Quillstress

Hmm, yeah…Critical Readership 101.

So, I’m following links from sites I got at Tech Matters…gleaning the good into my newly clean-slated Delicious tags when I come across a “100 Best Videos for Teachers” and begin working my way through.  There’s a lovely video on the Bayeaux tapestry I might be able to show the Med/Ren club I sponsor next year…and one on Don McLean’s American Pie as a tool in teaching the cultural shifts between the 50’s and 60’s.   And then I see:

A Brief History of Mankind: This video sums up the history of mankind in just a few minutes, making it a good intro to history classes.

Cool, I think.  How fun is that.   Though I don’t teach history, I am a cross-curricular omnivore by nature and teach Guided Study…which covers everything.  So, I start the video.
Basically it boils down to an assertion that every “savior myth” in history is exactly the same because it’s not about saviors, it’s about astronomy.  And then goes on to say that Christianity is just a load of crap along with any other belief in a “God”.   If you’d like to see it, please do..but promise me you’ll read the comments as that’s where the REAL elucidation of mankind occurs.  (and yes, I threw in my two cents…it’s a mandate I’ve developed in my digital life. lol)

So, I think to myself…this has nothing to do with the history of the world…and I go back to the parent blog where this list is posted and find the following:

101 Ways to Cope with Teaching Stress

By Laura Milligan

50 Ways to Use Wikis for a More Collaborative and Interactive Classroom

By Jessica Merritt

100 Awesome Classroom Videos to Learn New Teaching Techniques

By Alisa Miller

100+ Motivational Techniques to Take Learning to the Next Level

By Christina Laun

Baptism by Fire: 100 Essential Tips and Resources for Student Teachers

By Christina Laun

The Ultimate Guide to BlackBoard: 100 Tips & Tutorials

By Laura Milligan

100 Essential Web Tools for Homeschoolers

By Alisa Miller

100 Best YouTube Videos for Teachers

No byline….no one claimed responsibility for this one..though every other article on the blog appears to be professional and has an author..this one..does not.

Oh, actually, one other doesn’t have an author….

Games Will Improve Your Intelligence and Make You a Better Person

Which starts out by recommending a series of games that haven’t been playable since the first pentium came out.  (I know, I have the last in the series. It’s been a coaster for a decade.)

So, I think to myself…perhaps they just cut and pasted some old posts from somewhere..or something.. But the “History of Mankind” video has only been at that link for 6 months?   So, I go to look…and there IS no webminster for this blog…no “About” section…no information on any of these “authors” or contact information…and the blog posts only started Aug.1.  *blink, blink*

DOH…Julie, you’re an idiot.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY….  Learn what you teach.  Doesn’t matter how good it looks, check EVERYTHING, and here’s why it’s even MORE true for teachers.

I’m one of those packrats….I save everything.  Then I want to SHARE everything.   I’m one of those teachers who would have linked “100 Best Videos for Teachers” directly to her website as a resource for students.  Did you know you are held legally responsible for everything your website links to..and everything THEY link to and so on?  It’s a ridiculous legal caveat, but it’s true.  So, by that logic…  Because I’m a teacher, I’m legally and morally responsible for everything on the web the moment I link to any part of it…after all, that’s why we call it “The Web”.  

ROFL..  Okay, I don’t mean to scare anyone with all of this.  It’s just my usual snarky way of reminding you to be vigilante, people, because the rest of humanity can be really so-so.  ; )  Think you only have to worry about “those people” out there on the net?  The cyber hooligans and haters?   Well, consider for a moment that I got to this list starting from David Warlick’s weblog.   Not his responsibility of course, I only hold people responsible for what they link to directly.  Law and liability aside, that’s just common sense.   But it’s a WEB.   So check…EVERYTHING.