Kresge's+Digital+Classroom

 Team,

I've invited three kids to play around with the digital classroom site (http://grou.ps/digitalclassroom/home ) a bit and give feedback. Can you guys begin to invite a few kids at a time to see what they think and phase in the process of having our kids dialog with one another? I think if we invite a few kids, then a few more, we can create a buzz on the way to critical mass and head off unforeseen issues along the way.

I've been telling my kids that "texting" language will not be permitted and that everything should attempt to be done in proper English.

I'm looking forward to meeting your students!

http://grou.ps/digitalclassroom/home

Jeff Kresge - Team Adeste, Persell Middle School, Jamestown, NY 14701 March 17, 2009

Friends,

I started my digital classroom experiment today with the kids having to blog about the necessity of the electoral college. We read the article below and then the kids were supposed to decide for themselves whether or not we should get rid of it.

I told the kids that being online opens their work up to public viewing in the hopes that they would put an increased emphasis on writing with clarity and supporting their opinions with details and facts. If you can find the time to post a response, it would validate the point that people are always watching what is on the web.

To post a response, go to the bottom of the page at this link (http://blog.jamestown.wnyric.org/groups/99jkresgeblog/weblog/60b59/_6_-_Electoral_College.html) and click "add a comment." The site will ask you to log in. Log in using your First Class account. Thanks in advance!

Here is the article we read: The future of the electoral college It’s time to junk the electoral college, said [|Jonathan Soros in The Wall Street Journal]. This anachronistic institution, which on Monday confirms Barack Obama’s election as president, gives each state a vote for each congressional district, plus one per senator, awarding small states with extra clout. These "peculiar mechanics" have divided us into red, blue, and swing states, and it’s time for a change.The electoral college will no doubt survive such "bad arguments," said [|Matthew J. Frank in National Review Online], but they "ought to be slapped down anyway." Soros’ big gripe is that the winner-take-all allotment of electoral votes in effect in 48 states encourages candidates to campaign only in the really competitive states. But eliminating the current system would make the national popular vote the only thing that mattered, which would only encourage candidates to ignore every place but the biggest cities.Don’t worry, said [|Randall Lane in The New York Times]. Abolishing the electoral college would require a Constitutional amendment, and neither swing states nor small ones would ever pass it. But the system can be made more democratic if red and blue states of similar size would pair up—in a sort of "buddy system"—and award electoral votes to the winner in each congressional district, with two votes going to the overall state winners. Now there’s a bipartisan solution.  Jeff Kresge - Team Adeste, Persell Middle School, Jamestown, NY 14701

Homepage: http://www.jamestownpublicschools.org/persell/faculty/jkresge/Site/Welcome.html

Twitter Name: jkresge

Lost Neighborhood Project: http://www.jamestownpublicschools.org/persell/faculty/jkresge/Site_2/Lost_Neighborhood_Home.html