What will become of homo sapiens?

Contrary to popular belief, humans continue to evolve.  Our bodies and brains are not the same as our ancestors' were - or as our decendants'will be.   source:  Beter Ward of Scientific American

Legal limit as to how far school can go.

The 3rd. U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a finding that Justin Layshock's First Amendment rights were violated, "It would be an unseemly and dangerous preedent to allow the state in the guise of school authorities to reach into a child's home and control his/her actions" to the extent it can exert control in school.

"It makes pedagogic sense for the First Amendment to allow school officials some say over the tenor of speech in  school.  But by unleashing that power to anywhere a student is, school authorities would essentially get to control the speech of the general population under 18.  That is too much discretion for schools and not enough freedom for young people."  Source:  Robyn Blumner  rblummer@sptimes.com

School spied on students via laptops ....

This happened in Philadelphia and was reported by the Associated Press on February 19, 2010.

Lower Merion School District officials actived the student's webcam when the school laptops were in the privacy of the student's home and  used them to recorded private moments.  This is a scenario from George Orwell's 1984.  Orwell wrote 1984 to warn us about the possibility of this happening.

If you are a teacher or administrator. Do not do this.  If you are a parent. Do not allow a school computer into your home that has a webcam.  If you think the laptop is being used to monitor your home: get a lawyer.

You can get the details with a Google search.

Afraid of a new idea?

There's so much power in a new idea taking shape and changing the way people live and act.  Often the rest of us are in awe or we are even afraid of a new idea and sometimes our fears spur us to learn more about it.

Souce: John Houtz, Scientific American Mind

What should I conclude if ....

What should I conclude, if after 6 months elapes; I discover that only a small percentage of teachers participate in a form or blog and even fewer have their own blog or forum?  It is going to indicate something and I cannot imagine that it will be positive.

Asperger's to be categorized as autism

The details are available at http://www.dsm5.org/

Welcome to The Educator's Forum.

Today I patched most of the broken links and added a link to my Twitter. It is now ready for you.

Forums and blogs are what you make of them.  If you ignore them or worse condemn them with your words, then you will not benefit nor will others.  If you read and publish,  we will all benefit providing what you publish is not malicious.

The Educator's Forum

This morning I upload the first version of the Educator's Forum. The path that lead to this began in December after I upgraded to a new computer system, bought Expression Web 3 and learned how to use it.  You likely were told some time in the past about prerequisite knowledge. I cannot over stress the importance of that.  It became obvious to me that I could not have learned Expression Web without first knowing HTML.

Do we learn when we are sleeping?

The answer is YES!  I noticed when I was a student at Delta College that I would be very sleepy.  I would drink coffee and NoDoze to counteract the sleepiness  Delta did not provide any place to nap nor was there any encouragement to take a nap. Occasionally, I would see Chuck sleeping in the library.  I reasoned at the time that Chuck could not be learning if he was sleeping. 

I discovered when I was a computer programmer at Dow Chemical that I would know the answer to a problem after I took a nap.  Something was obviously happening that I was unaware of.  Now, there is scientific evidence supporting the Scientific hypothesis that during sleep our brain at a cellular level completes the learning process as well as solveing problems needed during our waking state. 

I'm now teaching myself  Expression Web 3.  I noticed that occasionally I would be overcome by drowsiness.  I know now it is just my brain tell me that I need to take nap so it can do what it needs to do. Now, I don't have a boss to tell me that I cannot take a nap. I don't need permission to nap.  There is no one that can punish me for napping.  Consequently, I nap when I am overcome with drowsiness. 
I am 67 and most of you think that what has happened is an impossibility.  (The number of people that read this can likely be counted on one hand.  I could be wrong.  Prove me wrong by sending a message to StefenL@EarthLink.net  )

The details can be found with a Google search from the Educator's Forum.

This is going to have a major effect on the Freedom of the Press

Hi Ronald,

I went to Books A Million to buy a book that would help me learn Expression Web and found nothing to buy. Expression appears to be too new for a writer to have had time to write and publish.

A few night ago I listened to Charlie Rose interview a leader in the publishing industry. He said that books will not be published like they were in the past. There will be on demand publishing for those willing and able to pay the price. The books of the future will mostly be published for the Kindle or something like that. Amazons- Kindle-Wireless-generation   There will not be paper back books. Their time is over. I was looking around in Books A Million wonder if that is going to happen and what will happen to all the books and the book stores.

Stephen

Microsoft's Expression Web 3

I am continuing to learn how to use Expression Web 3.  I found these videos that are very helpful.  link to videos  I gave myself a month to learn Expression.  But, it might be another month before I'm productive. 

There is a lot to learn and if you are not already able to ready html, you are at a disadvantage.  If you are going to learn Expression Web, I suggest that you first learn basic html. Otherwise, the code that Expression Web creates will look like Greek.

It just faded away.

I watched a football game from the Lime-n-Coconut on New Years and realized that it was as phony as professional wrestling.  This morning on WUSF I saw an ad promoting a special about a pandemic: The Anamomy of a Pandemic: It Just Faded Away.  Was it ever really here?  Could H1M1 be a manifestation of the minds of people like those that created professional wrestling and NFL football.?  Hummm ...  What have be become?

H1N1

What happened to all the concern about H1N1?  I  thought that when this began it might be a lot about something that was not that important.  It was superseded by the Tiger Wood's scandle. Something that apparently more important than death from H1N1 and a crazy bomber. What does it tell us about us as individuals and as a group?

I would wager that next fall we will focus on the flu again and then forget it again until the next year.

Do you remember the story about the little boy who yelled wolf?

I am now focused on learn Microsoft's Expression3.  So, I will not be posting very often until that is completed.

I wish everyone a better 2010.  For me personally, 2009 could not have been worse.

What do you want for Christmas? All I want for Christmas is a rodent!

Seems that they are on the top of the list. I was watching the Today Show this morning. It was about Christmas gifts for kids. There were 5 kids evaluating potential gifts. The gifts were guns, monster transformers and a rodent. The kids looked bewildered. There was nothing there they wanted only adults that thought they were something they should want.
When I was their age, I wanted a Chemistry set or an Erector set.  I didn't get either.  I got a Biology set that had a small microscope.  My uncle got the Chemistry and  an Erector set that Christmas. 

I was very interested in what was in the Chemistry set.  The little bottles of power and liquid, what where they and what could I do with them?  What all three of these had in common was the knowledge of the unknown.  Each one was a potential learning experience.  The Chemistry set didn't last long.  Tom and I mixed something and heated it causing a stink that resulted in a panic.  My uncle Jim was a Chemical Engineer.  He likely told Tom what to do. I was just an ignorant bystander.

These toys caused me to be interested in Science.  I later studied Chemistry in High School and Biology at Ferris State University.  What would I have studied and became if I had played with guns, monster transformers and a rodent?

What are you going to get your kids for Christmas?  You decision will effect them and everyone else.

Girl wins college scholarship at foot ball half-time from Pepsi.

The crowed cheered and so did I at first. After I thought about it, I wrote this.

There are several major problem with this event.  One of them was the amount.  It was for $130,000. Why does it take $130,000 to get a college degree?  If the child cannot win a contest at a sporting event and do not have parent that can pay $130,000 or if the child cannot get it some other way, then they don't get to graduate from  college?  If I had had to come up with that much money, I would not have the education I have now and would not have the ability to write this so you could read it.

Then there is the contest.  There are two girls competing for the scholarship. There are two large Pepsi cans. One for each girl.  At the top of each can there is a large hole.  The object of the contest is that the first girl to throw three footballs through their hole gets $130,000.  Within about 60 seconds one girl succeeded, the crowed roared and a very large check was given to the girl.  If you want to go to college. All you have to do is to be the first one to throw 3 footballs through a hole to pay for a college education.  Think about the message they are sending.

They are terrorizing our children.

Who is doing that and why?  They are saying that this is in their future.  I don't know if it is and I'm not predicting it.  I do know that children are the victims of circumstances they did not create.

The movies that are made for kids is frightening, toys are frightening, children's programming is frightening.  They are creating a generation of fearful people.  Who and why?  Is this just about selling products and the profit motive?

Food stamps are a disincentive to work?

This morning I heard on a news program that there are now over 32 millions Americans on food stamps. That was followed by the assertion that food stamps are a disincentive to work and marriage.  Marriage?  I have heard for many years that food stamps are a disincentive to work.  That is based on the assumption that hungry people are motivated by hunger to do what others want them to do in exchange for money that then presumable they will use to exchange for food. Those that don't want to pay or pay as little as possible for having something done follow by saying that they will just spend it on drugs.

I have always known that work begins with a demand for labor.  If the capitalist class does not want to do anything then the demand for labor does not exist. That has not happened.  What has happened is that the capitalist has transferred a high percentage of their demand for labor to other countries.  They are out-sourcing. What about marriage?

Food stamps are a disincentive to marriage. How could that be?  I can think of many reasons not to  marry. Food stamps are not on that list.  They must be thinking that women would be looking for a man to feed them if they were hungry.  Name me one man that wants a hungry woman?  Just one, please!

Good news for the Freedom of the Press!

Any one that thinks this is important should read this.  http://www.breitbart.com/article

"News is a public good," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. "We should be willing to take action if necessary to preserve the news that is vital to democracy."

"No one uses the phone book any more to look things up."

I just heard that on the Today show.  There were explaining how how to wrap Christmas gifts without spending money.  One of their was was to use only telephone book pages.  Why?  "No one uses the phone book any more to look things up."  Think about the consequences of that!

There will be a time in the near furture when the Freedom of the Press and Speech is lost.

Government leaders continue to move toward more control of the press and speech.