Crystal



5/11/2010 I have not signed in yet. __Has anyone noticed that nasd will not work for a password?__ The benefit of having this is that we can use more technology and not have to worry about using paper or forgetting assaignments. This seems more fun than doing work in the textbook. Once everyone is signed in, we can communicate with each other and do more things that we could not have done without it. I think this was a good idea.

Going green, great point! It will absolutely help those who forget their assignments and once we all get a hang at this, we will extend our learning and creativitiy! Ms. Flood

Don't wory crystal we all noticed about the password. "Chris"

5/12/2010 I understand that I must follow ths policy and I will abide by all of the rules. The consequences have been made clear and I am aware that they are watching everything you do. I will not type anything or discuss anything inappropriate and I will be sure to be respectful to everyone. I agree that these rules are fair and I will not disobey them.
 * //I have created my wikispace using my compass odyssey log in and password information.//** I am a little late, but whatever.

I like your reflection, Crystal. Nice job! "Colleen"

I agree with all that you said. "Chris"

5/13/2010 I found out that cultural influences are things that people can bring here to change or influence us. For example, an Italian group may bring spagetti to Philadelphia where we eat cheesesteaks and soft pretzels most of the time​. Another example would then be us, going to Italy and speaking English because they speak Italian there. In both of these examples, someone is bringing a trait which can change the way we live. I am hoping that I interpreted cultural influences correctly here.
 * 1) German foods. (Meats)
 * 2) Spanish language.
 * 3) Jewish tradition.
 * 4) Irish Holiday (in general)
 * 5) European sports.

Crystal, I like how you first kind of explained how cutural influences work. It will give an effect on how people understand your responce. I also like how you say what the influence is on your list. I like that because, German foods could mean anything. When you specifically state what food it is, your writing becomes clearer. Colleen

5/18/2010 First I want to say that I did not understand the 13th's assignment that well. But after reading other peoples reflections, I think I understand the concept more. ( Great job on your reflections, people!) I realized then that American values are just things or traits that we have, that other cultures are using. In other words, cultural diffusion starts with us because we have those traits that other cultures are borrowing.

Some American values shared by other cultures are:
 * 1) Rules (Laws)
 * 2) Clothes
 * 3) Traditions (Holidays)
 * 4) Language
 * 5) Food, and many more

I think that I am all caught up on the assignments now.

= Crystal, I like how you are writing clear and explaining how you didn't understand some of the reflections. - Tim = = =

= I like how you explained before you made a list. It helps people understand your writing better. = = ~Christine~ =

5/19/2010 The article that I think represents an item on the list was the one about Arizona's immigration law. This helps to understand immigration in the USA. This is an article about immigration that is illegal. I have heard it all over the news and I have seen it in the paper for many days now. I find it interesting to see what people have to say about Hispanics crossing the border between Mexico and the USA. "Many republicans are in favor of Arizona's law, while many democrats are not," one article states. I saw a pie chart that helped me to understand what the majoriy of the people in the USA think about it. The articles were really interesting and can be found on [] and [|http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/us/04poll.html?scp=9&sq=article%20on%20Arizona's%20immigration%20law&st=cse] I reccommend that everyone read them.

Tonight, this topic was on the National News on NBC. The President of the USA and the President of Mexico sat down to talk about the issue sometime this week (possibly today.) It caught my attention when the President of Mexico said that that this action was an act of discrimination. It startled me because that was exactly what I was thinking. The question that ran through my mind before I heard this on the news was " Isn't this sort of like discrimination on Arizona's part because they could be enforcing this law if they dislike Hispanics and want them out?" That could go either way though. The only way to find out is to contact the governor of Arizona which I have no intention of doing. Apparently, this is a big deal for older people who can deal with issue. **__Lastly, I want to say that all of the information I have stated is fact and not my opinion. If you wish to share your opinion as to whether or not you think it is discrimination, I would love to hear it because as I have said before, I enjoy hearing what other people have to say.__**

Dear Crystal Gabby or Abby
 * // I agree with you Crystal because, I have watched NBC and I say on the News that they were talking about what that issue and also your refection even help me today with my reflection ad sorry this might not make sense but hopefully you ge and also you are right with the whole Arizona laws. //**

I like how you labeled your pictures in you presentation. :) ~Christine~

5/24/2010
 * "Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”** - Chinese Proverb

I think that this proverb is describing what he is like. For example, he may be forgetful. But, the way he does comprehend is by being shown or being involved. Maybe for example, this person is one who loves to look, and do. Therefore, this person would be more of a tactile kinesthetic learner or a visual learner rather than an auditory learner. That is what I think of when I see or hear this proverb. This relates to what we are learning because these could be traits of a group of people or a certain culture in China. I may be wrong about the message of this proverb but I know that those ways of learning are traits or things that describe a person.

I agree with you when you said he is one who learns better when he is involved. !Chris!

5/26/2010 This song is a song that emphasizes the fact that we should really work together, act as one united country (as our title is), and treat each other with respect. I thought that the lyrics I could make up would be like the pattern of every other verse. They are: We may all be one We shall all be one We will act as one someday.

I thought that this fit because it too has to do with our country sticking together and acting as one.

Remember to wear Blue tomorrow!!
 * Benelisse*

6/3/10 This year, Field Day was acceptable. I really enjoyed the picnic lunch, the ice pops, and especially the field games. Field Day is always fun because it is different from our normal routine. The most enjoyable part of the picnic lunch was that we were not restrained to sitting inside with people in our own class. Then, as a special treat, the ice pops were a great way to cool off on a hot day. The games in the field were fun because we all participated as either a team or an individual. That was good because being in a team required us to use teamwork skills, which we don’t normally use during the school day. One part that I didn’t like was playing kickball for two hours. A way to make this better would be to have a water break and a switch to a different sport after a while because people were exhausted from playing so long and bored by playing the same game for a long period of time. This is my opinion for Field Day of 2010, and my suggestions to make next year’s Field Day even better!

6/8/2010 These are the members of the United States cabinet in order of succession to the Presidency:

__Vice President of the United States__ Joseph R. Biden

__Department of State__ Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton

__Department of the Treasury__ Secretary Timothy F. Geithner

__Department of Defense__ Secretary Robert M. Gates

__Department of Justice__ Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.

__Department of the Interior__ Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar

__Department of Agriculture__ Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack

__Department of Commerce__ Secretary Gary F. Locke

__Department of Labor__ Secretary Hilda L. Solis

__Department of Health and Human Services__ Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

__Department of Housing and Urban Development__ Secretary Shaun L.S. Donovan

__Department of Transportation__ Secretary Ray LaHood

__Department of Energy__ Secretary Steven Chu

__Department of Education__ Secretary Arne Duncan

__Department of Veterans Affairs__ Secretary Eric K. Shinseki

__Department of Homeland Security__ Secretary Janet A. Napolitano

The following positions have the status of Cabinet-rank:

__White House Chief of Staff__ Rahm I. Emanuel __Environmental Protection Agency__ Administrator Lisa P. Jackson

__Office of Management & Budget__ Director Peter R. Orszag

__United States Trade Representative__ Ambassador Ronald Kirk

__United States Ambassador to the United Nations__ Ambassador Susan Rice

6/9/2010

__Wikispace Questions __ The pros of using this site are that we get to be engrossed in something completely different from the normal routine (not making learning boring), and it enhances our learning at the same time. It even helps others because we they won't loose the papers. Instead we are “going green”. The cons of using this site are that it is easily taken advantage of (meaning that it can be mistreated), and it is harder to check work. I know that it must take countless hours for Mrs. Flood to see who did and didn’t do their homework, but somehow she does it every single night, never complaining to our class the next day. Also, it is disappointing for me to see that some people can not appreciate what she has done for us, and abuse the site by writing terrible comments.

I benefited in the fact that I am prepared now for any online courses I may need to take in the future. Using this site has allowed me to see what will happen if I decide to take any classes online.

I really enjoyed being able to see other people’s work, sharing my own work, communicating with people from home, and just doing something extraordinary that I won’t get a chance to do any other time.

I think that improvements could be made so that we could just notify you personally and confidentially directly from the home page. Maybe to improve this, you can fix the Notify Me button on the home page which Mrs. Flood said not to use. If this were fixed, we could communicate and inform each other about problems without using your e-mail, or having other students in the conversation.

I definitely would continue to use wikispaces in the future because I think it’s a great way for children to learn.

Wikispaces has helped me grow academically just by providing a new and interesting site. Just learning by this new approach and being able to do numerous things on here that I can’t do with standard written homework has been a great experience. I am certainly now ready for another online course similar to this one.

I think that wikispaces would help build relationships or if we had been using it longer and were not already friends or acquaintances, but I do not think that it is better than talking face-to-face. It would probably be a great way to build relationships if you knew nothing about the person you were having a discussion with. Using wikispaces this year, I would have to say that it undoubtedly contributed and reinforced the relationships we have previously had.

I do not feel that wikispaces has boosted my self-esteem, but then again, we have only been working with this website for a short period of time.

As your student, I believe that you have already grown as an educator when you made the choice to use wikispace. This was a big decision you had to make because it affects every student. I realize that it was just an experiment, but it was still an essential decision that altered the way you teach. In my opinion, it is a good idea to try something new even if you aren’t sure it will turn out the way you wanted it to.

I think that to improve your use of wikispaces, you shouldn’t be so strict about who did or did not do their homework because sometimes students can’t get on every night. I think that a good solution to that problem would be to have the homework due on every Friday. To make that work though, it should only be a couple questions per week and not a ton just because we have more time. If you take into account everything that goes on in people’s lives and the homework from every other subject, it is a hard to manage for us. Maybe if you increase the amount of time we have to complete homework, it will relieve our stress and make it easier to cope with.