Internet during finals?

Its every student's dream--to be able to use the internet during a test. Well the Ministry of Education in Denmark is testing their idea, and if they are successful, they are planning to allow "A" level student to use the internet during written tests in 2011. In order to prevent cheating, all papers are turned in electronically and there will be random checks on the sites that they are visiting during the exam. The logic behind this idea is that when writing papers at work, a person has access to the internet. As a student, of course I would love the idea of having internet access during finals, but I just don't think that it is a good idea. If I knew that I could use the internet in my political science test tomorrow, I probably wouldn't be spending so much time studying, and therefor I would not learn the material. I think that allowing internet access during finals will of course make the tests easier, but in the end students will not learn nearly as much. I was under the impression that I was paying so much to go to school in order to learn. If computers are allowed during finals, I would not have learn anything, but good ol' Wikipedia will pass the class for me.

Read the article at http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/article705726.ece

Guns Everywhere?

I am sure that everyone has heard about the bill that is being sent to the house and senate to allow people with licenses to carry concealed weapons on campus. Those who support this bill say that it will deter any future students from shootings since they will fear that someone nearby will have a gun as well. I personally think that the bill is one of the dumbest ideas. College kids are already stressed out enough, they dont need to be worrying about whether or not someone is going to snap today and shoot up the school. I have to agree with the people who oppose the bill when they say that having guns on campus is a bad idea where "youthful impulsiveness, social anxieties and alcohol" are prominent. I think that hypothetically the bill is a good idea, but in reality it will just cause more problems. It wouldn't surprise me if that kid who says he will do anything to get an A really will do anything, including pulliong a gun on his teacher. I see this bill causing more problems than good. I cant speak for anyone else, but I think I would feel more uneasy, not safer, if this bill does get passed. In order to be able to carry a concealed weapon you have to pass a test and have a background check performed. I was under the impression that the students who have started shootings have had clean backgrounds and it was never suspected that they would do anything like that. Also, a lot of the shootings end in suicide, so im not sure how much the threat of others having guns will really deter them if they are already planning on dying. I personally am not constantly worrying about school shootings, but I would be a little nervous if I knew that anyone on campus could have a gun. I just dont think that this bill will fix anything.


Read the article http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-texas_guns_wittapr27,0,5010044.story

Here is another blog on the topic http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-liebowitz_23edi.State.Edition1.205ac09.html