Group items tagged

This article tells how the constant evolution of technology has enabled students to teach themselves without the need of a teacher. One way technology has been proven  to help students teach themselves is when the MIT Media Lab delivered tablets to schools in a remote village in Ethiopia. With only the tablets, the children taught themselves the ABCs and even found their way around restrictions MIT put into the tablets. Another way students can teach themselves with technology is proven is by an 11 year old girl  from Pakistan that passed a university level class even after the government blocked Youtube which was the source of the videos she used to study. Thanks to a Portugese professor who uploaded the videos to a website the girl could access, she was able to complete the course. Our access to technology influences us by allowing to be (mostly) self-sufficient since we do not have to rely on the help of teachers completely to learn. With this, students can get homework done more easily and be up to date on lessons taught in class. I think that students cannot teach themselves solely on technology since it isn't that evolved yet. I think this is a good thing that students cannot learn only with technology because in school, it is easier to learn things when someone else explains it to you, promotes more social interaction, saves the jobs of teachers, and makes it harder to procrastinate. I believe that eventually students will be able to learn at home with only the Internet because of how fast technology evolves and how much information is stored everyday.

As a social generation, we use various online 'social networks' to connect with others and share information (e.g. photos, text, videos.) But has anyone ever considered integrating one of these networks into a scholastic environment? This is exactly what Assistant professor of education at Michigan State University, Christina Greenhow has found in a recent study. While most say that social networks like Twitter are poisoning the minds of our youth, destroying their grammar and face-to-face skills, Greenhow finds that using Twitter in her class has allowed for more engaged students proven to attain higher grades. By integrating Twitter into some of the class' exercises, Greenhow was able to contextualize the material into something the students could relate to, "The students get more engaged because they feel it is connected to something real, that it's not just learning for the sake of learning." Twitter; something bored students would initially hide from teachers in class is now seeing some valid and practical applications in the classroom. This article relates to the tag "eLifestyle" because teachers are constantly trying to integrate web-based teaching into their classrooms in this constantly evolving technological age. This relates to ICS20 because we are one of the classes in the school on the forefront of technology, integrating web services such as Codeacademy, Diigo and even Twitter to enhance our learning experience. This article is not meant to give students excuses to wander off to Twitter during class, but to show teachers the validity in using a web-based social network to improve their teaching methods in the classroom.

Love this post. I've been thinking about this stuff for a while, as in - how do I work twitter into class activity? Any ideas?

Just a few days ago, another Twitter hoax is called into question. The tweet suggested that 18-year-old Justin Bieber is supposedly diagnosed with cancer. This prank all began with a screenshot of the tweet that seems to be from Entertainment Tonight's Twitter account which informs fans to go #BaldforBieber to support the ill celebrity. A website BaldforBieber.com was set up not long after the tweet and showed photoshopped tweets from Justin Bieber, thanking his fans for their support. On the website were also a number of fake news reports that proved that the rumors were "real". On Friday, the #BaldforBieber was revealed to be a hoax that the pranksters of 4Chan created.   I personally found this prank harsh and insensitive; however, it does teach a lesson, especially to those who actually shaved their heads with the intention of supporting the supposedly ill pop star. The results of this joke indicate how many people these days believe what they read and see on the internet. After such a well thought out yet extreme prank, Twitter users should think twice about information presented to them from the internet and make rational decisions. 

        In this article it talks about companies trying to trademark the name "Python" for their server products. The company "Veber" is trying to trademark exclusive right to use Python for software, servers, and web services everywhere in Europe. After briefly explaining what the company is trying to do the article teaches people how they could help stop this from happening.      The article tells the readers to send emails tops psf-trademarks@python.org telling them how they use Python and send them any published information mentioning the Python language. By doing this they can prove that Python the programming language is used everywhere and not only the language the name as well. With this they can top Python from becoming an exclusive trademark.

Codeacademy upgraded its website because it has partnered with a number of established web companies to offer a host of new lessons that concentrate on the basics of building with their specific APIs. An API is an application porgramming interfaces that allows developers to build applications with sophisticated feature more quickly and easy. Codeacademy now has lessons for building APIs from twitter, evernote, box and grit. The twitter API lesson teaches users how to read twitter from the code editor and make their own tweets from there. While WePay and Dwolla (codeacademys API partners) lets the learners send money from the code ediotr and create invoices, for only some examples. This update isnt only just for beginners, but it can also be for people that are a bit more experience that just want to learn new things.

Today, Youtube announces that all short-form videos  uploaded in 1080p will automatically be converted to the 3D format. Last year, Youtube had a beta which was the auto-3D feature that was an offshoot from the one click conversion. The process relies on a self-teaching algorithm to split the image into two and set the proper depth, then converts to the Google Cloud architecture which breaks the video into chunks and processes each piece in parallel.

my opinion on the Google glasses are that they are not good because they are making people rely on technology way to much. people are relying on technology to much and when they don't have it, they will feel lost. i think people rely to much on technology that they can't have a proper conversation with a person face to face or use a paper map to find their way when they are lost. We have to teach the kids of this generation how to survive in life without technology and not letting them rely to much on technology, because when they don't have it they will not no how to use their brain or books to get info and will be to lazy because the information won't be at the tip of their fingers. this my opinion on the Google glasses

This article explains about the benefits and disadvantages of building and buying your own personal computer (PC). All computers that are sold are made up of parts that have been put together, whether by factory or by a specialist. The parts inside help us to tell apart other computers and their parts. The article goes into detail that building your own computer allows you to pick the parts that you want, such as the motherboard, processor, or hard drive, whereas, if you buy a pre-made computer, the parts inside are picked by the manufacturer and it will take you a long time to find the perfect package at the right price. Lastly, the article teaches you how to build your own computer, so that if you choose that path, you will see the difficulty of it and see if you have the know-how to do it. In my opinion, I would build my own computer, even if it costs more money, because I want to install the parts that I think are right for me based on what I use my computer for (eg. gaming, video editing, etc).

If you are an inspiring artist, Google has a job for you. Doodle 4 Google is an opportunity for young artists to show what they've got and use their imagination to create a doodle for the Google homepage. The theme for the year is "If I could invent one thing to make the world a better place...." and the submissions must be sent in by March 20, which is fast approaching. The winning doodle will be featured on the homepage of Google for a day and if that's not enough, the winner will receive a $30,000 college scholarship and a $50,000 Google for Education technology grant for his or her school of choice. On April 29, the 50 finalists will be open for the public to vote their winner and the winning doodle will be revealed sometime in June. Only one doodle per student is accepted so if you are interested in participating (only if you live in the states) then you can download an entry form on their Doodle 4 Google site. I think this is a great idea for students to tap into their creative sides and think about how they can change the world. Full classrooms are encouraged to participate which is a great idea for teachers to spend the day teaching the kids how they can make a difference to the lives around them.

Think you're privacy settings in your social network accounts work? Think again. hundreds of third party applications may have gained access to your Facebook account, some of them are ones you never knew you installed.. This is what Leslie Canteris was shocked about when Sisler high school in Winnipeg had an exercise about online privacy. These third party apps can take anything from your Facebook account. Many Canadian students don't understand how to protect their privacy. They don't want to be tracked, but have no clue to avoid it. in fact, kids spend more time changing their privacy settings on their social networks more than adults. People should not use their real names when playing online games, and come up with tough passwords that are hard for outsiders to crack. I applaud Sisler high school for teaching their students about social media privacy. I think that more high schools should talk to its students about this issue since social media is a huge part of many peoples daily lives.

Pearson (the company that makes most textbooks) has recently bought Connections Education (which is online teaching) In my opinion this move foreshadows that school lessons will be taught more and more online.