FINAL BLOG POST

1)- The revised version of our class was definitely better than the first because we had more things to do. It wasn't the same old boring english class, we were actively learning in a new way and I felt more engaged in the class. 

2)-I actually looked forward to working in clark rather than the spartan complex because expanding the environment helped me understand the class more. The reason i think i enjoyed the new version of the class was because it was something new and fresh to look forward to. Also, it wasn't stuffy, boring and hot like the class in the spartan complex where it was almost impossible to pay attention.

3)- I liked everything about the Clark classroom. It was air conditioned, had alot of gadgets to work with and overall just helped the learning aspect of the class. I liked that we could use computers as writing boards, communicate with each other in new ways rather than just writing notes from lectures all day. I really liked being able to use computers in class to do work. I believe that engaging students in new fresh ways will always result in the students being more active in the class and willing to participate more because it wont be the same thing over and over again.

Assessing Assessments

I don't believe my book is scholarly enough. It was written by credible doctors, yet the subject of the book may be a little inappropriate. Indeed it gets my point out in a way, but i'd have to tweak it in a way that the reader would understand why i chose that source. It's a little difficult to find a book that would easily relate to my thesis. The only other book i could think of to support my thesis would be a dictionary or a thesaurus of some sort.

I think i have assessed my resources pretty well but they all still need work. I need to tweak them down to the point that it makes perfect sense of why i chose them, and how it helps my argument. I also think i need more because i don't have enough information for my claim to be accurate. My claim is obvious to any person that has experience with technology, yet writing down on a piece of paper would be difficult without more assessments.

Resources Reflections

1. How did you find your resources?- naturally, i googled them first. For my interview, i chose my mom because she was the first thing that came to mind when i thought about my thesis, and where i wanted to move with my essay. She was always getting on me about not using my brain enough, and how I'm lazy by googling or calculating everything. For my magazine and news paper articles, i went to the library and asked the librarians for help. She helped me by showing me the data base and directing me to where i could find the most sources to back up my thesis. I was not really sure what kind of book to use. I just asked myself, what kind of book would i look for, to look for information. So i looked on my shelf and found the perfect book. The stupidest book yet it taught me a lot.

2. How has research altered your original idea? My original idea was to still focus on college students but how much they cared about their privacy. I started to research and then thought to myself, who really cares about college student's privacy? They don't have a lot of money for identity theft, or novels to publish for a mass amount of money. So why would anyone have research or articles about college student's and how much they care about their privacy? I then thought, college students, including my generation and the generations to come, are too dependent on the things we've had since we were about the age of 14 or 15. I never really had fast internet until i was 16. I always used the library or looked at newspapers and magazines by hand, not by the internet.

newspaper article

http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.mill1.sjlibrary.org/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=NewsBank&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0EB7153FD80D4A37&p_docnum=28&p_queryname=1

this article from the san jose mercury news was a great example of how dependent individuals are from their gadgets. For example, the article is to show why a computer may be slow, or how to get rid of certain programs to make your computer running faster, ultimately to save an individual time on a project or just surfing in general. In silicon valley, the dependency is hire than many other cities in the U.S. Most likely because the entire valley itself is famous for its software engineers and latest gadgets. People pay hundreds to thousands of dollars to fix a computer. Why? Because they are dependent on doing things that are so easily accessible. Without a computer, it seems some cannot even function. The question is, what comes next after a computer isn't handy?

Magazine Source

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20270407,00.html

How many of us are obsessed with celebrity news? It is literally for some people quite an obsession. Knowing everything about a favorite celebrity. Knowing where they are, what they've been doing, who've they been dating. Some people have to absolutely know thats been going on with their favorites. Therefore, god invented Magazines to comment, write articles, photograph celebrities that most people are obsessed with.

The hit celebrity story right now has to be the Chris Brown and Rihanna scandal. After Chris Brown was arrested after allegedly beating up Rihanna, people have become obsessed with the story. And now since Rihanna has dropped the charges and gotten back together with Chris, there have been millions of blog posts, emails and letters to Rihanna stating why? and how stupid she could be? Why do these people give such a damn about someone else? Technology has allowed people to access other people's lives 24-7. This article is a good source of showing how becoming obsessed with other people's lives has become its own source of a technological advancement dependency.

personal interview

i decided to interview my mom because she inspired my thesis and she's always getting on me when i use technology to do my homework. Interviewed her on Sunday 4/19/09 5:30pm

Me: Do you believe the youth of this generation has become too dependent on technology?

Mom: Yes because some kids can't even do anything without a computer and its sad.

Me: Why is it sad?

Mom: Because when i was in school, we didn't even have computers. We had to do everything in our head.

Me: Does that still benefit you to this day?

Mom: yes it does, i can still do chemistry calculations in my head, i still memorize formulas from my geometry years, and i am able to attain information quicker and faster than most of 

my coworkers that have grown up in the U.S.

Me: Wow, do you think children should be taught the way you were taught?

Mom: Of course its great that kids are lucky enough to have a calculator do their calculations for them, but its sad when i see kids use their calculators for easy arithmetic problems.

Me: What do you  mean?

Mom: For example, i asked a patient of mine, how old he who was 10 and his brother who was 18 put together was, and he answered he didn't have his calculator.

Thats why when i was teaching you times tables i never let you use a calculator which is why you can zip through problems like that with a breeze.

Me: True. What do you think would be the best solution?

Mom: I think that to a certain age, maybe high school, children should not be allowed to use calculators. It benefits their minds as well as their academics. What harm would it due to teach a child to use their brain then their fingers? I also had to hand write all of my essays, i didn't have Microsoft Word to tell me which words were spelled incorrectly and how my fragments should be put together. I also believe that the more a child uses their brain and hands to do the work, the less dependent they are if anything is to ever happen to their technological advances they have been lucky enough to access.

journal article

The Journal of Mental Health Counseling found that young college students ages 18-22 have become too dependent on the internet and has started to take a tole on their health. For example, since the internet can access just about anything, there have been cases where children as well as young adults have had symptoms of enraged anger, and have taken it out on things in their home or family members as well. The reason not because of the video games causing violence but because children and the youth have become so addicted to these technological advances that their anger is eminent. This source is helpful because it shows they cannot wait to beat the next game or the next guy that it frustrates them so much to take their anger out on their own family members. These doctors of these journals have suggested therapy is the best way to get over these addictions.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-27176666_ITM

blog source

A recent post from digital trends by Doug Mc Lean was rather interesting and interpreted his view on why he and so many others are dependent and addicted to technology.

http://news.digitaltrends.com/talk-back/27/dependency-on-technology

It was a great source because he explained that he realized how much people are dependent on technology. For example, on August 14th 2008, there was a blackout on most of the east coast of the U.S. It was questioned, how many people actually panicked because they didn't have access to their cellphones, computers, or tvs? The world has come to depend on something that rarely existed in previous years. The term face book or myspace didn't even exist. This blog was a great example to see how the youth (college students) of the U.S. have come to be so dependent on technology.

book source

The book that caught my eye had to be "Why do men have nipples?" by Doctor Mark Leyner and Doctor Billy Goldberg.

The book is simply a series of answers to a number of myths or questions people have been asking for years. The reason i chose this source was because i could see that it could relate to students as well as older generations. In the old days, there were always myths about what could happen to a human being depending on the situation. In the old days, you were given one opinion and one opinion only. There were no subjects of question. For example, during the salem witch trials there was no question whether you were a witch or not because if u were thought of being a witch, you'd be put to death.

In the old days there was no media, there was no technology, there were no ways of second to second communication. So in no way could these people ever be able to see or believe in a world that would allow such a new way of living.

There were a couple of humorous yet interesting questions in the book that these doctors were able to answer. For example there was a question that came from an old wives tale. The question was "Is it dangerous to hold a sneeze?". Naturally now, it is obvious that one's head will not exploded if he or she holds their sneeze. Yet because of technology with change in time, it was able to discover this finding and solve this old tale. This book is a great source because its an example of such a world we've come to live in. Because of technology, our doctors are able to answer questions that would most likely be looked at as witchcraft of blasphemy in past years yet we have come dependent on technology to answer these sort of questions that no one would actually depend on to survive.

research questions

I'd like to focus on privacy relating to students from social networking. Yes students from all over use social networking to get help, ideas, or just converse, is this why internet hacking goes up? because everyone is digitally connected as days go by? I'd also like to see the inside of why students sign up for myspace or facebook. There are people out there that just sign up for one day and never use it again. What is the real reason to sign up for these kind of networks?

when signed up to these systems, how far is privacy given away? Anyone can hack into your profile if they know how. Your name can be someone else's in an instant. People know this, see it every day, so why do they still do things online?
Does signing your name somewhere on the internet make you lose your privacy indefinitely?

thesis statement for essay 3

Thesis statement: As the world advances so does technology, yet as technology advances, citizens of the world are connected even further but their privacy becomes less and less existent. 

sources that would help prove this point would be recent events in general. For example, hacking, and identity theft increases by the day. Millions and millions of people join some kind of networking system every day. Watching the local news, even searching privacy and technology on google gives you a number of articles and news articles that tell you recent events. Indeed technology is a great advancement, but what price does it come to? The price that your privacy, your information is out there for anyone to see. 

wiki aim assessment

The beginning of this wiki site for aim already says "this site needs additional citations for verification", being said, this information from this website cannot be reliable enough to quote or gain information without further investigation from a different, maybe more reliable source. From already being a frequent user of AIM,  the terminology given seemed accurate enough to be true.

Most of the discussions consisted of which details in the wiki were accurate and which were useful. For example, aim seems to be updated every year. Having downloaded aim since the 7th grade, it seemed like my computer has gone through 7-8 versions of aim. Just like the latest gadget, as technology advances so do all of its many systems and features that come with it. One main argument was since there are so many different versions of aim, why were so many things of different versions of aim left out of the article.

The information that could be used from this article was accurate if the reader knew what they were looking for. If they were simply looking for an explanation of aim, it was there but they probably wouldn't understand what they were looking at because without basic use or knowledge of the product, it would be impossible to understand the discussion topics.

Aim Assesment

Aim stands for aol instant messenger. It was released by AOL in 1997 to aol subscribers but initially was only for its employees. It was originally released for Microsoft only but now is available for Mac as well as Microsoft. It was and to this day still is used mostly by teenagers. It is used to communicate by text over the internet in real time. Basically a "chat" one of the firsts of it kind. It was rivaled with yahoo, and messenger messenger as well. Aim was most likely chosen over the other two for a number of reasons. 1) Aim doesn't require to have or make an email address to have the messenger. It is only required to make a screen name without having to put all the information and time consuming as making an email would.  2) Aim allows more than 100 contacts to be added. 3) It takes away privacy information of the user that otherwise emails would allow. 4) It is easy to attain and has many features that msn and yahoo didn't have at the time.

Aim is efficient because it allows people to network with each other in real time, rather than face-book or myspace that is real time yet is leaving posts from time to time rather than on the spot communication. It is used by everyone from kids, teens to adults. Yet nowadays, it is mostly used by teens. From my experience, these types of communications have been labeled by age groups. For example, yahoo and msn is for adults, aim for youth, and skype for teens-adults. Just like myspace is for high school kids and facebook is for so called "college students and above".

Aim represents an easy way to communicate and stay touch with friends, do work, or just see what people are up to. It is very useful for almost any kind of office work. It is also great for working with someone else or another group of people. A feature called "direct connecting", allows 2 or more people to share documents with each other in the blink of an eye. I can send a class mate an entire power point presentation based on their internet connect in less than a minute. It now features such as group video chatting, status updates, and different sound alerts for different contacts.

When talking about privacy compared to the other chat systems, aim is probably the most private. For example, msn, yahoo, skype, all requires the user's information that is easily accessible to whoever is chatting with the user. For aim, you don't have to say anything that has to do with you unless you want to put it in your info. Also, unless you direct connect with someone that is strictly under your jurisdiction, no one can access the files in your computer.

If you want privacy and easy chatting ability, aim is probably your safest bet.

Assessing Technology Articles

Ad Nation by Wayne Grytting

The downfalls of public advertisement and how it has overall corrupt minds into believing the only way to get a message out is through advertisement is down right sad. A CEO of a major city believes that a city cannot be a city unless it has signs and advertisements. Monuments are no longer symbolic and he described some of the most raw and majestic cities of the world as bland. It seems that ads are only brainwashing people further and further as the days go by. If a person can make money of receive money from an ad, they will go great lengths to do so. Paying around $60,000 a month for an add, is ridiculous. Buildings that could be built for more important meanings are just being built to advertise.

technology/privacy source evaluations

The first source i looked at was from Thursday's class the youtube video called "Did you know"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY

What caught my eye about this source was the title. After watching the video, i learned so many things i never even knew. One fact that caught me was when it said that India had more honor kids than the U.S. even had kids. Amazing, astonishing, yet so unbelievably predictable and true. It had so many interesting facts that it left the audience constantly engaged in the message it was trying to get out. The end was somewhat scary because it talked about how students are being trained for jobs that don't exist, the courses that students are studying will be out dated by the time they graduate. It's scary because it makes me think, will i even have a job when i graduate? can i compete with the rest of the world? It definitely makes a lot of people wonder about what the future has in store for them.

The 2nd source i viewed was the New York Time's article called " Facebook Users asks who owns information"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/17/technology/internet/17facebook.html?_r=1

I have to admit, i must agree with what the CEO of Facebook said "people own their info and control who they share it with". If it wasn't for that, nobody would even use facebook anymore. 

Without privacy, a person could be robbed of their identity or worse. Yet people's lives aren't so private because of the fact that facebook basically "owns" their user's information and can do whatever they want with it. In my opinion, whenever anyone becomes apart of any "website" related communication system, privacy is not something they should get use to. By uploading pictures, videos, basic info of yourself, you are opening a gateway to your life for others to see. If you really want to be as private as you wish, don't join these sort of websites. The article was very knowledgeable for the readers, and made me think twice about who sees me online and who doesn't.

The 3rd source i viewed was the article by smoking gun titled "Student Arrested for Classroom Texting".

The title grabbed me immediately. I thought to myself, what kind of institution, and state would allow for a student to be arrested just for text messaging? Then as Doctor Harris let us know it was a fluke, i thought to myself, what if this really happened? There are indeed places where students could be punished severely for disobeying a teacher but no where in the united states came to mind. The article stated that the so called student was arrested and her bail was set at $298 for texting in class and not cooperating with the teacher to give it up. The article even had a fake police report. It was pretty misleading. Although the article was entertaining and a definite eye grabber, it had no real relevance to the technology and privacy issue. Sure, a cell phone is a great technological advancement, but a student being arrested for texting couldn't really connect to the main idea we are trying to focus on.

 

Brainstorming Technology

*What is technology? - It is something that advances humans by keeping them connected, or making things more time efficient for them.
It Lessons workloads.

* What represents this technology?- every day something new is coming that that is considered a new technological advancement. Advancement in all the areas we learn every day.

*Who controls this technology? us, and the future generations to come controls this technology. The past generations may have a say or have started us, but we, or the future generations have the ultimate say in what will be to come.

* What happens when you lose control of your own info?- People can ruin you. Once they grab a hold of your own info, especially personal, they've got the ultimate hold on you. Humans build confidence by maintaining what they know about themselves secure to only themselves. If someone were to get a hold of that, everyone would lose their individuality.

Budget Crisis Outline

Budget Crisis Outline

Thesis: As budget cuts continue from California's deficit, unemployment increases by the percent leaving families with scarcity of funds and pushing them towards poverty.

1. California's current budget crisis

1. Affects on the citizens

a) The average california citizen

b) Citizens with large families

c) Affects on senior citizens

2. Affects on the politicians

a) Do they dismiss other opinions?

b) a few political views

3. Affects on the major cities

2. Unemployment rate

1. Current Results of Unemployment

a) Comparison between employment of present and past

b) What citizens who have lost their jobs are doing different to stay afloat

2. Which companies or organizations that have given the most lay offs

3. What they are doing different after the lay offs

a) how they choose which workers must be laid off

b) how their businesses are affected after the lay offs

3. Opinions of what is to come after the budget plan has been initiated

1. Citizens opinions

a) Do they have hope?

b) Have they looked to alternate resources

2. Corporate business decisions/opinions

a) Has business gone down?

b) will it rise again? If so, how?

4. Conclusion

1. If the budget is not stimulated, there could be more strikes and sit ins than expected.

a) Rebuilding America's economy will take the people's decisions and not just the politicians.

2. If the unemployment rate does not increase, california may never get out of this deficit.

Authoritative Source

"AN UNGLY WIN FOR SCHWARZNEGGER"

The outline of the final $41 billion package, a combination of steep spending cuts, tax hikes, borrowing and provisions meant to boost the state's business climate, was nearly identical to the framework Schwarzenegger laid out late last year.

And as a bonus, the package authorized two ballot measures sought by Schwarzenegger: one to cap future state spending and another to create a so-called open primary system that the governor believes would help elect more moderates like himself.

Also almost overlooked amid the budget theatrics was Schwarzenegger's about-face on taxes, an issue he rode into office twice since 2003. His first act as governor was to slash the vehicle license fee that motorists pay to register their cars — a move that was responsible for a big chunk of the state's recent budget shortfalls. The agreement forged last week nearly doubles that license fee, though it will remain lower than it was before Schwarzenegger took office.

Schwarzenegger's supporters counter that cajoling enough Republicans to vote for a budget with billions of dollars in tax increases would have been a steep task for any governor. The bare minimum number of Republicans to reach the required two-thirds threshold for taxes — three in the Senate and three in the Assembly — ultimately signed on.

Interview with dad about budget crisis

interview with dad because he works for the state as a lecturer for sjsu so the budget cuts could easily effect him and me.

me: How do you feel about this new budget plan?

dad: I feel positive about it because it can boost our economy. Prevent losing employment in increasing numbers. I think it will save people because without jobs, no one can survive, especially those with a family.

me: Do you think CA will ever get out of this deficit? why?

dad: Yes because change is starting to rise. People are starting to be more careful with their money.

me: Has this deficit or budget affected you yet?

dad: Not really because i haven't lost my job, and i can support you still.

Obama's Inaugural Speech Response

Q: How does Obama in this speech persuade people to believe in him and follow him?

President Obama's first point to persuade the American people to believe and follow him is by stating the dire situations the United States is facing at this exact moment. For example, having insufficient health care, and being in the worst economic state since the depression. As in the picture, the economy right now only seems to be helping the rich get richer, and poorer becoming even poorer. Having a nation coming together and providing a civilized and cooperative outlook are the only ways the United States can come out of this financial crisis.

Another point President Obama makes is that the government right now is just not working. If we continue to cope with these policies, we will be worse off in the long run. By ensuring that change is for the greater good it dignifies that without it, our nation as we know it will cease to exist. He talks about how he will form a government that will ensure the longevity of the united states, and how he will direct nation to a new perspective on a way of living.

By restoring the trust between the nation and the government that has been deteriorated over the previous years, only then can change be stimulated where all the people of the nation can live together in peace without having such a huge gap in classes. Another way President Obama provokes change through his speech is by including the nations around the world. Nations that are not so fortunate or do not have the means to make an impact with the world. Nations who are in dire need of help by their surrounding neighbors. He not only tells the American people, but the people of the world that change is coming, and they will lend a helping hand for those who are in most need.

President Obama's main point is to direct the speech to the people as an equal. He wants to justify that even though he is president, he is still one of us. Because by thinking he is greater will not only end in his turmoil, but the nation's as well. To submit change, he and his government must start it. The people will finally have a word and say in what goes on. Without the cooperation of all the parties, and people together, nothing can or will ever be accomplished.
By stating he is equal, he is enabling change not only for those in this time, but in the many futures to come.

Reflection of changes

The new changes brought upon this class are absolutely amazing. Instead of sitting in an old, hot, and boring room, we get to sit in a nice air conditioned room and blog our thoughts and ideas on the net. For most people like myself, i need to be stimulated constantly, so this new environment and new way of learning has definitely changed my perspectives about this class. For some reason, time seems to go faster now, and boring is out the window. I'm looking forward to this new way of learning and posting my essays.

JournaL 2/12/09

Topics I would like to Read about are:

1. music
2. video games
3. latest movies
4. celebrities
5. mysterious happenings
6. crime
7. technology
8. SPORTS! (basketball, tennis)
9. global warming
10. animals
11. shoes (sb's, jordans, dunks)