Alan November interviews Dr. Mitchel Resnick

Alan November interviews Dr. Mitchel Resnik, Proffessor MIT regarding the work he is doing with the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT. His goal is to make technology and ideas accessible to everybody. He uses the strategies that kindergartners use to achieve creative thinkers. They work well together because they are using collaborative, sharing, reflection, and playing to achieve their goals. So, Dr. Resnick is exchanging tools that young children play with and giving different tools to everyone to bccome creative thinkers. He developed various tools such as, Crickett Robotics, it is designed to teach art and technology. Insteadof using block to play with it is used to teach art and technology. Another tool is, Scratcher.org it is an interactive tool that is online. It can be used during school and after school; users can share their work with others. Instead of being calleld copying, it is called "borrowing" which is good instead of bad. You are allowed to "borrow", give credit to the owner, then you will expand on it. Computer Club House is another innovative method thatis used to forge creative thinking. It is used to create, learn and design new technology. If computers are unavailable, then cell phones are used to reach more and more communities. It can become a neighborhood news system to report sports, music and audio blogging. Finally, assessment. How do you assess students' work, do you use the traditional method (what we know)? Or do we look at how students get a better understanding, the design effort process, creativity and delivery? This is the question we must ask ourselves.

Comparison and contrasting of Facebook and Linked In

Classroom Activity 4

Facebook compared to LinkedIn

Today, almost everyone use websites. We live in a world where social networking is a part of our everyday life. We make decision about what websites to use and the benefits that they provide. The purpose of this blog is to compare and contrast the differences between using Facebook instead of LinkedIn. The three main differences are, research and connecting to family and friends, connecting to a job or business opportunities, and cost.

The difference between theses two social networking sites is the service they provide. Facebook is a social networking site that connects people with friends and helps them connect and share with people in their life. LinkedIn, also is a social networking site that focuses on professional interactions instead of social interactions. While Facebook is used for research, it is used more for socializing.

Comparing both types of websites we recognize another difference. Both of them are social networking sites. LinkedIn is a business-oriented social network site used for professional networking' geared toward connecting business and professional people. Also, it is used to find past and present colleagues and classmates quickly. Another feature; it can be used to advance his/her career, connect to new business opportunities, and receive expert advice.

Yet another difference between these two sites is the cost. Facebook is free to all users with unlimited usage. LinkedIn charges $195.00 for 30 days for a job posting.

Here are the main differences between using Facebook and LinkedIn. As we can see it comes down to a personal choice, based on the importance of connecting to family and friends, connecting to a job or new business, and cost. Therefore it is important that you consider your possibilities and choose the best social networking site that is convenient and cost efficient for you.

Introduction to Twitter, Ning, and StumbleUpon

EDIT 603

We created these social networking tools in class on April 6, 2009.
Proffessor, Mr. J. Gutnicki


Twitter is user friendly social networking tool that can be used in various ways. Some of the ways are: To send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or appplications, such as Tweetie, TweetDeck, etc. Applications are free to users over the Internet, but SMS requires a service fee. Other uses are as a collaborative tools for teachers to use along with their students. Another use, as teaching tools to collaborate with their colleagues, to share lelssson plans, review sheets, or as projects and portfolios. While Twitter is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends; it can be used for "updates". Twitter is ranked as the fastest growing social networking tool in the Member Communities category. Each day, new entries are added regarding people, places, news and the weather. There are pros and cons about its use.Is this a good or bad site? In some ways "yes" and "no". It depens on the user, your purpose, and how can it help you whether it is in the classroom or as a social tool.


NING is the second social network tool that was created. It is an online site that allows users to create their own social network for a topic or a need for specific members. It has free and paid options. A fee is required if you do not allow Ning to post ads. In the meantime, a monthly fee is required if you restrict Ning's ads or if you opt to leave ads out altogether. One of the great tools of this site educators are using Ning for developing educational resources.



STUMBLEUPON is a social network that allows you to discover and rate web pages, photos, and videos. It chooses which Web pages to display based on the users ratings of previous pages by friends and users of similar interests. Users can choose to rate or choose not to rate any page with a thumbs up or down. This is referred to as channel surfing


What does Ning, Twitter and StumbleUpon have in common. How do they compare. First, they share and connect many people of like minds and interests. They allow collaboration and creativity among the social network users. Twitter is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends. Also, it is a great too for "updates" on the news and the weather. Another advantage is to use it as a teaching and collaborative tool for teachers, students, and colleagues. Ning allows users to create their own social networks. StumbleUpon allows used to rate Web pages. This resembles "channel-surfing'.

Do you like jazz?

The title of my blogger is named for a famous jazz tune.  It was made famous by Robert Redford and Paul Newman in the movie, "The Sting".