My Thoughts on Voicethread.com

When comparing Voicethread to traditional essay writing I discovered that I didn't struggle as much as I thought I did when writing! As far as the assignment difficulty goes I think that once you have done a couple of Voicethreads you will learn how to put your material together to end up with a well produced assignment. Starting out I did struggle with how I should format a Voicethread when you use it as an assignment. Given the learning curve, I did spend more time with rough drafts than normal. Once written notes were composed the search for pictures then produced another rough draft. As I started this project I actually had no preconceived expectations as to what the outcome would be. I was just happy to come up with a presentation that somewhat made sense.


In my opinion the Voicethread program was fairly easy to use. The recording of my voice and adding the pictures went rather smoothly. It did take me a couple of tries to work out all of bugs that I created! After a couple of attempts I was able to assemble my pictures and voice into what I thought maybe resembled mini chapters. The only real problem that I encountered was the linking my Voicethread to my Blog. I couldn't figure out how to link it without someone actually signing in to Voicethread.com to view the assignment. With the assistance of a helpful classmate I was able to fix the problem. Thank you Darci!


The non-text requirements of the Voicethread project actually seemed to make me think more about the assignment. With the addition of pictures into the mix you are kind of forced into taking a fresh look at your subject. I did learn to think out side of the box with this assignment. The addition of pictures into the assignment had positive learning effect to me. With the whole class revolving around critical thinking this gave me a different prospective on my subject. I think that this is actually a very good learning tool when it comes to critical thinking and putting an assignment together using a new format that makes you think out side the traditional essay box.

The Book That I Am

Miners Rule!!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Where’s the Lovemark?

As critical thinking consumers I believe that even the smartest of us are drawn to "lovemarks'. I also believe that this is where our new marketing executives are doing their best to make their product a lovemark. By definition a lovemark is a devotion to something that is not logical. In the interview with Frontline, Kevin Roberts tells of his devotion with Adidas. Myself, I have a lovemark in Harley Davidson. I know that it is not a financially prudent relationship because there are plenty of motorcycles out there that are cheaper and some now even have a similar look. But the history and sound and everything about them keeps me from even considering a different brand. In spite of my irrational relationship with one brand, I feel that the rest of my consumer decisions are made with logic and reasoning. I don't think that marketing alone will be able to transform every product or brand into a lovemark.

As we examine the strategies of the new marketing gurus you can find them now holding educational seminars on the tactics of lovemarks. This is something that consumers have to watch out for as we try and limit our unreasonable attractions to a select few brands. The way that brands evolve into a higher form is to bond emotionally with the consumers that they are trying to reach. As people have more choices to make and less time to actually compare choices the task of an advertiser is to try and touch the consumer on an emotional level and grab someone for life. What seems to be a problem with the marketing of lovemarks is that the idea can't be pushed on people. Not every brand will make it and some think that the elevation of a brand takes time and respect along with a trusting relationship. I would bet that everyone has a product or brand that they purchase that is solely based on an emotional attachment and devoid of any logical reasoning. Everyone has an emotional attachment to something and that is the reason that a marketing company is trying to sell their lovemark form of advertising.

With today's consumer having so much power in where, when, what and how to purchase something I think that the marketing companies have their work cut out for them. One can only hope that more people will limit their lovemarks to items that have proven themselves to them personally and earned this new elevated level of devotion.

The Reason for Teaching Reasoning

One of the new concepts that I have learned while attending college is that of critical thinking and reasoning skills. I don’t think the ideas and concepts were actually new to me but I didn’t realize the importance that they play in our every day life. Now that I have learned the importance of these skills and realize that the majority of people have to be taught these skills I believe that we should be teaching these skills to our youth and not wait until they reach high school or college level. We still seem to be restricting our kids reasoning potentials with some of the choices that we give them. And there are those who are afraid that children will lose their innocence even sooner than they are now if we teach them to ask questions.

The young school children who seem to do the best in school are the ones who ask the questions. These are the kids who ask more than “will this be on the test?’. They ask why. The Foundation for Critical Thinking explains that most teachers only generate answers for the students to remember and then regurgitate. Without questions there is no actual learning. There would be no advancements in current fields of the sciences. Our school systems now are just beginning to realize the importance of teaching students to reason and to use critical thinking skills. An article by Steven D. Schafersman tells of the importance of critical thinking and teaching the skills to our youth.

Another good reason to teach the youth of today reasoning and critical thinking skills to arm them with the basic survival tools they will need to function as an enlightened adult. Make them aware of the marketing firms that are out to part them from their money with things that they really don’t need but have been convinced it is something they can’t live without. Just getting our youth to question simple assumptions will help them become more empowered. Even for young adults the skills of critical thinking and reasoning will help them make wise choices growing up.

The Negative Impact of Computers and Electronics

What do we do with all of our Outdated Stuff?

As I carry my old Compaq out to the garage I realize that I have two other old, out dated computers, three monitors and a couple of obsolete printers taking up valuable space in my life. The whole world is in the computer age and with out them we couldn’t function in college or high school for that matter. They are a wonderful form of entertainment in our lives as well as in almost every aspect of our working lives. The problem lies in what do we do with all of the waste that is being generated with this technology? Is it the responsibility of the end consumer and the cities and counties to find a safe place for their disposal or should the manufacturers assume the burden? This is one problem that everyone is going to have to work together to make sure we find a useful solution and protect our environment.
According to the EPA in 2007 over 41 million desktop and laptop computers were discarded and over 31 million monitors. These components are only a part of the problem. We also have to deal with televisions, cell phones and gaming systems to name a few others. All of these components contain toxic elements that, if leached into the ground water contaminate an extremely precious resource. There are also elements, such as lead that are harmful just coming into contact with them.
A horrible practice taking place right now is to ship our e-waste over seas to poor countries that have no regulations to protect the people or their environment. The components are disassembled and the metals are sold while the rest of the units are discarded. While some will argue that poorer countries would be worse off with out this means to earn a living, how can we justify the health and pollution problems that our waste is creating? The Electronics TakeBack Coalition would like to see the federal government pass legislation to prohibit the exporting of e-waste to other countries.
With our ever evolving technology comes the responsibility of protecting our planet and the lives that inhabit it. Manufacturers need to make the manufacturing of green electronics a priority and also take the lead from HP and Dell and ban the exporting of e-waste. Consumers need to start looking for electronics that are made with materials that are less toxic and more recycle friendly and make sure that they act responsibly when recycling their electronics. Even the Olympic medals this year contain a small amount of e-waste that would have ended up in Canada’s landfills. And so with this bit of information I challenge everyone to do their part in working to correct this world wide problem.

Pop Culture Survey

For the three days that I had to track pop culture in my life I found out that I was involved more in pop culture than I thought. So here is my list:

Went to Starbucks for coffee.
I sent and received text messages.
Sent and received e-mails
Used my mp3 player
Had a couple of micro brews at Prescott Brewing Company
Used my XM radio
Used the Internet for both school work and watching some TV shows
Watched the Superbowl and watched the commercials
Watched a couple of television shows and was exposed to the commercials that went
along with them
Rented a movie from Red Box