Freakonomics Radio 'How Much Does the President Really Matter?'

I picked this podcast because of the recent election. Not because I feel either way about it, but because I thought it was fitting. Apparently, so did Freakonomics because this was a bonus episode that was re-released because of this year's election. This episode does not discuss the 2016 election, in fact, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are not mentioned. While elections are mentioned, it does not discuss a particular president in detail, instead, it focuses on the office of the President and what power this position actually holds. They discuss gambling and stock markets, and they even compare baseball and the Presidency, and then the discuss the position of the President and whether he actually has power or he is just the face and behind the shadows lies the real power. Mr. Dubner has a very monotone voice but he chooses his words carefully and keeps you intrigued. At one point he mentions speaking with Lyndon Johnson's dog. If that does not catch your attention, I don't think anything will. On a closing note, I will add that the ads are a little annoying, but they gotta make money right?!

http://freakonomics.com/podcast/bonus-episode-much-president-really-matter/

My wiki

I created a wiki called AOmegaWiki and it is located at http://aomegawiki.wikispaces.com/

Teacher's salary by subject area

I read, Teacher's salary by subject area by PEGuys (http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/share/view/49335946). Wow, just wow. Governor Christie wants to pay teachers based on what subject they teach. Who decides which subject is better and worth more? All teachers are important and each child responds to each subject differently. Just because he thinks something is more important does not mean it is. A future doctor might find math and science important, but a future pilot might find just math important, and a future director might find art more important. Teachers get bum pay as it is, they should not take a pay cut because someone with no concept of teaching children thinks their subject is less important.

Preparation of students for the future?

I read, Preparation of students for the future? by Jennifer Kolb (http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/share/view/1658333) And she asks the very important question "Are students being adequately prepared for the future?". I have to say I think they are not. In most public schools they are stuck in the old school way of teaching kids. Some schools, sadly only ones that can afford it, have progressed to teaching kids about technology and the changing of the world but a lot of schools are still teaching the way I was when I was in school and worse the way my parents were taught when they were in school. We definitely need to rethink the way we are teaching the future.

What If?

I read What IF? by Karl Fisch (http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/09/what-if.html). While, at first, I was skeptical with what I thought he was going to say, I have to agree. By making a blanket statement that no one can use their electronic devices, you set up a system that is going to fail. I agree that there should be a school-wide meeting, as well as emails and letters home about when is appropriate and when is not appropriate to use these devices. The students should have to sign a copy and be punished accordingly if they abuse the use of these devices. The reality is, electronics are the future and they are a part of everyone's everyday life. We should embrace this and allow students to incorporate them into their learning, within reason of course.

Del.icio.us

When I first typed in the url https://del.icio.us/ I was met with a very basic page. I thought it was one of those 'this page wasn't right so here are a few suggestions that were similar'. If this wasn't for a school assignment I probably would have left, but I knew it was right so I kept digging. I created an account and was easily able to add my bookmarks. I also like that it tells you how many people saved that link.

It is nice because you can see what other sites people are interested in and if you ever forget a url you can go check what you have posted.

I would probably not use it because I feel like it is an extra step. I use Chrome so all the sites I visit are saved and I can easily get to them. If I visit something and I forget, I just got to history.

Flickr

This is my first time ever uploading pictures to Flickr. After I created a login, Flickr was very easy to use. I knew instantly where to click to upload a photo and they always have an upload icon on the top menu bar. I uploaded 3 photos and gave them a short description and 2 tags each. The tags are different from other tags I have done (they were separated by a space but youtube make you hit enter) but I caught on quick. If I was someone interested in using Flickr for all my photos I would definitely be happy with my experience and I would continue to use it and recommend it to others.

I posted a photo with the tag Twitter and it had 6,937,111 other photos with that tag.

I posted another photo with the tag Blogger and there were 1,221,632 other photos with that tag.

My final picture was YouTube and it had 4,336,026 other photos with that tag.