Week 5 Blog

Wikipedia

When I was old enough to start researching stuff for school, I have always used wikipedia. When I reached the seventh grade or so, my teachers said do not use wikipedia. I never understood why until high school. From what I understand in high school, wikipedia was never reliable because the facts always change. I did not realize that people had the ability to get on to the wikipedia websites and change the facts themselves. And now, I just found out that a person can trace the IP address back to the person who changed the facts, thanks to Virgil Griffith.

Based on what I have read from the NPR stories about wikipedia, I do not think that I would ever used it again. According to the NPR, wikipedia is an open encyclopedia, meaning that anyone can access to the website and edit whatever they want to change. It is also not illegal, which I do not think is a good idea. People changing the facts everyday is not always a good idea because the facts will never be accurate. How can we expect to learn anything from wikipedia with people having the ability to change facts everyday?

It is okay to use wikipedia if you do not necessarily care about whether or not the facts are accurate. However, for educational purposes, it will not do you any good if the facts are not guaranteed accuracy. Either way, I will never use wikipedia because I will not trust the accuracy on the facts.


"What I've Learn this year" by Mr. McClung

I really enjoyed Mr. McClung's essay. He included advices based on his experience as a teacher. He talked about reading the crowd, flexibility, communication, reasoning, not being afraid to use technology, listening to students, and never stop learning. I agree with everything he is saying.

As a teacher, you will need to be able to see of the student are comprehending anything you teach. You also need to be flexible because the way you teach will be different every time. Your lessons may not go as you plan. Communication is very important because you need to know what your students are or are not understanding. Teachers should also be reasonable. They should not always expect the highest of their students. It may take some time with a couple of students before they understand the materials. Technology are useful. They can help the teachers teach their lessons in a more effective way. Listening to students will help develop a better relationship between the student and teacher because it will help the teachers figure out a way how to help the students to be successful. Finally, teachers should never stop learning. Teachers need to stay up to date with today's world because they can teach more effectively to their students.

All of these are useful tips for me. I will definitely keep them in mind when I become a teacher.