Unit 4 Video Log

Identity Theft

The term 'Identity Theft' was first used in 1964, and is defined as, "The deliberate use of someone elses identity to gain some sort of advantage, financial or otherwise."

Identity theft is quite a large problem in the United States, with approximately 17 million people getting their identity stolen annually. 85% of all identity theft occurs from the misuse of 'sensitive information' such as credit card numbers, ID cards, personal information, etc., showing that irresponsible use of sensitive information is the leading reason for identity theft. Even worse, almost half (45%) of the people with stolen identities don't notice until they are contacted by an outside institution of some kind, such as a bank. After finding out that their identity was stolen, it took 52% of victims to 24 hours or less to fix the situation, while it took 9% of victims over one month to completely resolve the issue.

I would try to implement a small lesson about this in the classroom through our "TrueSuccess" program. Every Tuesday and Thursday we spend about 10 minutes of class discussing charactor traits to develop good thinking and eventually, good habits. I would bring up tips for being careful with sensitive information, especially if it is a parent or guardian's information, and the importance of watching what you post/publish online.

Which is a better indicator of intelligence, ACT/SAT scores or GPA?

This is an age-old question regarding which scale is better to measure a student's intelligence from, an ACT/SAT score or GPA? There are arguments for/against both sides. ACT/SAT scores are rigorous tests taken over several mentally-depleting hours, and may not accurately represent a student's knowledge base. While a student's GPA is a long-term measurement of consistency and dedication to class work. Counter to these arguments, ACT/SAT scores are the only real measurement of a student's intelligence because that is the nature of a test, to test what students know. GPA only shows effort in the classroom, and not necessarily the level of intelligence for a student. So which arguments are right or wrong? Which one is a better measure of a student's intelligence? We can attempt to answer this question by looking at what both of these measures are typically used for; admittance to college.

My four sources all focused around the use of ACT/SAT and GPA scores in college applications, and how much weight they bear in importance to admission. Three of the sources compared and contrasted pros and cons of the ACT/SAT and GPA measurements while the fourth source listed cons for using standardized testing. The three comparative sources all agreed that standardized test scores are the main factor for accepting/denying students to a college or university. The leading reason for this is because GPA scores are generally inconsistent from school district to school district. A 4.0 from a poorer school district may be comparable to a 2.5 from a high-class school district. This is because wealthier school districts can generally offer more rigorous courses, such as upper-level math and science classes as well as AP courses. These will be more intellectually challenging courses and will typically weigh down on a student's GPA. With no real way of knowing whether a student's 4.0 GPA is a 'real' 4.0, colleges like to rely on standardized test scores because they are consistent across the board for everyone.

However, the Dean of Admissions at Bates College, William Hiss, claims that GPA is the primary indicator of intelligence. Hiss conducted a study of his own, and tracked the graduation rates of students who submitted their standardized test scores to universities vs those that did not. He found that there was virtually no difference between the two groups, showing that academic success was not necessarily linked to a test score.
“The human mind is simply so complex and so multifaceted and fluid, that trying to find a single measurement tool that will be reliable across the enormous populations of American students is simply a trip up a blind alley. I would never say the SATs and ACTs have no predictive value for anybody; they have predictive value for some people. We just don’t find them reliable cross populations,” says Hiss.

I personally believe that both GPA and ACT/SAT scores should have equal weight when applying for college. Standardized testing isn't for everyone, and is certainly not an accurate measuring tool for those that struggle with that type of environment. However, if those types of students are consistently completing classroom work requirements they will have a boosted GPA and be more competitive when applying for college. 


Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/nail-biting-standardized-testing-may-miss-mark-college-students/

https://www.powerscore.com/act/help/act-vs-gpa.cfm

http://education.seattlepi.com/test-scores-vs-gpa-getting-elite-schools-2804.html

http://classroom.synonym.com/college-admissions-gpa-weight-vs-standardized-test-10825.html

Blogs in a Classroom

I could see blogging being useful for many things in a classroom. First is ease of access to it. Assuming a student has internet access at home or on their phone, they would be able to access a blog anywhere without having to carry around a journal or notebook. A blog would also make it very easy for students to share their information, and view information from other students. The third thing I can see a blog being useful for is the easy review of previous information. You don't have to flip through pages or notebooks, but simply scroll through the page to find previous posts.

I can already think of an easy way to incorporate blogging into the classroom I'm assisting in. We start every class with a five minute warm-up writing. A prompt is put on the screen (relating to information covered in the last class) and students record their answers on a printed outline given out at the start of every week. With a blog, students could record all of their answers online to allow them to review their work after it has been submitted. It would also allow any students absent from class to get online and still be included in that assignment.

Learner Analysis

The character I am analyzing is "Ned Bigby" from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. The show first aired in September 2003 and ended June 2007. Ned seems to be quite an average middle-class student in school going through the typical struggles of a middle school student. Together with his best friends "Moze" and "Cookie", they come up with rules of survival for students entering/going through middle school. The entire premise of the show is to give kids advice when handling everyday situations in school, so a large variety of problems/issues come up over the course of several episodes. Going off of this, Ned seems to get himself in trouble quite often. This can include problems with faculty, problems with other students, failing school work, getting detentions, relationship issues, etc... He generally seems to always be getting in some sort of trouble. Taking all of this into consideration, Ned could be viewed as a problem child from an adult's perspective. I wouldn't say that he necessarily needs assistance in a classroom, but it seems as though he would need several reminders to remain focused on class material. Here is a video of Ned and his friends being disruptive in a music class. (Sorry this was the shortest one I could find.)

Besides his occasional low test scores/missing homework and everyday shenanigans, Ned is quite a good person with a caring heart for his fellow students. He has a very obvious care for his best friends and any students that come to him in need of help. He would make a much better life coach than middle school student.

About Me

Hey all,

My name is James Vannette. I am from Middleville, a small farm town about 30 minutes south of Grand Rapids. Throughout high school I ran cross country and track, and also participated in the ski/snowboarding club. I came to Grand Valley not knowing what I wanted to major in, and actually didn't decide on education until half way through Sophomore year. I could not be happier with my decision though!

I am currently teacher assisting in Godwin Heights High School and rotate between a 10th grade US history class and an 11th grade government class. My CT, Mr. Jesser, is awesome with a smart board. He has gradually been showing me new things to do on it. I'm not sure if I'd be able to operate it by myself yet but its pretty cool to watch him work with it! I'll be there one day!

I have also been dual-enrolled in WMU's Army ROTC program for almost three years now. This program has brought me a huge amount of teaching/mentoring experiences as I've progressed through the system. These experiences have definitely made me more comfortable being in charge of large groups and leading lessons.

I'm generally a pretty outdoorsy person outside of the classroom. I really enjoy canoeing, hiking, or going on a nice run. In the winter I like to go snowboarding quite a bit, when I'm not overwhelmed by school work.

Here is a picture of me and some high school friends canoeing down the Thornapple River this past summer. About 8-12 of us have done an all-day canoe trip every summer for 5 years now.

 

This is a picture of my family wrestling last Christmas (minus mom). I've got three little brothers. One goes to GVSU with me, one attends GRCC and the youngest is a senior in highschool.