http://mere.umwblogs.org ................................. Thu, 01 May 2008 05:25:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en So, I wanted to post up the link to the youtube video that we couldn't quite get to work last Thursday for our presentation.  But before I do so, I wanted to blog about our presentation. Once someone buys a Webkinz stuffed animal, they are linked to the virtual Webkinz World.  ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/04/30/finally-a-last-reflection-on-webkinz/ In the last class we watched the film, "A Vision of Students Today".  Unlike a lot of the students in class, I liked the film.  I felt that their method of showing the numbers and facts about students was very powerful.  It literally put a face to every since piece ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/04/09/a-vision-of-today/ If only we could all escape to the perfect planet full of super intelligent people and everything you'd want from a planet. Not. I thought it was interesting how this story grabbed the readers attention by describing how people don't come back from Kimon once they have arrived ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/03/31/immigration/ Illich made a lot of interesting comments in "Deschooling Society".  I primarily liked his discussion about the problems with schools these day.  I agree that people learn practical knowledge and knowledge essentials just by going through everyday life.  I feel like the most difficult part about schooling is how you ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/03/24/deschooling-by-destructuring/ I've thought a lot about our class discussion on work and play.  And after reading Two Tramps in Mud Time I came up with another thought.  While the enjoyment that comes from play is its suspension from the reality of the world that surrounds you and the sense of accomplishing ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/03/19/workplay-dr-seuss/ I'm posting this now since the internet in my room has decided to stop working.... After class, I was remembering things that we had discussed about McCloud's comic. I liked how McCloud appeared directly in the comic and was talking to us. I felt like he was more personal ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/03/18/frames-and-games/ So, I got one of those twitter things.  I figured I'd put it up here in case anyone else in the class wanted to be my friend on it: http://twitter.com/merelanger http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/03/17/twitter/ As a final project, I have decided to work with Jessica Hedrick and together we will become experts of Webkinz World. The idea to work with these cute little toys that are linked to a huge virtual world sparked when my roommate was constantly playing games online to help ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/03/13/the-world-of-webkinz/ I really like McCloud's approach to explaining time and how to express things in comic form.  The set-up like a comic telling a story not only made it entertaining to read, but also helped to clearly describe what he was trying to say.  The picture reinforced his ideas with the ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/03/12/comics/ I found the Mindstorms article interesting with its approach to looking at computers specifically for their impact to children & education.  I think Papert has a good point when discusses how children learn how to think with help from the guidance of computers.  I agree when he says that by ... http://mere.umwblogs.org/2008/03/11/think-fast/