Tech Tv

Web 2.0: Do now 12/15

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." ~Mahatma Gandhi 

     There are many things that ignite my passion of helping people and making the world a better place.  For example, whenever I see a group of people or and individual suffering I just feel this need to help.  What's the point of being privileged if you don't use some of that opportunity to help those less fortunate than you?  I always give money to the homeless person on the street and donate to different organizations.  Some people don't realize how much these little things can greatly impact the people and world around them.  I aim to do more then just help individuals. 

     I want to not only help individual people, but help society as a whole.  If everyone were to work together so many major issues would be closer to becoming solved.  I always donate to different cancer organizations because that is an issue that's close to my heart.  Different family members and friends of mine have gotten cancer.  It is events like that in my life that push be to be a better person, make a change, and never take good health for granted.            

Blog-Post Assessment

Academia Barilla

     Academia Barilla is one of my favorite restaurants.  They serve a wide variety of Italian foods that taste delicious.  The Academia Barilla restaurant that I always go to is located in New York City. My favorite dishes from the restaurant have to be one of their pastas.  There pesto pasta is the perfect mix of pesto and pasta.  The pasta not only tastes amazing, but looks great on the plate before you eat it too! Their pizzas and panini are also so delectable.  They taste as if my Italian grandmother made them.  I would recommend this restaurant for anyone who likes Italian food.  You can check out some of the items on their menu.

     Academia Barilla is a chain restaurant owned by the Barilla company.  Most would probably recognize the Barilla company as their brand of pasta.  In 1877 is when Pietro Barilla opened up his first Barilla store and in 1910 that small store becomes a factory.  It was between 1947 and 1979 that Barilla became a popular brand.  The restaurant only uses fresh ingredients and even has a fresh herb garden on one wall of the restaurant.  Every week they replace the old herbs with new herbs.  The food is simple and you can look at the recipe on their website.  This is one of my favorite restaurants because they use all fresh ingredients and the food is delicious.  I also like the location of the restaurant.  I love going to New York City and go to this restaurant whenever I get the chance.

      I don't know exactly where I would go if Academia Barilla closed.  I think it is a great Italian restaurant and has amazing food. You can can even look at the reviews people left on the restaurant.  My other favorite kind of food is sushi, so I would most likely start going to one of my favorite sushi restaurants.  I was actually first went to this restaurant on a field trip for my Italian class.  I'm glad that I found out about Academia Barilla.    

     

 

RSS Assignment 12-8-14

1.  Why did you select the sites you subscribed to?
      I selected these sites to subscribe to because they met the requirements and I also found them interesting.  Most, if not all, of the RSS feeds I picked were on a topic that I personally found intriguing.

2.  Was it easy to find feeds and to subscribe to them?
      It was extremely easy to find the feeds and subscribe to them.  It only took me about 15-20 minutes to find the feeds for 15 websites.

3.  Which sites were your favorites?
      The sites that are my favorite are the ones in the hobbies folder.  I also like some of the ones in my news folder as well.

4.  What else can you use RSS feeds for?
      You could use RSS feeds for many things.  You could use the constant stream of articles to help you on an essay or research paper.  You can also keep track of topics that are important to you.

5. How likely are you to continue to use RSS feeds in the future?
    I will most likely continue to use RSS feeds.  They help me kept track of information about a certain topic or event going on.

Gecko Inspired Adhesive 12-5-14

Gecko Inspired Adhesive

• Researchers at Stanford have invented a gecko-inspired climbing system.
• The device consists of two hand-sized sticky-pads and foot platforms that are attached by cables.
• Thousands of microscopic wedges made of silicone are placed onto panels roughly the size of postage stamps that are then positioned on hand-sized plates and connected to springs, ensuring even weight distribution.
• The hand plates are attached by cables to platforms for a person’s feet, which in turn shift most of the weight to the legs.
• Most of the weight is put on the legs so that it is easier for the climber to actually climb.  
• The hand-pads themselves aren’t sticky to the touch. 
• The researchers also believe the new “controllable adhesive” may serve another purpose: ­ridding the galaxy of space-junk.

Learn more about this amazing adhesive here. 

Web 2.0: Do now Writing Prompt 12-2-14

     If I were a teacher I would create a psychology class.  There would be a regular psychology class and an AP psychology class.  In the class students would learn about human behavior and different mental disorders.  The AP class would be similar to the regular except for the fact that there are more projects and an AP exam.  This class would be an elective and would take place during the school day.  The psychology class would take place in a regular classroom, not in a lab.
    In the class students would have multiple projects along with a few experiments.  The students projects would be researching and analyzing different mental disorders.  Students would be allowed to choice whichever disorder they found the most interesting.  Our experiments would have to do with human behavior.  We would be analyzing and discussing how different people react and respond to different situations.  The students final exam would be to conduct some sort of experiment on human behavior and than writing an essay on their conclusions and findings.          

Germ Killing Robot Could Help Fight Diseases 11/21/14

Germ Killing Robot Could Help Fight Diseases

• A new robot has been created that can fight off deadly viruses, like Ebola, in hospitals and health care facilities.
• The robot is a little over five feet tall and is nicknamed "Saul". 
• Saul uses pulses of high-intensity, high-energy ultraviolet rays to split open bacterial cell walls and kill dangerous pathogens.
• Surgical teams in U.S. Air Force Hospitals were recently trained on how to use the robot. 
• Hospitals that have used this have been able to bring infection rates down by 60 percent. 
• The robot is 99.9 percent effective and can completely kill a virus within five minutes.

Check out the article.

Web 2.0: Wiki Research

1. How can a wiki be used in a current class on your schedule (not this course)? Pick a class and be specific how the class could create and use a Wiki on a regular basis (tip: Use the Internet, here is a good source).

           A wiki can be used for many different classes.  One class that I would be able to use it for is English.  In English we are constantly reading books, reviewing books, and discussing opinions on the books.  We could create a wiki and this would allow every student in class to give their opinion and write what they want to.  This would enable the more timid students in the class to comment and actually become part of the conversation. We could assign a different person every day to create the wiki.

  

      2.  What are the benefits of using a wiki in class?

           There are many benefits to using a wiki in class.  Students that do not normally participate in class will have a chance to state their opinion.  It also allows the students to go back and look at the different opinions and facts on and about the book.  

       3.  How can we create a wiki in this class, what would be contribute to it and how would be utilize it                on an on-going basis?

            In this class we could create a wiki about wikis (wikiception).  We could continuously add our thoughts and opinions on wikis while also discussing how to better use wikis.  One student could make the wiki and every day the students could get on and discuss. 

       4.  What experience do you have using or creating wikis?

             I have created wikis in history before for different projects that we have done.  I have also looked at wikis when I'm having trouble understanding topics or just need to know certain information.  

Virtual Reality Can Help Treat Sex Offenders 11/14/14

Virtual Reality Can Help Treat Sex Offenders

(Virtual Reality is the computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way.)

• Virtual reality systems are now being used to help treat and understand the impulses of sex offenders. 
• The researchers record the sex offenders responses to what they are seeing and hearing in the virtual reality world. 
• The headsets track eye movements and record how long the sex offender was looking at the image. 
• They also measured participants sexual arousal through penile plethysmography (PPG), which measures the flow of blood to the penis.
• Participants are shown different images in different environments, with different levels of nudity. 
• This treatment helps us learn more about the behavior of sex offenders and helps use create more ways to treat them. 
• Virtual reality is also used to treat many other illnesses (anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and substance abuse). 
• Virtual reality can cause cybersickness that include the symptoms eye strain, headache, nausea, sweating, disorientation, and vertigo.

(Virtual reality is not the only type of technology being used to help treat and stop sex offenders.)

Check out the article.

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Parents Plan Child Abuse

My Weekend

My Weekend

      Over the long weekend I spent time with friends, babysat , and spent my free time reading.  I hung out with a few of my friends over the long weekend and we had a great time just talking and bonding.  On the Friday we had off I babysat a family friend's kids. They were a little (and by a little I mean very) hyper, but by the end of the day I could handle them.  During our extended weekend I also spent a lot of time reading.  I love to read and was able to finish two books along with reading some digital stories.  I had a great time relaxing over the extended weekend.

How to make friends (just in case you didn't know how)

  

Hover-boards 10/24/14

Hover-boards in the Future

• Greg and Jill Henderson have been working on a new hover-board 
• The board is magnetic and can hover about a copper surface 
• It hovers one inch off of the ground 
• The board itself weighs 100 pounds 
• The two have poured their life savings into making the hover board and hope to one day create and industry around the hover-board 
• Mr. Henderson hopes that one day we will be able to use hover technology for bigger and better things like making earthquake proof hovering cities 
• There are many other companies (ex: Google X) and individuals working on hover-board
• The hover-board is slowly becoming a real thing 
  

Link

Future Libraries 10/10/14

Future Libraries 

• Many libraries are now thinking of modernizing and making new technologies available for more people 
• Chicago is one of the major cities embracing this and creating more advanced libraries 
• The libraries will be stocked with 3D printers and laser cutters
• The maker labs will be the section of the library containing the library 
• The libraries will offer demonstrations and workshops to help people understand the machines they are using
•  Finch Robots will be available for checkout as well
• These robots will help tech children about computer science  

Check out the article here.   

  

The Electric Unicycle 10/3/14

The Electric Unicycle (Yes, it's a real thing.)

• Companies like Ryno Motors and Airwheel are producing motorized unicycles 
• According to developers the unicycles are portable, cheap, and fun 
• The motorized unicycles go up to 12 mph 
• The unicycles last for up to 28 miles before they need to recharge and are rugged enough to go off road
• They are already being used by some mailmen in the UK  
• Many who have tried the motorized unicycle out say that it feels like being on a hoverboard 
• The person riding the unicycle must use there body to control the gadget by leaning forward to accelerate and back to slow down or stop 
•  The companies claim that the unicycle even enabled a disabled woman to go out and reconnect with her loved ones

Don't forget to check out the article. 

Do Now 9/29/14

    
     An editorial is an article that is posted in a newspaper or other periodical.  It normally expresses the views of the publisher or editor of the periodical.  An editorial expresses more opinions than actual facts.  Since the editor is the final editor of the editorial this means that the editorial is most likely their opinion.  Some find editorials unreliable because of their  lack of facts and abundance of opinions.  
     Teachers usually don't have any positive things to say about Wikipedia.  They say that it is edited by people who do not know about the subject and who aren't experts in the topic.  They feel that uneducated people change the information that is written on it.  My teachers will not allow their students to use Wikipedia.  They believe that Wikipedia will give the students false information which would lead to them getting a poor grade on whatever assignment they are trying to complete.  I know teachers won't let students use Wikipedia because the content can be edited by anyone.
     After reading this article my opinion on Wikipedia changed.  I never knew that students with actual background knowledge on the topic write articles on Wikipedia.  I always assumed that people with little to no knowledge on the topic edited the articles.  This editorial showed me that actual experts and students do work on Wikipedia articles.  I think this is an important editorial to read.  It eliminates the misconceptions that people have about Wikipedia.  It informs its readers that Wikipedia is educational.

Wikipedia Editorial
 

Web 2.0: Multimedia Blog Posting

US History 1 Honors

     One of the content area classes that I am taking is Us History 1 Honors.  My teacher for the class is Mrs. Gaven.  So far we have just started covering the constitution.  We are going in depth and are reviewing the different amendments and articles in the constitution.  For this class I am expecting to learn a lot and do well.  History is one of my favorite subjects and I honestly look forward to the year ahead.

             For the rest of the year I expect to learn about all of America's history that occurred after the constitution was written. I'm also excited about the fact the technology will be incorporated into the history class.  If the students needed to we can access our textbook online which makes it much easier to study for tests and do homework. I know that the projects in the class will be interesting because Mrs. Gaven just isn't a boring person.  I'm not sure exactly what field trips we are going on, but I hope that we will be visiting a few museums.  

      I know that I will have a great year in Mrs. Gaven's US History 1 Honors class.  She runs debate and is an absolutely amazing coach.  She is a great educator and really helps students if they don't understand something.  She makes sure that everyone is following what she is teaching, but one of her best traits is that she loves to joke around.  Unlike most teachers she doesn't take everything too serious and is a lot of fun.  I know I'll have a great year in Mrs. Gaven's class.



Link to Mrs. Gaven's website         Grading Policy   

                                                                                      - Summative assignments (tests/quizzes) are                                                                                               45%

                                                                                      - Performance based assessments (projects) are                                                                                         45%

                                                                                      - Classwork and homework is 10% 



Link to Online Textbook

















          

Educational Technology and Copyright Law

• Copyright is a United States federal law that protects original "works of authorship"
• Everything is automatically copyrighted which means there is no need for paperwork

• You have four exclusive rights when your work is copyrighted:

1. Reproduce the copyrighted work that YOU created
2. Display the copyrighted work that YOU created publicly
3. Prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work that YOU created
4. Distribute copies of the copyrighted work that YOU to the public by selling, renting/ lending, and/or displaying the image

• You can pretty much use other people's copyrighted work for non-profit purposes (example: comment, teaching, research, etc.)
• Licensed images are not open to fair use and you must give the photographer creditLink To Article  

Apple iPhone 6 vs. iPhone 6 Plus: What's the difference?

• Apple just released the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
• The iPhone 6 Plus has a larger screen
• The iPhone 6 Plus also has a higher resolution
• The iPhone 6 Plus also weighs 1.5 ounces more than the iPhone 6
• The iPhone 6 Plus costs more than the iPhone 6
• The 6 Plus will be able to use special iPad-style landscape modes on some apps when the phone is held horizontally 
• the iPhone 6 will not have the iPad style landscape modes
• Both phones have an 8-megapixel lens
• The iPhone 6 Plus has optical image stabilization which will help steady the picture
• The iPhone 6 will not have the optical image stabilization feature 
• The iPhone 6 Plus has higher battery capacity which means you will be able to use your phone for longer periods of time

Link To Article