C4T Chosen by Dr. Strange

Ideas and Thoughts by Dean Shareski

C4T Wk#1
"I Couldn't Agree More" is Meh
Dean writes that people should read the comments of a blog as well as the blog. This is where conversation and debate can occur. Comments like "I agree" are nice but not helpful. Bloggers are wanting to initiate conversation. If you want to increase your critical thinking, don't always read blogs that you agree with.

I commented that I agree too. (But I have to leave a substantive post because this is a class assignment!) I also wrote that this post is very helpful as I am new to the blogging world. I told him that I've read many blogs in the past but never commented because I didn't feel the need. Now that I've had to create my own blog, I see the importance of substantial comments. I agreed that blogs are about conversation. I also wrote that I would think that most bloggers create their blog to have a way to share their thoughts and ideas, but even more they want to hear the thoughts and ideas of others. In conclusion, I commented that to truly benefit from the conversation, we can't just consume but we must produce as well.

C4T Wk#2
The Digital Divide: Live with It
Dean writes about how the increasing use of technology in education is opening up so many opportunities for learning, but educators still put a ceiling on the top learners. Educators have introduced technology to students but are still assessing students like they did before the technology, just to see if the achievement gap is smaller. He says that with all the doors that open to learning with technology, educators cannot continue to use the same assessments. Students are learning in ways that aren't always easy to assess and if we continue to do assess the same way as when there was not technology, then the students are being held under a ceiling.

I commented that when talking about closing the achievement gap, the lower-end students are usually the focus and this often leaves the students on the higher end of the spectrum stuck under "the ceiling". I also commented that all students deserve to be challenged regardless of where they lie on the spectrum. The increasing technology that is available for education opens up a world of opportunities for all students. I agreed that technology should be used to benefit all students, but this leads to more work for educators because it requires tailoring the lesson to meet the learning needs of all students. That's where the ceiling comes in.


C4T Wk#3
Do What You Love: A Selfish and Misguided Message
Dean writes that doing work that you love is selfish. He writes that doing work that you don't love or have a passion for is what work is and that's real life. He also writes that college should not be pushed on every student. He suggests that we should celebrate the students that go to work after high school, too.

I commented that I have worked with people who dislike their job with a passion and since I was not in a management position that could change things for these people, I ultimately had to leave the job because of their attitudes. Before I left, I spoke with one of the young workers on a personal level and told them that if they didn't like what they were doing, then why don't they look for a job that they do like. They have since moved on and hopefully to a better situation. The main reason my coworkers disliked their job was not the task itself, but the management. I heard more complaints about the people they worked with and for, than the actual job. This leads to the fact that the people of a job are the most important aspect of a job.
I also commented that I don't think any high school student should be discouraged from going to college, especially in today's workforce. However, having went to college immediately after high school, and then a few years after college realizing that I didn't like that profession, and now in college again going a different route, I don't think it is always a bad idea for a student to take some time after high school to work while deciding what they would like to study in college.


C4T Wk#4
Another Reason Why You Don't Blog
Dean writes about why people shouldn't stress about blogging. He links back to a post he wrote in November in which he wrote that "clicking publish" through blogging is not the same as publish meant in the past. He gives an example of how someone sent a link to one of his blog posts to a non-educator and because Dean misspelled a word in the title, the non-educator would not read it. He also links a podcast that he recorded and in it he reminds his listeners that blogging is not about formal writing but about conversation. Therefore, even though we may revise our posts several times, there still may be grammatical errors. He encourages his readers and listeners to not be afraid to blog about their ideas just because it may not be entirely grammatically correct.

I thanked Dean for this post because it was encouraging. I commented that I just entered into the blogging world two months ago in this EDM class and I have struggled with writing "publish worthy" blog posts and required comments on other's blogs. I also wrote that in this class I have read a range of blogs from elementary and high school students to college students and educators. Of course, all these blogs are not grammatically correct, but these people are writing about their ideas. Like he said in his post, publish doesn't have the same meaning as it did in the past. These students are learning a new definition of publish.