Music Credit:
"Elevator Music Part 57." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
"Elevator Music Part 56." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Grammer Video: They're, Their, and There
Music Credit:
"Elevator Music Part 57." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Nora Hixson: Evaluation of Website
Part 1:
The website Education Week is a form of a blog central with many different topics, ideas, authors, etc. The article I chose to read was called "Technology in Education."
There was no clear author of the article, but the organization, Education Week, was clearly stated at the top of the website no matter where I was on the site. The article, although written in 2011, had over twenty different sources cited at the bottom. The URL of the website contained an ".org" at the end, meaning it is a government-sponsored website. The rest of the links on the website led to different articles, ranging in topic, viewpoint, and length.
All of the claims in the article "Technology in Education" were supported by facts and outside sources, leading me to believe that they are not purely opinions of the author. The material presented was covered in depth, with five subtopics for support, each having its own section that was usually about five paragraphs of information and statistics.
The sources that the author used were mostly from other articles on the Education Week website, but each one provided more information on what the "Technology in Education" article was siting them for.
My writing:
A widely debated topic, education in the education system today is either beneficial or harmful in our schools. "The rapid evolution of educational technologies also makes it increasingly challenging to determine what works best. Longitudinal research that takes years to do risks being irrelevant by the time it is completed because of shifts in the technological landscape. The iPad, for instance, became popular in schools soon after it was released and well before any research could be conducted about its educational effectiveness." ("Technology in Education") With the always-changing nature of the education systems, technology itself, and the people involved in both, it is nearly impossible to keep up in an effective way.
Part 2:
Using EBSCO, I found the article called "Faculty Views on eTextbooks: A Narrative Study" by Jenny Bossaller and Jenna Kammer. This article was very well laid out, having different paragraphs for each argument and many facts to support each one. It presented both the pros and cons to the argument about eText in the classroom, and had interviews of faculty members to support both sides.
In comparison to the website that I used for Part 1, this article was much more formally written, as well as being more thorough with the information. In both instances the authors seem like experts on the topic, but the second one, the academic journal article, seemed to go much more in depth into every argument.
Resource from article: Bok, D. 2004. Universities in the Marketplace: The Commercialization of Higher Education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Chesser, W. D. 2011. “The etextbook Revolution.” Library Technology Reports 47 (8): 28–40, 58
Works Cited:
The website Education Week is a form of a blog central with many different topics, ideas, authors, etc. The article I chose to read was called "Technology in Education."
There was no clear author of the article, but the organization, Education Week, was clearly stated at the top of the website no matter where I was on the site. The article, although written in 2011, had over twenty different sources cited at the bottom. The URL of the website contained an ".org" at the end, meaning it is a government-sponsored website. The rest of the links on the website led to different articles, ranging in topic, viewpoint, and length.
All of the claims in the article "Technology in Education" were supported by facts and outside sources, leading me to believe that they are not purely opinions of the author. The material presented was covered in depth, with five subtopics for support, each having its own section that was usually about five paragraphs of information and statistics.
The sources that the author used were mostly from other articles on the Education Week website, but each one provided more information on what the "Technology in Education" article was siting them for.
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| Found: http://eduerp.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Use-of-Technology-in-Education1.jpg |
A widely debated topic, education in the education system today is either beneficial or harmful in our schools. "The rapid evolution of educational technologies also makes it increasingly challenging to determine what works best. Longitudinal research that takes years to do risks being irrelevant by the time it is completed because of shifts in the technological landscape. The iPad, for instance, became popular in schools soon after it was released and well before any research could be conducted about its educational effectiveness." ("Technology in Education") With the always-changing nature of the education systems, technology itself, and the people involved in both, it is nearly impossible to keep up in an effective way.
Part 2:
Using EBSCO, I found the article called "Faculty Views on eTextbooks: A Narrative Study" by Jenny Bossaller and Jenna Kammer. This article was very well laid out, having different paragraphs for each argument and many facts to support each one. It presented both the pros and cons to the argument about eText in the classroom, and had interviews of faculty members to support both sides.
In comparison to the website that I used for Part 1, this article was much more formally written, as well as being more thorough with the information. In both instances the authors seem like experts on the topic, but the second one, the academic journal article, seemed to go much more in depth into every argument.
Resource from article: Bok, D. 2004. Universities in the Marketplace: The Commercialization of Higher Education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Chesser, W. D. 2011. “The etextbook Revolution.” Library Technology Reports 47 (8): 28–40, 58
Works Cited:
"Technology in Education - Education Week." Education Week American Education News Site of Record. Education Week, 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
"Use of Technology in Education." Photograph. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.
Bossaller, Jenny, and Jenna Kammer. "Faculty Views on ETextbooks: A Narrative Study: EBSCOhost." EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Research Resources
My first impressions of this site is that it is laid out well. It is well organized and easy to navigate. The information was basic and to the point. There is no authors found on this page. The writer(s) writes mainly opinions due to the lack of evidence on the topic of the Sasquatch. He gives a description of the Sasquatch and also talks about the habitat and how the Oregon government is trying to protect it.
When i chose this website i did so because it had a .org URL. This means it is a government site. I thought it would have reliable information and facts. I think since it was a government site the information was put in the form of opinions.
The Sasquatch has many different names from different cultures; Big Foot, Ape Man, Kushtaka, the Yeti. Although it has many different names the descriptions are very similar. "Sasquatch, most commonly found in the Pacific Northwest, is usually described as a bipedal ape-like creature, significantly larger than an average man, and is completely covered in dark brown or reddish hair." (Oregon Wild) There has been sighting of this creature all around the world.
When i looked on the EBSCO database i found an article based on the legends of Bigfoot and Sasquatch. The article is very logical and fact based. The authors purspose of this article was to lay out the facts both for and against the existence of the Sasquatch. This article seems to be well written and comes from a more skeptical point of view.
Bindernagel, John. North Americans Great Apes (1998) Electronic.
"Sasquatch"- Oregon Wild. Electronic. 2015. http://www.oregonwild.org/wildlife/sasquatch
By Sarah Holzmeister
10/10/15
My first impressions of this site is that it is laid out well. It is well organized and easy to navigate. The information was basic and to the point. There is no authors found on this page. The writer(s) writes mainly opinions due to the lack of evidence on the topic of the Sasquatch. He gives a description of the Sasquatch and also talks about the habitat and how the Oregon government is trying to protect it.
When i chose this website i did so because it had a .org URL. This means it is a government site. I thought it would have reliable information and facts. I think since it was a government site the information was put in the form of opinions.
The Sasquatch has many different names from different cultures; Big Foot, Ape Man, Kushtaka, the Yeti. Although it has many different names the descriptions are very similar. "Sasquatch, most commonly found in the Pacific Northwest, is usually described as a bipedal ape-like creature, significantly larger than an average man, and is completely covered in dark brown or reddish hair." (Oregon Wild) There has been sighting of this creature all around the world.
When i looked on the EBSCO database i found an article based on the legends of Bigfoot and Sasquatch. The article is very logical and fact based. The authors purspose of this article was to lay out the facts both for and against the existence of the Sasquatch. This article seems to be well written and comes from a more skeptical point of view.
Bindernagel, John. North Americans Great Apes (1998) Electronic.
"Sasquatch"- Oregon Wild. Electronic. 2015. http://www.oregonwild.org/wildlife/sasquatch
By Sarah Holzmeister
10/10/15
Internet Resources
By Sarah Moore
Part 1:
Impression of the Site:
I searched ‘violence and videogames’ on google scholar, and came up with the site The Effect of Online Violent Video Games on Levels of Aggression. The information given on this site are a variety of things, but it all draws back to one topic: the effect of violent video games on levels of aggression. For information the site uses several graphs, includes background information on the video game industry and its impact, and has tabs on the left side listing all of the content in the article. Based on the URL, links, and the website’s look overall, it seems mostly very credible. There is definitely not a lack of information on violence and video games, the author is not brief in his writing, and he explores all the different aspect of this argument, such as results from different studies, supporting research, and the significance of the topic.
General Criteria Guidelines:
The authors are clearly named at the top of the site, underneath the articles’ title. It is written by Jack Hollingdale and Tobias Greitemeyer. The authors, when clicking on their underlined names, has a brief sentence on who they are: Jack Hollingdale attended University of Sussex in Brighton, a school of Psychology, and Tobias Greitemeyer also attended a school of psychology, the University of Innsbruck. Just by this brief information, the authors appear to be well-trained in discussing violence in video games and its correlation to aggression, as it closely relates to psychology (which they majored in). The website is funded by government organizations.
The information of the site isn’t so much to persuade as it is to inform the reader of the likelihood of violent video games increasing aggression level. They show their argument through a variety of credible models and studies, and explain in full detail the results those organizations found. References are included in helpful number links that take you to the citations. The website has a full list of citations, and are all sighted properly.
The correlation between violent video games and aggression is something that has been a concern for many years now. Ever since the video game industry skyrocketed with desirable new animations, story lines, and interactiveness, researchers began to wonder if the violence displayed is somehow harmful to the people who play them, especially for hours at a time. Does the aggression of playing a first person shooter (FPS) influence how people act in real life? “Previous research, utilising the General Aggression Model (GAM), has identified that violent video games increase levels of aggression.” (Hollingdale, Greitemeyer).
Part 2:
Evaluation: On the online database, EBSCO, I found this article that closely related to the topic of the above website: Virtually Justifiable Homicide: The Effects of Prosocial Contexts on the Link Between Violent Video Games, Aggression, and Prosocial and Hostile Cognition
When I first skimmed the content of this site, my first impression was actually a little unimpressed, because particularly in the first two pages, it only talks about the numerous studies that were taken on violence and videogames, but rarely connects them to what the topic is about. The article explains how the study was conducted in great detail, but not what the findings or results were. Those are only explained in about one or two sentences, when I feel like the results are the most important part to supporting an argument. Nonetheless, looking past all the introductory paragraphs, it is still a professional article, and the author proves he is knowledgeable in this topic by thoughtfully writing about three rather impactful studies and their findings, and a conclusion in which he answers the big question: violent video games can increase aggressive behavior.
The author referenced a GAM test that studied thoughts and behavior and the influence violent video games has on them by Greitemeyer and Osswald, 2010.
Comparison:
The information in the article was very similar to the information on the website, however it was far more technical and included studies which I sometimes couldn’t connect to the subject. The website, in my personal opinion, was easier to follow and just as intelligent as the database article. I felt the website carried its argument well without needing an abundance of studies. However, the author of the article appeared to have a little more expertise, his writing style and presentation were scholarly, and he included more research in his article compared to the authors of the website. In conclusion, I feel that both authors were well versed in the topic of violence and videogames, but expressed them in fairly different manners.
WORKS CITED:
Jack Hollingdale, Tobias Greitemeyer. Plos One. 8 Oct. 2015. Web. 07 Oct, 2015.
Seth A. Gitter, Patrick J. Ewell, Rosanna E. Guadagno, Tyler F. Stillman, Roy F. Baumeister.
“Virtually Justifiable Homicide: The Effects of Prosocial Contexts on the Link Between Violent Video Games, Aggression, and Prosocial and Hostile Cognition.” 1 Sept. 2013. EBSCO. Web. 11 Oct. 2015.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Blog Review - backoftheroomblog
By Sarah Moore
For me, choosing which blog to review wasn't a random pick of the class blog list, rather, I intentionally chose the BackoftheRoomBlog.
And if I am to be completely honest, when in need of some good examples of chapter readings or maybe just some blog inspiration, I've always gravitated towards this blog. So very happily, here is my review on the BackoftheRoomBlog. What better then to write a review on a blog that you like?
On first glance, the appearance and structure of this blog is incredibly organized and visually pleasing, and when I tested to see how easily I could maneuver around the tabs, it was really user-friendly. Admittedly there isn't a lot of color, but I think the black and white looks more professional. It's easy to make a blog that appears messy with too many contrasting fonts and colors, (I noticed some blogs I've reviewed previously were like that) but this blog avoids that nicely. All of the English 121 assignments are included and I can tell the writers spend a good amount of time on making their posts' concise. There's just a lot of sameness and organization that makes it a great blog to follow.
What goes into a good blog are aspects such as organization, currency, quality and validity, visual appeal, author credibility, and consistency. This is what's known as the quality criteria list. I've already talked about the organization in the backoftheroomblog, but a few extra side notes would be there is a handy search bar in the top right corner, in case the 'recent posts' tab couldn't get you where you needed, and if you'd rather look at all the posts at once, you could just continuously scroll down. It's difficult to rate the currency of the posts since the subjects are only English 121 assignments, but their images are definitely current, such as memes I've seen this year on the internet. The writing is very high quality, you can tell there was a good deal of effort put into it, and the posts are very eloquent. The author gives obvious credit by labeling their individual posts as seen below the title of their blog post, or the added signature at the bottom. Image sources are included in links that go directly to the webpage. There is slight inconsistency in the amount a certain author posts versus how much the other author does, but there is definitely a blog post written at least every few days.
I think this blogs' content is really intelligent, and I enjoy reading their outlooks on the different subjects we've studied. Something that could be bothersome to certain people is the lack of color, or lack of imagery that keeps the blog lively and interesting, though they've done a great job at including an image at the end of every blog post. There is also a fairly large strip of white space to the right of their website that's a little blank, but that could be their template. Either way, I absolutely love this blog!
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For me, choosing which blog to review wasn't a random pick of the class blog list, rather, I intentionally chose the BackoftheRoomBlog.
And if I am to be completely honest, when in need of some good examples of chapter readings or maybe just some blog inspiration, I've always gravitated towards this blog. So very happily, here is my review on the BackoftheRoomBlog. What better then to write a review on a blog that you like?
On first glance, the appearance and structure of this blog is incredibly organized and visually pleasing, and when I tested to see how easily I could maneuver around the tabs, it was really user-friendly. Admittedly there isn't a lot of color, but I think the black and white looks more professional. It's easy to make a blog that appears messy with too many contrasting fonts and colors, (I noticed some blogs I've reviewed previously were like that) but this blog avoids that nicely. All of the English 121 assignments are included and I can tell the writers spend a good amount of time on making their posts' concise. There's just a lot of sameness and organization that makes it a great blog to follow.
What goes into a good blog are aspects such as organization, currency, quality and validity, visual appeal, author credibility, and consistency. This is what's known as the quality criteria list. I've already talked about the organization in the backoftheroomblog, but a few extra side notes would be there is a handy search bar in the top right corner, in case the 'recent posts' tab couldn't get you where you needed, and if you'd rather look at all the posts at once, you could just continuously scroll down. It's difficult to rate the currency of the posts since the subjects are only English 121 assignments, but their images are definitely current, such as memes I've seen this year on the internet. The writing is very high quality, you can tell there was a good deal of effort put into it, and the posts are very eloquent. The author gives obvious credit by labeling their individual posts as seen below the title of their blog post, or the added signature at the bottom. Image sources are included in links that go directly to the webpage. There is slight inconsistency in the amount a certain author posts versus how much the other author does, but there is definitely a blog post written at least every few days.
I think this blogs' content is really intelligent, and I enjoy reading their outlooks on the different subjects we've studied. Something that could be bothersome to certain people is the lack of color, or lack of imagery that keeps the blog lively and interesting, though they've done a great job at including an image at the end of every blog post. There is also a fairly large strip of white space to the right of their website that's a little blank, but that could be their template. Either way, I absolutely love this blog!
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Nora Hixson: Blog Review
By Nora Hixson
Blog chosen: Rock-&-Iron
I thought that the blog Rock-&-Iron was very neat and orderly when I first looked at it. I really liked the photo of the mountains that they had at the top, but I then realized that the rest of the blog seemed a little plain, as it was all just white with black or grey text. I definitely liked how easy it was to navigate though, it enabled me to see the beginnings of each post, and then I could click and read more if they interested me.
For our class, the Blog Quality Criteria List was as follows: organized, current, quality content, creativity, visually pleasing, author credibility, and consistency. The blog Rock-&-Iron was most definitely organized, current, and had quality content. In terms of creativity, I feel like it lacked a little bit, with not very many pictures and a very plain background for each post. It was visually pleasing in the way that it was so organized and easy to navigate, but it did not interest me or capture my attention at all. The blog seemed pretty consistent, with posts every few days and always about relevant topics.
Overall I liked this blog, but I don't know that I would follow it outside of class because of the lack of visually pleasing details. The content was more boring than what I would normally look for when considering a blog to follow, but that is because it's all assignments from class so it's understandable. I liked being able to read the authors' different perspectives and ideas about the assignments, and I definitely didn't have a negative experience with this blog!
Blog chosen: Rock-&-Iron
I thought that the blog Rock-&-Iron was very neat and orderly when I first looked at it. I really liked the photo of the mountains that they had at the top, but I then realized that the rest of the blog seemed a little plain, as it was all just white with black or grey text. I definitely liked how easy it was to navigate though, it enabled me to see the beginnings of each post, and then I could click and read more if they interested me.
For our class, the Blog Quality Criteria List was as follows: organized, current, quality content, creativity, visually pleasing, author credibility, and consistency. The blog Rock-&-Iron was most definitely organized, current, and had quality content. In terms of creativity, I feel like it lacked a little bit, with not very many pictures and a very plain background for each post. It was visually pleasing in the way that it was so organized and easy to navigate, but it did not interest me or capture my attention at all. The blog seemed pretty consistent, with posts every few days and always about relevant topics.
Overall I liked this blog, but I don't know that I would follow it outside of class because of the lack of visually pleasing details. The content was more boring than what I would normally look for when considering a blog to follow, but that is because it's all assignments from class so it's understandable. I liked being able to read the authors' different perspectives and ideas about the assignments, and I definitely didn't have a negative experience with this blog!
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| Found: http://www.theblogstarter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/1.jpg |
Nora Hixson: Chapter 14 Reading Response
Personal Reaction: In my personal opinion, I think that Argumentative essays are harder than most essays because they require tons of opinions and facts to support the main point. This is hard because you have to be really good at developing your ideas, as well as having to be good at making your point clear and concise in your writing.
Professional Reaction: Argumentative essays are all about credibility, facts, opinions, common knowledge, and refutation. The evidence has to be relevant, representative, and sufficient for the essay to be clear.
Professional Reaction: Argumentative essays are all about credibility, facts, opinions, common knowledge, and refutation. The evidence has to be relevant, representative, and sufficient for the essay to be clear.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Chapter 14: Argumentative Essays
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| Picture found on google images |
By Sarah Moore
Personal Response: Honestly I think writing an argumentative essay is slightly intimidating because of how opinion-based the paper is, and opinions are something I struggle with conveying in the right way through writing. However, this chapter gave very insightful tips on how to use pathos, ethos, and logos, and how to write an interesting paper for the reader without being totally bias throughout. I like how it stressed to consider your argument's opposing side. Writing that is solely opinion-based and not open-minded can be pretty disappointing, so that's why I find this so helpful.
Professional Response: Chapter 14 on Argumentation talks about all the important qualities that should be in an argumentative essay, such as persuasion, validity, evidence, whether the topic is debatable, and if its opposing side can be argued as well. It also brought up a term we had just learned in class a couple weeks ago, fallacies, and how to avoid them in your argumentative essay. There were definitely a lot of key words to remember, but I think with practice argumentative essays could be pretty fun to write!
Chapter 14 Reading responds.
By Sarah Holzmeister
Professional responds: In my professional opinion I like that the Argumentation essay is based on facts and not emotion. I also like that they tell you to include the argument against your point and use that to make more valid arguments towards your point.
Personal opinion: I didn't know that their is a difference between persuasive essays and Argumentation essays. I think i will like Argumentation essays more because the are heavier on the facts and not opinion.
By Sarah Holzmeister
Professional responds: In my professional opinion I like that the Argumentation essay is based on facts and not emotion. I also like that they tell you to include the argument against your point and use that to make more valid arguments towards your point.
Personal opinion: I didn't know that their is a difference between persuasive essays and Argumentation essays. I think i will like Argumentation essays more because the are heavier on the facts and not opinion.
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