Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Farewell

There are no more blogs for the semester. Thanks for all the participation and commentary you've provided. I hope you've enjoyed the class. Don't forget that the April Movie Quiz must be completed by the end of April 21st (Thursday) and the Final Exam is available starting the 22nd and running through the 27th.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Should Teachers Use Facebook

A couple of weeks ago we talked about prisoners who were using Facebook to communicate to the outside world. I asked the question if restricting prisoners' use of social media violated their first amendment rights.

So here's a different situation. In the past few weeks, a number of teachers have been fired or disciplined for commenting on their students' behavior online. As a result, many school boards are now coming up with official policies as to what teachers can and cannot say on social networking sites. Read the following article here and tell me what you think. Are you violating a teacher's first amendment right to free speech if you are now telling them what they can and cannot say online? Are there other professions where speech online should be limited? If you were a teacher and had a bad day in class (for example your students were behaving badly) should you be punished for pointing that out online?

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

How does your phone impact your life

I'd like you to read the following story by clicking here. Then I'd like you to tell me what aspects of your phone you use the most: just for calls, for games, for music, for web browsing, pictures and video, etc.

This also brings up a bigger discussion that I was having with friends this weekend. How do you think cell phone technology has negatively impacted society today? For all the advantages and ease of communication it creates, how do you think it harms society?