Venus' Blog

After all the hard work for my SongChild project, here is the link to it:

http://songchild.org/index.php?title=User:Venustsang


I have created a tidy up song for teachers and children of all ages to sing along to in their classrooms and it acts as a transition song between activities as well. Enjoy!

Link to the article: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9056398

For Week 13-14, I googled an article about OLPC in hopes to find out recent news or updates on the project. Although the OLPC project was intended for developing countries, they are now planning to expand into America. They are planning to launch OLPC in America this year. They based their decision to include America in the project for 3 reasons: because there still are poor children living in America, making more software will steer a larger development community, and so that children in the USA can communicate with children in developing countries using their computers. The article also stated that the original reason why America was not included in the plan was because of the difference in need, as many more families can afford to buy computers and laptops in America.

I found it interesting how OLPC is expanding its plans, and I also believe this is a positive change. It was also an interesting read as people have criticized how the USA was not included in the project, but the chairman of the project said it was always in the plans. I think that no matter where the project is being launched, it is helpful as long as children are benefitting from it. Of course, there are more children in developing nations who will benefit from OLPC, but it is important not to forget about children in poverty all over the world.


Nystedt, D. (2008, January, 9). OLPC America to launch in 2008. Computerworld Mobile & Wireless, Retrieved April 8, 2008, from http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9056398

After listening to the audio lecture, I decided to google an article on folk culture's importance to children. I found one from Music Educators Journal about an inspirational music composer, Zoltan Kodaly.

The link to the article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/view/3396137?seq=1


Zoltan Kodaly was a Hungarian composer and music educator with his folk music. He was born in 1882 and died in 1967, but his music still lives on. He was first introduced to music by the folk music he was exposed to from the Classic-Romantic tradition, and his music style followed closely to this tradition. His style was a natural, organic dissonance, and very rich with expression. He mainly influenced adults with his songs and music, but he realized that because of urbanization of the country, Hungarian folk culture was slowly diminishing. Kodaly decided that in order to save folk culture, he had to start young. He realized that there was a need to "imbue young people" for the beauty of music, so he started focusing on children as well as adults. He began composing music for children and also pedagogical works for children to create their own music through singing and reading exercises, and "minute musical masterpieces". Those included 3 note nursery songs to volumes of 2 and 3 contrapuntal compositions. Kodaly is still influential today, and many believe that he has influenced how Hungarian music education is taught and the techniques that are used. Although his work primarily centered in native Hungary, it is not recognized by people throughout the world.

I think that Kodaly was smart for realizing that it was important to introduce music to children early on in their lives. Also, the methods he used were effective. He was very constructive with his approach, and taught children how to create their own music. In the audio lecture, it was highlighted how the methods that are used to teach children music are very commercialized now compared to before. For example, children and teachers used to sing their own songs and make up their own lyrics, but today prerecorded music is used, and brings children to believe that culture is something that is purchased. It is very important to bring traditional music and culture back into children's lives, and to help them realize that although commercial culture music may be ideal at times, it is still important to incorporate traditional music into their lives. Folk culture helps children achieve this, and also helps them to be more creative and constructive.


Sinor, J. (1982). Zoltan Kodaly’s folk tradition. Music Educators Journal. 69(4), 33-34.

I'd just like to post a blog about the recent incident about a Ryerson University student getting expelled for academic misconduct using the internet. After hearing about this story, it struck me as completely relevant to our course! So here are my two cents on the topic...

OK so far in this course, we have learned ample ways to prove why technology is an asset to better our education. Not only for recreational purposes and completing schoolwork, but learning together and building resources and knowledge. The internet is a great way to get discussions going, for blogging, and even create study groups. So the controversy is around what we are actually "entitled" to do on the internet. Just how far are we allowed to participate in forums and such places without getting in trouble? The question is whether or not the students in this online Facebook study group were really cheating or just studying as a group, exchanging problems and helping each other out. I think it's fine as long as they weren't exchanging the actual solutions to the problem. Even if they did post up answers, I remember in math-related courses teachers would only give partial marks for the final answer and most of the marks would go into the actual work/learning process.

Another issue that was raised was the fact that these kinds of study groups happen in person as well, the only difference being there may be no evidence of it and it is not publicized to the world. So does that make study groups that happen in libraries, homes, and other unknown places a crime as well? According to the school board, it seems that way.

Apparently, Ryerson is now updating their academic misconduct policy to "any deliberate activity to gain academic advantage, including actions that have a negative effect on the integrity of the learning environment." But to me, "a deliberate activity to gain academic advantage" can be legitimate in many ways. As a student, I can want to gain academic advantage by researching class topics online, communicating with friends and other students about the work, receiving tutoring help, and of course participating in study groups (in person or online). All those methods can help me gain academic advantage. I guess the whole concept just seems very up-in-the-air to me.

After reading this article, Children as Photographers, I found the results very intriguing. I felt that a pattern was present between the results that the experiment conductors found across the three age levels of children. When reading them, it reminded me of Bronfenbrenner's ecological system theory. The reason for this being that results show younger children mostly took photographs of their home environment, older children (age 11) took photographs of the outdoors and their external environment, and the oldest children (age 15) mostly took pictures of groups of children, especially of the same sex. This similarly follows Bronfenbrenner's system as children grow up and become more exposed to their society, allowing society to have a large impact on their life. The results from the study makes sense to me because when children are young, they spend more time at home and are only exposed to so much, so it is only normal most of their pictures are comprised of their home environment and what they have in their home (such as toys and games). However, as they grow older, they are slowly exposed to more in society outside of their home, and begin to explore. They are able to see the outdoors, different buildings, school, etc. They also begin to start forming social groups and building friendships with other children through activities such as school, extracurriculars, etc. This reasoning is supported as older children were seen snapping photos of groups of children rather than single children, and they also tended to take pictures of children the same sex as themselves.

In my opinion, I think that exposing children to such technology as early as 7 years old will only help them in the future. From my own experience, I don't recall being "allowed" to use such expensive equipment when I was "just a kid". But introducing cameras, video cameras, and tape recorders to children can ease their way in learning about technology when they're older and would probably make it easier for them to catch on later. By giving a child a simple functioning, single-time use camera (like that was used in the study) to experiment with and take pictures for fun, they are learning more about the real world and gain a sense of accomplishment.

After reading a part of chapter 3 on experimenting with technologies, I think that the bit on causal reasoning is really significant. When the chapter was describing all the different types of experiments, I couldn't help but think that children would be able to use this in their science and discovery area (and technology). Whereas by experimenting in science, children can discover more about cause and effect and learn how to make hypotheses in their studies, they can also do the same in technology using computer programs like SimQuest. I found this program rather intriguing, and enjoyed the diagram that was shown of the sewage plant simulation builder.

Also, it is great that children can use these programs in one area of study but can transfer it to other subject areas too. I think that this makes school more whole for them, and the material they learn will actually stick with them and be meaningful because they are able to use it in different contexts. I am really amazed at all these new programs that I am learning about, and am surprised that I have not known of many of them before.

On another note, after completing the mid term quiz, I felt that I have not truly absorbed the class material fully. There were many topics I had to review before submitting an answer, and this made me feel very flustered. A lot of the questions were very specific and when studying, I felt that it was difficult to know exactly what to focus on. I'm not sure if anybody else felt the same?

Dear group,

I apologize for the lack of blogging. I didn't know we were required to blog once each week, so I am now going to attempt to backtrack and make up for it!

First of all, I'd like to comment on our wiki lab a few weeks ago. To be honest, I had no idea what a wiki was before this class and didn't have the slightest clue that is how Wikipedia was created and runs. I also did not know "Wiktionary" or "Wikiquote" existed. I actually enjoyed doing the homework and creating a wiki of my own and although it was very simple and basic, I can actually say I made that! To incorporate wikis into a class curriculum is a great idea to help children develop their technology skills. The examples given in the textbook about teachers using wikis to collaboratively learn as a class was eye opening. To think if I was able to create a wiki on the Holocaust as a class when I was in elementary school, I would actually like doing projects. It is a fun and different approach to learning and gathering information, as students are required to research about the topic and put it together as a class. They are given freedom, but are also required to make complex decisions using critical thinking skills. I think that overall, wikis are a great way to support meaningful learning, as it is active and constructive, and definitely promotes cooperation between students.

For the general public, technology has become a necessity to function in every day life. I am no exception. These past few decades, new and/or improved types of technology have been rapidly emerging into society where I have been growing up. Through many years of experience, I would consider myself having a considerable amount of experience with technology.

When I was a child, I was only exposed to primary forms of technology such as television, phones, cars, etc. I guess I could say the only type of technology I really used was television to watch my favourite cartoon shows. As I passed through my adolescent days, technology became a bigger part of my life. I started using the phone more and even asked my parents to get a cell phone, I took my G1 test as soon as I turned 16 so I could start driving a car, and learned that a computer was an incredibly efficient way to communicate with friends, finish my homework faster, and complete research without having to go to the library. Today, in university, owning these types of technology is essential. For example, in many classes, having daily access to a computer is required, as professors post lecture notes on programs such as "Blackboard" and communicate with their students through e-mail.

But technology is not only essential for school or work, it is also fun to use! In certain circumstances, I would prefer using the internet or phone to communicate with people rather than face-to-face communication. I use the internet daily to check my e-mail, chat with friends, and go on the web to browse through different websites.

Thus far, my experience with technology has been positive, for the most part. I have relied on technology on many occasions and it has not failed me except for the occasional computer crash, but technological savvies are probably working on improvements right now.