Final Topic

4a) Make a final decision about your logical argument research topic. What is it? Questions to ask yourself: Bullying 

What have we been studying in class this year? Bullying, Standardized testing, Drunk Driving, Common Core,  and Smoking
Which subjects appeal to me? Bullying and Standardized testing 
What are people writing about? Standardized testing , drunk driving and bullying
What's most interesting to me?  Bullying and drunk driving 
Can I find information about that? Yes, I can find a lot of information about that topic
4b) Why are you most interested in the topic of argument selected?
 I'm interested in the topic of bullying because it is the topic that reaches close to my heart.

Cases for and Against

Drunk Driving- Stricter laws should be enacted against drunk driving because of the harm it can cause to innocent people and families. Stricter laws would prevent drunk driving because people would be afraid of the consquence.



Standerized testing- Some people believe teaching the same material and taking the same test across the nation would accurately show which kids are proficient in the subject. Other people argue that some students aren't good test takers or the test doesn't show what they've learned throughout the year.


Bullying- Schools should make stricter laws on Bullying because bullying doesn't only affect the child now but could effect them in the long run. Bullies should prosecuted and treated as a criminal depending on their age and effect of their bullying.


Smoking-  Although smoking is the most common forms of recreational drug use it is still a huge problem in America. Some people try to quit by going to rehab or using nicotine patches. Smoking causes cancer within the lungs and there are still 440,000 deaths related to smoking yearly.



Common Core-  The Common Core was created to help make national standards in order to help students receive a comprehensive education that prepares them to compete in a global economy.  Yes, while this does sound like a great idea it makes students more pressured to pass the test and sometimes aren't good test takers.

Common Core

                   Critical Thinking & Analysis

1. Why were the Common Core Standards developed?
2. Why are critics opposed to the Common Core Standards?
3. What are the potential benefits of having national standards for Language Arts and Math

• The Common Core standards were developed to establish clear and consistent standards across the country and make sure all U.S students receive a comprehensive education that prepares them to compete in a global economy.  
• Critics opposed the Common Core Standards because they believe it was flawed and forced upon the states.
•  The potential benefits of having national standards for Language Arts and Math is that if your proficient in one state you will be proficient in the neighboring states. 

Smoking

                    Critical Thinking & Analysis

Smokeless Tobacco
Are smokeless tobacco products a safe alternative to cigarettes?

Smoking Bans
Are smoking bans justified?

Tobacco Advertising
Is the regulation of tobacco advertising by the Food and Drug Administration necessary?

Tobacco Regulation
Should tobacco be regulated?


  

• Smokeless tobacco products are not a safe alternative to cigarettes because they are still harmful to your health. Its probably better for those around them because it reduces the chances of secondhand smoke but nevertheless it still isn't safe for the user.
• Smoking bans are justified because they help keep innocent people from inhaling the harmful toxins other people create by smoking. Its justified because of public safety.
• Yes, it is necessary for the FDA to regulate advertisement of tobacco products because if they didn't little kids can see them and might want to try it, which would cause smoking at a early  age.
• Tobacco should be regulated because it is a harmful drug that is unfortunately legal.  It should be soon removed from deli's and big retailers.

Bullying

                 Critical Thinking & Analysis

1. Do you think schools are doing enough to stop bullying? Explain your answer.
2. How should bullies be punished?
3. What should schools do to help students who are the victims of bullies?
4. What are the reasons that students bully other students? How can this behavior be changed

• I think schools aren't doing enough to stop bullying because they should train teachers to recognize signs of bullying or hold stricter laws against bullying although social media plays a big role nowadays and that's out of school limits.
• Bullies should have something on their transcript or whenever they need a letter of recommendation just like as if they didn't follow academic honesty.
• Schools should create groups and clubs supporting anyone who needs to speak to a friend that is encountering a similar problem.
• Bullies bully other children for countless reasons, they could feel threatened, they are abused mentally or physically at home and may have been bullied before.

Standardized Testing

Critical Thinking & Analysis

1. Is standardized testing necessary to measure and evaluate what students have learned? Why or why not?
2. Should students be denied promotion or diplomas based on the results of one test? Why or why not?
3. Does standardized testing make teachers more accountable for what their students learn? Explain.
4. In what ways can standardized tests be unfair to disadvantaged or minority students?

• I don't believe standarized testing is necessary to measure and evalute what students have learned because it should be the teacher that does it since the teacher has been working with kids the most.
• Students should not be denied promotion or diplomas based on the results from one test because students are talented in other ways which may not be test taking. Some students aren't able to recieve the best tutoring because they cant afford it.
• Standerized testing does not make teachers more accountable for what their students learn because their questions on the test that aren't taught in school but by tutors specifically for the test.
• Standarized testing could unfair to minority students because they dont have the proper living conditions to perform well on standarized testing.

Drunk Driving

1. Should states adopt stricter penalties for drivers who refuse to take a BAC test? Why or why not?
2. Should laws be enacted that require ignition-interlock devices for all convicted drunk drivers, including first-time offenders? Why or why not?
3. Do you think DUI checkpoints should be used more often and in more places? Explain.
4. Describe other measures you think could be implemented to reduce drunk driving.

• I think states shouldn't adopt stricter penalties for people who refuse to take the BAC test because Advil and other medication could effect the result leading in inaccurate readings. People who can hold more alcohol  and don't show signs of being drunk and could be arrested as well. 
• Yes, I believe  that laws should be enacted that require ignition-interlock devices for convicted drunk drivers because they have a higher chance of doing it again and risking other drivers.
• I think DUI checkpoints should used in more places 
• To always have someone responsible enough to keep you from driving or tell someone to take your keys if they realize your drunk.

5 Potential Research Topics

1. Drunk driving- I chose this topic  because I'm going to be driving soon and I want to be as safe as possible. I would rather be fined than wrapped around a pole and possibly take another persons life.
2. Standerized Testing- I chose this topic because as a student I feel like standerized testing takes away from the teachers oppurtunity to actually teach the subject instead of teaching the kids how to pass the test.
3. Bullying- I chose this topic because its something I've experienced and its a worldwide problem. Many teenagers have comitted suicide because of other kids
4. Smoking-  I chose this topic because it's something thats been a big problem in the world since it became popular. Parents who smoke in danger their kids because of second hand smoke and its not fair the child.
5. Common Core- I chose this topic because it doesn't allow the teacher to teach the kids instead only prepare them for the test. All students are categorized the same but everyone has different abilities.

Things That Tick Me Off

Make a list of four or five things that "tick you off." Explain why. (Choose significant things that others might experience as well. For instance, your little brother might tick you off, but there is little chance that this annoyance will yield a possible paper topic). It is possible that one of these annoyances can be transformed into an interesting, engaging, and researchable project.

1. The SAT because if you are prepped more for it then you are more likely to succeed. Also because a test makes or breaks your college career.
2. When people drink and drive because not only are they harming themselves but putting other people in harms way.
3. Child abuse, because children shouldn't be harmed for being a child or making mistakes.
4. Animal abuse, because I love animals and they don't know right from wrong and shouldn't be accountable.

Wikipedia Story

1. What did wiki software allow Web users to do that the Mosaic browser did not? The Mosaic browser did not allow people to edit web pages. However, Wiki had the ability to let people edit the web pages.
2. What do blogs and wikis have in common? Blogs encouraged user generated content and that is what Wiki is based off of to involve user generated content in web pages. That is what Wiki's and Blogs have in common.
3. What problem did a young Jimmy Wales find with the World Book Encyclopedia? The problem he found was that there was a lot of things in it but not everything. That's what he wanted to fix.
4. How was Jimmy Wales inspired by the World Book Encyclopedia to create Wikipedia? He was inspired by stickering his encyclopedia that his mom bought him. He did this to update the original encyclopedia which is what Wikipedia is, people can edit the original content on the web page. 
5. How have encyclopedias inspired you in your own life? Encyclopedias as books have not had much of an impact on my life but Wikipedia has. Wikipedia has helped me with many projects in school and just random thoughts on things i wondered about.
6. Why did Nupedia fail? Nupedia failed because there was only one dozen articles published and there was 150 in drafts which shows how long the process is.
7. How did wiki software change the ideas behind Nupedia? Wiki software changed the ideas behind Nupedia by allowing the general public to modify pages with no review by staff.
8. What is “ crowdsourcing?” Crowd-sourcing means to obtain any information into a particular task by enlisting the services of a number of people either paid or unpaid.
9. What do you think about the concept of “any fool in the world” being able to write articles for Wikipedia? I believe he means that wikipedia will become biased a website and people will edit things to fool around.
10. Do agree with the idea that “total idiots” could edit Wikipedia and of that being a good thing? Explain. No I don't believe the idea of "total idiots" editing Wikipedia could be a good thing. I don't believe this is a good thing because it will provide false information and not many people would use it.
11. Why do you think Wikipedia grew so fast and became so popular in such a short amount of time? I think Wikipedia grew so fast and became so popular in such a short amount of time because it was made clear Nupedia had no connection to Wikipedia.
12. Do you believe Sanger’s elitist attitude was a good thing or a bad thing for Wikipedia? I believe Sanger's elitist attitude was a good thing because the Wikipedia community proved him wrong.
13. What did you learn from the anecdote about the Wikipedia article on Einstein going to Albania for a passport in 1935? I learned that people with correct  information can correct other peoples  statements helping balance out the information.
14. Explain this quote from the article: “I can’t imagine who could have written such detailed guidelines other than a bunch of people working together...It’s common in Wikipedia that we’ll come to a solution that’s really well thought out because so many minds have had a crack at improving it.” The article written by a bunch of  people helps  spread a neutral viewpoint of things such as world hunger.
15. The author of the article states that Wikipedia “grew organically.” What does he mean by that? I think that the author of the article means that the Wikipedia site grew by  the people of the community contributing to help develop and grow. 
16. How has Wikipedia “been the greatest collaborative knowledge project in history?” 
17. Based on your own opinion and experience with Wikipedia, do you agree with the above statement or disagree with it? Explain.
18. What does the author mean by “wiki-crack?” The author  means its a rush of "dopamine" that goes to the brain's pleasure center. The happens when the person makes an intelligent edit and it immediately appears in a Wikipedia article.
19. Based on the article, do you believe Wikipedia is a reliable source of information? I still don't believe Wikipedia is reliable source of information because of the amount of teachers  who tell me to use a more reliable source.
20. Do you believe its possible for a 16-year-old from New Jersey to write “insightful” Wikipedia articles? I do believe its possible for a 16-year-old from New Jersey to write an "insightful" Wikipedia article but the article would need to be revised and proof read by a teacher with great knowledge of the subject.
21. How do you feel about basing your own research on something a 16-year-old wrote on Wikipedia? I would  feel a little iffy on basing my research on something a 16 yr old wrote because, I would always have doubt on whether or not my information is correct.
22. What does Jimmy Wales mean by this mission statement: “Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge?”
23. Do you agree or disagree with this mission statement?
24. Do you think Wikipedia has succeeded in its mission?
25. Do you agree or disagree that ordinary people, people without degrees, can “be part of the process of creating and distributing knowledge?” I believe that people with out a degree shouldn't be a part of the the process because it can be credible site if they weren't. 
26. Based on your reading of the article, would you yourself use Wikipedia for your academic research? No I would not use Wikipedia for my academic research because other people could falsify the information of the topic I am looking at. I would rather get my information from a trusted site written by someone with credibility.
27. Would you yourself like to write and/or edit Wikipedia articles in order to be “a part of the process  of creating and distributing knowledge?” Why or why not?  I would not like to write or edit Wikipedia articles because I believe I would not have all the correct information and wouldn't want to give misleading information.

Homework #1

1) If you believe that all students should be Web literate, what is the best strategy for your school to prepare you with this skill? Explain.
I do believe that all students should be Web literate because the internet is such a big part of our lives. The best strategy for our school to prepare us with this skill is to able to have class time with this subject.  We could learn things that make up the internet and why it does. Our school cold also allow us to have hands on activities with computers in lab.

 2) What skills should all teachers have to be Web literate? Explain.
 Teachers should have many skills to be Web literate such as creating activities online for students, Grading online and also just knowing how to research on the web. These are important because students rely on grades being available online and the online activities. The teachers knowing how to use the web in general is a much in order to do anything today.

 3) What role should school filtering play in your school district? Explain why schools should block or not block Web sites.
 I believe that schools should block websites but not all because sometimes it does provide a roadblock when trying to show educational activities or trying to present a project. There should be some websites blocked because there are some that are inappropriate ones but some that can be used for good that have their own privacy violations shouldn't be blocked.

4) Do you believe the Internet is as big a transformer of culture as the printing press? Explain.
The internet is a big transformer of our culture because it changed how people do everything. Like the printing press which created reading material that published daily news, the internet has news from all countries with the touch of a button. Having the internet, especially in schools, helps students do their research on current events easier then it was with just news papers.

 5) If yes, what parts of our culture do you believe will be most affected? Explain.
Almost everything in our culture has changed. Now, people just go on the computer to do research. Also people use the internet to do general things like paying bills or making appointments, or even finding jobs. People have become very dependent on the internet.

About Me

• The subject I most enjoy reading about is U.S history.

• My favorite hobby or pastime is basketball and video games.

• If I won the lottery, I would use the money to donate to charity and give back to my community.

• The type of volunteer activity I prefer is helping other kids.

• My favorite school subject has always been history and physical education.

• If I ran the world, the first thing I would change would be the amount of poverty in many areas