I enjoyed reading the article and it was all very well said. Many students, even in the high school level, still lack critical thinking skills. Having activities that use their sort of entertainment (internet websites!!!) will probably keep their attention longer than any research paper will ever be able to do.  Research papers can be boring, especially if a topic isn’t even something students get to choose on their own. That’s why I love this class and my Writing class with Dr. Levy… and well, all my other classes this semester. The amount of decisions I get to make in regards to what I get to do on assignments, projects, etc. are endless! Freedom of creativity that I was barely allowed to have in high school. Hopefully, with us (future teachers) out there in a year or two or three – for some – we will change that! :) Let’s keep our students interested and wanting to come to our class. Don’t make them dread it!

The passage that I found “right on” was when Dr. Crovitz says, “Class discussions only scratch the surface…….” (53) and follows with a long list of other questions we can consider if we ever do an assignment like this. “Do snack food companies have responsibility to inform their customers, many of them children, about the nutritional value of their products?” Yes! “If so, what counts as sufficient information, and how accessible should it be?” There is nothing that can be “too much information” when it comes to nutritional value of food we are subjecting children to eat. They should be educated on health issues – and how accessible? VERY accessible, of course! “If an ingredient list is buried behind many pages of graphics, video, and games, is its presence somehow compromised?” I definitely think it is. These websites should include the important information on the HOME page of their website, without having the need to play hide-and-seek with the visitor.

I know that one of the things one must consider when making a website is accessibility. Websites should be easy to navigate and the visitor should easily find what they are looking for! Not that this necessarily means everyone goes on a website looking for something specific, but all websites should be organized in a way that is not confusing to the visit of the site. If it was difficult to navigate, I’m sure that visitor won’t plan on coming back to the site anytime soon…

I also thought the passage, “These projects can be challenging and time intensive, and yet students are almost universally positive when reflecting on the assignment’s worth,” to be completely accurate. I most certainly find these types of projects to be eye-opening and educational, as well as fun. I liked how Dr. Crovitz says, “Many teenagers are already far beyond their teachers in practical digital skills, be it Web design, programming, or online networking” (55). That was so funny to read because it brought me back to my memories in “Web Design” class in high school. We were learning how to use Microsoft Frontpage to make websites. It took the teacher quite some time to”teach” us certain things, because he was looking for it first… On the other hand, I considered myself an “expert” in designing websites on Frontpage, so I found that part of the class to be a breeze. However, I also liked how Dr. Crovitz says, “English teaachers have a grounding in the discipline that makes them well-suited as mentors” (55). It’s very true! Although some students may know more than the teacher on certain things, students still have a lot to learn from their teachers. Although my particular web design teacher was not as familiar with Microsoft Frontpage like I was, he taught me the basics for using Microsoft Excel and Access, which I had NO CLUE how to use at first. Students learn from teachers; teachers learn from students.

It’s Tueeessdaaayyy… I have to work right after school. But… John’s picking up our kitten this afternoon!!! I’ m so excited! :-D

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