The View From Pennsylvania: A Swing District In A Swing State by NPR

The second Podcast I chose to review is, The View From Pennsylvania: A Swing District In A Swing State.  I found it on npr.org and I chose it because I live in Pennsylvania, although Bucks County is on the opposite side of the state as me.  It’s close to Philadelphia and Allentown.  Bucks County is a swing district that have voted democratic since 1988 in Presidential elections, but they have also elected Republicans to Senate and congressional seats.  In 2012, President Obama won by only 4,000 votes out of 300,000.  Trump wants to compete in Bucks County.  One Trump supporter, Jim Worthington, a Pennsylvania delegate to the Republican convention stated:

“How big could he screw up? I mean, what could he do that would be any worse than what's happened with other presidents that weren't effective? I mean, I really don't think he's going to push the button. So short of that, what could happen? My contention is - the way things have gone so far haven't worked. Give a chance to somebody who's an outsider.”

http://www.npr.org/2016/06/23/483197671/the-view-from-pennsylvania-a-swing-district-in-a-swing-state

How Animal Testing Works by Stuff You Should Know

The last Podcast I listened to was How Animal Testing Works.  One of the main issues it touched on was how people don’t get upset over nematodes or fruit flies, get a little upset over mice and rats, and really upset over cats, dogs, and larger animals.  Some interesting facts I learned:  Humans share 90% of their genes with mice; Beagles are actually used to test prostate cancer and muscular dystrophy; Cats are used due to their sight, hearing, and balance; Non-human primates are used for neuro science; and Pigs and goats are used a lot in battlefield training since their skin is a lot like humans.  Also, most people don’t fully understand what cruelty free means and it doesn’t mean what we think.  There is little to no over sight in this area.  Final products may not be tested on animals, but a lot of times the raw products were or years ago the product was tested on animals, but it no longer needs tested on animals because the formula hasn’t changed.  Some people are against testing on animals for beauty products, but support testing for antibiotics and vaccines.  This Podcast touches on all aspects of animal testing and does a great job at staying neutral.

http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/animal-testing.htm

Ten Ideas to Make Politics Less Rotten by Freakonomics

In a poll taken in 1958, 73% of people stated they trusted the government.  The same poll taken in 2015 showed that only 19% of people trust the government.  Out of all democratic countries, the United States has the lowest turnout rates at the polls.  This Podcast hosts several different people, to include Olympia Snowe, Howard Dean, Karl Rove, Eric Posner, and more.  They all discuss ways to improve politics in the U.S. and they express their interest in which political ideas should be discontinued to “make way for a saner system”.  I decided to listen to this Podcast to learn something new about our political system and voting.  The two things that stuck out most to me were the ideas of “ranked choice voting” and “quadratic voting”.  Ranked choice voting, basically just as the name states, is a method where voters rank candidates in order of preference.  With this system, every vote counts and less votes are wasted.  Quadratic voting is where people are allowed to buy votes for or against a proposal (or candidate) by paying the square of the number of votes they cast (e.g., 3 votes cost $9). The votes are totaled up and the majority prevails.

http://fairvotemn.org/FAQmpls

http://freakonomics.com/podcast/ten-ideas-make-politics-less-rotten/

Networked Students- Wendy Drexler

I chose to view the YouTube video, Networked Student, by Wendy Drexler.  The video discusses how one teacher encourages students to take control of their learning and utilize connectionism with other students and using valid websites (i.e. Google Scholar and the library network).  The students use bookmarking sights on the topic they are researching and they also bookmark ones they have found and share them.  Blogs, iTunesU, Podcasts, documentary, wikis are all examples where students can gather information and ideas.  Why need a teacher than?  Theachers guide students, teach them how to communicate properly and respectfully, how to ask for help, how to differentiate good information from propaganda, vet a resource, get excited about learning, and how to organize all they have learned.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwM4ieFOotA

The Fischbowl- 2020 Vision

The Fischbowl- 2020 Vision

The second article I chose is also by Karl Fisch.  He states that everything is changing so rapidly it is hard to predict a future vision, even just five years out. The presentations that he created, he planned them as a trilogy.  “What If”, was a look at the past; “Did You Know”, is a look at the present; and the “2020 Vision” is a look “back” at the future from the year 2020 (Fisch, 2006). 

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/11/2020-vision.html

The Fischbowl- What If?

This article was very interesting, it deals with how some teachers deal with students utilizing electronic devices in the class room.  A few teachers posted signs at the beginning of the school year stating, “Turn off and put away all Cell Phones, iPods, and Electronic Devices during class!”  The author of the article, Karl Fisch, admired their attempt, but openly disagreed with their actions.  He believes the teachers should have had an open conversation with the students and explained why they wanted students to follow this rule.  Fisch feels just posting a sign creates the “us versus them” mentality. 

Fisch further explains that technology could actually help kids be more successful with school work (i.e. post assignment due dates, test dates, reminder to complete homework, calculator.  Also, he makes the argument that ALL electronic devices is kind of broad.  Instead, he urges teachers to discuss the appropriate use of devices, especially since we are living in a time of rapid change.

 http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2006/09/what-if.html