Cool

Surprising

I really liked school today. I'm not sure why, but it brought me quite a bit of joy.

Here Comes the Bride!

Today I spent much of my morning taking photos of my gorgeous younger sister. When we had taken 400 pictures or so, we decided to call it quits and give my arms and her body a break. I am attaching to this blog post a small photo stream for your viewing pleasure. Please leave me some feedback, as this is my first real photo shoot! :)

Week 13: One Last Thing

Today marks the end of my Learning 2.0 journey. I feel such a sense of accomplishment, and I have been reflecting about those things I have actually used outside of class since the semester began.I used photos of letters from Flickr to create a wedding gift for my sister.

I created a Wordle that I used to help my students articulate ideas they have about My Name is Asher Lev. 

I set up accounts at numerous sites that I now can refer back to at a moment's notice.

I suggested to the leadership team that we use GoogleDocs to share common assessments and that we set up a calendar in Google. 

I watched more YouTube Videos than I can academically justify.

I have created a blog of which I am proud, and one to which I will actually miss posting. 

I have created a wiki book entry and have a stronger understanding of basic html.

Most importantly, I have been able to gain a basic overview of several meaningful and compelling technologies. 

I am overwhelmed at the thought of all the resources that exist online, but edified at the thought that I have time and motivation to learn how to use those resources.

I started with a somewhat conceited attitude about Learning 2.0, but am leaving with the thought that I have much to learn; I am grateful for that realization.

Good Advice

An Obituary

This Kid Wants a Grade...

An excerpt from an essay scored today by yours truly:

"Now, there are many teachers who definitely belong to the Hall of Tutors but there are few I have met who remain its leaders. Miss M.D. [sidenote: what?] Krystle Cook, my High School English Teacher is not only royalty, but she is the Queen of the Hall of Tutors. She has all the attributes of a great teacher, although it is not her wonderful classroom discussion or her thrilling assignments that make it so. The thing that makes Krystle Cook different from all the other teachers is her wonderful personality and her amazing ability to be a true friend. I remember 10th grade when I first met her; she was always so funny, ducking behind podiums and throwing markers at me when I misbehaved [sidenote: this is only partly true]. Now, in the 11th grade, only a few weeks ago Krystle reprimanded me for excluding my friends. I know she truly cares about me. She is a great example and I am really grateful to her for helping me become a better person." 

Sigh. I am pretty sure that, in spite of the all too evident kissing-up aspect of the above paragraph, things like this make me happy to teach. 

Evaluating and Synthesizing

Ultimately, the most useful articles/websites were those that talked about recycling programs that have existed in other areas. As I started searching, I realized just how much information is out there. I believed I would be able to 

Pleasanton is rewarding residents who are willing to recycle.

Indiana University combined art with recycling. 

Utah may have an increase in sustainable living because of the federal stimulus package.

Recycling programs are expensive to initiate. However, in spite of high up front costs, in the long run there are several benefits to paper recycling. Recycling requires a change of mindset, as those heading up research initiatives must be patient while the wave a recycling takes hold. Paper recycling does not necessarily "save a tree" as trees are planted specifically for paper; paper recycling DOES increase the life of a landfill. In addition to recycling, consumers ought to reuse and reduce their paper use. It's a cliche that I have heard countless times, but it is true! 

REDUCE 

REUSE 

RECYCLE

It was at this point in my process that I realized that I had lost track of the initial goal of my research, to find out how reuse works into the equation. I was so distracted at my personal goal that I lost absolute track of what I was supposed to do. Reuse! It's all about reuse! I quickly changed my search topics, looking for such things as "recycle + reuse" and "recycle vs. resuse"; the latter search brought me to a website about the perks or reuse. I also visiting the EPA website that offers compelling statistics about all three R's. It is definitely worth a look.

As I evaluate all of the information I have been able to find, it seems clear that REUSE is much more useful than RECYCLING. Reusing an item is common sense, does not require further energy output, and increases the life of a land fill more than recycling ever can. Those proponents of recycling seem motivated by money. It also seems as though companies brag about recycling. It's just a buzz word that seems nice. In a sense, Recycle is the glamorous younger sister to the frumpy but productive big sister, Reuse.

UNRELATED BUT WORTH A LOOK: 

My research did lead to the discovery of a favorite website thus far, one that addresses toilet paper and recycling. I also came across a home made entirely of paper. Another, while it dealt with making the choice to PURCHASE recycled paper, was aptly named Going Green @ Your Library. 

Information Seeking

I think that the biggest mistake the cell phone searcher made was relying too much on one place. Consistently, that user used Google as square one. I didn't realize what a big deal that was until I made the same mistakes.  As I started looking for information about paper recycling, I first performed a Google search for Paper Recycling Process! I am no better than cell phone guy!

I moved away from Google and tried other search engines that I knew. I found an informative website that talked me through the step by step of recycling. You can check it out by clicking here. 

I also found a somewhat geeky YouTube video that explains the whole process, if you don't feel like reading:

My next logical step was to find possible harmful effects of paper recycling. I found an article called Rethinking Recycling that is a little dated (1995). You can read the whole article, but I am including the gist of it here:

"Critics say that what seems at first to make a great deal of sense doesn't always stand up to a close examination. For instance, some critics argue that collection costs make recycling a bad bargain for many localities because the costs often exceed the prices that the recyclables bring on the open market. They also charge that operating additional trucks to pick up recyclables increases toxic diesel emissions, offsetting any environmental gains.

Recycling advocates are quick to respond that economics are not the only consideration and that recycling is essential in managing America's solid waste. They say that using recycled instead of virgin materials benefits the environment by cutting back on a wide range of pollutants and preserving biodiversity. And, they add, recycling may make economic sense by delaying or lessening the need for landfills so that land can be put to more productive uses."

Because this seemed a little dated, I decided to pinpoint more timely information, this time using a GoogleScholar search. I am including the link, even though I did not find any results with which I was happy. I went back to my standard Google, this time adding dates as a delimiter. The first site to pop up was one from the American Forest and Paper Association, displaying the 2009 recycling awards. 

It seems, so far, that I can only find recycling information from companies who somehow benefit from recycling. It also seems as though this is not a topic that people are talking about anymore. That, or perhaps I am not information literate!? 

Task Definition

The situation: My city is interested in implementing mandatory curbside recycling. I always attend meetings where the community can give input on a matter. To prepare for this meeting I want to know more about the possible economic and environmental benefits of recycling. I've heard something about how it might be better to re-use things, rather than use things once and recycle. How does re-use fit in?

I have a sister who lives in England, and she has shown me a great example of recycling and reusing. In the UK, everyone participates in curbside recycling of glass, plastics, compost, and metals. I am not sure what would be the best plan of attack in Utah, or in the United States, for that matter. People talk about how expensive it is to recycle, and I have heard students tell me that recycling is a waste of energy because it does not make that much of a difference.

I would like to examine paper recycling, as that is something that my school already participates in. Specifically, I would like to have real information to pass on to students in order to rev up our school wide paper recycling.

I need to understand the process, costs, and impact of paper recycling. I would also like to know where paper from Utah goes in order to be recycled.

Learning to Find/Use Information

I am starting the information literacy aspect of this course and I was first posed with the question "how important is the skill of information literacy?" A simple answer would be one word: very. An expanded answer might include a variation of the following: more important than most of us can even realize.

A little background (taken from the course):

The term "information literacy" was defined in 1989 by the American Library Association's Presidential Commission on Information Literacy as an individual's ability to identify and shape research questions, access information, evaluate it, and manage it. Information literacy is different than "learning how to use the library", which focuses on teaching tools, resources, and strategies for a specific library's resources and for a very specific assignment. Although there is some value in this, today we all encounter information in a very different way. Having a broader and deeper understanding of the information landscape, including libraries, will enable you to navigate that landscape much more easily.

Information literate people are problem solvers; they can be dropped into any foreign situation and often take on a leadership roles because they are able to manage information. They are curious. They are researchers. They are those who make effective teachers and helpful friends.

It important to know that there are various types of information that can be found in different ways, using different tools. It is also important to have good searching skills. As a teacher, I am given the responsibility to help my students become informationally literate, which implies a mandate for me to be the same.