Trip to Washington, D.C.

During my trip to D.C., I learned quite a bit. I learned that I knew very little about how our nation works. There were many things I learned about that I didn't even knew were done. One of these things I learned is all of the security features that are in our money. It is crazy how much thought is put into the design of each bill. I also learned how secured every place is. In almost every place we went to our bags had to be checked, and we had to go through a metal detector. Although, all of that was worth it when you got to see the impressive looking buildings on the inside rather than just admiring the outside. Another thing about Washington that amazed me was the design of the city. The layout of the city was so well-thought out. Even the markings on the roads were done just right. I can't imagine all the thought it took to design D.C. Overall, I am glad I went to Washington, D.C.

Social Media or Mass Media?

The article we were assigned to read, Goodbye social media... welcome back mass-media, says that our social media sites are starting to turn into a form of mass media. People are starting to simply "retweet" or "share" things rather than coming up with their own news. I don't think this is true with me. People do retweet and share things, but they mostly come up with their own things. I still think it is social media, not mass media. Although, I can understand how that article would say that. Social media sites are getting more controlled by bigger companies. But, I still think social media sites are mainly for social media.

Article in NY Times

There is an article in the NY Times called 10 Ways to Talk to Students About Sensitive Issues in the News . It offers some helpful ways to talk about news in the classroom. One of the things it says to do is to create a safe and supportive tone in the classroom. I think this is a very important thing to do. If students feel like they will get ridiculed, they will not share their opinions in class. Discussion is an important part of class. So without it, class wouldn't be very productive. That's why creating a safe and supportive tone in the classroom is so important.

Free-Write

For this free-write I'll write about track. I am pretty sure I am going to go out for track this year. We probably would have started practice already, but we still don't have a coach (if you would like to apply contact one of these people.) I have no idea who it will be. Although, it would be helpful to know because we should be starting practice soon. I have such a love/hate relationship with track. Sometimes I enjoy track, mostly because you can just chat with people. But, mostly I complain about track. During practice I complain about how much we have to run. During meets I complain about how stressed I am about running. You wouldn't guess I like track because of how much I complain about it, but it does have its good qualities along with its bad ones.

Free-write

For my free-write I am going to blog about Boys' Class B State Basketball. It was just last weekend, and I attended it. It was the first time I had been to State Basketball since 2008. Having our LaMoure team there was pretty exciting. Even though we lost two games, we won against Dickinson Trinity who had already beat the number one ranked team in the state. When there wasn't a game going on, I was either eating, shopping, attending my basketball practices, or just chilling at the hotel. I enjoyed the break from school for State Basketball.

The Future of the Internet

The Internet is going to keep changing, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. One thing about the Internet I look forward to changing is the speed of it. Our Mass Media book talks about how with things like the National Broadband Plan are trying to make it so 100 million U.S. homes have affordable access to download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second in the next decade. One thing about the Internet that I do not look forward to changing is the commercialization of it. It has already started being commercialized, but it is probably going to get a lot worse. Companies try to control the Internet. They also try to advertise on everything. Some even know what you do on the Internet in order to format their advertisements according to your activities. I don't agree with that.

Bias in Basketball Articles

Loboes Top Mustangs for State Berth: This article seems to favor the Loboes. There were mainly only quotes from LaMoure people. The target audience is probably LaMoure fans or players because it offers information primarily about LaMoure. There are some statistics and one quote for South Border, but that is minimal compared to how many there are for LaMoure.
Mustangs, Loboes Meet for Trip to State: This article seems to be more neutral than the first article. There is one quotation from Darren Thielges and none from South Border's coach, but the article also talks about how South Border has the advantage with their height. The article lists good and bad things about both teams.
Loboes, Lions Advance: This article favors LaMoure and Linton rather than Kidder County and E-K-M. Although, looking at the title, you should expect that. Between the Lions and the Loboes though, the article seems to favor the Loboes. There is much more writing about the LaMoure game than the Linton game. Also, the author compliments Anthony, calling him a "work horse", but the author does not say much about the Linton players.
No. 3 Trinity Upsets No. 1 Beulah for Region 7 Championship: This article seems to favor Dickinson Trinity. There are more quotes from the Trinity side than the Beulah side. Also, the article says mainly good things about Dickinson, while it says mainly bad things about Beulah, probably because it is from the Dickinson Press.
No. 1 Beulah Faces No. 3 Trinity for Region 7 Championship: This article seems to be more neutral. It talks about both teams pretty evenly. There are quotes from both Dickinson Trinity and Beulah. It says good and bad things about both teams.