Do Now 9/29

        An editorial is an article expressing the editor's opinion on an issue. Teachers tell me all the time not to use Wikipedia! This is because people can go onto Wikipedia and edit whatever they want. This means that people all across the nation can put false information onto Wikipedia whenever they want. Usually, teachers do not allow students to use Wikipedia.
        The fact that people can post whatever they want on Wikipedia makes it a non reliable source of information. I haven't argued or asked why because I completely understand this reasoning. It is near impossible in my opinion to genuinely think that Wikipedia is a reliable primary source of information. I could never trust Wikipedia. That is, until the editing feature is removed and all the information posted already is double checked.
         If I was a teacher, I would never let my students use Wikipedia. Using Wikipedia can lead to students using false information on projects, homework, etc.

Forensics is cool!

      My Forensics teacher this year is Ms. Larson. Her classroom is number 211. Ms. Larson teaches grades seven through twelve. In the very beginning of the year I did not know what to expect to learn. I was mind boggled as to what the word forensics even meant.
      So far, my class has looked at murder cases and the use of hair as evidence in solving crimes. Just last night I had forensics homework about how Napoleon actually died. There is no real solid evidence as to how he passed. The class is broken up into different sections for a grading system. Half of your grade for the entire class is just tests and quizzes! Twenty five percent of your grade falls into the category of class participation. The remaining twenty five percent is homework.
      Usually, school is very disliked and boring for most kids. I am definitely one of those students, I hate school! Science especially is very boring for me. That all changed this year with forensics! Forensics science is the application of science to the criminal and civil laws that are enforced by police agencies in a criminal justice system. To sum it all up, in forensics you study murder cases and analyze data associated with the case.
      Microscopes are used to analyze any evidence that is too small for the naked eye to see. There are three different types of evidence in forensic science. There is trace, direct and circumstantial evidence. Some examples of trace evidence includes hair, fingerprints, soil, blood, glass and fibers.

To watch a video pertaining to forensic science, please click here.
To visit Ms.Larson's website, please click here.

Educational Technology and Copyright Law

What exactly is copyright you might ask? Copyright is actually a federal law under the United States of America. It is meant to protect original works of authorship. There are four exclusive rights associated with copyright.

1) the right to publicly display your work

2) the right to reproduce the copyrighted work 

3) the right to distribute copies of your work to the public by sale, rental/lending, or to display the image

4) the right to prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted works