Comments on: On Culture

By: Jason Kinner

Jason Kinner — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:54:25 +0000

Culture is a matter of perspective, and everyone’s perspective can be very different. The culture in my school could be very different from another school just 30 miles away and very different from a school in another state or part of the country. When dealing with resources we must use several sources to have credible research. There are so many resources available through the internet that we must be careful which ones we rely on and which we do not. We must be able to evaluate these resources consistently and effectively. I also think as educators that we must realize that every student in your classroom could experience many different cultures in their lifetimes and that we must teach many different viewpoints if possible.

By: Miruka Holbrook

Miruka Holbrook — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:58:00 +0000

Culture could be defined in so many ways, for example, I think the culture of the school could be referred to as a positive, safe, learning environment. I agree that wikipedia is not a valuable resource, since the information can be changed by anyone. However, I think that relates to many sites that could be accessed, especially through the internet. So, looking at several sources is best to get valid, accurate information.

By: Wanda

Wanda — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:24:20 +0000

I think culture just depends on how everyone sees it. It is like everything else and how they view what they see. I have always wonder where defintions came from and how they came about. My definition for my culture would be that people around me are very religious and old timey while the younger generation are tech – savy and ready for an adventure. As far as wikipedia goes, I was always told never to use it for resourceful information or use it in my paper. It is a good place to get information but anybody can change that information so that it seems to be reliable. I have used wikipedia for an example in the class that I taught and the students didn’t know that anybody could post information on the website.

By: Diana

Diana — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:05:11 +0000

Culture is so diverse that is matters greatly on the impact of each situation/ circumstance. It would be hard to assume that culture will impact each situation in the same way because there are many different cultures and ways to solve problems. The way we define culture is based on our own beliefs.

By: Elizabeth Freeman

Elizabeth Freeman — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:51:15 +0000

I think that the definition of culture will differ from person to person based on their culture. In some classes the teacher gives you a term and the definition of their choosing and that it what the term is suppose to mean. I like being able to discuss and come to a common ground based on different perspectives and come up with a class defintion instead. I think that once we dig into defining culture our indiviudal definitions may change to include the thoughts of others.

By: lowell

lowell — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:13:04 +0000

I use Encyclopedia Britannica a lot. However, I do not necessarily consider it a 100% reliable source. I would never cite it as a reference. I think additional research need to be done past the static nature of a printed page. I’m a skeptic of any book, though, and I prefer to do more research than just take as fact what is on the page.

The point here is that there are problems with every source. Even this one. One of the key “21st Century Skills” is the ability to critically evaluate resources — to cross reference, correlate, and triangulate.

It’s good that you “prefer to do more research than just take as fact.” The process is key to acquiring knowledge. Be wary of discarding ideas based solely on reference. Some of next year’s best ideas will come from this year’s discounted crackpots.

And no, that’s not a “cultural bias.” It’s probably a healthy attitude.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:38:37 +0000

I use wikipedia a lot. However, I do not necessarily consider it a 100% reliable website. I would never cite it as a reference. I think additional research needs to be done past this site. I am a skeptic of any website though, and I prefer to do more research than just take as fact what is on it. Does this mean I have some sort of cultural bias? Maybe, I don’t know.

Oh, and I have no idea what it means for “twitterpeeps that followed a tweet.” I just read these terms on another blog this morning…

By: Amy Howard

Amy Howard — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:18:50 +0000

I liked the comment about terms actually being a disservice to education since we should be establishing the definitions through discussion. I feel that some terms that are abstract should be established by disscussion and implementations of our own experience and beliefs. Wikipedia is something I use often as a spring board of figuring out ideas and tools. I then find my own uderstanding and meaning by the way I use the term in my own life. I looked up gators first thing last semester and quickly gave me an idea of what a gator was. I use a gator for this class to quickly be notified of classmates posts and notices of resource feeds. I am sure there is a great deal more that a gator can be used for and my definition may be minimal compared to someone that has used the tool longer and for more reasons. Terms need to be given definitions to give people an idea then adapt it to your style of thinking and beliefs.

By: phaedrus » Blog Archive » Defining Culture

phaedrus » Blog Archive » Defining Culture — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:01:58 +0000

[...] how do we define it. I had this to say last year and I think it’s still valid. Go read it. On Culture At the beginning of any collaborative endeavor, it’s important to begin to understand what we [...]

By: Angela McNabb

Angela McNabb — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:16:58 +0000

I think it has a profound effect on culture. Depending how people were raised and what they were raised to believe in. I know when I read something, see something, or observe something, sometimes I interpret it differently than somebody else. That doesn’t mean I am right or wrong, it just means that I interpret it a different way. Definitions are good for everybody, however, I feel that even though there is a definition, people still interpret things differently. I understand wikipedia, I do allow my students to sometimes use it as a source, however, I want them to branch out and look at other sources rather than wikipedia. This allows different outlooks and opinions to gather.