Baseball

         Scoop it is a web site where you make an online magazine, of anything you want. Now, I thought I'd make a magazine on Major League Baseball teams. I have chosen this topic because I used to play baseball and I have always liked baseball. I like hearing about the news about my favourite teams too. Some of my favourite teams are Boston Red Socks, the New YorkYankees, and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The are my favorite team, not because my name is Jay, but because they have my favourite player, Luis Perez; he is left handed pitcher like me. Another reason they are my favourite team is that the Jays put up good stats and have won the World Series many times. When I was little I used to watch baseball and loved to watch the Jays; they always put on a good game.

  Most of my articles in my magazine are factual but there are some opinion based articles. Most of my articles are random but they're all pretty interesting. I think that my article on “Wives of  Major League baseball players” is the weakest of all my articles. I think this is a weak article because it really doesn't say anything about the teams or the players as far as how they play. It does however make a strong point about what the players are getting their wives and how their family’s are doing. It also talks about what the wives think and do being with major league baseball players. The strongest article would be “Blue Jays release Vlad from minors deal”. It talks about the players and what they are doing right now. It also has weak parts in it such as opinion based facts and some things they talk about have not been proven.

My articles are mostly about the players when there playing not the bad things they have done off the field; there are somethings about them off the field but they're not as important as the other ones that are to do with there plays, and the games they have been in. I prefer to try to keep my Scoop It page in the sports part of baseball and not go into “gossip”.

I have learned that some teams are not winning as much as they use to, also that some people make up things to get others to think the same way, and that the  Jays, my favourite team, is not playing as good now a days, when I was little. Almost every game I watched with the Jays they won and now they are inconsistent at best. Some articles are not as important but sometimes people like to hear about that stuff; gossip about teams or players. There are many articles though that are reliable as to statistics and player performance with little or no bias. I have learned to question articles and not take everything I read at face value; I must consider the source and the reason for the article.

Gaming Platforms

I chose this topic because I thought it was a good one to compare because everyone has different opinions of what they want in a gaming system. I also enjoy gaming systems and would like to learn more about them, since I do use them. This article has helped me do so, and it's showed me what both systems can do and which has better features. It all depends what you're interested in, really. I chose articles that are factual and opinion based. You can tell this by how the articles sound. Some kind of just choose one side, which shows bias. They choose their favorite one and try to make the other one look not as good.

Both systems have been rated well but more people have voted for Xbox 360. I think the reason for this is because the Xbox has been around longer, since 2003 and the Ps3 since 2005. Most are factual though and show both sides and just compare them to show what features they have and the quality of the systems. The Ps3's best feature is the Blue-ray and the Xbox 360 is it's Kinect which is a newer thing for this system. Both systems have different versions which are older and newer so they do different things. I've noticed that the general bias in these articles is mostly saying, "The Ps3 is faster" or "The Xbox 360 is better" and other stuff like that. It seems that the Xbox 360 has some technical problems. Since the console's release in 2005, the reliability gained a bad reputation from the general public but the Ps3 is considered a technically superior console to the Xbox 360. I've also noticed that there's kind of a theme or pattern to these articles because there all very similar in many ways. They do a lot of the same things but at the same time they don't. They have different features so it all depends what your looking for in a system. It's confusing for people that are deciding what one they want out of the two systems. It would be nice if they made one system that had all the features in one, so you could have all the different experiences. It also depends how mush you want to spend because there's price differences for sure.

I think that the strongest article would have to be the Ps3 vs Xbox 360 comparison chart. It has a lot of useful information and tells you what each system has without putting the other one down. I think that the weakest article would be the Yahoo Answers one the reason is it's not very accurate, it's very bias and it's not very complete. You also don't know if this information is correct because it's from random people on the internet, it's not actually an article. So you can't really trust the information that is given.

I think these articles have expanded my thinking because I know more about these two different systems and what they can do. I have an idea of what system I would prefer because of the features I would like. It's also changed my thinking as well because i've seen the technical problems of them both. The Xbox 360 has the nick name "red ring of death" and disks get scratched in the drive. The Ps3 may flash red or green lights when it's over heating so make sure to check it. The video playback could be fuzzy or distorted which is most common. So in the end both systems have problems but it just depends on what one you like better.

Modern Warfare 3 vs. Battlefield 3

I chose the topic because I'm interested in games in general, especially in Shooter-Games. I played a lot games like Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) and Battlefield 3 (BF3) and specifically those two. I watch many videos on this topic, even at home. Another reason, I chose this topic, is that there are many facts which explain for the success of the game worldwide. There are many articles on the Internet about this topic and the first person shooter genre is highly represented in the game scene. I like realistic games with many interesting factors like flying a helicopter or driving a tank. I prefer games where I have to use strategy to win and I like to start with bad weapons and then “level up” and gain access to better weapons. I enjoy physics engines, which include gravity and things like a realistic parachute jump.

I chose a mix of factual and opinion based articles. I have four articles which are relatively factual and two, written by me, which are opinion based. I can identify factual text with no bias and opinion based text with bias. I can find bias in the texts about Battlefield's and Modern Warfare's statistics. For example the phrase “amazing graphics” in the Battlefield 3 text. It shows the reader that the author really likes the game and that the author would prefer it. He also has many biases in the article about Modern Warfare 3, like “brings Activision undeserved Money” or “bad game”. On those two examples you can see that the author doesn't like the game. I would say that the strongest articles are those about the main statistics of the game. They contain accurate examples and the main points and factors about the game, which are relevant for the reader and potential gamer. There is not much bias but it's really clear. 


After reading all those articles I didn't really change my opinion. My opinion about those games just got stronger. I saw every weakness of MW3 and every positive thing of BF3.

Computer Games

I chose the topic “Computer games” because it's something very interesting for me. I like to play computer games like most people. It is fun to play them but I and lots of other people want to know which are the best computer games, so I wrote my online magazine using the topic “It tests and describes the best computer games in the world.”

I have some very different articles in my magazine because I want my magazine to say only the truth and I don't want my magazine based on one opinion. In my articles there is a lot of bias. Some are very different because the thinking from the people is very different, and I want that the people who read my magazine to get their own opinion by seeing these different biases.

My strongest article is “Battlefield 3 vs Modern Warfare 3”. I chose this article because it has strong arguments and very good reasons. For example: It is my belief that it isn't fair to declare one game "the winner" when comparing BF3 and MW3. Modern Warfare may have the more recognizable brand, but Battlefield has a longer history. BF3 may have vehicles in multiplayer, but MW3 offers more online modes.” Around the whole world people discuss which of these two games is better. My second strongest article is “Ps3 vs Xbox 360.” In this article, I compare two famous gaming platforms and discuss what are the important factors for the customer. I think this article is strong because there are a lot of good arguments, too. For example: “As the performance of these gaming consoles does match to a great extent, price can turn out to be a deciding factor at the end of the day. In case of the Xbox, the higher end model which comes with a 250GB HDD is priced US$299.99, while the 4GB onboard console is priced at US$199.99. If you want Kinect motion gaming system as an add on (which is recommended), you will have to shell out approximately US$100 extra as Xbox 360 S 250GB with Kinect is priced at US$399.99 and Xbox 360 S 4GB costs US$299.”

Finally, my articles changed my own thinking about some computer games. I know now some important facts about, cost, graphics, kinds of game, and the advantages and the disadvantages of each.

I think my online magazine a was very successful project from that, I and a lot of other people have learned much about computer games.  

Biking

The topic I chosen is biking. I chose this topic because I am very passionate about it. Another reason I chose this topic is because I do a lot of biking and it is one of my favorite pastimes. The things I chose for my magazine are different videos and articles about biking. 


Some of the articles are Jonathan Dennis’s downhill biking race at Greno Woods. Jonathan was riding against 200 other competitors for the downhill biking world championship. Another is about the Whistler Mountain bike park. This park challenges every rider at their own abilities, and whether you are a good biker or a bad one, there is a run for everyone. Downhill biking is a sport for those who want to become phisical but it is also for the mind. Downhill jumps are the hardest to do because you are already going fast, so you have to judge your speed when approaching the jump. I like reading articles on the internet because it is real peoples experiances. 


The article in the Sheffield Telegraph shows some bias when the author and people describe the event as “awesome, incredible ride”. Some themes or patterns are, “everyone falls but gets right back up”.  The strongest article I think is the Whistler Mountain because it tells about all the rides you can do for everyone. I think it shows less bias because the another was not one  sided. The weakest article is the Jonathan Dennis’s. I think it is the weakest because it showed lots of bias when I was reading the articles but it was also a good article to read, too.

iPods

 I have chosen to do iPods for my topic. I have chosen this topic because I am very knowledgeable about iPods. I have done them for projects before so it is easy for me to find information. I like iPods because it is a great idea/invention. It has influenced me and millions if not billions of peoples lives. iPods have been a hit since they came out and are still one of the top grossing types of technology being sold.

I have chosen the articles that best describe and have lots of information about iPods. The best web sIte for this topic was the Apple home page. I see lots of bias in these articles. They say time and time again that iPods are the the best and only way to listen to musIc. I personally believe that iPods do sound really good. I don't know how they would compare against other musIc devices but I think iPods are the best, but thats bia’s. The strongest articles are on the Apple main web page. They already have in- depth articles and info on iPods, on how they work, and the wide selection of iPods and Apple tech. I found the weakest article was the one about electronic tips for the iPod. It is a good websIte and gives lots of informatIon but I think my other articles are stronger. There is one article about Steve Jobs, the man who pretty much invented and founded Apple. He died in 2011 and the article describes his accomplishments of how he invented so much. I feel one of the stronger articles is the one about games but that might just be because people like games and I like games, and agaIn, iPod has influenced me and lots of other people. I think only 5 out of 6 of my articles are accurate as one of them may have been an advertisement. Overall, I think this was a really good topic and I think iPods have influenced every one in one way or another.

I learned a little bit about iPods in the time I have done this article. I already knew much about the iPod having owned one for many years and I have done many reports on them. I have learned something new from all this. I have learned there are a number of people that share my interest. There are many people who have followed my information and the articles I have scooped even though my articles were very basic, so that means there had to have been some sort of interest in these articles. I learned about some new apps that Apple has released such as Find my iPhone. It allows you to find your iPhone no matter where, and it is you can even contact your service provider and they will send the police if it is stolen. Another app that I was amazed about was the new voice texting app. It allows you to talk and it will type in the text for you.

Scoop.it! Online Magazine Project

This project was developed as a way to not just build literacy and technology skills, but also to address many of the key course outcomes in Communications. The students have used Scoop.it! to create an online magazine on a subject of their choosing. Available for free on the Internet, this program is very easy to use and allows them to "curate" their magazines through its own article "scooping" mechanism as well as through conventional Internet search engines. By using the attractive frame the program provided and subject matter chosen by the learner, my hope was to increase student engagement level. I then created my own Scoop.it! magazine page and "scooped" their magazines as my LCSS Communications magazine content, along with this blog entry which contains my assignment explanation.

The next step was more important. The students were required to create a written response with some leading questions focusing them on why they chose their topic, the quality of the articles they chose, and what they learned. When they completed their revised work, I then imbedded their work in a blog entry and "scooped" it into their magazines.  Their written response assignment, along with the conversations and feedback during the writing process, addresses many of the Communications outcomes.

Below are the 40 outcomes written in student friendly "I can" statements that were co-developed by myself, Karen Kloske, and Sian Peterson during a district implementation day three years ago. Because of the overlap between 11 and 12 we consolidated to one list of outcomes for both courses. The assignment does a good job with outcomes 2-10, 15-24, 26-28, and 37-38. With modifications it could address even more. (If you want an Excel version of this email at pjory@sd79.bc.ca)

To prepare for this project I made some of my own online magazines for practice. This helped me understand how to use the Scoop.it! program comfortably enough to demonstrate it and support the students. I then created a Gmail account for each student with passwords I control, a list of expectations for them to sign (see below), and strips of paper with the sign in information. We had also prepared alias names for their magazines through a "fun" exercise. This was to avoid any FOIPPA concerns that could from hosting student information outside of the country. I also created a class blog for all of our entries with a class email under my name. Assignment expectations were reviewed in class then forwarded to the students via email so they could review them as they worked on their assignments.

We have worked on this project off and on for about two weeks and most of the students are starting to finish their final drafts. Some will require more time as they have missed classes or because they process information and produce content at different rates. Today the students were quite engaged in their content creation, and there was even several minutes of quiet typing! I am pleased with the exercise, I have shared it with several teachers, and I look forward to using it again in the future.