets also provide a resource to be lazy. If the teachers are not educated about tablets or if they use tablets too much, then the technology can work backwards. Some think technology should be learned at home. Regardless, tablets are a minor cost that come with extra rewards if used correctly.

I believe that in the classroom you can control the most important variables of learning. Teaching kids with tablets seems like a perfectly good idea provided the system works. In order for it to work, you must have technologically competent teachers. This is my primary concern, but I believe it is surmountable.

Source 7

Solochek, Jeffrey S. "SCHOOLS TACKLE VIRTUAL CHEATING; Officials explore ways to ensure students are doing their own work in online classes." Tampa Bay Times[St. Petersburg, FL] 4 Sept. 2013: 1. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Link.

With the introduction of required online courses in Florida, cheating has arisen as a problem. Cheating while taking an online course requires a different solution that the traditional methods. Teachers are now being required to call their students once a month for an assessment that they couldn't possibly cheat out of. Also, tests that require having an understanding of the concepts are being considered.

I can't help but chuckle at that last line. Regardless, cheating is a problem and it won't go away. While getting so personal with a teacher as to be on the phone with them is just a tad out of my comfort zone, I do think it's practical. Also, I believe designing a test that tests the understanding of concepts, despite how ridiculous it sounds, is a better way than designing a test that can be beaten with rout memorization.

Source 6

Lewin, Tamar. "Harvard and M.I.T. Team With Google." New York Times 11 Sept. 2013: A18(L). Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Link

M.I.T. and Harvard combined forces to help create a nonprofit consortium called edX about a year ago. Now Google is joining in to help create Open edX, an interface open to anyone to help create online courses in conjunction with MOOC.org, which will help anyone offer online courses to anyone in the world. This is in development still.

I must check this out. I have extensive experience with a program from MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten group. I know MIT has awesome quality when it comes to education. Now Google (my hero) is coming in with an open source project called Open edX. As a computer scientist, this is amazing.

Source 5

"Burrell pleased with cyber programs." Valley News-Dispatch [Tarentum, PA] 1 Oct. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Link.

The Burrell School District is expressing success with its online course program, which is mainly a summer credit recovery program. In light of the success of the program they have expanded their topic areas, covering grades K-12. They currently have 9 kids enrolled full time in the cyber program, which saves everyone a considerable amount of money.

Considering up until now my research on online courses has really been mostly discussing higher education, this is good news. I am of the opinion that current "brick-and-mortar" school district models need to adapt to this new era of technology and quick. This is good news that explorations into different models can be successful.

Source 4 (Or: "How I Learned Stop Using PAR Cans and Love Ellipsoidals")

"Piano lessons go digital." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 5 Oct. 2013: A12.Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Link.

Canada is launching a program to develop educational apps that specifically will teach music and piano. This is targeted at an early childhood audience. Music teachers for the app can be certified in a 60 hour program from relatively anywhere in the country. This comes at a time where many schools are foregoing their music program.

I have to admit, I actually read this article, scrolled onto another one, then came back to this. I did this because I realized how awesome this is. Canada, piano lessons, apps, Canada, what's not to love? If you're me this is the best thing ever, not only because Canada is involved, but because this means someone is using technology to solve a major problem. Music programs are being cut despite, as the article says, more and more evidence is piling up that suggests music programs are nothing but beneficial to education.

Source 3

Kang, Cecilia. "PBS hopes for a digital hit with 'Peg + Cat'." Washington Post 7 Oct. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Link.

Whoops. Wrong link.

PBS is trying to make headway into educational gaming apps. Recently they launched a new app called "Peg + Cat", a game targeted at audiences in early childhood. The app teaches basic math concepts and was built with the help of education professionals and includes common core subjects and terminology.

I don't know much about early childhood education (and I should probably read up on that.) But if there's one thing I do know it's math. I'm that jerk that says math is fun even though you have no idea why a parabola might be even slightly useful to you. That being said I'm also very touchy with the common core. The reason for that is because I've only heard not so good things about the common core from primary sources. Still, this is another angle which may be useful in my topic.

Source 2

Peterson, Paul E. "While K-12 schools resist, digital learning disrupts higher education." Education Next 13.4 (2013): 5. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Link.

Education is changing with the introduction of new technology. However, it seems the different levels are taking this change in different ways. Specifically, K-12 is stalwartly resisting a way for online courses to be provided. The political structure of schools district favors that children either take all courses in school or all online. Technology is meeting the same resistance at higher education levels. However, since higher education lacks the same structure as K-12, outlets such as Coursera have provided professors with a way of teaching online courses. Will K-12 soon follow?

Like Khan Academy, I have used Coursera before and I was surprised by its quality. Coursera provides an alternate model through its strictly for-profit existence, unlike Khan Academy. I hope to find more examples of websites that provide education resources.

Source 1

Winkler, Kirsten. "Free Internet-Based Education Can Change Education." What Is the Role of Technology in Education? Ed. Judeen Bartos. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Khan's Biggest Impact: Changing the Economics of Education." bigthink.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.

Link here.

Khan Academy is a relatively new website with a big offer: provide a completely free world-class education available on the Internet. The significance of this is, of course, that it's free. The Knowledge Map model Khan Academy provides tracks mastery of subjects, particularly in mathematics. It also provides a free resource to educators, allowing them to use Khan Academy to coach their students using the website's resources. This free information model, unlike the more common freemium and premium models, is gaining popularity through Khan Academy.

I've used Khan Academy before. Plenty of times actually. I know from experience that it is a top-notch website for education, particularly in the math area. They also provide a resource for developing with Javascript, and as a computer scientist, that's actually really cool. Khan Academy is definitely one of the strongest examples of using technology to transform education.

Response to Research in Easy Writer

Research

Here come the fun part. While it's usually quite a burden, I always get excited to do the research paper every year. And the cycle is usually something like this: arrive at library, painfully search for books relevant to my topic, lazily write down notes, leave, forget everything, come back the next day, repeat. That is such a precise cycle I could write code for it.

public String research(String topic)
{
    if (topic.length() > Integer.MAX_VALUE)
        return "";
    int x = (int)(Math.random() * topic.length());
    return topic + research(topic.substring(x) + topic.substring(0, x) + topic.substring(x);
}

As anyone that knows what this does could tell you it's a nightmarish process filled with recursion and heaps of trouble. For anyone that can't read this, well it already looks like a nightmare to you, doesn't it? However, this guide instills confidence in me that yes, I can do it this time. And ideally, the more I do it the better I should get, right? Regardless, I've been quite restricted in what I could write about in the past. I hope that isn't going to be the case anymore.

Response to Chapters 1-3 in They Say I Say

They Say...

What are these? The tools of writing an argument? They say this is the basis of all academic argument. I say I like writing for myself. I'm not all too fond of being told how to write, mostly because I fully believe I've got the tools down, I just need practice.

However that is sort of the secondary argument the section makes. Once you've got this down, then you practice, then you profit. Quite honestly the message of this book seems rudimentary to me. I don't need it. It's important. Most people need it. But I don't. Where does this cocky attitude come from? That's a different story. The point is, I get it. Let me actually practice with this stuff instead of considering how useful it may or may not be.

Response to Analyzing Editorial and Opinion Pieces

Ethos

It's clear that ethos is the "hidden persuader." It's the more subtle element of argument. A good ethos convinces you that there was no argument in the first place without you consciously being convinced of anything.

Take for instance, Ogletree's piece. As he argues in favor of affirmative action in Stanford University, he tells you more and more information about his life that suggest that you, a probably uninformed or inexperienced reader, don't have any background relevant enough to contribute to this issue. Is it excluding you? No. It's making you a student. It suggests that you should make decisions based on what he, the informed, thinks. And that is exactly what an ethos is supposed to do.