Websites as Study Buddies

Websites are making a difference in education for students. The Internet provides some wonderful resources to help students learn. This week’s article looks at some websites that give help in ways that some people think encourages cheating and undermines learning. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions. Note that I expect more from you than just answering my questions to get full credit.

When you go to college, will you use one of the sites mentioned in the article? If so, how will you use it? What features of these websites do you think are ethical? Which features should be removed? Respond to the following quotation: “Part of what’s valuable about homework is that it gives you a safe space to practice and struggle.” Should homework be graded?

Study Buddy Article

Print Books and Pirates

We have talked about e-readers and how they affect people’s interest in reading. This week we look at another aspect of the e-book popularity – piracy. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions. Note that I expect more from you than just answering my questions to get full credit.

Compare the controversy about music piracy with this new phenomenon. How are they similar and how are they different? Are the sites where the books are posted responsible for monitoring their sites for unauthorized content? The article states that “Publishers and authors say they can learn from their peers in music, who alienated fans by using the courts aggressively to go after college students and Napster before it converted to a legitimate online store.” What do you think they can learn and what should they do? Several authors expressed their opinions in the article. Which author’s opinion do you agree with?

Pirates on the Web Article

Can E-Readers Save the Daily Press?

You may have heard of the Kindle and its use for reading books. Big-screen e-readers are being produced to provide similar options for other media. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions. Note that I expect more from you than just answering my questions to get full credit.

How much do you think that the new big-screen e-readers should sell for? The article mentioned the possibility of having textbooks on Amazon’s larger version of its Kindle. What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of having textbooks in this form? The article states that “The move by newspapers and magazines to make their material freely available on the Web is now viewed by many as a critical blunder that encouraged readers to stop paying for the print versions.” Do you agree? What should newspapers and magazines have done instead? What can publishers do to get people to pay for subscriptions to newspapers and magazines that they would read on big-screen e-readers?

E-Reader Article

Groups Outwit Net Censors

We all know that certain governments censor what their citizens can read online. This week's article looks at the efforts that have gone into circumventing this censorship. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

What is your opinion about the use of this software to evade government censorship? Should people be allowed to access any website that they want, regardless of its content or purpose? Under what conditions should a governenment block and filter Internet content? What risks do you see in using this software? What is your reaction to the following quote from the article? "As with George Orwell’s “Newspeak,” the language in “1984” that got smaller each year, governments can block particular words or phrases without users realizing their Internet searches are being censored." Should Congress fund circumvention services?

Net Censors Article

Wii Warriors, Wii Wounds

Computer games are fun. People often will become so involved that they can play a game for hours. This week’s article looks at the popular Wii system and some of the implications that using it can have on a person’s physical health. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

If you are not familiar with the Wii system and how it works, do some research to familiarize yourself with it so that you can address my questions. Which of the Wii games do you think would be most likely to cause an injury and why? In the article, Dr. Halpern said that he treated two types of injuries. Which type would you be likely to sustain? Have you ever injured yourself while playing a computer game? What happened and how long did it take to recover? What advice would you give to adults who are considering playing games on a Wii?

Wii Article

Medical Charts Go Electronic

When you go to a doctor’s office, the doctor usually has a chart that is used to maintain health records about you. This week’s article discusses how technology is changing the old system of paper records. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

Should all doctors use electronic health records? If not, why not? How would you encourage doctors to switch to electronic health records? How could the problem of start-up costs be addressed? How might Dr. Ferris have avoided the problems that he encountered? What potential benefits do you see using electronic health records? What potential problems do you see using electronic health records?

Medical Charts Article

Spy System Loots Computers

We all should be concerned about viruses and people trying to do things to our computers at home. This week’s article shows us that these concerns should be shared by organizations and government agencies. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

What sort of information do you think is covertly gathered by the governments that are using these sophisticated programs? Who do you think is really responsible for the GhostNet system? What is your opinion about this sort of practice? Is it ever justified? What should the Dalai Lama do now? The article quotes two researchers, “What Chinese spooks did in 2008, Russian crooks will do in 2010 and even low-budget criminals from less developed countries will follow in due course.” Does this bother you? What should we do about it?

Spy System Article