Presentations Response pt. III

Again, such a range in topics.

Emma - I agree, too, that depression in college is a major issue - it can be overlooked as stress so easily, but I think that it's essential to recognize its presence. This paper will be be extremely informative.

Joey - Probably a really hot topic is technology in education. It affects everyone, it's useful, it's innovative (obviously), and archaic not to utilize. Because it's so hot, I'm sure there are many arguments for and against it, you just have to know where to look. What Mary mentioned about oral culture was really interesting, and I really hope you incorporate it into your paper.

Lastly, Katherine this may be the most original idea I've heard thus far. It's extremely interesting and the topic is an audience-grabber. I'd stay clear of being too history-heavy, and try to bring out your thesis as much as possible to add a new perspective to the current arguments.

Depression, Technology, and Media Influence in Cold War

I found the topics this session to be quite thought provoking and interesting. Depression in college is a really important issue and holds true in any university setting. I found it interesting that students put more pressure on themselves at bigger universities to get the good grades because of the greater class sizes. This topic hits close to home for so many students but it is also a topic that is often swept under the rug. Technology in education is changing the face of learning. I found it incredibly intriguing that 97% of schools in the U.S. have internet access. I just hope that books don't become obsolete as we discussed in class. The media's influence on education during the cold war was a topic I had never considered until class today. Describing the influence of the television show "Leave it to Beaver" as the ideal American family to keep kids from believing in communism and doing drugs was quite interesting. Another great day of presentations!

I thought that yesterdays presentations were very informational and well organized. I liked Emma's presentation on depression in college. Its a aspect of students that i feel goes under the radar so i think its a good topic to research and educate people on. I think a good thing to do would possibly contact UHS and their counsling services and interview a psychlogist. They might have good info on treatment and general information about cases they have had.
I liked how Joey picked a topic that he is interested in, and is unique to all the other topics that we have heard about. He did a good job explaining his topic for those of use who arnt very good with technology and made his arguement very clear.
Finally, i though the historical perspective in the final presentation was an interesting twist. She also had good background infiormation and knew her topic very well. Overall, I thought all the presentations were really good!

Monday Presentations

I thought Monday's presentations went really well overall. I thought that Joey's topic on technology and education was a great topic because it is something we can all relate to. I think that focusing the topic on a certain type of school (high school, college, etc.) or a certain aspect of technology would help to narrow down the broad topic. I also thought that it was a good topic because I, personally, and not very up to date with technology and am never caught up on the newest things. I had a hard time adjusting when I got to college to how much of my homework, grades, and updates for classes were done by computer and email. Technology and education definitely become closer related as they both adapt and advance.

April 26th Presentations

Depression in college:
I liked that you included the study that had unexpected results, that there was no change in the peoples grades or studies, but that those who conducted the experiment commented on it, saying that it surprised them, and they expected different results, and more testing would have to be done. It was also good to note that the schools that you mainly looked into were the effects in larger schools. I think it would be interesting to see if there is more depression in larger schools than smaller ones.

Educational Technology:
I liked that in the beginning of your presentation you defined technology. It really made the topic clear because many things can be associated with technology, so it narrowed a large topic. With that said, I still that that your topic is VERY broad and I'm a little curious as to how you shortened it enough to include all the material.

Media's influence on education during the Cold War:
I liked that your topic was SO specific and you provided a ton of background information to help us/the reader understand where you were coming from. Overall the presentation was very informative and I really found the part about 'social engineering' interesting.

presentation response from the 26th

It wouldn't surprise me that someone suffering from clinical depression would under perform in school. It's a symptom of depression to lose interest in your everyday life. Besides who really likes doing all the busy work that we're required to do in school? Combine that with low levels of dopamine and serotonin and of course your not gonna want to do your work. Sadly the only current solution is just to give people a pill that makes them like mindless drones so that they can function.
Joey had an interesting topic about how pokemon are helping classrooms learn nowadays in ways that weren't available before their creation. Oh wait, i meant to say the internet and computers, not pokemon. Its true that these inventions have affected traditional education but I'd like to know if this has any connection with ADD. I remember reading an article that talked about if television and other types of new media condition kids to only pay attention for short periods of time.
As far as the 50's being full of media propaganda by the U.S. government. If you show me enough concrete evidence to support from memos of the people in charge with some kind of agenda then I'll believe it. But the whole conspiracy propaganda thing has been so overplayed that I just don't really have any interest in it anymore.